After Fomenko issued the order to his chief of staff, he felt that it was useless to just strengthen his own precautions. If the Germans passed through unknown hidden areas, it would also threaten the safety of the bridge.
Thinking of this, Fomenko picked up the phone on the table and said into the receiver: "I am Fomenko. Call me immediately from the headquarters of the 254th Division and ask for their division commander, Colonel Shechtman."
Manoxin on the side couldn't help but ask: "Comrade division commander, why are you calling the 254th Division?"
Fomenko, who was holding the microphone, looked at Manokhin and said: "According to my understanding of Comrade Commander, the 254th Division must have received the same order at this moment. I think Colonel Shechtman is also facing the problem of not knowing what to do at this moment. Recognizing the confusion of disguised enemies.”
"Comrade division commander," after understanding Fomenko's intentions, Manokhin cautiously reminded him: "Your orders are being carried out within the jurisdiction of our division. If there is any problem, there is still a way to solve it. But if you introduce this method For friendly forces, if something goes wrong and a friendly fire incident occurs, the superiors may be held accountable."
"Comrade Political Commissar, you are right." Regarding Manokhin's kindness, Fomenko nodded and said, "But under the current circumstances, we can only take risks. Even if there is an unfortunate incident of friendly fire, we will always be safe." It’s much better than letting the enemy pass through our defense zone and blow up the bridge.”
Manoxin was silent for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "Comrade division commander, you are right. In order to prevent German infiltration, we can only do this."
Shechtman's voice came from the receiver: "I am Shechtman, where are you?"
"Hello, Comrade Colonel." Fomenko said into the microphone: "I am Fomenko."
"It turns out to be General Fomenko." Shechtman asked with a smile: "I wonder what happened to you calling me so late?"
"Has the headquarters called you to ask you to be more vigilant to prevent German troops from passing through your defense zone along the banks of the Dnieper River?"
"Yes, not long ago, I received a call from General Sameko, the chief of staff of the group army, asking us to strengthen patrols and absolutely not allow the enemy's sabotage squad to pass through the defense zone." After Shechtman briefly introduced the situation, He said with some annoyance: "But according to the report, the enemies are wearing the uniforms of our army. How to identify them is a headache for me."
Fomenko did not immediately reveal his solution, but asked: "So, you haven't come up with a good solution yet?"
"Hey, I can't think of any good way." Shechtman said with a sigh: "If our patrol really encounters the enemy, when they conduct an investigation, the Germans may take action in advance, thus causing us Huge casualties.”
Since Shechtman had said that he had no way to identify the camouflaged German troops, Fomenko felt that the time was ripe, so he openly stated his method: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, I have a method that can be used in the shortest time. Within a short period of time, disguised enemies can be identified.”
"any solution?"
"According to our intelligence, the Germans are in a group of 20 people, each carrying a big box in their hands." Fomenko said to Shechtman on the phone: "Comrade Colonel, you can tell your subordinates , whenever such troops appear, they will immediately shoot without hesitation."
"Comrade General," Shechtman seemed hesitant about the method proposed by Fomenko. Like Fomenko's chief of staff, he was worried that shooting rashly would accidentally injure one of his own people: "Such a hasty shooting. , you won’t accidentally hurt one of our own, right?”
"No, Comrade Colonel." Fomenko replied: "You should know that our patrol teams are usually 12 people in a team, never 20 people in a team. And patrolling in the middle of the night, what are you doing with a box in your hand? ? What else can be in the box besides the explosives used by the enemy to blow up the bridge?"
Fomenko's explanation made Shechtman nod his head repeatedly and said: "Comrade General, your method is good. I will immediately notify the patrol team below. As soon as the number of people reaches 20, each person is carrying a big box." team, and immediately opened fire without hesitation.”
Shechtman readily agreed to use Fomenko's method to deal with the German sabotage squad disguised as the Soviet army. However, before he could call the patrol team below, he was stopped by the political commissar Colonel Billing: "Comrade division commander, What General Fomenko said is indeed very reasonable, but we cannot act rashly. I think we should report it to the Army Headquarters first so that the commander can be aware of it. Even if there is an accidental injury, we can have an explanation to our superiors. .”
Even though Shechtman was willing to adopt Fomenko's method, he still had concerns in his heart. When he heard Billing's suggestion, he nodded and said: "Comrade Political Commissar, what you said makes sense. , we need to report this matter to the command immediately to see what the commander means."
Just like that, Schechtman's call came to the headquarters. As soon as he heard Samyko's voice, he reported the method proposed by Fomenko to the other party, and finally said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to ask, can we use this method?"
This matter was of great importance, and Samyko did not dare to make any independent claims. He could only turn around and report the situation to Sokov, and finally said: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Shechtman, please give me permission to use this method." Dealing with disguised enemies?"
Hearing Fomenko's method, Sokov couldn't help but his eyes lit up. It seems that there are still smart people in this era. They can even think of such a method. He slapped his hand on the table and then said: "Staff Comrade Commander, please tell Colonel Shechtman to follow General Fomenko’s method of identifying enemies disguised as our troops. Tell him that as soon as he finds a small unit that echoes these two characteristics, he will immediately and without hesitation Shoot, if any friendly fire incident occurs, I will bear all the consequences."
With Sokov's approval, Shechtman felt much more at ease. However, before he put down the phone, he thought of another situation and quickly asked Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I want to ask, what if, I am talking about a if. If the enemy is eliminated by our forces, we will After the soldiers have cleaned the battlefield and are preparing to move, they must take away the enemy's explosive boxes. If other troops arrive at this time, will there be a misunderstanding and a fight between themselves and their own people?"
"Comrade Colonel, what's wrong with you?" After listening to Shechtman's narration, Samek said with some laughter and tears: "After destroying the enemy, you can't wait to clean the battlefield? Can't you wait for daybreak and the visibility will be higher? When the time comes, will you send someone to clean it again?”
"Yes, yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said makes perfect sense." Hearing what Sameko said, Shechtman kept saying, "Then I will follow your instructions and wait until dawn before arranging manpower to clean the battlefield. , collecting explosives from German corpses.”
After ending the call, Sokov handed a cigarette to Samyko and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to the information I have received, the troops will be reorganized soon. The troops under the group army will increase the organizational structure of the army. What do you say? Say, if several corps structures are really added in the future, who among the current division commanders can assume the position of corps commander?"
Samyko took the cigarette and held it in his mouth, lit a match, lit it for Sokov first, and then lit the cigarette in his own mouth. After taking a puff, he said: "After increasing the organizational structure of the army within the group army, , if the superiors do not directly parachute a new army commander, I think the candidate for the army commander will probably be selected from General Fomenko and Colonel Chuvashov, because the divisions they command are all awarded the title of "Kharkov" city The high honor of naming.”
"I think General Fomenko has the greatest possibility." Sokov said: "If Chuvashov is promoted to commander, he must also be promoted to military rank. We cannot allow an infantry commander to remain a colonel. Military rank."
"Although the 84th Division has made considerable achievements in the early battles." Samyko said: "But I always feel that General Fomenko's command ability is a little weaker and it is difficult for him to take charge of himself. But after what happened tonight, My view on him has changed, maybe he is the best candidate for army commander."
After Fomenko issued the order to his chief of staff, he felt that it was useless to just strengthen his own precautions. If the Germans passed through unknown hidden areas, it would also threaten the safety of the bridge.
Thinking of this, Fomenko picked up the phone on the table and said into the receiver: "I am Fomenko. Call me immediately from the headquarters of the 254th Division and ask for their division commander, Colonel Shechtman."
Manoxin on the side couldn't help but ask: "Comrade division commander, why are you calling the 254th Division?"
Fomenko, who was holding the microphone, looked at Manokhin and said: "According to my understanding of Comrade Commander, the 254th Division must have received the same order at this moment. I think Colonel Shechtman is also facing the problem of not knowing what to do at this moment. Recognizing the confusion of disguised enemies.”
"Comrade division commander," after understanding Fomenko's intentions, Manokhin cautiously reminded him: "Your orders are being carried out within the jurisdiction of our division. If there is any problem, there is still a way to solve it. But if you introduce this method For friendly forces, if something goes wrong and a friendly fire incident occurs, the superiors may be held accountable."
"Comrade Political Commissar, you are right." Regarding Manokhin's kindness, Fomenko nodded and said, "But under the current circumstances, we can only take risks. Even if there is an unfortunate incident of friendly fire, we will always be safe." It’s much better than letting the enemy pass through our defense zone and blow up the bridge.”
Manoxin was silent for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "Comrade division commander, you are right. In order to prevent German infiltration, we can only do this."
Shechtman's voice came from the receiver: "I am Shechtman, where are you?"
"Hello, Comrade Colonel." Fomenko said into the microphone: "I am Fomenko."
"It turns out to be General Fomenko." Shechtman asked with a smile: "I wonder what happened to you calling me so late?"
"Has the headquarters called you to ask you to be more vigilant to prevent German troops from passing through your defense zone along the banks of the Dnieper River?"
"Yes, not long ago, I received a call from General Sameko, the chief of staff of the group army, asking us to strengthen patrols and absolutely not allow the enemy's sabotage squad to pass through the defense zone." After Shechtman briefly introduced the situation, He said with some annoyance: "But according to the report, the enemies are wearing the uniforms of our army. How to identify them is a headache for me."
Fomenko did not immediately reveal his solution, but asked: "So, you haven't come up with a good solution yet?"
"Hey, I can't think of any good way." Shechtman said with a sigh: "If our patrol really encounters the enemy, when they conduct an investigation, the Germans may take action in advance, thus causing us Huge casualties.”
Since Shechtman had said that he had no way to identify the camouflaged German troops, Fomenko felt that the time was ripe, so he openly stated his method: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, I have a method that can be used in the shortest time. Within a short period of time, disguised enemies can be identified.”
"any solution?"
"According to our intelligence, the Germans are in a group of 20 people, each carrying a big box in their hands." Fomenko said to Shechtman on the phone: "Comrade Colonel, you can tell your subordinates , whenever such troops appear, they will immediately shoot without hesitation."
"Comrade General," Shechtman seemed hesitant about the method proposed by Fomenko. Like Fomenko's chief of staff, he was worried that shooting rashly would accidentally injure one of his own people: "Such a hasty shooting. , you won’t accidentally hurt one of our own, right?”
"No, Comrade Colonel." Fomenko replied: "You should know that our patrol teams are usually 12 people in a team, never 20 people in a team. And patrolling in the middle of the night, what are you doing with a box in your hand? ? What else can be in the box besides the explosives used by the enemy to blow up the bridge?"
Fomenko's explanation made Shechtman nod his head repeatedly and said: "Comrade General, your method is good. I will immediately notify the patrol team below. As soon as the number of people reaches 20, each person is carrying a big box." team, and immediately opened fire without hesitation.”
Shechtman readily agreed to use Fomenko's method to deal with the German sabotage squad disguised as the Soviet army. However, before he could call the patrol team below, he was stopped by the political commissar Colonel Billing: "Comrade division commander, What General Fomenko said is indeed very reasonable, but we cannot act rashly. I think we should report it to the Army Headquarters first so that the commander can be aware of it. Even if there is an accidental injury, we can have an explanation to our superiors. .”
Even though Shechtman was willing to adopt Fomenko's method, he still had concerns in his heart. When he heard Billing's suggestion, he nodded and said: "Comrade Political Commissar, what you said makes sense. , we need to report this matter to the command immediately to see what the commander means."
Hearing Fomenko's method, Sokov couldn't help but his eyes lit up. It seems that there are still smart people in this era. They can even think of such a method. He slapped his hand on the table and then said: "Staff Comrade Commander, please tell Colonel Shechtman to follow General Fomenko’s method of identifying enemies disguised as our troops. Tell him that as soon as he finds a small unit that echoes these two characteristics, he will immediately and without hesitation Shoot, if any friendly fire incident occurs, I will bear all the consequences."
