Chapter 170 Leading the Team
July 2, 4:12 p.m., Yelets, the headquarters of the Kursk combat direction.
Surrounded by his guards, Zhukov rushed to the communications battalion's base in the rain and handed over a combat order approved by the Supreme Command and signed by the general command of the combat direction to the communications battalion commander Berzovsky.
Subsequently, the communications battalion broke the radio silence that had been maintained for nearly twenty days and used twelve telephones to issue an order to the Central Front and the Voronezh Front: ordering the artillery units of the Central Front stationed in Ponyri, Geniletz, Saborovka and other places, and the artillery units of the Voronezh Front stationed in Belgorod, Berezov, Butovo, Shaupino and other places to launch artillery attacks on the German defense lines at the front of their respective positions at 1:30 am on July 3. The artillery attacks would last for one and a half hours, and the standard amount of artillery attacks would be 1 base number.
After several consecutive confessions from captured prisoners, as well as information obtained by the intelligence department and confirmation from multiple sources, the Soviet General Staff finally determined the specific time of the German attack to be 3 a.m. on July 3.
With this accurate schedule, Zhukov called Stalin in Yelets and proposed to carry out large-scale artillery counter-preparation against possible German gathering areas one hour before the German army officially launched the attack.
After a brief hesitation, Stalin directly approved Zhukov's request over the phone, and the order was immediately passed down by Zhukov to the two major front headquarters.
A few hours later, at 1:30 a.m. on July 3, in the Berezov area, three flares of different colors broke through the night and soared into the sky. The dazzling flames illuminated the night sky. Then, the roar of artillery fire like earth-shattering and landslides resounded throughout the Vorskla River. In the following hour or so, the entire area east of the Vorskla River turned into a hell on earth. The blazing flames burned in the plain valley area in the pouring rain.
At the same time, from Poneri to Shaupino, from Belgorod to Saborovka, more than 5,000 artillery pieces of the Soviet army fired simultaneously on the defense lines on the north and south wings of Kursk, raining shells on several areas where German troops were predicted to gather by the General Staff.
Facts have proved that the artillery counter-preparation on which Zhukov placed a heavy bet has achieved miraculous results. In the Boneri area, a tank destroyer brigade of the German Ninth Army suffered heavy losses in this artillery counter-preparation. Before the troops could launch an attack, more than half of their tanks were lost. Only 8 of the 24 newly equipped Ferdinand tank destroyers remained after the shelling.
" ... for the 52nd Infantry Corps, it was a disaster," Gamils Lipstein, a German 52nd Infantry Corps captured in the Battle of Kursk, recalled after the war, "Russian shells rained down on our dense formations. In the first few minutes, we didn't even know what was happening... But this was just the beginning."
The sudden Soviet artillery bombardment disrupted the German offensive deployment. Many assault troops that were ready to be deployed to the battlefield in advance suffered serious damage and had to withdraw from the battle sequence before the offensive was launched. It took time to make new offensive arrangements. In the end, the German offensive time was forced to be delayed by two hours.
At 5 a.m. on July 3, the German army took the lead in launching an attack in the southern area of Kursk, and the large-scale and far-reaching Battle of Kursk finally began .
Later, at 8 o'clock in the morning, Yuri ended his vacation early and flew from the resort of Makhachkala to Moscow on a special plane. Stalin had called him personally an hour ago and asked him to return to Moscow immediately as the Supreme Command had a new task for him.
Yuri boarded the plane at the military airport in Makhachkala and was supposed to arrive in Moscow a few hours later, but the flight was very unsuccessful. The plane he was on encountered a thunderstorm over Tambov and almost crashed. Fortunately, the pilot was experienced and after a long turbulence, the plane successfully landed in Saranska.
It was because of this experience of being in danger at high altitude that Yuri could not overcome his fear of airplanes for a long time afterwards. Every time he took a plane, his heart rate would increase and his breathing would become rapid.
Because of this delay, when Yuri arrived in Moscow again, it was already noon on the 4th. He didn't even return to his apartment, but went directly to the Kremlin.
"The German offensive is very fierce," Antonov was describing the latest battle situation in the Kursk direction in Stalin's office. Next to Stalin's large desk, Yuri was looking at the map with a solemn expression. Every time Antonov spoke, he made a mark on the map to intuitively reflect the situation on the front line.
"On the Voronezh Front's defense line, the German 48th Tank Army has broken through the defense of the 23rd Guards Army and is advancing in the direction of Bykovka," Antonov said. "Golikov has ordered the 23rd Guards Army to move in the direction of Gostishchevo and deployed the main force of the 9th Army to the Bykovka line in an attempt to prevent the German army from breaking through in that direction."
"Comrade Golikov's defensive measures are too passive and too negative," said Sokolovsky, the current commander of the Western Front, who was standing opposite Yuri and also looking at the map on the table. Yuri didn't know why he returned to Moscow at this time and appeared in Stalin's office.
"I think Comrade Golikov should be more proactive in defense. He can mobilize the 2nd Guards Tank Army stationed in Shahovo to Shaupino and attack the attacking German troops from the flank, forcing them to retreat to the rear, thus striving to regain the first line of defense." Sokolovsky said, looking at the map.
Sokolovsky's view can be said to represent the views of most people. Moreover, if Golikov's passive defensive combat method was used before the Battle of Stalingrad, he would probably have suffered a lot. However, in Yuri's opinion, Golikov's combat defense method was obviously the most far-sighted and courageous.
Where is Golikov's current front headquarters? The answer is Berenishino, which is only 60 kilometers away from Bykovka. Between Berenishino and Bykovka, there is only the Luchki Line, which is the second defense line of the Soviet Voronezh Front. This fact means that Golikov planned to stop the German army at the second defense line.
"I think Comrade Golikov's decision is in line with the actual situation," Yuri said, pointing to the map . "At this stage, our army's combat goal is to wear down the German offensive forces in defense, so as to create the most favorable conditions for the subsequent counterattack."
This simple sentence attracted the attention of everyone in the office. Yuri continued, "I think Comrade Golikov's current operational plan is well thought out. The transfer of the 23rd Guards Army to Gostishchevo is actually a tactical variation of gradually blocking the enemy during the retreat. In this way, more troops can be concentrated in the direction of the German assault, thereby strengthening our defense line more effectively. As for the 2nd Guards Tank Army deployed in the direction of Shahovo, it should be an assault corps in Golikov's hands. Its role should be to launch an assault on the rear of the German army after the German army is delayed or dragged down."
According to Yuri's explanation, everyone looked at the map again. Indeed, no one could rule out the possibility that Golikov had arranged the battle in this way. Moreover, this battle plan had a strong sense of hierarchy. In the Luchki offensive direction alone, the German 48th Tank Army responsible for the attack had to face the Soviet army's several defensive lines , and each line of defense was stronger than the previous one. In terms of defensive operations alone, no one could do better than this.
Of course, the German army could also abandon the attack on Luchki and instead detour to the rear of Luchki via the Beskov direction, but Golikov had already deployed the front artillery on the west bank of the Vorskla River. This meant that the German attack in that direction would not only face heavy resistance from the 9th Guards Army, but also have to withstand the fierce attack from Soviet artillery fire on the other side of the Vorskla River.
At this point, everyone present, including Stalin, had no objection to the combat situation of the Voronezh Front.
In fact, Yuri was not clear about what Golikov's battle plan was. As the commander of the front, he did not report to the Supreme Command on the specific command of the operation. Otherwise, he would not have to write this card and just write the report.
However, Yuri had to speak for Golikov at this time. The reason was very simple. The battle plan of first defending and then counterattacking was proposed by him. He also emphasized this battle plan to Golikov when he inspected the Voronezh Front. Now, Golikov undoubtedly arranged the defense according to his battle ideas. If he couldn't stand up and speak at this time, it would be really too bottom-line-the process of being a politician is actually the process of leading a team. If you always shrink your head and always push the dead ghost away from your side, then people's hearts will be scattered, and the team will be difficult to lead.
Since the great defeat in the Battle of Kiev, Stalin has rarely decided on a military action on his own. Now, he relies more on his staff and the General Staff. Many times, when judging a resolution, he will gather generals with different opinions together, like he does now, to decide the final decision through discussion.
And today, Yuri apparently convinced him again, otherwise Golikov, who performed poorly in the Kharkov offensive, might really be in trouble.
