Whether the German 14th Armored Division could be prevented from crossing the river depends on whether the pontoon bridge was able to blow up successfully. Sokov made a special trip to the station of the engineer company and urged them to find a small boat that could carry explosives as quickly as possible.
More than half an hour later, when six engineers came to Sokov with a rubber boat, the engineer company commander said to Sokov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we found a rubber boat that we can use to transport explosives from the bridge."
Sokov looked at the rubber boat in front of him and felt that he had hundreds of kilograms of explosives placed on it. If he sat alone, he would not turn over. So he nodded and said, "It's not bad, so he used this rubber boat to transport explosives to blow up the pontoon bridge."
Seeing that Sokov was very satisfied with the rubber boat, the engineer company commander turned around and ordered his men: "Go to do it."
Hearing the company commander's order, the engineers immediately walked to a low hole nearby and moved explosives from the inside. Sokov watched the engineers move boxes after boxes of explosives from the hole and out, and thought to himself: How much explosives did Major Ozor give the engineers' company? After blowing up the two bridges on the Aksay River, there is still so much left?
After a while, when the engineers were moving explosives to the rubber boat, Sokov quickly called out: "Stop, stop me."
Amid everyone's surprise eyes, the engineer company commander walked to Sokov and asked carefully: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there anything wrong?"
"Comrade Commander," Sokov pointed to the rubber boat on the ground, and pointed to the explosives held by the engineers, and asked curiously: "You won't tell me that you plan to put all the explosives on the rubber boat now, right?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." The engineer company commander nodded and replied affirmatively: "Aren't you going to use this rubber boat to blow up the enemy's pontoon bridge? So I asked the soldiers to put all the explosives in first."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov interrupted him: "I want to remind you to figure out something." He pointed his hand at the Aksai River in the distance and said, "The location of the rubber boat is at least more than eight hundred meters away from here. How many soldiers are you planning to carry the rubber boat full of explosives to walk up eight hundred meters?"
If Sokov didn't say that, the engineer company commander really planned to let his soldiers carry this rubber boat with more than 200 kilograms of explosives, and walked up to 800 meters with a groan, and then threw it into the Aksai River. When Sokov said this, he realized how funny his thoughts were, so he waved to the soldiers and said, "Put down all the explosives, you go and rest first."
After Sokov and other soldiers left, he looked at the engineer company commander and asked: "Comrade Commander, after the rubber boat is launched, a soldier must be arranged to stay on the boat. First, control the direction of the rubber boat, and second, ignite the fuse of the explosives at the right time."
"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." The engineer company commander nodded and said, "The mission of detonating explosives will be completed by Corporal Sokarov. He has served in the army for more than twenty years, and I believe he can complete this task well."
"Where is Corporal Sokarov?" Thinking of Sokarov's impending arduous and dangerous task, Sokov said to the engineer company commander: "I want to meet him."
After a moment, a short soldier in his forties and with a small beard came to Sokov. Since this was a battlefield and he was worried that there might be German snipers nearby, he did not salute Sokov, but straightened his body and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, Corporal Sokarov was ordered to get up, please instruct!"
"Hello, Corporal Sokarov." Sokov stepped forward and held the other party's hand, and said with a serious expression: "You will carry out a very difficult task tonight. If you can successfully blow up the pontoon bridge on the Aksai River, the Germans will be unable to set up a new pontoon bridge in this area for a long time. But if the task is not completed, the enemy will successfully set up a pontoon bridge and the tanks will successfully rush to the shore, and our defense will be broken."
Corporal Sokarov waited for Sokov to finish his words and immediately replied: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please rest assured that if I cannot complete the task you assigned me, I will never come back to see you alive."
"The mission must be completed, and people must come back alive." Sokov put his hands on Sokarov's shoulder and said to him: "Comrade Sokarov, you are not young, but you are still a corporal now. If you can complete the mission successfully, you will be promoted to sergeant, and I will ask about this matter myself."
Sokov's previous words were just some clichés for Sokarov. He heard that he would be promoted to sergeant after returning safely. He asked excitedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if I can successfully complete the task, will I really be promoted to sergeant?"
"Yes, Corporal Sokarov." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "I guarantee with my own personality that you will not only be promoted to sergeant, but also receive a medal of courage."
For Russian soldiers who love honor, it is certainly worthy of their happiness to be promoted; but to be able to get another medal, they will feel supreme glory. Corporal Sokarov straightened his body and replied with an extremely solemn expression: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please rest assured that I will complete this task successfully no matter what difficulties I encounter."
At about ten o'clock in the evening, Sokov, the engineer company commander, Sokarov and twenty engineer soldiers came to the river. Everyone carefully piled the explosives on the rubber boat, and then pushed the boat into the river. Before Sokarov got on the boat, Sokov held his hand, shook it twice, and said, "Corporal Sokarov, I wish you a triumphant return!"
"Serve the Soviet motherland!" After saying this, Sokarov turned around and controlled the rubber boat to float downstream with his oars.
Looking at the rubber boat that was gradually blurring in the Aksai River, Sokov whispered to the engineer company commander: "Comrade Commander, according to the plan, how far should Corporal Sokarov get off the boat from the pontoon bridge?"
"According to our original plan," the engineer company commander replied: "Corporal Sokarov should ignite the fuse one hundred meters away from the pontoon bridge and abandon the ship. But he felt that abandoning the ship too early might happen, such as the fuse too short and an explosion prematurely; or the rubber boat was washed away by the water flow, drifting from the pontoon bridge without closing gaps, drifting downstream, etc...."
Seeing that the engineer company commander had been talking for a long time, but without mentioning the key points, Sokov quickly interrupted his words: "Comrade Commander, say the key points, where is he going to abandon the ship?"
"Fifty meters, Comrade Chief of Staff." The engineer company commander quickly replied: "Sokarov thinks it is the most suitable to abandon the ship when he is fifty meters away."
"Fifty meters?" Sokov repeated this distance and muttered in a low voice: "After he jumped into the river, he would be washed down by the river for a while. When he climbed ashore, it would be estimated that the distance from the explosion point was only thirty or forty meters. Will the shock wave generated by the explosion of two hundred kilograms of explosives be dangerous to his life?"
"This is hard to say," the engineer company commander heard Sokov's low voice and hurriedly said: "If he is lucky, he should be fine."
Sokov looked at the pontoon bridge a kilometer or two away, sighed softly, and then said, "I hope the guitarist will have a heavenly appearance and can come back safely." He turned around and asked the engineer company commander, "Have you arranged the person to receive the support?"
"Two soldiers were arranged upstream and downstream of the pontoon bridge." The engineer company commander said: "No matter where he went ashore, our people could pick him up."
More than ten minutes later, a huge orange fireball suddenly rose from a distance, and the smoke and dust rose, forming a huge rolling black mushroom in the air. Then there was a shocking explosion. The floating bridge on the Aksai River was like it was lifted up and flew away by a big hand. In just a moment, it was blown up and disintegrated in a series of explosions. The huge shock wave made the river water around the floating bridge boil like a pot, and countless fish and shrimps that were shaken up from the river surface, drifting downstream along the river water.
"Success!" Seeing such a big movement in the distance, Sokov knew that the blasting of the pontoon bridge had been successful, so he quickly ordered the engineer company commander: "Comrade Commander, please send someone to find Sokarov immediately. After finding him, take him to the 138th Division headquarters to find me."
Sokov was anxious to return to the 138th Division headquarters, and had two purposes. One was to use the phone there to report to Cuikov that the pontoon bridge had been blown up; the other was to let the 138th Division send people to assist in the search when the engineer company could not find Sokarov's whereabouts.
As soon as he entered the 138th Division headquarters, Lyudnikov stepped forward and hugged Sokov and said repeatedly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it's great, it's amazing. I didn't expect that the German pontoon bridge would be blown up so easily. I have sent someone to check it out. There are only about forty or fifty meters left in the pontoon bridge. The rest of the blown-off parts either sank to the bottom of the river or washed downstream by the river. In short, the German pontoon bridge is over."
Sokov nodded, picked up the phone on the table, and said to Lyudnikov: "That's right, the comrades in the engineering company are doing a good job. I want to report this news to General Cuikov immediately."
After the phone was connected, Sokov said to the microphone: "Comrade General, let me tell you good news. We have successfully blown up the German pontoon bridge on the Aksai River. They have just crossed the river in a short time."
"That's great, this is really great!" Cui Kefu was extremely happy when he heard the news. He asked with a look of his face: "What are the names of the soldiers who blew up the pontoon bridge? I want to ask for credit for them~!"
"Comrade General, Corporal Sokarov of the Engineer Company who blew up the pontoon bridge," Sokov said to the microphone: "Before he set out, I told him that as long as he can complete the task smoothly, I will personally promote him to the rank of sergeant and award him a medal of courage. Comrade General, I can make the decision on the promotion; but you can only come forward to award the medal."
"No problem." Cuikov heard Sokov say this and answered very readily: "I think it is far from enough for such a hero to be just a brave medal. We also need to inform the commanders and fighters of the entire army and call on everyone to learn from him. By the way, where is he now?"
"Comrade General, this is the case. Corporal Sokarov took a rubber boat carrying 200 kilograms of explosives, lit the fuse fifty meters away from the pontoon bridge, and abandoned the ship." Sokov replied: "Now that the task of bombing the bridge has been successfully completed, I have sent the comrades from the engineering company to find him."
"What, he abandoned the boat fifty meters away from the pontoon bridge?" Cuikov, who was extremely excited, became serious after listening to Sokov's report: "It's too dark tonight, there is no moon in the sky, and the visibility is very low. Can you confirm that Corporal Sokharov lit the fuse at fifty meters?"
When Sokov heard the question raised by Cuikov, he thought to himself: Ginger is still so hot. He only thought that Sokarov abandoned the boat fifty meters away from the pontoon bridge, but he forgot that because the sky was too dark and the visibility was limited, Sokarov might not be able to ignite the fuse at the exact location and then abandon the boat.
As soon as I put down the phone, the engineer company commander ran over panting and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, my subordinates have searched for them upstream and downstream, but they have never found Sokav's shadow."
Sokov asked anxiously: "Will it be too dark and you can't see clearly, so you didn't find it?"
"No." The engineer company commander shook his head and said, "The remaining pontoon bridge is still burning, illuminating the surrounding river surface. I sent the soldiers who were supporting me to search twice after the explosion, but still couldn't find Sokarov's whereabouts. Comrade Chief of Staff, what should we do?"
Fortunately, another purpose of Sokov's visit to the 138th Division was to ask Lyudnikov to dispatch troops when necessary to help search for Sokarov's whereabouts. Originally, this was just his reserve plan, but at this moment, it seemed that it was imperative to ask Lyudnikov to send troops.
Seeing Sokov's gaze swept towards him, and without waiting for the other party to speak, Lyudnikov said first: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't have to say anything, I understand what you mean. I will immediately send two platoons of soldiers to help the engineer company find the whereabouts of Corporal Sokarov."
"Comrade Commander, have you heard it?" Sokov said to the engineer company commander: "Col. Lyudnikov is going to lend you two platoons. Later, you will take these soldiers to the upstream and downstream of the pontoon bridge and search for me carefully. If you want to see people and bodies alive, you must find the whereabouts of Corporal Sokarov, do you understand?"
Chapter completed!