The troops going to reinforce the archives building were led by the regiment chief of staff, Captain Vanya, with the new battalion, leading the way; Sokov and Belkin, with their directly affiliated troops and Samoilov's guard platoon, fell behind the first
The distance between the echelons is two hundred meters; and two hundred meters behind them is the new second battalion led by the regiment political commissar Dmitry.
On the way, Belkin complained softly to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, you really shouldn't have followed us. The place we are going to is really too dangerous."
After Sokov waited for Belkin to finish speaking, he said lightly: "My comrade political commissar, we have been partners for a long time. You should know my character very well. If you let me stay in the headquarters to command the troops, I will
I’m really not used to it. Moreover, General Rokossovsky once said: If a commander wants to boost morale, the best way is to stay with his soldiers. My current behavior just agrees with what he said.
Said conditions."
Seeing Sokov's strong words, Belgin knew that his persuasion would have no effect. He could only shake his head with a wry smile, and then reminded Sokov: "Comrade Commander, since you insist on acting with us, as your subordinate, I will unconditionally
I obey your orders. But you cannot go up and fight the Germans with your weapons in person. You must know that since we entered Stalingrad, you have been wounded twice."
Hearing Belkin mention that he had been wounded twice, Sokov's smile froze on his face. He remembered that while he was recovering from his injuries, his superiors sent Vitkov, deputy chief of staff of the group army, to act as his deputy. As a result, his command style was different from his own.
They are completely different. They often engage in confrontations with attacking enemies, resulting in serious attrition of the troops. Now the four regiments under his command are scattered in different areas. If he is unfortunately injured again, he will be replaced by a commander with a different command style from his own.
I'm afraid one of the regiments is in danger of being wiped out.
It was out of this consideration that Sokov assured Belkin with a solemn expression: "Don't worry, comrade political commissar, unless the enemy rushes in front of me, I will never take the initiative to take up arms and fight the enemy."
Due to the enemy's bombing, the buildings along the way have long been turned into ruins, and the roads are also full of craters. Although there are flames burning in the buildings, illuminating the way forward, there are still soldiers who fall and fall into the ground during the march.
They fell into the crater. The soldiers who were still nearby reached out to help them in time and pulled them out of the crater.
Seeing this, Belkin frowned and said to Sokov: "Comrade division commander, the road conditions are too bad. At this speed, it may take us two or three hours to reach our destination."
"Slow down, just slow down." Sokov was worried that walking too fast under such road conditions might cause unnecessary non-combat attrition, so he called Samoilov and ordered him: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, you
Go to the front and tell Captain Wanlia that we are not in a hurry, so we can slow down our march and reach our destination before dawn."
"Comrade division commander," upon hearing Sokov's order, Belkin asked with some concern: "If you ask the troops to slow down their march, will it delay the fighter plane?"
"Definitely not, my Comrade Political Commissar." Sokov shook his head and said, "Listen, there are no gunshots or explosions in the direction we are going, which proves that there is no fighting at all.
If we blindly force the soldiers to hurry up and cause a large number of non-combat attrition, the combat effectiveness of the troops will decrease."
Seeing that Belkin seemed to want to defend something, he continued: "We are only a few kilometers away from the archives building. If a battle really breaks out there, it will not be too late for us to rush over there. I believe that comrades from friendly forces
We can still resist the enemy's attack for more than ten minutes."
After taking a few steps forward, Sokov suddenly remembered something and said to Belkin: "Also, Comrade Political Commissar, we are partners. What I called you before is what I still call you now.
.On the contrary, you are a little too polite to me and always use honorifics when speaking. So, when you call me in the future, you should use 'you' instead of 'you' to avoid seeming too distant. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Commander...Misha!" Belkin said with a smile: "Then I will still call you Misha in private from now on. This title feels more cordial."
The two were talking when they suddenly saw the troops in front of them standing up. Sokov frowned and asked Belkin beside him: "Comrade Political Commissar, what is going on? Why did the troops stop?"
Belgin, who had been staying with Sokov, had no idea what was happening in front of him. He was also at a loss. He quickly called an officer next to him and told him to go to the front and have a look. What happened?
What happened? But as soon as the officer took a few steps, Samoilov ran over to him, stopped in front of Sokov, and said breathlessly: "Comrade division commander, Captain Vanya asked me to tell you that because of his actions,
The building as a reference object has collapsed due to the bombing by enemy planes. Without this reference object, we will not be able to move forward."
"So, we are lost?" Sokov asked tentatively.
"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Samoilov nodded and said, "We are indeed lost."
"Misha!" Belkin leaned close to Sokov's ear and whispered: "Unexpectedly, the building we used as a reference has collapsed in the bombing of enemy planes. If we continue to move forward, we may accidentally
Breaking into the enemy's position. In my opinion, it is better to let the troops rest where they are and wait until daybreak before continuing to advance."
Sokov looked forward and backward, and felt that Belgin's proposal still made sense. It was impossible to identify the correct path at night. If he accidentally entered the enemy's position, it would be a serious matter. So he
He nodded and said to Belkin: "Let the troops stop and rest. Let the soldiers rest close to the burning fires. Don't get frostbite."
"I understand." After Belkin said this, he called the two officers beside him and ordered them: "You go and inform the chief of staff, you go and inform the political commissar, the troops stop advancing, and everyone rests on the spot. Also,
You need to tell the two regiment leaders to tell the soldiers to keep warm and not to get frostbite."
After the troops stopped advancing, Sokov and Belkin also found a sheltered place to sit down and rest. Belkin handed Sokov a cigarette and asked: "Misha, after we arrive at the archives building, what are your plans?"
How to block the enemy's attack?"
Sokov did not take the cigarette offered by Belkin, waved his hand and said: "After the bombing by enemy planes, I estimate that the fortifications near the archives building were flattened by bombs. Therefore, after we take over the defense, we must
Seize the time to repair the fortifications. Only after we have strong fortifications can we possibly block the enemy's attack."