Cui Kefu on the ground naturally saw the airdrop materials falling from the air. He quickly called an officer and told him: "Take a battalion of troops to collect the German airdrop materials and send them to the place where prisoners of war are housed."
The officer asked in confusion: "Comrade Commander, why should we send the supplies to the place where prisoners of war are housed?" According to his idea, it was difficult to replenish the supplies from the existing side, and it happened to use the German airdrop materials to replenish them. Why should we hand over these supplies to the enemy?
Seeing that the other party had not understood his intentions, Cui Kefu regretted choosing the wrong person. He pointed at the other party and said with a grudge: "You have never thought about how much food we need to mobilize so many prisoners? In the airdrop materials I ordered you to collect, there must be a lot of food. If they are used on the Germans, wouldn't we need to mobilize more food?"
After Cui Kefu explained this, the officer immediately understood what was going on, and quickly blushed and said, "I understand, Comrade Commander, I will take people to collect the German airdrop supplies."
After completing a simple surrender ceremony, Cuikov returned to his command. He planned to call Rokosovsky and inform him of the surrender of the German army.
But after the phone was called, Malining, who was staying in the headquarters, told him: "General Cui Kefu, the commander has left the command center and is heading to your place by car. I believe he will arrive soon."
Although the Germans in the city had already put down their weapons and surrendered, no one dared to guarantee whether they were still hiding from the stubborn stragglers in the ruins. If Rokosovsky happened to pass by their location, it would be an unknown number.
In order to ensure the safety of Rokosovsky, Cuikov quickly asked Malining about the driving route. Malining was unwilling to say it at first, but heard that there might be German stragglers along the way. For the sake of Rokosovsky's safety, he immediately informed Cuikov of the detailed route.
At noon, Rokosovsky's convoy arrived near the Cuikov headquarters. When Cuikov heard that Rokosovsky had arrived, he immediately came out to greet him. While the two shook hands, Cuikov also said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, I really didn't expect that we met again just two or three weeks later."
"Yes, it's not long before we last met, and you actually destroyed all the enemies in the city. It's amazing." Rokosovsky smiled and said to Cuikov: "The base camp's commendation of your army will not take long. As far as I know, I plan to adapt you into the Guards army."
"Is this true, Commander?" Cui Kov was immediately excited after hearing Rokosovsky's words. He asked nervously: "Will we really be adapted into the Guards Army?" Cui Kov thought that after the Shandong Science and Technology Defense War ended, at best, several infantry divisions under his command were at the same time. It would be great to adapt it into the Guards Division. Who knew that the base camp wanted more than one million to adapt the entire army into the Guards Army. The whole news was really amazing: "We really have the chance to be adapted into the Guards Army?"
"This is the reliable news I have received." After Rokosovsky answered, he asked Cuikov: "I plan to speak to the commanders and fighters who have established military achievements. Where do you think is more suitable?"
Cuikov originally wanted Rokosovsky to speak here, but then he thought that it was not conducive to the assembly of the large forces, and the best location was the Central Railway Station, so he took the initiative to propose: "Comrade Commander, I think you should choose the location where you speak at the Central Railway Station, where you can assemble as many troops as possible."
"Okay, General Cuikov." Rokosovsky thought for a moment and then agreed readily: "I will choose the place where I speak to the commanders and fighters at the Central Railway Station. Your troops are too far away, so you might as well send some representatives to participate."
"Yes, Commander Comrade." Cui Kefu quickly replied: "I will call the commanders of each division immediately and ask them to draw personnel to rush to the Central Railway Station."
Sokov received the notice and immediately arranged personnel to clean up the ruins outside the Central Railway Station and installed tweeters in different locations so that all the commanders and fighters gathered in the square could hear Rokosovsky's speech.
Regarding the order issued by Sokov, Merkulov, the commander of the 67th Guards Division stationed at the Central Railway Station, said in embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, you also know that after a long battle, the square in front of the station has long become bumpy and full of bricks and rubble. It is probably impossible to clean up in a short period of time."
"General Merkulov," Sokov, after he finished speaking, he immediately continued: "I know the situation there. I need to clear the entire square. If there is no help from large machinery, it may not be cleaned up in a few months. But we will hold a meeting there soon, so we must level a field that can accommodate thousands or even tens of thousands of people. You can order the soldiers to fill the bricks and rubble into the craters and stand people."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." After hearing Sokov's instructions, Merkulov smiled bitterly and said, "I will follow your order to clean up the square in front of the station."
At four o'clock in the afternoon, more than 20,000 commanders and soldiers from the Sokov combat cluster gathered in the square in front of the Central Railway Station, and representatives sent by several other divisions of the 62nd Army were also arrived. Fortunately, Merkulov obeyed Sokov's orders and asked the soldiers to fill the craters with bricks and stones piled up next to them, so that everyone can have a place to stand.
As soon as the troops were assembled, Rokosovsky's convoy arrived.
The convoy stopped in front of the steps of the station. As soon as Rokosovsky got off the car, Sokov brought a group of division commanders to meet him. After raising his hand to salute, he reported loudly to Rokosovsky: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, Colonel Sokov, Commander of the Operations Cluster, reported to you that the troops have been assembled. Please give me instructions!"
"After a moment!" Rokosovsky raised his hand and returned the favor, stepped forward and held Sokov's hand, and said with a smile: "Col. Sokov, you are really not simple. You can actually capture Paulus alive. The Supreme Commander himself heard that Paulus's capture has a close relationship with you, and he even praised you."
When Sokov heard Stalin praised him, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic. Although he tried his best to pretend to be nothing, the slightly raised corners of his mouth still revealed the secret in his heart.
After meeting and shook hands with the commanders of each division, Rokosovsky came to the microphone on the steps. He glanced at the more than 20,000 radios standing in the square and said loudly to the microphone: "Hello, comrades, I am Rokosovsky, the commander of the front army.
Today, I want to be proud and sincerely say to you that long-awaited sentence: "Good, guards, you are the heroes of the motherland."
The Battle of Stalingrad was finally over. In addition to the more than 200,000 people who were eliminated by us, nearly 100,000 enemies had put down their weapons and surrendered to us. This was our great victory..."
As soon as he said this, a tsunami of cheers suddenly sounded in the square: "Ula!Ula!Ula!Ula!!!" The sound of soaring into the sky covered what Rokosovsky wanted to say.
When the peace in the square returned to its original state, Rokosovsky continued: "We destroyed the Paulus group and gave the German army a heavy blow. But this is just the beginning. In the days to come, we will continue to fight with the enemy until we drive the enemy out of our border."
When Sokov heard this, he murmured in his heart: "It is far from enough to drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union. At least he must directly attack Huanglong, seize Berlin, and send all those who started the war to the court."
When Sokov thought of conquering Berlin, he couldn't help but feel a little distracted. He thought to himself: "Although the Battle of Stalingrad was won, it was a terrible victory. Next, he will compete with Manstein's troops. Unfortunately, the Soviet army was still beaten by Manstein with the advantage of numbers and technical equipment.
Even the Battle of Kursk that took place in July, if it were not for the Allies landing in Sicily, which would have restrained a lot of German troops and forced Cidolin to order Manstein to send troops to reinforce, it would be an unknown number of who would win and lose in the Battle of Kursk."
After Rokosovsky's speech, the commanders and soldiers in the square dispersed one after another. Rokosovsky came to Sokov, handed him a cigarette, took one and lit it in his mouth, and then asked, "Misha, what are your plans next?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov felt that if he wanted to obtain a higher military rank and position, then the combat theory needed to be improved. Studying at the Fulongzhi Military Academy was undoubtedly the right choice for him: "I feel that my ability is not enough, and it is a bit difficult to command a division. If I command more troops, my level would be a bit incompetent. Therefore, I would like to ask my superiors to send me to the Military Academy for a while to improve my ability."
"Misha." Hearing Sokov's request, Rokosovsky remained silent for a long time, and finally said, "To be honest, we have eliminated the enemies in Stalingrad City, but the battle has not ended. We must push westward after a brief rest and eliminate the Manstein group entrenched there. Only by completely eliminating the Manstein group can Moscow become safe again and no longer be threatened by the enemy."
When Sokov heard Rokosovsky say this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He thought that the Soviet army launched the next Kharkov Battle to rush to attack the Manstein group in order to resolve the threats to Moscow. Unfortunately, due to insufficient logistics supply and command errors, the Soviet army, which had the advantage in numbers and equipment, finally ended in a crushing defeat.
Rokosovsky continued: "I think at this time, you are not studying in a military academy, but staying in the army to command the battle. I think it is more meaningful to study on the front line than in the rear. But the choice is up to you, whether to stay in the front or study in a military academy, you are all up to you."
Seeing that Rokosovsky said this, if he continued to ask to study in the Military Academy, he would probably be ignorant of the times. Sokov sniffed two puffs of cigarettes, threw them on the ground, crushed them with his toes, straightened his body and said to Rokosovsky: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I firmly obey your orders. If you ask me to stay, I will stay; if you ask me to study, I will study, there is no other way."
After hearing Sokov say this, Rokosovsky couldn't help but smile. He pointed at Sokov and said, "Misha, you are so clever, you have been so smart that you have been in such a big circle. In the end, you still handed the conflict to me. Well, since you let me make a choice, I will help you choose, so stay in the army."
Since he wanted to stay on the front line, Sokov was eager to know how many troops he would command in the next day. You should know that the next battles were all large-scale battles of hundreds of thousands or millions. Although he had a division in his hand, in a battle of such a scale, he might not be able to use it for a day and would be wiped out.
Therefore, he asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I want to ask, how many troops can I command in the next days?" He laughed dryly and added, "I know very well that with the end of the Stalingrad defense battle, the combat cluster I command will definitely be disbanded. How many troops I can command at that time, I hope you can tell me in advance."
"You are right, the combat cluster will be disbanded soon." After giving Sokov a positive answer, Rokosovsky continued to say: "The troops you can command at that time will naturally only have one division of the 41st Guards Division."
I heard that I only gave myself one division, Sokov felt so cold in his heart, so he gave himself thousands of people. In the next battle, such a few people would probably not be enough to stuff the Germans between them.
Seeing Sokov's expression of disappointment, Rokosovsky guessed his thoughts and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Misha. I know that the 41st Guards Division has suffered a serious loss of personnel in the battle to defend the city. Therefore, I will give you priority as soon as possible, at least to make your troops reach tens of thousands."
Sokov muttered in his heart that he really gave him ten thousand troops. Even if he was not able to turn the tide when the Soviet army was defeated, there should be no problem with self-report. However, he began to worry about other things. When his superiors replenished his troops, he would install some special personnel in, and the troops would be difficult to manage.
Chapter completed!