Red Moscow

Maybe it was because of Sokov's firm attitude, Zhukov pondered for a moment, and then readily agreed to Sokov's request: "Misha, I will report your matter to the Supreme Commander himself, I believe he is understanding After understanding your situation, I will grant your wish."

"Great, Comrade Marshal, this is really great." Thinking that he would be able to follow Vasilevsky to teach the Kwantung Army a lesson in a few months, Sokov could not help but smile: "I express my heartfelt thanks to you." grateful!"

"Misha, don't be in a hurry to thank me." Zhukov said, "I just agreed to report your request to the Supreme Commander himself, but I don't know whether he will agree. If you can't go then, don't blame me. "

"How can this be, Comrade Marshal." Sokov said with a chuckle: "As long as you report my request to the Supreme Commander himself, whether you can go or not depends on my luck. Even if you can't go, I will go." I don't mean to blame you at all."

"By the way, I called you to ask, when will your chief of staff come?"

"When will my chief of staff be there?" After Sokov finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that Rokossovsky had told himself that he was going to say hello to Zhukov so that Sidolin could go to Berlin and go to Chuikov. The Eighth Guards Army visited his son and asked tentatively, "Comrade Marshal, did Marshal Rokossovsky call you?"

"Yes, Koschka called me last night and explained the situation of your chief of staff." Zhukov explained to Sokov: "You may not be clear. Chuikov is injured. I am worried that he does not want to see outsiders. I just called him specifically to ask for his opinion. Who would have thought that he told me that your chief of staff, General Sidolin, was the deputy chief of his combat department in the early days of the Stalingrad Defense War... "

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov was taken aback when he learned that Chuikov was injured, and quickly asked, "How did General Chuikov get injured? Is the injury serious?" Although he knew that Chuikov was promoted to Marshal after World War II. But now that I am a butterfly who does not belong to this era, I wonder if it will disturb the original history and cause the post-war marshal to be killed by the last bullet before the end of the war.

"After Chuikov made an appointment with Krebs, the chief of staff of the German army, he took his chief of staff to the agreed place to wait. Unexpectedly, he was shot coldly by the enemy and injured his left leg and knee. The injuries were not serious, but You need a cane to walk."

Knowing that Chuikov's injury was not serious, Sokov's heart hanging in his throat finally returned to his stomach. He said into the microphone: "It's okay, it's okay. Now that the Germans have surrendered, for most people, this damn war is over. It's really not worth it if something happens at this time." gone."

"By the way, when will your chief of staff come over?" Zhukov continued to ask: "I'll arrange someone to pick him up in advance. We just occupied Berlin, and the outside is a bit uneasy. I'm afraid it will take a while before things return to normal. If not If someone goes to pick him up, maybe something unexpected will happen."

Hearing what Zhukov said, Sokov murmured to himself that the streets of Berlin during this period were probably not peaceful. Not only did the victorious Soviet commanders drift a little, they began to collect spoils and enjoy life in the city. I am afraid that the American troops on the other side He also didn't want to go up and down. If Sidolin entered Berlin rashly, he might be in danger. He quickly said: "My comrade, the military commissar, is suffering from a sudden illness, and the chief of staff will stay to take care of him. Maybe we have to wait for two or three days. to return."

"Okay then." Zhukov said: "When the time of Sidolin's coming to Berlin is confirmed, remember to call me. If I'm not there, you can tell Malinin, anyway, he and you are old acquaintances. Remember ?"

"Remember, Comrade Marshal." Sokov quickly replied, "I will call you as soon as my chief of staff returns."

Sidolin and Lunev returned to Army Group Headquarters the next morning.

Seeing the appearance of the two, Sokov rushed up to meet them, took Lunev's hand and asked with concern: "Comrade Military Commissar, are you recovering from your illness?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Lunev looked very embarrassed: "Misha, there is nothing serious about it, it's just that I drank too much alcohol. But unfortunately, I just had an appendix operation some time ago, which resulted in Sudden illness. However, I have been infused with anti-inflammatory drugs for a day, and now I am cured, otherwise the chief of staff and I would not be able to come back today."

Since Lunev had nothing to do, Sokov felt relieved. He turned to Sidolin and asked, "Chief of Staff, are you tired?"

"I'm not tired." Sidolin thought that Sokov was going to arrange some work for himself, and quickly replied loudly: "If there is any work, you can tell me directly. I am in a state of mind and can devote myself to work at any time."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you made a mistake. I asked you if you were tired, but I didn't intend to arrange work for you." Sokov waved his hands and said, "I was doing it for another matter."

"Another thing, what is it?"

"When I was with the British, I didn't tell you that Comrade Marshal Rokossovsky promised to let you go to Berlin to visit your son in Chuikov's 8th Guards Army." Sokov said with a smile: " If you are not tired now, you can start immediately."

Hearing that he could go to Berlin to meet his son, Sidolin immediately became excited and said repeatedly: "I'm not tired, I'm not tired, I'm not tired at all. Comrade Commander, when can I leave for Berlin?"

Sokov knew very well that when Sidolin heard that he had the opportunity to see his son, he simply couldn't sit still and wished he could leave immediately. However, Sokov promised Zhukov yesterday that if Sidolin was going to Berlin, he needed to call him in advance and ask him to send someone to pick him up.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, let me call Marshal Zhukov first and tell him about your going to Berlin."

Hearing what Sokov said, Sidolin hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Comrade Commander, I just went to Berlin to visit my son. Such a trivial matter, there is no need to alarm Marshal Zhukov."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, our army has just occupied Berlin, and the city is still not peaceful. If you go there rashly, you may be in danger." Sokov said seriously: "So Marshal Zhukov specifically told me that once you decide which day If you go to Berlin, you must inform him in advance, and he will send someone to pick you up."

Now that Sokov had already said this, Sidolin knew that it would be inappropriate for him to evade, so he could only obey Sokov's arrangement.

Seeing that Sidolin had no objection, Sokov picked up the phone on the table and asked the communications soldier to connect him to the headquarters of the First Belarusian Front, preparing to report Sidolin to Berlin to Zhukov. Make a notification.

Unexpectedly, the person who answered the phone was Deputy Commander Sokolovsky. After hearing what Sokov said, he said in a daze: "Marshal Zhukov is not here, and he has not explained this matter. You See if you can call Comrade Marshal again after he comes back?"

Sokov felt dissatisfied with Sokolovsky in his heart. It's a big deal. As the deputy commander of the front army, you can send two guards at random. You don't need to wait for Zhukov to come back before asking for instructions. what? Besides, Zhukov just went out, and when he will come back is still unknown. How do I know when is the right time to call?

Just when Sokov was at a loss, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from the receiver: "Comrade Deputy Commander, who are you talking to?" Just came back from outside and just heard what Soklovsky said.

"It was General Sokov, the commander of the 48th Army, who called." Sokolovsky explained to Malinen: "He said that his chief of staff is coming to Berlin, and he wants us to send a few people to meet him. Marshal Zhukov personally explained the matter."

"That's right, Comrade Deputy Commander." Malinin waited for Sokolovsky to finish, and quickly added: "Marshal Zhukov did explain the matter, and he specifically told General Sokov that if he calls, he will If not, let me arrange the manpower."

After figuring out what was going on, Sokolovski handed the microphone in his hand to Malinen.

Ma Linin took the phone and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, General Sokov, I just went out to do some errands, and I didn't receive your call in time. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind, I don't mind." Sukov and Malinin had a good relationship, so he was naturally more polite: "My chief of staff, General Sidolin, will enter the city from the east of Berlin in an hour. You can send someone to meet him."

"No problem, no problem, I'll ask the security office to arrange people to meet General Sidolin at the entrance to the east." After Malinin finished speaking, he suddenly asked Sokov tentatively: "General Sokov, How is the Marshal recently?"

Hearing this question from Malinin, Sokov was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that the marshal that Malinin asked was Rokossovsky, and quickly replied: "He is very good. Defensive zone, met with Marshal Montgomery. Chief of Staff Malinin, if you have time, you are welcome to our Second Front Army as a guest."

"If I have time, I will."

As soon as Sokov put down the phone, he said to Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, I have already spoken to General Malinin. He has sent someone to wait for you at the eastern entrance of Berlin. You can drive there now. For you For your safety, I will let Captain Koshkin go with you."

Regarding Sokov's arrangement, Sidolin didn't make any sense. He nodded and got up to leave. He went out to find Koshkin and contact the vehicle. After all, he is the chief of staff of the group army, and it is more convenient for him to come forward for this kind of matter than Sokov.

Not long after Sidolin left, Sokov received a call from Rokossovsky: "Misha, have your chief of staff and military commissar returned to the headquarters?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov glanced at Lunev, who was sitting not far away, and replied, "The military commissar and the chief of staff are back. But the chief of staff just left to see his son in Berlin." I'm afraid I won't be back until two days later."

"Since your chief of staff is not here, you can only be responsible for the new mission."

Hearing that there was a new mission, Sokov immediately became vigilant, thinking to himself, what kind of mission would it be? Could it be that the enemy refused to surrender somewhere, and Rokossovsky planned to send his troops to destroy them? Thinking of this, he quickly asked: "Comrade Marshal, what is the combat mission? Please give me an order, and I will definitely complete the mission you assigned satisfactorily."

"I just received a notice from the Supreme Command to arrest the Nazis in the controlled area." Rokossovsky said in a stern tone: "Whether they escaped from the army or the local All the Nazis must be arrested and kept under strict supervision.”

"After they are caught, what should we do with them?" When Sokov asked this, he was thinking in his heart. If it was ordered to execute them all, it would definitely be the easiest way. They would be dragged to some abandoned mine and shot, and the corpses would be thrown inside. Throw it away, and then seal the mine. The boys in the Young Guard were killed by the Germans in this way, and then all the bodies were thrown into the mine. The frenzied enemy was worried that someone was not dead, and threw a few minecarts into it.

"No, no, you can't shoot them all." But Rokossovsky retorted: "Not all Nazis are heinous. They can be imprisoned first, and after strict screening, they can be punished." Corresponding disposal. As for the specific disposal method, I will inform you after receiving the order from the Supreme Commander."

Sokov then asked: "Should they be locked together alone, or with those German prisoners of war?"

"Whether it is a prisoner-of-war camp or a concentration camp, it will still be demolished two years after it is built. We don't need to waste manpower and material resources in this regard." Rokossovsky said: "Just put them in the same building as the German prisoners of war." In the prisoner-of-war camp, but they must be separated and detained, lest these people incite the prisoners in the prisoner-of-war camp to riot."

"Understood, Comrade Marshal, I will handle this matter properly."

After finishing the call with Rokossovsky, Sokov told Lunev about the matter, and finally asked: "There are tens of thousands of German prisoners in our army group. Nazis, I'm afraid the existing dozen or so prisoner-of-war camps are not enough."

"This is easy to handle, just build a few more." Lunev said with a smile: "If you are worried about the waste of manpower and material resources in building prisoner-of-war camps, we can definitely let local residents participate in this construction, and according to their workload , to distribute food to them. In this way, it not only solves the problem of food shortage of local residents, but also avoids some unstable factors.”