Since Selivanov's 5th Guards Cavalry Corps was only temporarily placed under the command of Sokov and did not really belong to the 53rd Army, Stemermann committed suicide without reporting it to Smir, who remained at the headquarters. Nov reports. After Sokov answered the command, he was eager to contact Konev and did not have time to inform Smirnov of the matter.
Smirnov only belatedly found out about Stemmermann's death when Sokov mentioned it on the phone. After he waited for Sokov to end the call with Konev, he asked Sokov with a shocked look on his face: "Comrade Commander, is this all true?"
Naturally, Sokov did not understand what Smirnov said. He asked casually: "What?" But then he understood what the other party was asking: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you want to ask Shi Did Temerman commit suicide by drinking a bullet?"
"Yes, yes." Smirnov nodded vigorously and said, "Did he really commit suicide?"
"Yes, he committed suicide." Sokov gave the other party a positive answer: "I asked Koshkin to stay there to deal with the aftermath, and prepare to return his body to the Germans at the appropriate time." Worried that Smirnov would not understand the purpose of doing this, he also specifically explained, "Although General Stermerman is our enemy, he is also a real soldier and an opponent worthy of our respect. .”
"You are right, Comrade Commander." Unexpectedly, Smirnov not only understood Sokov, but also offered: "Lieutenant Koshkin's rank is too low. Out of respect for this real soldier, I I think this matter should be left to Comrade Military Commissar. Don’t you think so?” His last sentence was directed at Gorokhov, who was sitting beside him.
Gorokhov, who had long been a transparent person in the headquarters, felt that he was doing his part in this matter, so he stood up and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the Chief of Staff is right, Lieutenant Koshkin's rank is too low. , it seems inappropriate for him to handle this matter, so let me take charge."
Since Gorokhov took the initiative to ask for military service, Sokov naturally wanted it. He nodded quickly and said, "Okay, Comrade Military Commissar, I will leave this matter to you."
After Gorokhov left, Smirnov said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, whether Stemerman committed suicide or was killed by our army, he was a great person to us. Victory. You must know that German command organizations above the corps level are usually set up far away from the front line, so among the German officers killed by us, there were very few even school-level officers, let alone generals."
When he said this, Smirnov showed a painful expression on his face. He thought that in the early days of the war, the Soviet army, which was not well prepared for the war, was defeated by the German army. Not only ordinary soldiers and grassroots officers were killed or injured. It was so heavy that even general-level commanders suffered heavy losses.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you?" Sokov saw that Smirnov's expression was unnatural, and thought that he suddenly felt uncomfortable, so he asked tentatively: "I see that your face is not looking good, is it?" Feeling uncomfortable? Otherwise, I'll ask a military doctor to check you out."
"No, no, Comrade Commander." Smirnov hurriedly waved his hands and said, "I just thought of my fallen comrades. It would be great if they could live to see our victory."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, those commanders and soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend the motherland, no matter they are soldiers, officers, or even generals, our motherland and people will never forget them." Sokov said seriously: "Even after dozens of Years or even hundreds of years, our descendants will still remember their achievements."
"Really?" Smirnov asked dubiously about Sokov's statement: "Can our descendants really remember those of us who shed our blood on the battlefield to defend the motherland?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov, who comes from later generations, clearly remembers the Victory Day every year. When the veterans with medals appear in Victory Square, countless unknown people will always give them flowers, and he will I have presented flowers to several veterans in this way. Because of Smirnov's doubts, he replied in an affirmative tone: "I guarantee you that our descendants will always remember those who died defending the motherland."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov wiped away the tears on his cheeks with his fingers and changed the subject in time: "According to the intelligence I obtained, many troops under the front army launched an attack on the German army today. You said Say, can we annihilate all the besieged enemies?"
"I'm afraid this will be difficult, my comrade chief of staff." Sokov knew about the historical Battle of Cherkasy. Although the Soviet army used more than one million troops from two fronts to besiege more than 60,000 German troops, In the end, more than 40,000 German troops escaped. Although the number of German troops annihilated will increase due to his appearance, it is still impossible to annihilate them all: "I believe that a considerable number of German officers and soldiers will be able to escape our encirclement."
"This is impossible, Comrade Commander." Smirnov raised his own doubts about Sokov's statement: "You know, we have dispatched more than one million troops, and the Germans are just a mere There are more than 60,000 people. It means that one hundred of us can defeat six of them. Isn’t it possible that we can’t defeat them?”
"Yes, we do have an advantage in terms of military strength." Sokov had no doubt that the Soviet military strength was superior, but he still insisted on his point of view: "But the combat effectiveness of the participating troops is probably It is not as powerful as we imagined. In defensive operations, the casualty ratio between us and the enemy was three to one; in offensive operations, this casualty ratio became seven to one. Our all-out attack could only cause huge damage to the German army. There are casualties, but if we want to annihilate them all, I think it is basically an impossible task.”
"Comrade Commander, you seem to have forgotten that in addition to the troops participating in the offensive, we have also set up five lines of defense on the way for the Germans to break through. No matter how powerful the Germans are in combat, it will definitely take a lot of money to break through these lines of defense. A lot of time, and our attack troops can take the opportunity to arrive and attack the Germans from front to back with the troops holding the defense line."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, when we as commanders analyze the battle situation, we not only have to consider the strength and equipment, but also the will to fight." Seeing that Smirnov was getting into trouble, Sokov quickly reminded him: "We also have to consider It depends on the environment, climate and other factors that may have adverse effects on our operations."
"Oh, Comrade Commander, do you mean that environmental and climatic factors will also affect our final victory?" Smirnov asked, "Am I understanding correctly?"
Since Selivanov's 5th Guards Cavalry Corps was only temporarily placed under the command of Sokov and did not really belong to the 53rd Army, Stemermann committed suicide without reporting it to Smir, who remained at the headquarters. Nov reports. After Sokov answered the command, he was eager to contact Konev and did not have time to inform Smirnov of the matter.
Smirnov only belatedly found out about Stemmermann's death when Sokov mentioned it on the phone. After he waited for Sokov to end the call with Konev, he asked Sokov with a shocked look on his face: "Comrade Commander, is this all true?"
Naturally, Sokov did not understand what Smirnov said. He asked casually: "What?" But then he understood what the other party was asking: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you want to ask Shi Did Temerman commit suicide by drinking a bullet?"
"Yes, yes." Smirnov nodded vigorously and said, "Did he really commit suicide?"
"Yes, he committed suicide." Sokov gave the other party a positive answer: "I asked Koshkin to stay there to deal with the aftermath, and prepare to return his body to the Germans at the appropriate time." Worried that Smirnov would not understand the purpose of doing this, he also specifically explained, "Although General Stermerman is our enemy, he is also a real soldier and an opponent worthy of our respect. .”
"You are right, Comrade Commander." Unexpectedly, Smirnov not only understood Sokov, but also offered: "Lieutenant Koshkin's rank is too low. Out of respect for this real soldier, I I think this matter should be left to Comrade Military Commissar. Don’t you think so?” His last sentence was directed at Gorokhov, who was sitting beside him.
Gorokhov, who had long been a transparent person in the headquarters, felt that he was doing his part in this matter, so he stood up and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the Chief of Staff is right, Lieutenant Koshkin's rank is too low. , it seems inappropriate for him to handle this matter, so let me take charge."
Since Gorokhov took the initiative to ask for military service, Sokov naturally wanted it. He nodded quickly and said, "Okay, Comrade Military Commissar, I will leave this matter to you."
After Gorokhov left, Smirnov said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, whether Stemerman committed suicide or was killed by our army, he was a great person to us. Victory. You must know that German command organizations above the corps level are usually set up far away from the front line, so among the German officers killed by us, there were very few even school-level officers, let alone generals."
When he said this, Smirnov showed a painful expression on his face. He thought that in the early days of the war, the Soviet army, which was not well prepared for the war, was defeated by the German army. Not only ordinary soldiers and grassroots officers were killed or injured. It was so heavy that even general-level commanders suffered heavy losses.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you?" Sokov saw that Smirnov's expression was unnatural, and thought that he suddenly felt uncomfortable, so he asked tentatively: "I see that your face is not looking good, is it?" Feeling uncomfortable? Otherwise, I'll ask a military doctor to check you out."
"No, no, Comrade Commander." Smirnov hurriedly waved his hands and said, "I just thought of my fallen comrades. It would be great if they could live to see our victory."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, those commanders and soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend the motherland, no matter they are soldiers, officers, or even generals, our motherland and people will never forget them." Sokov said seriously: "Even after dozens of Years or even hundreds of years, our descendants will still remember their achievements."
"Really?" Smirnov asked dubiously about Sokov's statement: "Can our descendants really remember those of us who shed our blood on the battlefield to defend the motherland?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov, who comes from later generations, clearly remembers the Victory Day every year. When the veterans with medals appear in Victory Square, countless unknown people will always give them flowers, and he will I have presented flowers to several veterans in this way. Because of Smirnov's doubts, he replied in an affirmative tone: "I guarantee you that our descendants will always remember those who died defending the motherland."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov wiped away the tears on his cheeks with his fingers and changed the subject in time: "According to the intelligence I obtained, many troops under the front army launched an attack on the German army today. You said Say, can we annihilate all the besieged enemies?"
"I'm afraid this will be difficult, my comrade chief of staff." Sokov knew about the historical Battle of Cherkasy. Although the Soviet army used more than one million troops from two fronts to besiege more than 60,000 German troops, In the end, more than 40,000 German troops escaped. Although the number of German troops annihilated will increase due to his appearance, it is still impossible to annihilate them all: "I believe that a considerable number of German officers and soldiers will be able to escape our encirclement."
"This is impossible, Comrade Commander." Smirnov raised his own doubts about Sokov's statement: "You know, we have dispatched more than one million troops, and the Germans are just a mere There are more than 60,000 people. It means that one hundred of us can defeat six of them. Isn’t it possible that we can’t defeat them?”
"Yes, we do have an advantage in terms of military strength." Sokov had no doubt that the Soviet military strength was superior, but he still insisted on his point of view: "But the combat effectiveness of the participating troops is probably It is not as powerful as we imagined. In defensive operations, the casualty ratio between us and the enemy was three to one; in offensive operations, this casualty ratio became seven to one. Our all-out attack could only cause huge damage to the German army. There are casualties, but if we want to annihilate them all, I think it is basically an impossible task.”
"Comrade Commander, you seem to have forgotten that in addition to the troops participating in the offensive, we have also set up five lines of defense on the way for the Germans to break through. No matter how powerful the Germans are in combat, it will definitely take a lot of money to break through these lines of defense. A lot of time, and our attack troops can take the opportunity to arrive and attack the Germans from front to back with the troops holding the defense line."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, when we as commanders analyze the battle situation, we not only have to consider the strength and equipment, but also the will to fight." Seeing that Smirnov was getting into trouble, Sokov quickly reminded him: "We also have to consider It depends on the environment, climate and other factors that may have adverse effects on our operations."
"Oh, Comrade Commander, do you mean that environmental and climatic factors will also affect our final victory?" Smirnov asked, "Am I understanding correctly?"
