When the troops of the Fifth Guards Division and the Ninth Guards Division advanced along the road towards the Istria Reservoir, Rokossovsky learned about the progress of the two divisions through Chief of Staff Malinin from time to time.
As the commander of the 16th Army, what he was most worried about was that the Istria River might become a natural barrier on the offensive path of the Army. In order to prevent the enemy from setting up defenses in the Istria River area, he not only ordered his divisions to advance quickly and forcibly cross the Istria River, but also formed a right-wing group commanded by Major General Remizov, together with Kutukov The left wing group commanded by the Major General was to bypass the Istria Reservoir from the north and south sides when the enemy blew up the dam.
Just when he was restless, Malinin came over and handed him a telegram and said to him: "Comrade Commander, General Mironov, commander of the Fifth Guards Division, called. The 765th Guards Regiment has sent a group of troops. A small team went through the forest to perform a special task of protecting the dam."
Rokossovsky took a look at the telegram and couldn't help frowning: "There are still a few people left in Lieutenant Sokov's company. If we want them to protect the dam that the Germans are preparing to blow up, Batrakov Isn’t this nonsense?”
Regarding Rokossovsky's statement, Malinin replied with a wry smile: "Comrade Commander, if we send a large force through the forest to seize the Istria Reservoir Dam, we will not be able to carry heavy weapons. Once If they are noticed by the enemy while marching, then the sneak attack will turn into a strong attack. Without heavy weapons, our army will not be able to seize the dam that is heavily guarded by the German army."
After Malinin finished speaking, Rokossovsky said angrily: "Since a large force cannot seize the dam, can a small force complete the task?"
"The small number of troops also has the advantage of being small. This way, they have a small target during operations and are not easily detected by the enemy when passing through the snow-covered forest." Malinin looked at Rokossovsky and said with a smile. : "Sokov has a flexible mind and a lot of clever ideas. I think he will be able to complete this task well."
Hearing what Malinin said, Rokossovsky chuckled and said: "Chief of Staff, if you didn't tell me, I almost forgot. This Misha is indeed very capable. At the beginning of the month, he was still a corporal, and he only passed In less than ten days, he has become a lieutenant. His future is limitless."
Ma Lining echoed with emotion: "If his father hadn't died too early, he might have become a general by now."
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right." Malinin's words reminded Rokossovsky of his comrade who died young, "Old Misha was a very good commander and had rich Combat experience. With his ability, if he lives to this day, he will at least be a group army commander. I hope Sokov can inherit his father's legacy, grow up quickly in the war, and become an excellent commander. "
After a long night of waiting, Major General Mironov, commander of the 5th Guards Division, sent a telegram to the headquarters, reporting to Rokossovsky that the 586th Infantry Regiment of the division had successfully arrived at Ister The west bank of the La River.
When seeing this telegram, Rokossovsky asked Malinin with some surprise: "Chief of Staff, the 586th Infantry Regiment has successfully crossed the Istria River. So, the Istria Reservoir Dam has not Destroyed by the enemy?"
Since the content of the telegram was very brief, Malinen was unable to know the specific situation. He could only say vaguely: "Comrade Commander, I think it should be like this."
In order to find out what was going on, Rokossovsky ordered Malinin: "Chief of Staff, immediately contact Division Commander Mironov to find out whether the dam of the Istria Reservoir has been preserved intact. Come down?"
Malinin got up and called the headquarters of the 5th Guards Division. Not long after, he came back and reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, it's all clear. The dam of the Istria Reservoir has no Destroyed by the Germans." After he finished these two sentences, seeing what Rokossovsky seemed to want to ask, he took the initiative to add, "Major General Mironov told that the commander of the 765th Regiment, Bart According to Lieutenant Colonel Rakoff's report, the German army once tried to blow up the dam, but due to the tenacious fighting of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's unit, the German engineers who carried out the explosion were eliminated, destroying the enemy's attempt and successfully preserving the dam. dam."
"It's amazing, Lieutenant Sokov and the others did a good job." After listening to the report, Rokossovsky stood up and walked back and forth in the room while saying excitedly: "Because they successfully protected the dam, The enemy's plot to use floods to block our army's path went bankrupt, thus creating favorable conditions for us to eliminate more fascist invaders."
After saying these words, Rokossovsky stopped and asked Lobachev, the military commissar of the group army who was sitting next to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, according to the great results achieved by Lieutenant Sokov and others, what can you say? , what kind of rewards should be given to them?”
If ordinary soldiers had accomplished meritorious deeds, Lobachev would certainly have awarded them medals or the like without hesitation. But now that he heard Rokossovsky raising the matter so solemnly, he had to be cautious. After a few minutes of consideration, he finally said: "Comrade Commander, in view of the contribution made by Lieutenant Sokov, I recommend that he be awarded the Order of the Red Banner in recognition of his performance in the battle to defend the motherland. Extraordinary courage and dedication. And the third company he led can be awarded the honorary title of 'Istria Company'."
In order to make Lobachev aware of the importance of successfully defending the dam, he specifically emphasized: "If the fascist gangsters blow up the dam of the reservoir, the huge surging water will have a huge impact on our next move. Big difficulties. Lieutenant Sokov successfully defended the dam, allowing our army to smoothly pass through the ice on the Istria River and continue to pursue the fleeing enemies, causing the battle situation to develop in a direction beneficial to our army. He has made such a great and outstanding contribution, and I think it is far from enough to just award him the Order of the Red Banner."
Seeing that Rokossovsky rejected his proposal, Lobachev was not angry, but asked with a smile: "Comrade Commander, in your opinion, what medal should be awarded to him?"
Rokossovsky pondered for a moment, and then announced: "In addition to awarding the third company the honorary title of 'Istria Company', I think we can award the company commander, Lieutenant Sokov, an Order of Lenin."
"What, the Order of Lenin?" After listening to Rokossovsky's proposal, Lobachev was silent for a long time, and finally said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, the Order of Lenin is the highest-level medal in our country so far. We do not have the right to award such medals to the commanders and fighters below before obtaining authorization from our superiors."
"Comrade Military Commissar, you are right. The group army is indeed not qualified to award the Order of Lenin to the commanders and fighters below, but the head of the front army should have such qualifications, right?" After seeing Lobachev nodding in approval, he picked up the table "I will call Comrade Zhukov right now, hoping he can support my decision."
Zhukov heard on the phone that Rokossovsky planned to award the Order of Lenin to a lieutenant, and immediately refused without hesitation: "Comrade Rokossovsky, the Order of Lenin is a very precious medal and represents the highest honor. Honor is not something that everyone can obtain. It has a strict approval process. You should know that Front Army Military Commissar Bulganin is a comrade with strong principles. Even if I agree to your request, the application for the award will not be approved by him. It would be dismissed there too.”
"Comrade General, please listen to me." Rokossovsky reported to Zhukov in detail the deeds of the small unit led by Lin Hua in successfully protecting the Istria Reservoir Dam. In order to impress Zhukov, he finally said: "I have one more thing to tell you. This Lieutenant Sokov is the son of Mikhail Ivanovich."
"What, what, Rokossovsky, what did you just say?" Zhukov heard this and asked in surprise: "You said Lieutenant Sokov is the son of the regimental commander Misha we know?"
"Yes, it's him." Rokossovsky gave Zhukov an affirmative answer on the phone. "And before our major counterattack began, he led a squad of soldiers and successfully blocked the oncoming attack. Enemies of Khimki town.”
A few minutes ago, Zhukov was strongly opposed to awarding a lieutenant the Order of Lenin, the highest honor of the Soviet Union, but after learning that this man was actually the son of his old comrade-in-arms and had recently made many military exploits, he changed his mind. He held the microphone and pondered for a moment, and then said: "Okay, Comrade Rokossovsky, I agree with your opinion and award Lieutenant Sokov the Order of Lenin. As for Military Commissar Bulganin, I will personally convince him .”
