As the war raged on, Sokov, who was staying at the headquarters, became increasingly busy. He kept in touch with the troops besieging the German 255th Division through phone calls or telegrams to learn about the fighting situation on the front line.
After Military Commissar Lunev completed the replenishment of the two Marine Corps brigades, he immediately handed over the screening and review work to his subordinates, and hurried back to the headquarters. He did not want to miss the good show of encircling and annihilating the German 255th Division. This should be the last good show before the Soviet army attacked Belgorod.
Sokov didn't feel surprised at all when he saw Lunev appearing in the headquarters. On the contrary, it would be weird if the opponent hurriedly incorporated a large number of unscreened commanders and fighters into combat units without paying attention to their combat status.
Sokov called Major General Fomenko of the 84th Infantry Division. After learning that the division's attack was successful, he finally had time to stop for a drink of water and a cigarette. He took out a cigarette from the cigarette case, handed it to Runev, and asked casually: "Comrade Military Commissar, how is your cooperation with General Apanashenko going? He is not making things difficult for you, is he?"
"That's not true." Lunev took Sokov's cigarette, but did not light it immediately. Instead, he fiddled with it in his hand and said: "Comrade Commander, to be honest, Apanashenko and I When we cooperated with him, we were still very uneasy. You know, he suddenly came to our army and said he was supervising the screening and review of rescued commanders and fighters, but everyone knew in their hearts that he was actually here to cause trouble. So before the screening and review began, , I even considered specially selecting a group of reliable commanders and fighters and conducting the review in front of him to prevent him from getting in the way.
But when our review work began, I discovered that he was really just here to supervise. He simply looked at the results of our review and did not easily express any opinions. Judging from his performance, maybe we misunderstood him. "
Sokov was thinking in his mind: Apanashenko didn't find fault with himself. Could it be that Marshal Zhukov specially greeted him before coming here, so he was so friendly after arriving here. But this idea flashed in Sokov's mind. After all, the current primary task was to annihilate the German 255th Infantry Division. Other unimportant matters could be put aside for the time being.
"Comrade Military Commissar, during the early morning battle, Lieutenant Paul, commander of the ninth company under the infantry brigade, led his company to tenaciously block the first wave of German attacks, and the main force of the infantry brigade arrived, buying precious time. ." Sokov said to Lunev: "I suggest that after the battle is over, Lieutenant Paul should be awarded the medal."
"Comrade Commander," Luniev said with some surprise after waiting for Sokov to finish: "In our war with the German invaders, there were many commanders and fighters who showed bravery and heroism. But today you alone and I mentioned this commander, is there anything special about him?"
"You are right, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Lunev: "Look, this is a report sent by someone from the infantry brigade. "
"Hell, the battle isn't over yet. What report did they send?" With questions, Lunev opened the piece of paper Sokov handed him and read it carefully. After seeing it for a while, his expression became solemn, and he was attracted by the content of the report sent by the infantry brigade.
"How is it, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov waited for Lunev to read the entire report, then asked with a smile: "What do you think of the infantry brigade's report?"
"It's great, it's simply great." Lunev raised the report in his hand with some excitement and said to Lunev: "Especially this description of the last battle of Paul Company, I will read it to you Listen: ...Amidst the fierce gunfire, Lieutenant Paul led the remaining soldiers of his company and charged at the enemy. Each of them was covered in dust and their faces were covered with gunpowder smoke. Although they looked haggard, they were mighty and resolute. Both pairs of eyes red with gunpowder smoke stared closely at the enemy. Their appearance alone was enough to intimidate the enemy. When they let out thunderous shouts and shouted "Ula", they bravely rushed towards the enemy several times their size. The enemy launched a cruel and tenacious hand-to-hand combat, beating the enemy into panic and fleeing."
Sokov and Samyko had read the passage that Runev was reading several times. Sokov was even thinking: Judging from the writing style, could the infantry brigade commander who wrote this report be a great writer in the future? When the battle is over, you must ask Uzhakov who wrote this report. If he is really a well-known writer, you must find a way to protect him. Otherwise, there must be something wrong, which will be detrimental to the Soviet literary world. A huge loss.
Lunev put down the report in his hand, looked at Sokov and said: "Comrade Commander, I think I understand now why you mentioned this commander to me alone. With his performance, when we annihilate the German 255th After the infantry division, whether it is to award him a medal or to carry out special publicity, it is completely necessary."
"Comrade Military Commissar, you don't understand what I mean." Seeing that Lunev made such a guess without waiting for him to explain the reason, Sokov said to him: "The reason why I mentioned this person to you alone is because Not just because of his bravery in battle and the results he achieved, but because of his identity."
"His identity?!" Hearing what Sokov said, Lunev was stunned for a moment, then realized: "Comrade Commander, don't you want to tell me that this company commander is also a person rescued from a prisoner of war camp? Bar?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, your guess is correct." Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "Lieutenant Paul was rescued by the infantry brigade from the prisoner of war camp north of Yakovlevo town a few days ago. Uzhakov was under a lot of pressure when he was appointed company commander. Fortunately, Lieutenant Paul did not disappoint him. He used his actions to tell everyone that even those who had just been rescued from prisoner-of-war camps , and can also perform well in battle.”
"No wonder, no wonder." Lunev hurried back to the headquarters for two reasons. One was that he wanted to see his troops annihilate the German 255th Infantry Division; the other was that he wanted to It is clear why Sokov went out of his way and ordered himself to organize more than 5,000 prisoners of war into two marine brigades before completing the screening and review of prisoners of war. But now through Paul's incident, he finally understood Sokov's painstaking efforts: "No wonder you couldn't wait to order me to replenish the Marine Brigade. It turned out to be because of Lieutenant Paul's incident."
"You are right, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov nodded and said: "Facts speak louder than words. Lieutenant Paul's performance on the battlefield shows that the commanders and fighters who have just been rescued from the prisoner of war camps are not only There is no problem with loyalty, and their hearts are full of hatred for the Germans. If these commanders and fighters are put into battle, they will produce extraordinary combat effectiveness."
Sokov picked up the tea cup and took a sip of water, then continued: "To be honest, after reading the report sent by Uzhakov, I once asked myself, what if I were in Lieutenant Paul's situation? In this position, can we use a company of troops to block the German army that is several times or even ten times more than ours?"
He shook his head and said with a wry smile: "In that case, I would definitely not choose to fight head-on, because the result of a head-on fight would definitely be annihilation of the entire army. The best option is to temporarily abandon the position and retreat into the village. Use the terrain of the village to deal with the enemy, delaying time and waiting for the arrival of the main force."
"Comrade Commander, I think Lieutenant Paul's approach should be the choice of most people." Hearing Sokov say that if he were in Lieutenant Paul's position, he would choose to abandon his position and retreat into the village to deal with the enemy. Lunev smiled awkwardly, and then said tactfully: "After all, our soldiers have always been taught that when facing an enemy attack, as long as they do not receive orders from their superiors, they are not allowed to retreat even one step."
"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov Malunev asked tentatively after he finished speaking: "Can you personally draft a report on the awarding of Lieutenant Paul and submit it to the front army headquarters?"
"I think there should be no problem." Lunev said with a serious expression: "But in order to prevent any accidents, I plan to go to the front headquarters in person after writing the report."
Regarding Lunev's suggestion, Sokov began to think about it: if the report is handed in directly, it may be ignored. After all, there are too many such medal reports from various units, whether it is Vatutin or Zhukov, You can't even have the energy to ask about the awarding of a young lieutenant. Maybe if you hand in the report, it will be lost. But if Lunev is willing to personally take action, the situation is completely different. At least the superiors' attention will be increased.
"Comrade Commander," while Sokov and Lunev were discussing the awarding of Lieutenant Paul, Samyko came over and reported to Sokov: "Two marine brigades have arrived in Yako. In the town of Vlevo, we are joining forces with the infantry brigade to launch a counterattack against the attacking 255th Infantry Division."
"Do two marine brigades and an infantry brigade need a unified command?" After listening to Samyko's words, Lunev immediately put forward his own opinion: "If there is no unified command, the troops of the three brigades will It doesn’t take long to fall into silos.”
"Don't worry, Comrade Military Commissar." After listening to Sameko's concerns, Sameko comforted him and said: "Comrade Commander has already considered this matter you mentioned. He appointed the 84th Marine Brigade The brigade commander, Colonel Chuvashov, was in charge of the three brigades.”
"What about the weapons situation, Comrade Chief of Staff?" Sokov's focus is different from Lunev. He is worried that these commanders and fighters who have just been added to the army lack sufficient weapons and may suffer heavy casualties on the battlefield: "Are all commanders and combatants armed?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Samyko explained to Sokov: "I asked Colonel Chuvashov, and he said that when two marine brigades were stationed in Kochetovka, they once discovered a man of mine. He found a large amount of sealed weapons and ammunition in the army's ammunition depot, and he used these arms to arm the new recruits."
"Very good, Colonel Chuvashov did a good job." Sokov felt a lot more at ease when he learned that all the commanders and combatants were equipped with weapons. At least there would be no unarmed commanders and combatants on the battlefield, which would reduce unnecessary casualties. "Let Colonel Chuvashov keep us informed of progress."
"Yes!" After Samyko agreed, he did not leave. Instead, he looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, Colonel Chuvasov has another request."
"What else does he ask for?"
"He hopes to get artillery support." Samyko was worried that Sokov would reject such a request, and specifically explained: "Both the marine brigade and the infantry brigade now lack enough heavy weapons. Once they encounter the enemy, Those who resist stubbornly will probably suffer huge casualties."
"There is no problem in providing them with artillery support." When Sokov made up his mind to encircle and annihilate the 255th Infantry Division, he had already deployed artillery. The reason why he did not let the artillery go into battle was because there was no need at the front. artillery observers, and at this moment several troops were opening their doors against the Germans from different directions. If the artillery fire failed to hit the enemy, but accidentally injured one of their own, it would inevitably affect morale. At this moment, when Sameko mentioned artillery, he expressed his concerns: "Our troops attack the enemy from different directions. If we fire rashly without accurate guidance, the shells may all hit our own people." On the head, it will be of no help at that time.”
"Comrade Commander, what you said makes sense. I will immediately contact the two artillery division commanders to see if they have sent artillery observers to the fighting area."
"Comrade Commander," Lunev asked after Samyko walked away: "Do we need to put the 4th Guards Tank Corps into the battle? I think with the help of the tank troops, our army's attack may be successful. Smoother."
"There is no need, Comrade Military Commissar." But after hearing this, Sokov waved his hands and said: "We will launch an attack on Belgorod soon. If we don't have a strong tank unit in hand, once we are in During the attack, we encountered a counterattack by the enemy's armored forces. What kind of force could we use to block and crush them?"
"That's such a pity." After learning that the 4th Guards Tank Corps could not be used in this battle, Lunev's face was full of disappointment: "I have always heard that our troops were surrounded by After being defeated by the enemy's armored forces, I had an idea at that time that I wanted to see with my own eyes that the enemies we were besieging were completely crushed under the attack of our tanks. It seems that my wish will take a long time to come true. "
"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov said to Lunev with a smile: "It won't be long before our army launches a full-scale attack on Belgorod and Kharkov. Just wait. I will definitely let you see with your own eyes how our tank troops captured the enemy's headquarters. This day will not be too far away from now."
"Comrade Commander, is this true?" Hearing what Sokov said, Runev's face showed surprise: "Are you kidding me?"
"How is this possible, Comrade Military Commissar?" Sokov said firmly: "This is my promise to you, and I will fulfill this promise before long."
