Red Moscow

The conversation between Sokov and Lunev was clearly heard by Smirnov and Gorokhov sitting next to them.

When Sokov put down the phone, Smirnov, who had a close relationship with Ponegerin, couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Commander, what's going on? ?”

"Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov sighed softly, and said helplessly: "He suffered a lot in the German prisoner-of-war camp and suffered from extremely severe rheumatism. Although he was rescued by our army, he underwent Treated accordingly, but somehow it turned into rheumatic heart disease."

"He was diagnosed with the disease just after he was appointed as the commander of the 41st Guards Division." After hearing what Sokov said, Smirnov said worriedly: "It is very bad for his future."

"What did General Lunev say?" Gorokhov was also concerned about Ponedelin's health: "Can you find a suitable doctor?"

"It should be possible." Sokov nodded and said, "In any case, Lunev has now resumed his post as Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. With the connections he has, he should be able to find a few good doctors."

Since Lunev came forward to this matter, the chances of finding a good doctor are relatively high. The three of them did not discuss this matter anymore, but shifted the focus of the discussion to the defense of Otac City.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, in the coming days, we may have to defend against German attacks here. Do you have any good plans?"

"Comrade Commander, I'm about to report this to you." Smirnov pushed a map in front of Sokov and introduced his idea to him: "Now the 41st Guards Division has only one 122nd Regiment Deploying defenses outside the city, I don't think that's enough."

"That's right." Sokov agreed with Smirnov's statement, "Although the 122nd Regiment is building fortifications, their strength is too small and the area they can defend is limited. Even the frontal fortifications No matter how strong it is, if the Germans turn around from the two wings, their connection with the city may be cut off."

"Then should we also transfer the other two regiments of the 41st Guards Division outside the city, and deploy defenses on the left and right wings of the 122nd Regiment?" Smirnov asked tentatively, "Is this possible?"

"No." Unexpectedly, as soon as his voice fell, Sokov simply rejected him: "If we transfer all the guards outside the city, then only some troops directly under the group army will be left. You know There are still 6,000 Romanian troops inside and outside the city, if our army is empty in the city and Germans enter the city to instigate rebellion against the Romanian army, even if only part of the army responds, it will bring us huge troubles.”

Sokov's words made Smirnov realize that he hadn't considered the issue comprehensively enough, and he even forgot that the Romanian army in the city was still an unstable factor. So he waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and asked cautiously: "Comrade commander, which unit do you plan to let be responsible for the defense of the left and right wings of the 122nd regiment?"

"I plan to transfer the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Divisions and let them be responsible for protecting the left and right wings of the 122nd Regiment."

"What?" Sokov's words surprised Smirnov: "Let two Guards airborne divisions guard the left and right wings of a Guards regiment."

"That's right." Sokov nodded first, and then asked back, "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there anything wrong?"

"I think that if all the troops of the 18th Guards Army are placed in Otac, it will inevitably weaken the defensive strength of other areas." Smirnov said cautiously: "If the Germans find our weakness , it will be very detrimental to us to use that as a breakthrough point.”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't need to worry too much." Sokov picked up the red and blue pencils on the table, made a few scribbles on the map, and said: "Look, on our right wing is Trofimenko The Lieutenant General's 27th Army; the left wing is General Koroteyev's 52nd Army. They are following the orders of the Front Army Command and are constantly attacking the Germans in the front. Tell me, in this case, the Germans Where can we find the strength to launch an attack on our left and right wings?"

He put down his pencil, took a sip of tea from the teacup on the table, and continued: "The reason why Marshal Konev ordered us to focus on defense is because he wants us to hold the junction of the two armies and prevent their front from being attacked by the Germans." People are divided."

Gorokhov, who hadn't spoken for a long time, also suddenly interjected: "Comrade Commander, so to speak, the task of our army group is quite difficult."

"How to say this. The task of our army group is arduous if you say it is difficult, and it is easy if you say it is easy." After Sokov said this, the eyes of Smirnov and Gorokhov were full of confusion. With an expression on his face, he quickly explained: "The task is arduous because the Germans may use our defense zone as the focus of their attack, and we will have to readjust our troops to resist the German attack.

It is easy to say, because the attack of the two friendly armies on the left and right may disrupt the plan of the German command, so that they have to give up the plan of using our army as the first attack target, but readjust the troops to block our two forces. Allied forces advanced west. "

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov felt that what Sokov said was very reasonable, so he asked tentatively: "Then tell me, will the Germans give up their attack on our army in spite of everything, in an attempt to defeat our army?" , and achieve the goal of separating the 27th and 52nd armies?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the possibility you mentioned is entirely possible." Sokov said seriously: "I really considered this possibility, so I temporarily decided to transfer General Afunin's 18th Guards Corps to Ota tz, it's up to them to hold off the German attack."

"It may take a week to transfer all the 18th Guards Army to Otac." Smirnov tapped his finger on the table lightly, and said thoughtfully, "If all the troops arrive at the designated positions Before, the Germans launched an attack on our defense area, and I was worried that the 122nd regiment would not be able to withstand it, after all, the recruits in this unit accounted for the majority."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the newly recruited soldiers in the 122nd Regiment are not rookies who have not received military training and have no combat effectiveness, but veterans who have experienced many battles. They have spent so many years in German prisoner-of-war camps. Filled with hatred for the Germans, as long as they are armed, their combat effectiveness can be greatly exerted."

"Comrade Commander, the 41st Guards Division is your old unit. It has participated in the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kharkov, and has achieved good results." Smirnov said: "I believe this time Returning to your command, we will definitely be able to achieve greater victories in the next battle."

Sokov was muttering to himself, starting from the Battle of Stalingrad, although the troops made many military exploits, several regiment commanders did not seem to have been promoted. , must put them all in more suitable positions.

"Yes, this unit has indeed made great achievements." Sokov knew that in order to promote these subordinates, he must first reach an agreement with Smirnov, so he said to Smirnov: " And the three leaders also played a great role, but unfortunately..."

In order to arouse Smirnov's curiosity, Sokov deliberately paused for a moment when he said this. Sure enough, Smirnov asked anxiously, "What do they have to regret?"

"With their abilities and achievements, they can take up higher positions." Sokov said with some regret: "When I was about to adjust their positions, my superiors transferred me from the 21st Army to the The 27th Army Group. And the new commanders seem to have no chance to discover their strengths, so naturally they will not be promoted and reused, so their positions can only stay where they are.”

From Sokov's words, Smirnov heard the meaning behind his words, and he took the initiative to say: "Comrade Commander, I will remember this matter. Once the Battle of Uman is over, I will personally Help them apply for promotions."

Now that Smirnov has made a promise, Sokov feels more at ease, and there is hope for the promotion of the three regiment leaders of the 41st Guards Division. In addition, Sidolin has been the chief of staff of the division for a long time. If possible, he can be the chief of staff of the army, or the chief of operations of the group army.

"Comrade commander, what are you thinking?" Seeing Sokov suddenly startled, Smirnov quickly called him twice and asked, "Are you thinking that after these regimental commanders take up higher positions, they Who should fill the vacated positions? Am I right?"

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff, you guessed right." Sokov did not deny Smirnov's guess: "Once these three regimental leaders are promoted, the positions they vacate will be Other commanders need to be promoted to take over. And the commanders who take over their positions will leave a lot of vacancies when they leave, and they need to send new commanders to take over. Don't look at this small promotion, so There are so many aspects involved.”

"In fact, this is not bad. We can arrange excellent grassroots commanders to take over the positions they vacate." Smirnov said: "A group of commanders with brilliant records and outstanding results can emerge in every battle. He should also be given a higher position."

After the two chatted about personnel arrangements for a while, Smirnov asked another question: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, if before the arrival of the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Divisions, if the German troops were to attack outside the city?" launched a fierce attack on the position. How can we stop the enemy?"

"Aren't there still two regiments in the city?" Sokov said briefly, "I will send a regiment to reinforce the defense force of the defenders."

"Even if there are two regiments, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to fight." Although Sokov readily agreed to send a regiment to support, Smirnov was still not satisfied: "After all, the Germans are still very strong."

Sokov looked left and right, and asked, "Where is our artillery commander?"

"He should be in his headquarters." After Smirnov finished speaking, he tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do you have anything to ask him?"

"Since he is the artillery commander of the group army, I think he should stay with us, which will help convey the instructions to the artillery at the first time."

"Well, that's what I think about too." Smirnov agreed with Sokov's statement: "What I'm most worried about is that the battlefield situation is complicated, and when the telephones in the headquarters are too busy, we are very worried. It is difficult to contact the Artillery Command. But if the two organizations are merged, when artillery support is needed, you only need to say hello to Tsarev, and he will use a special channel to faithfully convey our orders."

"Also," Sokov continued: "In addition to the artillery commander who has to work with us, even Colonel Burgos, the director of the armored forces, should also be called to the headquarters."

"That's right, that's right, even Colonel Burgos called to the headquarters together." Smirnov was very happy when he heard Sokov's order: "We should have done this a long time ago. The main commanders are concentrated together, which is more conducive to our command of the battle."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, without further ado, let's act immediately." Sokov felt that since a decision had been made, it should be implemented immediately instead of procrastinating: "Call the two of them immediately." , Let them rush to the headquarters of the group army immediately, and there is no need to establish their own headquarters."

Fortunately, Sokov urged Smirnov to call, otherwise, later, Tsarev and Burgos' respective small headquarters have been established. Repeated construction and command waste manpower and material resources, so after receiving the call from Smirnov, the two immediately ordered their subordinates to stop working, but reported directly to the headquarters.

Sokov was worried that when the two of them came to the headquarters suddenly, they would have many discomforts and even some bad thoughts. As soon as the two arrived, he began to explain to them: "General Tsarev, Colonel Burgos, I called you here today to tell you that in order to streamline the organization and better command the troops to fight , from now on, both of your headquarters will be cancelled, and you will work here in the future. In this way, any order from the headquarters can be conveyed to the troops through you in the shortest possible time."

When Tsarev and Burgos received a call from Smirnov, they learned that their headquarters was about to be disbanded, and they were somewhat disturbed, thinking that something they did not do well caused Sokov's dissatisfaction. So he fired himself. But after listening to Sokov's explanation, both of them realized that they were thinking too much.

"Comrade Commander, this should have happened a long time ago." Colonel Burgos said first: "If our headquarters are scattered in different places, every time you issue an order, you have to make a phone call or send a telegram, which will really delay a lot Time. You know, every minute on the battlefield is precious, and if we can convey the order to the grassroots troops one minute earlier, our chances of victory will increase."

"I also agree with Comrade Commander's arrangement." Now that Burgos has expressed his opinion, Tsarev can't say nothing, he continued: "Let us stay in the headquarters to work, if we encounter any combat The troops need artillery cover, and we can use the shortest possible time to notify the artillery on standby at the front line and fire in the shortest time to provide the necessary artillery support for our infantry."