Seeing that Sokov did not argue with him, but readily agreed to obey the order, Konev's eyes flashed with a look of satisfaction, but he waved his hand to Sokov and said: "General Sokov, now You can go to your unit. Do you need me to send someone to take you there?"
"No need, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov thought that if he went to the army for the first time and needed someone from the Front Army Headquarters to accompany him, it would be difficult for him to establish his prestige in a short period of time, so he politely declined. He accepted Konev's kindness: "I can do it myself."
Seeing Sokov coming out of the front army headquarters, Belkin immediately came up to him and asked: "Misha, where should we go next?"
"The army headquarters is in the Koski area, let's go there."
Half an hour later, the convoy arrived at the town of Koski.
The security work here is not as strict as that at the front army headquarters. When the convoy entered the town, there was not even anyone to interrogate. Seryosha, who was sitting in the lead car, asked the driver to stop, then opened the door, leaned out and called to a passing soldier: "Hey, comrade soldier, do you know where the army headquarters is?"
The person who was stopped by Seryosha was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old student soldier. Seeing that it was a captain asking him for directions, he replied in a panic: "Comrade Captain, you drive forward along this street. When you reach the church square in the center of the town, turn right and you will see a two-story building where the army headquarters is.”
After thanking the young soldier, Seryozha asked the driver to drive forward, and soon arrived at the door of the building the young soldier mentioned.
There were only four soldiers and one officer on duty at the door of the building. Seeing a convoy parked at the door, the officer on duty hurriedly came over and asked Seryosha who had just got off the car: "Comrade Captain, which unit are you in?" What happened here?"
"We are the guard company that escorted General Sokov here to take office."
"Escort General Sokov to take office?" When the officer on duty heard what Seryosha said, a confused expression appeared on his face: "I didn't receive a notice from my superiors?"
"Comrade officer," Sokov, who had just walked over, happened to hear the officer on duty and asked, "Who is in charge of the army headquarters now?"
The officer on duty did not immediately answer Sokov's question, but asked politely and distantly: "Who are you, Comrade General?"
"I am Major General Sokov, the new commander of the 27th Army." After speaking, Sokov took out his military officer ID and the transfer order issued by his superiors.
After carefully checking Sokov's ID, the officer on duty confirmed that the general in front of him was the new commander of the group army. He straightened his back and said: "Hello, comrade commander, the headquarters is now headed by the chief of staff, Major General Samyko. Responsible!"
"Take me to General Sameko."
"Yes!" The officer on duty quickly agreed and said politely: "Please come with me."
After entering the building, the officer led Sokov forward along a corridor. When the officers or soldiers along the way saw Sokov and the officer on duty, they quickly stepped aside and leaned against the wall with their hands raised in salute.
The officer on duty turned to Sokov and said: "Comrade Commander, keep walking along the corridor. There is a conference room at the end of the corridor, and the headquarters is located there." After saying this, the officer quickened his pace. .
Seeing the officer quicken his pace, Sokov was startled for a moment, and then he understood that the other party was preparing to rush to inform the chief of staff, General Samyko, of his arrival. So he slowed down and followed the officer on duty at a distance.
There was a huge conference table in the conference room, and at the other end of the table sat a general without a military cap. The officer on duty walked up to him, leaned over and whispered a few words into his ear. There was a look of astonishment on the man's face, then he stood up, grabbed the belt on the table, and tied it around his waist.
When Sokov walked up to him, the general was already fully armed. Not only was his belt fastened, but the buttons on his uniform were neatly buttoned, and he even wore a military cap. The other party raised his hand and saluted Sokov: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am the Major General, Chief of Staff of the Army Group." A kind smile appeared on Samyko's face, "On behalf of the commanders and fighters of the entire Army Group, I welcome you! "
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov extended his hand to the other party and said with a smile: "I am Sokov, the new commander of the group army. Do you need to check our documents?"
"No need, Comrade Commander." Sameko waved his hand hurriedly and said, "The officer on duty is a serious person. Since he has seen your ID, that is enough."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," the officer on duty asked from the side, "Are you allowed to carry out my mission?"
Sameko replied without looking back: "Go and continue to perform your duties."
"Comrade Commander, why are you still standing?" After the officer on duty left, Samyko quickly greeted Sokov diligently, pulled out a chair and said to Sokov: "Please sit down quickly."
After Sokov sat down, there was no handover ceremony. He looked up at Samyko and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, please introduce the situation of the army to me."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Samyko agreed, moved the map on the table in front of Sokov, and introduced to him the current positions of the divisions of the group army and the status of the fortifications being built.
"Where do the soldiers from each division come from?" After reading the troop deployment on the map, Sokov then asked, "Are they veterans with rich combat experience?"
"Where are there so many veterans?" Sameko shook his head and said: "Except for a few combat backbones, the several infantry divisions under the army group are supplemented by mostly militiamen from factories. They all have The experience of performing combat missions is what makes a true warrior.”
Knowing that most of his soldiers were adapted from factory militiamen, Sokov felt more at ease. As long as they were not new recruits who had never participated in any military training, these former militiamen could definitely train after several months. , become a qualified warrior. He then asked: "According to the order of the front army headquarters, all troops are building fortifications. I would like to ask, what is the labor force for building fortifications?"
"Comrade Commander, you should know that most of our young and middle-aged people are in the army." Sameko replied with some embarrassment: "So work such as building fortifications can only be left to women or some half-grown children. Although their physical strength is not comparable to that of young adults, under the current circumstances, we can only rely on them to build fortifications."
