"Comrade Commander," the visitor raised his hand and saluted Sokov, and then reported loudly: "I have been ordered by Colonel Surodenko to send you the signed and completed agreement."
"Oh, the agreement has been signed." Sokov stretched out his hand to the other party: "Show me the agreement."
After reading the cooperation agreement with Romania, Sokov handed it to Ponejelin: "General Ponejelin, take a look, this is the cooperation agreement signed by the Romanian army and us."
Ponejelin took the agreement, read it carefully, and asked Sokov with a frown: "Comrade Commander, aren't you worried that the Romanians will tear up the agreement?"
"Not afraid." Sokov shook his head and said, "Besides, they don't dare." Seeing Ponedelin's confused look, he explained, "I think they should see the situation on the battlefield very clearly. The German army
Under the powerful blows of our army, they are retreating steadily. The choice they can make now is to leave the German camp and join us."
"But the 18th Infantry Division that cooperates with us is just a unit with little combat effectiveness." Ponejelin shook his head and said with some disappointment: "I hope they will not become a burden to us after the battle begins.
.”
Sokov clearly remembered that an armed uprising broke out in Romania on August 23, 1944. In a week of fighting, more than 5,000 German troops from 6 divisions were killed and more than 53,000 were captured, including 14 generals and 1,124
officers, two-thirds of the country's land was liberated.
"General Ponedelin, I think you are worrying too much." Sokov said to Ponedelin: "On the surface, the combat effectiveness of Major General Antonetta's 18th Infantry Division is indeed weak. But as long as they
If we can truly cooperate with us, we can help us get more support from the Romanian army in the next battle."
After the two chatted for a while, Sokov received a phone call. After listening to it, he said to Ponedelin: "General Ponedelin, the call was from the chief of staff. He told me that all the soldiers have been
The troops have been replenished, and although many of them still don't have weapons, it doesn't affect our entry into Otac at all."
"What about the means of transportation?" Now that the problem of soldiers has been solved, the next thing to worry about is how to get to Otac. After all, it is nearly a hundred kilometers away and it will take at least two days to march on foot.
"You can rest assured on this." Sokov continued: "The later troops will prepare two hundred trucks for you, which can transport two to three thousand commanders and fighters at a time. You can send the most elite troops to serve as the vanguard, with the fastest speed
Move in quickly and make defensive arrangements to avoid a sudden attack by the Germans. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Ponedelin said seriously: "Since you handed over Otac to me, I will never hand over the city to the Germans."
"It is not enough just not to hand over the city to the Germans." Sokov told Ponedelin: "In the coming days, maybe we will use this city as a way to force the crossing of the Dniester River.
The starting point, therefore, it is completely necessary to establish a solid defense system.”
Two hours later, the 122nd Regiment, as the vanguard, got on the logistics truck and drove towards Otac.
Originally, Ponejelin had already explained everything to the regiment commander, Colonel Papuchenko, but when the troops were about to set off, he was worried again, so he handed over the work of the division to the chief of staff, Sidorin, and followed the 122nd Regiment
The regiment entered Otac together.
When he saw the Soviet troops entering the city, Antonetta personally brought people to greet them. When he saw Ponjelin and Papuchenko appearing at the same time, he thought Papuchenko was the division commander and took the initiative to show his goodwill to each other.
: "Mr. Colonel, you must be the commander of the 41st Guards Division. I am Major General Antonetta, the commander of the 18th Romanian Infantry Division. On behalf of the entire city's military and civilians, I welcome you and your troops!"
Being mistaken for a division commander by Antonetta, Papuchenko couldn't help but blush. He pointed at Ponedelin standing beside him and introduced him: "General, you are mistaken. I am not a division commander."
, is just the commander of the 122nd Regiment. This Lieutenant Colonel Ponejelin is our new division commander."
Antonetta was surprised to learn that the lieutenant colonel was the division commander, while the colonel was just the regimental commander. However, he did not show any fuss, but began to introduce his subordinates: "Let me introduce to you.
They are Colonel Dinu, chief of staff of the division...Colonel Udrea, commander of the 52nd regiment...Colonel Kosdik, commander of the 53rd regiment...Colonel Marinescu, commander of the 54th regiment."
Seeing that the other party was a colonel, Ponejelin's old face couldn't help but blush slightly. He actually became the person with the lowest rank in the military.
"Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin!" At this time, Udrea, the commander of the 52nd Regiment, took a step forward. After looking Ponedelin up and down, he asked tentatively: "Before the war, I knew a
General Ponedelin, he is the commander of the 12th Russian Army. Please tell me, are he and you related, or do they just happen to have the same surname?"
Hearing Udrea's question, Ponedelin was stunned for a moment, and then replied with some embarrassment: "Mr. Colonel, the person you are talking about is not a relative of mine, nor does he have the same name, that is me."
"You are General Ponedelin." Confirming that the lieutenant colonel in front of him was the former commander of the Soviet Army Group, Udrea couldn't help but stand in awe: "Hello, Mr. General, I am Colonel Udrea
,nice to see you again."
"Colonel Udrea, do you know me?"
"Yes, Mr. General." Udrea said respectfully: "Before the war, my army held joint military exercises with the army you commanded. At that time, you were a general, and I was just a general.
Captain, it is natural that you have no impression of me."
"Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin." Antonetta stood up and said, "Colonel Udrea is the officer who supports our cooperation agreement the most."
"Hello, Colonel Udrea." Knowing that the other party was an officer who supported cooperation between the two parties, and that he had dealt with him before the war, Ponedelin naturally had a better impression of him, and he extended his hand to him.
, said friendly: "Nice to see you here."
"Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin," Antonetta felt that the outside was not the place to talk, so she called Ponedelin: "This is not the place to talk. Why don't you and the colonel come to my office so that we can discuss it?
Matters of mutual defense.”
"General Antonetta, I can just talk to you about this matter. As for Colonel Papuchenko, he has other tasks." After Ponedelin finished speaking, he turned around and told Papuchenko: "Comrade Colonel,
Immediately take your troops to the southwest of the city and build fortifications there."
Hearing that Ponejelin was arranging the construction of fortifications, Antonetta immediately said: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, your troops have arrived and are not familiar with the terrain. How about I send Colonel Udrea to be your guide? He
The troops are now stationed in the southwest of the city."
Naturally, Ponedelin would not refuse Antonetta's kindness. He said to Papchenko: "Colonel, then you can stay and discuss with Colonel Udrea how to build fortifications."
.”
Arriving at Antonetta's office, as soon as Ponedelin sat down, a staff officer came in with two cups of coffee, placed them in front of Antonetta and Ponedelin, and then quietly left.
He went out and closed the door behind him.
"General Ponedelin." Seeing that she and Ponedelin were the only ones in the office, Antonetta changed her title and asked curiously: "I heard that you were captured in Uman shortly after the war broke out?
But now that I see you appearing here, I feel that the rumor I heard at the beginning must be a shameful rumor."
"General Antonetta, what you heard is not a rumor." Regarding the fact that he had been captured, Ponedelin already knew how to face it bravely. He took the initiative and said: "After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War,
I was indeed captured by the Germans because I was wounded in the Uman area and stayed in their concentration camp for more than two years."
"But I heard that all the captured personnel will basically be sent to Siberia after they return." Antonetta looked at Ponedelin and asked puzzledly: "But I see that not only were you not sent to Siberia,
On the contrary, he returned to the army and even assumed the position of division commander. The only drawback is that his military rank is a bit low."
"General Antonetta, you speak Russian well." Ponedelin didn't want to talk about this sensitive matter, so he promptly changed the topic: "Where did you learn it?"
"It is not unusual for Romanians to speak Russian." Antonetta said with a smile: "After all, this country was protected by Tsarist Russia more than a hundred years ago, and it is very necessary to master Russian.
.”
After the two chatted for a while, Antonetta asked tentatively: "General Ponedelin, I wonder when General Sokov will arrive at Otats?"
"That's not clear." Although the two parties are now in a cooperative relationship, Antonetta suddenly asked this question, which still aroused Ponejelin's vigilance. However, in order to save face for the other party, he still responded euphemistically: "
At present, our troops in Otac City are still too few, and when they increase to a certain number, I think he will definitely come."
"It should, it should." Antonetta agreed with Ponejelin's statement: "After all, we are too close to the German defense area. Once they learn that General Sokov is here, and
If we launch a powerful offensive, with the current strength of both of us, we will simply not be able to stop their attack. By then, General Sokov will be in danger."
Through the conversation with Antonetta, Ponejelin came to the conclusion that this was a loser who knew how to adapt to changes. Now that the Germans' strength has been damaged and their performance on the battlefield is unsatisfactory, he will take the initiative to ask for help.
The Soviet army is getting closer. Once the Germans become stronger again, they may fall to the Germans again. We need to stay vigilant against him at all times to avoid being plotted by him in the future. We don’t know what is going on.
Although he only had one face-to-face encounter with the three regiment commanders of the division when he was outside, Ponedelin felt that the commander of the 52nd regiment, Colonel Udrea, had shown obvious pro-Soviet behavior and that he could strengthen his contacts with the Soviet Union in the future.
cooperation between him.
"How is the situation in the city?" Ponjelin then asked: "Are the factories open and are the shops open?"
"General Ponedelin, you can rest assured on this." Antonetta understood the meaning of Ponedelin's question and explained to him: "At the current location, there are several factories in the city, and the security
Every store in life is always in normal operation."
Perhaps in order to show his merit in front of Ponejelin, he also took the initiative to say: "Originally, the factory director and the owners of those stores came to me to request a suspension of business, saying that they were worried that once the war started, their factories and stores would be destroyed.
It would be destroyed by war. I was considering cooperating with you at the time, so I rejected their request. Now it seems that the decision I made at that time was correct."
"Yes, General Antonetta, you did it right." Ponejelin agreed with his approach: "I believe that after the war is over, the residents of Otac will thank you for your support.
Everything you did today.”
"By the way, prison!" Ponjelin suddenly remembered a key department: "Are there any members of the underground resistance organization imprisoned in it?"
"Yes, General Ponedelin." After Ponedelin reminded her, Antonetta immediately realized that she had neglected something important. She quickly picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number.
Said into the microphone: "I am Antonetta, call me the warden."
"Warden? I am Antonetta. I am ordering you to immediately release all the members of the underground resistance organization detained in the cell...What, you dare not! Why?...Afraid of the Germans' revenge on you?"
"
"Warden, let me tell you the truth, the Russians... no, the main force of the Soviet army has entered the city." Seeing that the warden actually disobeyed his orders, Antonetta said in a stern tone: "
If you follow my order and release the people now, then nothing will happen. But if the Soviet army goes to the prison to release the people on their own, I'm afraid you will be imprisoned. It's up to you what to do."
After putting down the phone, Antonetta explained to Ponedelin with a smile: "General Ponedelin, this prison warden is a pro-German element, and he doesn't really accept the orders I gave. If I don't
If you threaten him, I'm afraid he won't honestly release the imprisoned members of the resistance organization."
"General Antonetta," no matter what decision Antonetta will make in the future, he took the initiative to ask the warden to release the prisoner, which was a gesture of goodwill to Ponedelin. So Ponedelin stood up and said to
He stretched out his hand and said kindly: "Thank you for everything you have done today. On behalf of the members of the resistance organization who are about to gain freedom, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you."
"No, this is what I should do." Antonetta felt that it was very necessary to have a good relationship with Ponedelin. He took advantage of the handshake and asked tentatively: "General Ponedelin."
, I wonder where you plan to locate the headquarters?”
Ponejelin did not answer the question immediately, but asked: "Do you have any good suggestions?"
"There are still a lot of empty rooms in the municipal building, why don't you set up the headquarters here!"
The water and electricity supply in the municipal building is convenient, so it is indeed a good choice to locate the division headquarters here. However, Ponjelin thought that although the two sides were cooperating now, after all, they had just ended their hostile relationship, so they had to be on guard against others.
If the other party makes some small moves one day, the headquarters set up here may be blamed.
After thinking about this, he smiled and said to Antonetta: "General Antonetta, thank you for your kindness. I thought for a while, if my division headquarters also moves in, the building will definitely be empty by then.
It will become overcrowded, so I think I should find another place to serve as the headquarters. For example, a church in the city center, I think is a good choice."