Rokossovsky went to the 50th Army and removed the former Army Commander Bolkin from his post, and appointed Chief of Staff Ozerov as acting commander. Soon, the news spread within the front army, and everyone was discussing the reason for his dismissal.
Sidorin approached several friends at the Front Army Headquarters and after inquiring about some details, he said to everyone: "I heard that he was drunk and did not follow the orders of Comrade Marshal and sent out observation posts to closely monitor the people on the opposite side. The enemy. As a result, the enemy secretly abandoned their position and retreated without our troops knowing it."
Sokov was also very surprised after hearing this. Bolkin actually drank alcohol during the battle, and also caused the Germans to escape from under his nose. The nature of this incident was relatively bad. He quickly asked: "Isn't the rumor wrong? You know, even if Bolkin is drunk, doesn't he still have a chief of staff? Could it be that while he was drunk, what was the chief of staff? Nothing has been done?"
"It is said that in the evening, a reconnaissance team that penetrated deep into the enemy's defenses found that the German troops had escaped from the well-defended positions, so they sent this information back via telegram." Sidorin continued: "The director of the reconnaissance department received this information After reading the telegram, he felt that the situation was very important and promptly reported it to Bolkin. Unexpectedly, after Bolkin read the telegram, he said that this was not a German conspiracy. They used the captured radio station of the reconnaissance team to give themselves The false information was sent and no action was taken at all.
Chief of Staff Ozerov felt that it was necessary to find out what happened. Was it that the scouts were annihilated and the radio station was captured by the Germans? Or was everything the scouts said true. It was with this mentality that he sent multiple reconnaissance teams to enter the German defensive positions from different areas to figure out the movements of the Germans. At the same time, he also reported the intelligence previously detected by the scouts to the Chief of Staff of the Front Army, General Bogolyubov.
After Bogolyubov learned about this situation, he realized the seriousness of the problem and reported the information to Marshal Rokossovsky. When the marshal heard this, he became angry and took the military commissioner to the headquarters of the 50th Group Army, where he found that Bolkin was indeed sleeping. After waking him up and asking him about the enemy's movements, he knew nothing about it. In anger, the Marshal dismissed his position as Army Group Commander and replaced him with Chief of Staff Ozerov. "
Sokov has long known that Bolkin was dismissed and Ozerov took over his post. He is very concerned about whether the enemy's situation is clear now and whether the troops have taken any military action?
Facing a series of questions raised by Sokov, Sidorin, who had already known the details, answered confidently: "The Germans did withdraw from the area they originally occupied. But when did they withdraw? Where did they withdraw?" Where, no one knew. The first thing General Ozerov did after taking office was to decisively order his 19th and 38th Infantry Corps to attack the German positions. By dawn, they had already moved towards We advanced five kilometers."
"A very good record." After Sokov said this, he continued: "It is a pity that the enemy has fled long ago, otherwise when the German army retreats, attacking them will accelerate the defeat of the German army."
"The 50th Army was the worst-performing unit in the battle to liberate East Prussia." Lunev said with emotion: "It stands to reason that in this situation, Bolkin, as the commander, should actively look for fighter opportunities. , dealt a heavy blow to the German army. But I didn’t expect that he actually gave up on himself and drank all day long. It was only a matter of time before he was dismissed. If he continues to serve as the commander of this group army, it may cause greater losses to the army."
Sokov was thinking secretly in his mind: "This is probably the legend, one soldier is a raging enemy, and a general is raging in a nest. With an irresponsible commander like Bolkin, it is no wonder that the 50th Group Army can achieve good results in the battle. ”
Although Sokov has never dealt with Bolkin, the bad situation of the 50th Army is probably not caused by Bolkin alone. Even Chief of Staff Ozerov, who is now the acting commander of the Army, may have a certain role. Responsibility. Thinking of this, he said: "I think that if the 50th Army wants to change the status quo, it must have a capable commander. As for General Ozerov, who serves as acting commander, I think he is not suitable."
When Sidorin heard what Rokossovsky said, he said with some surprise: "But Comrade Marshal Ozerov has appointed Ozerov as acting army commander, which proves that he still trusts General Ozerov."
"You can't say that." Sokov shook his head and said: "After Comrade Marshal dismissed Bolkin, he couldn't find a suitable candidate for a while, so he appointed Ozerov to replace Bolkin. This is also a case. This is a helpless move. I feel that with Ozerov’s ability, he may not be able to lead this army well.”
"Besides, who else is qualified for the position of commander of the 50th Group Army?" Sidorin looked at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, do you have a suitable candidate who you would like to recommend to Comrade Marshal? ?”
"Yes, I do have such an idea." Sokov said with a smile: "I want to call Comrade Marshal now and recommend a suitable candidate to him."
"Who is it?!" Sidorin asked eagerly: "Do I know him?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov glanced at Ponedelin quickly, and then said: "Of course you know him."
After answering the phone call from the front army headquarters, Sokov found Rokossovsky and said cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, I heard that you relieved Bolkin, commander of the 50th Group Army, from command and appointed him His chief of staff, General Ozerov, takes over as commander of the army?”
"Yes, there is such a thing." After Rokossovsky answered Sokov's question, he asked curiously: "Why do you ask about this?"
"Comrade Marshal, please forgive my presumption." Sokov planned to recommend a suitable candidate to serve as the commander of the 50th Group Army, so he said seriously: "I called you because I think General Ozerov , he may be competent as a chief of staff, but he may not be a good army commander.”
"What you said makes sense, but I don't have a suitable candidate at the moment." Rokossovsky asked: "Do you have a suitable candidate to recommend?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal. This is really the reason why I called you. I do have a very suitable candidate to recommend to you." Sokov said: "If you can appoint him as the commander of the 50th Group Army , the face of the force will change in a very short period of time.”
Sokov's words aroused Rokossovsky's curiosity: "Who is it? Misha, who do you want to recommend as the commander of the group army?"
Sokov's eyes stayed on Ponedelin and said firmly: "Comrade Marshal, I strongly recommend to you my deputy commander, General Ponedelin. He is fully qualified for this position. You know, Before the war broke out, he had already served as the commander of the group army. He has rich experience in how to command large armies in combat. If he can be appointed as the commander of the 50th Group Army, I believe it will not take long , the face of this army group will undergo great changes."
Ponedelin, who was sitting next to him drinking tea, did not expect that Sokov would recommend him to Rokossovsky as the commander of the 50th Army. He was stunned. After a long time, he said: "Comrade Commander, this is not appropriate. I think in Comrade Marshal's mind, there must be someone more suitable for this position than me."
The reason why Ponejelin had such scruples was that he had been a prisoner of the Germans and was relegated to a different category in the eyes of some people. If Sokov had not protected himself, I am afraid that he would not be qualified to become a general again and serve as the deputy commander of the 48th Group Army.
After listening to Sokov's suggestion, Rokossovsky fell into deep thought. In his mind, Ponejelin was indeed a suitable candidate. After all, the other person was the commander of the group army before the war, and he was just the commander of the 9th Mechanized Army at the time, with a lower rank than the other person. However, since the other party has been captured before, you need to be careful about how to use him, otherwise it will bring unnecessary trouble to yourself.
"Misha, your proposal is very good." Rokossovsky expressed the possibility of Sokov's proposal, but did not give an accurate answer: "But this matter is of great importance, and I need to think about it carefully. I will get back to you as soon as possible." After saying that, Sokov hung up the phone without waiting for him to speak.
Seeing Rokossovsky's solemn expression, Suboting quickly asked with concern: "Comrade Marshal, what happened? I think you seem to be worried."
Rokossovsky picked up the cigarette case on the table, took out a cigarette from it, put it in his mouth, lit it, took a puff and said: "Misha just told me on the phone that he felt that General Ozerov He was not a suitable candidate and recommended his deputy chief of staff, Ponejelin, to serve as commander of the 50th Army."
"Comrade Marshal," Subotin knew Ponedelin and naturally knew his former identity, so he said to Rokossovsky: "I think General Sokov is right. Ponedelin General Lin's appointment as commander of the 50th Group Army may change the mental outlook of the army. Last night I went to the 50th Group Army with you. My impression of this army was, how should I put it, that it was simply sluggish and lifeless? There is no vitality at all. Maybe there really needs to be one person to change all this status quo, and Ponejelin is undoubtedly the game-breaker."
"Comrade Military Commissar, I agree with you." Rokossovsky put out the cigarette he had taken two puffs on in the ashtray, then looked up at Subbotin and said, "But General Ponedelin was once He was captured by the Germans and was sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for review after he was rescued, so I need to be cautious about how to use him."
"Comrade Marshal, as far as I know." Suboting said: "As the situation on the battlefield becomes more and more favorable to our army, we have rescued more and more commanders from prisoner-of-war camps, and even some generals. But where are these people now? Either they were sent to Siberia to dig potatoes, or they were imprisoned in a cell in Lubyanka. Who can be like General Ponedelin, who not only regained his official position, but even became an elite member? He holds the position of deputy commander in the army group? No, right?"
"Indeed, no."
"This shows that the Supreme Command turned a blind eye to his affairs." Suboting said to Rokossovsky: "If we appoint him as the commander of the 50th Group Army, I I think the high command will still agree."
Suboting's words made Rokossovsky completely determined. He nodded and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, what you said is very reasonable. Then I will do as you say. I will call Comrade Antonov and ask him to convey the matter to the Supreme Commander himself. See the old man. Do you have any opinions?"
"Then General Sokov, do you need to inform him?"
"No, no need." Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "Don't disturb him for now. It won't be too late to tell him when there is good news."
In the headquarters of the 48th Group Army, Ponejelin seemed a little frightened. He said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I know that you recommended Comrade Marshal out of good intentions, but I know my own affairs. Because being captured by the German army has become a stain on my life resume. I am already satisfied to serve as your deputy commander, and I dare not expect to obtain a higher position."
When Sokov didn't get a reply from Rokossovsky on the spot, he felt a little uneasy. Maybe he was too reckless and should have communicated with Rokossovsky in advance instead of directly recommending Ponejelin to him. . The result is now better, which is equivalent to putting Rokossovsky on the fire and putting him in an embarrassing dilemma.
But in front of everyone, Sokov did not show this concern. He also deliberately pretended to be relaxed and said to everyone: "If Comrade Marshal can agree, naturally everyone will be happy; even if he doesn't agree, it doesn't matter. General Ponejelin will still be my deputy."
While everyone was having lunch, a staff officer walked into the headquarters and came directly to Sokov. After raising his hand in salute, he handed him a cowhide envelope: "General Sokov, this is Rokosov." Marshal Ski ordered me to give you the document!" After saying that, the staff officer raised his hand and saluted, then turned and walked out of the room.
"What is this?" Sokov stared at the cowhide envelope in his hand, hesitated for a long time, and finally opened the envelope. There is a folded piece of paper inside. After opening it, you can see a few lines of words written on it: "After research and decision, and with the approval of the Supreme Command, Lieutenant General Ponjelin, the former deputy commander of the 48th Group Army, was officially appointed as the commander of the 48th Group Army. The post of commander of the 50th Army Group. He will immediately go to the new unit to take up his post. Signed: Rokossovsky."
Sokov read the words on the paper over and over again, and finally understood that what Rokossovsky sent to him was actually a letter of appointment. He slapped the appointment letter in front of Ponedelin and said with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Commander, no, it should be called Commander Ponedelin now. Congratulations, you are officially appointed by Rokossovsky." The marshal appointed him as the commander of the 50th Army."
(End of chapter)
