Time soon came to the next day, and there were still three hours before the bombardment before the attack. Shtemenko, who woke up early, said to Sokov, who had not slept all night, "Comrade Sokov, I want to go there in person." Let’s go and have a look.”
"No, no, no." Shtemenko's suggestion scared Sokov into a cold sweat. If he really let the other party go to the front to observe the battle, if something went wrong, there would be three advantages and two disadvantages. He couldn't afford that. Responsibility: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, the frontier is too dangerous. I have no right to let you take risks."
"Yes, General Shtemenko." After Sokov finished speaking, Smirnov also echoed: "You are the representative sent by the base camp to our army group. How can we let you take risks easily? What if? If something went wrong, it would be a trivial matter for me to be implicated, and it might even affect the future of Comrade Commander."
If Smirnov persuades him directly, Shtemenko may still be stubborn. But since the other party brought Sokov out to talk about the matter, he couldn't say anything else. After all, as the deputy chief of staff, he knew many inside stories that frontline commanders did not know. He did not want a promising commander like Sokov to ruin his future because of his recklessness.
"Okay, I don't have to go to the front line." Shtemenko said: "But after the offensive battle starts, I want to directly observe the progress of the battle in a safer place close to the front line. I don't want to stay at the headquarters. Here, we can understand the progress of the battle through telegrams or telephone records."
Sokov saw that although Shtemenko had expressed a compromise, he still did not give up the idea of going to the front to observe the progress of the battle. He thought for a while and then said to Shtemenko: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I think you can go to the division headquarters of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, which is no more than three kilometers away from the front. You can do it at the observation post Clearly see the progress of our army."
"Yes, yes, Comrade Commander is right." Upon hearing this, Smirnov said that if he really chooses the observation location at the headquarters of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, he will not only be able to see the combat situation at the front, but also Ensuring Shtemenko's safety can be said to be a good thing that kills two birds with one stone. "I think General Shtemenko is at the 3rd Airborne Division to observe the battle situation."
Smirnov raised his hand to check the time and said: "The artillery preparations before the attack will start in two hours. I think you should rest for a while. After the artillery preparations start, it will be too late to rush over."
"That's right." Sokov felt that what Smirnov said was very reasonable. This place is only a few kilometers away from the headquarters of the 3rd Airborne Division. It wouldn't take much time to walk there, so he agreed: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff , you rest for a while, I will accompany you there later."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov was a little anxious when he heard that Sokov was also going to the front: "Do you also want to go to the front to observe the battle situation?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said to Smirnov: "If this was just the forward headquarters, I might stay here to command. But the headquarters was moved here last night, and I am not at the headquarters. When the time comes, you can completely take over my command."
"But the injury on your leg hasn't healed yet."
"It doesn't matter." Sokov waved his hand and said confidently: "I can go there by car. The injury on my leg won't bother me at all." In order to dispel Smirnov's concerns, he added, "Don't worry, Chief of Staff. Comrade, I will keep in touch with you at any time."
Now that Sokov has made a promise, Smirnov knew that no matter what he said, he could not change Sokov's decision. He could only nodded and said helplessly: "Okay, Comrade Commander, everything depends on You. But you also have to promise me that you must pay attention to safety and nothing will happen."
"You can rest assured about this," Sokov looked sideways at Shtemenko and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't forget, the Deputy Chief of Staff is with me, as long as we make sure As for his safety, there is no issue with my safety.”
Sokov's words caused a burst of laughter, and the tense atmosphere in the room suddenly disappeared without a trace.
While several people were talking, the phone on the table rang. Smirnov grabbed the microphone, put it to his ear and said, "I am Smirnov, where are you from?"
Sokov thought it was from one of his subordinates, so he didn't pay attention and spoke to Shtemenko in a low voice. But inadvertently, he noticed that Smirnov's expression changed drastically, and he guessed what might have happened. He quickly stopped the conversation and asked with some urgency: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened?"
"Comrade Commander." Smirnov put the microphone back on the phone base and reported to Sokov: "The call was from General Zakharov. He said that the attack plan would be adjusted and the artillery preparation time would be advanced. It takes an hour.”
"Prepare artillery fire one hour in advance?" The notice from the front army headquarters surprised Sokov. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened? Why do we need to prepare artillery fire in advance?"
Time soon came to the next day, and there were still three hours before the bombardment before the attack. Shtemenko, who woke up early, said to Sokov, who had not slept all night, "Comrade Sokov, I want to go there in person." Let’s go and have a look.”
"No, no, no." Shtemenko's suggestion scared Sokov into a cold sweat. If he really let the other party go to the front to observe the battle, if something went wrong, there would be three long and two shortcomings, and he couldn't afford that. Responsibility: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, the frontier is too dangerous. I have no right to let you take risks."
"Yes, General Shtemenko." After Sokov finished speaking, Smirnov also echoed: "You are the representative sent by the base camp to our army group. How can we let you take risks easily? What if? If something went wrong, it would be a trivial matter for me to be implicated, and it might even affect the future of Comrade Commander."
If Smirnov persuades him directly, Shtemenko may still be stubborn. But since the other party brought Sokov out to talk about the matter, he couldn't say anything else. After all, as the deputy chief of staff, he knew many inside stories that frontline commanders did not know. He did not want a promising commander like Sokov to ruin his future because of his recklessness.
"Okay, I don't have to go to the front line." Shtemenko said: "But after the offensive battle starts, I want to directly observe the progress of the battle in a safer place close to the front line. I don't want to stay at the headquarters. Here, we can understand the progress of the battle through telegrams or telephone records."
Sokov saw that although Shtemenko had expressed a compromise, he still did not give up the idea of going to the front to observe the progress of the battle. He thought for a while and then said to Shtemenko: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I think you can go to the division headquarters of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, which is no more than three kilometers away from the front. You can do it at the observation post Clearly see the progress of our army.”
"Yes, yes, Comrade Commander is right." Upon hearing this, Smirnov realized that if he really chose the observation location at the headquarters of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, he would not only be able to see the combat situation at the front, but also Ensuring Shtemenko's safety can be said to be a good thing that kills two birds with one stone. "I think General Shtemenko is at the 3rd Airborne Division to observe the battle situation."
Smirnov raised his hand to check the time and said: "The artillery preparations before the attack will start in two hours. I think you should rest for a while. After the artillery preparations start, it will be too late to rush over."
"That's right." Sokov felt that what Smirnov said was very reasonable. This place is only a few kilometers away from the headquarters of the 3rd Airborne Division. It wouldn't take much time to walk there, so he agreed: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff , you rest for a while, I will accompany you there later."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov was a little anxious when he heard that Sokov was also going to the front: "Do you also want to go to the front to observe the battle situation?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said to Smirnov: "If this was just the forward headquarters, I might stay here to command. But the headquarters was moved here last night, and I am not at the headquarters. When the time comes, you can take command on my behalf."
"But the injury on your leg hasn't healed yet."
"It doesn't matter." Sokov waved his hand and said confidently: "I can go there by car. The injury on my leg won't bother me at all." In order to dispel Smirnov's concerns, he added, "Don't worry, Chief of Staff. Comrade, I will keep in touch with you at any time."
Now that Sokov has made a promise, Smirnov knew that no matter what he said, he could not change Sokov's decision. He could only nodded and said helplessly: "Okay, Comrade Commander, everything depends on You. But you also have to promise me that you must pay attention to safety and nothing will happen."
"You can rest assured about this," Sokov looked sideways at Shtemenko and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't forget, the Deputy Chief of Staff is with me, as long as we make sure As for his safety, there is no issue with my safety.”
Sokov's words caused a burst of laughter, and the tense atmosphere in the room suddenly disappeared without a trace.
While several people were talking, the phone on the table rang. Smirnov grabbed the microphone, put it to his ear and said, "I am Smirnov, where are you from?"
Sokov thought it was from one of his subordinates, so he didn't pay attention and spoke to Shtemenko in a low voice. But inadvertently, he noticed that Smirnov's expression changed drastically, and he guessed what might have happened. He quickly stopped the conversation and asked with some urgency: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened?"
"Comrade Commander." Smirnov put the microphone back on the phone base and reported to Sokov: "The call was from General Zakharov. He said that the attack plan would be adjusted and the artillery preparation time would be advanced. It takes an hour.”
"Prepare artillery fire one hour in advance?" The notice from the front army headquarters surprised Sokov. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened? Why do we need to prepare artillery fire in advance?"
Time soon came to the next day, and there were still three hours before the bombardment before the attack. Shtemenko, who woke up early, said to Sokov, who had not slept all night, "Comrade Sokov, I want to go there in person." Let’s go and have a look.”
"No, no, no." Shtemenko's suggestion scared Sokov into a cold sweat. If he really let the other party go to the front to observe the battle, if something went wrong, there would be three long and two shortcomings, and he couldn't afford that. Responsibility: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, the frontier is too dangerous. I have no right to let you take risks."
"Yes, General Shtemenko." After Sokov finished speaking, Smirnov also echoed: "You are the representative sent by the base camp to our army group. How can we let you take risks easily? What if? If something went wrong, it would be a trivial matter for me to be implicated, and it might even affect the future of Comrade Commander."
If Smirnov persuades him directly, Shtemenko may still be stubborn. But since the other party brought Sokov out to talk about the matter, he couldn't say anything else. After all, as the deputy chief of staff, he knew many inside stories that frontline commanders did not know. He did not want a promising commander like Sokov to ruin his future because of his recklessness.
"Okay, I don't have to go to the front line." Shtemenko said: "But after the offensive battle starts, I want to directly observe the progress of the battle in a safer place close to the front line. I don't want to stay at the headquarters. Here, we can understand the progress of the battle through telegrams or telephone records."
Sokov saw that although Shtemenko had expressed a compromise, he still did not give up the idea of going to the front to observe the progress of the battle. He thought for a while and then said to Shtemenko: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I think you can go to the division headquarters of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, which is no more than three kilometers away from the front. You can do it at the observation post Clearly see the progress of our army.”
"Yes, yes, Comrade Commander is right." Upon hearing this, Smirnov said that if he really chose the observation location at the headquarters of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division, he would not only be able to see the combat situation at the front, but also Ensuring Shtemenko's safety can be said to be a good thing that kills two birds with one stone. "I think General Shtemenko is going to observe the battle situation with the 3rd Airborne Division."
Smirnov raised his hand to check the time and said: "The artillery preparations before the attack will start in two hours. I think you should rest for a while. After the artillery preparations start, it will be too late to rush over."
"That's right." Sokov felt that what Smirnov said was very reasonable. This place is only a few kilometers away from the headquarters of the 3rd Airborne Division. It wouldn't take much time to walk there, so he agreed: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff , you rest for a while, I will accompany you there later."
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov became a little anxious when he heard that Sokov was also going to the front: "Do you also want to go to the front to observe the battle situation?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said to Smirnov: "If this was just the forward headquarters, I might stay here to command. But the headquarters was moved here last night, and I am not at the headquarters. When the time comes, you can take command on my behalf."
"It doesn't matter." Sokov waved his hand and said confidently: "I can go there by car. The injury on my leg won't bother me at all." In order to dispel Smirnov's concerns, he added, "Don't worry, Chief of Staff. Comrade, I will keep in touch with you at any time."
