There is a small village two kilometers away, and the headquarters of the Guards Division is located in the original village Soviet house. Outside the log house, several jeeps and trucks were parked, all covered with green camouflage nets.
There was a sentry standing guard at the door. He saw a convoy parked in front of the house. When several officers came out of the second jeep, one of whom was a major general and the other a colonel, he quickly shouted into the open door. Said: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, please come out."
Following his shout, a second lieutenant wearing a brand new military uniform appeared at the door. Seeing Sokov and Koida standing next to the car, he quickly stepped forward and raised his hands in salute, and then asked: "Two comrades, commanders, do you know which unit you are from?"
"Comrade Second Lieutenant, please report to your division commander: the commander of the 188th Division of the 27th Group Army has arrived."
Upon hearing Sokov's reported duties, the second lieutenant hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Comrade division commander is very busy at the moment. I'm afraid I won't be able to come out to greet you. Please come with me."
Walking into the headquarters, Sokov saw a bald general standing at the table with two colonels, bending down to study something. The second lieutenant who led the way quickly stepped forward and reported: "Report to the division commander, the commander of the 188th Infantry Division is here."
The bald general heard the second lieutenant's voice and turned to look behind him. After seeing Sokov and Koida clearly standing not far away, he asked casually: "How many people are there in your army? When can they enter the defensive position? "
Regarding the bald general's rudeness, Koida's expression suddenly changed. When he was about to step forward to argue, he was pulled back by Sokov. Seeing Sokov gently shaking his head towards him, he obediently closed his mouth.
Sokov took a step forward and said in a calm and condescending way: "Comrade General, the infantry division I brought has more than 8,000 people. They are well-trained and well-equipped. Before deploying them into defensive positions, I must first understand what the What kind of enemy will we face in the next battle?"
The reason why the bald general gave orders to Sokov like a superior was entirely because he saw that the other party was too young. According to his idea, even though he and the other party are both major generals, he is the commander of the Guards Division, and the other party is just the commander of an ordinary infantry division, so he should obey his command.
He said impatiently: "After yesterday's battle, my division has less than 3,000 men left. I plan to transfer the 233rd and 235th Guards Regiments to the positions of the 238th Regiment, but they are empty." When you come out of the position, your troops will take over the defense. How about it? Are there any difficulties?"
Sokov walked to the table, looked down at the map on the table, and found that if the Guards Division shrinks all its forces, the defensive front he will take over will be seven kilometers wide, while the area held by the opponent will be Less than two kilometers. Koida also discovered this problem, and an angry look appeared on his face.
"Comrade General," Sokov continued to ask calmly: "I would like to ask if there are strong defenses in the defensive area you gave up. Is it a complete defense system?"
"There must be defensive positions," the bald general said in an uncertain tone: "But I don't know the specific situation there. You know, my troops only arrived two hours earlier than you. I There’s simply no time to understand what’s going on there.”
"General Sokov," just as Sokov was about to ask the bald general if he could send someone as a guide to take him there for a field survey, a surprising voice came from behind: "Why are you here? "
As soon as Sokov turned around and saw clearly that the person speaking was the liaison officer sent by Klitschko, he smiled and replied: "Comrade Liaison Officer, I am worried that the enemy's offensive will be very fierce today, so I came to take a look in person."
"Liaison officer," the bald general saw that the liaison officer was respectful to Sokov and couldn't help but curiously asked: "Who is he?"
"General Malankin," upon hearing the bald general's question, the liaison officer's face showed an unexpected expression. He asked in surprise, "Don't you know that this is Major General Sokov, the commander of the 27th Group Army?"
"What, he is Major General Sokov, commander of the 27th Group Army?" After learning Sokov's identity, the bald general was startled. He quickly straightened up and saluted Sokov: "Hello, Commander Comrade, I am Major General Malanjin, commander of the 81st Guards Division, please forgive me for not recognizing you just now."
"Comrade General," Sokov knew that he was young and it was common for others to look down on him as long as he did not reveal his identity. He did not take it seriously, but asked Malankin politely: "I wonder if you can send someone to Koy Let Colonel Da serve as a guide and take him there to see the terrain?"
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Malanjin turned to his chief of staff, the colonel with some gray hair standing next to him, and said: "Chief of Staff, find two staff officers who are familiar with the terrain to be your guides and take Colonel Koida there. Look at the terrain.”
"Comrade division commander," the division chief of staff said cautiously, "I think it's better for me to go in person. Anyway, I still have to supervise the handover of defense matters."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, this is not possible. We still need you to stay and assist the division commander in his work." Another colonel said with a smile: "I think this matter should be left to me, the political commissar."
After the division political commissar left with Colonel Koida, Malanjin said to his chief of staff again: "Comrade chief of staff, please introduce the enemy situation we have to General Sokov."
The division chief of staff agreed and began to introduce the situation to Sokov: "Comrade General, according to our reconnaissance, what we are facing now is the 114th Panzer Grenadier Regiment of the German 6th Armored Division, which is about to launch an attack on us. Battalion and Second Battalion. The First Battalion is equipped with motorized equipment and has three infantry companies and one heavy weapons company. The Second Battalion still has three infantry companies and one heavy weapons company. They are still equipped with motorized equipment, but are also equipped with There is a certain number of armored vehicles.”
Through the explanation of the division chief of staff, Sokov discovered that the location where the 188th Division troops were stationed was exactly facing the attacks of the German 2nd Battalion and the 1st Battalion. After he waited for the other party to finish speaking, he asked again: "What about the enemy's tanks?"
Hearing Sokov's question, the division chief of staff couldn't help but look up at Malankin, the muscles on his face twitched twice, and then said: "The enemy's first battalion of the 11th Armored Regiment is deployed in the second battalion. Behind them, they have three light tank companies and one medium tank company. According to our judgment, they are trying to cooperate with the SS division on the left to attack the 305th Infantry Division on our right."
Sokov stared at the map and began to think in his mind. Judging from the positions handed over to him by friendly forces, in the next battle, the 188th Division will face the enemy's 2nd Infantry Battalion and part of the 1st Battalion, as well as an ominous strength. Armored battalion, it seems this is a vicious battle.
Seeing Sokov staring at the map and not speaking, Malanjin couldn't help feeling a little nervous, so he tentatively said: "General Sokov, if you have any difficulties, please bring them up and we will discuss how to allocate defensive areas again."
Sokov thought that he was not fighting alone. No matter how weak the friendly forces on the left and right wings were, they could help him share some of the pressure. Coupled with his current strength, there shouldn't be much of a problem in blocking the enemy. He waved his hand at Ma Lanjin and said: "Comrade General, no need, we will divide our respective defense zones according to the plan we just agreed on. Don't worry, I really don't take such a small number of enemies seriously."
