"Colonel, I am just an ordinary captain. You don't have to be so polite to me." Sokov said with a smile: "The reconnaissance force has been dispatched. Should we strengthen the defenses in this area next?"
"Of course." Katukov said: "If there are not enough fortifications, we will have no way to stop the German armored forces. By the way, how should we build fortifications? Do you have any good suggestions?"
Sokov remembered that after Katukov led his troops to reach Mtcensk, he knew that fighting the enemy head-on was not an option, so he urged the soldiers to dig fake bunkers day and night, and used plywood to build a large number of fake tanks and camouflage them, while the real tank positions were
Deployed several kilometers away.
The commanders and fighters were tortured by Katukov so much that they didn't sleep for days and nights, and they all called him "a German spy who wants to tire us to death" behind his back. But when the war started, the commanders and fighters unexpectedly discovered that following this cunning brigade commander
, at least the chance of saving one's life is greatly improved.
It was precisely because he clearly remembered this period of history that after hearing Katukov's inquiry, Sokov said: "Comrade Colonel, I think it is very difficult to build fortifications in the conventional way to block the German attack.
, will cause huge losses to your personnel and technical equipment."
"Then what good methods do you have to reduce the losses of our army's soldiers and technical equipment?"
"I think we can arrange real and fake positions to confuse the enemy." Sokov didn't wait for Katukov to ask again, and then said to himself: "We need to build more fake fortifications and arrange them inside.
Some fake tanks were made of plywood and camouflaged to make the enemy think they were our tank positions. In fact, the real tanks were
The tank position should be a few kilometers away from here. In this way, after the German army discovered our fake position, they used aircraft bombing and artillery bombardment to destroy the fake tanks deployed there. And we can use their attention
It is a good time to be diverted and attack from other directions to eliminate their effective strength.
Also, the number of tanks in the tank brigade is limited, and we must use each tank carefully. I think it is best for each tank to have three or four firing points, and then change the location after firing a few shots, so as to give the enemy the illusion that our army
The troops and equipment are very strong.”
"Comrade Captain." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, the chief of staff retorted: "If we follow your suggestion and establish false positions, it will waste a lot of manpower and material resources and cause complaints from the soldiers. Therefore,
I think your proposal is completely inappropriate."
Seeing that the Chief of Staff directly vetoed his proposal, when Sokov was about to launch a counterattack, Katukov said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think Captain Sokov is right. Our troops and equipment cannot
Compared with the Germans, if we fight head-on, we will definitely suffer. So the best way is to establish various fake positions and deploy fake tanks to confuse the enemy and make them confused about our strength."
"Comrade Brigadier," seeing Katukov express his support for Sokov, the chief of staff couldn't help but feel a little depressed. He looked at Sokov and then turned his attention to Katukov: "Our troops are limited. If we really
I am worried that the bodies of the commanders and soldiers will not be able to bear the digging of so many fortifications."
"Tell the soldiers that if you want to survive on the battlefield, you must dig more defenses to save your life." After Katukov said this, he announced another decision: "Also, the brigade
Except for leaving the necessary personnel on duty, the rest of the troops picked up tools and followed the soldiers to build the fortifications."
Since it was Katukov who issued the order, even if the chief of staff had any thoughts in his mind, he could not speak out. After all, the other party was his immediate superior, and the orders he issued could only be carried out unconditionally.
Half an hour later, in addition to the communications personnel on duty, the rest of the brigade headquarters, including Katukov, the chief of staff and the political commissar, participated in the excavation work of the fortifications.
Sokov had dug fortifications before, so he picked up the tools and started digging.
After digging for a while, Sokov found that the military coat he had just put on two days ago was somewhat in the way while working, so he took it off and continued digging while wearing only a pullover military uniform.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the chief of staff standing not far away suddenly called Sokov: "Captain Sokov!"
Sokov stopped what he was doing, looked up at the Chief of Staff, and asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what can I do for you?"
The chief of staff pointed to his chest with his finger and asked curiously: "Captain Sokov, where did you get the medal on your chest?"
Sokov lowered his head and glanced at the medal of Lenin on his chest, and said casually: "Comrade Kalinin personally awarded it to me."
"Kalinin?!" Katukov, standing on the other side of Sokov, asked in surprise: "Is it Colonel Kalinin, commander of the 131st Motorized Division?"
Sokov knew that Rokossovsky originally commanded the 9th Mechanized Army, which consisted of three divisions: the 131st Motorized Division commanded by Colonel Kalinin, the 35th Tank Division commanded by Major General Novikov, and the 35th Tank Division commanded by Major General Novikov.
The 20th Tank Division commanded by Colonel Katukov. Katukov apparently confused the Kalinin he was talking about with his former colleague.
"No, Comrade Colonel." Sokov shook his head and said, "It's not Colonel Kalinin, the commander of the 131st Motorized Division, but Comrade Kalinin, one of the members of the Supreme Command."
As soon as these words came out, not only the chief of staff was stunned, but even Katukov's eyes widened in surprise: 'What, the Order of Lenin on your chest was awarded by Comrade Kalinin personally?'
Katukov and the chief of staff looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes: "This is incredible."
Although the chief of staff had been in contact with Sokov for a long time, Sokov had been wearing a military coat and blocked the medal hanging on his pullover uniform. The chief of staff thought that the young Sokov was just a wave of influence who relied on connections.
Adjutant Tapov's man. At this moment, it seems that the origin of this Sokov is not simple. You must know that even the brigade commander Katukov only has a Red Banner medal on his chest at this moment.
"Comrade Captain," the chief of staff's tone became extremely polite: "Can you tell me the origin of your medal?"
Sokov naturally saw the change in the chief of staff's attitude toward him. Based on past experience, some people who looked down on him suddenly changed their attitude 180 degrees after learning about the origin of the Order of Lenin. As Pota
The liaison officer sent by Bov can be recognized by the top and bottom of the tank brigade, which is also very beneficial to future work.
It was out of this consideration that Sokov told Katukov and the chief of staff how he captured a tank of a German armored column in a small town.
After listening to Sokov's story, the chief of staff was stunned: "Oh my god, Captain Sokov, you are so awesome. I originally thought that you could become a captain at such a young age because of your strength."
What does it matter? But now it seems that based on the meritorious service you have established, let alone captain, no matter how high the military rank is, it is completely worth it."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are very grateful." Faced with the compliment from the Chief of Staff, Sokov looked very embarrassed: "I am also a very ordinary soldier, but I am lucky enough to achieve such feats occasionally."
"Captain Sokov, you are so humble." Katukov said: "I thought carefully about whether I could have done better than you under the circumstances. But after thinking for a long time, I felt that
I can't do it myself. Facing a dozen enemy tanks, even if there are our own tanks behind me, I dare not single-handedly break into the middle of the enemy and force them to surrender to our army."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," the chief of staff waited for Katukov to finish speaking and immediately suggested to him: "How about you talk to General Potapov and ask Captain Sokov to stop being a liaison officer and instead
He directly became a part of our brigade. I think with his ability, there shouldn’t be much problem in assuming the position of battalion commander.”
"Chief of Staff, you are right. If Captain Sokov becomes a member of our brigade, he will have the opportunity to achieve greater achievements." Katukov and his Chief of Staff reached an agreement, and both felt like Sokov
A talent like Sokov could not give up easily, so he tentatively asked Sokov: "Captain Sokov, I wonder if you are willing to join my tank brigade. If you are willing, I can negotiate with the corps commander immediately."
"
"Comrade Colonel, although I also want to stay in the tank brigade, the conditions do not allow it." Sokov smiled bitterly and said to Katukov and the chief of staff: "General Potapov wanted to keep me in his
I even went to see Marshal Shaposhnikov personally and asked him to sign my transfer order, and then I was transferred from the 37th Army to the 1st Guards Rifle Corps."
Katukov heard from Sokov's words that the other party did not want to come to his unit. He did not force it, but said with a regretful tone: "Captain Sokov, you can't come to my tank brigade.
That’s such a shame.”
"Colonel Katukov, the war has just started. The war between us and the Germans will last longer." Sokov said cautiously: "Maybe one day in the future, we will still have the opportunity to fight side by side.
of."
Although Sokov was unwilling to stay in the tank brigade, Katukov was not angry and even talked and laughed with him while working.
But in the afternoon, Sokov followed Katukov, inspecting the defensive positions dug by the commanders and fighters. Along the way, he met some familiar commanders and fighters, and found that the original contempt in their eyes had turned into appreciation. It seemed that he
The incident has been spread. Sokov thought to himself, he really didn’t expect that the effect of this Lenin Medal was so good. After the commanders and soldiers understood their true situation, they were very concerned about their future work.