Facts soon proved that Sokov's judgment was correct. The reason why Miyakov had not contacted Kirillov for a long time was indeed because there was a problem with the radio station.
Logically speaking, in order to ensure that contact with the headquarters is not lost during the operation, in addition to the radios carried by the infantry regiments performing the mission, even Miyakov also brought a radio. According to his idea, even if the radio appears on the road
The problem is, one machine cannot be used, but the other machine can still maintain contact with the division headquarters.
Unexpectedly, because the snow melted and the roads were muddy and difficult to navigate, the communications vehicle sent by the division overturned on the roadside, breaking the radio and injuring the radio operator. As for the infantry regiment's radio,
During the exchange of fire between the troops and the guards of the prisoner of war camp, it was unfortunately hit by mortar fire and destroyed.
After capturing the prisoner-of-war camp, Miyakov originally planned to use the German radio station to send a telegram to Kirillov to inform him of the prisoner-of-war camp he had captured. Unexpectedly, after searching, he learned that the guards could not hold the prisoner-of-war camp.
It blew up their communications room, and all the radio stations inside were destroyed in the explosion.
Without the radio, it was impossible to get in touch with the division headquarters. Miyakov was so angry that he stamped his feet. Fortunately, he calmed down quickly, met two communication soldiers, handed the report he wrote to them, and gave instructions
They said: "Our radio station has been destroyed and we are unable to contact the division headquarters. The two of you immediately return to Lötzen by motorcycle and report the situation here to the division commander."
After receiving the order, the two communication soldiers did not dare to neglect at all, and quickly rode their motorcycles towards Letzen. When they were halfway there, they met the communication soldiers sent by Kirillov.
As soon as they got some air, they found out that Kirillov was worried that something had gone wrong because he had been waiting for no news from Miyakov, so he sent himself over to check.
After the communication soldiers sent by Myakov told the two groups of communication soldiers who came over about the situation in the prisoner of war camp, after the other party figured out what was going on, a group of communication soldiers followed Miyakov's communication soldiers back to report the situation.
The other group rushed to the prisoner of war camp with a radio to meet with Miyakov, preparing to re-establish communications between the prisoner of war camp and the division headquarters.
Kirillov, who was staying at the Letzen headquarters, was like an ant on a hot pot at the moment, walking back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. The fact that his chief of staff had not yet been found made him uneasy. In addition,
Sokov made several more phone calls to inquire about the situation in the prison camp, which made Kirillov even more agitated.
At this moment, a staff officer suddenly exclaimed: "Comrade division commander, the telegram is from the chief of staff."
Hearing the shouts of the staff officer, Kirillov stopped pacing, rushed to the staff officer's side, and asked him urgently: "Where is the chief of staff's telegram?"
The staff officer pointed to the communications soldier who was busy at the radio station next to him and said: "He is receiving the telegram from the chief of staff. You will soon know what the situation is in the prisoner of war camp."
A few minutes later, the staff officer took the newly translated telegram from the communications soldier and handed it to Kirillov: "Comrade division commander, telegram."
Kirillov took the telegram and browsed it quickly. He saw that it read: "The radio station I originally carried has malfunctioned and cannot contact the division headquarters. I sent people to contact the division headquarters. Two groups of people you sent
The communications troops met them, and one group followed them back to Lezen to report to you the details of the capture of the prisoner of war camp; the other group rushed to the prisoner of war camp to allow us to resume contact with the division headquarters. To avoid your worries, I will first
Send a telegram to briefly explain the situation: the prisoner of war camp was successfully occupied by our army, all the original 130 German guards were eliminated, more than 3,400 our army commanders and fighters were rescued, and necessary food is being provided to them and medical staff are being arranged.
Check them out."
After reading the telegram sent by Miyakov in one breath, Kirillov put down the big stone in his heart. He pointed to the staff officer in front of him and said: "Please help me get through to the group army headquarters immediately. I want to contact you."
Commander's report."
After the call was connected, Kirillov said in an excited tone to Sokov who answered the phone: "Comrade Commander, I have good news for you. The prisoner of war camp has been successfully occupied by our army and more than 3,400 of our prisoners have been rescued.
Military commanders and fighters, Lieutenant Colonel Myakov is now providing them with food and checking their health."
"Great, this is great." Sokov was very happy when he heard Kirillov's report. He then asked: "I wonder how many commanders there are among the more than 3,400 people. They
What are the different levels?"
Kirillov was stunned by Sokov's new question. After hesitating for a moment, he replied: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I can't answer your question for the time being because of the contents of the telegram from my Chief of Staff.
It's very simple. This matter was not mentioned at all. I can only tell you the accurate answer after the communication troops he sent bring back a detailed report."
"By the way, why didn't they contact you after they occupied the prisoner of war camp?"
"It is said that the radio station is out of order and cannot contact me." Kirillov replied: "The radio station he sent me a telegram was sent by someone I just sent."
"So that's it." Sokov told Kirillov: "I will call Comrade Marshal now to report on your capture of the prisoner of war camp. If the communications troops sent by Lieutenant Colonel Myakov come back, can you give more details?
Please report the specific situation to me. Do you understand?"
"clear."
Sokov nodded with satisfaction and put down the phone in his hand.
"Comrade Military Commissar, Chief of Staff." He said to Luniev and Sidorin: "As I guessed, it was indeed because of a malfunction of the radio that Kirillov and the troops sent to the prisoner of war camp
Contact was lost. Now the communications troops he sent sent a new radio station, and the two sides have re-established contact."
"I wonder what the results of their battle were?" Lunev asked cautiously: "How many of our commanders and fighters are imprisoned in the prisoner of war camp?"
"There are more than 3,400 people." Sokov took the initiative and said without waiting for Lunev to ask again: "Since it is not clear in the telegram, so far, it is not known how many of these rescued commanders and fighters are commanders.
And what level they are. Everything will have to wait until Miyakov's detailed report reaches Letzen, and then Kirillov will report to us."
"Strange." After Sokov finished speaking, Sidorin said thoughtfully: "According to my analysis, it is absolutely impossible for them to carry out such a task and be personally led by the division chief of staff.
How come we lost contact with the division headquarters when we were carrying a radio? Is there any problem with it?"
Sokov has also considered Sidorin's speculation, but there has been no more specific report yet, so he can't figure out what the specific situation is: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't be anxious, I believe it will be necessary."
It won't be long before General Kirillov will give us a satisfactory answer."
After saying this, he ordered the director of the communications corps: "Comrade director of the communications corps, please connect me to the front army headquarters. I want to report to comrade marshal."
A few minutes later, the call was connected to the Front Army Headquarters. The person who answered the phone was Chief of Staff Bogolyubov: "Hello, this is the Front Army Headquarters. I am Chief of Staff Bogolyubov. Where are you?"
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov said respectfully: "I am Sokov, Commander of the 48th Group Army. I have something to report to Comrade Marshal. Is he with you at the moment?"
Bogolyubov glanced at Rokossovsky, who was chatting with Subbotin not far away, nodded and said: "He is here. Just wait a moment, I will let him answer the phone."
Rokossovsky took the microphone from Bogolyubov's hand and said, "Hello, Misha? I'm Rokossovsky. Is there any news from the prisoner of war camp?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov replied: "There is indeed news from the prisoner of war camp."
"Tell me what's going on with the dispatched troops. Have you found the prisoner-of-war camp mentioned by the enemy? Are there any of our commanders and fighters imprisoned in it?"
Sokov waited for Rokossovsky to finish asking a series of questions, and then said: "The dispatched troops have found and liberated the prisoner of war camp, and rescued all 3,400 commanders and fighters detained in it.
They provide food and check on health."
"Since the prisoner of war camp has been liberated, why has there been no report?" Rokossovsky asked in confusion.
"I asked General Kirillov, and he said it was because there was a problem with the radio." Sokov was worried that Rokossovsky would continue to ask, so he took the initiative and said: "But what is the problem with the radio, we have to wait.
Only after the communications troops sent by the division chief of staff return to Lezen can we find out."
"Rescuing 3,400 people is really a good achievement." Rokossovsky said with emotion: "It is equivalent to increasing the strength of half a division for nothing. If each of our troops can find a prisoner of war camp of this size
, even if we do not receive supplements from the Supreme Command, we can still ensure that we have enough troops to carry out the next phase of operations."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov said with a grin, "but unfortunately, except for the vicinity of Lezen, there seems to be no German prisoner-of-war camps found in other areas."
"No, it's not that nothing was found, it's that the commander in charge of the area didn't bother to look for it at all." Rokossovsky said with a straight face: "I will immediately issue an order to the troops to have all the troops in the area under their control."
Search within the territory to see if there are any prisoner-of-war camps established by the Germans. If so, these imprisoned commanders and fighters must be liberated."
After the call between Rokossovsky and Sokov ended, he said to Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Mischa just reported that the 3rd Infantry Division's search in the forest north of Letzen has achieved huge results.
As a result. They discovered a prisoner-of-war camp that held more than 3,400 of our military commanders and fighters, and rescued them all. Now you draft an order to ask each group army to send out manpower to search in the areas under their control to see if there are any Germans.
A prisoner of war camp established by others. Once something is discovered, troops will be sent to rescue it immediately, and the commanders and fighters rescued from it will be replenished to the nearby unit."
"Understood." Bogolyubov replied resoundingly: "I will immediately convey your order to the commanders of each group army."
Besides, the communication troops sent by Miyakov finally rushed back to Letzen after a long journey. They quickly came to the division headquarters and handed over the detailed report written by Miyakov to Kirillov.
After Kirillov quickly read the telegram, he figured out what was going on with the loss of contact with Miyakov. He couldn't help but sigh. If Sokov hadn't urged him to send someone to check, he might have ended up at this moment.
Only then can we find out what happened in the prison camp.
Now that the situation has been clarified, it is natural to report to Sokov, and Kirillov picked up the phone again.
After Sokov received a call from Kirillov and found out the reason why the troops commanded by Miyakov lost contact with the division headquarters, he couldn't help crying or laughing. But since the other party had successfully completed the mission, he couldn't help it anymore.
Instead of blaming the other party, he said euphemistically: "General Kirillov, you must learn this lesson. Next time you perform a similar mission, remember to bring an extra radio station to avoid the situation happening again."
Just before Sokov was about to put down the phone, he suddenly heard Kirillov say: "Comrade Commander, I saw a familiar name in the list of commanders provided by Chief of Staff Miyakov."
"A familiar name?" Sokov asked without hesitation: "Is it someone you know?"
"No, I don't know him." Kirillov replied simply: "But I have heard you mention this person before."
"What, I have mentioned this person before?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Who is it?"
"Major Gavrilov." Kirillov glanced at the note behind his name and added: "He was captured in the Brest Fortress."
Sokov's breathing became rapid. He did not expect that his troops would inadvertently rescue Gavrilov. However, just to be on the safe side, he asked tentatively: "Are you sure it was in Bures?"
Were they captured in the special fortress?"
"Yes." Kirillov nodded and replied in a firm tone: "The information shows that he was the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment before he was captured."
Seeing that what Kirillov said was completely consistent with the information he knew, Sokov could already conclude that the rescued commander was Gavrilov, the hero who defended the Brest Fortress.
Major. He quickly said into the microphone: "General Kirillov, listen, once this major returns to Letzen, you will send someone to send him to the headquarters. Do you understand what I say?"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Kirillov replied: "As soon as he comes back, I will immediately arrange for personnel to send him there."
After putting down the phone, Sokov began to think about how to place a hero like Gavrilov. It stands to reason that after all captured officers are rescued, they will undergo a period of review. After the review is completed, differentiated decisions will be made.
placement.
"Misha, what are you thinking about, so lost in thought?" Lunev asked from the side.
"Comrade Military Commissar, I have heard before that on the day the war broke out, Major Gavrilov organized a group of soldiers to fight the enemy's 45th Infantry Division in the Brest Fortress. As his commander and combat officer
After all his sacrifices, he persisted alone in the fortress for nearly a month, until he was finally injured and captured. I was thinking about how we should place such a hero."