Knowing that Sokov was coming to inspect the defense of his division, the division commander, Colonel Khokhlov, and the political commissar, Colonel Shepilov, took their people to the edge of the defense area early to wait.
When they saw the convoy appearing on the road in the distance, Shepilov jokingly said to Khokhlov: "Comrade division commander, it seems that our commander still has a sense of crisis. He even has to travel Take a tank with you."
Khokhlov grinned and was about to chime in when he suddenly saw a white cross painted on the tank turret sandwiched between four jeeps. He was suddenly frightened into a cold sweat and shouted loudly : "It's a German tank, siren, battle siren, get ready for battle immediately!"
Following his shout, the soldiers who were on guard around him and Shepilov immediately spread out, looking for a suitable location to hide, and set up their guns, ready to shoot.
Everything that happened here was seen by Sokov. He knew that the commanders and soldiers coming to greet him at the front must have seen the tank with a white cross in the convoy and thought he was a German. "Stop!" After Sokov stopped the vehicle, he told Samoilov, who was sitting in the passenger seat: "Comrade Lieutenant, please bring a car over for negotiation to prevent yourself from fighting with your own people."
Samoilov agreed, opened the door and got out of the car, then got into the second car and drove towards the Soviet commanders and soldiers who came to greet them from a distance, hoping to resolve the misunderstanding as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
Khokhlov saw the convoy stopped far away, and then only a jeep drove towards his position. He quickly shouted to the commanders and soldiers hiding around: "Everyone, pay attention, there is no No one is allowed to shoot on my orders. I repeat, no one is allowed to shoot without my orders."
After the jeep approached, a lieutenant carrying an assault rifle jumped out of the car. As soon as he got out of the car, he shouted: "Who is in charge here?"
Seeing clearly that the person coming was Sokov's most trusted guard platoon leader Samoylov, Khokhlov and Shepilov quickly stood up and greeted him. Still following him far away, Khokhlov reached out his hand and said enthusiastically: "Hello, Lieutenant Samoilov, nice to meet you!"
After raising his hand to salute the two colonels, Samoilov asked dissatisfiedly when shaking hands with them: "Didn't you receive a notice that the commander was coming to inspect your place? This is what you are doing now. What, are you preparing to fire on us?"
Hearing Samoilov's question, Shepilov replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade Lieutenant, we saw a German tank coming, so we ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle. Unexpectedly, the tank actually Came with the commander."
"You mean the tank with the white cross on it, right?" After listening to Shepilov's explanation, Samoilov immediately understood that there was a misunderstanding: "That tank was captured by the Germans some time ago. Several captured personnel of our army escaped from the enemy in this tank."
After listening to Samoylov recount what happened in detail, the two colonels suddenly realized why there was a tank painted with a white cross traveling with Sokov. After the misunderstanding was resolved, Khokhlov asked the signal soldiers to signal the convoy in the distance to inform them that they could come over.
After Sokov came by car, he got out of the car, shook hands with the two colonels, and asked straight to the point: "How are your fortifications being repaired?"
"Comrade Commander," Khokhlov replied respectfully: "We cleverly used the terrain of Shumakovo to build three lines of defense here, and each line of defense deployed a regiment of troops for defense. .”
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov asked calmly, "I would like to ask, how do you use the terrain?"
"Comrade Commander," Khokhlov said with joy after hearing Sokov's inquiry: "Have you seen the hills on both sides? We have set up anti-tank positions on the hills to wait for the enemy. When tanks advance along the road, our anti-tank crews can destroy them from above."
Before Sokov could speak again, Khokhlov continued: "Comrade Commander, the detailed defense map is at my division headquarters. Please come with me and take a look."
When getting on the bus, Sokov suddenly remembered the tank that came with him, and quickly said to Khokhlov: "Comrade Colonel, Lieutenant Samoilov must have informed us about the situation of the tank that came with us. Are you done?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Samoilov has told me everything." Khokhlov quickly replied: "When we get to the station, I will immediately arrange for someone to change the painting of the tank."
"Of course the painting of the tank needs to be changed." Regarding Cocakin's statement, Sokov was always dubious. He felt that if he wanted this person to join his army, he must conduct a screening review in advance, so he ordered Khoklov : "But for the three people who escaped from the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp, you should arrange for specialized personnel to conduct an investigation as soon as possible. I will send Lieutenant Samoilov to assist you."
After returning to the station, Kokkin and Rykov came out of the tank. Immediately, a second lieutenant wearing a blue hat came over and said to them: "I am still from the Special Service Section. Please come with me." Let’s go.”
When Cocakin heard that the other party was from the Special Service Department, he couldn't help but seem a little nervous. Samoylov happened to come over, whispered a few words to the second lieutenant of the Special Service Department, and comforted Cocacokin: "Cocakin Comrade, since you have been captured before, it is a necessary procedure to review and screen you. I hope you can understand. Don't worry, I will always be with you."
"What about Katayeva? Will she also be examined?" Kokkin saw Katayeva being taken away by two blue hats as soon as she got out of the jeep, so he said to Samoylov with a smile on his face. : "She is not a soldier, can she be exempted from scrutiny?"
The second lieutenant of the Special Service Section shook his head and said: "No, we must examine all those who escape from enemy-occupied areas. This is our responsibility."
Hearing what the second lieutenant said, Gu Kejin knew that he took it too much for granted. All those who escaped from enemy-occupied areas must be examined. This has long been an unchangeable rule. He could only sigh secretly in his heart. I hope that the upcoming review will be concluded soon and will not cause any psychological shadow to Katayeva.
Not long after the three Cocajins were escorted away by the second lieutenant, several workers from the maintenance station came to the tank. After doing a simple inspection, a dedicated person drove it towards the maintenance station.
