Red Moscow

There were so many people who came to the meeting room that there was simply no room in the headquarters, so Sokov changed the meeting place to a nearby church. In the spacious hall of the church, more than 100 commanders are seated and it does not look crowded.

For this sudden military meeting, the commanders who came to the meeting were all at a loss. They secretly guessed in their hearts, why did the commander call all the officers above the regiment level for a meeting?

Some officers immediately thought of the fact that Sokov ordered the troops to distribute ammunition and enter a state of combat readiness the day before yesterday. Could it be that the superiors began to pursue responsibility and Sokov planned to withdraw the original order? But it’s not like that. If that’s the case, it’s enough to use the name of the headquarters to notify the divisions and brigades. There’s no need to call all the regimental commanders for a meeting?

Just when everyone was thinking wildly and talking, they saw Sameko, the chief of staff of the army group, come to the center, and the whole hall suddenly fell silent.

"Commanders, commanders, I know very well that everyone feels very strange in their hearts. Why did all the commanders above the regiment level suddenly call a meeting?" After Sameko raised this question, he said directly without waiting for everyone to react. The answer came out: "In the early morning of this morning, the artillery of our Central Front Army and the Voronezh Front Army carried out fierce shelling on the enemy's field fortifications, causing great damage to the enemy."

Knowing that the artillery of the friendly army launched a fierce shelling on the enemy's position in the early morning, the commanders in the church became excited after a short period of consternation, and some even asked Sameko loudly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to ask, have our friendly forces launched an attack on the enemy's fortifications?"

"Unfortunately, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Sameko looked at the Lieutenant Colonel who asked the question and said, "The reason why we have to shell the enemy's defense zone is because we have accurate information that the enemy is about to launch an attack, so we are the first to report to the enemy. The area where the enemy has concentrated is firing to disrupt their offensive steps. Regrettably, the enemy is stronger than we imagined, so the Kursk region is in heavy fighting."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, what is our combat mission?" The commanders present immediately guessed that today's emergency military meeting must be related to the ongoing fierce battle in the Kursk region, and asked one after another: "Can we go to Join the fight?"

"Comrades, commanders, be quiet, please be quiet!" Sameko raised his hand and pressed down a few times vigorously, signaling the many commanders to be quiet. After calm was restored in the hall, he continued: "Today we will The purpose of being convened here is to assign combat missions to everyone. As soon as the meeting is over, the vanguard division needs to leave immediately, go to the north of Oboyan, and choose a place to build fortifications there, so as to stop the enemy who may break through our army's defense line."

Ever since Sokov ordered the distribution of ammunition to the troops and put them on combat readiness, the nerves of several division commanders have been highly tense. They have already prepared the troops for departure at any time, and they can start immediately only with an order from their superiors. At this moment, when they heard that Sameko was going to announce which division was the vanguard, everyone couldn't help holding their breath.

"The vanguard is Colonel Khokhlov's 182nd Infantry Division." Sameko said to Khokhlov: "Comrade Colonel, after the convoy sent by the front army arrives, your division will drive away immediately." To the north of Oboyan, choose a suitable terrain to build a fortification. Any difficulties?"

"No." Seeing that Sameko ordered his division to serve as the vanguard, Khokhlov showed a gratified smile on his face, and he replied simply: "Please rest assured, the chief of the army group, we will never let down your trust. .”

Sameko nodded after hearing this, and began to assign tasks to the commanders of several other divisions in turn, explaining to them the time of departure and the location to be stationed.

After explaining the task, Sameko turned around and asked Sokov who was sitting aside: "Comrade Commander, do you have anything else to add?"

Sokov got up and walked to Sameko's side, looked at the commanders present and said, "Comrades, there are only two things I want to say. The first thing is that I ordered the logistics department to make the identity card. Why did it arrive? How many divisions and brigades have not gone to claim it now?"

Major General Gritsenko, commander of the 384th Infantry Division, did not send anyone to the logistics department to collect his ID card. Hearing what Sokov said at this moment, he couldn't help muttering: "Comrade Commander, ID badges are usually used by the Germans. We don't need to use this kind of thing."

The identity tag that Sokov mentioned is the "dog tag" collectively referred to by military fans in later generations, and it is used for identification. However, the Soviet army did not have such a thing. Every commander and fighter carried an ebony tube the size of a cigarette, and there was a note in it, which recorded personal identity information. But this kind of thing is easy to lose, and it is not fire-resistant. As a result, many soldiers cannot be identified because of the loss or damage of the ebony barrel after sacrifice, so that they have to be included in the missing list.

"General Gritsenko," Sokov said sternly when he heard Major General Gritsenko's complaints, "The reason why I let every commander and fighter in the army wear this rush-made ID card is to Make sure that soldiers can quickly confirm their identities through ID cards after sacrifice."

"But, Comrade Commander, we have an ebony barrel." Gritsenko took out a small ebony barrel from his jacket pocket, and said to Sokov, "Our personal information is stored here."

"Comrade General," Sokov said earnestly: "You should know that many of our commanders and fighters feel that putting a note with personal information in the ebony barrel they carry with them will bring bad luck to themselves, so Many people’s ebony barrels are empty. I would like to ask everyone, once a soldier died on the battlefield, and when we collected his body, we found that the ebony barrel he was carrying was empty. How do you identify his ebony barrel? identity?"

Gritsenko said somewhat unconvinced: "We can ask his comrades in arms or fellow countrymen to identify his body and confirm his identity."

"If his comrade-in-arms or fellow countryman also died in the battle, who should confirm his identity?" Sokov felt that many of the commanders present had the same characteristics as Major General Gritsenko. Therefore, he struck while the iron was hot and said: "If you can't identify your identity, according to the regulations, you can only put this person on the missing list. Everyone knows that the families of commanders and fighters who are included in the missing list cannot receive pensions, or even You have to endure other people's eyes, don't you want your family members to suffer the same fate?"

After what Sokov said, Major General Gritsenko immediately realized his mistake, and quickly confessed to Sokov on the map: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I was wrong. As soon as the meeting is over, I will immediately arrange people to go The logistics department will receive the ID card."

Sokov took off his ID card hanging around his neck, and explained to everyone: "comrades commanders, the ID card you are going to wear is composed of two aluminum alloy sheets, which are divided into a main card and a secondary card. The deck has a long 24" aluminum alloy choker, while the deck has a 4" short choker.

The ID card can have the number and name of the unit you belong to. If there is a casualty, our medical staff can easily identify the blood type of the wounded and the name of the deceased according to the records on the ID card, and win time for the quick rescue of the wounded. , to provide a basis for accurate identification of dead bodies. "

"Comrade Commander, I have another question." Major General Gritsenko asked curiously: "If you want to prove the identity of the commander and fighter, one badge is enough. Why do you need to divide it into a main card and a secondary card?"

"When a soldier dies in battle, his comrades or medical staff will put one of the victim's two ID cards into the mouth of the deceased, and the other will be wrapped with the deceased's clothes for the aftermath personnel to pass The records on the identity card are handled properly."

After listening to Sokov's explanation, the commanders present suddenly realized that they finally understood why Sokov used such resources to make a large number of seemingly useless identity cards. If it is true that every commander wears an ID card, then after they die, they can use this ID card to prove their identity and avoid being mistaken for a missing person, thus carrying unreasonable infamy.

After the meeting, seeing that the church hall, which was crowded with people, became empty again, Lunev smiled and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, would you suggest to the commander of the front army that in the whole front army Do you want to implement this kind of identity card within the scope?"

"Not yet, my Comrade Military Commissar."

"Why?" Lunev asked curiously.

"The reason is very simple. Everyone thinks that ID tags are only worn by our enemies—the Germans. If they wear this kind of dog tags like the Germans, they will be very resistant psychologically." Sokov explained to Lunev: "You just saw that although I have issued the order for commanders and fighters to wear dog tags for a long time, there are still several division commanders who have not sent people to collect them."

"After listening to your explanation just now, they understood the importance of an identity card, and they all expressed that they would send someone to collect it as soon as possible."

"I hope so." Sokov didn't know how many people really listened to what he said just now. Maybe many people would not carry the dog tags according to the regulations even if they got the dog tags. He said helplessly: "I have done what I should do. As for whether the commanders and fighters are willing to obey our orders, they can only resign themselves to fate."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko asked, "when will our headquarters move in the direction of Oboyan?"

"We set off with the second echelon." Sokov said slowly, "It is estimated that we will be able to reach the north of Oboyan by the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest."