Eager to know the latest situation in the prisoner-of-war camp, Sokov personally called Kirillov and asked straight to the point: "General Kirillov, is there any news about the troops sent to the prisoner-of-war camp?"
"No, Comrade Commander." Kirillov replied: "There is no news yet."
After hearing this, Sokov couldn't help but frown slightly: "What's going on? Didn't you equip them with a radio?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Kirillov hurriedly explained: "According to your order, in order to facilitate the command of the troops, radios are equipped at the battalion level, and telephones are equipped at the platoon level. My staff officer
The reason why the commander has not sent a call for a long time is that I guess they are still on the way. When they find the prisoner of war camp, they will definitely send me a telegram as soon as possible."
Not getting the answer he wanted, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed: "Okay, once Miyakov sends back the telegram, remember to report it to me in time."
Putting down the phone, Sokov smiled bitterly and said to Lunev and Sidorin: "General Kirillov told me that the troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Myakov have not sent back any news yet. I guess
They were delayed on the way."
"It's possible." Lunev nodded and said, "It's already late February now, and spring in East Prussia will come earlier. The ice and snow have begun to melt in many places, which has had some adverse effects on our march.
.”
"Is this possible?" As soon as Lunev finished speaking, Sidorin put forward his own opinion: "Do you think that all the commanders and fighters held in the prisoner of war camp have been killed by the Germans?
Maybe because of this, Lieutenant Colonel Myakov didn’t know how to report to General Kirillov even when he arrived at the prisoner of war camp?”
Regarding Sidorin's speculation, Sokov could not help but be a little shaken. Did the Germans really kill all the commanders and fighters held in the prisoner of war camp? If this is true, then the rescue sent by the 3rd Infantry Division this time
The troops will be traveling in vain.
Sokov shook his head and tried to drive this ridiculous idea out of his mind. After taking a sip of tea from the table, he asked Lunev: "Comrade Military Commissar, the Chief of Staff and I are going to the Front Army Commander
Did the divisions call during the ministry meeting?"
"Yes." Lunev picked up the book on the table and said to Sokov: "The 1st and 120th Guards Divisions once called and mentioned that they had problems with their ammunition. I hope they can get it back as soon as possible.
Replenishment was received; the 284th Infantry Division called and said that a lot of the food supplied to their division was moldy..."
Sokov was not interested in such trivial matters at all. He was more concerned about whether these division commanders followed his orders and went to search for possible prisoner of war camps near the defense area. Therefore, he waited for Lunev's words to come to an end.
After that, he asked directly: "I gave them the task of searching the prisoner of war camp. How did they complete it?"
"Misha, I told you not to be angry." Lunev said cautiously: "According to my judgment, among the divisions under the group army, except for General Kirillov's 3rd Infantry Division, no one will attack you.
If we take this order seriously, we will naturally not send out manpower to search for possible prisoner of war camps nearby."
"It's outrageous," Sokov said angrily after hearing what Luniev said: "They actually dare to ignore my orders. What are they trying to do? Are they trying to rebel?"
"Misha, don't be angry." Seeing Sokov's face full of anger, Lunev quickly comforted him and said: "I think the reason why they are unwilling to carry out your order is because they are worried that if they really send a large number of people,
Go search nearby and find it. If you can't find it, it's a waste of manpower and time. Instead of spending so much time looking for prisoner of war camps that may not exist, it's better to let the commanders and soldiers use this time.
Take a good rest."
"I think what Comrade Military Commissar said makes sense." Sidorin echoed from the side: "The reason why the commanders of each division did not pay attention to this matter is probably because they were worried about sending a large number of manpower and spent a lot of time searching.
In the end, you will gain nothing, and it will be a waste of time.”
"Chief of Staff," Sokov ordered Sidorin angrily: "Call the commanders of each division and convey my order again. And tell them that if they ignore this order,
, once I discover the existence of a prisoner-of-war camp near their defense area, but miss the opportunity to liberate the prisoner-of-war camp because of their negligence, they will all be punished accordingly."
While Sidorin was on the phone, Lunev asked about today's military meeting again. "Misha, tell me what Marshal Rokossovsky said at today's combat meeting.
.”
Seeing that Luniev was interested in today's military meeting, Sokov relayed to him what he heard at the meeting again. Finally, he said: "Comrade Marshal's meaning is very simple, which is to completely crush the Germans during the offensive.
The Vistula Group eliminated the right-wing threat from Marshal Zhukov's troops, allowing them to rush towards Berlin quickly."
"Let us deal with the German Vistula Group so that Marshal Zhukov's troops can quickly push towards Berlin." After hearing what Sokov said, Runev couldn't help but take a breath of air, and then said to Sokov: "
Misha, I now feel that your judgment is correct. The Supreme Command indeed wants the 1st Belarusian Front commanded by Marshal Zhukov to be the first unit to enter Berlin."
"Well, I think so too." Sokov nodded and said: "Not only does our front army have to eliminate the threat from Marshal Zhukov's right wing, but even Marshal Konev's First Ukrainian Front is also responsible for eliminating the threat from Marshal Zhukov's left wing.
Mission. Only by completely eliminating the threats on both wings can Marshal Zhukov's troops rush to Berlin more smoothly."
After Luniev waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he couldn't help but sigh up to the sky, and then said: "I originally thought that our army group was the most likely to be the first unit to enter Berlin, but judging from the current situation, this
The possibility has become infinitesimal. What a pity, what a pity."
But Sokov took this matter very lightly. He said with a smile: "Comrade Military Commissar, it's not a big deal if we can't be the first unit to enter Berlin. As long as our troops can successfully capture Berlin,
Capturing Mustache alive in the Capitol Building is also a great achievement."
Lunev, who was originally a little downcast, suddenly lit up when he heard what Sokov said: "Yes, entering Berlin is only the first step to completely defeat the Germans. If you want them to give up resistance and surrender unconditionally to our army,
We must capture the Reichstag in Berlin and capture Mustache alive. As long as our troops can complete either of these two tasks, it doesn't matter even if we cannot be the first troop to enter Berlin."
After making the call, Sidorin saw Sokov and Lunev chatting and laughing, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "Comrade Commander, Comrade Military Commissar, what are you two talking about? I see you are both very happy."
Look."
When Runev repeated Sokov's words to him, he couldn't help but cheered: "Comrade Commander, we are just too arrogant. We always think about being the first unit to rush into Berlin, but we forget that
, whether we can be number one does not depend on us, but on our superiors. If they do not give us this opportunity, then we will not be able to achieve our goals. But when it comes to storming the Reichstag in Berlin or capturing Mustache alive, I
I feel that these two tasks are relatively easy. With the combat effectiveness of our group army, I believe that even if we engage in street fighting, we can advance to the vicinity of the Capitol Building in a very short period of time."
"By the way, I heard that there are three air defense towers in Berlin." Lunev suddenly interrupted: "They are located in Berlin Zoo, Humboldt Hein, and Friedrich Hein. These three air defense towers just form a
Triangle, the center of the triangle is the German Reichstag. If we want to capture the Reichstag, we must first occupy these three anti-aircraft towers, otherwise the artillery on them will cause a devastating blow to our offensive forces."
Unexpectedly, Sokov just laughed after hearing this. Berlin's anti-aircraft towers were indeed indestructible, but their role had been infinitely exaggerated. He remembered reading a post in later generations, obviously from a German soldier, saying that Berlin's anti-aircraft towers were indestructible.
The air defense tower shot down tens of thousands of Soviet and Allied bombers overnight to illustrate how amazing the air defense tower was. But he seemed to have forgotten the concept of 10,000 aircraft, never mentioning the Soviet and Allied forces.
Did the military have so many aircraft in Germany at that time? Even if they did, tens of thousands of them were shot down in one night, and the power of the explosion when they fell was enough to level Berlin to the ground.
"Comrade Military Commissar, don't worry." Sokov comforted Runev and said: "The Berlin anti-aircraft towers were greatly exaggerated by the Germans. If they really had the power advertised, the RAF's air raid on Berlin would be
How many more years can it last?”
Lunev heard what Sokov said, frowned and thought for a while, and then said: "Yes, Misha, you are right. As far as I know, the British have been carrying out long-term attacks on Berlin since the outbreak of the battlefield.
Air raids, if their air defense towers were really as powerful as they advertised, the RAF air raid on Berlin would have been wiped out long ago." After saying this, he laughed and added, "I really didn't expect that, we
As a commander, I was almost deceived by this huge lie of the Germans."
While several people were chatting and joking, the phone on the table rang.
Sokov thought it was Kirillov calling and hurriedly grabbed the phone. Unexpectedly, Rokossovsky's voice came from inside: "Misha, I heard that you sent troops to the area near Letzen."
Searching for prisoner of war camps in the forest, I wonder if there are any results?"
Upon hearing the call from Rokossovsky, Sokov quickly straightened up and replied respectfully: "Comrade Marshal, regarding the prisoner-of-war camp where our commanders and fighters are detained in the forest near Letzen,
General Kirillov learned this from the Gestapo leader in the city. I think this information should be completely reliable. And after obtaining this information, Kirillov immediately sent a regiment led by his chief of staff Miyakov
The lieutenant colonel led a team and went to the forest to rescue him personally."
"I don't care what measures you took." Rokossovsky interrupted Sokov before he could finish his words: "I only care about the result. Did the people you sent find the area near Lezen?"
Prisoner of war camp?”
"Comrade Marshal, so far, I have not received a report from General Kirillov." Sokov replied: "But he has promised me that once there is news about the dispatched troops, he will notify me as soon as possible.
"
"Oh, that's it." Rokossovsky said: "If there is any news about the prisoner of war camp, please remember to call me and report it as soon as possible." He specifically added, "Our troops are going through this period of time.
During the battle, the attrition situation was very serious, but the supplements given to us by our superiors were very few and came very slowly. If we can find a few more prisoner of war camps, liberate the commanders and fighters detained in them, and add them to the troops, we can make up for it.
Our army’s losses in the early stage.”
"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Sokov said, "I'll call General Kirillov right away and ask him how the situation is there. If there is any news about the prisoner of war camp, I will report it to him as soon as possible.
You report."
After Sokov put down the phone, he said to Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, you heard it. Not only am I concerned about the prisoner of war camp, but Marshal Rokossovsky is also concerned about this matter. The attack some time ago
The battle caused us to lose too many soldiers. It is unrealistic to just wait for supplies from our superiors, so we must find ways to replenish soldiers from all aspects."
After saying this, Sokov picked up the phone again and called the headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Division. When he heard that the person who answered the phone was Kirillov, he ignored the politeness and asked directly: "Kililov
General Love, does your chief of staff have any feedback?"
"Not yet, Comrade Commander." When Kirillov heard Sokov asking about the prisoner of war camp again, he replied a little embarrassedly: "I haven't received any answer yet."
"Damn it, what the hell is going on." Sokov raised his hand and looked at the time. Five or six hours have passed since Kirillov dispatched the troops, but he still hasn't received any news. Could it be that these commanders and fighters are here?
Did you encounter a ghost hitting the wall in the forest, always running in circles? "Have you ordered someone to take the initiative to contact Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov?"
Kirillov glanced at the operator in the corner who was calling constantly with a microphone, and replied: "Comrade Commander, my operator is calling Lieutenant Colonel Miakov non-stop, but it is regrettable that
Unfortunately, I still can’t get in touch with them.”
When Sokov heard what Kirillov said, he couldn't help but tap his fingers quickly on the table. He wondered in his mind what was going on and why the radio station couldn't be contacted for so long. Could there be something wrong? He thought.
Here, he said to Kirillov: "General Kirillov, do you think there is a problem with their radio station, which is why they can't contact them all the time? I think so, you immediately send two groups of communication troops,
Follow their route and find out what happened."
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Kirillov said: "I immediately sent communications troops carrying radios to the forest area to find the whereabouts of Lieutenant Colonel Myakov and others, and we must find out what happened.
"
This chapter has been completed!