When the situation south of Kursk was critical, Zhukov, who was in charge of the Central Front, after consulting with the commanders of the three fronts, Rokossovsky, **v and Sokolovsky, decided to launch the Battle of Oryol, codenamed "Kutuzov", on the 12th to launch an attack on the German heavy army group located in the area.

According to the pre-drawn battle plan, the right flank of the Central Front, the Bryansk Front, and the left flank of the Western Front launched an offensive north of Kursk, and with the main forces of the three fronts, the main forces of the three fronts, and at the same time carried out a centripetal assault on Orel from the north, east, and south directions, in order to cut off the German Orel group and annihilate it individually.

In the early morning of the 12th, when the Soviet troops were engaged in a desperate struggle with the German Waffen-SS 2nd Panzer Army in the Prokhorovka area, the three fronts in the north simultaneously launched a two-hour artillery bombardment of the German army.

As is customary, after the artillery preparation is over, the Soviets will launch a full-scale offensive. But shortly after the end of this shelling, the German troops, which were in front of the Central Front, unexpectedly launched a counter-assault.

Rokossovsky was very surprised when he learned of this hour, because during the two-hour shelling, not only did they not destroy the German defenses, but they actually launched a counterattack. However, the counterattack launched by the German army completely disrupted Rokossovsky's deployment, and he had to readjust his forces and technical equipment to cope with the German counteroffensive.

And after Sokolovsky and **v knew that in the area that Rokossovsky was responsible for, the Germans took the initiative, and they both called Zhukov one after another and asked him whether they would attack the German army in Orel according to the plan.

After hearing this, Zhukov said into the microphone with great dissatisfaction: "What's the matter with you, Comrade General?" Now that we have a battle plan, let's attack the enemy at the scheduled time. ”

In this way, the ground offensive on the German army in Orel, in the absence of Rokossovsky's Central Front, unfolded as scheduled. However, their attack was met with stubborn resistance from the Germans. The German Ninth Army relied on a defensive system of cities, forests, rivers and swamps to resolutely resist the Soviet attack.

Fighting is raging to the north of Kursk, while the largest tank battle is being fought in Prokhorovka to the south. Zhukov, having heard that the offensive of the Western Front and the Bryansk Front had been thwarted, was so anxious that he shouted loudly into the microphone: "Immediately throw all your reserves into battle, let the Air Force cover the tank units, launch a surprise attack on the enemy's defensive positions, launch a surprise attack, understand?" ”

Zhukov put down the phone and wanted to complain to Rokossovsky, but he saw that his subordinate was standing not far from him, holding a microphone and giving a series of combat orders to the troops hoarsely.

Zhukov sat down and lit a cigarette, although his eyes looked at Rokossovsky, who was on the phone, but he was thinking about this offensive in his heart, since the Central Front was really missing, would the troops of the remaining two fronts be able to accomplish the operational objectives set in advance?

Rokossovsky saw that Zhukov had been staring at him, thinking that he had something to say, and as soon as he finished the call, he walked in front of Zhukov. He first took the cigarette case that Zhukov had placed on the table, took a cigarette from it, and lit it in his mouth. But before he could take a puff, a hand suddenly reached out next to him and snatched the cigarette he was holding in his mouth.

In his own headquarters, someone dared to snatch a cigarette from his mouth, Rokossovsky turned his head in anger and looked in the direction where his hand was outstretched, only to see a round-faced female military doctor staring at him with an angry face, holding the snatched cigarette in his hand.

It was Carina who snatched the cigarette, and she shouted at Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, your body has not fully recovered, how can you smoke casually?" ”

Hearing Carningna's reproach, Rokossovsky was really a little crying and laughing, and he turned his head to look at Zhukov next to him, hoping that he could say a few words for himself. Who knew that Zhukov forced a smile and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky, I think the military doctor is right, your body has not yet recovered, it is better not to smoke." ”

Knowing that Zhukov was ridiculing himself, Rokossovsky could only nod his head and say: "Well, since the comrade military doctor thinks that I can't smoke, then I won't smoke for the time being." Now you can rest assured, comrade medic. The latter words were said to Carrianna.

A smile appeared on Carenina's tense face, and she immediately retracted it again, and said to Rokossovsky seriously: "Comrade commander, I am doing this for the sake of your health. ”

"I understand, comrade medic." Although Carinna was Stalin's personal medic, Rokossovsky still felt that it was not appropriate for her to stay in the command all the time, because with her rank, many things could not be understood by her. Therefore, after a perfunctory sentence, Rokossovsky politely said to her: "Ganina, we are commanding a large army here, and it is not suitable for you to stay here, you should go to the health unit first, and if there is anything, I will call you again." ”

Although Carina understood that what Rokossovsky said was the truth, she still couldn't stand her face when she was pushed away in front of a group of front army leaders, especially Zhukov. She snorted heavily, then turned and walked into the cabin, carrying her medical kit on her back, and walked out of the headquarters without looking back.

"This girl has a lot of personality." Seeing his back, Zhukov said to Rokossovsky with interest: "I believe that with her by your side, the situation of the first two days will definitely not appear again." ”

Rokossovsky smiled silently, then picked up a copy of the battle report he had just received on the table and read it. At this time, Malinin came over to him and asked for instructions: "Comrade commander, the commander of the Air Force, General Rudenko, called and asked where to throw today, in the direction of Orel, or in the area where our army is fighting fiercely?" ”

"Do you need to ask for advice? Of course, in areas where fierce fighting is taking place. Rokossovsky looked at Malinin and said with a serious expression: "Only when we have air supremacy on the battlefield can we crush the invading enemy as soon as possible and participate in the battle in the direction of attacking Orel." ”

By noon, the Soviet troops were still not making effective progress in the Orel direction. In addition, Zhukov received another report from Vasilevsky, and his face became more and more ugly.

Rokossovsky didn't know why Zhukov was in a bad mood at first, but when he saw the battle report on the table, he immediately understood it, and he comforted Zhukov and said: "Comrade Marshal, are you worried about the fighting in the Prokhorovka region? ”

Zhukov nodded and said sullenly: "That's right, although our army has more tanks than the Germans, judging from the current battle report, our tanks have been destroyed in large numbers, but they have not caused too many losses to the German army." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Rokossovsky comforted Zhukov: "Don't look at the current disadvantage of our army, but this is mainly because the performance of our tanks is not comparable to that of the enemy, and it is inevitable that we will suffer losses when fighting at long distances." However, as long as our army and the German tanks are entangled, with the numerical superiority of our army and the fighting spirit of the commanders and fighters who are not afraid of death, I believe that they will be able to achieve the final victory. ”

For Rokossovsky to say this in such an affirmative tone, Zhukov's curiosity was immediately aroused: "Comrade Rokossovsky, why are you so confident in this tank battle?" ”

"There are many reasons," Rokossovsky said in a careful manner, "and the German armored forces were facing a serious shortage of ammunition and fuel after a period of fighting; Konev's 5th Guards Tank Army, on the other hand, was a unit that had just arrived on the battlefield, they were well-trained, well-equipped, and had plenty of ammunition and fuel. I believe that our commanders and fighters will be able to defeat the German armored forces with an advantage. ”

"Looks like you've got a point." Zhukov nodded approvingly, and then said: "As far as I know, the German Banner Guard Division has been fighting with Vatutin's troops for the past few days, and it is estimated that the officers and soldiers have long been exhausted. The rest of the German army should have been in a similar situation, because of the constant counter-attacks organized by Vatutin, their ability to continue the forward assault has been greatly reduced. I am confident that with the addition of Konev's troops, the unfavorable situation on the southern front will soon be improved. ”

However, he had just been happy for less than two minutes, and when he saw the thick message on the table, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "But the offensive we launched in the direction of Orel has not made any progress so far. Comrade Rokossovsky, it seems that you need to speed up and defeat the attacking enemy and quickly turn to the offensive from the south. Before he could finish his sentence, a staff officer came over and handed him a telegram he had just received.

Zhukov only glanced casually, then got up from his seat and, after a quick glance at the above, excitedly said to Rokossovsky: "The troops of the 11th Guards Army under the command of Comrade Bagramian have successfully broken through the German defenses and are advancing into the depth of the enemy. ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing this good news, Rokossovsky rejoiced: "As soon as our troops break through the German defenses, then it will soon be possible to cut the enemy's line in the Orel direction, and by the time the troops of our front are thrown into battle, the situation will become more favorable to us." ”

Seeing that Zhukov was in a very good mood at the moment, Rokossovsky hurriedly struck while the iron was hot and said: "Comrade Marshal, you haven't eaten anything until now, why don't you hurry up and eat while there is nothing to do now?" ”

"If you don't say it, I forget that I haven't eaten yet. When you say that, I'm really hungry. Zhukov smiled and said, "Hurry up and ask the cook to bring us lunch." ”

……

……

Shortly after lunch, Trubnikov, the deputy commander of the 13th and 70th armies, who was in charge of coordinated operations, called Rokossovsky and reported: "Comrade commander, I have good news for you, that the Germans, who had launched an active attack on our troops, had all withdrawn to their starting positions. ”

"Is this all true?" Hearing that the Germans had stopped their offensive in the direction of the Central Front, Rokossovsky's heart suddenly became agitated, and he nervously asked Trubnikov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I would like to ask, are you capable of launching an offensive against the Germans immediately?" ”

When Rokossovsky said this, the people sitting next to him held their breath and stared at him intently, trying to get an accurate answer from him as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander." After a long time, Trubnikov's voice came out of the microphone, and he said apologetically: "The commanders and fighters have become exhausted after high-intensity fighting. They will be able to continue attacking the enemy if you give the order, but if you do so, they will inflict heavy casualties on the troops. Therefore, I suggest to you that the troops rest for a while and wait until tomorrow to attack the enemy. ”

If Zhukov had not been in the command, perhaps Rokossovsky would have immediately agreed to Trubnikov's request, but at this moment, he could only turn his inquiring eyes to Zhukov on the side, waiting for him to make a final decision.

Zhukov frowned and thought for a while, then nodded at Rokossovsky, signaling that the front-line troops could rest for a day. Seeing that Zhukov agreed, Rokossovsky immediately said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the marshal has agreed to the proposal to let the troops rest until tomorrow morning. I now order you, in addition to reinforcing the fortifications, to contact the comrades of the tank repair factory to repair as soon as possible those tanks that have been damaged in battle, so that they can be of use in tomorrow's attack. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Trubnikov continued: "Due to the early morning shelling and the fierce fighting that followed, the artillery shells were consumed very much, and I suggested that the logistics department of the front army could immediately supply the artillery with sufficient ammunition. ”

"I will immediately inform General Antipenko and deliver the required shells to you immediately." Rokossovsky wrote it down in his notebook and then asked: "Are there any other requirements?" ”

"No, Comrade Commander." Trubnikov said respectfully: "As long as our request can be met, in tomorrow's battle, our performance will not disappoint you." ”

"Good!" Seeing that Trubnikov was so confident, Rokossovsky also felt comforted, he nodded with satisfaction, and said with a smile: "Then I will wait for the news of your victory tomorrow." ”

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