When Kravchenko heard me say this, he hurriedly stood up and said with a serious expression: "General Oshanina, I obey your command, please give an order!" ”

I didn't directly explain to him what task I was going to perform, but instead diverted the topic and asked: "Comrade General, how many tanks do you still have, and how much ammunition and fuel do you have left?" ”

"After the restoration, the number of tanks that our army can use now is 136, of which only 21 are T-34s, and the rest are new tanks." Kravchenko, who was well acquainted with the situation in his own troops, immediately said without hesitation the data that I wanted to know: "There is still fuel left. As for ammunition, as you know, the new tank uses a 100mm smoothbore gun, which does not match the shells from the previous stockpile, and must be replenished from the rear. ”

When I heard Kravchenko say that there were more than a hundred tanks, I was still in ecstasy, but when I heard it, my heart suddenly cooled in half. If the new tank does not have supporting ammunition, how can it fight, and we can't let our tankmen drive the tank to hit the German Tiger tank, right?

I had thought that if the German panzers were to advance into the Prokhorovka area, they would have to find a place to camp in the middle of the night, so I could concentrate the tanks of Colonel Bere's 10th Tank Army and Kravchenko's 5th Guards Tank Army and launch a night attack on the German troops in the camp. In this way, even if you can't completely destroy the enemy, you can still kill a lot of their tanks. But now my plan has come to naught because Kravchenko's troops are short of ammunition.

I turned to Bere, who was standing next to me, and asked: "Comrade Colonel, how many tanks do you have there?" ”

"After the fighting, the 101st tank brigade currently has 28 tanks." Colonel Bere replied clearly and articulately: "Of these, there are eight T-34 tanks, and the rest are new tanks." At the moment the tank has sufficient fuel, but the number of shells is limited, and the armor-piercing shells have all been used up. High-explosive shells currently have only three rounds per vehicle. ”

Hearing this, I turned my head and asked Bezikov: "Chief of Staff, have any vehicles transporting supplies come recently?" ”

"Nope." Bezkov replied with a bitter face: "Perhaps the logistics department at the higher level thinks that we have been engaged with the enemy only infantry and artillery recently, so the ammunition delivered to the front line is either artillery shells or bullets for all kinds of guns. As for tank shells," said it. He shrugged his shoulders, "That's not a haircut." ”

"Immediately call the logistics troops in Kursk and tell them that we urgently need a large number of new tanks with supporting ammunition, and ask them to organize a convoy to send it to me overnight." After I finished speaking, I gently pushed Bezzikov's shoulder: "Hurry up and call, Comrade Chief of Staff, this matter cannot be delayed." ”

"General Oshanina," Kravchenko asked curiously, "can I ask what the tasks of our army are?" ”

"Comrade General. Please come here. I brought Kravchenko to the table, pointed to the map on it, and said to him: "Judging by the current situation, the next step of the German army will definitely be to concentrate superior armored forces and break through to the Prokhorovka area. Although the troops currently stationed there are the troops of Lieutenant General Rotmistrov Tank Corps, the combat effectiveness of the tank army is second to none in the Steppe Front, and with them holding on to Prokhorovka, the Germans will not take advantage of anything.

I was going to do that. Be prepared to concentrate all the tanks of your tank corps, and the 101st tank brigade of Colonel Bere. Take advantage of the night to launch an attack on the German camp. Consume their strength in the field as much as possible. ”

Kravchenko stared at the map and thought for a while, nodded, and said, "General Oshanina, this plan of yours is good. The Germans, after the day's fighting, must have been exhausted in the face of our attacks at night. Their resistance will be insignificant. I don't understand, though, why would you abandon this plan? ”

"No way, Comrade General." I looked at him and smiled bitterly and said, "Your army has very few tank artillery shells left, and to deal with the enemy's troops, you can crush them forward with full horsepower." But met the tanks of the Germans. Not to mention the Tiger tank, even if it is the third or fourth tank, you can't deal with it, you can't let your tankers drive the tank into the enemy, right? ”

Just as I was sighing, I suddenly heard Kravchenko say: "General Oshanina, it is certainly impossible for hundreds of tanks to attack at the same time in the short term, because we don't have so much ammunition. But if you only attack with a small force, you can still guarantee enough ammunition. ”

Kravchenko's words stunned me for a moment, and I thought to myself, could he have an omnipotent treasure chest in his hand that could conjure anything we wanted? Thinking of this, I couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade General, I don't know where you can find the supporting ammunition that the troops need?" ”

Kravchenko, who was full of smiles, heard me ask, and his smile suddenly froze on his face. After a long while, he said with a smile: "General Oshanina, although the shells of the new tank are limited, if we gather all the shells and give them to the tanks that go out on duty, it will be more than enough." ”

After listening to his explanation, I raised my hand and slapped my forehead hard, and laughed embarrassedly. That's right, and if you gather all the shells and give them to some of the tanks, you will be able to ensure that each tank participating in the battle has enough shells to use. How could I not have thought of such a simple question.

It turned out that Kravchenko's tank corps could solve the ammunition problem on its own, so what about Colonel Berey's tank corps? Thinking of this, I deliberately asked Bere: "Comrade Colonel, if you concentrate all the shells of the new tank, how many tanks can be satisfied?" ”

"One." Colonel Berey held up a finger and gave me a chilling answer.

I was deeply afraid that the shells of Kravchenko's troops would only be enough for a few tanks, so I hesitated and asked: "Comrade General, how many tanks can your tank corps meet?" ”

Kravchenko counted his fingers for a while, and then replied to me: "Report to Comrade General, our existing artillery shells can meet the standards for the use of 19 tanks. ”

Due to the lack of ammunition, the combined number of tanks that the two tank units could put into battle was only a handful of twenty. I began to think about it. What kind of threat can be posed to the enemy in a night attack with these tanks.

Seeing that I was staring at the map in a daze, Danilov touched me with his elbow and asked in a low voice: "Comrade commander, what are you thinking about?" ”

"I'm thinking about how to use these tanks rationally and disrupt the enemy's offensive ranks." I casually said, "It's only twenty tanks, which is a little less." If they did encounter the main force of the German armored forces, they had little chance of escaping. ”

"Comrade commander, in fact, in addition to new tanks, we also have quite a few T-34 tanks." Colonel Bere smiled and said to me: "The ammunition of these tanks, even if they were to aim at the German camp and bomb it all night, would not be able to shoot it all." ”

The speaker has no intention of listening, and Beray may have said this casually, but in my ears, it is a different matter. That's right. How can I just think about the new tank, and forget about the T-34, which repeatedly made great achievements in the Great Patriotic War. You must know that in real history, the Soviet army defeated the German army with the T-34. Although their casualty ratio was a little higher, they were the ultimate victors.

Thinking of this, I gave an order to Bere: "Comrade Colonel, I have decided to combine 21 T-34 and 19 new tanks of the 5th Guards Tank Army, 8 T-34s and 1 new tank of the 101st Tank Brigade into a task force. It is up to you to be the commander of this force. Your task is to take advantage of the cover of the night. Launched an attack on the German camps. Strive to take out as many German tanks as possible and weaken the enemy's superiority in technical equipment. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Colonel Bere, who had been with me for a long time, and was familiar with my preferred tactics, then asked: "If I am not mistaken, you are planning to make this tank detachment of mine." Like the partisans, in addition to night raids on the German camps, they also had to attack ****** lines of communication, cut off their supplies from the front and rear, and make it impossible to transport weapons, ammunition, food and medicine. The wounded who were in urgent need of treatment could not be transported. Comrade Commander, is that so? ”

"That's right, that's what it means." I raised my hand and patted Colonel Bere on the shoulder, and said happily: "As long as we continue to harass the Germans, then they will certainly not be able to concentrate enough forces to attack Prokhorovka." In this way, even if I don't say what the final battle will be, you should know. ”

"Understood." Colonel Bere replied, and then he asked me for instructions: "Do you immediately bring back all the tanks deployed in the Oboyan area?" ”

At that time, I placed the tank units of Bere, Kravchenko and the Guards Division in Oboyan because Katukov's tank corps was entangled by German units, and it was impossible to hold Oboyan with only a few units of the mechanized Third Army. A few hours earlier, I had heard from Vatutin that he was going to send a tank corps to Oboyan overnight, so that there would be no need for my troops to stay there any longer, so it would be a matter of time before they were brought back.

I thought for a moment and said to Bere: "Comrade Colonel, since Oboyan is the defense area of General Katukov, our tank units and guards divisions stationed there will have to be transferred back sooner or later. You go first and order the troops of the 101st Tank Brigade to withdraw first. As for General Kravchenko's tank corps and Colonel Chernov's Guards Division, let's wait for reinforcements to arrive in Oboyan, and then retreat. ”

Danilov picked up the map on the table and asked me curiously: "Comrade commander, there are plains everywhere, where do you think the Germans will camp?" ”

I've been running around a lot these months and know the terrain of the defense zone inside out. I pointed to a few possible camping spots and said, "I think the German camping place should be right here." Colonel Bere could send scouts to reconnoitre, and once he had the exact location of the German camp, he would launch a surprise attack. ”

"In the silence of the night, the roar of the tank motor can be heard from afar." Danilov continued to say worriedly: "If our tank is discovered by the enemy in the process of assault and intercepted with artillery fire, how will we respond? ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you don't have to worry about this." Colonel Beray comforted Danilov and said: "Although the roar of the tank's motor is transmitted farther at night than during the day, as long as it exceeds a distance of two kilometers, the other side cannot hear it." For tanks, a distance of two kilometers, it only took a few minutes to rush through, and in such a short time, the Germans did not have time to put their artillery in place, and our tanks rushed in front of them. ”

Danilov, after hearing the explanation of the professional Bere, nodded with relief and said: "If that's the case, then great. ”

"Alright, Comrade Colonel, you first consult with Kravchenko about how to take over those tanks of his." After waiting for Beray and Kravchenko to come to the side to discuss, I asked Bezikov, who had just finished making the call: "Chief of staff, what did the logistics department say, when will the shells we need be delivered to us?" ”

Betzikov shook his head and said: "The logistics department says that the recent battles have been fierce, and the shells of the new tank are depleted quickly. At present, they have received an order to give priority to the supply of Rokossovsky's Central Front, and we will not have new shells until at least the 10th. ”

Hearing Bezikov say this, I was really angry, but there was nothing I could do. This logistics department is also really, knowing that our tank units here are equipped with so many new tanks, but they want to temporarily interrupt the supply of supporting ammunition, isn't this tantamount to making our tank units lose their combat effectiveness in disguise? However, this matter, not to mention that Vatutin can't handle it, it is estimated that even if Zhukov doesn't talk about it, it will definitely have to be said by the person in charge of Moscow.

I sighed and said helplessly to Bezikov: "Forget it, Comrade Chief of Staff, since the logistics department wants to give priority to the supply of ammunition from the side of the Central Front, let them go." During this time, we can only temporarily reduce the use of tank forces, or continue to rely on the existing well-established defense system, using artillery and infantry to massively deplete the German army's living forces. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Bezikov also sighed, and said helplessly: "It seems that it can only be like this." It is hoped that the logistics department will resume the supply of our ammunition as soon as possible, otherwise our new tanks will become a pile of scrap metal. (To be continued.) )