Sokov couldn't help but beam with joy when he learned that the flag had been planted on the top of the palace building. According to the tradition left by the army in the Tsarist era, as long as the flag was planted in the most conspicuous place in the city, it represented the occupation of the city.
As for when the entire city can be completely controlled, that is another matter.
But at this moment, Sokov could no longer sit still. He said to Sidorin and Ponedelin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Comrade Deputy Commander, you two stay and take command. I will take the 122nd Brigade to the city to take a look.
.”
"Comrade Commander," hearing that Sokov wanted to go to the city again, Ponedelin quickly stopped him: "You are the commander of the army group, and your post is right here at the headquarters. How can you just run to the front?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander," Sokov said with a smile on his face: "If we had captured another city today, I might not have gone to the front line. But now we are liberating Minsk, the capital of Belarus. In this case
It’s an exciting moment, I hope I can be the first army commander to enter the city.”
"Comrade Commander, I have two requests." After hearing what Sokov said, Ponedelin knew that no matter what he said, he would not be able to stop him from going to the city in person, so he said: "If you can agree to my conditions,
, I will allow you to go to the front line."
"Tell me, what are the conditions?" When Sokov said this, he felt somewhat lacking in confidence, fearing that the other party would make a condition that he could not meet.
"The first is to call the commander of the front army and report to him the news of our army's occupation of Minsk."
"It should be, this is what it should be." Sokov didn't want to have long nights and dreams, so he quickly grabbed the phone and ordered the communications soldier to call the front army headquarters: "I am Sokov, commander of the 48th Group Army. Please help me find Comrade General.
I have something important that I need to report to him immediately."
When the staff officer who answered the phone heard that the call was from Sokov, he dared not neglect it and quickly transferred the call to Rokossovsky.
"Misha," Rokossovsky said on the other end of the phone, "do you have any good news for me?"
"Yes, Comrade General." Sokov said excitedly: "I have great news to tell you. My troops have occupied Minsk and planted the red flag on the main building!"
"That's great, Misha, that's great." Hearing the good news, Rokossovsky's voice trembled with excitement: "I congratulate you on such a significant achievement.
Victory. You know, liberating the capital of a country is a major event that can be recorded in history. I congratulate you again!"
"Thank you, Comrade General." Sokov thought that he was going to Minsk now and needed to say hello to Rokossovsky. He said cautiously: "The enemies in the city are still resisting. I think it is necessary for me to go there."
Go to the city to organize the overall situation."
"Misha, you are playing tricks on me." Sokov's little trick was easily seen through by Rokossovsky: "I can guess that you want to go there and have a look, right?
?I know that if conditions permit, I will run over with jumping up and down...Okay, go ahead."
After receiving Rokossovsky's permission, Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Ponedelin with some arrogance: "Deputy Commander, Comrade General has agreed for me to go to Minsk. Tell me, what is your second condition?"
Obtaining Rokossovsky's permission gave Sokov the confidence. He was not worried about any requests from Ponedelin at the moment. If he could not do it, he could ignore it.
"My second condition is very simple." Ponedelin had obviously expected this to happen, and said with a smile: "I want to go to Minsk with you."
Sokov thought that the other party would put forward such harsh conditions, but he just followed him to Minsk. Naturally, Sokov would not let go of such a favor, so he readily agreed. At the same time, he also asked who was sitting next to him.
Belkin: "Berkin, are you interested in going too?"
In fact, when Belgin heard that the troops had occupied Minsk, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and deep regret that he could not enter Minsk at the first time. At this moment, when Sokov asked himself, he thought he had heard wrongly.
He pointed at his nose and asked tentatively: "Should I go to Minsk with you?"
"That's right." Sokov nodded and said in a teasing tone: "If you don't want to, I won't force you."
"You would be a fool not to go." Belkin said loudly: "I will go to Minsk with you."
When Lieutenant Colonel Victor, the new commander of the 122nd Brigade, appeared in front of Sokov, he said aggrievedly: "Comrade Commander, the entire army group is fighting in Minsk, but our brigade stayed behind to serve as
Reserve team. The commanders and soldiers are all emotional about this matter."
"I think you are the one with the emotions, right?" After exposing the other party mercilessly, Sokov continued: "Okay, let's go to Minsk now and gather all your people immediately."
"Comrade Commander," Victor couldn't help but be overjoyed after learning that he could go to Minsk, and quickly said to Sokov: "The troops have already been assembled and can set off at any time."
Ten minutes later, Sokov, Ponedelin, and Belkin got into the jeep and headed in the direction of Minsk, followed by a long convoy carrying the 122nd Infantry Brigade.
But when the convoy entered Minsk, Sokov frowned at what he saw. The entire city was reduced to ruins, and almost no intact houses could be seen.
At this moment, the convoy was stopped. Koshkin, who was sitting in the passenger seat, immediately pushed open the door and shouted outside: "What part are you from, and why did you stop our car?"
A second lieutenant walked out of the people blocking the car. He raised his hand and saluted Koshkin and said: "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant. There are a lot of landmines on the road ahead. We are clearing them. Please wait patiently."
Sokov, who was sitting in the city, heard that there were landmines on the road ahead. Sokov couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. He thought that when he went to inspect the frontier last year, he also encountered a group of engineers clearing mines.
There are bombs on the road, so let yourself wait in the Taoist room next to it.
Unexpectedly, all of this was a trap. After he entered the door, he actually found a time bomb. If he hadn't been quick to react and jumped out of the window in time, otherwise he would have been blown to pieces. But even so.
, he was still seriously injured and almost failed to save him.
"Koshkin," Sokov, who was sitting in the back row, coldly ordered Koshkin: "Go down and check their IDs to see if they are our people."
Hearing Sokov's instructions, Koshkin was stunned for a moment, then understood what the other party meant, nodded, and then opened the car door and walked out to check the documents of the officers and soldiers who blocked the road.
A few minutes later, Koshkin came back and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, we have checked them all and there is no problem. They are all engineers of the 6th Guards Division."
"The engineers of the 6th Guards Division?" Sokov raised his eyebrows: "What are they doing here, and where is their division commander, Major General Onupriyenko?"
"Comrade Commander," a second lieutenant stood next to the car and saluted Sokov: "I am Second Lieutenant Babid, an engineer of the 6th Guards Division. We are ordered to perform the task of clearing landmines here."
“Did the Germans lay many mines?”
"Many, so many." Babbed replied: "Not only are there mines buried in those complete buildings, but there are even booby traps buried under the bodies of our soldiers. If you are not careful, something unexpected may happen.
necessary casualties."
"Damn German," Belgin, who was walking next to Sokov, heard the second lieutenant say this and couldn't help but complain: "You actually did such an immoral thing."
"Colonel Belkin, it's war time now." Ponejelin saw this matter more clearly than Belkin: "The Germans are unwilling to accept their defeat and are unwilling to return the cities they occupied to us. We can
What should we do? That is to organize enough manpower to clear all the mines planted by the enemy."
"Where is your division commander?" Ponjelin asked kindly: "Second Lieutenant Babid, do you know?"
"I know!" Second Lieutenant Babbed replied readily: "The division headquarters is located in the committee building. I need someone to take you there."
"No need." Ponejelin waved his hands and said, "I am very familiar with this city, and I know where the building is. Comrade Second Lieutenant, you can continue to command the troops to clear mines."
While the engineers were clearing mines, Sokov called Victor over and told him: "Lieutenant Colonel Victor, although our troops have occupied Minsk, the enemy is still resisting in most areas of the city. Even if
They were forced to abandon some places, but they laid a lot of mines. You should pay more attention to safety while clearing out the remaining enemies."
"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Victor assured Sokov: "We will not betray your trust."
Soon, the engineers cleared the mines on the road. Lieutenant Babbed came over and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, all the mines on the road have been cleared. You can continue to move forward."
After expressing his concern to Lieutenant Babbed, Sokov ordered the driver to drive to the committee building.
Following Ponejelin's guidance, the car quickly arrived outside the committee building. From the numerous roadblocks, barbed wire and barricades outside, you can see how tight the German defenses are here. From the densely packed walls,
The gun holes and patches of black holes indicate that fierce battles took place here.
The soldiers on duty at the intersection stopped Sokov's vehicle for routine inspection. Koshkin opened the door, stuck his head out and shouted at the other person: "Didn't you see who was in the car?"
Koshkin's voice scared the soldier back a step, with a confused expression on his face. For a moment, he didn't know whether to check or not.
Fortunately, Sokov rescued him in time: "Koshkin, comrade soldier did the right thing, he was fulfilling his duty."
The soldier heard Sokov's voice, and through the car door opened by Koshkin, he saw Sokov clearly sitting in the back row. He hurriedly raised his hand to salute, and said in a panic: "Hello, Comrade Commander! Please forgive me.
I didn’t know it was you, so I stopped your car without authorization. Please forgive me.”
Naturally, Sokov would not argue with an ordinary soldier. He waved his hand and said reasonably: "Comrade soldier, please tell me where I can find your division commander?"
"The division commander is in that building." The soldier pointed to the committee building next to him and said to Sokov: "He has set up the headquarters on the first floor."
After the soldiers opened the roadblock, the driver drove directly to the door of the building.
This time, no one blocked the road to check documents or the like. Sokov's face was the best pass. All the commanders and soldiers who saw him stood at attention and raised their hands in salute.
Entering the building, Sokov was guided by an officer to the division headquarters of the 6th Guards Division.
When he entered, Sokov saw Onupryenko standing in front of a table with the door behind him, saying something to a group of commanders gathered around the table.
"Comrade commanders," Sokov walked towards Onuprienko and asked at the same time: "What are you discussing?"
Hearing Sokov's voice, the commanders turned their heads and looked towards the door at the same time. When they saw clearly that the people who walked in were Sokov and Ponedelin, everyone quickly stood at attention and raised their hands to salute Sokov.
.
Sokov stepped forward and shook hands with Onupriyenko, and said in an appreciative tone: "Well done, General Onupriyenko, the merits you have established today will be recorded in history, and our future generations will
The descendants will definitely remember you and the achievements you have made today."
Although Sokov said this to Onupryenko, the commanders standing around raised their chins high when they heard Sokov's evaluation of them, as if they were in agreement with him.
A proud expression.
"What were you just discussing?" Sokov asked again.
"Comrade Commander, you also know that although we declared our occupation of this city by planting flags," Onupriyenko said: "But the German troops continue to resist in many places in the city, and we are not able to do so for the time being.
To completely control the entire city, I decided to organize my troops and continue to attack some areas to eliminate the remaining German forces."
"I don't think it's necessary, General Onuprienko."
"Why?" After hearing what Sokov said, Onupryenko asked in surprise: "You know, our division occupied the main office building and the committee building one after another. It was at a time when the morale of the entire division's commanders and soldiers was high.
Why stop the attack?"
"General Onupryenko, I think I need to remind you." Sokov looked at the other party and said: "The troops currently fighting in the city include six infantry divisions and two, no, three infantry divisions.
Brigade, we can't let your division steal all the limelight, we must leave some for friendly forces."
Hearing what Sokov said, Onupryenko felt a little embarrassed. He chuckled and said: "Comrade Commander, I don't want those who can do more work. Since my army is progressing smoothly, I will take the opportunity to expand it."
There’s nothing wrong with getting some results, right?”
"Yes, yes, of course you are right." Sokov said to Onupryenko: "But I think it is necessary to remind you again that unless our army group captures this city, we will no longer
Participated in the battle. Maybe you have just completed the control of the entire city of Minsk and have to carry out a new mission. If your division does not complete the rest and recuperation in time and wait for the new mission, the commanders and soldiers will be exhausted and unable to accept the battle.
During missions, please don’t come to me to complain.”