Half an hour later, all the officers of the 328th Division and above came to attend the meeting. When they received the call and learned that the new division commander had taken office, they were all curious to see who the superiors sent to replace Colonel Ye Leming.
What kind of person. But when they saw clearly that sitting with Lobachev, he was actually a young major, they couldn't help showing expressions of surprise.
Seeing that everyone had almost arrived, Lobachev stood up and said: "Comrade commanders, everyone must know me, so I won't introduce myself. I am here today to accompany your new division commander to take office.
"After saying this, he turned to look at Sokov who was sitting beside him, and said with a smile: "Major Sokov, stand up and get acquainted with everyone."
Sokov stood up, holding the edge of the table, nodded to the commanders present, and said: "I am Major Sokov, the new acting division commander of the 328th Division."
The commanders of the regiments sitting below couldn't help but frowned when they heard that this young major was actually the new acting division commander.
Their expressions were all seen by Lobachev. In order to prevent everyone from despising Sokov, he continued: "Comrade commanders, I think you still remember that when your division and the 324th Division
When the Germans encircled you, which unit fought desperately to create a gap in the German encirclement, allowing you to successfully break out."
"Istria Camp!" As soon as Lobachev finished speaking, a colonel sitting on the right stood up and raised his voice and said: "If it weren't for them, I think the outcome of the commanders here would be either sacrifice or death.
Captured." The colonel's words immediately resonated with everyone, and everyone was saying that if it weren't for the Istria Battalion, it would have been impossible to break out of the German encirclement.
Lieutenant Colonel Potugin, chief of staff of the division, who was sitting nearby, saw that the room was as lively as a vegetable market. He quickly slapped the table with his hands twice. After the room became quieter, he said loudly: "Quiet, please be quiet. Command."
Comrades, please pay attention to your status. You are regimental commanders, not hawkers in the vegetable market. How is it inappropriate to make a noise?!"
After everyone regained their composure, Lobachev said: "Comrade commanders, I would like to formally introduce to you that this Major Sokov is the commander of the Istria Battalion. Under his command,
The battalion achieved brilliant results and became the first grassroots combat unit of our army named after a place. Letting him serve as the acting division commander of the 328th Division was a collective decision made by the group army and reported to the front army headquarters for approval..."
When the commanders present learned from Lobachev that Sokov was the commander of the unit that rescued them from the brink of destruction, their eyes looked at him full of curiosity and approval. However,
Some people are still thinking in their minds: Although the Istrian battalion he commanded has achieved considerable results, he is still a battalion-level commander, and he jumped several levels to become acting division commander. Is he qualified for this position?
After Lobachev introduced Sokov's identity, he said a few more words, and then left on his own initiative. At the entrance of the division gate, he said to Sokov who was escorting him out: "Major Sokov, what can I do for you?"
Everything has been done. Whether you can lead this heroic army depends entirely on you."
"Don't worry, Comrade Military Commissar." In order not to disappoint Lobachev, Sokov said with a smile: "As long as the superiors complete the replenishment of the troops as soon as possible, I think in the next battle, the 328th Division will be able to
Achieve brilliant achievements.”
"I believe you, Major Sokov." Regarding Sokov's statement, Lobachev expressed his attitude without hesitation. He stretched out his hand to Sokov and said sincerely: "I'll wait.
Good news for you. Wish you good luck!"
After Lobachev's jeep left, Sokov returned to the division headquarters. He stood at his position and said to everyone: "Comrade commanders, let's all get to know each other." He stretched out his hand.
Pointing to the right, "Let's start with the commander sitting on the right."
The first person to stand up and introduce himself was Chief of Staff Potugin. Sitting on his right was Colonel Bindasov, the commander of the 1135th Regiment, who was also the colonel who stood up to speak. Sokov had a good impression of him.
As soon as he finished speaking, he then asked: "Comrade Colonel, how many troops does your regiment currently have?"
"The whole regiment has a total of 675 people, including 423 combat soldiers." Bindasov heard Sokov's question and immediately replied respectfully: "During the breakout, all the heavy weapons in the regiment were lost.
, I wonder if the teacher can add some for us."
In response to Bindasov's request, Sokov was silent for a moment, and then said: "Comrade Colonel, as far as I know, in the near future, the superiors will replenish our division's troops and consumed weapons and ammunition, and presumably heavy weapons will also
Provide some. When the time comes, I will give priority to your group."
"This is really great." After receiving Sokov's promise, Bindasov showed an expression of surprise on his face, "Comrade division commander, if our superiors can give us the necessary heavy weapons, we will be able to fight in the next battle."
"Our regiment will definitely achieve results that satisfy you." The next two people were the political commissar and chief of staff of the 1135th regiment. They also expressed their attitudes and talked with Bindasov.
Similar words.
When a lieutenant colonel on the left stood up, Potukin quickly took the initiative to introduce to Sokov: "Comrade division commander, this is Lieutenant Colonel Pavel, chief of staff of the 1137th Regiment. The commander of the regiment died in the battle.
"
"Sacrificial?" Sokov couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he heard what Potugin said. Then he looked at Lieutenant Colonel Pavel and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how did your regiment leader die? Can you tell me?
Tell me?"
Pavel, who was asked, nodded and said: "In the battles of the past few days, our regiment was the vanguard of the entire division. During the pursuit, we encountered a sudden counterattack by the German army. They unexpectedly attacked the regiment.
The headquarters and subordinate troops were separated, and then a tank detachment was used to launch an assault on the location of the regiment headquarters. When the regiment leader was commanding the retreat, a tank shell fell next to him and exploded. After the smoke cleared, I
Seeing him lying in a pool of blood..."
When Pavel said this, he suddenly stopped. After seeing the painful expression on his face, Sokov nodded to him and said: "Please sit down, Lieutenant Colonel Pavel, I declare that from now on, you are
Acting commander of the 1137th Regiment. In the next offensive battle, we will severely attack the Japanese invaders and avenge our fallen comrades."
After the meeting, Potukin saw that he and the new acting division commander were the only ones left in the room, so he curiously asked: "Comrade division commander, will our superiors really replenish us with soldiers, weapons and ammunition?"
"Yes," Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "At least that's what the chief of staff, General Malinin, told me."
When Potukin heard what Sokov said, he couldn't help showing a disappointed expression on his face: "Comrade division commander, as early as two months ago, Colonel Yeremin received a notice from his superiors that he would replenish us with soldiers, weapons and ammunition.
Unexpectedly, after waiting for a month, the superior suddenly said that it could not be replenished for the time being, and asked us to find a way to replenish the wounded who had been discharged from injury into the army. As for weapons, some were provided, but they were all light weapons, and there were no heavy weapons at all. That's right.
Because of this, during the recent attack, the division's artillery battalion had no artillery shells at all, so when it retreated, it had to throw away those artillery pieces that had no shells."
"Why, there is an artillery battalion in the division?" Sokov always thought that there were three infantry regiments in the division, plus a few directly-affiliated troops. Unexpectedly, there was an artillery battalion. He felt like asking: "Currently, this artillery battalion is still there.
How many people are left?”
"There are not many people left. After all, they suffered a lot of losses when they broke through." Potukin calculated the number of people in his mind and replied: "There are still more than 60 people left in the artillery battalion and the rest of the tank battalion."
There are about the same number of people.”
Potukin's words contained so much information that Sokov was surprised and asked: "What, what, there is actually a tank battalion in the division?"
"Yes, there turned out to be a tank battalion with 28 tanks." When he said this, Potukin showed a regretful expression on his face: "It is a pity that this tank battalion has never been obtained since the big counterattack under Moscow.
Any additions. No, the few remaining tanks were all lost in the battle some time ago."
The conversation with Potukin made Sokov realize that the 328th Division was somewhat different from his imagination. It not only had three infantry regiments, but also a tank battalion and an artillery battalion. If these two battalions could be supplemented,
Up, it can greatly remind the combat effectiveness of the whole division.
Thinking of this, he nodded towards the telephone on the table and asked Potukin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can this telephone be used to communicate with the Army Headquarters?"
"Okay." Potukin nodded, and then asked: "Comrade division commander, do you want to speak to the headquarters?"
"Yes," Sokov thought, thinking that his Istria battalion also had a tank platoon and an artillery platoon. Although the manpower was a bit short, it could still be used to great effect if combined with the tank battalion and artillery battalion in the division.
Function. But before that, the first thing to consider is to replenish the necessary tanks and artillery for these two battalions. "I have important things to talk to Chief of Staff Malinin."
The call was quickly connected, and a strange voice came from the receiver: "This is the Army Group Headquarters. Where are you?"
"Hello!" Sokov guessed that the person who answered the phone might be a staff officer in the headquarters, so he took the initiative to identify himself: "I am Major Sokov, acting commander of the 328th Division. I have important matters to see Staff Officer Malinin."
long."
After the other party heard Sokov's voice clearly, he immediately said politely: "Comrade Major, please wait a moment. I will put you through the call of the Chief of Staff immediately."
Soon, Malinin's voice came from the receiver: "Is it Sokov? I'm Malinin. I heard that you have something important to ask me. If you have anything, just tell me."
"That's it, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although Sokov felt that it would be more appropriate to turn to Orel and Kazakov for the matter of tanks and artillery, but if he directly passed Malinin, who was in charge of the overall situation of the group army, it would definitely cause trouble.
The other party was dissatisfied, so after some consideration, he decided to deal with Malinen first: "The 328th Division originally had a tank battalion and an artillery battalion, but all the tanks and artillery were lost in the last battle.
I would like to ask if the superiors can replace the lost tanks and artillery for our division?"
When Malinin heard Sokov's question, he couldn't help laughing: "Major Sokov, you fell into the role very quickly. You just became the acting division commander of the 328th Division, and you started thinking about everything for the division."
."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said into the microphone with a smile: "Since my superiors have appointed me as the acting division commander of this division, when I think about issues, I must stand from the standpoint of this division."
"Don't worry, Major Sokov." Malinin raised his head and glanced at the artillery commander Kazakov and the armored force master Orel who were sitting not far away. He smiled and said to the microphone: "The tanks and tanks your division needs.
I will give you all the artillery. However, the supplements given to us by our superiors are still on the way, and you still need to wait patiently for a while."
After saying these words, Ma Lining was silent for a moment, and then asked: "How is it, Misha, how do you feel about being this division commander?"
Regarding Malinin's question, Sokov originally wanted to answer: "It's like walking on thin ice when facing an abyss." But after searching for words in his mind for a long time, he unexpectedly found that it was difficult to accurately translate these two words, so he had to change his way of saying it.
: "I feel that I am under a lot of pressure. I am deeply afraid that I will not be able to lead this unit well and betray the trust my superiors have placed in me."
"Misha, let me tell you a little tidbit." Seeing that there was no one else around him, Ma Lining lowered his voice and said: "As far as I know, the superiors were originally planning to award your division the honorary title of the 31st Guards Division. However, due to the fact that your division had some time ago
The battle was defeated, so the reorganization into the Guards Division was postponed. If you perform well in the following battles, the 328th Infantry Division will soon be transformed into the 31st Guards Infantry Division. But if you cannot
If we achieve any results, perhaps this glorious designation will be awarded to other troops by the base camp."
Malinin's words doubled the pressure on Sokov's shoulders. He knew very well that if the 328th Division under his command had no dazzling results in the new round of offensive, not only would his acting division commander be in trouble,
Even the Guards Division designation that the 328th Division is about to receive will be cancelled. At that time, he will become a sinner in the history of the 328th Division, and his future will become bleak from now on.
Thinking of this, Sokov immediately expressed his position to Malinin and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please rest assured. As long as the superiors provide us with additional soldiers and weapons and equipment, if I cannot command the troops to achieve brilliant results in the next battle, you will