Sokov followed the soldier Berezhkov towards the forest, and soon saw tents connected one after another in a forest clearing. Many soldiers were warming themselves by the fire in the open space outside the tent. When they suddenly saw Sokov approaching, they quickly stood up and saluted Sokov while standing at attention, with expressions of surprise on their faces.
"Hello, comrades!" Sokov saw the soldiers standing near the tent and greeted them with a smile. Berezhkov stopped in front of a tent, turned around and said to Sokov: "Comrade Battalion Commander, this is the battalion command post."
After thanking Berezhkov, Sokov raised his hand to open the curtain and walked in. There were only Belkin and a telegraph operator in the tent. Seeing Sokov's appearance, Belkin was in a daze for a few seconds. Then he stood up from his seat in a panic and held Sokov's hand, excited. Said: "Comrade Battalion Commander, when did you come back?"
Sokov reached out and shook Belkin's hand, then asked straight to the point: "I just came back. How is the situation in the camp?"
Before introducing the situation of the troops, Belkin first asked: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I guess you have just come from the Army Headquarters, right?"
"That's right." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "As soon as I left the army headquarters, I rushed back to the camp. Tell me, what is the situation in the camp now?"
"Since you are coming from the headquarters, you must know that we lost a battle not long ago." Belkin said with a solemn expression: "Our two infantry divisions were surrounded by the German army. Our battalion fought desperately and finally succeeded. We opened a gap in the German encirclement and covered the surrounded troops to break out of the encirclement. Although we successfully broke through, our battalion also suffered heavy casualties."
"Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, I know that the troops suffered heavy casualties in the battle," Sokov felt a little anxious when he saw that Belkin actually spoke to him in an official tone: "But can you tell me the specific casualties of the troops?"
Belkin knew that he could not avoid Sokov's question, so he could only bite the bullet and answer: "The first and second companies suffered two-thirds of the casualties, the machine gun company suffered more than half of the casualties, the third company..." When talking about the third company, He paused for a few seconds, and finally said through gritted teeth, "The third company has been exhausted. Currently, the total strength of the entire battalion is only more than 200 people."
"What, the total strength of the whole battalion is only more than 200 people? The third company has been completely destroyed?" Sokov couldn't believe his ears. His army of more than 800 people had been defeated in less than a month. They actually lost three-quarters of their troops, and they were all veterans. However, he still tried hard to control his emotions at this moment and asked, "What about Captain Saviev, the commander of the third company, and Stepan, the instructor? How are they doing now? Are they still alive?"
Belkin could hear the anger in Sokov's tone, and quickly explained: "Comrade Battalion Commander, don't worry, Captain Saviev and instructor Stepan are still alive, and they are currently being sent to Military hospital in Moscow. They will be able to return to the front line in two months at most."
"Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, gather all commanders at the platoon level and above. I want to talk to everyone."
Just when Belkin ordered people to summon commanders above the platoon level to the tent for a meeting, the female health worker Maria rushed into a tent, came to Asiya who was feeding the wounded, and said with some excitement: " Asiya, battalion commander, the battalion commander is back!"
"What, Misha is back?" Asiya's face was filled with joy when she heard what Maria said, and she quickly asked: "Where is he now?"
"As soon as he came back, he went directly to the battalion command post." Maria took the things in Asiya's hands and urged: "I will do the work here for you. You should go see the comrade battalion commander first. After all, I haven’t seen you in a month.”
Asiya quickly walked towards the tent of the battalion command post. Unexpectedly, as soon as they reached the halfway point, they saw groups of officers walking towards the tent of the battalion command post. Asiya had been in the army for a long time. When she saw this situation, she immediately guessed that Sokov was going to convene a meeting with the officers in the battalion. It was very inappropriate for her to see him at this time. Thinking of this, Asiya stopped and stood there for a while, then turned over and walked back to the health team's tent.
Seeing Asiya returning so quickly, Maria couldn't help but curiously asked: "Asiya, why did you come back so soon? Isn't the battalion commander at the command post?"
Asiya shook her head and said: "He should be in the command post, but I saw many officers heading towards his tent. It is estimated that an important military meeting will be held soon. It is a bit inappropriate for me to go find him now." .”
Seeing Asiya's unhappy look, Maria quickly comforted her and said, "Asiya, don't worry, the battalion commander has just come back, and he must understand the current situation in the camp. When he is finished, you can It’s not too late to go find him.”
Although the Istria Battalion suffered huge losses in the battle that took place not long ago, the number of commanders above the platoon level who came to the battalion command post for a meeting still reached 20, making the originally not spacious tent even more spacious. Crowded.
"Hello, comrade commanders!" Sokov said when he saw that the people had almost arrived: "I am very happy to be able to return to your midst and be with you again." He said in front of everyone. He was very happy. It was not a cliche, but the truth from the bottom of his heart. If he had not insisted on returning to the front line, he would have become a member of the weapons and equipment department at this moment.
Sokov's eyes swept over every commander in the tent and found that some familiar faces had disappeared. He didn't know whether they were injured and sent to the hospital in the rear, or whether they died in the battle. After taking a deep breath, he continued: "The commanders who came to the meeting today all know that in the recent battle, our battalion paid a huge price and sacrificed hundreds of good comrades in order to cover the breakout of friendly forces. I feel very sad about this..."
Commanders at all levels were extremely happy when they saw Sokov appear, feeling that they had finally found their backbone. However, when they heard him mention the battle a few days ago, their expressions became gloomy.
"...Because our battalion suffered too many losses in the battle, it seems inappropriate to continue to maintain the original organization." While waiting for the arrival of commanders at all levels, Sokov learned about each company and platoon from Belkin. Regarding the remaining strength of the troops, I feel that it is not appropriate to maintain the original organization with the existing strength, so I plan to temporarily downsize the troops. "I have called everyone here for a meeting today. The first thing to discuss is to reduce the existing troops." Downsizing.”
"Comrade Battalion Commander," the commanders present heard Sokov say this and couldn't help but began to whisper about him. They were discussing in low voices how the troops would be downsized, and the somewhat impatient Andrei spoke on behalf of everyone. Be the first to ask: "How do you plan to shrink our team?"
"Now there are only more than 200 people left in the whole battalion." Sokov looked at everyone and said: "In order to facilitate command, the troops directly under the battalion only retain the guard platoon and the communication platoon. The two platoons were merged into the police communication platoon, led by Xie Liao Lieutenant Sha served as the platoon leader, and Second Lieutenant Maxim served as the deputy platoon leader; the engineer platoon and the reconnaissance platoon were merged into the first company to form a new company, with Captain Vanya as the company commander; while the second company and the machine gun company were merged, with Vanya as the company commander. Captain Seely serves as the company commander, and Captain Andre serves as the deputy company commander..."
After announcing the downsizing plan, Sokov asked as usual: "Does anyone have a different opinion?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he replied in a nonchalant manner: "No opinion."
Hearing that everyone's tone of voice was weak, he raised his voice and repeated the question: "Do you have any different opinions?"
When everyone heard Sokov repeating the question, they immediately understood that the answer they just gave did not satisfy the comrade battalion commander, so everyone answered in unison: "No opinion!"
"Since there is no objection, let's go back to our respective units first and tell the soldiers about the downsizing." Seeing everyone leaving the tent one by one, Sokov added: "The captains of each company will stay."
The first company commander Vanya stayed, and the second company commander Vasily also stayed. Andre, who had just been appointed as the second company deputy commander, stood in a dilemma at the door of the tent. Seeing Andre's embarrassment, Sokov waved his hand at him and said: "Captain Andre, you should stay and listen."
After inviting the three company commanders to sit down, Sokov said to them: "Comrades, company commanders, I have revealed an inside message to you." When he said this, he suddenly saw the briefcase that Vanya was carrying. He took out a pen and paper, glared at him and said, "Don't record it." Vanya was startled by Sokov's tone, and quickly put the pen and paper he just took out back into his briefcase. .
"Comrades, company commanders," Sokov didn't know whether Rokossovsky could rush back to the front line in time to perform his duties as commander before Timoshenko transferred himself to the Southwest Front, so there was something. He must say hello to his company commanders: "Next month, our army will launch a decisive attack somewhere, and our battalion may also participate in this attack."
Hearing Sokov's vague statement, Andrei asked curiously: "Comrade Battalion Commander, can I ask where the upcoming attack is?"
"I'm sorry, Captain Andre, I can't tell you the specific attack location until the superior's attack order is issued." When Sokov said this, he saw embarrassed expressions on the faces of several company commanders. , and explained to them: "This attack will determine the situation of both the enemy and us on the battlefield. In order to keep it confidential, no one can reveal the direction of the attack in advance, the number of troops that may be used, etc..."
Fortunately, several company commanders had a sense of confidentiality. When Sokov said this, they did not break the casserole and ask the truth. Instead, they sat quietly in their seats and listened to the tasks Sokov assigned next.
When only Sokov and Belkin were left in the tent, Belkin suddenly asked: "Comrade Battalion Commander, did you see Asiya when you came back?"
"No," Sokov shook his head and said, "As soon as I returned to the camp, I rushed here immediately and didn't even bother with the health team. How is she doing recently?"
"She performed well." Belkin said in an approving tone: "During our breakout battle, she braved the hail of bullets to rescue the wounded on the battlefield. She even risked her own life for Saveyev and Stepan. Memorized from the battlefield."
"What, Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, what did you just say?" According to Sokov's idea, it is a great thing for a health worker to bandage the wounds of the wounded in a battle despite the enemy's bullets. Being able to risk one's life to carry two wounded men who were stronger than oneself off the battlefield has simply met the standard of being awarded a medal.
After receiving Belkin's affirmation, Sokov couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, I wonder if Asiya's behavior has met the standards for meritorious service and awards?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Belkin took out a stack of documents from his briefcase, placed them in front of Sokov, and said to him: "Comrade Battalion Commander, these are the forms for application for awards, Assi Ya’s application for awards is also among them. But..."
Seeing that Belkin was hesitant to speak, Sokov asked anxiously: "But what? Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, there are only you and me here. If you have anything to say, you can just say it."
"That's it, Comrade Battalion Commander." Belkin said with a grimace: "In this battle, many heroes emerged in our battalion, but all the commendation applications I submitted to my superiors were rejected."
"All applications for awards have been rejected?" Sokov heard this and asked in confusion: "Why is this?"
Belkin shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: "Why else? It's because our army failed in this battle and failed to complete the planned goals of our superiors. Therefore, all applications for awards have been rejected." Dismissed."
Sokov looked through the thick stack of application forms in front of him and saw that there were more than a hundred of them. He couldn't help but said angrily: "Damn it, is it possible that the superiors will take away the merits of our battalion just because of the failure of this attack?" , wipe them all out at once?"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," seeing Sokov's reaction, Belkin hesitated for a moment, and then said tentatively: "Look, can you come forward and submit these application forms to the Army Political Department again, and see if you can Was it passed?"
"Is this possible, Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander?" Belkin's words gave Sokov a glimmer of hope, but he still asked worriedly: "You won't be rejected by the leaders of the Political Department again, right?"
"I think it won't happen this time." Belkin from the political department of the group army said in an uncertain tone: "You must know that the person commanding the group army is Chief of Staff Malinin. He is better than the dismissed General Zakharov. Easy to talk to. As long as he nods, the Political Department will not make things difficult for us."
