Sokov received a call from Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko and learned that a tank brigade in Popov's rapid group had successfully broken through and rejoined his own troops. He couldn't help but be overjoyed and quickly asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel , how many tanks do they have left?”
"Tanks?!" Hearing Sokov's question, Papuchenko was stunned for a moment, and then replied with some embarrassment: "I'm sorry, comrade division commander, they don't have a single tank. They should have all exploded during the retreat." Lost."
After listening to Papuchenko's analysis, Sokov felt it made sense. If the tanks of the brigade had not been destroyed, I am afraid they would still be struggling to break through at this moment. Thinking of this, he ordered Papuchenko: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please immediately ask the commander to come to my headquarters."
Twenty minutes later, Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko personally accompanied Ruhle to Sokov's headquarters.
The two entered the headquarters. Papuchenko introduced to Ruhle: "Comrade Colonel, let me introduce to you. This is our division commander, Colonel Sokov. Now he is the commander of the Sokov Combat Group." .”
Ruhle looked at Sokov opposite and couldn't help but be secretly surprised. Although he had heard about Sokov's deeds and knew that he was very young, he did not expect that he would be so young. But he quickly returned to normal. After raising his hand to salute Sokov, he reported in accordance with the regulations: "Comrade Colonel, I am Colonel Ruhle, commander of the 19th Independent Tank Brigade. I led my troops to break out of the enemy's encirclement. , just met with your subordinates in the west of the city."
"Thank you, Colonel Ruhle." Sokov raised his hand in return, pulled the other person to sit down, poured him a cup of hot tea, and asked politely: "I wonder how many troops you have left?"
"The mission of our brigade is to cover the retreat of the troops." Ruhle reported to Sokov: "After all the artillery shells were fired, I ordered all the tanks to be burned and retreated eastward with the remaining soldiers. Halfway through, we encountered a group of defeated troops and incorporated them into my tank brigade. Along the way, we fought several more battles in order to break through the enemy's defenses. Now the total strength of the brigade is still More than 800 people.”
"Comrade Colonel, I would also like to ask, how many tank soldiers are there among these more than 800 people?" Sokov had just asked this question, and suddenly saw Ruhle casting a wary look at him, and quickly explained Said: "Today, the tank brigade under my command still lacks skilled tank soldiers. I plan to incorporate your men into it to improve the combat effectiveness of the unit. Training a tank soldier is not an easy task. If they are used as ordinary infantry, , it’s simply a waste.”
Sokov's next few words gave Ruhle a sense of confidant, because he also thought so. He felt that if tank soldiers were used as ordinary infantry, not only would their combat effectiveness be incomparable to that of ordinary infantry, but the cost of each battle would also be very high. The casualties would also be staggering. Therefore, he replied very simply: "To tell you the truth, I only have more than seventy tank soldiers left. If you can really let them drive tanks again, I think everyone will be very happy."
Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed when Ruhle agreed to integrate his tank troops into tank brigades that lacked skilled tank troops. Then, he organized the remaining more than 700 infantrymen into Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko's 122nd Guards Regiment.
Ruhle, who had become the polished commander, suddenly asked: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to ask, have General Popov and his men succeeded in breaking through?"
Hearing Ruhle's question, Sokov sighed softly and said: "They are now more than 60 kilometers away from the city and are being stubbornly blocked by the German army. According to General Popov's telegram, , they have launched fifteen attacks, but were repelled by the enemy without exception. I have sent my most elite tank brigade and a Guards regiment to rush over to support. If everything goes well, They should be able to reach Luhansk tomorrow."
"Comrade Colonel, let me ask one more question." Ruhle continued and asked: "Besides our brigade, have any troops belonging to Popov's rapid group successfully broken through?"
"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "You are the first unit to successfully break through."
Vitkov, who had remained silent, thought of a key question and asked: "Colonel Ruhle, I want to ask, others have failed in their breakthrough. Why was your tank brigade's breakthrough so easy?" "
Since no one explained Vitkov to him, Ruhle did not know the other party's true identity. He glanced at the opponent's military rank and said politely: "During the breakout process, our brigade encountered a small team disguised as Germans. It was the commander of the small team, Second Lieutenant Sasha, who told me that the enemy is generally entrenched. In residential areas or villages, if you want to successfully break through, you must bypass these places. I followed his instructions and ordered the troops to bypass the residential areas and villages, thus avoiding many bitter battles and successfully leading the troops out. Encircled."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, did you hear that?" Sokov heard this and turned to Vitkov and said: "Immediately send a telegram to General Popov, asking them not to entangle the enemy on the main traffic arteries and bypass them. Those settlements and villages where the enemy was stationed passed through the uninhabited forest."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Vitkov understood that Sokov's words might really save more friendly soldiers from death, so he agreed and ran to the radio to urge the operator. Sent the report.
After Vitkov left, Sokov introduced to Ruhle: "Comrade Colonel, I just forgot to introduce you. That is Colonel Vitkov, the chief of staff of the combat group. He turned out to be the deputy staff officer of the 62nd Army. Commander, he was sent here by his superiors not long ago to serve as chief of staff."
Since no one explained Vitkov to him, Ruhle did not know the other party's true identity. He glanced at the opponent's military rank and said politely: "During the breakout process, our brigade encountered a small team disguised as Germans. It was the commander of the small team, Second Lieutenant Sasha, who told me that the enemy is generally entrenched. In residential areas or villages, if you want to successfully break through, you must bypass these places. I followed his instructions and ordered the troops to bypass the residential areas and villages, thus avoiding many bitter battles and successfully leading the troops out. Encircled."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, did you hear that?" Sokov heard this and turned to Vitkov and said: "Immediately send a telegram to General Popov, asking them not to entangle the enemy on the main traffic arteries and bypass them. Those settlements and villages where the enemy was stationed passed through the uninhabited forest."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Vitkov understood that Sokov's words might really save more friendly soldiers from death, so he agreed and ran to the radio to urge the operator. Sent the report.
After Vitkov left, Sokov introduced to Ruhle: "Comrade Colonel, I just forgot to introduce you. That is Colonel Vitkov, the chief of staff of the combat group. He turned out to be the deputy staff officer of the 62nd Army. Commander, he was sent here by his superiors not long ago to serve as chief of staff."
