When the tank army under Katukov launched an attack on the place occupying the Bogodukhov logistics base, Sokov was in his headquarters, telling Samyko what kind of attitude should be used to deal with those who had just arrived.
Commanders and fighters rescued from prisoner of war camps.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said. He knew that in today's era, captured commanders and fighters would be discriminated against by others. He could not change the general environment. He could only give them fair treatment within the scope of his own group army. But here
Before that, the thoughts of the group army leaders must be unified: "The captured commanders and fighters were starved, beaten, ridiculed by the enemy, and were threatened with death all the time in the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp.
Since most commanders of our army have an unreasonable distrustful attitude towards commanders and fighters who have been prisoners of war, although these commanders and fighters have been rescued, they still encounter biased and extremely unfair treatment. In their ups and downs
In our fate, this may be the most cruel and humiliating test.
Most of them are people who are worthy of their motherland and people and have fulfilled their obligations honestly. However, after being rescued, they will be regarded as aliens for various reasons. They have done their part to win the victory for us.
However, when we won the victory, we became people who had no chance of victory. Calling them 'prisoners of war' and 'traitors' is a brand that makes them cry..."
When Sokov spoke, Samyko said nothing and remained silent. He only nodded occasionally to express his agreement with Sokov's views.
When Sokov finished speaking and picked up his tea cup to drink tea, Samyko said: "Comrade Commander, in the recent battles, battalion and company commanders have suffered heavy losses. I suggest that among the rescued commanders and fighters,
Select suitable candidates to take over the positions of these grassroots commanders."
Sokov had originally planned to select suitable candidates from among the newly added commanders and combatants to fill the vacancies of grassroots commanders. At this moment, seeing Sameko take the initiative to bring up the matter, he said smoothly: "Okay, then you and the divisions
Remember to mention this matter to the division commanders when they discuss troop allocation quotas."
Sameko asked with some surprise: "Comrade Commander, don't you plan to meet those division commanders?"
"It's not that I don't want to meet, it's just that I don't have time." Sokov said helplessly: "I received a call from Marshal Zhukov not long ago. He said that General Konev is heading towards our headquarters. It will be estimated in half an hour.
You'll be there soon."
When he learned that Konev was coming, Samyko couldn't say anything else. He knew very well that Konev hurried to the army headquarters before the situation was completely stable. There must be something important.
I felt it was inconvenient to talk about the matter on the phone and needed to talk to Sokov face to face.
Sure enough, when Konev appeared at the headquarters, he simply asked Samyko about the situation of the troops, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, is there a quiet place? I want to talk to you
Let’s talk alone.”
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov quickly replied: "At the end of the corridor is the conference room. There is no one in it. We can go there to talk."
"Okay, let's go there."
Sokov brought Konev to the conference room. Before entering the door, he ordered Samoilov who was following him: "Comrade Lieutenant, the commander of the front army and I have important matters to discuss. You personally lead a few people to guard the corridor.
No one is allowed to come near here."
"And outside the window," Konev added at the side: "No one is allowed to approach."
"That's right." After hearing what Konev said, Sokov quickly continued: "Send someone to guard outside the window. No one is allowed to come within ten meters."
After arranging the security mission, Sokov accompanied Konev into the conference room.
After a guard brought tea and snacks to the two of them, Sokov asked straight to the point: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, do you have anything important to do?"
After Konev took a sip of the tea in front of him, he said slowly: "The latest troop organization list is here. Your group army has been placed under the command of the Voronezh Front."
Sokov just picked up the cup. When he heard what Konev said, his hands couldn't help but tremble. The tea in the cup spilled out, making him grin. He quickly put down the cup in his hand and asked unexpectedly: "Didn't you say, wait?
As soon as the Battle of Kursk is over, will our army group be allowed to return to re-establishment? Why did the superiors change their minds again?"
"How do you put it?" Konev said helplessly: "The superiors believe that we are just a reserve front army, a strategic reserve of the base camp, and do not have the ability to fight independently. Therefore, we must continue to split them up to separate them.
Our troops are organized into armies, corps and even divisions, and are allocated to those troops that are in urgent need of reinforcements."
As a person from the future, Sokov knows very well that on October 20 this year, the base camp will reorganize all the troops. Vatutin’s Voronezh Front Army will be reorganized into the First Ukrainian Front Army;
Nev's Steppe Front was reorganized into the Second Ukrainian Front.
Later, after Vatutin was injured in an attack, Zhukov temporarily acted as the commander of the front army for a period of time. Since Zhukov had to accept more important tasks, he was transferred soon after, and then the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts merged to form the
A super large force with 1.2 million people, with Konev serving as the commander of the front army.
At this moment, Sokov finally understood why the base camp merged the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. It was because both fronts contained troops that Konev had once commanded. Many group army commanders were Konev's old subordinates.
, they will spare no effort to support Konev in the process of integrating the troops.
After Konev completed the integration of the troops, the base camp quickly established a new Ukrainian Second Front, with General Malinovsky as the commander of the front.
"What did you think about it?" Just as Sokov was deep in thought, he heard Konev's voice: "Do you want to stay in the Voronezh Front, or return to Japan?"
At this moment, there is still more than half a year before Konev becomes the commander of the First Ukrainian Front. Although he is now Konev's most valued subordinate, if he chooses to stay in the Voronezh Front, a new commander will replace him.
status, when he returns to Konev's command, his regard for him will be greatly reduced.
It was out of this consideration that when Sokov heard Konev's question, he replied without hesitation: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army! I am willing to return to the army with my troops even now..."
Before Sokov could finish speaking, Konev raised his hand and interrupted him: "Comrade Sokov, I understand what you mean, and I am very satisfied with your answer. I will try my best to report it to the Supreme Commander.
We will fight for you to return to the organizational structure of our front army."
"Will the Supreme Command agree?" Sokov asked with some lack of confidence. The performance of the group army he led in the battle of Kursk made him a dazzling star and the target of everyone's competition.
Therefore, he was very worried that Vatutin would not let him go when the time came.
Konev saw Sokov's worry and smiled and said to him: "Comrade Sokov, since you have expressed your stance, let me share some gossip with you. Before coming here, I went to the Voronezh Front Army
Headquarters, go see Marshal Zhukov. He has promised that he will report the return of your army group to the Supreme Command as soon as possible, hoping to adapt the decision made by the superiors."
"Great, this is really great." Sokov couldn't help but feel happy after learning that his troops could continue to stay in the Prairie Front Army, because as long as in the next battle, he could serve as a member of the Prairie Front Army.
members and continue to build new meritorious deeds.
Konev came here specifically to see Sokov today because he wanted to do everything possible to let Sokov continue to serve as his subordinate. He had even considered that once the Supreme Command did not agree to allow the 27th Army to return to the establishment, he would
If we can find ways to transfer Sokov back to the Steppe Front, we cannot exchange him with another commander.
In order to prevent the news from leaking out because the walls have ears, he asked for a tight security guard before the meeting with Sokov. At this moment, he had figured out Sokov's true thoughts and knew that the other party was willing to stay and have sex with him, and he felt at ease.
A lot.
Just as Konev was making a promise to Sokov in a low voice, someone knocked on the door of the conference room from outside.
Hearing the knock on the door, Sokov frowned and said displeased: "Didn't I tell them not to disturb me? Why did they forget my instructions so quickly?"
Dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction, but Sokov also knew very well in his heart that if there was nothing important, Samoilov, who was standing outside, would not bother him by knocking on the door casually. He got up, walked to the door, and opened the door.
He asked Samoilov, who was standing outside: "Comrade Lieutenant, what happened?"
"Comrade Commander, I'm sorry." Samoylov said to Sokov apologetically: "I don't want to disturb you, but the chief of staff just sent someone to inform you that something important has happened. Please return to the command as soon as possible.
department."
Hearing that Samyko had something important to do with him, Sokov did not bother to continue talking to Konev, but walked quickly towards the headquarters. Konev didn't know what happened, so he quickly followed behind.
.
Samyko, who was assigning tasks to the staff and communications troops, saw Sokov and Konev coming in. He quickly stepped forward and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, something happened!"
"Something happened?!" Sokov asked anxiously: "Which of our troops has a problem?"
The reason why Sokov is so anxious is entirely because there are two divisions in the defense area, not far from the Belgorod garrison position. Could it be that they were attacked by the enemy by surprise?
With this question in mind, he asked tentatively: "Did our troops to the south engage in a firefight with the enemy?"
Sameko shook his head and said: "No, Comrade Commander, our southern front is very safe. What I'm talking about is the friendly forces. Something happened to them."
When Konev heard this, he couldn't help but interrupt and asked: "Which friendly unit is in trouble?"
"It was the 31st Tank Corps under General Katukov. While pursuing the German 11th Armored Division, it was ambushed by the enemy and the troops suffered heavy losses."
"What, General Katukov's troops were ambushed by the Germans?" Even if a shell fell next to him and exploded, it would not be as shocking as the news from Samyko: "How many troops do they have? How many troops do the enemies have?"
How many troops are left and how can we be ambushed by the enemy?"
"The 31st Tank Corps is the most elite unit under General Katukov," Samyko reported to the two men: "Although they have also suffered heavy casualties in recent battles, the three members of the corps
The tank brigade and an independent tank regiment have half of their tanks left.
After expelling the German armored regiment occupying the Bogodukhov logistics base and being attacked by the 31st Tank Corps, they only resisted for less than half an hour and began to retreat westward along the road. Seeing the enemy fleeing, the Tank Corps
Colonel Zolikov, commander of the 49th Brigade, ordered the troops to pursue.
When they were more than ten kilometers away from Bogodukhov, they were suddenly attacked by tank and anti-tank gunfire from both sides of the road. Seven or eight tanks were immediately destroyed by artillery fire. Colonel Zolikov ordered the troops to
They deployed on the spot and sent a distress telegram to the tank commander.
Upon learning that Colonel Zolikov was in danger, the tank commander immediately ordered the 100th Tank Brigade and the 17th Independent Tank Regiment to go for reinforcements. He tried to defeat the ambushed enemy and rescue the trapped 49th Tank Brigade.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the reinforcements arrived at the area where the 49th Tank Brigade was surrounded, they were attacked by the dominant German armored forces. All the tanks of the 17th Independent Tank Regiment were destroyed by the Germans in less than ten minutes.
The leader died at the beginning.
Fortunately, Colonel Inov's 100th Tank Brigade desperately launched an assault on the enemy, opened a gap in the enemy's encirclement, and rescued the encircled 49th Tank Brigade. However, only the remaining tanks of the brigade were capable of combat.
Seven vehicles, one of the brigade commander Colonel Zolikov's arms was blown off..."
"Why are there only tanks chasing the infantry?" When Konev heard this, he asked angrily: "With the cooperation of the infantry, even if they were ambushed by the German armored forces, they would not have to pay such a price in such a short period of time.
A high price.”
Regarding Konev's question, Samyko smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, you don't know something. The mechanized army and infantry army of the First Tank Army are clearing out the defeated 17th Armored Division in the south of the Oboyan area.
, the 31st Tank Division fought alone."
"What about Chistyakov's Sixth Guards Army?" Konev continued to ask angrily: "Isn't it possible that their forces are too scattered and unable to cooperate with tanks?"
"The situation is not what you imagined." Seeing Konev getting angry, Samyko carefully explained to him: "The Sixth Guards Army received an order to cooperate with the operation, but the tanks advanced too fast and pushed the infantry far away.
The tanks were left far behind, preventing the tanks from being covered by the infantry."