Red Moscow

It stands to reason that Sukov is now the commander of an army group commanding tens of thousands of people, so there is no need to meet a lieutenant in person. But the reason why he decided to meet Lieutenant Serelkov, who was about to come to October Town, was entirely because of his performance on the battlefield.

As a commander who has participated in countless battles, Sokov knows how difficult it is to stand up against the howling bullets. The few seconds you made are the most critical, either driven by a sense of responsibility, muster the courage to stand up to face death; or stay in the trenches, waiting to be wiped out by the rushing enemies.

However, Lieutenant Serelkov chose the former, and led a group of recruits with little combat experience to repel the German attack, which aroused Sokov's great interest. After a long period of fighting, there is a serious shortage of grassroots commanders in the army, and even fewer outstanding talents.

Sokov wanted to have a personal talk with Lieutenant Serelkov to get a good idea of ​​the man's abilities. Although he is a bit older, if he is really an excellent commander, he can be assigned a higher position, so as not to let him delay his future in the security force.

When it was getting dark, the rain finally stopped.

Lieutenant Serelkov, who had just rushed to October Town with his troops, learned that Sokov wanted to see him, so he didn't dare to neglect him, so he let the troops stay not far from the church, and he was alone under the command of the officer who summoned him Go see Sokov.

When he came to the door of the church, he was stopped by a soldier on duty: "Stop, this is the headquarters of the group army, and no one else is allowed to enter."

"I mean Comrade Warrior," Serelkov, who was covered in mud, didn't get angry after being stopped. Instead, he smiled and said to the other party: "We are not idle people. We have just been transferred from the 182nd Division. Troops to enrich the security force of the headquarters, please go in and inform us."

Fortunately, the soldier once heard his superior mention this matter, so he did not make things difficult for Serelkov, but asked politely: "Comrade Lieutenant, what is your name?"

"I am Lieutenant Serelkov, from the 182nd Division." Serelkov said to the soldiers in an uncertain tone: "As soon as our company entered the town, a commander came to inform me that the comrade commander wanted to meet me. "

"Where is that officer?"

"Here!" Serelkov pointed to the other side of the church square: "Comrade soldier, have you seen the troops over there? That is the company I brought, and the interrogating officer will stay with them."

The soldier looked in the direction of Serelkov's finger, and there was indeed a group of commanders and fighters there. Judging from their attire, they looked like they had just come from outside the town, so they nodded and said to Serelkov: "Comrade Lieutenant, please Wait for a while, I will go in and report to the officer on duty."

Not long after the soldier entered the church, he came out with an officer.

The officer came to Serelkov, looked him up and down, and said, "Are you Lieutenant Serelkov?"

"Yes, I am Serelkov."

"I am Lieutenant Samoilov, the guard platoon leader. I am waiting for you here under the order of Comrade Commander." After Samoilov finished speaking, he turned his body to one side and stretched out his hand in a gesture of invitation: " Come in, Comrade Lieutenant, Comrade Commander has been waiting for you for a long time."

Under the leadership of Samoilov, Serelkov walked into the church.

After passing through the hall, I came to a corner. There was a long table here, and three or four generals were facing the door with their backs, looking at the map on the table while whispering about something.

Samoilov signaled Serelkov to wait there for a while, then he stepped forward to a general and whispered something in his ear.

When the general turned around, Serelkov immediately recognized that this person was Major General Sokov, the commander of the army group. He quickly raised his hand to his ear and reported loudly: "Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Serelkov, You report, please instruct!"

"Lieutenant Serelkov is here!" Sokov walked over with a smile, and stretched out his hand from a long distance away: "I really didn't expect it. I haven't seen you for a few days. You are now a lieutenant."

Serelkov laughed dryly, and said, "I also happened to make a small contribution, so I got an unexpected promotion."

Sokov held Serelkov in his arms, and lightly patted the back of his hand twice with his free left hand, "Comrade Lieutenant, what you have built is not a small feat. First, you will use a car of vodka in exchange for A carload of German prisoners; and then with a group of recruits who have no combat experience, repelled the enemy's attack, which is really remarkable."

Lunev also came over and shook hands with Serelkov with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant, I am very glad to see you again. I wonder if your rank will be promoted to another level when I see you next time."

"Comrade Military Commissar," Serelkov replied with some embarrassment after hearing what Lunev said, "I was promoted to lieutenant because of a lot of luck. I think it is very difficult to be promoted to another rank." things."

"Lieutenant Serelkov, I don't think it will be a big problem for you to be promoted to one more rank." Sameko who had just walked over said, "Especially in the unit commanded by General Sokov, a unit that often fights In the victorious unit, it will be very easy to be promoted. You may not know it, but two days ago, a battalion commander of the 188th Division was directly appointed as the commander of the infantry brigade."

"The battalion commander was appointed as the brigade commander?" Sameko's words made Serelkov startled. Although the brigade-level combat unit is below the battalion level, the promotion of the battalion commander to the brigade commander is too fast. He thought to himself: "I don't seem to have heard of this matter. Maybe it was Comrade Chief of Staff who comforted me."

Sokov saw the doubts in Serelkov's heart, smiled lightly, and then asked: "Comrade Lieutenant, I want to ask you a question, can you give me a satisfactory answer?"

Serelkov hesitated for a moment, then said: "Comrade Commander, if you have any questions, just ask, and I will answer truthfully. But I don't know if it will satisfy you."

"If the enemy sneak attack, you are not commanding a platoon of recruits, but a group of veterans, what kind of results can you achieve?"

"Comrade Commander, if I were commanding veterans, I would definitely order some of them to hold their ground, while the other part of the soldiers would turn around to the enemy's rear, so that none of them could escape."

Although Serelkov's answer was somewhat routine, he was able to give an answer directly in such a short time, which made Sokov very satisfied.

Sokov immediately made a decision in his heart, he should not let him stay at the headquarters to waste time, or he should be arranged to go to the front-line combat troops, so he said: "Lieutenant Serelkov, I think you should stay with me as the commander. The security work of the Ministry is a bit inferior, I want you to go to the combat army, what do you mean?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Serelkov's expression did not change at all: "Comrade Commander, I firmly obey your arrangement."

"That's good." Seeing that the other party was willing to obey his arrangement, Sokov continued: "Then you take your company and report to Major Guchakov. He is the commander of the newly-built 73rd Infantry Brigade. His headquarters is at the school not far from here, and you can find him there."

After Serelkov agreed, he raised his hand to salute Sokov and the others, then turned and left.

Looking at the back of Serelkov leaving, Lunev asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Commander, what position do you plan to arrange for Lieutenant Serelkov to go to the Guchakov brigade?"

"Since he is a member of Guchakov's brigade, it is up to Guchakov to decide what position he will be assigned."