Red Moscow

The 18th Guards Army was stationed in the Safran area within the specified time.

Kurishenko's 41st Guards Division was at the forefront, less than two kilometers away from the German defense line. Behind them is the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, and behind them is the 4th Guards Airborne Division and the Army Command.

That night, Sokov appeared at the army headquarters. Along with him, there are Ponedelin, Muzichenko and more than 20 students who have not been assigned. The temporary staff group formed by them will follow Sokov until the end of the Uman battle. .

Seeing Sokov's appearance, Afunin hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. After raising his hand in salute, he asked in surprise, "Comrade Commander, why did you come to my place?"

"In two days, we will launch an attack on the Uman Group of the German army." Sokov said: "The headquarters is more than a hundred kilometers away from the front line, and it is impossible to finish what happened on the front line in time, so I established a Advance to the headquarters, come to your place to command the battle."

Hearing that Sokov wanted to come to him to command the battle, Afunin showed a troubled expression on his face. He was worried that if Sokov really set up the forward headquarters here, his army commander would become a decoration.

Fortunately, Sokov saw his embarrassment, and then said: "General Afunin, don't worry, I will not set up the forward headquarters in your army headquarters, it will interfere with your command. My The headquarters will be located not far from here, and you can contact me by phone if you need anything."

Afuning breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, are the guards accompanying you enough? If not, I will send you a guard company here."

"I came out here with only one guard company, under the command of Lieutenant Koshkin." Using a company's strength to protect the forward headquarters of the army group is indeed a little small, so facing Afunin he showed Sokov readily agreed: "I accept your kindness. Let your subordinates report to Koshkin later."

After Sokov sat down at the wooden table, he began to ask about Afunin's defense situation: "General Afunin, have your troops arrived at the designated positions?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Afunin quickly pushed the map in front of Sokov, and introduced to him the deployment of the Guards: "The 41st Guards Division was the first to enter the Safran area. The situation must be clear to you, so I won’t repeat it here. One kilometer behind them is the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, and the 8th and 10th regiments of the division are in the front. The 2nd regiment and the artillery As the second echelon, the regiment is placed at the left rear of the main force of the division..."

"Wait a minute, General Afunin." Hearing this, Sokov quickly interrupted Afunin: "I want to ask about the strength of the artillery regiment of this division?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Afunin was taken aback for a moment, then understood what the other party meant, and hurriedly replied: "The artillery regiment of this division has 33 cannons of different calibers, including 24 76.2mm cannons and 9 122mm cannons. Door."

Sokov nodded slightly after listening: "The firepower is good. What about the artillery regiment of the 4th Guards Airborne Division?"

"They have fewer guns," said Afunin. "Although there are still 24 76.2-mm guns, because one of the artillery battalions is equipped with 152-mm heavy guns, there are only three guns. There are 27 guns in the regiment. Door."

"General Afunin, listen." Sokov waited for Afunin to finish speaking this time, and said: "According to my estimation, before we launch an attack on the German Uman Army, the Germans may attack The defense zone of the 41st Guards Division launches an attack, and may need artillery support from friendly forces at that time, and you will be responsible for coordinating this matter."

After figuring out what was going on, Afunin stated to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the 41st Guards Division is also a unit under my command. When they are attacked by the Germans, I will definitely order other units to serve them. provide the necessary support."

After saying this, he paused for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, do you really think that the Germans will attack Safran in these two days?"

"That's right, General Afunin." Based on his rich command experience, Sokov felt that after the Germans were driven away from the Safran area by the 41st Guards Division, they would definitely not be reconciled. Launch a tentative attack on Safran to determine if heavy forces should be deployed in this area. "I think by tomorrow at the latest, the Germans will launch an attack on the defense area of ​​the 41st Guards Division. You must prepare for the battle in advance, so as not to surprise the Germans."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Afunin felt that Sokov's worries were unfounded, so he said disapprovingly, "If the Germans dare to attack rashly, we will definitely give them a head-on blow."

Sokov couldn't help frowning after hearing this. He felt that Afunin seemed to be underestimating the enemy, and it was easy to suffer in this way, so he reminded the other party: "General Afunin, although our army is gathering in the Uman area, the German army is still there. Don't underestimate the strength of our army's attack, otherwise we will suffer a lot in the next battle."

Afunin blushed, and replied with some embarrassment: "You are right, I will remind the commanders below to be vigilant, so as not to be caught off guard by the Germans because they underestimate the enemy."

Sokov stayed with Afunin for almost an hour before Ponedelin appeared at the headquarters. He reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the forward headquarters has been built, you can go there."

The first thing he did when he came to the forward headquarters, Sokov told a cadet in charge of communications: "Please pick up the commander for me, and talk to Chief of Staff Smirnov."

The trainee staff officer agreed and immediately helped Sokov get through the phone. Soon, he handed the microphone to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the call has been connected."

Sokov thanked him, then put the receiver to his ear, and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is Sokov."

"Hello, Comrade Commander." Smirnov on the other end of the phone asked with concern: "Have you reached the Safran area?"

"Yes, I've arrived. I'm staying at my forward headquarters at the moment." After a brief reply, Sokov asked bluntly, "Has the 49th Infantry Corps arrived in Velishanka?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, they have arrived at the designated location an hour ago." Smirnov said, "At this moment, we are hurrying to build the fortifications. I estimate that all the fortifications will be completed by this morning. "

Sokov was silent for a moment, then asked again: "Is there any news about Colonel Yakov?"

"Comrade Commander, I'm about to tell you about this." Smirnov said: "Colonel Yakov and his hovercraft unit have returned and brought a second batch of weapons and equipment. Some of them are left for After receiving the weapons of the 116th Division, he took the remaining weapons and rushed to the Safran area."

"This is really great." Sokov learned that Yakov was coming towards his area with weapons and equipment, and he couldn't help but feel secretly happy. As soon as the weapons arrive, they can be equipped to the combat backbones of the 41st Guards Division, thus Improve the combat effectiveness of troops: "When will they arrive?"

"It's hard to say," Smirnov said, "Maybe we can arrive before dawn, or we may have to wait until noon tomorrow."

"Also," just as Sokov was about to put down the phone, Smirnov suddenly said hesitantly, "This time there is another important person who went to your place with Colonel Yakov."

"Important person?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Who? Marshal Zhukov, or Marshal Vasilevsky?" In Sokov's mind, only these two marshals are the most likely to come to him here.

"No." Unexpectedly, Smirnov said unexpectedly: "It's General Stemenko, the deputy chief of staff and chief of operations. He came here from Moscow to see you."

"The Chief of Operations came to see me in person?" Sokov thought of the meeting he had with Shtemenko in the hospital. The other party wanted him to work in the General Staff Headquarters. Could it be that he came to the front this time to bring up old stories? He tentatively asked Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you know why he is here?"

"I don't know." Smirnov replied very simply, "He only said that he came to our army with Colonel Yakov this time, and he came to see you specially. But I don't know exactly what his purpose is. .”

Sokov became apprehensive. If Shtemenko came this time to invite himself to join the General Staff, it would be difficult to refuse like last time. After all, a person of his status cannot go to the front line without the permission of the Supreme Command. In other words, he came to see him this time, maybe he got the acquiescence of the Supreme Commander himself.

After seeing Sokov put down the phone, Ponegerin looked absent-minded, and hurriedly asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you, are you feeling unwell?"

"No, General Ponedelin." There are no outsiders here, and the staff members can be regarded as Ponedelin's students, so Sokov is a bit casual in addressing: "Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations, enter Shtemenko Will, come to the front with Colonel Yakov. It will arrive at our place by noon tomorrow at the latest."

"General Yeremenko, deputy chief of the general staff?!" When Ponejielin heard the name, he also showed a surprised expression on his face: "What is he doing here?"

"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and replied truthfully, "I just asked the chief of staff, and he said that General Stemenko didn't explain why he came."

Anyway, the answer will not be revealed until Shtemenko arrives, and Sokov is unwilling to waste time on this kind of thing. He picked up the phone, connected to Afunin's headquarters, and said: "General Afunin , I have something to inform that Colonel Yakov’s hovercraft unit will arrive in the Savka area at dawn tomorrow, or at noon. You must arrange your personnel to prepare for the response, and there must be no misunderstanding.”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." The two airborne divisions under Afunin had received a large amount of weapons and equipment from Yakov. Now that Yakov is coming again, Afunin will inevitably have a feeling Lenovo felt that the other party sent him weapons and equipment again, so he asked cautiously: "I wonder if we have a share in the weapons that Colonel Yakov sent this time?"

"General Afunin," Sokov replied, "the weapons sent this time are mainly used to equip the 41st Guards Division. You know, if they don't have strong firepower, if they want to break through the German defense line, it will be difficult for them." It is undoubtedly to let them go to die. Therefore, the weapons sent this time are all provided to the 41st Guards Division."

Knowing that the two airborne divisions were not qualified to participate in the distribution of weapons, Afunin was somewhat disappointed. But after thinking about it, the 41st Guards Division is also a unit under his command. They have obtained new weapons and equipment, which has improved their combat effectiveness. As the commander of the army, he can still get a lot of the results achieved in the battle.

After trying to understand this truth, he took the initiative to ask Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do you need me to send someone to help the 41st Guards Division carry weapons and ammunition?"

"This is unnecessary." Sokov said: "When the weapons arrive, I will ask Colonel Yakov to deliver them directly to the defense area of ​​the 41st Guards Division, lest they have to deploy a large number of manpower to carry them when they come to collect them." Supplies."

"Do you need to notify him now?"

"Not for the time being." Sokov didn't know when Yakov's hovercraft unit would reach Safran, so he directly rejected Afunin's proposal: "I think it's better to wait for the weapons to be delivered before notifying Kurishin." General Ke, make preparations for receiving it, so as not to cause any accidents when you get it, which delays the time, let him have a happy time."

Yakov came faster than Sokov imagined. Just after nine o'clock in the evening, he showed up at forward command.

"Hello, Misha!" Yakov greeted Sokov, "I'm back!"

Seeing Yakov appearing in front of him, Sokov was surprised: "Yakov, why did you arrive so soon? I thought you would wait until dawn at the earliest."

"That's right, if I travel with the transport ship, I may not arrive until dawn." Yakov replied, "But I came here on an assault hovercraft. Since there are no supplies on board, the speed of the hovercraft is very fast."

Just when Sokov was about to get someone to pour tea for Yakov, he heard the other party continue to say, "Misha, I brought you an old friend."

Sokov, who had learned about the situation from Smirnov a long time ago, naturally knew that the old friend Yakov was talking about should be the deputy chief of the general staff and chief of operations, Shtemenko, but he still pretended to be confused and asked : "Yasha, which old friend is this?"

"It's me, Comrade Sokov." Shtemenko with a big beard came in from outside the house, and said to Sokov with a smile, "I didn't expect me to appear here!"

Although the ranks of both are generals, as the deputy chief of staff and chief of operations, Shtemenko's rank is obviously more valuable. So Sokov took two steps forward, raised his hand to salute the other party, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, welcome to my forward headquarters."

"Hello, Comrade Sokov! We meet again." Shtemenko took Sokov's hand, shook it vigorously and said, "I only knew about you when I wanted to see you with Lunev some time ago." Has returned to the front line without a sound."

Sokov didn't believe what Shtemenko said. You must know that he is a recognized living file. No matter he can name the 300 division commanders in the army, he can clearly remember what happened in each division unit that day after reading the battle report. How could Stemenko, the deputy chief of staff, not know about the appointment of personnel at the regiment level?