Another half hour later, a new telegram came from Kirillov.
The telegram said that after careful investigation, it was found that most members of the headquarters were buried under the rubble. He personally shouted to the people below and heard the responses from Smirnov and Gorokhov. They were still alive, but
They were all injured to varying degrees. The exact extent of the injuries will not be known until someone rescues them.
After learning that Smirnov and Gorokhov were still alive, Sokov couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. He asked Muzichenko: "Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko, do you know where our field hospital is?"
"
Although Sokov simply asked about the field hospital, Muzichenko knew clearly that the person he was asking about was neither a military-level field hospital nor a division-level field hospital. He was asking about a field hospital directly under the jurisdiction of the Army Group Headquarters.
He quickly replied: "Comrade Commander, as far as I know, the group army's field hospital is still at its original location and will not be moved for the time being."
Knowing that the medical staff of the Army Group Field Hospital were still in the original area, Sokov felt much more at ease. You must know that the medical staff with the highest medical level within the Army Group are in the Army Field Hospital.
He ordered Muzichenko: "Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko, immediately send a telegram to the group army's field station, saying that the headquarters was suddenly attacked by the enemy, and most of the personnel were injured. They immediately organized capable personnel and rushed to the scene for first aid.
.”
After Muzichenko waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he kindly reminded: "Comrade Commander, although Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov's telegram did not mention medical staff, I feel that such a big thing has happened.
The medical staff at the field hospital will not ignore it, they must have sent people to the scene long ago and participated in the rescue work."
Sokov felt that Muzichenko's statement was very reasonable. He was also confused because he heard about the accident between Smirnov and Gorokhov. He nodded and said: "Okay.
Well, let's wait patiently for the news over there. I hope the injuries to the chief of staff and the military commissar are not serious and will not affect their subsequent work."
While waiting for Kirillov to send a new telegram, there was silence in the headquarters. No one dared to speak casually, lest he offend Sokov and get scolded, which would be very unworthy.
The telegram did not arrive, but Ponedelin came back first.
Ponejelin walked into the headquarters and found that it was quiet. If he hadn't seen most people busy at their posts, he would have thought he was in the wrong place. He pulled over a staff officer and asked in a low voice:
"What happened? Why is it so quiet in the headquarters?"
"Comrade Advisor," the staff officer quickly glanced at Sokov in the distance and found that he was busy with his head down. He quickly lowered his voice and said to Ponedelin: "Just now when you went out to serve as a guide for Colonel Yakov and others, the army group
Something happened at the headquarters."
"What happened?"
"The Army Headquarters was attacked." The staff officer did not see the telegram and did not know the details of what happened there. He could only say vaguely: "I don't know whether it was shelled or bombed. The building of the headquarters collapsed.
All members were buried in the rubble."
Seeing Ponedelin's shocked look, he quickly added: "Although there were many casualties, General Smirnov, the Chief of Staff, and General Gorokhov, the Military Commissioner, are still alive, but they were just buried.
In the ruins, commanders and fighters from the headquarters are rescuing them."
After figuring out what happened, Ponedelin quickly walked over to Sokov and wanted to ask what the specific situation was.
His footsteps alerted Sokov and Shtemenko. In order to break the silence in the headquarters, Shtemenko took the lead in greeting: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, you are back!"
"Yes, Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff." Although Ponedelin was answering Shtemenko's question, his eyes were fixed on Sokov: "I'm back."
"Major Yakov and the others have set off?"
"Yes, we are all set off."
After the two exchanged a few useless words, Ponedelin finally came to Sokov's side. He whispered: "Comrade Commander, I know everything that happened at the Army Headquarters. I believe it."
Generals Gorokhov and Smirnov will be safe in the end."
As soon as he finished speaking, a staff officer's cheers suddenly came from the communication area.
Hearing the cheers, Ponejelin couldn't help but frowned, wondering who could be so unruly. Didn't you see that the commander was in a low mood at the moment? If you yelled like this, weren't you adding to the chaos?
He just turned around, ready to teach the rash staff officer a lesson. However, he saw that the staff officer who had just introduced the situation to him had already rushed in front of him. He waved the telegram in his hand and said emotionally: "Comrade Commander, good news, good news."
News. The chief of staff and military commissar have been rescued. They were only slightly injured and will not affect the subsequent command."
After learning that Smirnov and Gorokhov had escaped safely, Sokov, regardless of his blunder, grabbed the telegram from his staff and read it carefully several times. Although he found that the content written on it was different from the
The staff officer reported the same thing, but he still asked uneasily: "Is this telegram really sent by Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The staff officer nodded and replied in a positive tone: "I am absolutely certain that this is a telegram sent by Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov."
Ponedelin knew that Sokov's concern led to chaos. Since the staff officer said that the telegram was sent by Kirillov, there must be no problem, so he helped by saying: "Comrade Commander, since the chief of staff and the military commissar have already
It's okay, then you can rest assured. I believe it won't be long before a more detailed telegram is sent."
Sokov nodded and changed the topic to Yakov: "Have Colonel Yakov and Victor set off to the front line?"
"Yes." Ponedelin quickly replied: "A total of two transport hovercrafts came, loaded with weapons and ammunition. Yakov, Viktor, and Sukhalev took an assault hovercraft to lead the way.
"Let's go to the defense area of the 41st Guards Division together." He raised his hand and looked at his watch, "If everything goes well, we should be unloading the goods in the defense area of the 124th Guards Regiment at this moment."
As soon as he heard about the 41st Guards Division, Sokov remembered the battle that took place there. He picked up the phone on the table, connected to Afunin's headquarters, and asked straight to the point: "General Afunin, who is on the front line?"
How is the situation? Has the enemy launched a new attack?"
"No, Comrade Commander, the enemy has not launched a new attack." Afunin reported truthfully: "I just learned about the situation from General Kurishenko. It was quiet in front of his position, and there was no movement from the Germans.
It seems that they will not launch another attack before dawn."
Although Sokov thought so in his heart, in order to prevent Afunin from underestimating the enemy, he still reminded him: "General Afunin, the most terrifying thing is when the enemy is silent, because we can't be sure whether they have just stopped, or whether they have just stopped.
A new round of attack is brewing, so we must not let down our guard."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Afnin understood Sokov's intention and quickly expressed his stance to him: "I will convey your intention to General Kurishenko."
Just after the call ended, the high-frequency phone on the table rang again. Sokov stared at the phone in front of him, wondering who the call could be. Could it be that the front army headquarters knew that his group army headquarters was under attack and deliberately
Did you call to find out the situation?
Poniejlin, who was sitting nearby, saw that Sokov was not answering the phone and was just staring at the phone in his hand in a daze. He stood up and picked up the phone: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Poniejlin. Where are you from?"
After only listening for a moment, he exclaimed: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it turns out it's you! That's right, Comrade Commander is right next to me. He was worried about you just now... What? You
Want to talk to him? Okay, I'll hand the phone to him right away."
Ponejelin covered the phone with his hand, his face full of concealed joy: "Comrade Commander, this is a call from the Chief of Staff. He wants to speak to you personally."
Sokov took the microphone with a slightly trembling hand, put it to his ear, and asked in a voice that changed with excitement: "I am Sokov! Are you Comrade Chief of Staff?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, it's me!" Smirnov's loud voice came from the receiver.
This was the first time that Sokov encountered Smirnov speaking in such a loud voice, and he quickly moved the microphone further away from his ears to prevent his eardrums from being blown through. He said jokingly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you
His voice is really loud.”
"Comrade Commander." Smirnov continued to speak loudly: "Maybe the explosion was too loud and shook my ears. When others talked to me, I felt as if my ears were filled with cotton."
"This is temporary. In a day or two at most, the hearing in your ears will return to normal." Sokov was eager to know what happened at the army headquarters and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell me what happened?
What happened?"
"When I was buried in the ruins, I thought about this carefully." Smirnov said: "Earlier, didn't I tell you that our scouts discovered the launch trajectory of the German V1 missile?
"
"Yes, you did say this." Sokov said in a positive tone: "When you asked for instructions on how to deal with the launch tracks of these missiles, I asked you to inform the scouts that those that can be destroyed with new rockets are
Use new rockets to destroy them at long distances. If there is no small team of new rockets, the German missiles must be blown up at all costs."
"According to my analysis, the missiles seen by the scouts should be used to attack our headquarters." Smirnov said cautiously: "I think the location of the group army headquarters has long been occupied by German scouts.
I discovered it, and that’s why I launched tonight’s long-range attack.”
After hearing this, Sokov said nothing. He was strangely angry at the moment. The Germans would actually attack his headquarters with missiles. If he had still stayed at the headquarters, he might have become a bomber like Smirnov and the others.
victim.
When Smirnov heard Sokov didn't speak, he continued: "According to my statistics, the Germans planned to launch eight missiles tonight, but three of them were killed by us before they even took off.
The team behind enemy lines destroyed the missiles. Of the five missiles that successfully took off, three missed their targets and hit unknown places. Of the remaining two, one landed in the forest near the station and exploded, causing no casualties.
casualties."
"What about the missile that landed near the headquarters?" Sokov asked: "How many casualties did it cause us?"
"According to incomplete statistics, 19 people have died and 51 people have been injured." Smirnov said in an uncertain tone: "The buildings that were knocked down by the shock wave of the explosion were not just the headquarters, but there were also buildings in the ruins.
Many commanders and fighters are buried inside. The specific number cannot be fully calculated until these people are rescued."
Sokov thought to himself, I am afraid that some of the commanders and fighters near the explosion point have been wiped out, and there is not even ashes left, so there is no way to count them. Regarding the German missile attack this time, Sokov felt that it was an accident.
It was such a shame and humiliation that he planned to take some action to avenge those commanders and soldiers who died.
Thinking of this, he asked Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, has the flying fortress transformed by General Ryazanov been completed?"
"Not yet." Smirnov replied: "So far, including the original one, only four transport aircraft have been modified."
"After dawn, please dispatch reconnaissance aircraft in the air to conduct reconnaissance in the Uman area. Once the German missile launch trajectory is discovered, the flying fortress will be immediately dispatched to attack." Sokov gritted his teeth and said: "I want the Germans to do it tonight.
His actions cost him blood."
When Sokov assigned the task to Smirnov, he did not avoid Shtemenko at all. If his headquarters was attacked by the enemy, but he did not even dare to fart, wouldn't that make the Germans look down on him?
He just wanted to use this method to let the Germans understand the consequences of going against him.
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov saw that Sokov was a little overwhelmed by anger and quickly reminded him: "Don't forget that the Germans have a complete air defense system in the Uman area. Last time the Air Force sent
Of the four reconnaissance planes, only one came back, and the rest were either shot down by anti-aircraft fire or destroyed by German fighter planes."
"Didn't we send many teams deep into the enemy's rear?" Sokov raised his voice and said: "Order them to immediately attack the German air defense positions and airports. Even if the German air defense system in the Uman area cannot be completely paralyzed,
It will also cause huge damage to them."
"It's not a big problem to let the small team behind enemy lines attack the enemy's air defense positions." Smirnov asked cautiously: "On the contrary, the enemy's airport has always been the most heavily defended place. Our team behind enemy lines is too numerous.
There are 15 people, or as few as 10. Let them attack the airport, and they will undoubtedly die."
"In addition to the reconnaissance teams sent in the early stage, don't the teams that set out later carry new rockets?" Sokov said with a straight face: "Since there are new rockets, we can attack the enemy's airport from a distance.
We'll retreat as soon as we're done. I'm afraid the defenders at the airport still won't know which direction the attack is coming from."
"I understand." Smirnov said: "I will pass on your order immediately."