Facts soon proved that Sokov's judgment was correct. The reason why Miyakov has not contacted Kirillov for a long time is indeed because there is a problem with the radio.
Logically speaking, in order to ensure that contact with the headquarters was not lost during the operation, in addition to the radios carried by the infantry regiments performing the mission, even Miyakov also brought a radio. According to his idea, even if there is a problem with the radio stations on the road and one radio station becomes unusable, the other radio station can still maintain contact with the division headquarters.
Unexpectedly, because the snow melted and the roads were muddy and difficult to navigate, the communication vehicle sent by the division overturned on the side of the road, breaking the radio station and injuring the operator. The radio station of the infantry regiment was unfortunately hit by mortar fire and destroyed when the troops exchanged fire with the guards of the prisoner of war camp.
After capturing the prisoner of war camp, Miyakov originally planned to use the German radio station to send a telegram to Kirillov to inform him of the news of his capture of the prisoner of war camp. Unexpectedly, after searching, we found out that the guards saw that the prisoner of war camp could not hold on anymore, so they blew up their communication room, and all the radio stations inside were destroyed in the explosion.
Without the radio, it was impossible to get in touch with the division headquarters, which made Miyakov stamp his feet in anger. Fortunately, he calmed down quickly and met two communication soldiers. He handed the report he wrote to them and told them: "Our radio station has been destroyed and we can't contact the division headquarters. You two immediately Return to Lezen by motorcycle and report the situation here to the division commander."
After receiving the order, the two communication soldiers did not dare to neglect at all, and quickly rode their motorcycles towards Lezen. When they reached the halfway point, they met the messenger sent by Kirillov. After the two sides communicated, they found out that Kirillov was worried that something had gone wrong because he had not been able to wait for news from Miyakov. He sent himself over to check.
After the communication soldiers sent by Miyakov told the two groups of communication soldiers who came over about the situation in the prisoner of war camp, after the other party figured out what was going on, a group of communication soldiers followed Miyakov's communication soldiers back to report the situation. The other group rushed to the prisoner-of-war camp to meet Miyakov with a radio, preparing to re-establish communications between the prisoner-of-war camp and the division headquarters.
Kirillov, who was staying at the Letzen headquarters, was like an ant on a hot pot at the moment, walking back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. The lack of whereabouts of his chief of staff made him uneasy. In addition, Sokov made several phone calls in succession to inquire about the situation in the prisoner of war camp, which made Kirillov feel even more irritable.
At this moment, a staff officer suddenly exclaimed: "Comrade division commander, the telegram is from the chief of staff."
Hearing the shouts of the staff officer, Kirillov stopped pacing, rushed to the staff officer's side, and asked him urgently: "Where is the chief of staff's telegram?"
The staff officer pointed to the communications soldier who was busy at the radio station and said, "He is receiving a telegram from the chief of staff. You will know what the situation is in the prisoner of war camp soon."
A few minutes later, the staff officer took the newly translated telegram from the signal soldier and handed it to Kirillov: "Comrade division commander, telegram."
Kirillov took the telegram and browsed it quickly. He saw that it read: "The radio station I originally carried has malfunctioned and cannot contact the division headquarters. I sent people to contact the division headquarters. The two groups you sent The communications troops met them, and one group followed them back to Lezen to report to you the details of the capture of the prisoner of war camp; the other group rushed to the prisoner of war camp to allow us to resume contact with the division headquarters. To avoid your worries, I will first Send a telegram to briefly explain the situation: The prisoner of war camp was successfully occupied by our army, all 130 original German guards were eliminated, more than 3,400 our army commanders and fighters were rescued, and necessary food is being provided to them and medical staff are being arranged. Check them out."
After reading the telegram sent by Miyakov in one breath, Kirillov put down the big stone in his heart. He pointed his hand at the staff officer in front of him and said: "Please help me get through to the group army headquarters immediately. I want to contact you." Commander's report."
After the call was connected, Kirillov said in an excited tone to Sokov who answered the phone: "Comrade Commander, I have good news for you. The prisoner of war camp has been successfully occupied by our army and more than 3,400 of our prisoners have been rescued. Military commanders and fighters, Lieutenant Colonel Myakov is now providing them with food and checking their health."
"Great, this is great." Sokov heard Kirillov's report and also
Very happy, he then asked: "I wonder how many commanders there are among these more than 3,400 people, and what levels are they?"
Sokov's new question stopped Kirillov. After hesitating for a moment, he replied: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I can't answer your question at the moment, because the content of my chief of staff's telegram is very simple and does not mention this matter at all. We can only wait for the communications troops he sent to lead Only after receiving a detailed report can I give you an accurate answer."
"By the way, why haven't they contacted you since they occupied the prisoner of war camp?"
"It is said that the radio station is out of order and cannot contact me." Kirillov replied: "The radio station he sent me a telegram was the one I just sent."
"So that's it." Sokov told Kirillov: "I will call Comrade Marshal right now to report on your capture of the prisoner of war camp. If the communications troops sent by Lieutenant Colonel Myakov come back, can you give more details? Please report the specific situation to me. Do you understand?"
"clear."
Sokov nodded with satisfaction and put down the phone in his hand.
"Comrade Military Commissar and Chief of Staff." He said to Lunev and Sidorin: "As I guessed, it was indeed a malfunction of the radio that caused Kirillov and the troops sent to the prisoner of war camp to Contact was lost. Now the communications troops he sent sent a new radio station, and the two sides have re-established contact."
"I wonder what the results of their battle were?" Lunev asked cautiously: "How many of our commanders and fighters are imprisoned in the prisoner of war camp?"
"There are more than 3,400 people." Sokov took the initiative and said without waiting for Runev to ask again: "Since the telegram did not make it clear, so far, it is not known how many of these rescued commanders and fighters are commanders. And what level they are. Everything will have to wait until Miyakov’s detailed report reaches Letzen, and then Kirillov will report to us.”
"Strange." After Sokov finished speaking, Sidorin said thoughtfully: "According to my analysis, it is absolutely impossible for them to carry out such a mission and be personally led by the division chief of staff. How come we lost contact with the division headquarters when we were carrying a radio? Is there something wrong with it?"
Sokov has also considered Sidorin's speculation, but there has been no more specific report yet, so he can't figure out the specific situation: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't be anxious, I believe it will be necessary." It won't be long before General Kirillov will give us a satisfactory answer."
After saying this, he ordered the director of the communications corps: "Comrade director of the communications corps, please connect me to the front army headquarters. I want to report to comrade marshal."
A few minutes later, the call was connected to the Front Army Headquarters. The person who answered the phone was Chief of Staff Bogolyubov: "Hello, this is the Front Army Headquarters. I am Chief of Staff Bogolyubov. Where are you?"
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov said respectfully: "I am Sokov, Commander of the 48th Group Army. I have something to report to Comrade Marshal. Is he with you at the moment?"
Bogolyubov glanced at Rokossovsky, who was chatting with Subbotin not far away, nodded and said: "He is here. Wait a moment, I will let him answer the phone."
Rokossovsky took the microphone from Bogolyubov's hand and said, "Hello, Misha? I'm Rokossovsky. Is there any news from the prisoner of war camp?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov replied: "There is indeed news from the prisoner of war camp."
"Tell me what's going on with the dispatched troops. Have you found the prisoner-of-war camp mentioned by the enemy? Are there any of our commanders and fighters imprisoned in it?"
Sokov waited for Rokossovsky to finish asking a series of questions, and then said: "The dispatched troops have found and liberated the prisoner of war camp, and rescued all 3,400 commanders and fighters detained in it. They provide food and check on health."
[In view of the general environment,
"Since the prisoner of war camp has been liberated, why has there been no report yet?" Rokossovsky asked in confusion.
road.
"I asked General Kirillov, and he said it was because there was a problem with the radio." Sokov was worried that Rokossovsky would continue to ask, so he took the initiative and said: "But what exactly is the problem with the radio, we have to wait. Only after the communications troops sent by the division chief of staff return to Lezen can we find out."
"Rescuing 3,400 people is really a good result." Rokossovsky said with emotion: "It is equivalent to increasing the strength of half a division for nothing. If each of our troops can find a prisoner of war camp of this size , even if we do not get supplements from the Supreme Command, we can still ensure that we have enough troops to carry out the next phase of operations."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov grinned and said, "But unfortunately, except for the vicinity of Lezen, there seems to be no German prisoner-of-war camps found in other areas."
"No, it's not that nothing was found. It's that the commander in charge of the area didn't bother to search at all." Rokossovsky said with a straight face: "I will immediately issue an order to the troops to have all troops in the area under their control." Conduct a search within the territory to see if there are prisoner of war camps established by the Germans. If so, we must liberate these imprisoned commanders and fighters."
After the call between Rokossovsky and Sokov ended, he said to Bogolyubov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Mischa just reported that the 3rd Infantry Division's search in the forest north of Letzen has achieved huge results. The result. They discovered a prisoner-of-war camp that held more than 3,400 of our army's commanders and fighters, and rescued them all. Now you draft an order to ask each group army to send out manpower to search in the areas under their control to see if there are any Germans. A prisoner-of-war camp established by people. Once something is discovered, troops will be sent to rescue it immediately, and the commanders and fighters rescued will be replenished to the unit nearby."
"Understood," Bogolyubov replied resoundingly: "I will immediately convey your order to the commanders of the army groups."
Besides, the communication troops sent by Miyakov finally rushed back to Letzen after a long journey. They quickly came to the division headquarters and handed the detailed report written by Miyakov to Kirillov.
After Kirillov quickly read the telegram, he figured out what was going on with the loss of contact with Miyakov. He couldn't help but sigh. If Sokov hadn't urged him to send someone to check, he might have been at this moment. Only then can we find out what happened in the prison camp.
Now that the situation has been clarified, it is natural to report to Sokov. Kirillov picked up the phone again.
When Sokov received a call from Kirillov and found out why the troops commanded by Miyakov lost contact with the division headquarters, he couldn't help but laugh and cry. But since the other party had successfully completed the mission, he could no longer blame the other party. Instead, he said tactfully: "General Kirillov, you must learn this lesson. The next time you carry out a similar mission, remember to bring an extra This radio station can prevent this situation from happening again."
Just before Sokov was about to put down the phone, he suddenly heard Kirillov say: "Comrade Commander, I saw a familiar name in the list of commanders provided by Chief of Staff Miyakov."
"A familiar name?" Sokov asked without thinking, "Is it someone you know?"
"No, I don't know him." Kirillov replied simply: "But I have heard you mention this person before."
"What, I mentioned this person before?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Who is it?"
"Major Gavrilov." Kirillov glanced at the note behind his name and added: "He was captured in the Brest Fortress."
Sokov's breathing became rapid. He did not expect that his troops would inadvertently rescue Gavrilov. However, just to be on the safe side, he asked tentatively: "Are you sure you were captured in the Brest Fortress?"
"Yes." Kirillov nodded and replied in a firm tone: "The information shows that he was the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment before he was captured."
Seeing that what Kirillov said was completely consistent with the information he knew, Sokov could already conclude that the rescued commander was Gavrilov, the hero who defended the Brest Fortress. Major. He quickly said into the microphone: "General Kirillov, listen, once this major comes back,
When he arrived in Lezen, you sent someone to send him to the headquarters. Do you understand what I say? "
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Kirillov replied: "As soon as he comes back, I will immediately arrange for personnel to send him there."
After putting down the phone, Sokov began to think about how to place a hero like Gavrilov. It stands to reason that after all captured officers are rescued, they will undergo a period of review. After the review is completed, differentiated placements will be made.
"Misha, what are you thinking about, so lost in thought?" Runev asked from the side.
"Comrade Military Commissar, I have heard before that on the day the war broke out, Major Gavrilov organized a group of soldiers to fight against the enemy's 45th Infantry Division in the Brest Fortress. As his commander and combat officer After all his sacrifices, he persisted alone in the fortress for nearly a month, until he was finally injured and captured. I was thinking about how we should place such a hero."
