Sokov took Andre back to the brigade headquarters, greeted him to sit down, and spoke, "Captain Andre, you can now report to me the entire process of the battle in the right bank of the Tenebra River."
When the troops cleaned the battlefield, Andrei had communicated with Wanya because he was very clear about the entire battle process. After he reported to Sokov in detail, he specifically mentioned the misunderstanding that occurred during the battle.
Sokov, who was still smiling, suddenly became stiff when he heard Andrei say this. He stood up and walked back and forth in the house with his hands behind his back, thinking in his heart that night fighting is essential in the coming days. If the problem of identifying the enemy and me cannot be solved, it will cause many unnecessary casualties.
The idea of ​​distinguishing through gunfire came out, and he immediately denied it. Most of the commanders and fighters in the brigade were equipped with German equipment and could not be identified at all. It sounded reliable to tie a white towel on his arms, but Sokov knew in his heart that he could not play any role in the night battle. When he saw a group of people coming from the front, his instinctive reaction was to fire immediately, and there was still time to see if there was a towel on the other party's arm.
"Comrade Brigade Commander, what are you thinking?" Berkin saw Sokov walking back and forth in the room without finishing his words, but before he finished speaking, he asked curiously: "Are you considering how to write a report?"
Sokov stopped and said to Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, I was thinking about how to identify the enemy and me when encountering poor visibility during night combat!"
"You're just upset about this?" Belkin asked briefly.
"Yes, that's exactly what happened."
After hearing this, Belkin smiled faintly and rushed to Andrei who was sitting aside and said, "Comrade Captain, now please tell our brigade commander, how do we eliminate the misunderstanding after a misunderstanding occurs on the battlefield?"
"Use the military call, comrade of the political commissar." Andre quickly replied: "By the military call, tell the other party that we are our own people and don't fire again."
"Use a bugle to contact?" Since Sokov commanded this army, he has never used a trooper, so that he almost forgot that there is this military branch. At this moment, he heard that the commanders and fighters of the first battalion used a trooper to eliminate misunderstandings, and he couldn't help but show a surprised expression on his face: "Captain Andre, are you saying that your subordinates only realized that they were fighting with their own people when they heard the other party's trumpet sounding?"
"Yes, that's it." Andre nodded vigorously and replied with certainty. Then he faced Belkin and said with gratitude, "If the 1st Battalion and 2nd Company were not contacted by the troop, I don't know how long this misunderstanding would last."
After Sokov finished speaking, he looked at Belkin and asked, "Comrade Political Commissar, that is to say, during night wars, can we communicate and distinguish between enemies and us through the sound of trumpets?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, as long as each company is equipped with a troop soldier." Belkin said to Sokov with a smile: "We can solve the problem of contacting and distinguishing the enemy and me during night combat."
Sokov thought about Belkin's statement, but finally shook his head and denied it: "No, the organization of our brigade is too chaotic. One battalion is equivalent to a friendly infantry regiment, and one company is equivalent to a battalion. Hundreds of people are equipped with a troop soldier. It is inappropriate. If the troop soldier dies in battle, how should we contact you next?"
Sokov's question made Belkin and Andre speechless. They all understood that a company with hundreds of people was equipped with a trooper, which was indeed a little less. But if you want to match more, there was no way. Although the combat effectiveness of the trooper was not strong, it was a special military and it had to go through a long period of training to become a qualified trooper.
After a while, Belkin asked Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you have any good solutions?"
"Whistle!" Sokov said slowly: "I have seen commanders and fighters use whistles to command soldiers to attack. It is difficult to train trumpet soldiers, but we can give each platoon-level commander a whistle. During night battles, we use whistle to command troops and contact friendly forces. Do you think it's okay?"
"I think it's OK!" As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Andre nodded and said: "In the past, when fighting, people's shouts were often covered by the sound of guns and cannons on the battlefield. Even if they were hoarse, the soldiers might not hear the commander's orders. The whistle is different. Even if the sound of guns and cannons sounds again, the soldiers can still hear the sharp whistle and perform combat missions based on the signal agreed in advance."
"What about your opinion, Comrade Political Commissar." Seeing Andrei agreeing with his idea of ​​using whistles to contact the battlefield, Sokov looked at Belkin and asked, "Do you agree to use whistles to conduct battlefield command and liaison work?"
"I agree." Belkin nodded, "I think it's very appropriate to have the commander use a whistle to command and contact on the battlefield."
While several people were talking, Brisky, who was deployed in the west of the city, called and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, a unit has entered our defense zone and said that we will take over our defense. What should we do now?"
When Sokov learned that there were troops preparing to replace the defense of the Fourth Battalion, he understood that the reinforcements sent by the base camp arrived, so he ordered Brisky: "Comrade Captain, immediately transfer the defense of your battalion to friendly forces, and then transfer the troops to the south of the city. From now on, our brigade will only be responsible for the defense tasks in this direction."
When he learned that reinforcements had arrived, Belkin was particularly excited. He also asked Sokov specifically: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you see if we need to say hello to the commanders of friendly forces?"
"There is no need for this." Sokov said without hesitation: "A friendly army has just entered Kursk, and there must be a lot of things to be busy. We should not disturb them at this time. We should wait until they are settled before we go."
After saying this, Sokov remembered the first battalion commander Vanya who was sent to the health team, and quickly called Vanya and asked about Vanya's condition. After learning that the other party was mainly skin trauma, he had nothing to do after resting for a week, and finally let go of the huge rock in his heart.
By the evening, the infantry divisions, tank brigades and artillery regiments sent by the base camp entered the city of Kursk one after another. During this period, the residents of the city were worried about the German army's continuous attacks. Seeing so many troops entering the city, it seemed as if they had a reassurance, and the panic situation in the city disappeared immediately.
Just as Sokov was about to convene a meeting of the company commanders of each battalion, he received an unexpected call. Rotmistrov's familiar voice came from the receiver: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, do you have time now? Comrade Chief of Staff wants to see you."
"Chief of Staff wants to see me?" Sokov was stunned for a moment when he heard Rotmistrov say this, and secretly said that Rokosovsky had something to remind him. He felt that it was inconvenient to say it on the phone, so he sent Malining to assign tasks to him. Thinking of this, he quickly asked cautiously: "Comrade General, shouldn't Chief of Staff Malining be in command of the headquarters at this moment? Why did he suddenly come here?"
When Rotmistrov heard Sokov say this, he was silent for a moment before continuing: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you are wrong. It is not Chief of Staff Malining, but Comrade Wasseyevsky, the chief of the General Staff."
"General Vasilevsky wants to see me?" Sokov heard Rotmistrov say this, and asked back in a daze: "Comrade General, do you know what's going on?"
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, have you not studied the Confidentiality Ordinance?" Rotmistrov said in a reproachful tone: "Just ask what should be asked, and don't ask what should not be asked."
Although Sokov didn't know what the confidentiality regulations were, he still said to the microphone seriously: "I have learned it, Comrade General, I understand. I will not inquire about things that should not be asked about, so as not to make you embarrassed."
"Okay, don't talk about this." Rotmistrov said to the microphone: "If you have nothing to do now, come here immediately. Comrade General Staff is still waiting for you."
"Comrade General, I want to ask." Sokov turned his head and looked at Belkin sitting next to him, and continued to ask, "Do I go to your place alone, or go there with the political commissar?"
Rotmistrov thought for a while and then said, "You should come here alone. I think the Chief of Staff will definitely assign secret tasks to you. Too many people will easily leak information."
When Sokov learned that Huasilevsky might assign important tasks to him, he did not dare to neglect. After explaining a few words to Belkin, he rushed to the command center of the tank army. Here, he saw Huasilevsky who came from Moscow by plane.
Sokov walked to Huasilevsky, raised his hand to salute, and said loudly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, was ordered to come. I am waiting for your order, please instruct!"
After Huasilevsky raised his hand and returned the salute, he said, "Please rest!" After saying that, he turned around Sokov with his hands behind his back and nodded, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, because you seized the fighter plane in time and successfully captured Kursk, the Supreme Command of the Base Camp has a high evaluation of you!"
When Sokov heard Huasilevsky say this, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic. He thought to himself whether the base camp intends to award us the title of the Guard Brigade? Otherwise, how could Comrade General Staff say this specifically?
Just as he was complacent, Huasilevsky walked to the wall and said to Sokov, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please come to me." Sokov hurriedly walked forward a few steps and came to Waskylevsky.
Huasilevsky turned his head and looked at the map on the wall, pointed at a river and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you know the name of this river?"
When Sokov saw it, he thought it wasn't the Don River, so he replied casually: "It's the Don River!"
"That's right, it's the Don River!" Huaseylevsky nodded and expressed his affirmation. Then his finger moved a distance to the right, pointed to another river, and continued to ask, "What's the name of this river?"
What's going on with the Chief of Staff? Sokov looked at Huasilevsky and thought to himself that the map was marked with place names, so he asked me specifically what to do. However, since Huasilevsky had raised the question, as a subordinate, Sokov could only answer truthfully: "This is the Volga River."
"Yes, this is the Volga River." After Vasilevsky said this, he turned the topic to the main topic: "Now the German army has successfully crossed the Don River and advanced to the Volga River Basin. According to the judgment of the Supreme Command, the enemy's next attack target must be Stalingrad located by the Volga River."
When he saw Vasilevsky slapped Stalingrad with his palm, Sokov thought to himself: Thank God, you finally found that the focus of the enemy's next attack was Stalingrad. What you need to do now is to mobilize more troops to strengthen the defense there.
When Vasilevsky saw that he had spoken out the German army's next attack target, Sokov's expression did not change at all, he smiled and then said: "At present, Stalingrad can be almost an empty city. Except for a few regular troops, militias from various factories are responsible for the heavy responsibility of defending the city. The base camp decided to draw elite troops to strengthen the defense there. The scale of your brigade is similar to that of an infantry division, so the superiors decided that your brigade will be transferred to the Stalingrad area in early August. Are there any problems?"
"No problem." Although Sokov had long guessed that his troops might be transferred to Stalingrad to participate in the battle of defending like a meat grinder, Sokov's heartbeat still accelerated when he heard this order. However, he tried hard to control his emotions and tried his best to say in a steady tone: "I firmly obey the orders of my superiors. But I want to ask, are there any other troops transferred to Stalingrad besides our brigade?"
Vasilevsky walked to Sokov, raised his hand and patted him on his shoulder, comforted him and said, "Lt. Colonel, don't worry, the Germans are just likely to rush towards Stalingrad. Maybe their purpose is to divert our attention. After we are deceived, we will turn around and attack Moscow. In my opinion, your brigade is transferred to Stalingrad, which is equivalent to resting. Stay there for a few months. When a new round of counterattacks, your brigade may be able to take on the main attack mission."
Chapter completed!