When Sokov was about to go to bed, he received a call from Konev: "Comrade Sokov, I think you already know the purpose of my call, right?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov replied respectfully: "You are sending troops to reinforce the 69th Group Army."
"It's good to know." Konev asked cautiously: "I just want to know how many troops you plan to transfer for reinforcements? Will the defense of the Pushol River be affected after the troops are transferred?"
Sokov knew very well that Konev would not easily agree to mobilize his troops before he understood the specific situation. He quickly replied truthfully: "Report to Comrade Commander, I intend to mobilize Colonel Koida's No. 1 troops."
The 188th Division went to reinforce. They were deployed on the right bank of the Pushor River. Once they are transferred, the defense of the right bank will be taken care of by Colonel Khokhlov's 182nd Division. They are fully capable of cooperating with the troops on the left bank and resolutely guarding us.
The defense line established by the army on the banks of the Pushor River."
When Konev received Vatutin's call, he did not immediately agree to the other party's request. He considered that Sokov's 27th Army was now scattered in two areas, and if it was further divided, its strength would become weak.
Don't forget that the reinforcements failed to assist the 69th Group Army in blocking the enemy, and the original position was weakened and unable to block the enemy. The situation would not be good.
After listening to Sokov's answer, Konev tapped his fingers lightly on the table, thinking quickly in his mind. Since Sokov felt that after dispatching troops to reinforce friendly forces, he still had the strength to defend the existing position.
, then you can agree to Vatutin's request and send Sokov to reinforce the 69th Army.
After some weighing, Konev said into the microphone: "Comrade Sokov, since you think you should reinforce the 69th Group Army, then I will contact Vatutin immediately, and you should prepare the troops to leave as soon as possible.
.”
After Sokov put down the phone, he personally dialed the number of the 188th Division headquarters: "I am Sokov. I am talking to your division commander, Colonel Koida."
A moment later, Sokov heard Koida's voice: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Koida. What instructions do you have?"
"Comrade Colonel, since the friendly defense line to the south of our army may be broken through by the enemy, I am going to mobilize your troops to strengthen the defense there." Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch: "How long do you need?
, can we assemble the troops?"
"One hour is enough." Koida said with some pride: "Our troops are in a state of preparation for war. As long as we send them a combat warning, they can be assembled in the shortest time."
For a force of more than 8,000 people to be assembled within an hour, Sokov felt that this was already the fastest speed. He nodded and said to Koida: "Comrade Colonel, please do it now."
Send a combat alert to the troops, assemble them all, and then wait for my next order."
Twenty minutes later, Sokov finally received the call he was waiting for. When he heard Klitschko's voice, Sokov smiled and said: "Hello, General Klitschko, I have been waiting for you.
Where’s your phone number?”
Klitschko was stunned and asked in confusion: "Why are you waiting for my call?"
"Comrade General, since it is your troops who are asking me for help, I will always ask you about the situation in the defense area so that we can allocate troops reasonably." Sokov said in a friendly tone: "Don't you think so?"
"Yes, yes, Comrade Sokov, you are right. I should indeed give you a detailed introduction to our defense situation here." Klitschko said on the phone: "The most dangerous part of the current situation is the front.
Defensive positions, although I deployed the 107th and 305th Infantry Divisions in this direction, their defensive front was nine kilometers wide, resulting in a dispersion of forces."
"Did you take any steps?" Sokov asked.
"I plan to deploy the 81st Guards Division, which has just been withdrawn from the German right wing, at the junction of the two divisions before dawn." Klitschko said this and asked Sokov cautiously: "Sokov
Comrade, I wonder how many troops you can send to me?"
"An infantry division."
"Ah, an infantry division?" Klitschko said with some disappointment, "Isn't it too few?"
"Nothing less, General Klitschko." Sokov explained to the other party: "This is a full division of more than 8,000 people. The whole division is well-equipped and has high morale. With their assistance, it will definitely be able to
Block the German attack."
Knowing that the opponent's division had more than 8,000 people, Klitschko stopped talking. Until now, the remaining soldiers of his infantry division were no more than 3,000 to 4,000 and as few as 2,000.
Now a new force of 8,000 people has joined, which is equivalent to increasing the defense strength of several divisions.
After a while, Klitschko spoke again: "Comrade Sokov, I will immediately send a liaison officer to establish contact with you and lead your troops into the designated defense area."
After seeing that Sokov ended the call with Klitschko, Samyko asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, can the superiors provide us with transportation?"
"No, the superiors are not able to provide us with any transportation at all under the current circumstances." Sokov said, stepped one leg on the bench, patted his knee with his palm, and continued: "
If we want to go to the new defense zone, we can only rely on our own two legs."
Klitschko's liaison officer arrived at the headquarters half an hour later. After Sokov confirmed his identity, he called Koida to the headquarters. After explaining some precautions in person when entering the new defense area, he said to him:
"Comrade Colonel, it's getting late. You should set off as soon as possible. You must complete the deployment in the new defense area before the German army launches a new attack."
After the troops set off, Sokov lay down on the camp bed and prepared to sleep, but for some reason, he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. Since he couldn't sleep, he simply sat up and began to think about whether he should follow Koida to the new defense area.
have a look.
Sokov's movement alarmed Samyko, who was sleeping not far away. He quickly sat up and asked Sokov with concern: "Comrade Commander, can't you sleep?"
"Yes," Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "Our troops are moving towards the new defense area, but I, the commander, am lying on the bed and sleeping soundly. How can I sleep?
"
He thought for a while and decided to follow the troops to the new defense area in person, so he bent down and started to put on his boots. While putting the boots on his legs, he said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the more I think about it, the more uneasy I am.
I want to go to the new defense area to take a look in person, and I will leave everything here to you."
Samek knew that he could not change Sokov's decision, so he could only say euphemistically: "The front is too dangerous. When you go out, bring more troops. Even if you encounter any danger, you can get out in time."
"I am still the guard platoon that led Samoilov," Sokov nodded gratefully towards Samyko and said: "There are more than fifty of them, and all of them are veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles.
With them by my side, there should be no problem with their safety."
Sokov led the guard platoon in three jeeps and two trucks and drove along the road in the direction of the new defense area.
Half an hour after the convoy set off, it was daybreak. Samoilov, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, suddenly turned around and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, look quickly, there are troops of the 188th Division in front of us."
Sokov looked out of the front window and saw a team of thousands of people marching on the winding dirt road. From a distance, he could see that the person walking at the front was a flag bearer holding the military flag high.
Companies were organized into square formations and formed into four columns, marching forward in an orderly manner.
The convoy drove forward close to the long line of infantrymen who were marching in a hurry, passing one infantry phalanx after another. When they were about to reach the front of the line, Sokov, who was sitting in the car, suddenly shouted: "Stop the car."
Down."
The driver didn't know what was going on and quickly stepped on the brakes. The jeeps and trucks following him saw Sokov's jeep stopped. Although they didn't know what happened, they still stopped in time. They had to open the road ahead.
The jeep drove forward another hundred or two hundred meters and found that the convoy behind it had stopped moving forward. It panicked and stopped on the side of the road.
Sokov opened the car door and shouted towards a phalanx not far away: "Hey, Colonel Koida."
Following Sokov's shout, Koida and his chief of staff in the phalanx trotted up to Sokov. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, why are you here?"
"I'm not worried, so I came over here to have a look." After taking a look at the phalanx composed of division members, Sokov frowned and asked, "Why, your division doesn't even have a car?"
"Originally, the liaison officer of the friendly forces brought a car and asked me to ride with him in the car." Koida said with a smile: "But I was worried that the troops would misunderstand the friendly forces along the way, so I asked him to go back in the car to say hello.
.”
"Get in the car," Sokov stepped back inside and motioned for Koida to get in the car: "Let's rush to the headquarters of the 81st Guards Division first and take a look."
But Koida was obviously reluctant to abandon his troops and leave alone: "What about my troops?"
"Isn't there still a chief of staff?" Sokov pointed to the chief of staff and said: "Comrade chief of staff, Colonel Koida and I will go to the friendly division headquarters first, and you and your troops will come over as soon as possible."
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The division chief of staff straightened up and replied, "I will lead the troops there as soon as possible."
Seeing that Sokov had arranged everything, Koida bent down and got into the jeep. When Koida closed the door, Sokov ordered the driver: "Let's drive."