Half an hour later, officers at the 328th Division level and above all rushed to attend the meeting. When they received the call, they knew that the new division commander was taking office, and they couldn't help but be curious, wanting to see what kind of person the superior sent to replace Colonel Ye Lieming. But they saw clearly that they were sitting with Lobachev, and they were actually a young major, and they couldn't help but show a surprised expression.
Seeing that everyone was almost here, Lobachev stood up and said, "Comrades Commanders, I believe everyone knows me, so I won't introduce myself. I'm here today to accompany your new division commander to take office." After saying this, he turned his head and looked at Sokov sitting beside him, and said with a smile: "Major Sokov, stand up and get to know everyone."
Sokov stood up, holding the edge of the table with his hand, nodded to the commanders present, and said, "I am Major Sokov, the new acting commander of the 328th Division."
The leaders of the various groups sitting below frowned when they heard that this young major, who was a little too young, was the new acting commander.
Their expressions were all seen by Lobachev. In order to prevent everyone from despising Sokov, he continued to say: "Comrades, I think you still remember that when your division and the 324th Division were surrounded by the German army, which army fought to death to cut a gap in the German encirclement and allowed 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 ending of the commanders here would be either sacrificed or captured." The colonel's words immediately resonated with everyone. Everyone said that if it weren't for Istria Camp, it would be impossible to break through the German encirclement.
Lieutenant Colonel Potukin, the chief of staff of the division, saw that the room was as lively as a vegetable market, and quickly patted the table with his hands. After the room was a little quieter, he said loudly: "Quiet, please be quiet. Comrades in the commander, please pay attention to your identity. You are regiment-level commanders, not hawkers in the vegetable market. What kind of quarrels are there?!"
After Lobachev and others returned to peace, they spoke, "Comrades Commander, I will now officially introduce to you that Major Sokov is the battalion commander of Istria. Under his command, the battalion achieved brilliant results and became the first grassroots combat unit named after a place name. Letting him serve as the acting commander of the 328th Division was collectively studied and decided by the group army and reported to the Front Command for approval..."
When the commanders present learned from Lobachev's mouth that Sokov was the commander of the unit that rescued them from the brink of destruction, their eyes were filled with curiosity and praise. But some people were still thinking: Although the Istrian Battalion he commanded had achieved considerable results, he was a battalion-level commander after all. After all, he was a battalion-level commander. After all, he jumped several levels and became an acting division commander. Can he be competent for this position?
After introducing Sokov's identity, Lobachev said a few more words and left voluntarily. At the entrance of the division, he said to Sokov who sent him out: "Major Sokov, all the things I can do for you have been done. Whether you can lead this hero's army well depends on you."
"Don't worry, comrade of the military committee." Sokov smiled and said, in order not to disappoint Lobachev, "As long as the superiors complete the replenishment of the troops as soon as possible, I think the 328th Division will definitely achieve brilliant results in the next battle."
"I believe you, Major Sokov." Lobachev expressed his attitude without hesitation about Sokov's statement. He stretched out his hand to Sokov and said sincerely: "I am waiting for your good news. Good luck!"
After the jeep Lobachev left, Sokov returned to the division headquarters. He stood in his position and said to everyone: "Dear commanders, let's get to know each other." He reached out and pointed to the right, "Let's start with the commander sitting on the right."
The first chief of staff, Potukin, stood up to introduce himself, was sitting on his right hand with Colonel Bindasov, the leader of the 1135th Regiment, and the colonel who had just stood up to speak. Sokov had a good impression of him, and as soon as he finished speaking, he continued to ask: "Comrade Colonel, how many troops do your regiment have at present?"
"There are 675 people in the regiment, of which 423 combat soldiers." Bindasov heard Sokov's question and immediately replied respectfully: "When breaking through, all the heavy weapons in the regiment were lost. I wonder if the division can add some to us."
Sokov was silent for a moment about Bindasov's request, and then said, "Comrade Colonel, as far as I know, in the near future, the superiors will supplement our division's troops and consumed weapons and ammunition. I believe that heavy weapons will also be provided. At that time, I will give priority to your regiment."
"This is really great." After receiving Sokov's promise, Bindasov showed a surprise expression on his face. "Comrade Commander, if the superiors can add necessary heavy weapons to us, our regiment will definitely achieve satisfactory results in the next battle." The next two were the political commissar and chief of staff of the 1135th Regiment. The two also expressed their attitude and said something similar to Bindasov.
When a lieutenant colonel on the left stood up, Potukin quickly introduced to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, this is Lieutenant Colonel Pavel, the chief of staff of the 1137th Regiment, who died in the battle."
"Sacrificed?" Sokov was stunned for a moment when he heard Portukin say this. Then he looked at Lieutenant Colonel Pavel and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how did your leader sacrifice? Can you tell me?"
Pavel, who was asked, nodded and said, "In the battle a few days ago, our regiment was the vanguard of the entire division. During the pursuit, we were suddenly counterattacked by the German army. They unexpectedly divided the regiment headquarters and their subordinate troops, and then used tank teams to carry out an assault to the location of the regiment headquarters. When the regiment commander was commanding the retreat, a tank shell fell beside him and exploded. When the smoke dissipated, I saw him fall into a pool of blood..."
Pavel said this and suddenly stopped. After seeing the painful expression on his face, Sokov nodded at him and said, "Please sit down, Lieutenant Colonel Pavel, I announce that from now on, you will be the acting leader of the 1137th Regiment. In the next offensive battle, we will severely attack the invaders and avenge the sacrificed comrades."
After the meeting, when Potukin saw that only he and the new acting division commander were left in the room, he asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, will the superior really replenish us soldiers, weapons and ammunition?"
"Yes," Sokov nodded, saying affirmatively: "At least that's what General Malining told me."
When Potukin heard Sokov's words, he couldn't help but show a disappointed expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, two months ago, Colonel Ye Lieming had received a notice from his superior, saying that he would replenish our troops and weapons and ammunition. Unexpectedly, after waiting for a month, his superior suddenly said that it was impossible to replenish for the time being, so that we could find a way to replenish the wounded and discharged from the hospital. As for weapons, some were provided, but they were all light weapons and there were no heavy weapons at all. It was precisely because of this that during the attack not long ago, the division's artillery battalion had no shells available at all, so when retreating, they had to throw away those artillery without 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 direct troops. Unexpectedly, there was an artillery battalion. He asked, "How many people are left in this artillery battalion at present?"
"There are not many people, after all, they suffered a lot of losses when they broke through the siege." After calculating the number of people in their hearts, Potukin replied: "There are more than 60 people left in the artillery battalion, which is about the same number as the remaining people in the Tank Battalion."
Potukin's words were so informative that Sokov asked in surprise: "What, what, there is actually a tank battalion in the division?"
"That's right, there was a tank battalion with 28 tanks." When he said this, Potugin's face showed a regretful expression: "It's a pity that since the large counterattack under Moscow City, this tank battalion has never received any supplements. Just a few tanks left were all lost in the battle some time ago."
The conversation with Potukin made Sokov realize that the 328th Division had a certain degree of difference from his imagination. It not only had three infantry regiments, but also had tank battalions and artillery battalions. If these two battalions could be supplemented, it could greatly remind the entire division of its combat effectiveness.
Thinking of this, he thrust at the phone on the table and asked Potukin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can this phone be contacted with the Army Command?"
"Yes." Potkin nodded, then asked back: "Comrade Commander, are you going to talk to the headquarters?"
"Yes," Sokov thought of his Istrian battalion, and there were tank platoons and artillery platoons. Although there was a little less manpower, it could also play a big role if it merged with the division's tank platoons and artillery battalions. However, before that, the first thing to consider is to supplement these two battalions with necessary tanks and artillery. "I have important things to talk to Chief of Staff Malining."
The phone was quickly connected, and a strange voice came from the receiver: "This is the Army Command, where are you?"
"Hello!" Sokov guessed that the person who answered the phone might be the staff officer in the headquarters, so he took the initiative to reveal his identity: "I am Major Sokov, the acting commander of the 328th Division, and I have important things to find Chief of Staff Malining."
After hearing Sokov's voice clearly, the other party immediately said politely: "Comrade Major, please wait for a while, and I will help you answer the Chief of Staff's phone number immediately."
Soon, Malining's voice came from the receiver: "Is it Sokov? I am Malining. I heard that you have important things to come to me, and just say anything if you have something."
"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although Sokov felt that it would be more appropriate to find Orel and Kazakov for the matter of tanks and artillery, if he directly passed Malining, who was in charge of the overall situation of the group army, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction from the other party. Therefore, after some consideration, he decided to pass the air with Malining 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, can the superiors replenish the lost tanks and artillery for our division?"
When Malining heard Sokov's question, he couldn't help but laugh: "Major Sokov, you're getting into the role very quickly. Just now he became the acting commander of the 328th Division and began to consider everything for his teacher."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov smiled at the microphone, "Since my superior appointed me as the acting commander of this division, then when I consider the problem, I must stand on the standpoint of this division."
"Don't worry, Major Sokov." Malining looked up at the artillery commander Kazakov, who was sitting not far away, and Orel, the owner of the armored soldier, and said to the microphone with a smile: "I will give you the tanks and artillery you need for your division. However, the supplements given to us by the superiors are still on the way, and you still need to wait patiently for a while."
After saying this, Malining was silent for a moment, then asked: "How is it, Misha, do you think of being this teacher?"
Regarding Malining's question, Sokov originally wanted to answer: "It's like walking on thin ice in the abyss." But after searching the vocabulary in his mind for a long time, he unexpectedly found it was difficult to accurately translate these two words, so he could only change the statement: "I feel under a lot of pressure, and I am afraid that I can't lead this army well and live up to my trust from my superiors."
"Misha, I'll tell you a little bit of news." Seeing that there were no one around, Malining lowered his voice and said, "As far as I know, the superiors were originally planning to award your division's honorary title to the 31st Guard Division. However, because your division was defeated some time ago, the work of reorganizing the Guard Division was postponed. If you perform well in the subsequent battle, you will soon turn from the 328th Infantry Division to the 31st Guard Infantry Division. But if you cannot achieve any results, perhaps this glorious number will be awarded to other troops by the base camp."
Malining's words doubled the pressure on Sokov's shoulders. He knew very well that if the 328th Division he commanded had no dazzling results in the new round of attacks, not only did his acting division commander come to the fore, but even the guard division number that the 328th Division is about to be obtained 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 then on.
Chapter completed!