After learning about the results of Matvi and the others from Bindasov, Sokov sat at the table and pondered for a long time, and then said to Potukin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, our division's morale has been very low after the failure of some time ago. I think the results of the sniper team today can be used for publicity to achieve the goal of boosting morale and rebuilding confidence for commanders and fighters."
Hearing Sokov say this, Portukin asked quickly: "Comrade, what are you going to do?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you and I are the military chiefs, and it is the responsibility of the political workers to carry out propaganda." Sokov did not immediately explain to Portukin, but ordered him: "Please call the head of the division's political department here, and I will assign tasks to him personally."
After Potukin called out, less than two minutes later, a political worker appeared at the door. After raising his hand to salute, he looked at Potukin and asked respectfully: "Comrade Chief of Staff, are you looking for me?"
Portojin whined Sokov and said, "Comrade Elic, it's not me who is looking for you, but the comrade instructor who is looking for you."
The political worker, known as Eric, quickly turned to face Sokov: "Comrade Commander, Director of the Political Department of the 328th Division, and Deputy Battalion-level Political Commissar Eric reported to you. I obey your orders, please give instructions!"
"Hello, Comrade Elic!" Sokov stood up and shook hands with Elic, then pointed to the empty seat beside him and said, "Please sit down." After the other party sat down, he continued to ask, "Comrade Elic, I called you here today to ask, are there any battle newspapers in our division?"
Sokov's question surprised Elic. He turned his head and looked at Potukin standing beside him, thinking to himself: "Why, the Chief of Staff did not report to the acting commander if there is a newspaper in the division?" However, he nodded and replied, "Yes, there is a "Warrior Newspaper" in the division, which will be published once every two days."
"Publish once every two days?" Although Sokov had known for a long time that he had tabloids in many division-level units, he was still surprised after hearing Eric's reply. He turned to look at Portukin and asked curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have been to the division for two days. Why have I never seen this newspaper before?"
"Comrade Commander, please wait a moment." When Sokov asked himself, Potukin quickly replied: "There is a newspaper in the division headquarters, I will find one for you." Not much effort, Potukin handed a mimeographed paper to Sokov, "Comrade Commander, this is the "Warrior Newspaper" in the division."
Sokov took this mimeographed tabloid similar to a leaflet from Potukin and looked at it carefully. The newspaper used 16-open paper, with only one side of it with words, and the header was the word "Soldier's Newspaper" with a large font. Below are several articles, which briefly introduce some recent things that have happened in the teacher.
After quickly browsing the contents of the newspaper, Sokov placed the newspaper on the table, looked at Eric and asked, "Comrade Eric, I can't see any morale-boosting content from your newspaper. How about it, have you never thought about adjusting the contents of the report?"
After hearing Sokov's words, Elic immediately cried and said with a sad face: "Comrade Commander, you don't know. We originally had special political workers in each battalion to provide newspapers. But in the battle some time ago, most of these political workers died, so the source of the manuscript became a problem..."
"Please wait, Comrade Elic." Sokov raised his hand to interrupt the words behind him before he could finish his words, and said, "I want to ask, how many people are in your political department?"
"There are five people in my case," Eric replied briefly.
Sokov picked up the newspaper on the table, shook his hands, and continued to ask, "How did you get the manuscripts you need for the newspaper?"
"This is very simple," Elic said with a smile. "We call each regiment every day to let them know the latest situation of the troops so that they can edit the latest manuscripts."
Sokov threw the newspaper on the table, looked at Eric and asked, "Comrade Eric, do you think that by sitting in the room every day, making a few phone calls, and writing a few messages from the regiment-level leaders, you can run the newspaper and boost the morale of the troops?"
Sokov's words made Elic's face turn red and white. He shook his head and replied, "Comrade, I don't think it's possible. However, we don't have enough staff to go to various groups to collect news..."
"You can leave one person on duty, and the rest of the people go out for more walks and talk to commanders and fighters at all levels, so that you can find that there is a lot of writing material." Sokov said this, promptly explained his purpose of recruiting Eric: "For example, in the past two days, we have formed a sniper team to snipe the enemies on the other side of the river, and at the same time we have achieved considerable results."
Hearing Sokov say this, Elic widened his eyes in surprise. He looked at Sokov in disbelief and asked, "Comrade Commander, is this all true?"
"It's true." Sokov nodded vigorously and said, "The sniper team formed by the First Battalion of the 1135th Regiment killed and injured 51 enemies in the past two days yesterday and today. Among them, Sergeant Matve, the captain of the Squad, killed 25 enemies. In your newspaper, he can be regarded as a typical example and promoted in the Warriors newspaper to achieve the goal of boosting morale."
Sokov said this because he remembered that in a later World War II movie, the commanders in Stalingrad cast Vasily as a typical example and widely publicized his achievements in order to boost morale. Sokov now asked Eric to focus on promoting Matvi, but he was just doing the same thing.
This propaganda method that was not surprising in later generations, but Eric was surprised after hearing this. He couldn't help but say excitedly: "Comrade Commander, you are right. We should create a typical example in a division. Through newspaper propaganda, let every soldier understand him. This is very useful for us to gather the morale of the army and boost morale."
After saying this, Elic stood up and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do you know where this sergeant named Matvey is?"
"Comrade Eric, Sergeant Matvey is a soldier of the first battalion of the Bindasov regiment." Before Sokov could speak, Potukin said first: "If you want to interview him, you can go directly to the base of the first battalion of the 1135th regiment and explain the purpose of the arrival to the acting battalion commander Captain Jetrov, and he will help you find Matvey."
Seeing Eric turning away, Sokov reminded him again: "Comrade Eric, I hope to see your interview report tomorrow morning."
Chapter completed!