Konev returned to the headquarters, walked straight to the table, picked up the empty teacup and went to the place where the samovar was placed. He turned on the faucet below and took a cup of hot tea. He asked casually: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I left with the Military Commissar." Did anything special happen during this period?"
"According to the report, each unit is taking time to rest at its own station. As for special things," Zakharov said hesitantly: "General Sokov, the commander of the 27th Group Army, once called and said that he We have discovered an excellent fighter plane, and if we can launch an attack quickly, we will definitely achieve good results."
"A call from Sokov?" The teacup in Konev's hand had just touched his lips. When Zakharov said this, he immediately put down the teacup and asked curiously: "What fighter plane?"
"I didn't ask." Zakharov shook his head and said with some embarrassment: "I told him that the main force of the front army needs time to rest and replenish, and will not take the initiative to attack the enemy in a short period of time."
When Konev heard this, he slammed the tea cup in his hand on the table and said sternly: "Chief of Staff, how can you answer like this? You know, Sokov has a very good way of fighting. Since he said he discovered If it is an excellent fighter plane, then as long as it launches an attack, it will definitely achieve good results."
After walking back and forth in the headquarters several times with his hands behind his back, he stopped and asked Zakharov: "When did Major General Sokov call?"
Zakharov raised his hand to check the time, then raised his head and replied: "Two hours ago."
Konev nodded, walked to the table, picked up the microphone, and put it to his ear: "I'm Konev, call me to the 27th Army Headquarters."
The call was quickly connected, and Konev said into the phone: "I'm Konev, who are you?"
The person who answered the phone was Lu Nev. When he heard that the caller was actually Konev, he was frightened and hurriedly replied: "Report to General Konev, I am Lieutenant General Lu Nev, Military Commissar of the 27th Army. Nev, I obey your orders, please give instructions!”
"It's General Lunev." Konev knew that Lunev was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so he naturally spoke politely to him: "Is Comrade Sokov here? I have something to ask him."
Unexpectedly, after Konev's question was raised, Lunev was silent.
"General Lunev, are you still there?" Konev heard the sound suddenly went silent in the receiver, and thought the other party had hung up the phone: "Why is there no sound?"
"I'm sorry," a moment later, Lunev's hoarse voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Commander is not in the headquarters at the moment."
"Not at the headquarters?" Konev asked strangely: "Where did he go?"
"He went to the front for reconnaissance."
"Go to the frontier for reconnaissance?!" Konev couldn't help but frowned, "So, you are planning to attack the enemy?"
"Yes, General Konev." Even if the battle to capture October Town was not reported to the front army headquarters in advance, Konev would still know about it once the battle started. Therefore, when Lunev heard Konev's question, he immediately answered truthfully: "According to the arrangement of Comrade Commander, the 84th Infantry Division is gradually entering the attack position. They will launch an attack on the enemy in October Town at 4 p.m. attack."
"Well, we will launch an attack on October Town occupied by the German army at four o'clock in the afternoon." Konev looked down at the map in front of him and said thoughtfully: "From the situation we have, the enemy's position in October Town is There are not many troops, probably only one infantry battalion, one tank company, and two artillery companies. If you attack with one division, you should have no problem taking the town."
Konev raised his head, glanced at Zakharov standing opposite, and asked in depth: "General Lunev, can you tell me why Sokov suddenly made the decision to attack October Town?"
"General Konev, this is it." Lunev quickly reported to Konev that Second Lieutenant Serelkov exchanged a cart of vodka for a cart of German prisoners, and finally said: "Comrade Commander Based on this, I feel that the German defense in October Town will not be too tight. If we launch an attack by surprise, it is entirely possible to capture October Town in a short time."
"It makes sense, it makes sense." After listening to Lunev's story, Konev nodded repeatedly and said: "General Lunev, according to what you just said, the enemies stationed in October Town have already become tired. It’s unbearable. Although their defense area is only a few kilometers away from you, their vigilance has been reduced to a minimum, and your attack will definitely have a surprise effect."
After chatting with Lunev for a while, Konev thought of Sokov again and asked again: "General Lunev, can you tell me where Comrade Sokov went?"
"General Konev!" Since Konev asked Sokov again, it showed that he would never give up until he figured out Sokov's whereabouts. Runev could only say hesitantly: "A few hours." Recently, the Moscow Garrison Command sent a plane to bring us the flag of the 98th Guards Division. When the commander saw that the pilot was flying a two-seater aircraft, he felt itchy and asked the pilot to take him for two laps in the sky. .”
"Nonsense, this is simply nonsense." When Konev learned that Sokov actually took a plane to heaven, he said with some laughter and laughter: "He is now the commander of the group army, and he still doesn't pay attention to his own safety. Doesn't he?" You know, your defense area is too close to the enemy's position, and it only takes a few minutes to fly into the enemy-controlled area. What if it is shot down by German ground anti-aircraft fire?"
"General Konev," Lunev said hoarsely, "Comrade Commander's plane has been shot down by the Germans, and its whereabouts are unknown."
Lunev's words made Konev, who was holding the microphone, sit down on the ground.
Zakharov, who was standing opposite, saw Konev fall to the ground. Not knowing what happened, he quickly walked around the table, came to Konev, bent down to help him: "Comrade Commander, you What's wrong?"
Konev pushed Zaharov away with his hand irritably and growled: "Go away, I don't need your support." He struggled to stand up from the ground and held on to the edge of the table with one hand to prevent himself from falling again. ; while asking into the microphone, "General Lunev, is everything you said true?"
"Yes, General Konev." Lunev replied: "According to the observations of the ground forces, the commander's plane was attacked by a German fighter jet while conducting reconnaissance over the town of October. Although The pilot used all his body skills to try to get rid of the enemy plane's attack, but unfortunately he was shot down."
"What measures did you take after Sokov's plane was shot down?"
After being pushed away by Konev, Zakharov, who was initially confused, heard that Sokov's plane was shot down, and suddenly felt his eyes go dark, and he turned his back. Fortunately, Susekov hugged him in time and did not fall to the ground.
Lunev replied on the phone: "After we learned that the commander's plane was shot down, we immediately ordered people to search for the direction of the crash. When we learned that it might be in the defense area of the 98th Guards Division, I immediately ordered people to search for the direction of the crash at the headquarters. Chuvasov's men who received the military flag immediately returned and organized forces for search and rescue. At the same time, I also sent Lieutenant Samoilov, the commander's most trusted man, to lead the guard platoon to participate in the search and rescue operation."
"General Lunev, I order you to do everything possible to find Comrade Sokov." Konev said through gritted teeth: "Even if he unfortunately died, we must find his body. Do you understand?" ?”
"Yes, General Konev, we will definitely try our best to find the commander."
After Susekov helped Zakharov sit down, he looked at Konev and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I seem to hear something happened to Comrade Sokov?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, you are right, something happened to Sokov." Konev said solemnly: "He took a biplane and went to the enemy's defense area to conduct reconnaissance. As a result, he encountered an enemy fighter jet. . After the pilot dodged the plane, he was unfortunately shot down by the enemy. Currently, the 27th Group Army has sent manpower to search for the place where the plane crashed."
Susekov never dreamed that something would happen to Sokov. After listening to Konev's words, his face turned pale, and his whole body stood there motionless like a sculpture.
Zakharov, who was sitting in his seat, reminded Konev in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, if such a big thing happened, do we need to report it to Marshal Zhukov? After all, Sokov is the commander he values. "
After hearing what Zakharov said, Susekov also came to his senses. He said to Konev: "Comrade Commander, I think what the Chief of Staff said makes sense. No matter whether General Sokov is dead or alive, But if something big happened to him, it would be inappropriate if he didn’t report it to his superiors immediately.”
Seeing that both Zakharov and Susekov persuaded him to report the matter to Zhukov, Konev, who had originally planned to conceal the matter for the time being, couldn't help but hesitate.
After an unknown amount of time, Konev nodded slowly and said, "Okay, I'll call Marshal Zhukov personally and tell him the bad news."
After saying that, he picked up the high-frequency phone on the table, dialed a number, and said in a stern tone: "I am Konev, please pick me up immediately from the Voronezh Front Army Headquarters and find Marshal Zhukov, the representative of the base camp."
In less than two minutes, Zhukov's voice came from the receiver: "Dear Ivan Stepanovich, do you have any good news to tell me?"
"Comrade Marshal, you may be disappointed. I bring you bad news." Konev said with a heavy tone: "I have just received exact information that the plane on which the commander of the 27th Group Army, Major General Sokov, was traveling. He was shot down by a German fighter jet not long ago and his whereabouts are unknown now.”
After being pushed away by Konev, Zakharov, who was originally confused, heard that Sokov's plane was shot down, and suddenly felt his eyes go dark, and he turned his back. Fortunately, Susekov hugged him in time and did not fall to the ground.
Lunev replied on the phone: "After we learned that the commander's plane was shot down, we immediately ordered people to search for the direction of the crash. When we learned that it might be in the defense area of the 98th Guards Division, I immediately ordered people to search for the direction of the crash at the headquarters. Chuvasov's men who received the military flag immediately returned and organized forces for search and rescue. At the same time, I also sent Lieutenant Samoilov, the commander's most trusted man, to lead the guard platoon to participate in the search and rescue operation."
"General Lunev, I order you to do everything possible to find Comrade Sokov." Konev said through gritted teeth: "Even if he unfortunately died, we must find his body. Do you understand?" ?”
"Yes, General Konev, we will definitely try our best to find the commander."
After Susekov helped Zakharov sit down, he looked at Konev and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I seem to hear something happened to Comrade Sokov?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, you are right, something happened to Sokov." Konev said solemnly: "He took a biplane and went to the enemy's defense area to conduct reconnaissance. As a result, he encountered an enemy fighter jet. . After the pilot dodged the plane, he was unfortunately shot down by the enemy. Currently, the 27th Group Army has sent manpower to search for the place where the plane crashed."
Susekov never dreamed that something would happen to Sokov. After listening to Konev's words, his face turned pale, and his whole body stood there motionless like a sculpture.
Zakharov, who was sitting in his seat, reminded Konev in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, if such a big thing happened, do we need to report it to Marshal Zhukov? After all, Sokov is the commander he values. "
After hearing what Zakharov said, Susekov also came to his senses. He said to Konev: "Comrade Commander, I think what the Chief of Staff said makes sense. No matter whether General Sokov is dead or alive, But if something big happened to him, it would be inappropriate if he didn’t report it to his superiors immediately.”
Seeing that both Zakharov and Susekov persuaded him to report the matter to Zhukov, Konev, who had originally planned to conceal the matter temporarily, couldn't help but hesitate.
After an unknown amount of time, Konev nodded slowly and said, "Okay, I'll call Marshal Zhukov personally and tell him the bad news."
After saying that, he picked up the high-frequency phone on the table, dialed a number, and said in a stern tone: "I am Konev, please pick me up immediately from the Voronezh Front Army Headquarters and find Marshal Zhukov, the representative of the base camp."
In less than two minutes, Zhukov's voice came from the receiver: "Dear Ivan Stepanovich, do you have any good news to tell me?"
"Comrade Marshal, you may be disappointed. I bring you bad news." Konev said with a heavy tone: "I have just received exact information that the plane on which the commander of the 27th Group Army, Major General Sokov, was traveling. He was shot down by a German fighter jet not long ago and his whereabouts are unknown now.”
