After receiving the order to march to Chernivtsi, Ponedelin was full of anxiety. If there was only a team group under his command, then the honor of entering Romania first would definitely belong to his troops.
But now the troops advancing towards Chernivtsi at the same time as them also include General Bogdanov's 2nd Tank Army. From a certain point of view, this group army is more powerful, regardless of whether it has a tank army or a tank army.
There are several infantry divisions, and it is entirely possible for their superiors to let them become the first unit to enter Romania.
When he received a call from Sameko and learned that Sokov planned to let the 41st Guards Division under his command become the first unit to enter Romania, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and said repeatedly: "Thank you, it's really great."
Thank you, and please convey the respect to Comrade Commander from all the commanders and fighters of our division."
After putting down the phone, he excitedly said to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the superiors have made a decision to let our division be the first unit to enter Romania. You should start making preparations now to avoid trouble later.
You have to be caught off guard.”
When Sidorin heard the good news, he was naturally overjoyed and said quickly: "Okay, comrade division commander, I will immediately arrange for manpower to conduct reconnaissance in Romania."
At dawn, Ponedelin arrived at Chernivtsi, where he met Bogdanov, the commander of the 2nd Tank Army. Although Bogdanov had been his subordinate before the war,
Now the opponent was a lieutenant general, and he was just a lieutenant colonel, so he took the lead in raising his hand to salute the opponent: "Hello, General Bogdanov, nice to see you here."
When Bogdanov saw his old superior, he couldn't help but show a surprised expression on his face, but he quickly returned to normal. After raising his hand in return, he said politely: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, I am under orders
Come to strengthen the defense of Chernivtsi. However, the commander did not tell me that your battle group is among the troops stationed here."
Ponedelin heard the hidden meaning of the other party's words and quickly said to him: "General Bogdanov, my troops will leave soon. You should be responsible for the defense of the city."
"Leaving?!" Bogdanov asked in surprise, "Where are you going?"
"Where else to go, of course, is to cross the border and enter Romania." Ponejelin said with a smile: "The order given to us by our superiors is to quickly establish a reliable landing site on the right bank of the Prut River so that we can
As the starting point for the main force’s attack.”
Knowing that Ponejelin's troops would be the first to enter Romania, Bogdanov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. According to his idea, he not only had a tank corps under his command, but also several infantry divisions, which was undoubtedly the best
choice. But he never dreamed that Sokov would give this honor to Ponedelin.
However, even if he had complaints, Bogdanov's military career of more than ten or twenty years had already developed the habit of obedience. He asked politely: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, if there is anything I can do for you,
Yes, just ask, I will definitely try my best to help you."
"Thank you, General Bogdanov." Ponedelin expressed his gratitude to Bogdanov for his kindness. He even took the initiative to say: "Now that your troops have arrived in Chernivtsi
, that means that in the near future, all your troops will also enter Romania."
Bogdanov had no doubts about the troops entering Romania. But what bothered him was that his troops were not the first to enter enemy territory. This period of history will be recorded in the history books in the future.
, only the first troops entering will be recorded, and troops entering later will be directly ignored.
At noon, the dispatched scouts sent intelligence: "A large number of permanent fortifications were discovered close to the border in Romania, and organic Romanian troops were stationed inside. But what is strange is that they did not do anything at all.
He is prepared for battle and does not seem to want to fight."
After receiving this information from the scouts, Ponejelin and Sidorin began to discuss: "Comrade Chief of Staff, tell me, what is going on? There are heavy troops deployed in the fortifications, but the other side does not fight at all.
With their preparations, do they feel confident in blocking our army’s attack?”
"It's hard to say, Comrade Division Commander." Sidorin scratched the back of his head and said, "What I saw from the scout's report is that the Romanians are ready to abandon their position and retreat at any time."
Regarding Sidorin's speculation, Ponejelin felt that it was still possible. After all, along the way, he had encountered many situations where the Romanian army had withdrawn without a fight. Among other things, it was the situation where the Romanian army was currently stationed in Chelsea.
Novtsi was abandoned by the Romanians on their own initiative.
Seeing Ponedelin walking back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, Sidorin suggested to him: "Comrade Commander, I have a bold suggestion."
Ponedelin stopped, looked at Sidorin and asked: "What's your suggestion?"
"We can send a vanguard group into Romania and see how the Romanian army reacts."
"I think we can give it a try." Ponejelin felt that since the Romanian army had no fighting spirit, even if he only sent one regiment into the other country's territory, it probably wouldn't cause much of a reaction, so he simply agreed with the Romanian army.
Dolin's suggestion: "I think this task can be given to Colonel Papuchenko's 122nd Regiment."
After receiving the order, Papuchenko did not dare to neglect, and quickly assembled the troops to prepare for departure. However, the deputy regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Victor, suggested to Papuchenko: "Commander, judging from the current situation, Romania over there is
The army has no intention of fighting, so I think it would be better to send a company over to explore the road first. What do you think?"
"I think it's okay." Papuchenko agreed with the plan proposed by Victor: "I just want to send a reconnaissance company to enter Romania on motorcycles and see what the reactions of the defenders along the way are."
In this way, the reconnaissance company sent by Papuchenko, divided into more than 40 three-wheeled motorcycles, left the city and drove along the road to Romania.
The motorcycle convoy passed the bridge over the Prut River and officially entered Romania.
There was a Romanian checkpoint on the border, and there were four or five soldiers on duty inside. When he saw the approaching motorcycle convoy, a corporal initially raised his gun, but the next moment he put away his gun and discharged it politely.
After landing on the ground, he turned around and called to his stunned companions, asking them to move all the roadblocks blocking the road to facilitate the passage of the motorcycle team.
Faced with such cooperative Romanians, the Soviet commanders and fighters who were exploring the route were also extremely surprised. You know, when they just saw this checkpoint, the soldiers were ready for battle. They were just waiting for the other side to show hostility, and they would mercilessly attack them.
He shot. Unexpectedly, the other party not only did not resist, but even took the initiative to make way for him.
Therefore, when passing the checkpoint, the reconnaissance company commander sitting on the sidecar of a motorcycle waved to these Romanian soldiers.
When the convoy passed the checkpoint and walked away along the road, the corporal raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and said to his subordinates with relief: "Fortunately, no shots were fired, otherwise we would all be corpses lying on the roadside now."
"
Besides, after the motorcycle team drove forward four or five kilometers, the reconnaissance company commander suddenly saw several barrel trucks parked on the roadside ahead, and soldiers wearing Romanian military uniforms stood beside the barrel trucks.
Seeing this, the reconnaissance company commander quickly issued a battle order: "The enemy is found in the front, everyone is ready to fight. As soon as I give the order, we will fire on the enemy immediately."
But the scene that happened next was far beyond the expectations of the reconnaissance company commander. A soldier bent down and took out a white flag from the car and waved it desperately. The officers who were standing by the car chatting quickly also quickly
They gathered on the ground and lined up behind the soldiers waving white flags.
Seeing this, the reconnaissance company commander quickly raised his right hand above his head and shouted loudly: "Don't shoot! Put down the guns."
After stopping the convoy, the reconnaissance company commander asked his motorcyclist to drive the motorcycle forward. He wanted to find out what happened.
Soon, the reconnaissance company commander's motorcycle arrived in front of the soldiers waving white flags. After he signaled the motorcycle to stop, he walked out of the sidecar and stood there looking at the group of officers on the opposite side.
An officer lined up and came to the front of the reconnaissance company commander. After raising his hand in salute, he asked politely: "Mr. Captain, which part do you belong to?"
"I am from the reconnaissance company of the 41st Guards Division of the 53rd Group Army."
After hearing this, the officer had an expression of surprise on his face: "Is it General Sokov's army?"
The commander of the reconnaissance company knew that Sokov was well-known within the German army, but he did not expect that he was also famous among the Romanian army. He nodded and said in a positive tone: "Yes, I am his subordinate."
"Mr. Captain," the army said proactively after confirming the identity of the reconnaissance company commander: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Luca, chief of staff of the 27th Border Guard Regiment. I am waiting for you here."
"Waiting for us here?" Luca's words surprised the reconnaissance company commander. He asked in surprise: "What are we doing waiting for us here?"
"We all agree that there is no point in continuing to fight with the Soviet army." Lieutenant Colonel Luka replied politely: "In order to save more people's lives, we decided to stop resisting and hand over the position to your army.
.”
Upon hearing this, the reconnaissance company commander quickly asked: "Where is your position?"
Luca turned around and pointed in the distance, and said: "There is a permanent fortification two or three kilometers away from here, and our regiment will be responsible for the defense there."
The scouts who went out to conduct reconnaissance in Romania were all subordinates of the reconnaissance company commander. He had some understanding of the situation here. After listening to Luca, he understood that the information reported by his subordinates was true, and he quickly reported
Luca said: "Lieutenant Colonel Luca, I need to ask my superiors for instructions before giving you an accurate answer."
"Yes, absolutely yes." Luca said reasonably: "Mr. Captain, we will wait for your answer here."
The reconnaissance company commander returned to the motorcycle carrying the radio and contacted Chief of Staff Sidorin through the radio: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am the reconnaissance company commander."
"Comrade Company Commander." Sidorin asked, "How is the situation there?"
"Reporting to Comrade Chief of Staff, our motorcycle team successfully passed the Romanian Army's border checkpoint without encountering any resistance." The reconnaissance company commander said: "Now we met Lieutenant Colonel Luca, Chief of Staff of the Romanian 27th Border Guard Regiment.
He said that they were unwilling to fight with our army and planned to hand over the positions they held to us."
When Sidorin heard that the Romanian army was not resisting and planned to hand over the position to his troops, he was particularly excited. However, in front of his subordinate, the reconnaissance company commander, he pretended to be calm and asked: "Comrade commander, this information
Is it reliable?"
"Reliable, Comrade Chief of Staff, absolutely reliable." The reconnaissance company commander glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Luca standing in the distance, and reported to Sidorin: "The regiment chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Luca, who came to negotiate, is waiting for you now.
Being less than a hundred meters away from me, I don’t think he was lying to me.”
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sidorin confirmed that the Romanian army really wanted to surrender, and ordered the reconnaissance company commander: "You tell them that their surrender can be accepted. But before our troops arrive, they must stick to their current position.
Some positions must not be handed over to the Germans or other hostile forces. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." The reconnaissance company commander said respectfully: "I will truthfully convey your intention to Lieutenant Colonel Luca."
After ending the call, the reconnaissance company commander returned to Luca and said to him in a neither humble nor condescending manner: "Lieutenant Colonel Luca, I have asked my superiors for instructions, and they have agreed to your request."
After learning that the Soviet army agreed to their request, Luca and his men showed relaxed expressions on their faces. But at this time, they heard the reconnaissance company commander add: "But..."
"But what?" Luca asked nervously.
"Before our army officially takes over the defense from your hands, you must be responsible for protecting the position and never let it fall into the hands of the Germans or other hostile forces."
Luka thought it was some harsh conditions. After hearing clearly what the reconnaissance company commander said, he breathed a sigh of relief and said: "So that's what happened, Mr. Captain, don't worry, before your troops arrive,
, we will never hand over our position to anyone."
"You guys go back first." The reconnaissance company commander waved his hand to Luca and said, "I'll wait for our troops here."
"Mr. Captain!" Luka learned that the reconnaissance company commander planned to wait here for the arrival of the main force, and quickly said to him: "It's still a long way from here to Chernivtsi. Even if your people set off immediately, I'm afraid
It will take an hour or two to arrive. I think you might as well go to our place for a cup of coffee and wait for your troops slowly."
Facing Luca's invitation, the reconnaissance company commander pondered. If the motorcycle team he led stayed on the road for a long time and was discovered by the German reconnaissance aircraft patrolling in the air, it would probably cause unnecessary trouble. It would be better to find someone.
In this place, the motorcycles are hidden and the soldiers can rest.
It was out of this consideration that the reconnaissance company commander nodded and agreed to Luca's invitation: "Okay, Lieutenant Luca, then I will take my people to your place for a cup of coffee."
After the two sides reached a consensus, Luca and others returned to the barrel truck and led the motorcycle team in front, guiding them to the area where the 27th Border Guard Regiment was stationed.