In the Prokhorovka area, the contest between the German 2nd SS Panzer Army and General Rotmistrov finally came to an end after two days of fighting. Although they destroyed several times more Soviet tanks than themselves, because the Soviet tanks were able to be repaired in time, they were put back into the battlefield and gradually gained absolute superiority in numbers, so that the German troops who were fighting fewer and fewer tanks had to choose to retreat.

The SS was more effective than the average unit, and even in retreat, they showed their tenacious fighting power. Although they lost nearly 100 tanks, on the 14th, they managed to break through the defense line of the Fifth Guards Tank Army and retreat to the starting point of the attack on July 5.

When Kravchenko came to see me at the headquarters, looking at the gauze wrapped around his forehead, I asked with concern: "Comrade General, why are you wounded?" ”

He replied with a smile: "The Germans, when breaking through, carried out heavy shelling of our positions with artillery. The shell landed near my headquarters and exploded, and a stone that was blown away by the air hit me right in front of the lookout. In this way, he was hit on the head by a stone and was injured, but the injury did not matter, and it should be healed soon. ”

When I heard that his injuries didn't matter, I was relieved. I then asked, "How many tanks do you have left in your tank corps, and are your troops on assault duty if we were to attack?" ”

"No problem, General Oshanina." Kravchenko said excitedly: "Although we only have more than 50 tanks left, as long as the superiors give us additional troops, we will go to Berlin." There is no problem either. ”

"General Kravchenko," Danilov said with a smile when he was finished, "there is no need to go that far." All you need is your troops to be the first to storm Belgorod. ”

"You may be seated, Comrade General." After beckoning him to sit down, I said in a calm tone: "At present, our defense line has returned to the state it was before the outbreak of the battle. Although there will be a battle between us and the Germans, it will not be on a large scale, so you should take the time to rest and recuperate as soon as possible. ”

Hear me say that. Kravchenko asked with some surprise: "General Oshanina, have you heard something?" Are we going to attack the enemy? ”

I smiled and said to him: "Comrade General, the Germans have been attacking for the past two years. We defended and, when the conditions were right, counter-attacked them. Now, it's time for us to attack. ”

We're talking. Suddenly, Akhromeyev walked up from the side. He handed me a telegram he had just received, and at the same time said: "Comrade commander, this is a telegram that has just been sent from the headquarters of the front. ”

As soon as I heard the telegram from the headquarters of the front army, I couldn't help but chuckle in my heart, and I thought to myself, could something have happened again, and I actually sent a telegram instead of making a phone call. When I took it and read it, my mood suddenly became lighter. I handed the telegram to Danilov, and at the same time looked at Kirillov and said: "The command of the Front informs us. From now on, the divisions of our Sixth Guards Army will be organized into two Guards Corps: the 22nd Army and the 23rd Army. The 22nd Army consisted of the 67th, 71st and 90th Guards Divisions, commanded by Colonel Sivakov; The 23rd Army consisted of the 51st and 52nd Guards Divisions and the 375th Infantry Division, and the commander was Major General Tavart Kiradze. And Colonel Seryugin's 89th Guards Division, as a direct unit of the army group. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, the phone on my desk rang. I grabbed the phone casually, but when I heard that the caller was Vatutin, I quickly got up from my seat and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade General! ”

"Comrade Oshanina, have you received the telegram I sent you?" Perhaps there was a lot of good news in the past two days, and Vatujing also seemed particularly happy, and he asked with a smile: "Do you have any thoughts on this adjustment of your superiors?" ”

"Comrade General," seeing that he was in a good mood, I also said jokingly: "It's not enough to just give me a number, you have to give me some additional troops, if the three divisions of the 51st, 52nd, and 67th Guards are not small losses in the early battle." ”

"Don't worry, the reserves have been prepared for you a long time ago, and it is estimated that they will arrive tomorrow and the day after tomorrow." Vatutin said proudly: "Each division under the two guards is replenished with 10,000 people, plus other tank brigades and artillery regiments, and the troops under your command are close to 100,000. ”

I was really happy to hear that the front army headquarters was going to replenish so many troops for us, but I did not get carried away, and deliberately asked: "Is it only our group army that is replenishing troops this time, or will all group armies have to replenish troops and weapons and equipment?" ”

Hearing my question, Vatutin sighed, and continued: "In the ten days of defensive operations, Katukov's 1st Guards Tank Army and Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army suffered heavy losses, and the two tank armies each had less than 300 tanks left. In order for them to return to combat effectiveness as soon as possible, Moscow will replenish them with new tanks in the near future. ”

When he said this, I glanced at Kravchenko, who was sitting next to me, and then interjected: "Comrade General, I don't know if General Kravchenko's Fifth Guards Tank Army can also be replenished. You must know that in their recent defensive operations, they have also lost most of their tanks, and if they cannot replenish them in time, they will completely lose the ability to continue fighting. Kravchenko raised his eyebrows when he heard that I was helping him ask Vatutin for a new tank, and then he showed a look of surprise.

In response to my request, Vatutin snorted and said, "Oshanina, you now help Kravchenko get a new tank. Next, are you going to ask for tanks for your tank 33rd Army? ”

"That's right, comrade general." I was hesitating as to ask Vatutin for tanks to replenish Colonel Bere's tank corps, but since he had mentioned it first, I quickly took over the topic and said, "If you have extra tanks, then replenish Colonel Bere's tank corps with one or two hundred." ”

"One or two hundred!" Vatutin, hearing my lion's big mouth, smiled wryly and said, "You think our tanks are produced. Like toasted bread, is it dozens or hundreds of toasts? No, resolutely not. I'll give you a maximum of thirty tanks. And it's all T-34s, and there is not a single tank of the new type. General Kravchenko's tank corps was the same, replenishing them with seventy vehicles, all of which were T-34 types. ”

Vatutin's words confused me, because I had heard Ustinov say that after the mass production of the T-54/55 tank began, the production line of the T-34 tank was completely stopped. Why are the tanks that are now replenished to the troops all T-34s? With this question in mind, I asked, puzzled, "Comrade General." I wonder why there is not a single new tank? ”

"There are new tanks, but in the current situation, they cannot be equipped with troops in large quantities for the time being." Vatutin continued: "That is, in the next year or two. Tanks used by our tank forces. Or mainly T-34. ”

After listening to his words, I became more and more confused, "Comrade General, I don't understand. Why are there new tanks, but why are they used to equip the troops, or the old T-34? ”

"Don't you understand?" Vatutin said helplessly: "It is not enough to produce artillery shells for the new tank. If the whole army is equipped with new tanks, how can there be so many matching shells? A tank without shells, no matter how advanced. On the battlefield, it is also a target for the enemy. ”

"Oh, I see." Vatutin's words. It made me understand that for a long time to come, the Soviet tanks would still only be played by the German Tiger tanks.

"Don't sigh, Comrade Oshanina." Probably sensing my disappointment, Vatutin continued: "I have another good news to tell you, this time at least two full divisions of assault rifles will be equipped for your army, and as for ammunition, you don't have to worry, it is guaranteed that it will be supplied to you openly. ”

"Great, that's great, comrade general." To be honest, in the next series of battles, it is the infantry who will play the leading role, and only by improving their equipment will the combat effectiveness be able to make a qualitative leap. So I was especially happy when I heard that we would be equipped with two divisions of assault rifles.

As soon as I put down the phone, I instructed Akhromeyev: "Major, immediately call the division commanders of the divisions and ask them to come here for a meeting and announce to them about the reorganization of the troops. ”

After listening to my instructions, Akhromeyev asked me for instructions: "Comrade commander, Colonel Baksov, commander of the 67th Guards Division, returned to his command post yesterday because his injuries have basically healed. I wonder if I should inform him to come to the meeting, or Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov? ”

"Two people inform together." In order for him to understand what I meant, I also made a point of explaining: "Although Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov has a low rank, in the recent period he has been commanding the 67th Guards Division, and in many cases, he knows better than Baksov. ”

"Yes, I see." Akhromeyev said yes and went to call.

An hour later, the division commanders who had been notified arrived one after another. After everyone entered the door, they saluted me and began to mumble quietly: "Call us here at this time, I don't know what is the matter?" ”

"Maybe it's because we want to continue to consolidate our defensive zone and prepare for a protracted war with the Germans?"

Although I was sitting not far from them, no one dared to ask me or the other headquarters personnel, so they could only sit in the lower seat and whisper and speculate.

Baksov, who came last, saw that the headquarters was almost full of people as soon as he entered the door. So he searched around with his gaze, trying to find out from his acquaintances what was the matter with me calling a meeting of all the division commanders at this time. Then the division commanders who came earlier than him still knew nothing, and in the face of his consultative gaze, they could only shrug their shoulders and spread their hands, indicating that they didn't know anything.

Seeing that all the people who should have come were ready, Bezkov stood up and announced loudly: "Comrade commanders, since everyone has arrived, we will officially meet next." ”

Hearing him say this, the headquarters suddenly became silent. Bezikov continued: "Next, Comrade Commander, please announce to you the order for the formation of the 22nd and 23rd Guards Infantry Corps. ”

When they heard that a new Guards Infantry Corps was going to be formed, the commanders below couldn't help but be stunned, but everyone knew that they couldn't talk casually at this time, so they had to look at each other and cast a meaningful look at each other. After standing up and scanning my gaze over each of the commanders who had arrived, I picked up the telegram on the table and began to read it: "According to the order of the superiors, from now on, the divisions of our Sixth Guards Army will be organized into two Guards Corps: the 22nd Army and the 23rd ......Army."

When I finished reading the order for the reorganization, I put the telegram on the table and casually asked: "Comrade commander, does anyone have anything to say?" ”

As soon as the words fell, the commander of the 52nd Guards Division, Nekrasov, stood up and asked respectfully: "Comrade commander, our division suffered great losses in the defensive operations some time ago. The fighters were reduced by one-half, and the commanders by a third. I wonder when we will be able to replenish our troops and weapons and ammunition consumed in battle? ”

When I heard his question, I knew that it was a problem that existed to varying degrees in all divisions of the group army, so I didn't answer him directly, but looked at everyone and asked, "Do you all have the same problem?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The commanders of the divisions sitting below replied neatly.

"Don't worry," I immediately reassured them when I heard that everyone had the same question: "After receiving the order for reorganization, I also asked the commander of the front army about this matter. "At this, I couldn't help but smile on my face," said Commander Vatutin, adding that in addition to replenishing each division with 10,000 soldiers, he would also replenish us with 20,000 assault rifles. As we all know, this assault rifle is a good thing, whether it is positional warfare or street fighting, it is much stronger than the submachine guns and rifles we use now. ”

"But, Comrade Commander," said I had just finished speaking, when the new commander of the 23rd Guards Infantry Corps, Tavart Kiradze, stood up and asked me in embarrassment: "20,000 assault rifles are obviously not enough for so many of our divisions. Which two divisions are you going to equip first? ”

Instead of answering his question immediately, I turned my head to look at Danilov, who was sitting next to me, and said to him with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the distribution of assault rifles is still up to you." ”

Since before the arrival of the division commanders, we had a detailed discussion on the distribution of rifles, and we felt that in order to level the bowl of water, it was better for each army to have one division. In the end, it was decided to equip the assault rifles with the 51st Guards Division and the 67th Guards Division, because these two divisions fought the hardest battles and suffered the greatest casualties in the early battles. After replenishing a large number of recruits, if there are good weapons, there will also be many benefits to the improvement of the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Therefore, when Danilov gave the reason for the priority of the two divisions to be equipped with assault rifles, all the division commanders expressed their understanding and agreed with this distribution scheme of the army group command. (To be continued.) )