Fortunately, Sokov was just so anxious that he came to his senses after only a moment.
He looked at Sidorin standing in front of the bed and said in a hoarse voice: "Get me through Samoylov immediately. I want to ask how Colonel Ivanov died."
"The phone hasn't been hung up yet..."
Before Sidorin finished speaking, Sokov had already rolled off the camp bed, stumbled to the table, grabbed the microphone on it, and said loudly: "Hello, Samoylov? I'm Sokov , tell me, how did the deputy division commander die?"
"Comrade division commander," Samoylov on the other end of the phone said choked with sobs: "This morning, I took the security platoon and followed the deputy division commander in a car to survey the terrain. We have two vehicles in total, and the two in front and behind are trucks. There were soldiers from the guard platoon sitting on it, and the deputy division commander’s jeep was in the middle of the two vehicles..."
"I know very well what kind of car you are riding in." An anxious Sokov interrupted him, "Tell me directly, what happened?"
"We finished surveying the terrain in the west of the city and headed north along the highway. Unexpectedly, halfway through, the car in front hit a mine and was blown over on the spot. Nine of the twenty-five soldiers on the car died on the spot. , the remaining soldiers were also injured to varying degrees.
I was sitting in a jeep with the deputy division commander. When I saw the car in front hit a mine, I quickly ordered the jeep driver to stop. I asked the deputy division commander to stay in the car and wait, then got out of the car and arranged for the soldiers in the car behind to set up a warning circle, and went to treat the injured soldiers in the car in front.
Just when I was leading people to treat the wounded, the deputy division commander walked out of the car for some reason. Maybe he wanted to check on the injured soldiers, so he walked straight towards the spot where the car overturned. When he was still two or three meters away from me, he was suddenly hit by two bullets flying from the snow nearby, one hitting his head and one hitting his abdomen..."
Hearing this, Sokov knew that he was hit by a bullet in the head and there was basically no hope of survival, but he interrupted Samoylov again and asked with a sense of luck: "Comrade Lieutenant, have you called for a military doctor? Are you going to treat the deputy division commander?"
"No." Samoylov replied with difficulty: "After the deputy division commander was shot and fell, I immediately rushed to his side. After checking, I found that he was not breathing and even his heartbeat had stopped. I immediately organized He picked up more than a dozen soldiers and rushed towards the place where the enemy sniper might be hiding. After the battle, one German sniper was killed, but the other sniper escaped with injuries."
"Comrade Lieutenant, I order you to find a way to find a coffin to preserve the body of the deputy division commander. After I deal with the matters in hand, I will rush to Luhansk as soon as possible."
After officially confirming the news that Ivanov had died, Sokov hung up the phone and fell weakly in his seat in a daze, recalling the unforgettable years he spent with Ivanov in his mind.
Seeing Sokov sitting at the table in a daze, Sidorin walked up to him and asked in a low voice: "Comrade division commander, the death of Colonel Ivanov is a great event. Do you think it is necessary to pay tribute immediately?" Commander’s report?”
"Chief of Staff, you are right." Sidorin's voice woke Sokov out of his thoughts. After looking at Sidorin in a daze for a while, he nodded slightly and said, "We need to report this matter to him immediately. Comrade Commander reports."
A division commander was killed by a German sniper while surveying the terrain. This was no small matter. He had to report not only to the group army headquarters, but also to the front army headquarters. But the first thing Sokov got through was the Army Headquarters. When he heard Sokov's voice, Chuikov who answered the phone smiled and asked: "Colonel Sokov, are you calling me specifically because your troops are about to set off?" Say goodbye?"
"Comrade Commander," Sokov said with a bitter look on his face: "I'm not calling you to say goodbye, but I have some bad news to report to you."
"Bad news, what bad news?" Chuikov heard Sokov say this and joked disapprovingly: "Did Paulus escape from the place where he was imprisoned?" After saying that, he burst out laughing.
Sokov didn't find Chuikov's joke funny at all. He continued to say with a heavy heart: "Comrade Commander, my deputy division commander Colonel Ivanov, while surveying the terrain in Luhansk this morning, encountered Unfortunately, he died in an ambush by an enemy sniper.”
Chuikov's smile froze on his face. After a long time, he said seriously: "Colonel Sokov, don't make such a joke about something like this."
"Comrade Commander, how could I joke about something like this?" Seeing that Chuikov didn't believe him, Sokov became a little anxious: "I will report it to you only after it must be verified information."
Although Sokov's words were conclusive, Chuikov was still full of doubts: "Where did you get this news?"
"Lieutenant Samoilov, who was responsible for guarding Colonel Ivanov, reported to me over the phone: Colonel Ivanov was shot twice, one in the head and one in the abdomen, and died on the spot. "Sokov was afraid that Chuikov still wouldn't believe it, so he specifically added: "He used to be a member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and would never dare to lie about such a thing."
After confirming that Sokov's news was absolutely true, Chuikov fell silent. He did not expect that an excellent division commander would die like this shortly after the victory, and he felt particularly heavy. "Where is his body?"
"Still in Luhansk." Sokov replied: "I have asked Samoilov to find a coffin to properly collect the body of Colonel Ivanov."
"Colonel Sokov, when do you plan to go to Luhansk?"
"Currently, the troops are still preparing to leave, and there are no suitable means of transportation yet." Sokov said quickly: "I estimate that it will take two or three days at the earliest..."
"We can't wait that long." Before Sokov could finish speaking, Chuikov said decisively: "We will set off tonight and go in an armored vehicle. We should be able to reach Lugansk before noon tomorrow."
"No problem, Comrade Commander, I am ready for your instructions at any time." After Sokov finished expressing his attitude to Chuikov, he added: "I still need to report this matter to the front army headquarters."
Just when Chuikov was about to criticize Sokov for reporting something beyond the level, he suddenly thought that his superiors had transferred the 41st Guards Division to the Lugansk area in order to transfer the division away from the 62nd Army. The words of blame were already on his lips, and he changed his words. He agreed: "This is what it should be, Colonel Sokov. You should report to the front army headquarters immediately. At the same time, you must also be prepared to set off at any time."
