When General Gottman arrived, the artillery commander of the army group, Colonel Povsky, also came. In order to prevent the Germans from launching another fierce attack on Oboyan during these two days, Povsky usually stayed in Oboyan so that he could command the artillery of the army group there and provide artillery support for Katukov's mechanized Third Army.

Seeing that everyone was ready, I coughed, and then said: "Comrades, before announcing today's combat mission, I would like to talk about the current situation of friend and foe. The German 2nd SS Panzer Army, in the area of Prokhorovka, had a certain advantage, wedged two to three kilometers into the defense zone of the Fifth Guards Tank Army, while also breaking through the defense line of the 69th Army, posing a threat to the flank of Prokhorovka.

In order to reverse this unfavorable situation, I concentrated the 71st and 89th Guards Divisions and the 375th Infantry Division, as well as the 101st Tank Brigade and the artillery units of the Army Group, to counterattack the German troops at Yakovlevo. At this point, I glanced at Guttman and continued with a smile, "Of course, there is General Guttman's tank Sixth Army to cooperate with our operations. ”

"Comrade Commander, may I ask a question?" As soon as I finished speaking, the commander of the 71st Guards Division, Colonel Sivakov, stood up.

"Yes, Comrade Colonel." I said to him in a friendly tone, "Just ask! ”

"Comrade Commander, our 71st Guards Division and the 77th Guards Division, which have always been responsible for covering the right flank of Prokhorovka, have now transferred our division, and once the Germans attack the 77th Guards Division from Prokhorovka, will they be able to block it?"

"Comrade Colonel, you don't have to worry about that." After listening to Sivakov's question, I smiled and said to him, and to everyone: "You may not know that I am southwest of Prokhorovka. General Kravchenko's Fifth Guards Tank Corps was deployed, and as long as they were there, the Germans would not want to enter our defense zone again.

While General Kravchenko was establishing defensive positions, the Germans sent a tank unit in an attempt to destroy our troops who were building fortifications. However, this time they ran into an iron plate, and first the tank battalion of the 101st Tank Brigade destroyed several of their tanks. Then the tanks, anti-tank guns and tanks fired saturation fire at the Germans, completely and cleanly destroying them. That is, the left flank of our troops attacking Yakovlevo is absolutely safe. ”

"Comrade General," General Gutman then said, "on your right flank, there is our Mechanized Third Army and your 90th Guards Division, and with them, your flank must be safe." ”

"For this counterattack, I have already consulted the front command. And it was authorized. "In order not to let everyone have any bad thoughts about this hasty counteroffensive, I made a point of explanation. Then I looked at Povsky and asked: "Comrade Artillery Commander, let me introduce you now, and those places will become your priority targets before preparing for artillery fire." ”

Povsky stood up, walked to the map by the wall, picked up the baton, pointed to it and began to explain: "Comrades commanders. According to our reconnaissance, German units were massing on state farms east of the Oboyan road. At the same time, several nearby villages were also stationed with a number of German troops. In our artillery preparations, these places will become our key targets. Speaking of this, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, "The preparation time for the shelling is thirty minutes, and then the artillery fire will be extended." ”

"Wait a minute, Comrade Colonel." That's just what he said. I couldn't help but interrupt him and put forward my own suggestion in public: "I think that our shelling is not effective, and it may be related to the fact that the Germans have mastered the law of our shelling. So I beg you to adjust the muzzle of the gun to re-bombard the earliest area after five minutes of extended firing. This will make it possible to eliminate as many enemies as possible who have just run out of the anti-artillery holes. ”

After listening to this, Povsky pondered for a moment, then nodded and said: "Comrade commander, this is a good idea. When the Germans saw the extension of the artillery fire, they must have thought that the shelling had passed, and they would run out of their hiding places and prepare to block our troops. At this time, if we suddenly cover this area with artillery fire, we will definitely cause them a lot of losses. ”

After deploying the artillery preparations, I turned to Guttman and said: "Comrade General, your tank corps will charge the enemy's defensive operations five minutes before the end of the shelling. By the time we rushed in front of the enemy, the shelling was over, and before the Germans, who were dodging the shelling, had entered their positions, our tanks had already tore through the gaps in their lines, and then the infantry swarmed up to encircle and destroy the enemy in these positions. ”

"Comrade General," Guttman asked tentatively, "I wonder if our tanks are used intensively, or if they are dispersed among the infantry companies for supporting firepower?" ”

"Needless to say, Comrade General." I wonder about this question about him, isn't his style of combat different from Katukov's? "It must be that all the tanks are used in a concentrated manner, and the attack on the enemy's positions is launched in a wedge formation. In this case, even if there were one or several anti-tank guns on the German positions, they would not be of much use. After our tanks rushed over, they could crush these anti-tank guns with tracks. ”

After the assignment was completed, I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and then said to all the commanders: "Everyone immediately rush back to their respective units and begin to transfer them to the designated starting point for the attack. Our offensive will begin in two hours. ”

The commanders who attended the meeting stood up and saluted me, and then left the headquarters one after another.

Looking at the backs of everyone leaving, Kirillov asked with some concern: "Leda, are you sure that this counterattack will definitely work?" You must know that from the formulation of the plan to the attack of the troops, it was only four hours, and this is a large-scale operation of tens of thousands of people, and there is no mistake at all. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Military Commissar." I nodded gratefully at Kirillov's concern and said with a smile: "Although this counterattack is a bit hasty, it can catch the Germans by surprise." As for the rest of the battle, you can rest assured that Commander Vatutin will not let us suffer, and perhaps he will send an air force or new troops to replenish us when he sees that the war is deadlocked. ”

An hour passed. Sivakov called me and complained to me: "Comrade commander, our division is the farthest away from the starting point of the attack, and it is estimated that it will not be able to arrive within the allotted time. ”

"Comrade Colonel, since there is not enough time. Why didn't you say it when you just had a meeting? Seeing that the battle was about to start, you told me at this time that you could not move your troops to the designated position within the specified time. Sivakov's words made me angry, and I couldn't help yelling at him: "If your troops cannot reach the designated place within the specified time, you will be removed from the post of division commander......

"Leda!" Seeing that I looked like I was in a rage, Kirillov on the other side hurriedly reminded me in a whisper: "Don't forget that you are now the commander of the army group, and you must remain calm at all times." Otherwise, when directing operations, irreparable mistakes will be made. ”

Hearing Kirillov's persuasion, I took a deep breath and waited for my mood to stabilize a little before I said to Sivakov: "Comrade Colonel, I can give you half an hour more, but if your troops do not attack with General Gottman's tank corps on time after the shelling preparations are over." I'm going to remove you from your post anyway. Remember? ”

"Remember, Comrade Commander." Sivakov replied with some flustery.

In order to prevent something like this from happening. I also made a special phone call to Seryukin and Govorunenko to ask if their troops would be able to reach the starting point of the offensive on time. On the phone, both of them assured me with certainty: "Comrade commander, rest assured, our troops will definitely arrive at the starting point of the attack on time." ”

Listened to the replies of the two. My heart suddenly felt much more at ease. As long as these two divisions can enter the position on time, then even if Sivakov's 71st Guards Division enters the position a little later, it will not have much impact on the situation of the battle.

There are many people who are concerned about the progress of the counterattack, such as Vatutin and Katukov, who have been monitoring my preparations. The first person to call was Vatutin, who said to me on the phone, "...... Comrade Oshanina. The operation in the Kursk salient attracted the attention of the Soviet people, who listened attentively to the radio and read the newspapers. They stuck to their posts, worked hard, and made great contributions to the war. Today, trains loaded with tanks, fuel, ammunition and food are heading to Kursk, and newly formed units are rushing to Kursk Oblast on foot. The huge amount of ammunition consumed by our troops in the battle, especially artillery shells, the transportation of Soviet logistics units by car is very busy, they are delivering ammunition by truck to various positions...... "

Hearing what Vatutin said, I secretly muttered to myself, if you could have replenished us with the shells for the new tanks that we urgently needed earlier, the next battle would have been much easier. In particular, the Fifth Guards Tank Army, which was equipped with all new tanks, could rush the enemy's defense line to pieces as long as it rushed towards the enemy in formation.

Then Katukov called again. He asked straight to the point: "Leda, is your counterattack force enough?" ”

Hearing his question, I hesitated for a moment, and then said carefully and carefully: "The troops participating in the counterattack, including three infantry divisions, one tank corps and one tank brigade, plus a large number of artillery regiments, can still form a local advantage. ”

"No, no, no." Katukov said to me uncharacteristically at this moment: "Your current counterattack is still too weak, and if you can't quickly crush the enemy, then the battle will soon be deadlocked." ”

I didn't understand the purpose of Katukov's sudden remarks, so I had to say vaguely: "Comrade General, there is no way, our army group can only draw so many troops at present, and the rest of the troops are entangled by the German army and cannot be transferred for the time being." ”

"Well, I'll give you a little more support to strengthen your counterattack." Katukov said boldly: "To the south of Oboyan, isn't there still your 90th Guards Division, with the arrival of new troops, our strength has been strengthened, even without the help of the 90th Guards Division, we can hold Oboyan." If you want, I'll let this force be rebuilt, and you can use them as reserves. ”

"Great, that's great." To be honest, I had also considered the 90th Guards Division, which was deployed south of Oboyan, before considering the counterattack plan, but I was worried that if this force was withdrawn, it would weaken the strength of the Katukov defensive zone, so I had to selectively ignore the existence of this force. Since now Katukov offered to let them return to the building, I was not hypocritical, so I immediately agreed to it.

The commander of the 90th Guards Division, Colonel Chernov, five minutes before the start of the shelling, came to my headquarters. After entering the door, he saluted us, and then said loudly: "The commander of the 90th Guards Division, Chernov, has come to report, please instruct!" ”

Bezikov had recently had a good relationship with the division commanders below, and after a brief greeting, he pulled Chernov aside and pointed out on the map the areas where the troops should be stationed immediately.

After looking at the map, Chernov looked back at me and asked: "Comrade commander, won't our division participate in this counterattack?" ”

"Comrade Colonel, don't worry, don't worry about not fighting." I saw his anxious look, and hurriedly comforted him and said, "Since your division has just fought a fierce battle two days ago, I don't plan to let you participate in the attack as the first echelon for the time being. Rather, as a reserve for the army group, wait until the counterattack battle enters a stalemate, and then throw you into battle. ”

Danilov suddenly said thoughtfully: "Comrade commander, since the goal of our counterattack operation is to restore the front to the state it was before July 5, why don't we tell this plan to the 51st, 52nd and 67th Guards Divisions that remain in the first line of defense?" If we could get their cooperation, the Germans would have retreated faster under our flank attacks. ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." As soon as Danilov's words were finished, Bezikov chimed in: "Why didn't we think of the three divisions left behind in the first line of defense? Even if they only sent one regiment, it would be enough to plunge the Germans into complete disarray. At this point, he paused for a moment and asked me tentatively, "Do you need me to send a telegram to the three division commanders?" (To be continued.) )

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