The students who were distributed in various units couldn't help but be overjoyed after receiving the notice from Ponedelin and Kirillov. After they handed over the work in their hands, they rushed to the designated place as quickly as possible.
Place to gather.
Knowing that Sokov had assembled all his men, Rokossovsky did not hesitate and immediately sent two C-47 transport planes to pick up Sokov and his men.
After Sokov and others boarded the plane, the transport planes took off one after another, and then flew towards Belarus. After two hours of flight, they finally arrived at the location of Rokossovsky's headquarters.
But unfortunately, when he arrived, he found that Rokossovsky was not there, only Chief of Staff Malinin was. Malinin and Sokov were old acquaintances, and they had fought side by side on different battlefields. At this moment
Seeing his arrival, I immediately stepped forward and gave him a warm hug.
After the two hugged, Sokov asked curiously: "Comrade General, why didn't you see General Rokossovsky? Where did he go?"
"Something happened to the 65th Group Army. The commander went over to deal with it." After Malinin explained to Sokov, he asked curiously: "How many people did you bring here this time?"
Sokov quickly took out the list he had prepared and handed it to Malinin: "Comrade General, this is the list of personnel I brought this time."
Malinin took the list and browsed it quickly. After reading it, he looked up at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Sokov, why didn't Colonel Muzichenko come over? Also, the people from your cadet team also
There are five people less than the scheduled list.”
Hearing what Malinin said, Sokov asked in surprise: "Why, Comrade General, you actually have a list of the personnel I brought here."
Malinin did not answer Sokov's question immediately, but stood up, poured him a cup of tea, placed it in front of him, and then said: "Comrade Sokov, you are transferred to our 1st Belarusian Front this time.
You must find out in advance who you will bring. So after research by the commander and I, we came up with a possible list, including Lieutenant General Ponedelin, Colonel Muzichenko, and
Colonel Rilov and the entire cadet corps."
Seeing that Sokov still looked confused, he continued: "Comrade Sokov, you may have forgotten that you sent this student team to us when you were still recovering in the hospital.
Worked for a while.”
"Yes, yes, Comrade General, you are absolutely right." Sokov nodded and said, "I did let General Ponejelin's advisory team and student team go to your headquarters for a period of practice.
Time, until after I was appointed commander of the 53rd Army, these people followed me to the new unit."
"How about it? After these few months of observation, have you found any commanders with particularly outstanding abilities?" Ma Lining said in an encouraging tone: "If there are any, just tell them directly. Many troops are lacking in
As a regimental commander, you can ask your students to fill these vacancies."
Seeing that Malinin and Rokossovsky had paved the way for the students, but did not mention the arrangements for Ponedelin and Kirillov, they asked tentatively: "What about Lieutenant General Ponedelin and Kirillov?"
Colonel Rilov, how do you plan to relocate them?"
"Comrade Sokov, to tell you the truth, Comrade Commander and I both have a huge headache on how to arrange for Ponedelin and others." Malinin said in embarrassment: "I don't know how to arrange work for the three of them. Okay.
Now that Muzychenko is no longer here, we only need to arrange work for two people."
"Comrade General, tell me." Sokov asked curiously: "I want to hear what positions you have assigned them?"
"You are about to take over the position of commander of the 47th Group Army." Malinin said to Sokov: "Based on what I know about you, you will definitely not use the original personnel and will definitely adjust the positions of many people. So I plan to
Let Ponedelin be the deputy commander, Muzichenko be the chief of staff, and Kirillov will consider arranging a suitable job for him depending on the situation."
Sokov was thinking that if Malinin really appointed Muzichenko as chief of staff, Kirillov would not be able to stay at the headquarters and would have to go down to serve as corps commander or division commander. But judging from the current situation,
, it is unlikely that he will become the commander of the army. The superiors will appoint him as the division commander at most. Now that Muzichenko has decided to stay in the original army, the post of chief of staff originally planned for him can be legitimately handed over to him.
Kirillov.
"I obey the orders of my superiors." Seeing that Malinin's arrangement was very much in line with his own vision, Sokov nodded and said, "Let everyone carry out their work according to the duties assigned by you."
After a pause, Sokov asked tentatively: "Comrade General, when can I take my subordinates to take office?"
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Sokov." Seeing that things went more smoothly than he imagined, Malinin said with a smile: "You have just got off the plane, rest for a while, and wait for Comrade Commander to come back before we go to the new unit.
It’s not too late to do anything.”
"Then I'll go out and say hello to everyone," Sokov stood up and said, "so that everyone doesn't have to wait outside in a hurry."
Malinin agreed with Sokov to go out and greet everyone, and also warned: "Remember to call Ponedelin and Kirillov in later. I will assign work to them in person."
Sokov came outside and saw that the people he had called were standing in groups next to several trucks covered with camouflage nets, so he walked over quickly. When those people saw Sokov coming, they also stopped.
They started talking and surrounded Sokov.
"Comrade Commander," Ponedelin asked Sokov curiously, "I wonder what General Rokossovsky said?"
"General Rokossovsky is not in the headquarters. He said he went to the troops below." After briefly introducing the situation to everyone, Sokov said: "We may not be able to leave here for the time being, so everyone will go first."
Find a place to rest and rest.”
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, a lieutenant colonel came over. He came to stand in front of Sokov, raised his hand in salute, and said respectfully: "Comrade General, the chief of staff sent me to receive your subordinates."
.”
"The Chief of Staff is quite considerate." After hearing this, Ponejelin said to Sokov with a smile: "He was worried that we would be bored standing here, so he specially sent a person to receive us. Comrade Commander,
Go ahead and do your work, we will follow the Lieutenant Colonel."
"Wait a minute, General Ponedelin." But Sokov raised his hand to stop Ponedelin's actions and said to him: "Let the others follow this lieutenant colonel, you, I and the base
Colonel Rilov, you need to see General Malinin immediately."
Soon, the three of them walked into the headquarters and met Ma Lining.
"You are here!" Seeing the three people coming in, Malinin simply said hello and asked them to sit down on both sides of the long conference table. Then he opened his mouth and said to Ponejelin: "General Ponejelin, passing by
After discussion with the commander, we decided to appoint you as the deputy commander of the 47th Group Army. Colonel Kirillov will serve as the chief of staff of the group army. Do you have any different ideas?"
According to Malinin's opinion, this arrangement is the best arrangement that he and Rokossovsky can make after careful consideration, and the other party should not object.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Kirillov stood up and said tactfully: "General Malinin, can I tell you what I really think?"
Hearing what Kirillov said, Malinin was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said: "Say, Colonel Kirillov, if you have any ideas, just say it!"
"I feel that I may not be qualified for the position of Chief of Staff of the Army Group." Now that Malinin allowed himself to tell his true thoughts, Kirillov did not beat around the bush, but asked directly: "From the moment I became an officer, I have been
As the military chief of the army, I have no experience as a staff officer. Now that you have appointed me as chief of staff, I feel that I am not qualified for this job based on my ability."
When Sokov heard what Kirillov said, he couldn't help but worry about him. He was afraid that Malinin would get angry after hearing what he said. Unexpectedly, Malinin behaved very calmly after hearing what he said. He stood up and put his hands behind his back.
Walking back and forth in the room, he seemed to be thinking about what new position should be assigned to Kirillov.
Sokov and others were worried about disrupting his train of thought, so no one interrupted him. Instead, they watched him walking back and forth in the room silently, waiting patiently for him to make a new decision.
After a long time, Malinin finally stopped and turned to Kirillov and said: "Colonel Kirillov, I understand what you mean. You feel that you are a military officer. Now that you are the chief of staff of the group army, it may be difficult for you to be qualified.
Is my understanding of this position correct?"
"Of course, General Malinin!" Hearing Malinin ask himself, Kirillov couldn't help but replied in a panic: "First of all, thank you for the position you assigned me, but I feel that I am simply not qualified for this position with my own abilities.
.Rather than working for a period of time and being dismissed due to lack of ability, it would be better to actively refuse.”
"Then what position do you think you are more suitable for?"
"When the war first broke out, my position was army commander." Kirillov said: "But I was captured in the Battle of Uman soon after and stayed in a German prisoner-of-war camp for two years. It was precisely because of the lack of
After these precious two years, I realized that the tactical ideas I was familiar with were no longer able to keep up with the situation. Although with the help of General Sokov, my abilities have been improved to a certain extent, but I still need to
I want to be a military commander like I was in the early days of the war, but I feel that my abilities are still lacking, so the position of division commander should be the most suitable for me. And before I came here, I held the position of division commander."
After listening to this, Malinin chuckled and said: "Colonel Kirillov, you are making things difficult for me. You must know that the chief of staff of the 47th Group Army died in a battle not long ago, and we cannot send a suitable candidate at the moment.
Come and take up this position. So the original idea was that Colonel Muzichenko would take up this position. Unexpectedly, he did not come this time, which disrupted our plan, so we made a temporary decision to let you take over this position.
"
After Kirillov understood the situation, he did not want to embarrass Malinin, so he proactively lowered his conditions: "General Malinin, if there is no suitable division commander position, you can let me serve as regimental commander."
Malinin did not nod or shake his head, but said cautiously: "This matter is of great importance. I will wait for Comrade Commander to come back to discuss it with him. Comrade Sokov, if Colonel Kirillov is not willing to serve as Chief of Staff,
Then we still need to look for a new chief of staff candidate."
"Comrade General." Sokov waited for Malinin to finish and said with a smile: "There are many talents in the First Belarusian Front Army. I think there will be no problem in finding someone to serve as the chief of staff of the group army."
"Comrade Sokov, the situation is not as optimistic as you thought." Unexpectedly, Ma Linin shook his head after hearing this and said: "Nowadays, the formation of new front armies requires a large number of middle and senior commanders. Especially at the division level.
The above commanders are the most sought-after. Except for the 47th Group Army, the division-level commanders of several other units have not been filled yet, let alone the position of chief of staff of the group army."
When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help but have an idea: "Comrade General, since you said that there is no more suitable position for Colonel Kirillov in the 47th Group Army, then it is better to send him to other group armies to serve as division commander.
how?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as Sokov's words came out, he was rejected by Malinin: "No, this will definitely not work."
When Kirillov saw Malinin answering so simply, his face became a little ugly. He didn't understand why the other party objected to him serving as a division commander in another group army.
Fortunately, Malinin noticed something strange about him and explained: "Comrade Kirillov, there are no outsiders here, so I will just say what I have to say directly. Although you served as the commander of the army before the war, after all, you were once captured by the German army.
Prisoners, in the eyes of many people, are relegated to another category. If you stay in the 47th Army and have Sokov's care, there will be no problems. But if you go to other units, you will inevitably be discriminated against and excluded.
, then it will not be conducive to your work."
Malinin's words made Kirillov and Ponedelin understand that their current status was all because of Sokov's care. Without this young commander, I am afraid that they would still be in the same position.
In the cell of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I was being interrogated every three days.
At this moment, Kirillov thought of Muzichenko, who was still in the 53rd Army, and thought that with Sokov leaving, his situation in the Second Front would become increasingly difficult.
The phone on the table rang. Malinin stepped forward and picked up the phone. After listening for a moment, he turned to the direction where Sokov and others were sitting and said with a smile: "Yes, Comrade Commander, Sokov and his men have arrived.
.Now he, General Ponedelin, and Kirillov are sitting in our conference room... Well, that Colonel Muzichenko didn't come!... I can't tell you the specific reason on the phone.
It’s clear, I’ll let Sokov give you a detailed report after you come back.”
After putting down the phone, Ma Lining said to the three of them: "Comrade Commander just called back and said that his matter has been taken care of and he will be back here in an hour at most. Let me entertain you well."
This chapter has been completed!