Sokov never dreamed that what Golikov wanted to talk to him was that Rokossovsky wanted to transfer him to his army. This was so sudden and unexpected that Sokov I didn't know what to say for a while.
After a long silence, Sokov finally spoke, but he did not immediately give Golikov an accurate answer, but asked tentatively: "Comrade Deputy Commander, hasn't our army already abolished the military organization? "
"Yes, shortly after the war broke out, the base camp did abolish the military structure in order to better command the troops." Golikov replied: "But as the size of the army expands, it is inevitable to restore the military structure. It must be done. Therefore, the base camp has made a decision to officially restore the military's organizational structure by the end of October."
Sokov vaguely remembered that the Soviet army seemed to have restored its military structure when it carried out military rank reforms at the end of 1942. Unexpectedly, Rokossovsky was quite generous to him, and he was given the position of a military commander as soon as he started. But now there is only one month left before the major counterattack. At this moment, when he goes to the Don River Front, won't everything he has done before be wasted?
Thinking of this, Sokov looked up at Golikov opposite and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I have already thought about it. Please help me decline General Rokossovsky's kindness. I want to continue to stay in the city." Here, strike hard at the enemies attacking the city."
Before meeting Sokov, Golikov had been wondering whether he would agree to Rokossovsky's request if he were in Sokov's position. After repeated thinking, he felt that he could not find any reason to refuse. This transfer not only improved his position, but also allowed him to withdraw from the precarious city. It is self-evident how to choose.
But Sokov refused Rokossovsky's kindness without hesitation. When Golikov heard this answer, he was stunned for a moment, and then his face showed joy. However, just to be on the safe side, he still asked: "Colonel Sokov, have you really decided to stay in the city?"
"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander." Sokov felt that if he continued to stay in the city, as long as he was more careful, his safety could still be guaranteed, so he replied in a positive tone: "I am willing to continue to stay in the city. , command the troops to fight the enemy until the day they are defeated."
"Very good, very good!" Golikov was very satisfied with Sokov's answer. He felt that since the other party rejected Rokossovsky's invitation, he should express his position on behalf of the Front Army Headquarters. : "Colonel Sokov, for those who performed outstandingly in the battle to defend Stalingrad, we will not only give rewards, but also make reasonable arrangements for personal use. Do you understand what I mean?"
From Golikov's words, Sokov heard that the other party was hinting to him that as long as he continued to stay in the Stalingrad Front, he could be considered for promotion to military rank and position in the future. After expressing his gratitude to Golikov with a smile, he then asked: "Comrade Deputy Commander, where do you plan to go next?"
"I will go to Chuikov's headquarters later to learn from him about the actual situation in the city." After Golikov finished speaking, he said to Sokov in an official tone: "Colonel, you have nothing to do here. Now, you can go." Sokov raised his hand to salute him, then turned and walked out of the command post, heading towards the ferry.
On the way, he met Zinoviev, who was coming towards him. He quickly stopped him and asked him: "Comrade Major, have all the goods on the ship been unloaded?"
Naturally, there are not only hundreds of boxes of ammunition on the ferry, but also a lot of food and medicine. But since the superiors have said hello, the batch of things belonging to Sokov and his friends will be unloaded first. Hearing Sokov's question at this moment, Zinoviev nodded quickly and replied: "Comrade Colonel, your things have been unloaded from the ship. I was going to find you, but I didn't expect to meet you here. .”
Sokov originally thought that Zinoviev came over in a hurry to report something to Golikov, but he did not expect that the other party came to look for him. Hearing that all the things had been unloaded, Sokov hesitated for a moment and said to Zinoviev: "Comrade Major, I want to transport this batch of ammunition back to Mamayev Heights as soon as possible. As for the guard who lent it to you Platoon, after the deputy commander comrade leaves, let them return to their formation as soon as possible."
Zinoviev came to see Sokov because he was worried that when he carried the rocket back to Mamayev Heights, he would take the platoon lent to him with him. He originally planned to discuss with the other party whether he could allow this platoon to continue Stay and wait for Golikov to leave before returning to the building. Unexpectedly, before he spoke, Sokov had already taken the initiative to express his willingness to leave the guard platoon to continue to cooperate with him in carrying out his mission. Zinoviev couldn't help but be overjoyed, thanked Sokov repeatedly, and said that he would immediately send a transport team to transport the rockets to Mamayev Heights.
An hour later, Sokov reappeared at the division headquarters. Seeing Sokov return, Sidorin immediately came up to him and asked with concern: "Comrade division commander, have all those rockets been transported back?"
"Yes, the rockets have been put into the underground warehouse." After Sokov finished speaking, he casually asked: "Did anything happen while I was away?"
"No, Comrade Commander." Sidorin quickly replied: "Everything is calm, nothing happened."
Sokov looked around and saw that Ivanov was not among the staff and radio operators, so he asked: "Where did the deputy division commander go?"
"Seeing that there was nothing to do in the evening, he went back to rest." Sidorin was worried about what Sokov would think, and specifically added: "It will be the deputy division commander's turn to be on duty tomorrow night, so he can go back to rest today. Needed. Shall I call him over?"
"No, no need." Sokov waved his hand and said, "I'm just asking casually. By the way, Chief of Staff, what's the recent performance of the small team we sent behind enemy lines?"
"Comrade Division Commander, I was planning to report this matter to you." Sidorin picked up a small book on the table, flipped through a few pages, and said to Sokov: "In addition to the small teams sent by the downsizing regiment, , in addition to achieving some results. The other teams not only failed to achieve any results, but were surrounded by the enemy. If they did not evacuate as soon as possible, they would be in danger of being annihilated."
"In that case, let's withdraw them." Sokov heard that the situation of the small team behind enemy lines was not good, so he decisively said to Sidorin: "After they come back, we will re-dispatch the elite team. Get behind the enemy lines."
"Comrade division commander," Sidorin was still nodding when he heard Sokov decided to withdraw the small team behind enemy lines. But when he heard Sokov's next words, he couldn't help being stunned: "I think we will send another small team to It is not suitable to be behind the enemy's rear. They can only do some small damage at best, and it is difficult to pose any major threat to the enemy. Moreover, there is a possibility of being completely annihilated by the enemy at any time."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I plan to let the troops who go deep behind enemy lines carry rocket grenades this time." Sokov interrupted Sidorin before he could finish his words: "With the rocket squad, we will It will become a nightmare for the Germans.”
Knowing that Sokov planned to let the newly dispatched teams behind enemy lines carry rockets this time, Sidorin couldn't help but his eyes lit up. You must know that so many teams have been dispatched behind enemy lines. As long as they carry rockets, they can kill the enemy. The beating made ghosts cry and wolves howl. In particular, the German ammunition depot in the town of Gorodishe was destroyed some time ago, using the remaining rockets from the previous team behind enemy lines.
Thinking of this, Sidorin quickly expressed his position: "Comrade division commander, if our team really carries rockets, can we consider letting them attack the enemy's headquarters above the regiment level and plunge the enemy's command system into chaos. "
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I also want the squad to do this, but it's not possible." Sokov didn't want to use rockets to directly blow up Paulus's headquarters, but this kind of thing can only be thought about, and it is impossible to change it. Reality: "The enemy commanders are all cowards. The regiment-level headquarters is more than ten kilometers away from the front line, and the division-level headquarters is even thirty kilometers away. If the small team goes deep into the enemy's rear that far away, it will be exposed. Dangerous. Once the enemy discovers their whereabouts, the effect of a surprise attack on the enemy will be compromised."
Seeing that Sokov had considered the problem carefully, Sidorin asked: "Which troop do you plan to send to carry out this task?"
"The few times that the small team went deep behind enemy lines and achieved significant results, it was almost always under the command of Lieutenant Grisa." Sokov said thoughtfully: "I plan to leave this important task to him. "
"But Lieutenant Grisa is in the archives building now," Sidorin thought Sokov had forgotten where Grisa was and quickly reminded him: "Are you sure you want to transfer him back to carry out the mission?"
"Yes, I feel more at ease when I hand over such an important task to him." After Sokov finished speaking, he ordered Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, please call the Archives Building immediately. I want to call Political Commissar Belkin. Call and ask him to bring Grisa back as soon as possible."
The call was quickly connected. Sokov took the microphone from Sidorin's hand and said, "Hello, comrade political commissar! I'm Sokov. I'm calling you so late. I won't disturb you, right?"
"No, no." Belkin and Sokov have been partners for a while. He knew very well that the other party would not call him so late because he had nothing important to do. He quickly asked: "Misha, what happened? ?”
"That's it, Comrade Political Commissar." Sokov said: "I plan to let Grisa lead a small team deep behind enemy lines to teach the Germans a lesson. You can ask him to rush to the division headquarters as soon as possible."
"Misha!" After listening to Sokov's words, Belkin said hesitantly: "Didn't we send several small teams to the enemy's rear? Why did we send new teams? Could it be that they encountered What's the danger?"
"Yes, Comrade Political Commissar." Sokov did not intend to hide some things from his old partner, "Except for the small teams sent by your regiment, which achieved some results, the remaining teams not only failed to achieve any results, but instead The Germans are struggling in their encirclement and suppression, and I have ordered them to withdraw."
"Misha, please forgive me." Belkin said euphemistically on the other end of the phone: "Since the small teams sent before have not played any role in the enemy's rear, even if new teams are sent, it may be difficult to obtain What a result."
"The superiors have just shipped us new rockets," Sokov said to Belkin: "I plan to let Grisa's team carry rockets to sneak attack the German headquarters, warehouses and military camps, and completely destroy them. Disrupt their offensive steps."
Belkin dissuaded Sokov because he was worried that the small team going deep behind enemy lines would be in danger. But as soon as he heard that his superiors had shipped new rockets, he immediately changed his mind. He had seen the power of those things with his own eyes, so he said without hesitation: "Okay, Misha, since the superiors Since so many rockets have been sent to us, we must find a way to maximize their effectiveness and hit the enemy hard. I will immediately notify Grisa and ask him to rush back to the division headquarters to report to you as soon as possible."
Sidorin waited for Sokov to put down the microphone and asked him for instructions: "Comrade division commander, how do you plan to distribute the five hundred rockets brought to us by our superiors? How much do you want to distribute to each regiment? Please get a charter as soon as possible. come out."
Unexpectedly, Sokov shook his head after hearing this and said: "Chief of Staff, the three original regiments of the Guards Division have never been exposed to this new type of rocket before. Even if they are assigned to them, I'm afraid they won't be able to play a big role." . I think it’s better to leave it all to the Belkin Regiment.”
"What, give them all to the Belkin Regiment?" Sidorin was startled by Sokov's words: "Comrade division commander, all 500 rockets were handed over to the Belkin Regiment, did I hear you correctly?"
Seeing that Ivanov and division political commissar Anisimov were not there, Sokov spoke without so much scruple: "Chief of Staff, this is what I think about. In a day or two at most, the troops of the 45th Infantry Division will They will take over the defense of the Belkin Regiment. After they withdraw, we can't let them continue squatting in the tunnels doing nothing, right? I plan to let them carry this batch of rockets as a company, and freely choose between the south and north of the city. Combat area, to strike hard at the enemy and help friendly forces better defend the city."
After hearing Sokov's words, Sidorin stared at the map in front of him and fell into deep thought. After a long period of consideration, he felt that Sokov's multi-faceted tactics would definitely completely disrupt the German offensive rhythm, so he nodded and replied: "Okay, Comrade Division Commander, I agree with you. Just hand over all the newly arrived rockets to the Belkin Regiment for use."
The two chatted for a few more words, and then the phone on the table rang. Sidorin picked it up and listened for a moment, then a panicked expression appeared on his face. He looked at Sokov and said: "Comrade division commander, something happened. Not long after Lieutenant Grisa left the archives building, he stepped on a landmine and was seriously injured. It’s very serious, I’m afraid…”
When he learned that something had happened to Grisa, Sokov's heart sank suddenly, thinking to himself that Grisa would not die like this. He quickly ordered Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, call the health team quickly and ask them to send personnel immediately to bring Grisa back for rescue."
