In the evening, a convoy consisting of a jeep and two trucks drove out of the city of Kremenchug. After driving for a certain distance, they arrived at a small town in the north of the city, where troops of the 1st Mechanized Army were stationed.
When the convoy entered the town, it was stopped by a patrol. The second lieutenant leading the team came to the jeep, bent down and stood beside the car, and asked Samoylov, who was sitting in the passenger seat: "Comrade Lieutenant, which section are you from, and what are you doing here?"
"Comrade Second Lieutenant, we are from the headquarters of the 27th Army." Samoilov shook his head towards Sokov, who was sitting in the back. "The general sitting in the back row is our army commander Sokov. "
The second lieutenant was startled when he heard Samoilov reveal Sokov's identity. He quickly took a step back, straightened his back and raised his hand to salute the jeep: "Hello, comrade general. I'm sorry. We didn’t know it was you who came, and we didn’t receive any notification.”
Sokov was not a person who liked to put on airs. When he saw the second lieutenant's frightened look, he quickly opened the car door, leaned out, and said politely to the other party: "Comrade second lieutenant, can you tell me, your soldiers Where is General Solomatin?"
"In the church in the middle of the town, his headquarters is located there." The second lieutenant replied in a panic: "You only need to continue driving along the street. In a few minutes, you will see a black wall. The church, that’s where the military headquarters is.”
Following the second lieutenant's instructions, the convoy continued to move forward, and sure enough, they saw a church with black walls. There are sandbag fortifications piled outside the church and wooden fences with barbed wire. Soldiers with guns and ammunition are vigilantly monitoring the surrounding areas.
The appearance of the convoy immediately attracted the other party's attention. A lieutenant standing in the sandbag fortification quickly came forward with five or six soldiers for questioning. When it became clear that Sokov was sitting in the car, his reaction was the same as that of the second lieutenant just now, and he apologized to Sokov repeatedly.
Sokov naturally did not care about these trivial matters, but smiled and said to the lieutenant: "Comrade lieutenant, where is your commander?"
"It's in the church, Comrade General." The lieutenant said respectfully, "I'll take you in."
Sokov asked Samoilov to wait for him outside, and then followed the lieutenant into the church alone.
As soon as he entered the church, the lieutenant quickened his pace, ran through the hall, and ran to the other side to report to Solomatin, who was studying the battle there.
Seeing a lieutenant general and a dozen school-level officers walking towards him, Sokov immediately guessed that the leader should be Solomatin, so he waved to them: "Hello, comrades commanders. "
"Hello, Comrade Commander." Solomatin came over, raised his hand to salute Sokov, and then took the initiative to extend his hand: "I am Lieutenant General Solomatin, commander of the 1st Mechanized Army. I am glad to see you here. .”
After the two shook hands, Solomatin introduced his chief of staff, military commissar, and several brigade commanders present to Sokov one by one.
After everyone returned to the table in the corner and sat down, Solomatin asked Sokov impatiently: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, what is the mission of our mechanized army?"
"General Solomatin," although Solomatin shouted one commander at a time, Sokov did not get carried away. After all, he was younger than the other man, had a lower rank, and had been in the army for a long time. Not as good as the other party, so he remained polite enough to Solomatin: "According to the original plan, after our troops captured Kremenchug and established a landing site on the right bank, we should deploy at least four infantry divisions and one The strength of the tank brigade. But now that your mechanized army is temporarily under my command, I plan to adjust the deployment."
"How do you plan to adjust?" Solomatin asked with a normal expression.
Sokov looked at the map spread out on the table and saw that it was the map of the Kremenchug area. He casually pulled it in front of him and said to Solomatin: "I plan to land on the right bank of the Dnieper River. Divide it into two parts, the east and west. The west side will be defended by my three infantry divisions and a tank brigade, while the east side will be defended by your army."
"Comrade Commander, can I ask a question?" After Sokov finished speaking, the military chief of staff suddenly asked.
"Of course." Sokov said reasonably: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask."
"Judging from the terrain on the map, there are mostly forests, lakes, and swamps to the west of the landing site. Even if the German army were to launch an attack, it would be difficult to use a large number of armored forces." The chief of staff of the army pointed at the map with his hand and proposed his own Question: "As for the east side, the number of forests and lakes is much smaller, which can be said to be the most suitable for attack. If the German army wants to launch an attack on the landing site, the east side is the most vulnerable area. Can you help us deploy here? Direction, do you plan to let us fight the Germans to the death, and then your troops will come to take advantage of the situation?"
"Chief of Staff," the Army Chief of Staff had just finished speaking when Solomatin scolded him, "How can you talk to Comrade Commander like this? We are soldiers, and it is the duty of soldiers to obey. Since Comrade Commander wants Deploy us on the east side of the landing site, then deploy on the east side. After all, this is an order given to us by our superiors, and we can only obey it unconditionally."
Sokov could tell from the tone of Solomatin's words that although the other party was criticizing his chief of staff, he could also hear the serious dissatisfaction in his heart.
Sokov knew very well that if his explanation today could not satisfy the other party, in the next battle, they would probably delay the orders he issued, thus affecting his plan.
"General Solomatin," Sokov said with a smile: "Your chief of staff just raised the questions in his mind. He was not rude to me in his words and does not need to apologize to me." After finishing the scene. , he continued, "According to our combat plan, we will use the defense of the troops on the east side of the landing site to block the enemy's attack; while the troops on the west side will choose the right time to launch an active attack on the enemy."
Hearing what Sokov said, Solomatin immediately realized that he might have wrongly blamed the other party, and quickly said: "Comrade Commander, please tell us your plan, so that we can all be aware of it for future battles." We will fully cooperate with you." In the evening, a convoy consisting of a jeep and two trucks drove out of the city of Kremenchug. After driving for a certain distance, they arrived at a small town in the north of the city, where they were stationed. Leading the troops of the 1st Mechanized Corps.
When the convoy entered the town, it was stopped by a patrol. The second lieutenant leading the team came to the jeep, bent down and stood beside the car, and asked Samoylov, who was sitting in the passenger seat: "Comrade Lieutenant, which section are you from, and what are you doing here?"
"Comrade Second Lieutenant, we are from the headquarters of the 27th Army." Samoilov shook his head towards Sokov, who was sitting in the back. "The general sitting in the back row is our army commander Sokov. "
The second lieutenant was startled when he heard Samoilov reveal Sokov's identity. He quickly took a step back, straightened his back and raised his hand to salute the jeep: "Hello, comrade general. I'm sorry. We didn’t know it was you who came, and we didn’t receive any notification.”
Sokov was not a person who liked to put on airs. When he saw the second lieutenant's frightened look, he quickly opened the car door, leaned out, and said politely to the other party: "Comrade second lieutenant, can you tell me, your soldiers Where is General Solomatin?"
"In the church in the middle of the town, his headquarters is located there." The second lieutenant replied in a panic: "You only need to continue driving along the street. In a few minutes, you will see a black wall. The church, that’s where the military headquarters is.”
Following the second lieutenant's instructions, the convoy continued to move forward, and sure enough, they saw a church with black walls. There are sandbag fortifications piled outside the church and wooden fences with barbed wire. Soldiers with guns and ammunition are vigilantly monitoring the surrounding areas.
The appearance of the convoy immediately attracted the other party's attention. A lieutenant standing in the sandbag fortification quickly came forward with five or six soldiers for questioning. When it became clear that Sokov was sitting in the car, his reaction was the same as that of the second lieutenant just now, and he apologized to Sokov repeatedly.
Sokov naturally did not care about these trivial matters, but smiled and said to the lieutenant: "Comrade lieutenant, where is your commander?"
"It's in the church, Comrade General." The lieutenant said respectfully, "I'll take you in."
Sokov asked Samoilov to wait for him outside, and then followed the lieutenant into the church alone.
As soon as he entered the church, the lieutenant quickened his pace, ran through the hall, and ran to the other side to report to Solomatin, who was studying the battle there.
Seeing a lieutenant general and a dozen school-level officers walking towards him, Sokov immediately guessed that the leader should be Solomatin, so he waved to them: "Hello, comrades commanders. "
"Hello, Comrade Commander." Solomatin came over, raised his hand to salute Sokov, and then took the initiative to extend his hand: "I am Lieutenant General Solomatin, commander of the 1st Mechanized Army. I am glad to see you here. .”
After the two shook hands, Solomatin introduced his chief of staff, military commissar, and several brigade commanders present to Sokov one by one.
After everyone returned to the table in the corner and sat down, Solomatin asked Sokov impatiently: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, what is the mission of our mechanized army?"
"General Solomatin," although Solomatin shouted one commander at a time, Sokov did not get carried away. After all, he was younger than the other man, had a lower rank, and had been in the army for a long time. Not as good as the other party, so he remained polite enough to Solomatin: "According to the original plan, after our troops captured Kremenchug and established a landing site on the right bank, we should deploy at least four infantry divisions and one The strength of the tank brigade. But now that your mechanized army is temporarily under my command, I plan to adjust the deployment."
"How do you plan to adjust?" Solomatin asked with a normal expression.
Sokov looked at the map spread out on the table and saw that it was the map of the Kremenchug area. He casually pulled it in front of him and said to Solomatin: "I plan to land on the right bank of the Dnieper River. Divide it into two parts, the east and west. The west side will be defended by my three infantry divisions and a tank brigade, while the east side will be defended by your army."
"Comrade Commander, can I ask a question?" After Sokov finished speaking, the military chief of staff suddenly asked.
"Of course." Sokov said reasonably: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask."
"Judging from the terrain on the map, there are mostly forests, lakes, and swamps to the west of the landing site. Even if the German army were to launch an attack, it would be difficult to use a large number of armored forces." The chief of staff of the army pointed at the map with his hand and proposed his own Question: "As for the east side, the number of forests and lakes is much smaller, which can be said to be the most suitable for attack. If the German army wants to launch an attack on the landing site, the east side is the most vulnerable area. Can you help us deploy here? Direction, do you plan to let us fight the Germans to the death, and then your troops will come to take advantage of the situation?"
"Chief of Staff," the Army Chief of Staff had just finished speaking when Solomatin scolded him, "How can you talk to Comrade Commander like this? We are soldiers, and it is the duty of soldiers to obey. Since Comrade Commander wants Deploy us on the east side of the landing site, then deploy on the east side. After all, this is an order given to us by our superiors, and we can only obey it unconditionally."
Sokov could tell from the tone of Solomatin's words that although the other party was criticizing his chief of staff, he could also hear the serious dissatisfaction in his heart.
Sokov knew very well that if his explanation today could not satisfy the other party, in the next battle, they would probably delay the orders he issued, thus affecting his plan.
"General Solomatin," Sokov said with a smile: "Your chief of staff just raised the questions in his heart. He was not rude to me in his words. There is no need to apologize to me." After finishing the scene. , he continued, "According to our combat plan, we will use the defense of the troops on the east side of the landing site to block the enemy's attack; while the troops on the west side will choose the right time to launch an active attack on the enemy."
Hearing what Sokov said, Solomatin immediately realized that he might have wrongly blamed the other party, and quickly said: "Comrade Commander, please tell us your plan, so that we can all be aware of it for future battles." We will fully cooperate with you."
