"Ponejelin's troops are now rushing towards Murovani Kurilivtsi." Sokov pointed to the map and said to Smirnov: "After General Afnin's 18th Guards Corps carried out the assault,
, the first city to be conquered is Sokiriani.”
"These are two small cities, with a pre-war population of only 50,000 or 60,000 people. Now that the war has been going on for three years, we don't know much about the changes in the cities and how many residents are left."
"But if we launch an attack directly into the city, the Germans can hide in residential buildings and engage in street fighting with us. At that time, the situation on the battlefield will change from favorable to our army to unfavorable. Therefore, we must find a way to
On the outskirts of the city, eliminate most of the effective forces of the German army, so that the next battle will be easier to fight."
"The Germans are not fools," Smirnov said with a frown: "If the situation turns bad, they will definitely abandon their outer positions and withdraw into the city, occupy residential buildings and fight us in the streets. At that time, our soldiers will be worried because of their worries.
and suffered huge losses.”
"So we have to find a way to draw the enemy out of the city." Sokov said: "My idea is that after our army seizes the outer positions, we will continue to attack the city. If the situation we are worried about really happens,
, promptly ordered the troops to withdraw from the city, attracting the Germans and us to a decisive battle outside the city."
"Comrade Commander, I have an idea." After thinking for a while, Smirnov said to Sokov: "Since General Antonetta can cooperate with us, other Romanian officers may also cooperate with us.
You see, should we talk to General Antonetta? Maybe with his help, we can reduce unnecessary casualties."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said is very reasonable." Sokov asked in reply: "Do you think we should come to talk to General Antonetta, or should we invite him to come to us?"
"Of course let him come to us." After listening to Sokov's words, Smirnov said without hesitation: "Even if Romania stops the war with us in the future and joins our camp, it will definitely only cooperate.
When our army fights, we should have the final say in everything."
Smirnov's implication was that even if Romania joined the Allied camp and participated in the war against the Axis powers, they would only be insignificant allies, so their side had to find a way to occupy a dominant position.
After obtaining Sokov's consent, Smirnov contacted the Romanian division headquarters: "Hello, is this General Antonetta? I am General Smirnov, our commander General Sokov
I want to chat with you, are you available?"
When Antonetta heard that Sokov wanted to see her, she didn't dare to neglect him. She hurriedly asked: "Mr. General, is it now?" After getting a definite answer, she added, "I'll be there right away."
Ten minutes later, Antonetta with neat military appearance appeared in Sokov's headquarters.
"Hello, General Sokov!" He shook hands with Sokov and said respectfully: "I am here under your order. If anything happens, just give me your instructions!"
After Sokov invited Antonetta to sit down, he placed a map in front of him and asked politely: "General Antonetta, I wonder what you think of Mulovani Kulilivtsi and Sokiri
Are you familiar with the two cities of Yani?"
"Familiar, of course familiar." Hearing Sokov's question, Antonetta nodded vigorously and replied: "At least in mid-February, my 18th Infantry Division was still stationed in these two cities."
Hearing what Antonetta said, Sokov's eyes lit up: "General Antonetta, can you tell us about the situation in the city?"
"There are 30,000 residents in the city of Murovany Kullivci. The main pillar industry is leather shoe production. Most of the workers are in two or three leather shoe factories in the city." Antonetta did not hide it.
Privately, he told Sokov everything he knew about the situation, and finally said: "... When we moved the defense, there was a German battalion and a Romanian regiment stationed in this city.
"
"What about Sokiriani?" Sokov felt much more at ease when he learned that there was only one battalion of the German army and one regiment of the Romanian army in the city of Murovani Kurilivci.
Strength, destroying the German army in the city is not much more difficult than crushing an ant.
"The number of residents in Sokiriani is about the same as that in Murovani Kullivci. But since their main industries are fishing, animal husbandry and logging, almost a quarter of the residents live in the suburbs."
Hearing that a quarter of the residents of Sokiriani lived in the suburbs, Sokov felt that this city was as useless to the Germans.
How many troops will be stationed? "How many troops will be stationed in this city?"
"This city is of no importance to the Germans. How many troops can they station?" Antonetta shrugged and continued: "There are only two battalions of troops, and they are all Romanian troops."
But when Sokov and Smirnov learned that there were only two battalions of the Romanian army in Sokiriani, they couldn't help but look at each other, and they both saw joy in each other's eyes.
Sokov coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and asked tentatively: "General Antonetta, how is their combat effectiveness?"
"You mean the troops in Sokiriani City?" Antonetta asked tentatively. Seeing Sokov nodding, he continued: "These two battalions were established relatively early.
The troops are well-equipped and naturally have good combat effectiveness. With equal strength, the Germans cannot break through their defenses."
Knowing that the Romanian troops stationed in Soquiriani were more capable, Sokov began to wonder whether when the 18th Guards Corps launched an attack, they would need to provide them with the necessary artillery support so that they could break through quickly.
Romanian army defense on the city perimeter.
"General Sokov," Antonetta asked tentatively when she saw Sokov was deep in thought, "Are you considering what kind of force to use to capture this city?"
Seeing that Antonetta had guessed what he was thinking, Sokov did not hide it, but nodded and gave the other party a positive answer: "Yes, I am thinking about how to capture Sokiriani."
"General Sokov, if you want to take down Sokiriani, you don't necessarily have to use force." Antonetta smiled and said to Sokov: "Since both of us can reach cooperation here in Otac
, So Kiriani might be able to copy the same model."
Antonetta's words made Sokov feel ecstatic, but out of caution, he asked tentatively: "General Antonetta, can you find a way to make the defenders in Sokiriani surrender to us?"
?"
"General Sokov, I think it is very inappropriate to use the word surrender." Unexpectedly, as soon as Sokov finished speaking, Antonetta's face changed, and he said with a straight face: "We Romanian soldiers
Those who never surrender will only choose special forms to cooperate with former enemies and become comrades on the same front."
Although Sokov felt in his heart that Antonetta's words were a bit deceptive. Surrender was surrender, and it did not involve some form of cooperation between the two parties. However, in order to take into account the other party's face, he still followed the other party's wishes and said: "An
General Toneta, I wonder what we should do to achieve cooperation with this force?"
"The commander of my 53rd regiment, Colonel Kosdyk, is very familiar with the commander of the city's garrison." Antonetta said to Sokov: "If you can send an officer, go with him.
Sokiriani, maybe we can reach a new cooperation agreement with the other party."
After hearing this, Sokov thought about it secretly and thought that this was a good idea. But he was embarrassed about who to send. If Ponedelin was here, he would definitely send Ponedelin without hesitation.
Go, after all, the other party's ability is enough for this job.
But now Ponejelin is commanding three divisions to advance towards Murovani Kurilivtsi. At such a critical moment, it is naturally impossible to withdraw him from the front line and go to Sokryani for negotiations.
.
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov leaned closer to Sokov and whispered: "Now that Colonel Yakov is at our headquarters, why not let him go to Sokiriani on your behalf to negotiate with the Romanian army?"
When Sokov heard it, Smirnov's proposal was not bad. In any case, Yakov was his friend and he could completely trust him. And he could really convince the Sokiriani defenders.
Stop resisting and surrender to your own troops, which might help him get a general star.
Thinking of this, he quickly called a staff officer and ordered: "Go to Colonel Yakov and tell him that I need his help in an emergency and ask him to come to the headquarters as soon as possible."
After the staff left, Sokov looked at Antonetta and asked: "General Antonetta, I want to ask, if I really send someone to negotiate with Sokiriani, will there be any danger?"
"No, General Sokov." Seeing that Sokov had such concerns, Antonetta quickly assured him: "The Romanians today are not willing to fight. If you take the initiative to send people to contact them, they will
It’s a dream come true. Besides, this time we will be accompanied by Colonel Kosdik, the commander of the 53rd Regiment, so there won’t be any risk.”
"Okay, General Antonetta, since you said so, let me believe you for once." Sokov clicked lightly and said with some anxiety: "I will send an officer to accompany you later.
The troops will go to Sokiriani together to negotiate with the garrison there on how to cooperate."
"Then I'll call Colonel Kosdik first and ask him to get here as soon as possible!"
Not long after, Yakov walked in from outside.
As soon as he entered the door, he asked Sokov: "Misha, what do you want from me?"
"Yasha," Sokov did not answer Yakov's question immediately, but pointed to Antonetta sitting beside him and introduced: "Let me introduce to you, this is the Romanian 18th Infantry Division.
Major General Chang'an Dongneta."
"General Antonetta, this is my good friend, Colonel Yakov!"
When Antonetta shook hands with Yakov, she smiled and asked: "Mr. Colonel, I wonder which army you serve in and what position you hold?"
"I am from the Weapons and Equipment Department," Yakov replied briefly: "I was ordered to go to the frontier to collect some data on the use of weapons and equipment, and I am temporarily living here."
Knowing that the other party was from the Weapons and Equipment Department, and that he came to the frontier to collect data on the use of weapons, Antonetta couldn't help but have some thoughts in his mind. He thought to himself, "You are not a member of the combat force, so why are you participating blindly? But it's not a hindrance."
Because of Sokov's face, he couldn't say anything, so he could only pinch his nose and endure it.
After waiting for another ten minutes, Colonel Kosdik, commander of the 53rd Regiment, appeared at the headquarters.
After Antonetta explained the upcoming mission to Kosdik, she asked: "Colonel, what do you think is the chance of success in this negotiation?"
Since the 18th Division cooperated with the 53rd Army, Kosdik has also been in private contact with other troops. Many officers in the Romanian army are very envious of their cooperation with the Soviet army. Some even wrote in reply,
He hinted that if there was such an opportunity, he must put himself in good words in front of the Soviet army.
He didn't expect that the time would come so soon. After listening to Antonetta's question, he nodded and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Abulani, who is stationed in Soquiriani, is my classmate in the military academy.
Two days ago, he wrote to me, expressing his willingness to cooperate with the Soviet army. If we go to him at this time, it will be very easy to reach a cooperation agreement."
"Colonel, this Soviet colonel will go to Soquiriani with you to start negotiations with Lieutenant Colonel Abulani." Antonetta told Kosdik: "During this period in Soquiriani
, you must promise me that you will ensure the safety of this colonel as much as you care for your own eyes."
"Don't worry, Mr. Division Commander." After Kosdik answered Antonetta carelessly, he looked at Yakov and asked tentatively: "I wonder if this colonel has the right to decide the details of the negotiation?"
Before Yakov could speak, Sokov rushed to say: "He is my plenipotentiary. In other words, he has the right to reach any agreement with the Romanian defenders on my behalf."
Seeing that Sokov came out to endorse Yakov, Kosdik could not say anything more, but turned his attention to Antonetta again: "Mr. Commander, when can we set off?"
"Of course, the sooner the better." Antonetta said to Kosdik: "If we cannot reach a cooperation agreement with the Soviet army early and wait for the German troops to enter Sochiriani, it will be too late."
Sokov was worried about Yakov's safety, so he called Koshkin and whispered to him: "Comrade Lieutenant, Yakov is about to go to Sokiriani to negotiate with the Romanian defenders. You will personally lead the two
A guard platoon, go with him. If something unexpected happens, even if all the soldiers in the guard platoon die, you must ensure that Yakov is brought back to me. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Koshkin, as a member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, naturally understood the importance of Yakov, and quickly expressed his stance to Sokov: "I will definitely bring him back intact."
Seeing that Koshkin understood his intention, Sokov smiled and nodded, and then told Koshkin: "Comrade Lieutenant, please go back quickly to select the right candidate. Yakov and the others will set off soon.
"
This chapter has been completed!