The conversation between Sokov and Lunev was clearly heard by Smirnov and Gorokhov sitting next to them.
When Sokov put down the phone, Smirnov, who had a close relationship with Ponedelin, couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Commander, what is going on? How could Ponedelin have a heart disease when he is fine?"
?”
"Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov sighed softly and said helplessly: "He suffered a lot in the German prisoner of war camp and suffered from extremely serious rheumatism. Although he was rescued by our army, he underwent
Corresponding treatment was given, but somehow it turned into rheumatic heart disease."
"He was diagnosed with this disease just after he was appointed commander of the 41st Guards Division." After listening to Sokov's words, Smirnov said worriedly: "It is very detrimental to his future."
"What did General Runev say?" Gorokhov was also very concerned about Ponedelin's health: "Can we find a suitable doctor?"
"It should be possible." Sokov nodded and said: "Anyway, Lunev has now resumed his position as deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. With the connections he has, he should be able to find a few good doctors."
Since Lunev came forward in this matter, the chance of finding a good doctor was higher. The three of them did not discuss the matter anymore, but shifted the focus of the discussion to the defense of Otac City.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, in the coming days, we may have to resist the German attack here. Do you have any good plans?"
"Comrade Commander, I am about to report this to you." Smirnov pushed a map in front of Sokov and introduced his idea to him: "Now the 41st Guards Division only has one 122nd Regiment.
Setting up defenses outside the city, I think, is far from enough."
"That's right." Sokov agreed with Smirnov's statement. "Although the 122nd Regiment is building fortifications, their troops are too small and the area they can defend is limited. Even if the frontal fortifications are
No matter how strong it is, if the Germans turn around from both wings, their connection with the city may be cut off."
"Then should we move the other two regiments of the 41st Guards Division outside the city and set up defenses on the left and right wings of the 122nd Regiment?" Smirnov asked tentatively: "Is this okay?"
"No." Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Sokov flatly refused: "If we transfer all the Guards Division outside the city, then only some troops directly under the group army will be left. You know
, there are six thousand Romanian troops outside the city. If our troops in the city are empty and Germans enter the city to instigate rebellion against the Romanian troops, even if only a part of the troops respond, it will bring us huge trouble."
Sokov's words made Smirnov realize that he had not considered the problem comprehensively enough and actually forgot that the Romanian army in the city was still a destabilizing factor. Therefore, after Sokov finished speaking, he asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander
, then which unit do you plan to put in charge of the defense of the left and right wings of the 122nd Regiment?"
"I plan to transfer the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Divisions and let them be responsible for protecting the left and right wings of the 122nd Regiment."
"What?" Sokov's words surprised Smirnov: "Let two Guards Airborne Divisions defend the left and right wings of a Guards regiment."
"That's right." Sokov nodded first, and then asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there anything wrong?"
"I think that if the troops of the 18th Guards Army are placed in Otac, it will inevitably weaken the defense forces in other areas." Smirnov said cautiously: "If the Germans discover our weaknesses
, using that as a breakthrough point will be very detrimental to us."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are worrying too much." Sokov picked up the red and blue pencils on the table, made a few sketches on the map, and said: "Look, on our right wing, there is Trofimenko
Lieutenant General's 27th Army; on the left is General Korodeev's 52nd Army. They are following the orders of the front army headquarters and constantly launching attacks on the German troops on the front. Tell me, in this case, the Germans
Where can we find the strength to attack our left and right wings?"
He put down his pencil, picked up the tea cup on the table, took a sip of tea, and continued: "The reason why Marshal Konev ordered us to focus on defense is because he wanted us to hold the junction of the two armies to prevent their fronts from being destroyed by the Germans.
People are divided."
Gorokhov, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly interrupted and said: "Comrade Commander, from this point of view, the task of our group army is quite arduous."
"How do you say this? The tasks of our group army can be said to be difficult or difficult, and can be said to be easy or easy." After Sokov said this, he saw confusion in the eyes of Smirnov and Gorokhov.
Expression, he quickly explained: "The task is difficult because the Germans may use our defense area as the focus of their attack, and then we will have to readjust our troops to resist the German attack.
It's easy to say, because the attacks of the two friendly forces on the left and right may disrupt the plans of the German command, forcing them to give up the plan of using our group army as the first attack target, and instead readjust their troops to block our two groups.
Friendly forces are advancing westward."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov felt that what Sokov said was very reasonable, so he asked tentatively: "Tell me, will the Germans give up the attack on our army at all costs in an attempt to defeat our army?"
, and achieve the purpose of separating the 27th and 52nd Army?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the possibility you mentioned is entirely possible." Sokov said seriously: "I really considered this possibility and made the temporary decision to transfer General Afnin's 18th Guards Corps to Ota.
Let them resist the German attack."
"It will probably take a week to transfer all the 18th Guards Corps to Otac." Smirnov tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said thoughtfully: "If all the troops arrive at their designated positions,
The Germans had launched an attack on our defense area before, and I was worried that the 122nd Regiment would not be able to withstand it. After all, the majority of the troops were new recruits."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the newly recruited soldiers in the 122nd Regiment are not rookies without military training and no combat effectiveness, but veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles. They have been in German prisoner-of-war camps for so many years.
Their hearts are filled with hatred for the Germans, and as long as they are armed, their combat effectiveness will be greatly unleashed."
"Comrade Commander, the 41st Guards Division is your old unit. It has participated in the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kharkov, and has achieved good results." Smirnov said: "I believe this time
Once I return to your command, I will definitely achieve greater victory in the next battle."
Sokov was secretly muttering to himself that since the Battle of Stalingrad, although the troops had repeatedly made military exploits, several regiment commanders seemed not to have been promoted. Even if they were reluctantly promoted to military ranks, their positions remained unchanged. If possible,
, we must put them in more suitable positions.
"Yes, this unit has indeed made great achievements." Sokov knew that in order to promote these subordinates, he must first reach an agreement with Smirnov, so he said to Smirnov: "
Moreover, the three group leaders also played a great role, but it is regrettable..."
In order to arouse Smirnov's curiosity, Sokov deliberately paused for a moment when he said this. Sure enough, Smirnov asked anxiously: "What do they have to regret?"
"With their abilities and achievements, they can definitely hold higher positions." Sokov said with some regret: "When I was preparing to adjust their positions, my superiors transferred me from the 21st Group Army to
27th Group Army. It seems that the new commanders have no chance to discover their strengths, so they will naturally not be promoted and reused, so their positions can only remain in place."
From Sokov's words, Smirnov heard the hidden meaning behind his words, and took the initiative to express his position: "Comrade Commander, I remember this matter. As soon as the Battle of Uman is over, I will personally
Help them apply for promotions.”
Now that Smirnov has made the guarantee, Sokov feels more at ease, and there is hope for the promotion of the three commanders of the 41st Guards Division. In addition, Sidorin is the chief of staff of the division.
He has held the position for a long time. If possible, he can be appointed as the chief of staff of the army or the chief of the group army's operations department.
"Comrade Commander, what are you thinking about?" Smirnov saw Sokov suddenly became stunned, and quickly called him twice and asked: "Are you thinking that after these regimental commanders took up higher positions, they
Who should fill the vacant position? Am I right?"
"Yes, yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, your guess is correct." Sokov did not deny Smirnov's guess: "Once these three regiment commanders are promoted, the positions they vacate will be
Other commanders need to be promoted to take over. The commanders who take over their posts will also leave many vacancies when they leave, and new commanders need to be sent to take over. Regardless of this small promotion, so
There are so many aspects involved.”
"Actually, this is not bad. We can arrange excellent grassroots commanders to take over the positions they vacate." Smirnov said: "Every battle can emerge a group of commanders with brilliant achievements and outstanding results. They
He should also get a higher position."
After the two chatted for a while about personnel arrangements, Smirnov raised another question: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, if before the 3rd and 4th Guards Airborne Divisions arrive, if the German army will attack outside the city,
We launch a fierce attack on our position. How can we stop the enemy?"
"Aren't there still two regiments in the city?" Sokov said briefly: "I will send a regiment to reinforce the city to strengthen the defense of the defenders."
"Even with two regiments, it would be very difficult to fight." Although Sokov readily agreed to send a regiment to support, Smirnov was still dissatisfied: "After all, the Germans are still very strong."
Sokov looked left and right and asked: "Where is our artillery commander?"
"He should be in his headquarters." After Smirnov said this, he tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, does he have anything to ask him about?"
"Since he is the artillery commander of the group army, I think he should stay with us. This will help convey the instructions to the artillery as soon as possible."
"Well, that's what I think about it too." Smirnov agreed with Sokov's statement: "What I'm most worried about is that the battlefield situation is complicated, and when the phone calls in the headquarters are not busy at all, we are very worried.
It is difficult to contact the artillery headquarters. But if the two organizations are merged, when artillery support is needed, all we need to do is say hello to Tsarev, and he will use a special channel to faithfully convey our orders."
"Also," Sokov continued: "In addition to the artillery commander who will work with us, even Colonel Burgos, the director of the armored forces, should also be called to the headquarters."
"Yes, yes, that's right, even Colonel Burgos was called to the headquarters." Smirnov was particularly happy when he heard Sokov's order: "We should have done this a long time ago and brought the group army together."
The main commanders are gathered together, which is more conducive to us commanding the battle."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, without further ado, take action immediately." Sokov felt that since the decision has been made, it should be implemented immediately and resolutely instead of delaying it: "You call them two immediately.
, let them rush to the group army headquarters immediately, there is no need to establish their own headquarters."
Fortunately, Sokov urged Smirnov to call. Otherwise, Tsarev and Burgos would have built their own small headquarters a little later. Repeated construction and command wasted manpower and material resources, so Smirnov received the call.
After Nov's call, the two men immediately ordered their subordinates to stop working and reported directly to the headquarters.
Sokov was worried that the two people would be unfamiliar with it when they suddenly came to the headquarters, and they might even have some bad thoughts. As soon as they arrived, he began to explain to them: "General Tsarev, Bol
Colonel Goss, I called you here today to tell you that in order to streamline the organization and better direct the troops in combat, from now on, both of your headquarters will be cancelled, and you will work here from now on. In this way, Commander
Any orders from the ministry can be conveyed to the various units through you in the shortest possible time."
When Tsarev and Burgos received a call from Smirnov, they learned that their command headquarters was about to be disbanded. They felt somewhat uneasy, thinking that they had done something bad that had caused Sokov's dissatisfaction.
Therefore, they dismissed themselves. But after listening to Sokov's explanation, both of them realized that they had thought too much.
"Comrade Commander, this is long overdue." Colonel Burgos said first: "If our headquarters are scattered in different places, every time you issue an order, you have to make a phone call or send a telegram, which will really delay a lot of time.
Time. You must know that every minute on the battlefield is precious. If we can convey the order to the grassroots troops a minute earlier, our chance of victory will be higher."
"I also agree with Comrade Commander's arrangement." Now that Burgos has expressed his position, Tsarev can't say nothing. He continued: "Let us stay in the headquarters to work. If we encounter any battle,
If the troops need artillery cover, we can use the shortest possible time to notify the artillery on standby on the front line and fire the artillery in the shortest possible time to provide the necessary artillery support for our infantry."