After Samyko ordered the operator to send the report and returned to the table, Sokov looked into the hall and asked tentatively: "Where are the cultural relic experts from Moscow?"
"I went to rest with General Chistyakov." Samyko explained to Sokov: "It was too late, and the experts were very tired after traveling all night."
"General Chistyakov?" Sokov asked in surprise after waiting for Samyko to finish: "Isn't he the commander of the 6th Guards Army? Why did his superiors let him come with cultural relic experts?"
"Comrade Commander, you don't know something." Before Samyko could answer, Lunev rushed to answer: "General Chistyakov no longer serves as the commander of the 6th Guards Army. "
Hearing what Luniev said, Sokov couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and asked tentatively: "Did he make any mistakes and be dismissed by his superiors?"
Lunev quickly moved his hands to stop Sokov from continuing: "Comrade Commander, you can't say that. General Chistyakov does not assume the position of commander because his superiors have a new appointment for him. You may also You don’t know, but he is now the representative sent by the base camp to our front army.”
"Oh, that's what happened." After a few casual remarks, Sokov changed the topic to the current war: "By the way, how is the progress of General Gritsenko's troops now?"
"It's going very smoothly." When Sokov asked about the results achieved by the 384th Division, the gloom on Sameko's face was swept away. He said with joy: "Maybe it was our attack in the direction of the bridge that successfully succeeded. Attracting the enemy's attention, they did not even think that we would carry out a forced crossing at the widest section of the Oude River by surprise. When the leading troops of the 384th Division rushed into the enemy's defense line on a hovercraft, the enemy had not returned at all. god.
According to General Gritsenko's report, the division now has two regiments of troops, successfully crossed the Oud River, and established a landing site three kilometers wide and two kilometers deep on the east bank. "
Sokov was very satisfied with the results achieved by the 384th Division. He nodded and said: "General Gritsenko did a good job. We now have two landing sites on the east bank of the Oud River. If the Germans want to remove these It’s not an easy thing to carry two nails into their zone.”
"Comrade Commander, no matter what, the enemy is still much stronger than us." Sameko said worriedly: "Once their offensive forces attack, I am worried that our landing site may be lost."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you, that you have so little confidence in our commanders and fighters?" Lunev retorted: "Don't you know that since the commander came to the 27th Army, our record against the Germans... Always maintain an undefeated record?”
"Comrade Military Commissar, I am the chief of staff of the group army. I naturally know the situation of the army very well." Samyko replied with a grimace: "But now the main force of the front army and the troops of the Voronezh front army are still far away from us. Now We are going deep alone. If Manstein is determined to concentrate the superior forces in the city to attack us, whether he can hold the landing site is still a question."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov comforted Samyko and said: "In any case, it is no longer the early days of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. The strength of our air force, artillery and tank troops are not as good as those of the enemy. In comparison, we even have an absolute advantage in some areas. If the enemy really wants to attack our army's landing site after dawn, we can ask the front army headquarters for help and request the dispatch of the air force to attack the enemy on the ground."
Sokov sneered and said in a contemptuous tone: "No matter how many troops and equipment the German army has, once our air force is deployed, the enemy who has lost air superiority will only become a target for attack aircraft and bombers."
"Did you report the news about our establishment of a second landing site to your superiors?"
"Not yet." Samek shook his head and said, "I saw that the time was too late, and I was worried about disturbing General Konev's rest, so I planned to wait until dawn before reporting to him."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the war is fierce now. General Konev is probably so busy that he doesn't even have time to sleep." Although Sokov had some objections to Samyko's approach, he did not criticize him, but directly He grabbed the high-frequency phone on the table and said, "I'd better report this to him personally."
After getting through to the front army headquarters, the person who answered the phone was Chief of Staff Zakharov: "I am Zakharov, where are you?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov waited for Zakharov to finish and said quickly: "I have important information to report. Has the commander taken a rest?"
"General Konev is discussing work with Lieutenant General Fomin, commander of the front artillery." Zakharov knew that Sokov would never call at this time if he had nothing important to do, so he asked tentatively : "Comrade Sokov, you called me right now. Did something happen?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I would like to report to you and General Konev: the 384th Infantry Division of our group army has crossed the Oud River and established a three kilometers wide and two deep Kilometers of landing ground.”
"Oh, you have established a new landing site on the east bank of the Ude River." Zakharov answered the phone and looked down at the map spread out on the table to find the location of the new landing site. He said excitedly: " Well done, Comrade Sokov. In this way, you can charge into Kharkov from any point..."
Before Zakharov could finish speaking, Konev, who was discussing work with Lieutenant General Fomin, interrupted him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, whose phone number is it?"
Zakharov excitedly reported to Konev: "It was a call from Sokov, the commander of the 27th Army. His troops once again established a new landing site on the east coast."
"It's great that a new landing site has been established." Konev took the phone from Zakharov's hand, put it to his ear and asked: "Comrade Sokov? This is Konev. You Did our troops really establish a new landing site on the east coast?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov heard that Konev was asking the question, and quickly reported the results of the 384th Division to Konev in detail. Finally, he said: "Our army has established two landing sites on the east coast. After dawn, the Germans will definitely launch a counterattack. At that time, I hope you can send the air force to bomb the enemies attacking on the ground."
"Don't worry, Comrade Sokov." After listening to this, Konev said with a smile: "I told you last time that we must find ways to attract the enemy out of the city and engage in field battles with them. Now You have established two landing sites on the east bank of the Oud River, and you will definitely encounter a large-scale counterattack by the enemy. We can use this opportunity to kill the enemy's effective forces on a large scale and weaken their defense force."
After Konev and Sokov chatted for a while, he asked casually: "By the way, Comrade Sokov, I heard from Marshal Zhukov that you took over the 300th Infantry Division under the 5th Assault Army and appointed your own A subordinate has taken over the position of the division commander, is that true?"
"Yes, this is indeed the case." Sokov was worried that Zhukov had not clearly explained the cause and effect of the matter to Konev. In order to avoid misunderstandings, he explained to him: "The commander of the front army, the 300th Division and After the 37th Tank Brigade captured the Fisky collective farm, they discovered a huge underground wine cellar containing a large amount of vodka. The two commanders actually allowed their men to drink alcohol. After my reconnaissance team arrived in the area, they only I saw people sleeping and drunk all over the floor, and no one could stand.
After I learned the news, I was worried that they were in danger, so I quickly sent troops to the area to strengthen the defense there, and decisively ordered people to take over the duties of the two commanders. "
When Konev received a call from Zhukov, the other party only told him that Sokov had taken over an infantry division and a tank brigade at the Fesky collective farm. But why he took over these two troops, Zhukov did not say. After hearing this, Konev was still muttering in his heart, feeling that Sokov was too bold. Relying on his close relationship with Zhukov, he dared to blatantly take over friendly troops.
But after listening to Sokov's explanation, he realized that his original view was wrong, and said quickly: "Comrade Sokov, you are right. We cannot tolerate such commanders and should punish them severely."
After a short pause, he continued to ask: "How do you plan to use these two troops in the next battle?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, they have already launched an attack on the German army at this moment."
"An attack on the German army?" Konev asked with a surprised look on his face: "Where are you attacking the enemy?"
"Just west of the Feski collective farm, a German army built fortifications on the high ground. After our reconnaissance, we found out that this enemy group belonged to the Viking Division."
"What, the troops of the Viking Division?" As a front commander, Konev naturally has more ways to obtain information than Sokov. Of course, he understands the strength of the Viking Division. He asked solemnly: "Is the 300th Division attacking the Viking Division at this moment?"
"Yes."
"How is it going?"
Sokov did not answer immediately. He turned to look at Sameko and asked with his eyes whether he had received a call back. Seeing the other party smiling bitterly and shaking his head, he continued to talk to the microphone: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, now the 300th Division has successfully occupied the position halfway up the mountain and is competing with the enemy for the position on the top of the mountain."
"Comrade Sokov," Konev asked seriously, "are they capable of seizing the position from the Viking division?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov said sternly: "After I have taken care of the affairs here at the headquarters, I will immediately return to the Fisky collective farm and direct the battle there. I believe that we will be able to capture the high ground before dawn. "
"What else are you doing at the headquarters?"
"Several cultural relic experts came from Moscow and planned to receive the batch of cultural relics we intercepted." Sokov was worried that Konev did not know about this, and specifically reminded: "It was the representative of the base camp, General Chistyakov, who brought them here "." After Samyko ordered the operator to send the report and returned to the table, Sokov looked into the hall and asked tentatively: "Where are the cultural relic experts from Moscow?"
"I went to rest with General Chistyakov." Samyko explained to Sokov: "It was too late, and the experts were very tired after traveling all night."
"General Chistyakov?" Sokov asked in surprise after waiting for Samyko to finish: "Isn't he the commander of the 6th Guards Army? Why did his superiors let him come with cultural relic experts?"
"Comrade Commander, you don't know something." Before Samyko could answer, Lunev rushed to answer: "General Chistyakov no longer serves as the commander of the 6th Guards Army. "
Hearing what Luniev said, Sokov couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and asked tentatively: "Did he make any mistakes and be dismissed by his superiors?"
Lunev quickly moved his hands to stop Sokov from continuing: "Comrade Commander, you can't say that. General Chistyakov does not assume the position of commander because his superiors have a new appointment for him. You may also You don’t know, but he is now the representative sent by the base camp to our front army.”
"Oh, that's what happened." After a few casual remarks, Sokov changed the topic to the current war: "By the way, how is the progress of General Gritsenko's troops now?"
"It's going very smoothly." When Sokov asked about the results achieved by the 384th Division, the gloom on Sameko's face was swept away. He said with joy: "Maybe it was our attack in the direction of the bridge that successfully succeeded. Attracting the enemy's attention, they never imagined that we would unexpectedly carry out a forcible crossing in the widest section of the Oude River. When the leading troops of the 384th Division rushed into the enemy's defense line on hovercrafts, the enemy had not returned at all. god.
According to General Gritsenko's report, the division now has two regiments of troops, successfully crossed the Oud River, and established a landing site three kilometers wide and two kilometers deep on the east bank. "
Sokov was very satisfied with the results achieved by the 384th Division. He nodded and said: "General Gritsenko did a good job. We now have two landing sites on the east bank of the Oud River. If the Germans want to remove these It’s not an easy thing to carry two nails into their zone.”
"Comrade Commander, no matter what, the enemy is still much stronger than us." Sameko said worriedly: "Once their offensive forces attack, I am worried that our landing site may be lost."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you, that you have so little confidence in our commanders and fighters?" Lunev retorted: "Don't you know that since the commander came to the 27th Army, our record against the Germans... Always maintain an undefeated record?”
"Comrade Military Commissar, I am the chief of staff of the group army. I naturally know the situation of the army very well." Samyko replied with a grimace: "But now the main force of the front army and the troops of the Voronezh front army are still far away from us. Now We are going deep alone. If Manstein is determined to concentrate the superior forces in the city to attack us, whether he can hold the landing site is still a question."
(End of chapter)
