As the acting commander of the 328th Division, Sokov felt that it was necessary to go to the troops below to see. Only by understanding the real situation at the grassroots level could one formulate targeted ways to improve morale. Bindasov's 1135th Regiment was stationed on the side of the Jizdra River, across the river from the German army on the other side, and was the closest unit to the German army, so the regiment became his first inspection target.
When he heard that Sokov came to inspect him, Bindasov hurriedly brought the political commissar and the chief of staff to greet him. After saluting Sokov, he smiled and said, "Comrade Commander, welcome to our delegation to inspect."
After the group returned to the regiment command post, Bindasov winked at his chief of staff and signaled him to report the situation of the troops to Sokov. As soon as Sokov sat down, he took the initiative to say, "Comrade Commander, let me introduce you to the deployment of our regiment."
The purpose of Sokov came here to inspect was to find out the defense of the 1135th Regiment. Therefore, he nodded and signaled that he could start reporting.
The Chief of Staff pointed to the map placed on the table and introduced to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, please look at the map. Our regiment is deployed on the front line of the Jizdra River. The first battalion is the front line. Their positions are across the river from the German positions. The nearest place is less than two hundred meters..."
"Wait a minute, Chief of Staff." Sokov heard this and quickly raised his hand to interrupt the Chief of Staff, looking at him and asked: "How wide is the river surface and the water flow is very turbulent? How many troops are we stationed here, and what kind of force are the enemy?..."
Faced with a series of problems with Sokov, the Chief of Staff hesitated for a moment, but soon he replied quickly: "The narrowest part of the river is only fifty meters, and the water depth is more than three meters. However, since the river has just thawed, the river water is still biting, and the enemy and us do not have the conditions to swim for the time being; the first battalion is on the position by the river, with 192 troops, and the enemy on the other side is similar to ours..."
After listening to the Chief of Staff’s introduction, Sokov stood up and said to Bindasov: “Comrade Colonel, accompany me to the first battalion’s position. I want to see the situation of the enemy on the other side.”
Bindasov thought that Sokov would sit in the regiment headquarters like the previous leaders and listen to the report. Unexpectedly, he actually thought of going to the frontline to take a look, so he quickly persuaded: "Comrade Commander, the enemy's position is too close, and life will be in danger. If you want to know what the situation is, we will report to you truthfully."
"Comrade Colonel, as the commander of the first division, I need to be familiar with the situation in my defense zone." Sokov waved his hand and said to Bindasov: "Besides, in a while, we will launch an attack on the enemy. If we are not familiar with the terrain, how can I command the battle?"
Seeing that Bindasov was speechless by himself, Sokov waved his head at him and said, "Let's go, comrade Colonel, please accompany me to the frontier."
Seeing Sokov pointing his life, Bindasov had no choice but to nod and said helplessly: "Okay, comrade instructor, since you want to go to the frontline, I will accompany you."
The defense zone of the first battalion is only five or six hundred meters away from the regiment headquarters, and can be reached through a small wood. The original battalion commander died in the battle, and now the one who succeeded him is Captain Jetrov, the company commander of the Third Company.
When Sokov and Bindasov arrived at the first battalion, Captain Jetrov was staying in the observation center and using a telescope to observe the situation opposite. Seeing the regiment commander come in, he quickly put down the telescope and greeted him and raised his hand to salute: "Comrade Commander, Captain Jetrov, the acting battalion commander of the first battalion, report to you, I am observing the enemy situation on the other side, please instruct!"
After Bindasov raised his hand and returned the salute, he introduced to Jetrov: "This is Major Sokov, the new division commander, you can report to him."
When Jetrov learned that the young major standing next to the commander was the new division commander, he opened his eyes wide in surprise. However, he quickly returned to normal, raised his hand to salute Sokov, and repeated what he had just said.
After Sokov returned the salute to Jetrov, he walked straight to the lookout and asked casually: "Captain, is there any movement in the enemy on the other side?"
"No, comrade of the division commander." Jetrov replied simply: "The enemy is as usual, nothing is unusual. It seems that they will not attack in the short term."
Just as Jetrov was talking, Sokov suddenly saw a carriage parked by the river on the other side, and two German soldiers were fetching water by the river with buckets. When he saw the German soldiers put the bucket full of water on the carriage, Sokov couldn't help but frown. He turned his head and looked at Jetrov and said sternly: "Comrade Captain, I would like to ask you to explain what happened to the two German soldiers who fetched water on the river on the other side."
Jetrov had obviously seen two German soldiers. After hearing Sokov's question, he replied without hesitation: "Report to the division commander, the two Germans should be cooks, they went to the river to fetch water."
"Water-fetching?!" Sokov walked around Jetrov and sneered, "Captain, I want to remind you that whether they are cooks or not, they are our enemies first." He paused for a moment, and then asked, "But what should we do when we see the enemy?"
Although Jetrov did not understand the purpose of Sokov's question, he replied simply: "Destroy them firmly."
"It's right." Sokov said expressionlessly: "Since you know it's the enemy and you're going to eliminate it, why do you see the enemy going to the river to fetch water under your nose, but you are indifferent?"
Faced with Sokov's questioning, Jetrov's face turned red and he replied awkwardly: "Comrade Commander, that is the enemy's cook..."
"I have just said that no matter what kind of troops, as long as it is an enemy, we must resolutely destroy them." The observation center of the first battalion was more than 200 meters away from the German position. Through the observation port, even without a telescope, Sokov could clearly see the German sentry standing guard on the opposite position. He pointed to the German position in the distance and continued: "Also, the enemy's sentry is like a telephone pole, standing within the range of your rifles and machine guns, you turned a blind eye..."
After Sokov finished speaking, he immediately asked guiltily: "Comrade Commander, what should we do?"
"What else can I do? As soon as possible, I will form a sniper team to kill the enemy exposed to the guns of our army on the other side." Sokov looked at Jetrov and said with a serious expression: "I hope that when I visit here next time, I will not see a German on the other side. Do you understand?"
"I understand, comrade of the division command." Although Jetrov was still a little resistant to Sokov's orders, he replied loudly: "I will immediately draw sharpshooters from the camp and form a sniper team to snipe the enemies who have entered the range of our army."
Chapter completed!