When Smirnov returned to the headquarters, the first thing he did was to pick up the phone on the table and said into the receiver: "I am Smirnov, and I asked the director of the reconnaissance department to come to my place."
A few minutes later, the short reconnaissance director appeared in the headquarters. After Sokov waited for him to finish saluting, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade Director, is there any news about the scouts sent?"
"No, Comrade Commander." The head of the reconnaissance department shook his head and said, "We have not been able to contact them so far."
Sokov frowned: "Why is this happening? Did they have an accident?"
"I think not." The director of the reconnaissance department replied cautiously: "In order to find the location of the open-pit mine as soon as possible, I sent five reconnaissance teams. Even if one or two were intercepted by the Germans, there will always be small ones. The detachment arrived in the Uman area."
Seeing that he could not get any useful information from the Director of the Reconnaissance Division, Sokov waved his hand and said: "Okay, Comrade Director, you have nothing to do here. You can go back first. Once we have the latest information, If you have news, remember to report it to me in time."
After the director of the reconnaissance department left, Smirnov said to Sokov with a worried look: "Comrade Commander, judging from the current situation, the reconnaissance team we sent is somewhat unreliable. Otherwise, we should ask the reconnaissance team to Commander Nev contacted Comrade Khrushchev to see if he could get any useful information from him.”
"Okay," Sokov was unwilling to wait indefinitely, so he readily agreed to Smirnov's proposal: "I personally called the commander of the front army and asked him to contact Comrade Khrushchev to find out. The exact location of the open pit.”
Unexpectedly, after answering the call from the Front Army Headquarters, the person who answered the phone was Front Army Military Commissar Susaikov. When he heard that Sokov was looking for Konev, he said apologetically: "I'm sorry, General Sokov. The commander is not at the headquarters, and the chief of staff is taking an important call."
"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov asked politely, "Has the commander of the front army gone out to inspect the troops?"
Unexpectedly, Susaikov replied: "No. Comrade General did not go to inspect the troops. Instead, he went to the First Ukrainian Front. There was something going on there that he needed to deal with."
Hearing that something happened to the 1st Ukrainian Front Army, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart, secretly thinking that it couldn't be that thing that happened, right? He quickly covered the microphone with his hand and asked Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is today's number?"
"February 28th." Smirnov was curious when Sokov suddenly asked today's date: "Comrade Commander, why did you think of asking the time?"
"It's okay, I'll just ask." After confirming the date, a helpless smile appeared on Sokov's face. The day finally arrived. Vatugin took a light carriage to inspect the troops, but was ambushed and wounded on the way. It is certain that Konev is heading to the 1st Ukrainian Front to visit the injured. Another possibility is that the high command may let him take over the command.
Sokov released his hand covering the microphone and asked Susaikov tentatively: "Comrade Military Commissar, I would like to ask, do you know what happened to the First Ukrainian Front?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Susaikov hesitated for a moment, and then said in a low voice: "Comrade Sokov, to tell you the truth, the reason why Comrade General went to the headquarters of the First Front Army was because of Vatu General Jingda was injured not long ago."
"Injured?" Although Sokov knew the specific process of Vatutin's injury, he still pretended to be in disbelief and asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, can you tell me how he was injured?"
"Comrade Sokov, you are not an outsider. I can tell you what I know, but you must keep it secret. If the information is leaked, I am afraid it will cause instability in the morale of the military. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov was eager to know whether the development of the matter was consistent with the history he knew. After making the promise, he urged Susaikov: "Hurry up and tell me what happened. whats the matter."
Susaikov said: "According to reports from friendly forces, Vatutin led his headquarters to conduct a routine transfer, preparing to change a village as the headquarters. The situation at that time was a bit chaotic, and the convoy responsible for the security work was actually with Vatutin. The car that Jing was traveling in got separated. As a result, he was ambushed by the enemy on the way, and Vatugin was unfortunately shot and wounded."
"Then is his injury serious?"
"The specific situation is not clear yet." Susaikov said: "However, the headquarters asked Comrade General to rush to the headquarters of the friendly forces as soon as possible, probably because Vatutin can no longer command the troops."
Sokov felt much more at ease when he learned that Vatutin's injury was the same as what was recorded in the history books. As long as Vatutin is unable to continue commanding the troops due to injury, Zhukov, who has been idle, can be reactivated and sent to the First Ukrainian Front to take over Vatutin's duties.
After a brief silence, Sokov asked tentatively: "Comrade Military Commissar, do you know when the commander of the front army will be back?"
Susaikov turned his head and glanced at Zakharov, who was answering the phone not far away, and replied: "He is on the phone with Zakharov at the moment, and he will not return to the headquarters for the time being."
After talking for a few more words, Sokov put down the phone. Smirnov, who was on the side, heard a few words and couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Commander, what happened?"
Sokov glanced around the room and saw many staff officers and communications soldiers. If he talked to Smirnov and Smirnov here, he would definitely be overheard by people nearby, so he coughed lightly. With a loud voice, he said to the two of them: "Comrade Chief of Staff and Military Commissar, the room is too stuffy. Let's go out for a walk."
Smirnov was stunned for a moment when he heard what Sokov said. Then he understood what he meant. He nodded quickly and agreed: "Yes, it's too stuffy in this room. You should go out for a walk." After that, he Without any explanation, he pulled Gorokhov along and followed Sokov outside.
The three of them were walking on an almost deserted street, with five or six guards following them about ten meters behind. This distance has been carefully calculated by the guards so that they will not hear what the leaders are saying and can also protect the safety of the leaders at close range.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov knew that what he said was of great importance. Smirnov and Gorokhov would definitely be shocked when they heard it, so they vaccinated them first: " The news you will hear later is very shocking, and I hope you can stay calm enough after listening to it."
"Please tell me, Comrade Commander." Gorokhov understood that Sokov must have something very important to say when he called the two of them out, so he said calmly: "No matter what we hear, we will remain silent. Calm enough."
"General Vatutin encountered an enemy ambush during the transfer of his headquarters and was unfortunately wounded."
Although Sokov had greeted the two of them in advance, there was still a shocked expression on his face when he heard the news. After a while, Gorokhov cautiously asked: "Comrade Commander, is this news reliable?"
Sokov had already guessed that the two would ask this question, so he nodded and replied: "It's completely reliable. This news was told to me by General Susaikov, the military commissar of the Front Army."
"Is the injury serious?" Smirnov asked with concern.
"It's not clear." Sokov said vaguely: "But General Konev has arrived at the First Ukrainian Front at the moment. I don't know what he will do next."
When Smirnov returned to the headquarters, the first thing he did was to pick up the phone on the table and said into the receiver: "I am Smirnov, and I asked the director of the reconnaissance department to come to my place."
A few minutes later, the short reconnaissance director appeared in the headquarters. After Sokov waited for him to finish saluting, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade Director, is there any news about the scouts sent?"
"No, Comrade Commander." The head of the reconnaissance department shook his head and said, "We have not been able to contact them so far."
Sokov frowned: "Why is this happening? Did they have an accident?"
"I think not." The director of the reconnaissance department replied cautiously: "In order to find the location of the open-pit mine as soon as possible, I sent five reconnaissance teams. Even if one or two were intercepted by the Germans, there will always be small ones. The detachment arrived in the Uman area."
Seeing that he could not get any useful information from the Director of the Reconnaissance Division, Sokov waved his hand and said: "Okay, Comrade Director, you have nothing to do here. You can go back first. Once we have the latest information, If you have any news, remember to report it to me in time."
After the director of the reconnaissance department left, Smirnov said to Sokov with a worried look: "Comrade Commander, judging from the current situation, the reconnaissance team we sent is somewhat unreliable. Otherwise, we should ask the reconnaissance team to Commander Nev contacted Comrade Khrushchev to see if he could get any useful information from him.”
"Okay," Sokov was unwilling to wait indefinitely, so he readily agreed to Smirnov's proposal: "I personally called the commander of the front army and asked him to contact Comrade Khrushchev to find out. The exact location of the open pit.”
Unexpectedly, after answering the call from the Front Army Headquarters, the person who answered the phone was Front Army Military Commissar Susaikov. When he heard that Sokov was looking for Konev, he said apologetically: "I'm sorry, General Sokov. The commander is not at the headquarters, and the chief of staff is taking an important call."
"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov asked politely: "Has the commander of the front army gone out to inspect the troops?"
Unexpectedly, Susaikov replied: "No. Comrade General did not go to inspect the troops. Instead, he went to the First Ukrainian Front. Something happened there and he needed to go and deal with it."
Hearing that something happened to the 1st Ukrainian Front Army, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart, secretly thinking that it couldn't be that thing that happened, right? He quickly covered the phone with his hand and asked Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is today's number?"
"February 28th." Smirnov was curious when Sokov suddenly asked today's date: "Comrade Commander, why did you think of asking the time?"
"It's okay, I'll just ask." After confirming the date, Sokov showed a helpless smile on his face, and the day finally came. Vatugin took a light carriage to inspect the troops, but was ambushed on the way and was wounded. It is certain that Konev is heading to the 1st Ukrainian Front to visit the injured. Another possibility is that the high command may let him take over the command.
Sokov released his hand covering the microphone and asked Susaikov tentatively: "Comrade Military Commissar, I would like to ask, do you know what happened to the First Ukrainian Front?"
After hearing Sokov's question, Susaikov hesitated for a moment, and then said in a low voice: "Comrade Sokov, to tell you the truth, the reason why Comrade General went to the headquarters of the First Front Army was because of Vatu General Jingda was injured not long ago.”
"Injured?" Although Sokov knew the specific process of Vatutin's injury, he still pretended to be in disbelief and asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, can you tell me how he was injured?"
"Comrade Sokov, you are not an outsider. I can tell you what I know, but you must keep it secret. If the information is leaked, I am afraid it will cause instability in the morale of the military. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov was eager to know whether the development of the matter was consistent with the history he knew. After making the promise, he urged Susaikov: "Hurry up and tell me what happened. whats the matter."
Susaikov said: "According to reports from friendly forces, Vatutin led his headquarters to conduct a routine transfer, preparing to change a village to serve as the headquarters. The situation at that time was a bit chaotic. The convoy responsible for the security work was actually with Vatutin. The car that Jing was traveling in got separated. As a result, he was ambushed by the enemy on the way, and Vatugin was unfortunately shot and wounded."
"Then is his injury serious?"
"The specific situation is not clear yet." Susaikov said: "However, the headquarters asked the general general to rush to the friendly forces' headquarters as soon as possible, probably because Vatutin can no longer command the troops."
Sokov felt much more at ease when he learned that Vatutin's injury was the same as what was recorded in the history books. As long as Vatutin is unable to continue commanding the troops due to injury, Zhukov, who has been idle, can be reactivated and sent to the First Ukrainian Front to replace Vatutin.
Susaikov turned his head and glanced at Zakharov, who was answering the phone not far away, and replied: "He is on the phone with Zakharov at the moment, and he will not return to the headquarters for the time being."
After talking for a few more words, Sokov put down the phone. Smirnov, who was on the side, heard a few words and couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Commander, what happened?"
Sokov glanced around the room and saw many staff officers and communications soldiers. If he talked to Smirnov and two people here, he would definitely be overheard by people nearby, so he coughed lightly. With a loud voice, he said to the two of them: "Comrade Chief of Staff and Military Commissar, the room is too stuffy. Let's go out for a walk."
When Smirnov heard what Sokov said, he was stunned for a moment, then understood what he meant, nodded quickly and agreed: "Yes, it's too stuffy in this room, you should go out for a walk." After that, he Without any explanation, he pulled Gorokhov along and followed Sokov outside.
