There were so many people coming to the conference room that there was no room for them in the headquarters, so Sokov changed the venue of the meeting to a nearby church. In the spacious hall of the church, more than a hundred commanders could sit down without feeling crowded.
Regarding this sudden military meeting, the commanders who came to attend the meeting were all confused. They secretly guessed in their hearts, what was the purpose of the commander convening all the officers above the regiment level for a meeting?
Some officers immediately thought of the day before yesterday when Sokov ordered all units to issue ammunition and enter a state of combat readiness. Could it be that the superiors were beginning to investigate the responsibility and Sokov planned to withdraw the original order? But it’s not like that. If that’s really the case, you can just use the name of the headquarters to notify the divisions and brigades. There is no need to call all regiment-level commanders for a meeting?
Just when everyone was thinking and talking, they saw Sameko, the chief of staff of the group army, walking into the middle, and the whole hall suddenly became quiet.
"Comrade commanders, I know very well that everyone feels very strange in their hearts. Why did they suddenly call all commanders above the regiment level for a meeting?" After Sammeko raised this question, he said directly without waiting for everyone to react. The answer came: "Early this morning, the artillery of our Central Front Army and the Voronezh Front Army carried out violent shelling on the enemy's field fortifications, causing great damage to the enemy."
After learning that friendly artillery had launched a violent bombardment of the enemy's positions in the early morning, the commanders in the church became excited after a brief period of astonishment. Some even asked Sameko loudly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what are you doing?" I would like to ask, did our friendly forces launch an attack on the enemy’s defenses?”
"It's a pity, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Samyko looked at the Lieutenant Colonel who asked the question and said: "The reason why we have to shell the enemy's defense area is because we have accurate information that the enemy is about to launch an attack, so we are the first to attack. Artillery fire was fired at areas where the enemy was gathering to disrupt their offensive steps. Regrettably, the enemy was stronger than we imagined, so the Kursk area is in the midst of a fierce battle."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what is our combat mission?" The commanders present immediately guessed that today's emergency military meeting would definitely be related to the fierce fighting in the Kursk area, and they all asked: "Can we go Join the fight?"
"Comrades, commanders, be quiet, please be quiet!" Sameko raised his hand and pressed it down hard several times to signal the many commanders to be quiet. After the hall regained calm, he continued: "Today, I will send you We are called here to assign combat tasks to everyone. As soon as the meeting is over, the vanguard division needs to set off immediately to the north of Oboyan, where it will choose a place to build fortifications to block enemies who may break through our defense lines."
Ever since Sokov ordered the distribution of ammunition to the troops and entered combat readiness, the nerves of several division commanders were highly nervous. They had already prepared the troops to set off at any time, and could only set off immediately with an order from their superiors. At this moment, when they heard that Sameko was going to announce which division was the vanguard, everyone couldn't help but hold their breath.
"The vanguard is Colonel Khokhlov's 182nd Infantry Division." Samyko said to Khokhlov: "Comrade Colonel, when the convoy sent by the front army arrives, your division will immediately take the vehicle to Go to the north of Oboyan and choose a suitable terrain to build defenses. Are there any difficulties?"
"No." Seeing Samyko ordering his division to serve as the vanguard, Khokhlov's face showed a happy smile, and he replied simply: "Please rest assured, head of the group army, we will never betray your trust. .”
Sameko nodded after hearing this, and began to assign tasks to the commanders of several other divisions in turn, explaining to them the departure time, the location of the upcoming garrison, etc.
After handing over the task, Samyko turned around and asked Sokov, who was sitting aside: "Comrade Commander, do you have anything else to add?"
Sokov stood up and walked to Samek's side, looked at the commanders present and said: "Comrades, there are only two things I want to say. The first thing is, why did the ID tag I ordered the logistics department to make come to How many divisions and brigades are there that have not yet been collected?"
Major General Gritsenko, commander of the 384th Infantry Division, did not send anyone to the logistics department to collect the identity tags. When I heard Sokov say this, I couldn't help but muttered: "Comrade Commander, ID tags are usually used by the Germans. There is no need for us to use this kind of thing."
The identity tags Sokov mentioned are what later generations of military fans collectively called "dog tags" and were used for identification. The Soviet army did not have such a thing. Each commander and fighter carried an ebony tube the size of a cigarette with a note inside that recorded personal identity information. However, this kind of thing is easy to lose and is not fire-resistant. As a result, many soldiers were unable to identify themselves after they were sacrificed because the ebony tube was lost or damaged, so that they had to be included in the missing list.
"General Gritsenko," Sokov said sternly after hearing Major General Gritsenko's complaints: "The reason why I asked every commander and fighter in the group army to wear this rush-made ID badge is because Ensure that soldiers can quickly confirm their identities through identity tags after they die."
"But, Comrade Commander, we have an ebony tube." Gritsenko took out a small ebony tube from his jacket pocket and said to Sokov: "Our personal information is stored here."
"Comrade General," Sokov said earnestly: "You should know that many of our commanders and soldiers feel that putting notes with personal information in the ebony tubes they carry will bring bad luck to themselves. Therefore, Many people's ebony tubes are empty. I would like to ask everyone, once a soldier dies on the battlefield, and when we collect his body, we find that the ebony tube he carries is empty, how can you identify his? identity?"
Gritsenko said unconvincingly: "We can ask his comrades or fellow villagers to identify his body and confirm his identity."
"If his comrades or fellow countrymen also died in the battle, then who should confirm his identity?" Sokov felt that many of the commanders present had the same characteristics as Major General Gritsenko. With his mentality in mind, he struck while the iron was hot and said: "If the identity cannot be identified, according to regulations, this person can only be included in the missing list. Everyone knows that the families of commanders and fighters who are included in the missing list cannot receive pensions, and even You still have to endure the glare of others, do you want your family to suffer the same fate?"
After Sokov said this, Major General Gritsenko immediately realized his mistake and quickly admitted his mistake to Sokov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I was wrong. As soon as the meeting is over, I will immediately arrange for manpower to go there." The logistics department collects the identity tags.”
Sokov took off the identity tag hanging around his neck and explained to everyone: "Comrade commanders, the identity tag you want to wear is composed of two aluminum alloy thin plates, which are divided into a main card and a secondary card. The card has a 24-inch aluminum long necklace, while the secondary card has a 4-inch short necklace.
The identity card can have the number of the unit to which it belongs and the name of the person. If there is a casualty, our medical staff can easily identify the blood type of the injured and the name of the deceased based on the records on the identity card, so as to gain time to quickly rescue the wounded. , providing a basis for accurately identifying the remains of those killed in action. "
"Comrade Commander, I have another question." Major General Gritsenko asked curiously: "If you want to prove the identity of the commanders and combatants, one brand is enough. Why is it divided into a main card and a secondary card?"
"When a commander or soldier dies in battle, his comrades or medical staff will put one of the victim's two identity tags into the deceased's mouth, and the other will be wrapped with the deceased's clothes for the aftermath personnel to use according to their needs. Records on ID badges are properly handled.”
After listening to Sokov's explanation, the commanders present suddenly understood. They finally understood why Sokov used so many resources to produce a large number of identity tags that seemed to be of little use. If it is true that every commander and combatant wears an identity tag, then after they die, they can use this identity tag to prove their identity and avoid being mistaken for missing persons, thereby carrying unreasonable infamy.
After the meeting, looking at the originally crowded church hall, which had become empty again, Lunev smiled and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, would you recommend to the Commander of the Front Army that all Front Army Will this kind of identity card be implemented within the scope?”
"Not yet, my Comrade Military Commissar."
"Why?" Lunev asked curiously.
"The reason is very simple. Everyone thinks that ID tags are only worn by our enemies, the Germans. If they wear such dog tags like the Germans, they will be very resistant psychologically." Sokov explained to Lunev: "You just saw that although I have issued the order for commanders and combatants to wear dog tags for a long time, there are still several division commanders who have not sent anyone to collect them."
"After listening to your explanation just now, they understood the importance of the ID tag, and they all said they would send someone to collect it as soon as possible."
"I hope so." Sokov didn't know how many people really listened to what he just said. Maybe many people would not carry the dog tag according to the regulations even if they got it. He said with some helplessness: "I have done what I should do. As for whether the commanders and soldiers are willing to obey our orders, we can only leave it to fate."
"Comrade Commander," Sameko asked, "when will our headquarters be transferred in the direction of Oboyan?"
"We set off with the second echelon." Sokov said slowly: "We estimate that we will be able to reach the north of Oboyan by the morning of tomorrow at the latest."
