When Zhukov explained the task to Sokov, Vitkov next to him became more and more surprised. He did not expect that Sokov's judgment was completely consistent with the actual situation.
After finishing the task of defending the city, Zhukov sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a sip, and said to Sokov: "Misha, how many residents are there in the city now?"
If Zhukov asked how many troops were stationed in each defense area, Sokov would definitely answer without hesitation. But as for the number of residents in the city, he was confused. He quickly turned to Vitkov for help.
, hoping to get a satisfactory answer from him.
Unexpectedly, when Vitkov saw his gaze, he shook his head with a wry smile, spread his hands, and indicated that he did not know the specific number of residents.
"Why, don't you know the answer?" Seeing that neither Sokov nor Vitkov could answer the questions he asked, Zhukov showed an unhappy expression on his face: "You are now the supreme commander responsible for the defense of Luhansk.
, don’t you even know how many residents there are in the city?”
Anisimov, the division political commissar who had not spoken since Zhukov came to the headquarters, took a step forward and said cautiously: "Comrade General, please allow me to report to you." After receiving permission, he continued.
: "Today, the total number of residents in the city is 47,365, including 13,927 workers. They are all sent by their superiors to resume production."
"Very good." Regarding Anisimov's answer, Zhukov nodded with satisfaction. He glanced at the old-fashioned political rank worn by the other party and asked casually: "What is your rank? What position do you hold now?"
"Comrade General," Anisimov responded respectfully to Zhukov's series of questions: "According to the adjusted military rank, I should be a lieutenant colonel. Now I serve as the political commissar of the 41st Guards Division.
''"
Sokov, who was standing nearby, heard the two chatting about military ranks, and suddenly remembered an important question: Zhukov was awarded the rank of marshal on January 8, 1943, but Zhukov, standing in front of him now, still carries
With the rank of general, what is going on? Is it because of myself that something went wrong?
Zhukov asked with great interest: "Since you are the division political commissar of the 41st Guards Division, how do you know so much about the situation in the city?"
"Reporting to Comrade General, our division was the first to be stationed in Luhansk." Anisimov replied: "From the day we stationed in Luhansk, I have often counted the number of people in the city in order to make distribution according to the number of people.
Ration card.”
"Who is responsible for public security in the city?" Zhukov asked: "Is it you or the police?"
"Shortly after we arrived in Luhansk, our superiors sent a police detachment of more than 80 people to form a 27th branch in the city. Since their number was limited, we specially equipped them with two companies of troops.
, to cope with possible unexpected events.”
"The communications team that came with me to Lugansk monitored a strange radio signal last night." Zhukov said to Anisimov: "Since you have been in charge of the situation in the city, then you
Send someone to catch the German agents lurking in the city."
"Comrade General, this may not be easy to handle." Regarding Zhukov's order, Anisimov said with some embarrassment: "The troops currently stationed in the city are Colonel Gorishny's 75th Guards Division.
If we were to conduct a large-scale search for spies hiding in the city, I'm afraid it would be a little inconvenient."
"There is nothing inconvenient." Zhukov waved to Anisimov, and then said to Sokov: "Misha, you immediately give an order to Colonel Gorishny and tell him that there may be Germans lurking in the city.
special agent, and ordered him to fully cooperate with the work of Lieutenant Colonel Anisimov and the Civilian Police Branch."
"Understood, Comrade General." Sokov agreed readily verbally, but he knew very well in his heart how difficult it is to find hidden German agents in a city that is almost in ruins. In order to
After narrowing the search scope, he took the initiative to ask Zhukov: "I would like to ask, can you determine the approximate location of the enemy radio station?"
If Zhukov said that the enemy's radio signal appeared in other directions, Sokov might have been a little careless, but when he heard the enemy's radio signal appeared in the west of the city, he couldn't help but frowned. You know, it was close to the 41st Guards.
In the division's defense zone, if we cannot dig out the enemy's radio station as soon as possible, we may suffer heavy losses in the future.
Thinking of this, he quickly said to Zhukov: "Comrade General, I feel that the elimination of German spies in the city is of great importance. I must go to the headquarters of the 75th Guards Division in person. Please allow me to leave."
"Go." Zhukov agreed happily, "Colonel Vitkov and I are working here, so you don't have to worry."
"Also, Political Commissar Lieutenant Colonel Anisimov is familiar with the situation in the city. I need him to come with me."
"Go, go," Zhukov said, "You must pay attention to safety."
Sokov came out of the headquarters with Anisimov and immediately asked: "Comrade Political Commissar, what do the residents in the west of the city do?"
"The factories that have resumed operations are all in the west of the city." Anisimov replied: "Workers and their families live in the west of the city, and the total number of people accounts for three-fifths of the city's population."
Sokov calculated in his mind that the number of people living in the west of the city was actually about 30,000. To find one or several lurking German agents among so many people was tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. But
No matter how difficult it is, we must find a way to uncover these spies hidden among the residents. Otherwise, they can transmit the reality in the city to the German troops in the distance through radio waves.
"Where is the police station?"
"Near the square in the west of the city, only one street away from the headquarters of the 75th Guards Division."
"Then let's go to Colonel Gorishny's headquarters first to see how many mobile troops he can mobilize." Sokov said, and got into the jeep parked on the roadside. After Anisimov also got in,
Then he told the driver to drive.
On the way, Anisimov tentatively asked: "Comrade division commander, what are we going to do at Colonel Gorishny's headquarters? Is it possible to mobilize troops from him to search the western defense line of the city?"
"It is of little significance to organize troops to conduct a search in the west area of the city. After all, most of the residents in the city have just returned and are not familiar with each other. They have no idea who the suspicious person is." Sokov told Anisimov.
He explained: "If we organize a large-scale search, it will not only mobilize troops, but also cause panic among residents. I think it is completely unnecessary."