If someone else had said this, Malankin would definitely sneer at it, but who is Sokov? Although he is young, the army is full of legends about him, saying that as long as the areas defended by his troops, no matter how powerful the German army is, they will not be able to break through his defense lines.
Sokov was not the roundworm in Malankin's belly, so he naturally didn't know what the other party was thinking. He was thinking about how to defend himself. After staring at the map for a while, he felt that he could not obtain more useful information, so he could only ask Malankin for advice: "Comrade General, according to the map, on our right wing is the 305th Infantry Division. This unit is now How's it going?"
Upon hearing Sokov's question, Malankin did not answer, but turned to look at the chief of staff aside. The understanding chief of staff quickly straightened up and replied: "Comrade General, after the battle, the 305th Division's troop attrition was very severe. As far as I know, they have no more than 2,000 troops left?"
"What, there are less than two thousand people left?" Sokov couldn't help but frowned: "Then how big is their defensive front?"
"Five kilometers."
"Five kilometers?!" Sokov was startled by this data. A force of less than two thousand people had to defend a five-kilometer-wide frontal position, which meant that each person was responsible for defending a 2.5-meter area. But in this way, he knew more or less. In the next battle, he should tell Koida to focus his defense on the 305th Division on the right, and if necessary, he should invest troops there to avoid damaging his flank. exposed to the enemy.
"Comrade General," seeing Sokov's serious expression, Malankin said cautiously: "Although the 305th Division is severely under-strength, there are a large number of permanent fortifications in the areas they defend, and there are dense defenses in front of the positions. With the mine array, it is still very difficult for the enemy’s armored forces to break through in this area.”
What is the most important thing in a defensive war, that is, fortifications? If there are solid fortifications and a complete defense system to rely on, it will undoubtedly increase the chance of successful defense. However, Sokov felt that there was no need to confide in Malankin about how he should deploy his defense next. He just smiled and said: "Comrade General, thank you for telling me all this. I will arrange my department's defense according to the specific situation." Defense deployment.”
"Comrade General," the chief of staff saw an officer and soldiers coming in from outside with breakfast, and he said politely to Sokov: "You must not have had breakfast yet? If you don't mind, just eat some with us." "
Sokov saw the officer who had just come in from the door and ordered the soldiers to place the samovar, cups, plates with sugar cubes, plates with bread, canned pickles, and canned meat stew on the table one by one. He said jokingly: "Comrade General, your breakfast is really rich. It seems that if I have the opportunity in the future, I will ask you to come here to eat."
Sokov's words caused a round of good-natured laughter, and the atmosphere in the whole room suddenly became much more harmonious. Several people sat down around the table to have breakfast. The chief of staff poured a cup of hot tea and placed it in front of Sokov. He said apologetically: "General Sokov, I'm really sorry, because there will be a war later, and we can't invite him." If you drink, all you can do is drink a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up."
"It doesn't matter. I never drink when I'm commanding operations." Sokov politely responded: "It's good to drink tea. Even though it's summer, the temperature is still too low every morning. Drinking some hot tea can just warm you up." Warm yourself up.”
Everyone started chatting while eating breakfast. In order to get to know the Guards Division commander in front of him, Sokov politely asked: "General Malankin, I don't know which unit you have been in since the war broke out. Maybe we have fought side by side?"
"When the war broke out, I served as the quartermaster of the 16th Army..."
"The quartermaster of the 16th Army?" Upon hearing this familiar number, Sokov said in surprise: "So, you have always been a subordinate of General Rokossovsky."
Unexpectedly, Malanjin shook his head after hearing this and said with a wry smile: "Comrade General, you don't know something. The original commander of the 16th Group Army was Lieutenant General Lu Jin, and General Rokossovsky was only the Ninth Mechanized Army at that time. Commander, it was not until General Lu Jin was transferred to the commander of the 20th Army that he became the commander of the 16th Army."
When he learned that the other party was actually Lukin's subordinate, Sokov suddenly had an absurd idea in his mind: During the Moscow Defense War, when the 16th Army was fighting fiercely with the enemy, Konev, who served as the commander of the Western Front, But he inexplicably ordered Rokossovsky to hand over the troops to Lukin, and then led his own headquarters members to Vyazma to receive the fictitious troops. In retrospect, Konev's order was a bit inexplicable, but it saved Rokossovsky and his command from the danger of capture.
Could it be that Konev is also a time traveler just by looking at him? But as soon as the idea came up, Sokov rejected it. This is impossible. If Konev is also a time traveler, with the historical knowledge he possesses, it is impossible for him to have made no achievements in the early stages of the Patriotic War. He even had to rely on Zhukov's protection to escape the fate of being dismissed.
"Comrade General, Comrade General." Malanjin noticed that Sokov was holding a piece of bread in his hand and staring at the can of stewed meat in front of him. He seemed to be thinking about something, so he called him several times. When Sokov raised his head and looked at himself blankly, he smiled and asked, "I see that you seem to have something on your mind. Can I ask, what are you thinking about?"
Naturally, Sokov would not tell Malankin that he was wondering whether Konev was a time traveler from the future like himself. If he had given the original order not to Rokossovsky but to Lukin, maybe the person staying in the prisoner of war camp at this moment was Rokossovsky, and Lukin had the opportunity to become a soldier. Marshal Shi.
But now that Malankin has asked this question, Sokov can only say perfunctorily: "I heard you mentioned General Lukin, and I was wondering how he is doing now."
"After we were besieged in Vyazma, Commander Lukin ordered us to carry out a dispersed breakout in order to prevent the troops from being completely wiped out." Malankin heard Sokov mention Lukin and couldn't help but sigh and said: "I With a guard company, we broke out southward and met a guerrilla group in the forest. With their help, we successfully jumped out of the enemy's encirclement. However, the unit led by Commander Lu Jin failed to break out. Come."
Although the division chief of staff has been working with Malanjin for more than a year, he has never heard him mention this matter. When I heard Ma Lanjin say this, I couldn't help but ask: "Comrade division commander, do you know how General Lu Jin is doing now?"
"I have inquired through various channels." Malanjin said with a solemn expression: "But the information I got was contradictory. Some people said that General Lu Jin had died, and even swore that they saw the general breaking out with his own eyes. During the battle, a shell fell next to him and exploded, and he died on the spot. Some people also say that Comrade General did not actually die, but was captured by the Germans."
"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff asked again, "which one do you think is more likely?"
Malanjin was silent for a moment, and then said cautiously: "I think the rumor of sacrifice is more reliable. If he was captured by the enemy, the enemy would definitely publicize their achievements; secondly, with General Lukin's character, even if If he falls into the hands of the enemy, he will try his best to escape. Now, almost two years have passed and there is still no news about him. I think he must have died."
"General Malankin," Sokov, who came from the future, naturally knew that Lukin was fine at the moment. However, when he broke through, his leg was blown off by the running of the German army. Even if he wanted to escape from the enemy's prisoner of war camp, he would be powerless. Seeing how frustrated Malanjin was when he mentioned Lu Jin, he couldn't help but interjected: "I think General Lu Jin is still alive. Maybe when our army invades the enemy's border, you can personally rescue him from the prisoner of war camp." come out."
"What, General Lukin is still alive." Malanjin grabbed Sokov's arm and asked excitedly: "General Sokov, did you hear any gossip?"
"I don't have any gossip." Sokov shook his head and said, "I just analyzed the situation based on what you just said. You said someone saw him being knocked down by a shell, but there are people who said this. Didn’t you run over to check?”
Malanjin thought for a while, shook his head and denied: "No, according to the person involved, he was busy rushing out with the troops at the time, and just watched General Lu Jin being blown down by the artillery shell from a distance, and did not step forward to check. "
"That's right." In order to let Malanjin know the fact that Lukin is still alive, Sokov began to analyze him step by step: "Since he didn't come forward to check, it can't be proved that General Lukin died. Maybe. General Lukin fell to the ground because he was stunned by the shell or injured."
"If the Germans captured General Lukin, they would definitely publicize it in the newspapers." Malankin heard this and said with some confusion: "But I checked a lot of captured newspapers, especially after the Battle of Vyazma newspapers, but I didn’t see any news about General Lukin at all.”
"I think the general must have been seriously injured when he was captured, and was even in a coma." Sokov continued: "The Germans are rigorous in doing things, without knowing the true identity of the opponent and determining whether they can save him." On the premise of keeping him alive, we will not report casually. Maybe by the time the Germans figure out that he is General Lukin, a long time has passed. Even if they are retreating from Moscow, there will be no time to report on a wounded soldier. Soviet general."
Sokov's analysis gave Malankin a glimmer of hope. He said with some emotion: "General Sokov, according to your analysis, General Lukin may be staying in a German prisoner of war camp now?"
"Comrade General, I think this possibility is very high." Sokov nodded and said: "General Lukin survived despite being seriously injured and is now staying in a German prisoner of war camp. , waiting for us to rescue him."
"General Sokov, please forgive me." When Malankin was convinced of what Sokov said, the division chief of staff raised a question: "How can you be sure that General Lukin is still alive and is still in a certain place?" In a prisoner of war camp?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov looked at the Chief of Staff in front of him and said with a smile: "My troops have liberated dozens of prisoner of war camps and incorporated most of the rescued commanders and fighters into my combat troops. . Among these comrades who regained their freedom, we found more than once that many of them were declared missing or even sacrificed. However, before that, both their superiors and their families thought that they had been sacrificed."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, please stop talking." Seeing that his Chief of Staff seemed to want to say something more, Malanjin immediately stopped him: "I think General Sokov's analysis is very reasonable. General Lukin may be Stay in a German prisoner-of-war camp." After saying this, he faced Sokov again and said in a pleading tone, "General Sokov, if you have the latest news about General Lukin in the future, please tell me Tell me promptly."
Sokov only knew that Lieutenant General Lukin was rescued by the US military in the prisoner-of-war camp of Mosburg on the Isar River in Germany a few days before the victory of the war, but he did not know where he was being held now. Therefore, facing Malanjin's plea, he nodded slightly and said solemnly: "Don't worry, Comrade General, once there is news about General Lu Jin, I will definitely inform you as soon as possible."
"Thank you, General Sokov." Malanjin held Sokov's hand tightly and said emotionally: "On behalf of the surviving commanders and fighters of the original 16th and 20th Army, thank you."
Malanjin's words made Sokov realize that if he could provide them with evidence that Lukin was still alive, and even tell them the prisoner of war camp where the other party was being held at the moment, he might be able to gain more friendships in the military. Regardless of Lu Jin's capture, the 16th and 20th Group Armies he commanded were both annihilated by the Germans, but there are still many of his surviving old troops, such as the Guards Division Commander in front of him, Major General Malanjin.
It was based on this consideration that Sokov nodded vigorously and said: "Don't worry, Comrade General, I think I will not let you down."
Everyone finished the somewhat humble breakfast while chatting. The division political commissar came back from outside alone. He reported to Sokov: "Comrade General, the troops of the 188th Division have arrived. After completing the defense handover, Colonel Koida is busy deploying new defenses."
After learning that the troops had taken over the Guards Division's position, Sokov felt that he should rush back immediately to take a look, so he stood up and said goodbye to Malankin: "General Malankin, I want to go over and see the situation of the defense. Thank you for your hospitality." .”
When Malanjin sent Sokov off, he smiled and said politely: "General Sokov, please pay attention to safety on the road. We welcome you to come as a guest at any time."
