Sokov received the telegram from Miresiev and learned that he had rescued the commanders and fighters in the prisoner of war camp. A knowing smile appeared on his face. He put down the telegram and told Ponedelin and Ki
Rilov said: "Lieutenant Colonel Miresiev did a good job. He destroyed the German prisoner-of-war camp and rescued more than 4,000 commanders and fighters inside without paying much cost."
"Comrade Commander," Kirillov said suddenly, "Why was it Lieutenant Colonel Miresiev who reported this matter to you, and not General Onupryenko?"
Kirillov's intention was very clear. Miresiev should report directly to Onupryenko about liberating the prisoner-of-war camp and rescuing prisoners of war, and then the commander of the 6th Guards Division would report to Sokov.
But now it is Milesiyev who reports directly. This kind of leapfrogging reporting method is very unpleasant.
Sokov smiled awkwardly, and then said: "It may be that Lieutenant Colonel Miresiev was too excited to rescue so many commanders and fighters and forgot this step, so he made the mistake of skipping the report."
"Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Miresyev has been in the army for a long time. How could he make such a low-level mistake?" Kirillov said with a straight face: "I think he should be criticized properly.
Let him learn from this lesson."
"Forget it, Kirillov, stop being so demanding on others." Fortunately, Ponedelin came out to smooth things over: "I'll let it go. I won't do it again."
Since there was a step handed over by Ponejelin, there was no reason for Sokov not to take advantage of it. He nodded vigorously and agreed: "That's right, that's right. This time the matter reported to the higher level will not be pursued. We will not make an example next time."
Sokov and Ponedelin both said the same thing. Even if Kirillov had any objections, he could not say anything. He could only change the topic in time: "Comrade Commander, what about these more than 4,000 rescued commanders and soldiers?"
, which army do you plan to add to it?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Ponejelin also echoed: "I don't know how to distribute these troops?"
"The group army currently has six divisions and three brigades. If these commanders and fighters are evenly distributed, each unit will not be assigned many soldiers." Sokov thought for a moment and made the final decision: "I will take them as soon as possible.
Assign it to the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions and the 122nd Infantry Brigade."
"That's okay." In any case, the troops of these two divisions and one brigade were brought out by Ponedelin from Minsk, and they were the troops who helped them build meritorious services. It would be a good thing to be replenished as soon as possible. How could he have any?
Reason for not agreeing: "After Lieutenant Colonel Miresyev brings back the rescued commanders and fighters, they will be assigned to two divisions and one brigade according to a certain ratio."
"Comrade Commander," as soon as Ponedelin finished speaking, Kirillov suggested to Sokov: "How about I call General Onupryenko to see if he knows about Miresi
What about Yev liberating the prisoner of war camp?”
"Okay." Sokov was also worried that Miresiev only sent him a telegram and forgot about his immediate boss Onupriyenko. He happened to use this phone call to verify it.
He readily agreed to the other party's request: "Colonel Kirillov, please call him now."
The call was quickly connected, but when Onupryenko heard that it was Kirillov, he rushed to say: "Colonel Kirillov, I was about to call you, but I didn't expect it."
But you called first."
Kirillov was stunned: "Why are you calling me?"
"That's it, Colonel Kirillov." Onupryenko explained with a smile: "I received a telegram from Lieutenant Colonel Milesiev that their regiment has successfully liberated the prisoner of war camp. At this moment
They are heading towards our defense area with the rescued commanders and fighters."
"What?" Kirillov was stunned again: "General Onupryenko, you mean that Milesiev sent you a telegram, reporting on his liberation of the prisoner of war camp?"
"Yes, that's exactly it." Onupryenko asked, "Colonel Kirillov, is there anything wrong?"
Kirillov was embarrassed now. Not long ago, he had asked Sokov to punish Miresiev for overstepping his reporting. But after listening to Onupryenko's words, he realized that he
There may be something wrong with his judgment. He replied in a panic: "It's okay, I'm just asking."
"By the way, you're calling me. Does Comrade Commander have any latest combat missions?"
"There is no combat mission for the time being, General Onupryenko." Kirillov said: "The commander knows that Lieutenant Colonel Miresiev rescued more than 4,000 commanders and combatants, and plans to assign these people to the 1st Guards.
6th Division and 122nd Infantry Brigade.”
"Great, this is really great." Onupriyenko couldn't help but feel ecstatic. You must know that in the recent battles, the number of casualties in his troops was close to half. Even if the more than 4,000 people were evenly distributed,
He can also allocate more than a thousand soldiers: "With the addition of these soldiers, we can continue to fight the enemy without rest."
Kirillov remembered that not long ago, Sokov was still discussing with Ponedelin which troops should be sent to attack the nearby German strongholds and eliminate or defeat the two German regiments there. He quickly added: "The commander and
The two deputy commanders have just studied the matter of launching an attack on nearby enemies. In other words, once you have been supplemented, you must re-engage in a new battle."
"Don't worry, Colonel Kirillov." Knowing that Sokov was about to assign an important combat mission to himself, Onupriyenko said quickly: "As long as we can replenish our troops, we can go on to carry out more difficult missions.
.”
Kirillov was very satisfied with Onupryenko's statement. He nodded and said: "Near us, there is a piece of German territory with about two regiments of troops. The task of your division is
How about launching an attack against this enemy? Are you confident of achieving final victory?"
"The answer is of course yes." Onuprienko said with a smile: "Comrade Colonel, please tell Comrade Commander that we will never let him down."
"That's very well said." Kirillov was very satisfied with Onupryenko's answer. He nodded and said, "General Onupryenko, I will convey your words to the comrade commander."
of."
After Kirillov put down the phone, he said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, General Onupriyenko said that he assures you that he will never let you down."
"The 6th Guards Division has been fighting well recently." Ponejelin also helped Onupryenko: "I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with leaving the task of attacking the German army to their division.
."
"It's probably not easy for just one of their divisions to kill two German regiments." Sokov did not have the thought of underestimating the enemy just because his troops had won one after another, but solemnly said
Said: "I think in this battle, two divisions and one brigade can be put into battle, and the deputy commander, Comrade, will be responsible for unified command."
Seeing Sokov specifically mentioning this matter, Ponedelin asked: "When do you plan to go into battle?"
"When the rescued commanders and fighters come back, they must have a good rest, eat something to replenish their strength, and then distribute equipment to them. It will take half a day or more anyway." Sokov thought for a while, and then proposed a time:
"How about we launch an attack on the enemy at noon tomorrow?"
"I think it's okay." Ponejelin nodded and said, "The reconnaissance team we sent has not yet reported back any intelligence, which just gave the rescued commanders and fighters time to rest." After saying this, his eyes changed.
Turning to Sokov, "Comrade Commander, is there anything else you need to add?"
"If possible, capture more prisoners." Sokov replied: "It would be good for us if we could provide more prisoners to the front army headquarters."
"Understood." Ponejelin remembered what Sokov said and knew that these prisoners were to be displayed to the Allies, so naturally he was particularly concerned: "Before the battle begins, I will specifically warn the commanders.
Yes, let the soldiers capture more prisoners."
"Comrade Commander, I remembered something." Kirillov suddenly said: "I wonder if the superiors will know which part of the enemy we provided after these prisoners are sent to Moscow?"
"How is this possible?" After hearing Kirillov's bold idea, Sokov shook his head and said: "The superiors only count the number of captured German troops. As for which army sent the prisoners, they have no time to care.
."
"That's such a pity." Hearing what Sokov said, Kirillov suddenly felt regretful: "Originally, I thought that when the superiors inspected these prisoners, someone would point out to them which army captured these prisoners.
Which army provided the prisoners? Now it seems that I thought too much."
Sokov was thinking that these prisoners of war were all sent to Moscow for a parade. The purpose of the parade was to show the results of Operation Bagration to the skeptical Allies. Other than that, they were
Ordinary Moscow citizens could see these prisoners. As for the members of the Supreme Command, no one would personally see the prisoners paraded through the streets.
In the evening, the commanders and soldiers rescued by Miresiev returned to Baranovichi.
As soon as these ragged and haggard commanders and fighters entered the city, they attracted the attention of friendly forces. Soon, Sokov received a call from Batov: "General Sokov, I heard from my subordinates that your people brought back
Is it true that thousands of commanders and fighters were rescued from prisoner-of-war camps?"
"That's right, General Batov." Sokov knew that even if he wanted to hide it, he couldn't. It would be better to admit it readily: "My troops just captured a prisoner of war camp and rescued more than 4,000 people from it."
Imprisoned commanders and combatants.”
Bartov hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Then what do you plan to do with them?"
"How to deal with them?" Sokov asked in confusion: "General Batov, I don't quite understand what you mean?"
"I mean, do you plan to put these people into a punishment camp or send them to the rear?"
"I will not put them into a punishment camp or send them to the rear," Sokov answered simply: "I will wait for the medical staff to examine their bodies before integrating them into various combat units as appropriate."
"Aren't you afraid of making mistakes?"
"General Batov, everyone who is familiar with me knows that." Although Sokov understood that the other party asked this question with good intentions, he still said plausibly: "For those commanders and fighters rescued from the prisoner of war camps, I am
After a simple review and screening, they were incorporated into various combat units. As for whether I would make a mistake in doing so, I have never considered it. I only know that being able to defeat the enemy is better than anything else."
"You're right, as long as you can defeat the enemy, you are better than anything else." Batov echoed Sokov's opinion: "It seems that I will also learn from you in the future and rescue those commanders and fighters who have been rescued from prisoner-of-war camps.
After being reviewed and screened, they are all incorporated into my combat unit. This will not only make up for the differences in the soldiers, but also help to improve the combat effectiveness of the unit."
Military Commissar Rajecki waited for Batov to put down the microphone and kindly reminded him: "Comrade Commander, it is a very serious matter to directly integrate rescued prisoners of war into the army. You must seriously consider it."
The reason why Rajecki said this was because Stalin once signed a document stating that anyone returning from behind enemy lines must be subject to strict scrutiny, and the scrutiny of commanders and fighters who were rescued from prisoner of war camps was even more stringent. If
Batov recklessly integrated these rescued commanders and fighters into the army, which may have caused a disaster.
"Comrade Military Commissar, I understand everything you said." Batov said with some helplessness: "Look, in this half-month-long battle, although our group army has achieved successive victories, the consumption of troops has also been
Everyone, this is amazing. In this Operation Bagration, more than two million troops were invested. Even if the logistics troops want to be resupplied, where will they find such soldiers? Therefore, we must find a way to organize what we can.
Those who join the army are armed to make up for the shortage of soldiers in the army."
The chief of staff promptly agreed with Bartov's statement: "I agree with Comrade Commander, our troops have suffered heavy losses, but we cannot get timely supplements from our superiors, so we can only find another way and think about it."
Ways to solve the problem of replenishment of soldiers in the army."
Batov saw Rajecki's scruples and took the initiative to say: "Comrade Military Commissar, this matter was all my idea. If the superiors blame me in the future, I will bear all the responsibilities."
Hearing what Bartov said, Rajecki seemed embarrassed. He murmured: "Comrade Commander, look what you said, I am your military commissar. Since you plan to integrate prisoners of war into our
To make up for the shortage of soldiers, I will no longer object. Even if the superiors hold you responsible in the future, as your deputy, I will naturally acknowledge the responsibility together with you."
"That's right, Comrade Military Commissar." A smile appeared on Bartov's face: "With your full support, I believe that in the next battle, our group army will achieve more brilliant results."
"Comrade Commander," seeing that Bartov and Rajecki had reached an agreement, the chief of staff asked tentatively: "Then should we learn from the 48th Group Army and send people to conduct reconnaissance nearby to see if there are any others?
Prisoner of war camp. If there is one, we will send troops to seize the prisoner of war camp and rescue all the prisoners of war held there."
This chapter has been completed!