Sokov never dreamed that what Golikov was going to talk to him was actually Rokosovsky trying to transfer himself to his troops. This was so sudden and unexpected that Sokov didn't know what to say for a moment.
After a long silence, Sokov finally spoke, but he did not immediately give Golikov an accurate answer, but asked tentatively: "Comrade Deputy Commander, has our army already abolished the army's establishment?"
"Yes, shortly after the outbreak of the war, the base camp did abolish the army's establishment in order to better command the troops." Golikov replied: "But with the expansion of the size of the troops, it is imperative to restore the army's establishment. Therefore, the base camp has made a decision to officially restore the army's establishment by the end of October."
Sokov vaguely remembered that the Soviet army seemed to have restored its military establishment when the military rank reform was carried out at the end of 1942. Unexpectedly, Rokosovsky was quite generous to him and was the position of a commander at one move. But now there is only one month left before the large-scale counterattack. At this moment, when going to the Don River Front Army, wouldn’t everything he had done before be wasted?
Thinking of this, Sokov looked up at Golikov opposite and said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, I have already considered it. Please help me refuse General Rokosovsky's kindness. I will continue to stay in the city and attack the enemies attacking the city."
Before seeing Sokov, Golikov kept thinking in his mind whether he would agree to Rokosovsky's request if he was in Sokov's position. After repeated thinking, he felt that he could not find any reason to refuse. This time, he was promoted not only, but also able to withdraw from the city where he was in a state of vain. It goes without saying how to make a choice.
But Sokov refused Rokosovsky's kindness without hesitation. When Golikov heard this reply, he was stunned at first, and then showed joy on his face. However, for the sake of safety, he still asked: "Col. Sokov, have you really decided to stay in the city?"
"Yes, Deputy Commander." Sokov felt that he could still be guaranteed in safety as long as he was more careful, so he replied in a positive tone: "I am willing to continue to stay in the city and command the troops to fight the enemy until the day they are defeated."
"Very good, very good!" Golikov was very satisfied with Sokov's answer. He felt that since the other party rejected Rokosovsky's invitation, he should express his opinion on behalf of the Front Command: "Col. Sokov, for those who performed well in the battle to defend Stalingrad, we will not only give rewards, but also make reasonable arrangements for personal use. Do you understand what I mean?"
Sokov heard from Golikov's words that the other party was hinting that as long as he continued to stay in the Stalingrad Front, he could consider promoting his rank and position in the future. After expressing his gratitude to Golikov with a smile, he continued to ask: "Comrade Deputy Commander, where are you going next?"
"I'm going to Cuikov's headquarters later to learn about the actual situation in the city." After saying this, Golikov said to Sokov in an official voice: "Col. There is no business for you here, you can leave." Sokov raised his hand and saluted him, turned around and walked out of the command post and walked towards the ferry.
Halfway through, he met Zinoviev who was coming, and quickly called him to ask him, "Comrade Major, have the goods on the ship been moved down?"
Of course, there will be no fewer than a few hundred boxes of ammunition on the ferry, as well as a lot of food and medicine. However, since the superiors have greeted him, the batch of things belonging to Sokov and others will be given priority for unloading the ship. When he heard Sokov ask, Zinoviev nodded quickly and replied: "Comrade Colonel, your things have been unloaded from the ship. I am going to find you, but I didn't expect to meet you here."
Sokov thought Zinoviev was rushing over and reported to Golikov about something, but hesitated to find him. Hearing that the things had been unloaded, Sokov hesitated for a moment and said to Zinoviev: "Comrade Major, I will transport this batch of ammunition back to Mamayev's mount as soon as possible. As for the guard platoon that was lent to you, after the deputy commander left, let them return to the building as soon as possible."
Zinoviev came to find Sokov because he was worried that when he was carrying the rocket back to Mamayev, he would take away the platoon he had lent to him. He originally planned to discuss with the other party whether he could keep the platoon and return to the building after Golikov left. Unexpectedly, before he spoke, Sokov had already taken the initiative to leave the guards and continue to cooperate with his mission. Zinoviev could not help but be overjoyed and thanked Sokov repeatedly, and said that he would send a transport team to Mamayev's platoon immediately.
An hour later, Sokov reappeared at the division command center. Seeing Sokov come back, Sidolin immediately came up and asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, have all the rockets been shipped back?"
"Yes, the rockets have been put into the underground warehouse." Sokov finished speaking and asked casually: "Has anything happened during the time I left?"
"No, comrade of the division commander." Cidolin quickly replied, "Everything was very calm, nothing happened."
Sokov looked around and saw that Ivanov was not among the staff officer and the radio operator, and then asked, "Where has the deputy commander gone?"
"When he saw that there was nothing to do at night, he went back to rest." Sidolin was worried about Sokov's thoughts, and added specifically: "It will be the turn of the deputy commander to be on duty tomorrow night, so he can go back to rest today. Do I need me to call him over?"
"No, no, no." Sokov waved his hand and said, "I just asked casually. By the way, Chief of Staff, what are the recent achievements of the team we sent to the enemy behind?"
"Comrade Commander, I am planning to report this to you." Sidolin picked up a small notebook on the table, flipped through a few pages, and said to Sokov: "In addition to the small teams sent by the reduction regiment, which have achieved some results, the other teams not only did not achieve any results, but were surrounded by the enemy. If they did not evacuate as soon as possible, they would be at risk of being annihilated."
"Since that's the case, then withdraw them." Sokov heard that the situation of the enemy's squad was not good, so he said to Sidolin decisively: "When they come back, we will send the elite squad to the rear of the enemy again."
"Comrade Commander," Sidolin had heard Sokov decide to withdraw the enemy's squad and was still nodding, but when he heard Sokov's next words, he couldn't help but be stunned: "I think it is inappropriate to send a small team to the rear of the enemy. At best, they can only do some small damage, and it is difficult to pose any major threat to the enemy, and there is a possibility of being completely wiped out by the enemy at any time."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, this time I plan to let them carry rockets in the troops behind enemy lines." Sokov interrupted Cidolin before he could finish his words: "With a rocket team, it will be a nightmare for the Germans."
When Sidolin learned that Sokov planned to let the newly sent squad behind enemy lines carry rockets this time, he couldn't help but lit up his eyes. You should know that if he had sent so many squads behind enemy lines, as long as he carried rockets, he could beat the enemy to howl. Especially when he destroyed the German ammunition depot in Gorodice Town some time ago, he used the remaining rockets from the enemy team behind them in the early stage.
Thinking of this, Cidolin quickly stated: "Comrade Commander, if our squad really carries rockets, can we consider letting them attack the enemy's regiment-level and above command centers, causing the enemy's command system to fall into chaos."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I also want the team to do this, but it's not possible." Sokov also wants to use rockets to directly bomb Paulus's headquarters, but this kind of thing can only be thought of, and it is impossible to become a reality: "The enemy's commanders are cowards, the regiment-level command is more than ten kilometers away from the front, and the division-level command is even thirty kilometers away. Let the team go deep into such a far behind enemy lines, and there will be danger of exposure. Once the enemy discovers their whereabouts and wants to launch a surprise attack on the enemy, the effect will be reduced."
Seeing that Sokov had thoughtful consideration of the problem, Sidolin continued to ask: "Which unit do you plan to send to carry out this mission?"
"The few times that the small teams that went deep behind enemy lines and achieved great results were almost all commanded by Lieutenant Grissa." Sokov said thoughtfully: "I plan to hand over this important task to him."
"But Lieutenant Grissa is now in the archives building," Sidolin thought Sokov had forgotten where Grissa was, and quickly reminded him: "Are you sure you want to transfer him back to perform the mission?"
"Yes, I feel more at ease to hand over such an important task to him." Sokov said, and ordered Cydolin: "Chief of Staff, you can call the Archives Building immediately. I want to call the Political Commissar Belkin and ask him to transfer Grissa back as soon as possible."
The phone was quickly answered. Sokov took the microphone from Sidolin and said, "Hello, Comrade Political Commissar! I am Sokov. I call you so late, and I haven't disturbed your news, right?"
"No, no." Belkin and Sokov had been partners for a while, and knew very well that there was nothing important to each other and would not call him so late. He asked quickly: "Misha, is there something wrong?"
"That's right, comrade of the political commissar." Sokov said: "I plan to let Grissa lead the squad deep into the enemy's backbone and teach the Germans a lesson. You can let him arrive at the division headquarters as soon as possible."
"Misha!" After hearing Sokov's words, Belkin said hesitantly: "Didn't we send several small teams to the rear of the enemy? Why do we have to send new small teams? Did they encounter any danger?"
"Yes, Comrade Political Commissar." Sokov did not intend to hide some of his old partners. "Except for the small teams sent by your regiment, which achieved some results, the other teams not only did not achieve results, but were struggling to fight in the encirclement of the Germans. I have ordered them to withdraw."
"Misha, please be honest." Berkin said tactfully on the other end of the phone: "Since the squads sent in the past have not played any role in the rear of the enemy, even if they send new squads, it may be difficult to achieve any results."
"The superiors just brought us new rockets," Sokov said to Belkin. "I plan to have Grissa's squad carry rockets to attack the German command, warehouse and barracks, and completely disrupt their offensive steps."
Belkin dissuaded Sokov because he was worried that the squad that was deeply involved in danger in the enemy's rear. But when he heard that his superiors had brought new rockets, he immediately changed his mind. He had seen the power of that thing with his own eyes, so he said without hesitation: "Okay, Misha, since the superiors have sent us so many rockets, we must find a way to make it play its greatest role and attack the enemy hard. I will immediately notify Grissa and ask him to rush back to the division headquarters as soon as possible to report to you."
After Sidorin and Sokov put down the microphone, he asked him for instructions: "Comrade Commander, how do you plan to allocate the 500 rockets that the superiors have transported us? How do you plan to allocate each regiment? How much do you allocate to each regiment? Please get a charter as soon as possible."
Unexpectedly, Sokov shook his head after hearing this and said, "Chief of Staff, the three original regiments of the Guard Division have never been exposed to this new type of rocket before. Even if they are assigned to them, they may not play much role. I think it's better to hand them all over to the Belkin regiment."
"What, leave it to the Belkin regiment?" Sidolin was startled by Sokov's words: "Comrade Commander, I'm not wrong with all five hundred rockets being handed over to the Belkin regiment?"
Seeing that Ivanov and the division political commissar Anisimov were not present, Sokov did not have so much concern when he spoke: "Chief of Staff, I considered this. At most, in one or two days, the troops of the 45th Infantry Division will take over the defense of the Belkin regiment. After they retreat, they can't let them continue to squat in the tunnel and do nothing, right? I plan to let them carry these rockets in the company unit, freely choose combat areas in the south and north of the city to attack the enemy hard and assist friendly forces in better defending the city."
After hearing Sokov's words, Sidolin stared at the map in front of him and fell into deep thought. After a long period of consideration, he felt that Sokov's multi-faceted flowering tactic would definitely completely disrupt the German offensive rhythm, so he nodded and replied: "Okay, comrade of the division commander, I agree with you, and hand over all the newly arrived rockets to the Belkin regiment for use."
After chatting for a few more words, the phone on the table rang. Sidolin picked it up and listened for a moment, and a panic expression appeared on his face. He looked at Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, something happened. Lieutenant Grissa stepped on a landmine shortly after leaving the archives building. His injuries were very serious, probably..."
Chapter completed!