Sokov took Lunev, Weisbach and Bunch, and under the protection of the guard platoon led by Samoilov, headed to the Fisky collective farm overnight.
It is more than 30 kilometers from Dergach to Fesky Collective Farm. The road has become bumpy due to the long-term fighting. For safety reasons, the speed limit for night driving is no more than 30 kilometers per hour. Sokov was anxious and started from getting in the car.
, he kept urging the driver to speed up and make sure to get to the Fisky collective farm as soon as possible.
Sokov and Lunev were sitting side by side in the back of the jeep, frowning and thinking hard about the problem.
Seeing that Sokov was silent, Lunev took the initiative to ask in order to resolve the embarrassment in the car: "Comrade Commander, do you think the 384th Division's operation tonight can be successful?
"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov confidently replied to Lunev's question: "The attack we launched in the direction of the landing site has successfully attracted the attention of the German army. According to the reconnaissance report, the enemy was at the location where we expected to break through.
direction, and there are no signs of strengthening defenses.”
"That's good, that's good." As Sokov's partner, Lunev believed in Sokov's ability very much. Since he said there was no problem with tonight's offense, there must be no problem. He said happily:
"As long as the 384th Division successfully breaks through the German defense line on the Oude River, we will have two landing sites on the east bank. When the time is right, we can send troops to launch attacks from the two landing sites at the same time, making it difficult for the enemy to guard against it."
"Comrade Military Commissar," since Samyko is commanding the battle in the headquarters, Sokov will naturally not be distracted by this matter. What he is worried about at the moment is that he sends out commanders without asking for permission.
, taking over an infantry division and a tank brigade from friendly forces. If the superiors turn a blind eye, it doesn't matter; but if there are serious people who insist on pursuing it, I will not be able to bear the consequences and walk away. "You.
If I do this, will there be any trouble?"
"Trouble?!" Lunev waited for Sokov to finish, then laughed and said: "Comrade Commander, how should I put it, this matter is big or small. If the superiors don't pursue it, then it will be fine; if
If you insist on pursuing it, you may still have the possibility of going to a military court."
"I think as long as I take over these two troops and lead them to victory, my superiors will probably not pursue them." Sokov is worried about another thing: "No matter what, this matter must be reported to my superiors.
Report. Tell me, should I report to Commander Konev, or should I report directly to Marshal Zhukov, bypassing General Vatutin?"
Lunev thought for a long time and said: "I think it would be more appropriate to report directly to Marshal Zhukov." Before Sokov could ask again, he continued, "The troops you receive are all from the Voronezh Front. Even if you report to Kosokov
Commander Nev reported that after he understood the situation, he also needed to negotiate with General Vatutin. Whether you can keep these two troops by then is still unknown.
And report directly to Marshal Zhukov. After he understands the situation, he may directly issue an order to put these two troops under the organization of our army group. In this way, no one can say anything idle."
Sokov thought Lunev's proposal was good, so he took out a pen and paper from his briefcase, quickly wrote the message, and handed it to Samoilov, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat: "Comrade Lieutenant, we will meet you later."
As soon as you arrive at Fisky Collective Farm, you will send this telegram to Marshal Zhukov."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Commander, don't be in a hurry." But Lunev raised his objection on the side: "Don't be in a hurry to send a telegram to Marshal Zhukov."
The person who asked him to report to Zhukov was Runev; the person who stopped him from sending a telegram to Zhukov was still Runev. Sokov's heart was full of questions: "Why?"
"Although the scouts reported to us the intelligence at the Fesky collective farm, the specifics of what happened are unclear." Runev explained to Sokov: "If we rush to report to him at this time,
Marshal Zhukov reported to him and asked him to agree to our recruitment of these two troops. He will definitely refuse. Once rejected, these two troops will have no relationship with us."
"Yeah, that makes sense." After listening to this, Sokov took back the telegram from Samoilov's hand in a good-natured manner. "Then wait until I find out what happened at Fisky Collective Farm.
It’s not too late to report to Marshal Zhukov.”
When they arrived at Fisky Collective Farm, a battalion led by Captain Mikhailev had already taken control of the farm and moved the commanders and soldiers who had fallen to the ground in a mess into nearby houses or arranged them in neat rows on the roadside.
Batch.
As the jeep entered the farm, Sokov looked through the window glass at the friendly military commanders lying on the roadside outside. Smelling the strong smell of alcohol in the air, he couldn't help but frowned: "Hell, where did they get them from?
of vodka?”
Samoilov, who was sitting in the passenger seat, saw a sentry outside the door of a nearby building, so he concluded that Captain Mikhailov had set up his headquarters there, and quickly pointed the direction to the driver.
After everyone got off the bus, Sokov, surrounded by several commanders, walked towards the building.
The sentry guarding the door, who didn't know Sokov, quickly stood at attention and saluted.
Sokov asked: "Where is your battalion commander?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The sentry replied in a panic: "He and several company commanders are having a meeting inside."
Sokov walked into the dimly lit room, lit by candles, and saw several people sitting around the table. He squinted his eyes for a while before he recognized them as Captain Mikhailev and several of his company commanders. They
They were having a heated discussion and didn't even notice Sokov standing at the door.
Sokov stood at the door for a while and found that there seemed to be no possibility of the argument stopping. He stopped waiting and walked over. He asked bluntly: "Comrade commanders, what are you discussing?"
Mikhailov heard someone talking, raised his head suddenly, and saw Sokov and several officers. He hurriedly stood up from the table and raised his hand to salute Sokov: "Comrade Commander, 73rd Infantry Regiment
Lieutenant Mikhailev, deputy commander of the brigade and commander of the first battalion, reports to you that we are discussing how to clean up the mess in the collective farm."
"What mess are you cleaning up?" Sokov asked coldly.
"Comrade Commander, when our battalion arrived here, we found the ground covered with our commanders and fighters." Mikhailev reported to Sokov: "After our careful inspection, we found that these people were not injured, but just drunk.
.”
"Drunk?!" Although before Sokov came here, the information he received was that all the commanders and fighters in the Fesky collective farm were drunk and unconscious: "Can anyone explain to me what happened?
thing?"
"Report to Comrade Commander," Mikhailev waited for Sokov to finish and immediately continued: "After I arrived here with the troops, I sent people to resettle these drunken commanders and fighters on one side, and on the other side I sent people to find the returning soldiers.
Sober people, ask them what's going on here."
"Have you checked it out?"
"The German army had several warehouses and a huge underground wine cellar in the Fesky collective farm." Mikhailev said: "In the underground wine cellar, the Germans stored a year's output of the French winery, and in addition
There are millions of cigarettes and canned goods, enough to be stored in a medium-sized town for half a year."
When Sokov heard this, he realized what the problem was, and asked tentatively: "So, our commanders and soldiers drank the wine that the enemy kept in the underground wine cellar, and they all became drunk?"
"Yes, there are a large number of empty vodka cans placed around these drunk commanders and fighters." Mikhailev then reported: "In order to find out what is going on, I sent people to search the farm, hoping to
The top commanders of the two forces were found. Fortunately, we were lucky, both of them were found and placed in the next room."
"Oh, the two commanders of the friendly forces are next door," Sokov asked in surprise: "How are they doing now? Are they still conscious?"
"That's terrible." Mikhailov shook his head and said, "Although I sent hygienists to sober them up, they drank too much and couldn't wake up in a short while."
"Comrade Captain," Sokov thought, thinking that he was the one who brought people to take over the army. The commanders of the two armies are now in a state of unconsciousness. It will be very easy to remove them from their posts. So Sokov
Instructed Mikhailov: "Send someone next door to see if the two comrades, the commander, are awake."
Mikhailev agreed, called a soldier, and told him in a low voice to go to the next room to see if the two commanders who had been drinking had woken up.
As soon as the soldiers left, Mikhailev suddenly saw Weisbach standing behind Sokov, quickly raised his hand to salute him, and asked in surprise: "Comrade Colonel, why are you here?"
Sokov remembered that Mikhailev had set out earlier and did not know that he planned to appoint Colonel Weisbach as the acting division commander of the 300th Infantry Division, so he took the initiative to explain to him: "Comrade Captain, I will bring Colonel Weisbach here.
, is to take over the position of commander of the 300th Division."
Hearing what Sokov said, Mikhailev was very surprised. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Atakuz, commander of the 300th Division, why should we change the command when he sobers up and can continue to command the troops?"
Drop him?"
"Just being charged with making all the commanders and fighters of the army drunk and delaying the fighter plane is enough to send him to a military court." Sokov said in a stern tone: "The reason why they are in this area is because they were sent by their superiors.
They came to help us. But what about them? They succeeded more than they failed. Everyone was drunk. Fortunately, there were no Germans nearby. If there were enemies, even if there was only one company, it would be like killing pigs and slaughtering sheep.
Wipe out these two armies of ours.
In order to prevent similar things from happening again, I plan to send people to take over the positions of the two commanders and put their troops under the organization of our army group."
At this time, there was a burst of chaotic footsteps at the door, as well as the hoarse roars of two people. Sokov turned around and saw only four soldiers, in groups of two, each supporting a drunken officer. Although both of them were
They were strangers, but Sokov immediately guessed their identities from their military ranks.
The soldier dragged the two of them to the front of Sokov. Since they were still hungover, the two of them could not stand at all. If the soldier had not been supporting them, they would have fallen to the ground. When Sokov saw this,
He couldn't help but frown, and then raised his voice and shouted: "Stand at attention!"
Following Sokov's shout, the two drunken commanders instinctively stood at attention. When they saw clearly that there were a major general and a lieutenant general among the people standing in front of them, they were immediately frightened.
Woke up most of the time.
Colonel Atakuz hurriedly raised his hand to salute Lunev and said nervously: "Comrade General, the commander of the 300th Infantry Division, Colonel Atakuz, is reporting to you. I am following your orders, please give instructions!"
"Comrade Colonel," because Atakuz's speech was unclear, Runev did not hear his order clearly at all, and could only address the other party by his military rank: "Tell me, what is going on, and why are all the
Are all the commanders and soldiers drunk?"
"Comrade General," Atacuz replied nervously: "When we occupied the Fisky collective farm, some soldiers discovered an underground wine cellar with thousands of jars of vodka in it. To celebrate our successful liberation, it was occupied by the German army.
In the collective farm, I asked the commanders and soldiers to drink wine to celebrate. Who knows that we drank too happily and accidentally drank too much."
Seeing that Atakuz, who had made such a serious mistake, still did not realize the seriousness of the problem, Lunev couldn't help stamping his feet in anger. Sokov said expressionlessly: "Comrade Colonel, I am
Major General Sokov, Commander of the 27th Group Army, I am now honored to inform you that due to the serious mistakes you have made, I will temporarily suspend you from performing your duties as division commander and accept review from your superiors."
"Comrade General," Atakuz never dreamed that Cheng Yaojin would appear next to him. He couldn't help but said angrily: "Your superior hasn't spoken yet, and you are gesticulating here..."
"Superior?!" Lunev pointed to his nose with his index finger and asked Atakuz: "The superior you are talking about refers to me, right?" Before Atakuz could express his position, he continued, "
Comrade Colonel, you are mistaken. Although my military rank is higher than that of Comrade Sokov, I am his deputy, and he has the final say in everything here."
When Atakuz realized that he had made a mistake, he suddenly felt his face turn red. Fortunately, his face had already turned red due to being drunk, and the people next to him couldn't see anything strange about him.
The lieutenant colonel of the tank soldiers who stood beside him and remained silent, quickly stepped forward and reported to Sokov: "Comrade general, I am Lieutenant Colonel Chukliko, commander of the 37th Tank Brigade."
Sokov glanced at the lieutenant colonel with contempt and said angrily: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, I formally inform you that you have been dismissed from the post of tank brigade commander because of drunkenness and misbehavior. Your vacated position
The position will be taken over by my subordinate Major Bunch, you can handle the handover with him now."
"Comrade General," Chuklico seemed a little flustered when he heard Sokov asked him and Major Bunch to handle the handover: "I know I was wrong. Can you give me another chance?"
Seeing Chukliko take the initiative to admit his mistake, Sokov felt somewhat unbearable, and his tone of voice became much gentler: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what kind of opportunity do you think I should give you?"