If in the past, Sokov had learned that one of his troops had lost contact, he would have handed over the affairs of the headquarters to Sameko and personally led the troops to search and rescue, but this time there was no such thing in his mind at all. idea.
The reason is very simple. He flew privately to the enemy's defense area today to conduct reconnaissance, and was beaten down by an enemy fighter jet. He had just received a lesson from Zhukov, and he did not dare to commit another crime against the odds. In addition, he knew very well that as a senior commander, if he always ran to the front, not only would his life be in danger, but also due to the limitations of his field of vision, he would be unable to control the overall situation in a timely manner, making it difficult to effectively perform his duties as a commander.
Although he could not go to the front line in person, Sokov, as the commander, could not ignore the loss of contact between the two elite troops. Although Fomenko promised to lead the troops to the compass direction of Kazachya as soon as possible, who knows whether he will delay the fighter plane for some reason?
It was out of this consideration that Sokov, after pondering for a moment, asked Samyko: "Chief of Staff, how many usable cars do our logistics department have now?"
"Car?" Samyko was stunned for a moment when he heard Sokov's question, and then he understood what he meant: "Comrade Commander, do you plan to use a car to transport the troops and rush to Kazachya Compass as soon as possible?"
"That's right."
After receiving Sokov's affirmative answer, Samyko immediately picked up the phone and contacted the Army Logistics Department to learn from the director of the logistics department how many vehicles were still available.
A moment later, Samek covered the microphone and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I have asked the director of the logistics department, and he said that one hundred and forty vehicles can be mobilized within half an hour."
"One hundred and forty cars?" Sokov repeated the number and said with some regret: "Although it is a little less, it is better than nothing." He raised his head and looked at Samyko, "Tell the director of the logistics department to let He transferred these vehicles to the defense area of the 188th Division in the shortest possible time."
After Samyko waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he carefully reminded him: "Comrade Commander, are you wrong? You should provide cars for the 84th Infantry Division that occupied October Town, not a few kilometers away from October Town." The 188th Division was supported by several kilometers.”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think I am old and confused?" Sokov said with a serious expression: "I am worried that General Fomenko may not be able to assemble his troops and rush to Kazachya Compass in a short period of time. And Gucha Cove Camp is part of the 188th Division, and it is a matter of course for Colonel Koida to lead the troops to rescue his men."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Samyko knew very well that Guchakov was Sokov's old subordinate brought over from the 21st Army. The other party's behavior, which went against common sense, was to remove his direct descendants as quickly as possible. The troops were rescued from danger. He nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will convey your order to the Director of the Logistics Department." After speaking, he released his hand covering the microphone, "Comrade Director of the Logistics Department, the Commander orders, Immediately drive all the cars that can be mobilized to the 188th Division's defense area and transport them to the fighting area."
After calling the director of the Logistics Department, Sameko contacted the division headquarters of the 188th Division and relayed Sokov's latest combat order to Koida. Koida was worried about the loss of contact with the Guchakov camp. After hearing the order conveyed by Samyko, he immediately replied loudly: "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff. As soon as the car from the Logistics Department arrives, I will immediately Order the 562nd Regiment to wait for the train and quickly rush to the compass direction of Kazachya to look for Guchakov Camp.”
"Misha, Misha." Before Samek put down the phone, he heard someone at the door anxiously calling Sokov's nickname. He turned around and saw that it was Yakov who had never been able to reach him.
When Sokov saw Yakov's appearance, his face showed joy. He quickly stepped forward to grab his arm and said excitedly: "Yasha, you are back!"
"Yes, I'm back." Yakov said to Sokov apologetically: "Misha, I'm so sorry. We got lost in the forest and wasted a lot of time. Not long after we arrived at the designated place , a tank unit went south along the road and came to join the Guchakov Battalion..."
"Yasha, are you saying that the Guchakov Battalion has joined forces with the special tank battalion of the Guards Tank Corps?"
"Yes." Yakov nodded and said in a positive tone: "After they met, they drove south along the road, probably to seize the Kazakhya Compass. Seeing that nothing happened, I took my men with me The man came back in the hovercraft.”
Knowing that the Guchakov Battalion and the Special Tank Battalion had joined forces, Sokov felt somewhat at ease. But not long after he relaxed, his expression became serious again: "Yasha, the chief of staff said that he has been calling you but can't be contacted. What is going on?"
"Misha, I can't be contacted all the time. The responsibility lies with me." After listening to Sokov's question, Yakov took the initiative to admit his mistake: "The hovercraft was traveling too fast, which caused poor reception of the radio station, so I The radio was ordered to be turned off during the journey and could not be turned on again until we stopped at a certain location."
"Comrade Commander," Samyko, who had finished the phone call with Koida, reported to Sokov after hearing clearly what Yakov said: "I have given the order to Colonel Koida. They are waiting. As soon as the car arrives, we set off immediately.”
Yakov had stayed in Sokov's army for a long time, so he naturally knew the names of the division commanders. When Samyko said that Koida's troops were about to set off, he asked curiously: "Misha, are you going to Where will the 188th Division be transferred?"
"Where else can we be transferred, naturally to the direction of the Compass Town of Kazachya." Sokov explained to Yakov: "The Guchakov Battalion and the Special Tank Battalion have been out of contact for almost an hour."
"What, the Guchakov Battalion and the Tank Battalion lost contact?" Yakov was shocked after hearing this: "Misha, what is going on?"
"I don't know either." Sokov shook his head and said, "We have never been able to get in touch with them, so I can only send the 188th Division to reinforce them."
"But when the two armies met, there were no enemies around." Yakov asked in confusion: "Why did they lose contact inexplicably?"
"I don't know the specific situation," Sokov said thoughtfully: "But I guess they may have exchanged fire with the enemy in the direction of Kazachiya Compass Town, and the situation was very bad, otherwise They won’t suddenly lose contact.”
"Loss of contact?" Sokov's words reminded Yakov of the humiliating scene when he was captured, and he asked tentatively: "Misha, tell me, have they been annihilated by the enemy?"
"Annihilated by the enemy?" Yakov's bold idea shocked Sokov, but he quickly waved his hands and said: "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. Don't look at the compass heading to Kazachya The troops in the direction of the town only have one infantry battalion and one under-staffed tank battalion, but even if the enemy's strength exceeds theirs several times, it is impossible for them to be annihilated by the enemy in such a short period of time. I estimate that they are already trapped at this moment Surrounded by German troops, they are struggling to hold on and are waiting for our rescue."
"Since they were not eliminated by the enemy, why can't they be contacted?" Yakov continued to ask.
Regarding Yakov's question, Sokov immediately contacted the film and television dramas he had watched in later generations. The main reason why troops deep behind enemy lines lost contact with the rear was that there was a problem with the radio. So he said thoughtfully: "Maybe the battery of the radio is dead, or the radio was damaged during the battle."
"What about the tank battalion?" Yakov continued to ask: "Even if the infantry battalion's radio is destroyed during the battle, the tank battalion can always contact it, right?"
"Still unable to contact," Samyko interrupted, glanced at Sokov, and said cautiously: "If according to the analysis of Comrade Commander, the command tank of the tank battalion may have been destroyed by the Germans during the battle."
"Is there really such a coincidence?"
"It's completely possible." Samyko found out the intelligence sent back by the scouts yesterday. He shook the intelligence and said to Yakov: "Comrade Colonel, this is the intelligence sent back by our scouts. According to their According to reconnaissance, the German army deployed two regiments of the 106th Infantry Division in the town of Kazachya Compass. If the Guchakov Battalion and the Tank Battalion rush into the town, the possibility of being surrounded by the enemy is very high."
"So that's it. Then how long will it take for the reinforcements of the 188th Division to arrive at Kazachia Compass Town?"
After taking a look at the map, Sameko replied: "It is about fifty kilometers from the station of the 188th Division to the Compass Town of Kazachia. From the beginning of the assembly, it will take about two hours to reach Kazachia. Zachia Compass Town.”
"Two hours?" Yakov closed his eyes and recalled the two troops he had seen. He nodded slightly and said, "With the strength of these two troops, they must hold on for two more hours when they are surrounded by the enemy." Hours, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.”
While Sokov and others were worried about the fate of Guchakov's troops and nervously mobilized their troops, the Soviet troops trapped in the hospital in the Compass Town of Kazachya were being attacked by the German army.
The town's hospital covers an area of about 30 hectares and is surrounded by iron fences. It has only two entrances and exits. Coincidentally, facing the front is a three-story clinic building. The Soviet commanders and fighters occupying the building can block the main entrance with firepower from the window, causing the enemy who tries to rush in from here to pay a huge price.
As for the four-story hospital building, facing the back, the soldiers of the guard company who stayed inside could also use firepower to block the back door, preventing the enemy from entering the hospital smoothly.
The remaining seven tanks of the tank battalion and the commanders and fighters of the second company stayed in the green belt between the two buildings, using the flower beds and fountains here as cover to eliminate the German soldiers who tried to climb over the fence.
When the German division commander learned that his men's attacks all ended in failure, he couldn't help but become angry and called the commander of the main offensive regiment in front of him and cursed: "Major, there are only two or three hundred Russians in the hospital, and you have enough A regiment, but it has been unable to attack, what is going on?",
"Your Excellency, division commander," the German commander said with a sad face: "The Russians hiding in the clinic building were too fierce in firepower. My troops rushed in several times but failed to successfully rush in."
"Where are the tanks? Don't your regiment still have a few tanks? Why don't you use tanks during the attack?"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, it's not like you don't know that we are an infantry division, not an armored division." The regiment leader hurriedly explained: "Our regiment only has one tank company, equipped with outdated No. 3 and No. 4 tanks. Not long ago Before the attack, I dispatched a Panzer IV tank to cover the infantry charge into the hospital. Unexpectedly, as soon as we hit the gate, it was destroyed by the Russians in the building with anti-tank weapons."
"Anti-tank weapons?" the division commander asked in surprise, "What anti-tank weapons?"
"It seems to be called a rocket launcher. It is said that the destruction of the Imperial Division, the Skeleton Division, and several armored divisions was due to the heavy losses of this anti-tank weapon."
The town's hospital covers an area of about 30 hectares and is surrounded by iron fences. It has only two entrances and exits. Coincidentally, facing the front is a three-story outpatient building. The Soviet commanders and fighters occupying the building can block the main entrance with firepower from the window, causing enemies who try to rush in from here to pay a huge price.
As for the four-story hospital building, facing the back, the soldiers of the guard company who stayed inside could also use firepower to block the back door, preventing the enemy from entering the hospital smoothly.
The remaining seven tanks of the tank battalion and the commanders and fighters of the second company stayed in the green belt between the two buildings, using the flower beds and fountains here as cover to eliminate the German soldiers who tried to climb over the fence.
When the German division commander learned that his men's attacks all ended in failure, he couldn't help but become angry. He called the commander of the main offensive regiment in front of him and cursed him: "Major, there are only two or three hundred Russians in the hospital, and you have enough A regiment, but it has been unable to attack, what is going on?",
"Your Excellency, division commander," the German commander said with a sad face: "The Russians hiding in the clinic building were too fierce in firepower. My troops rushed in several times but failed to successfully rush in."
"Where are the tanks? Don't your regiment still have a few tanks? Why don't you use tanks during the attack?"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, it's not like you don't know that we are an infantry division, not an armored division." The regiment leader hurriedly explained: "Our regiment only has one tank company, equipped with outdated No. 3 and No. 4 tanks. Not long ago Before the attack, I dispatched a Panzer IV tank to cover the infantry charge into the hospital. Unexpectedly, as soon as we hit the gate, it was destroyed by the Russians in the building with anti-tank weapons."
"Anti-tank weapons?" the division commander asked in surprise, "What anti-tank weapons?"
"It seems to be called a rocket launcher. It is said that the destruction of the Imperial Division, the Skeleton Division, and several armored divisions was due to the heavy losses of this anti-tank weapon."
