On the third day after Sokov returned to the army, he received a call from Malinin. The chief of staff said on the phone: "Comrade Major, you personally bring a few soldiers to the army headquarters and take back the medals belonging to your battalion."
Hearing Malinen say this, Sokov immediately knew in his heart that the second application form for the award had finally been approved. As soon as he put down the phone, he said to Belkin who was sitting next to him: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, let me tell you some good news: our application form for awards has been approved!"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Belgin was a little surprised when he heard Sokov say this and asked, "Is this true?"
Sokov nodded vigorously and replied: "It's true. Chief of Staff Malinin informed me on the phone and asked me to take people to the headquarters to receive the medal."
"Great, this is really great." Belgin said, I will accompany you to the headquarters! "
Regarding Belkin's request, Sokov hesitated for a moment, and finally agreed to his request: "Okay, Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, since you and I are going to the headquarters, the battalion will be temporarily led by Captain Vanya. Take charge."
After handing over command of the battalion to Captain Vanya, Sokov and Belkin set out on the road with a guard squad. On the way, Sokov asked Belkin: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, which two divisions did our battalion fight with some time ago?"
Belkin had a surprised expression on his face when he heard Sokov's question: "Why, comrade battalion commander, you still don't know which two divisions our battalion is fighting with?"
Sokov's old face turned red and he replied with some embarrassment: "I only listened to Chief of Staff Malinin briefly introduce the situation that day, and hurried back to the camp without having time to ask in detail. These two people who returned to the camp God, I have so much work to do, I forgot to ask for a while."
Belkin waited for Sokov to finish his explanation, nodded slightly, and said: "I thought you had already understood the detailed situation when you were at the army headquarters, so I didn't mention it again in the past two days. On the attack day During the battle in Zdra, our battalion fought in conjunction with the 324th and 328th Infantry Divisions.
You already know the result of the battle. Our army was almost completely destroyed by the German army. Moreover, the commander of the 324th Division, Colonel Kravchenko, who was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, died in the battle; the commander of the 328th Division, Colonel Ye Leming, was also injured and was sent to a military hospital in the rear for treatment. "
Knowing that both infantry divisions currently had no division commanders, Sokov could not help but be secretly surprised. He thought that if the German army went on the offensive at this time, the leaderless troops would not be able to counterattack, and whether they could hold their positions would be a big problem. The problem.
At this moment, Belkin suddenly added: "Comrade Battalion Commander, there is one more thing that I almost forgot. Due to the achievements of the 328th Infantry Division in the major counterattack, the Army Headquarters has applied for the award. The title of Division Guards. Maybe not long after, they will be changed to the XXth Guards Infantry Division."
The two came to the army headquarters and met Malinin and Lobachev. Lobachev waited for the two of them to finish saluting, stepped forward, held Sokov's hand, and said apologetically: "Major Sokov, due to my negligence at work, the commendation order you applied for for the first time was politically rejected. The Ministry of Commerce vetoed it, and for this, I apologize to you on behalf of the Army Military Committee and the Political Department."
After expressing his apology, Lobachev said to Belkin: "Comrade Political Deputy Battalion Commander, come with me, and I will take you to receive the medal." After walking a few steps, he saw Belkin Still standing there, he added, "General Malinin has important matters to discuss with Major Sokov, so let's not disturb them."
After Lobachev left with Belkin, Malinin pointed to the empty seat next to him and said to Sokov: "Major Sokov, please sit down!" After Sokov sat down, a staff officer immediately came He came over with a cup of hot tea and placed the teacup with a silver coaster in front of Sokov.
"Major Sokov," Malinin asked with a smile after sitting down opposite Sokov, "did you visit the commander when you were in Moscow?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." After hearing Malinin's question, Sokov quickly stood up from his seat and replied respectfully: "I once visited the commander. He is in good spirits and has recovered well from his injuries. It’s also very fast, I believe it won’t be long before he can return to the front line.”
After listening to this, Malinin raised his hand and pressed down, motioning Sokov to sit down, and then asked: "Has Comrade Commander's wife been found?"
Rokossovsky’s wife? Hearing Malinin's question, Sokov was stunned for a moment, and then thought that in the biography he read, Rokossovsky was having a passionate relationship with the movie star Serova at the moment. If his wife was also in Moscow, maybe The story with Serova would not have happened. Thinking of this, Sokov shook his head and said in an affirmative tone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I probably haven't found her, because when I went to the hospital to visit, Comrade Commander was alone in the ward, and no one accompanied her at all."
Malinin waited for Sokov to finish, then sighed and said: "I heard that after the war broke out, the commander's wife and daughter left Zhytomir and were evacuated to the rear. First they went to Kazakhstan, and then to New Zealand. Siberia, but the specific city in which they are located has never been found. I hope nothing happens to them."
After the two chatted for a while, Malinen finally brought the topic to the point: "Major Sokov, do you know the numbers of the two divisions that your battalion fought with some time ago?"
Fortunately, before Sokov came to the headquarters, he asked Belkin about this on a whim. Otherwise, he would not have been able to answer Malinin's question. He nodded and said in a positive tone: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, I know: one is Colonel Kravchenko's 324th Infantry Division, and the other is Colonel Yeremin's 328th Infantry Division."
"Look at this map," Malinen pushed the map on the table in front of Sokov, pointed at a certain point on it with his hand and said, "Although our attack some time ago failed to achieve the expected goal, it has We successfully drove the enemy to the opposite side of the Zizdra River. After resting and replenishing, we will attack the enemy again. The 328th Infantry Division deployed on the right wing of your battalion will become the main force of this attack."
After waiting for Malinin to finish speaking, Sokov said casually: "I wonder when the attack will start? If there is enough preparation time, I believe Colonel Yeremin should be able to recover and be discharged from the hospital, and return to the front line to command operations."
"Our attack will start in half a month." Malinin looked up at Sokov and said: "I think it will be difficult for Colonel Yeremin to return to the army in such a short period of time. Therefore, after our research, we plan to Another person was sent to take over his position and command the 328th Infantry Division."
"The deputy division commander and chief of staff of the division are very familiar with the situation in the division." Sokov stared at the map in front of him and said casually: "Any one of them can serve as the division commander very easily. Complete the new round of offensive tasks well."
"Major Sokov, you are mistaken. If we wanted to find someone from among the existing commanders of the division to take over the position of division commander, I would not have called you specifically to ask you to come here." Malinin stared. Looking at Sokov's eyes, he said word by word: "The result of our research is that you will act as the commander of the 328th Infantry Division."
