After confirming his appointment as the Chief of Staff of the 47th Group Army, Sidorin's heart beat faster than expected. He never dreamed that he would be suddenly transferred to the 1st Belarusian Front because his superiors wanted him to take this position. . According to his original idea, after following Sokov to the new unit, he might continue to be the chief of staff of his division. Unexpectedly, he was promoted three levels in a row and directly became the chief of staff of the group army.
However, while he was happy, he did not forget to recommend his Kirillov. He came to Kirillov, raised his hand to his forehead, and said gratefully: "Comrade Colonel, thank you!"
"Colonel Sidorin," Kirillov pulled Sidorin's hand from his forehead, shook it a few times, and said with a smile, "I have heard General Ponedelin mention you many times. I know You are a very good chief of staff. So after rejecting the appointment from your superiors today, I recommended you to General Rokossovsky. To be honest, at the time, I just had the mentality of giving it a try, but I didn’t expect that he would actually agree. We even sent a plane to pick you up."
"Sidolin," Sokov said: "From now on, you are my chief of staff, and General Ponedelin is the deputy commander. I hope that you can work together to build more in future battles. meritorious deeds.”
Sidorin couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he heard what Sokov said. Then he turned his gaze to Kirillov and asked with some surprise: "Comrade Commander, what about Colonel Kirillov? What position does he hold?"
"He has no specific position for the time being." Sokov said to Sidorin: "Until the new appointment is made, he will stay at the army headquarters. If you have anything you don't understand, you can ask him for advice."
"It's impossible to ask for advice." After hearing what Sokov said, Kirillov quickly said humbly: "If there is any problem that cannot be solved, we can discuss it together and find a solution."
At this time, an officer came in from the outside. Sokov saw that it was Rokossovsky's adjutant. He quickly came forward and asked politely: "Comrade adjutant, what's the matter? Is it Comrade General looking for you?" us?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander wants to see you, please come with me."
Seeing Sokov walking outside with the adjutant, Ponedelin and others instinctively followed him. However, when the adjutant found out, he stopped the three of them: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I want to talk to General Sokov alone." , you should stay here."
Hearing that Rokossovsky wanted to talk to him alone, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. But he did not boldly ask the adjutant what Rokossovsky would talk to him, not to mention whether the adjutant knew the content of the conversation. Even if he knew, he probably would not tell him, so he simply did not ask.
Following the adjutant to Rokossovsky's office, Sokov saw that Rokossovsky was on the phone, while Chief of Staff Malinin stood aside, waiting silently for him to finish the call.
Seeing Sokov enter, Malinin immediately came up to him and greeted him politely: "You're here!"
"Well, here I come!"
"Comrade Adjutant, there is nothing for you to do here. You can go out first." After sending the adjutant away, Malinin said to Sokov in a low voice: "Comrade Sokov, the commander is having a meeting with the commander of the Second Front Army Kuroch. Jin is on the phone. Let’s wait here for a while until he finishes the call.”
"Kurochkin of the Second Front?" Sokov muttered in his mind, why is it that Konev hasn't left yet and his replacement has arrived? Out of curiosity, he asked tentatively: "Comrade, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, is Kurochkin, the commander of the Second Ukrainian Front Army?"
"How is this possible?" Unexpectedly, Ma Linin shook his head after hearing this and said: "There is a First Ukrainian Front between the Second Ukrainian Front and us. How can the commander talk to them. Now he is calling Kurochkin, commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front.”
"Oh oh oh, that's it." Sokov said awkwardly, "I made a mistake."
"It's okay, I didn't make it clear." Malinin whispered to Sokov: "Rokossovsky and Kurochkin were talking because the Kovel occupied by the other party was attacked by the German army. The city's troops were forced to withdraw from the battle after several hours."
"Forced to withdraw from the battle?" Sokov knew very well some of the terms used by the troops. Hearing that the troops had withdrawn from the battle, it meant a defeat. He asked in surprise: "So, Kovel again?" Occupied by the Germans?”
"Yes, it is indeed like this." Ma Lining nodded and continued: "The Supreme Commander himself was very angry when he learned the news, so he called the commander and expressed that he wanted the two front troops to The desire to connect the combat areas. The commander called Kurochkin to discuss this matter."
"Isn't it a simple matter to connect the combat areas of the two front troops?" Sokov said disapprovingly after hearing this: "Just let the two troops move closer to the center."
"If only things were so simple." Malinin glanced at Rokossovsky and realized that the commander's call would not end in a short while, so he asked Sokov to sit down first: "Comrade Sokov, Please sit down, I don’t know how long the commander’s call will last. Your leg is injured, so don’t stand for too long.”
Sokov sat down on a bench by the wall and continued to ask Malinin: "Why not make it simple?"
"Comrade Sokov, you were in the First Ukrainian Front some time ago. You should be able to realize that the supply speed given to you by your superiors is very fast." Malinin explained to Sokov: "This is because the Supreme Command The focus of the counterattack is all on Ukraine, so whether it is soldiers, weapons, ammunition and various materials, priority is given to Ukraine. As for Belarus, the soldiers and various materials we receive are very limited."
Sokov really didn't know what Malinin was talking about. After all, according to the information he had for later generations, what was the situation of the First Belarusian Front commanded by Rokossovsky before launching the Belarusian Campaign? There are no detailed records. I didn't expect the situation to be so bad.
After Sokov waited for Malinin to finish speaking, he said cautiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, now that the war in Ukraine has come to an end, I think the Supreme Command will focus its strategy on Belarus."
"I also think about it this way." Ma Lining nodded and said: "But how to choose the main direction of attack is a headache."
Sokov opened his mouth to ask how Rokossovsky planned to choose the direction of attack, but Malinin raised his hand to stop him: "Comrade Sokov, I know you are eager to know where the main attack direction is. But unfortunately, This is currently top secret. Only the commander and I know it. Even if you ask, I will not answer you." After confirming that he was appointed as the chief of staff of the 47th Group Army, Sidorin's heart beat faster than expected. He had never imagined that he would be suddenly transferred to the 1st Belarusian Front because his superiors wanted him to take this position. According to his original idea, after following Sokov to the new unit, he might continue to be the chief of staff of his division. Unexpectedly, he was promoted three levels in a row and directly became the chief of staff of the group army.
However, while he was happy, he did not forget to recommend his Kirillov. He came to Kirillov, raised his hand to his forehead, and said gratefully: "Comrade Colonel, thank you!"
"Colonel Sidorin," Kirillov pulled Sidorin's hand from his forehead, shook it a few times, and said with a smile, "I have heard General Ponedelin mention you many times. I know You are a very good chief of staff. So after rejecting the appointment from your superiors today, I recommended you to General Rokossovsky. To be honest, at the time, I just had the mentality of giving it a try, but I didn’t expect that he would actually agree. We even sent a plane to pick you up."
"Sidolin," Sokov said: "From now on, you are my chief of staff, and General Ponedelin is the deputy commander. I hope that you can work together to build more in future battles. meritorious deeds.”
Sidorin couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he heard what Sokov said. Then he turned his gaze to Kirillov and asked with some surprise: "Comrade Commander, what about Colonel Kirillov? What position does he hold?"
"He has no specific position for the time being." Sokov said to Sidorin: "Until the new appointment is made, he will stay at the army headquarters. If you have anything you don't understand, you can ask him for advice."
"It's impossible to ask for advice." After hearing what Sokov said, Kirillov quickly said humbly: "If there is any problem that cannot be solved, we can discuss it together and find a solution."
At this time, an officer came in from the outside. Sokov saw that it was Rokossovsky's adjutant. He quickly came forward and asked politely: "Comrade adjutant, what's the matter? Is it Comrade General looking for you?" us?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander wants to see you, please come with me."
Seeing Sokov walking outside with the adjutant, Ponedelin and others instinctively followed him. However, when the adjutant found out, he stopped the three of them: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I want to talk to General Sokov alone." , you should stay here."
Hearing that Rokossovsky wanted to talk to him alone, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. But he did not boldly ask the adjutant what Rokossovsky would talk to him, not to mention whether the adjutant knew the content of the conversation. Even if he knew, he probably would not tell him, so he simply did not ask.
Following the adjutant to Rokossovsky's office, Sokov saw that Rokossovsky was on the phone, while Chief of Staff Malinin stood aside, waiting silently for him to finish the call.
Seeing Sokov enter, Malinin immediately came up to him and greeted him politely: "You're here!"
"Well, here I come!"
"Comrade Adjutant, there is nothing for you to do here. You can go out first." After sending the adjutant away, Malinin said to Sokov in a low voice: "Comrade Sokov, the commander is having a meeting with the commander of the Second Front Army Kuroch. Jin is on the phone. Let’s wait here for a while until he finishes the call.”
"Kurochkin of the Second Front?" Sokov muttered in his mind, why is it that Konev hasn't left yet and his replacement has arrived? Out of curiosity, he asked tentatively: "Comrade, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, is Kurochkin, the commander of the Second Ukrainian Front Army?"
"How is this possible?" Unexpectedly, Ma Linin shook his head after hearing this and said: "There is a First Ukrainian Front between the Second Ukrainian Front and us. How can the commander talk to them. Now he is calling Kurochkin, commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front.”
"It's okay, I didn't make it clear." Malinin whispered to Sokov: "Rokossovsky and Kurochkin were talking because the Kovel occupied by the other party was attacked by the German army. The city's troops were forced to withdraw from the battle after several hours."
"Forced to withdraw from the battle?" Sokov knew very well some of the terms used by the troops. Hearing that the troops had withdrawn from the battle, it meant a defeat. He asked in surprise: "So, Kovel again?" Occupied by the Germans?”
"Yes, it is indeed like this." Ma Lining nodded and continued: "The Supreme Commander himself was very angry when he learned the news, so he called the commander and expressed that he wanted the two front troops to The desire to connect the combat areas. The commander called Kurochkin to discuss this matter."
"Isn't it a simple matter to connect the combat areas of the two front troops?" Sokov said disapprovingly after hearing this: "Just let the two troops move closer to the center."
"If only things were so simple." Malinin glanced at Rokossovsky and realized that the commander's call would not end in a short while, so he asked Sokov to sit down first: "Comrade Sokov, Please sit down, I don’t know how long the commander’s call will last. Your leg is injured, so don’t stand for too long.”
Sokov sat down on a bench by the wall and continued to ask Malinin: "Why not make it simple?"
"Comrade Sokov, you were in the First Ukrainian Front some time ago. You should be able to realize that the supply speed given to you by your superiors is very fast." Malinin explained to Sokov: "This is because the Supreme Command The focus of the counterattack is all on Ukraine, so whether it is soldiers, weapons, ammunition and various materials, priority is given to Ukraine. As for Belarus, the soldiers and various materials we receive are very limited."
Sokov really didn't know what Malinin was talking about. After all, according to the information he had for later generations, what was the situation of the First Belarusian Front commanded by Rokossovsky before launching the Belarusian Campaign? There are no detailed records. I didn't expect the situation to be so bad.
After Sokov waited for Malinin to finish speaking, he said cautiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, now that the war in Ukraine has come to an end, I think the Supreme Command will focus its strategy on Belarus."
Sokov opened his mouth to ask how Rokossovsky planned to choose the direction of attack, but Malinin raised his hand to stop him: "Comrade Sokov, I know you are eager to know where the main attack direction is. But unfortunately, This is currently top secret and only the commander and I know it. Even if you ask, I won’t answer you.”
