After Sokov learned from Bindasov about the results achieved by Matvey and the others, he sat at the table and pondered for a long time, and then said to Potukin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, after our division's defeat some time ago,
Morale has been very low. Today’s results of the sniper team, I think, can be publicized to boost morale and restore confidence to the commanders and soldiers.”
Hearing what Sokov said, Potukin quickly asked: "Comrade Commander, what are you going to do?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you and I are military officers, and propaganda is the job of political workers." Sokov did not immediately explain to Potukin, but ordered him: "Please call the director of the division's political department.
Come here, I will personally assign tasks to him."
Less than two minutes after Potukin's call was made, a political worker appeared at the door. After raising his hand in salute, he looked at Potukin and asked respectfully: "Comrade Chief of Staff, are you looking for me?
"
Potukin pursed his lips towards Sokov and said: "Comrade Eric, I am not looking for you, but Comrade Division Commander is looking for you."
The political worker known as Eric quickly turned to face Sokov: "Comrade division commander, director of the political department of the 328th Division, deputy battalion-level political commissar Eric is reporting to you. I follow your orders, please give instructions!"
"Hello, Comrade Eric!" Sokov stood up and shook hands with Eric, then pointed to the empty seat beside him and said: "Please sit down." After the other person sat down and looked at him, he then asked, "Allick
Comrade, I called you here today to ask if there are any combat newspapers and periodicals in our division?"
Eric was a little surprised by Sokov's question. He turned to look at Potukin who was standing next to him, and thought to himself: "Why, didn't the chief of staff report the presence of newspapers in the division to the acting division commander?
"But he still nodded and replied, "Yes, there is a "Soldier News" in the division, which is published every two days."
"Published once every two days?!" Although Sokov had long known that he had tabloids in many division-level units, he was still surprised after hearing Eric's reply. He turned to look at Bo
Turgeon asked curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have been in the division for two days, but why have I never seen this newspaper?"
"Comrade division commander, please wait a moment." Hearing Sokov ask himself, Potukin quickly replied: "There is a newspaper at the division headquarters. I will find a copy for you." With little effort, Potukin prepared a newspaper for you.
A mimeographed piece of paper was handed to Sokov, "Comrade division commander, this is the division's "Soldier Newspaper."
Sokov took the mimeographed tabloid, which was similar to a leaflet, from Potukin's hand and looked at it carefully. The newspaper was made of 16-page paper, with words on only one side, and the masthead read "Soldiers" in large font.
, here are a few articles that briefly introduce some of the recent events in the division.
After quickly browsing the contents of the newspaper, Sokov put the newspaper on the table, looked at Eric and asked: "Comrade Eric, I can't see anything to boost morale in your newspaper. Why?
So, you haven’t thought about adjusting the content of the report?”
After Eric listened to Sokov's words, he immediately said with a sad face: "Comrade division commander, you don't know something. Originally, we had dedicated political workers in each battalion to provide articles for newspapers. But during the battle some time ago, these political workers
Most of them were sacrificed, so the source of the manuscript became a problem..."
"Please wait a moment, Comrade Eric." Before he could finish speaking, Sokov raised his hand to interrupt him and said, "I would like to ask, how many people are there in your political department?"
"Including me, there are five more people." Eric replied briefly.
Sokov picked up the newspaper on the table, shook his hands, and continued to ask: "How do you obtain the manuscripts needed for the newspaper?"
"This is very simple," Eric said with a smile: "We call each regiment every day to let them know the latest situation of the troops so that we can edit the latest manuscripts."
Sokov threw the newspaper on the table, looked at Eric and asked: "Comrade Eric, do you think you can do it by sitting in your room every day, making a few phone calls, and writing a few articles about the news you got from the regimental leaders?"
Is it a good newspaper to boost the morale of the troops?"
Sokov's words made Eric's face turn red and white. He shook his head and replied: "Comrade division commander, I don't think we can. But we don't have enough manpower to go to each regiment to collect news.
…”
"You can leave one person on duty, and the rest of you can go outside and talk to commanders and fighters at all levels. That way you will find a lot of writing material." Sokov said here, in time.
He explained his purpose of recruiting Eric: "For example, in the past two days, we formed a sniper team to kill the enemies on the other side of the river, and achieved considerable results."
Hearing what Sokov said, Eric's eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Sokov in disbelief and asked, "Comrade Commander, is this all true?"
"It's true." Sokov nodded vigorously and said: "The sniper team formed by the 1st Battalion of the 1135th Regiment killed and wounded 51 enemies in the two days yesterday and today. Among them, Ma Guang, the leader of the team,
Sergeant Tevey alone killed 25 enemies. In your newspaper, you can completely portray him as a model and publicize it in the "Soldier" to boost morale."
Sokov said this because he remembered that in a World War II movie he watched in later generations, the commanders in Stalingrad made the sniper Vasily a typical example and publicized his achievements in order to boost morale.
Purpose. Sokov now asks Eric to focus on promoting Matvey, but he is just following the same example.
This kind of propaganda method was not surprising in later generations, but Eric was surprised when he heard it. He couldn't help but said excitedly: "Comrade division commander, you are right, we should create a model in the division and use the newspaper to publish it."
Propaganda and letting every soldier know about him is very useful in rallying our military spirit and boosting morale."
After saying these words, Eric stood up and asked Sokov: "Comrade division commander, do you know where this sergeant named Matvey is?"
"Comrade Eric, Sergeant Matvey is a soldier of the 1st Battalion of the Bindasov Regiment." Before Sokov could speak, Potukin said first: "If you want to interview him, you can go directly to the 1135th Regiment.
At the base of the 1st Battalion, explain your intention to the acting battalion commander, Captain Jetrov, and he will help you find Matvey."
Seeing Eric turn around and walk out, Sokov warned him from behind: "Comrade Eric, I hope to see your interview report tomorrow morning."
"Don't worry, comrade division commander." Eric stopped, turned around and assured Sokov: "After interviewing Sergeant Matvey, I will personally lead people to print the new newspaper overnight."