Chapter 1868:

  Chapter 1868

Sokov chatted with Izvikov for a few words, then called the commander of the communications company, and told him: "I guess the army headquarters is in the process of being transferred, and you order people to call continuously to see if they can be contacted." them."

   "General Kurishenko!" After the commander of the communications company left, Sokov turned to Kurishenko: "When do you plan to transfer your headquarters to Haixin City?"

   Unexpectedly, after hearing Sokov's question, Kurishenko hesitated for a long time before muttering, "Comrade Commander, I think we need to wait a little longer."

   "Wait any longer?!" After hearing the other party's answer, Sokov asked a little displeased: "What are you waiting for?"

   "The enemy has laid a lot of landmines on the road leading to the city." Kurishenko replied cautiously: "If we go to the city at this time, I am afraid it will be dangerous."

"General Kurishenko, before I came to you, I did see engineers clearing mines on the road." Sokov said with a straight face, "But I have already told them that the easiest way to deal with the infantry mines planted by the German army is to Just use tanks to crush it from above. I think the mines are almost cleared at this time, if you are worried, you can call and ask about the situation."

"Okay, Comrade Commander, I'll check the situation right away." After Kurishenko finished speaking, he told Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please call and ask the engineers to see if all the landmines planted by the German army have been cleared." eliminate."

   A few minutes later, Sidolin reported to Kurishenko after finishing the phone call: "Comrade Commander, I have already checked the situation with the engineers, and they said that all the landmines on the road have been cleared. Shall we go to the city of Haixin now?"

  In all fairness, Kurishenko is not willing to go to Haixin. Although that environment is better than the forest, he feels that the Germans are not willing to give up the city so easily and will definitely counterattack. If you recklessly move the headquarters to the city, what if your troops can't hold it when the German army counterattacks? Is it time to retreat out of the city in despair?

  Sokov saw Kurishenko's hesitation, so he asked with a straight face: "Why, General Kurishenko, the mines on the road have been cleared. Is there any reason why you don't want to enter the city?"

  Seeing that Sokov had guessed his thoughts, Kurishenko had an embarrassed expression on his face. However, he could afford to put it down, and quickly said: "Comrade Commander, I am considering where to set up the headquarters after entering the city."

   "Isn't that simple." Sokov replied without hesitation: "Look at the churches and municipal buildings in the city center, and set up the headquarters there if you think it is suitable."

Seeing that Kurishenko was still hesitating, he added: "When I get in touch with the Army Group Command, I will order Chief of Staff Smirnov to set up the headquarters in Haixin City, which will make it easier for me to command the troops. fight."

  Now that Sokov has already said this, Kurishenko can't continue to prevaricate, so he can only bite the bullet and say: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will immediately transfer the division headquarters to Haixin City."

   After Kurishenko expressed his position to Sokov, he immediately organized staff to start preparing for the transfer. Sokov didn't intend to act with them, so he turned and walked out of the headquarters. Seeing Sukov leave, Sidolin hurriedly chased him out.

   "Comrade Sidolin," Sokov saw that Sidolin followed him into the room, and asked curiously, "Do you have anything to say to me?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Sidolin nodded, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, and handed it to Sokov, but the latter waved his hand and refused. He put the cigarette case in his pocket and said with a bitter face, "I want to ask, can I be transferred to other units?"

   "Why?" When Sokov said this, he glanced at the wooden house instinctively, and then lowered his voice and asked, "Don't you get along well with General Kurishenko?"

"Mr. Kurishenko has been in the army for more than 20 years, so his command style is still the same as before." Sidolin said: "Although I am his chief of staff, when I usually command operations, the Most of the suggestions put forward will be rejected by him. How the troops fight is basically decided by him alone.”

  Sidorin's words made Sokov fall into deep thought. If Xidolin was the only one, I could transfer him to another division, or even the army headquarters to continue serving as the chief of staff. After all, an experienced and excellent chief of staff like him is in demand everywhere. But now several regiment-level commanders of the division are all students brought by themselves from the Frunze Military Academy. It is obviously unrealistic to transfer them all away.

But Sokov soon had a new idea in his heart. Since Kurishenko still insisted on his old-fashioned tactical thinking, it is obviously inappropriate to keep him in the post of division commander. Find someone to take his place.

   Who will replace him? The first person Sokov thought of was naturally Sidolin. After all, before becoming his partner, this person was General Chuikov's chief of operations, and he had rich experience in commanding operations. But after thinking about it, Sidolin may be an excellent staff member, but he lacks the ability to stand alone. It may not be the best choice for him to be the division commander.

Then he began to consider whether Ponegerin was suitable for this position. Pornegerin was already the commander of the army group at the beginning of the war. Although he was out of touch with society during the two years of being captured, after these few After a month of study, his military command ability has been demonstrated, otherwise he would not have appointed him as a consultant to the student team.

More quickly, Muzichenko and Kirillov, who were rescued with him at the beginning, are now acting as division commanders. It is obviously not good for him to keep him by his side and let him serve as a consultant with no real power. Fair.

  Thinking of this, Sokov let out a long sigh, and then asked Sidolin: "Sidorin, if I let Lieutenant Colonel Ponejielin take the post of division commander, do you think it is suitable?"

   "Lieutenant Colonel Bornegelin?" Sidolin couldn't help being taken aback after hearing this: "Is it General Bonegelin who once served as the commander of the Army Group in the Southwest Front Army?"

   "That's right, it's him."

  After hearing this, Sidolin said thoughtfully: "Although using him as the teacher may cause you some troubles, in any case, his ability is indeed stronger than the current teacher."

  When Sokov proposed the candidate of Pornegerin, he was still quite uneasy, worried that Sidolin would not accept him. If this is the case, even if I forcibly send Pornegelin to the 41st Guards Division, I am afraid that there will be some headaches in the cooperation between the two of them.

But now, the things he was worried about did not appear, and Sokov felt somewhat relieved: "Sidorin, since you also think that Lieutenant Colonel Bonegerin is a suitable candidate, then after he takes office , you must fully cooperate with his work. Do you understand?"

  There is a reason for Sokov to say that. Regardless of the fact that Ponegelin once served as the commander of the group army, but now he is just a consultant with no real power, and he was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel only under his own care. Let him serve as the commander of the Guards Division, and let a colonel like Sidolin serve as his deputy. I am afraid that there will be some contradictions, which is why he said this.

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Sidolin said very cooperatively: "After Lieutenant Colonel Pornejerin becomes the division commander, I will definitely cooperate with him fully. Even if his rank is lower than mine, the division's He has the final say on all matters, big or small."

   After the two stood at the door and chatted a few more words, Sokov got into the jeep and headed for the car.

"Comrade Commander," Koshkin, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, suddenly said, "I think that since the 41st Guards Division is your old unit, you should have found someone you can trust to take up the post of division commander. ..."

Although Sokov has just figured it out, he should first turn the 41st Guards Division into a unit that he can fully control, so that he can exert a stronger combat effectiveness in the next battle, instead of being like it is now. The division commander obediently obeyed his orders and repeatedly missed opportunities.

  However, he didn't want to discuss such an important matter with Koshkin, so he decisively changed the topic: "Lieutenant Koshkin, after sitting in the car for so long today, is your injury okay?"

   Hearing what Sokov said, Koshkin immediately realized that he might be talking too much, so he replied according to Sokov: "It's just a little dull pain, it's okay."

  Sokov thought that since entering the Frunze Military Academy, Lieutenant Koshkin had followed him on horseback. If he hadn't been there for the first two days, his life might have been in danger. In order to express his gratitude to him, Sokov felt that the other party's position should be adjusted.

   "Lieutenant Koshkin, are you satisfied with your current military rank and position?"

   "Satisfied and satisfied." Koshkin nodded and said, "I don't have much leadership ability. I am already satisfied to be the company commander of the guard company."

"I think the position of the security company commander is a bit too low for you." Sokov said, "I think you are completely qualified for the position of the security battalion commander. As for the military rank, I plan to discuss it with the chief of staff. It would be best to award you the rank of captain or even major."

  Knowing that Sokov will promote himself to battalion commander, Koshkin was naturally overjoyed, but on the surface, he still wanted to say a few polite words: "Comrade Commander, I obey your arrangement."

After the convoy entered the city, when Sokov saw the soldiers patrolling along the way, he couldn't help thinking that the division headquarters hadn't moved into the city yet, and these troops were actually scattered. Time to fight back, I am afraid that the city will fall into the hands of the German army again.

   "Stop!" Sokov asked the driver to stop, opened the door, and shouted at the captain of the patrol team passing by: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, which part do you belong to?"

  The officer who was leading a patrol stopped when he heard someone calling him, and looked into the car with vigilant eyes. When it was clear that the person who was asking the question was Sokov, he quickly stood at attention and raised his hand to salute him: "Hello, Comrade Commander! We are from the 3rd Battalion of the 124th Guards Regiment, and we are on patrol mission. Please instruct!"

   "There is nothing to instruct." Sokov signaled the second lieutenant to put down his hand, and asked pleasantly: "Comrade second lieutenant, please tell me, where is your regiment headquarters?"

The second lieutenant hurriedly pointed forward with his hand and said: "Comrade commander, you go along this road, turn right at the second crossroad ahead, and walk more than 30 meters, you will see a Indoor gymnasium, where our regiment headquarters is located.”

   After thanking the second lieutenant, Sokov let the convoy move on. He was going to meet Colonel Starcha in the indoor gymnasium. After all, he hadn't seen the captain for a long time.

  When Starcha saw Sokov appearing in his headquarters, he was stunned. After a long time, he finally regained his strength, and quickly stepped forward to come to Sokov. While saluting, he asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, why did you come to me?"

   "I just came out of your division headquarters," Sokov said to Starcha, "I heard that your regiment command post is in the city, so I came here to see you."

After sitting down, Sokov looked around and found that not only the deputy commander of the regiment, Milesyev, but also the chief of staff, Major Okunev, was gone, so he asked curiously: "Colonel Starcha , your deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Milesyev, is busy outside the city, I know that. But what happened to the chief of staff, Major Okunev, why is he not at the headquarters?"

"Comrade Commander, the situation is as follows." Starcha explained to Sokov: "Not long ago, in the forest outside the city, we liberated a prisoner-of-war camp and rescued more than two thousand prisoners of our army from it. Commanders and fighters. After the division chief of staff, Colonel Sidolin, discussed with the division commander, 1,700 of them were assigned to our regiment."

   "I know about this." Sokov vaguely guessed something from Starcha's words: "Could it be that Major Okunev is not at the headquarters and has something to do with these rescued commanders?"

"That's right." Starcha affirmed Sokov's guess: "After these rescued commanders and fighters were assigned to our regiment, Chief of Staff Okunev was responsible for assigning them to specific companies. He should be working on this right now. And busy."

   "How is the physical condition of these rescued commanders?" Sokov asked, "Can they participate in the battle in a short time?"

"Maybe it's because they haven't been captured for a long time. Their health is obviously better than that of the commanders and fighters who were rescued in the past." Starcha replied: "As long as they have enough food and rest for two days, they can regain their health. Take up arms and fight the Germans, I am sure they will be the best fighters."

  Sokov knew that the addition of these prisoners of war would be of great help to the improvement of the combat power of the 124th regiment. As long as the prisoners of war regained their health and a little training, they would surely be able to establish meritorious service in the next battle.

  The problem of soldiers is solved, but the next thing to consider is weapons and equipment. Without excellent equipment, no matter how brave a soldier is, he cannot win a battle on the battlefield, and can only sacrifice his life in vain.

   "Then the existing weapons and equipment of your regiment, can all the newly added commanders and fighters be armed?"

After a moment of silence, Starcha shook his head and said, "Comrade Commander, I am having a headache about this matter. Our regiment has 1,700 people added at once, but we can only equip more than 300 people with usable weapons. That is, It is said that the remaining nearly 1,400 people can only go to the battlefield empty-handed."

  He looked at Sokov and asked sincerely: "Comrade Commander, can you replenish our equipment as soon as possible?"

"Comrade Colonel, don't worry." Sokov thought that Yakov would return in two days, and he must have enough weapons and ammunition, so he said to Starcha: "In three days at most, I can get you enough equipment."

  (end of this chapter)