The area controlled by the Sokov Division was only twenty kilometers apart from the 23rd Infantry Division who came to join forces. However, due to the tenacious resistance of the German army, the 23rd Division, which was responsible for the attack, took three days to barely arrive at a zone only three kilometers away from the 122nd Regiment defense zone.
That night, Sokov received a strange call, and the other party said loudly in the microphone: "Hey, is it the 41st Division of the Guards? I am Colonel Sivakov, the commander of the 23rd Infantry Division. Please speak to your division commander, Colonel Sokov."
When he heard the other party report to his house and say that he was the commander of the 23rd Infantry Division, Sokov's breathing became rapid: "Hello, Colonel Shivakov. I am Sokov."
"You are Colonel Sokov." Shivakov said with a giggle: "That's great."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov asked tentatively, "I want to ask, how long will your troops take to come and meet us?"
"Don't worry, Colonel Sokov." Sivakov continued: "I just called the leaders of various groups to study tomorrow's offensive operations. We will launch an attack on the enemy's defensive positions at 8 o'clock in the morning..."
When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help but interrupt and asked, "Do you need our troops' assistance?"
"No, no," Shivakov shook his head and said, "I went to the front line today to see that the enemy's fortifications are all facing your side. If you are asked to attack, you may suffer huge losses. I think it's better for us to attack, so you can stay on the position and wait for the meeting."
"How can this be done, comrade Colonel?" Sokov immediately refused Sivakov's proposal: "How can we stay on the position and watch friendly forces fight against the enemy, and do nothing by ourselves? I think this way, half an hour after your attack began, we also attacked the enemy's position. I think the enemy will not last long when we are attacked on both sides of us, and our two troops can also meet in the shortest time."
"Okay, Colonel Sokov." Shivakov pondered for a long time and finally replied: "Just do what you said, my troops will attack first. After half an hour, your troops will attack from the rear of the enemy and attack on both sides."
After Sokov put down the phone and announced to Sidolin, Ivanov and others that he would meet with the 23rd Infantry Division tomorrow, Ivanov said enviously: "Comrade Commander, you are so lucky. The location where the 23rd Infantry Division rushed over was exactly the defense area of ​​the 122nd Regiment. Otherwise, let's change, you go to the 124th Regiment, and I will lead the 122nd Regiment to meet with friendly troops."
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander," Sokov asked with a smile: "If the friendly forces appeared in the defense zone of the 124th Regiment, would you agree to me exchange positions with you?"
"No." Ivanov answered very simply.
"That's right." Sokov said teasingly: "Since friendly forces appear in the defense zone of the 124th Regiment, you are unwilling to exchange positions with me; then how can I exchange positions with you if I meet in the defense zone of the 122nd Regiment tomorrow?"
In order not to let Ivanov and Anisimov be too disappointed, Sokov added after a brief pause: "Although this time the meeting with friendly troops is in the defense zone of the 122nd Regiment, the defense zones of the 124th and 125th Regiment where you are located are not far apart. You can bring a battalion to participate in the meeting together."
"What, can we each lead a battalion, arrive at the defense zone of the 122nd Regiment, and meet with friendly forces?" Sokov's words lit up Anisimov's eyes. In order to confirm that Sokov was not joking, he asked specifically: "Is this true?"
"Of course it's true." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "Meeting with friendly forces is not only the matter of Lieutenant Colonel Papuchinko's 122nd Regiment, but also the honor of our entire Guard Division. Therefore, it is of great significance to send troops to participate in the meeting."
"Comrade Commander," after Sidorin and others Sokov assigned the task, they raised a key question: "I want to ask, when will we meet with friendly forces tomorrow?"
As soon as Cidolin's problem was released, the house suddenly became quiet. Yes, although the two troops were only three kilometers apart, if they encountered the Germans' tenacious resistance, they might not be able to meet until dark. If this happens, it would be too embarrassing.
The sudden ringing of the phone broke the silence among the crowd. Cidolin picked up the microphone and said loudly: "I am Cidolin, where are you?... Oh, it's Comrade Commander, Hello!... We are discussing the meeting here... Yes, I will ask the commander to answer the phone immediately."
As he said that, Sidolin handed the microphone in his hand to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the commander's phone number."
"Hello, Comrade Commander." Sokov took the microphone.
"Col. Sokov," Cuikov asked in an official voice on the other end of the phone: "The 23rd Infantry Division, who came from the west, is still three kilometers away from you. According to their report to General Batov, we will be able to meet with you tomorrow at the latest."
"Comrade Commander, we have been waiting to meet with friendly troops."
"I want to ask you," Cuikov asked on the other end of the phone: "How long do you think it will take to achieve the meeting between the two troops?"
"It's hard to say, Comrade Commander." Sokov replied cautiously: "It depends entirely on the strength of the German resistance, maybe a few hours, maybe a day..."
"Don't say such ambiguous words to me," Cui Kefu said dissatisfiedly: "The significance of your division and the 23rd Infantry Division is very important, so I need an accurate time."
Although Cuikov only said half of what he said, Sokov had guessed what he meant. As the commander of the army, he would definitely want to go to the meeting site in person and chat with the commanders of friendly forces. These are all very important things. After understanding this, Sokov calculated silently in his heart and finally replied: "Comrade Commander, it is difficult for me to explain the specific time. I can only tell you that I will try to shorten the time for the meeting."
Cuikov heard a hint of unspoken voice from Sokov's words: "Col. Sokov, are you planning your troops to attack from another direction when friendly forces attack German positions?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, that's what I think about. It's definitely better to attack the enemy on both sides than to attack from one direction." Sokov reported to Cuikov: "I have already agreed with Shivakov that his troops launched an attack on the enemy's positions at 8 o'clock, and my troops launched an attack in half an hour to give the enemy a double attack."
Seeing that there was no more useful information from Sokov, Cuikov couldn't help but say a little disappointed: "Col. Sokov, when you are about to meet with friendly troops, remember to call me and I will arrive at the meeting site in person to check it out."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Seeing that he had indeed guessed Cui Kov's thoughts, Sokov quickly replied loudly: "I will report to you in time before meeting with friendly forces."
After putting down the phone, Sokov frowned and thought for a while, then ordered Cidolin: "Chief of Staff, please call Comrade Ubrich and ask him to come here."
Although everyone is usually very polite to Ubrich, no matter what, the other party is all German. Two Soviet troops meet together, what should he do? With this question, Cidolin asked in confusion: "Comrade Commander, what should he do?"
"Comrade Commander wants us to meet with the Sivakov Division as soon as possible." Seeing that Sidolin was puzzled, Sokov explained to him: "I want to know whether they have achieved any achievements in their propaganda of the German positions?"
"What achievements can their propaganda be?" Anisimov said with disdain: "It would be better for us to put a basket of bread and two buckets of red cabbage soup on the position."
"Comrade Political Commissar, you can't say that." Seeing that Anisimov looked down on Ublich a little, Sokov hurried out to smooth things over: "Our bread tactics are effective in Stalingrad against those surrounded German troops who were short of food and clothing. But if they were transferred to another battlefield, this tactic would be of no use. If the enemy wants to take the initiative to put down their weapons and surrender, they must rely on comrades like Ublich who are anti-Faxi Temple."
"Well, I'll call Comrade Ubrich." Cidolin picked up the phone, "let him come here immediately."
While Sidolin was calling, Sokov asked Ivanov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I have a very important thing, I want to ask you."
Seeing Sokov's serious look, Ivanov quickly restrained the smile on his face: "Comrade Commander, please tell me if you have anything to do."
"I want to ask, where is the military flag?" Sokov was afraid that the other party would not understand what he was talking about, so he added: "It is the military flag of the 41st Division of the Guards."
"The military flag has always been kept by the political commissar." After Ivanov looked at Anisimov standing next to him, he immediately thought about the reason why Sokov asked, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, are you planning to use this flag when meeting?"
"That's right." Sokov nodded and replied affirmatively: "Meeting with friendly troops is a historical matter, so we must naturally use the military flag of our division."
"Comrade Political Commissar." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Ivanov turned to Anisimov and said, "You go and take the military flag, and it will be used when you meet tomorrow."
Before Anisimov could retrieve the military flag, Ubrich quickly walked into the division command center. After nodding to Sokov and others, he asked curiously: "Comrade Colonel, are you doing anything to me?"
"That's right, Comrade Ublich." Sokov did not go around in circles, but asked directly: "We plan to launch an attack on the enemy opposite in the defense zone of the 122nd Regiment tomorrow. I asked you just to find out how your publicity work in that area is going?"
"We shouted to the German army opposite for a week in the defense zone of the 122nd Regiment." Ubrich replied: "Sixteen German soldiers came to surrender one after another. However, there has not been any of these two days. I guess it was the German officer who discovered that some soldiers defected, so he strengthened his vigilance, so he..."
Sokov felt dissatisfied with Ubrich's statement. If German officers really strengthened their supervision of soldiers, why did the number of German officers and soldiers coming to eat every night continue to increase? It seems that their propaganda work is not done properly and the German army cannot convince them to surrender voluntarily.
Thinking of Ublich's propaganda, which was effective in dismantling the morale and morale of the German army, Sokov's smile became perfunctory. He said to Ublich: "Comrade Ublich, we will meet with the 23rd Infantry Division coming from the west tomorrow. I wonder if you are interested in participating in our meeting ceremony?"
According to Sokov's idea, Ublich would immediately agree without hesitation after hearing this. Unexpectedly, after he finished speaking, Ublich remained silent. After a while, he spoke in embarrassment: "Comrade Colonel, I have a lot of things tomorrow. I see your meeting, so I will not participate."
After Ubrich left, Ivanov said dissatisfiedly: "It's a hell, he doesn't want to participate in such an important historical event with friendly forces."
"Comrade Deputy Commander, you can't say that." Sokov understood Ublich's difficulties and felt that he should come out to say a few words to him at this moment: "No matter what, Comrade Ublich is a German. As a German, I believe he still has a knot in his heart when attending our meeting ceremony."
After listening to Sokov's explanation, Ivanov immediately realized that he had misunderstood Ubricht. If he had been with the other party, he would probably not have participated in such a meeting ceremony.
When Anisimov returned, he followed him with a sergeant, who was holding a long object wrapped in canvas in his hand. Anisimov introduced to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I will give you a formal introduction. This sergeant is the squad leader of the flag protection squad. He has five soldiers under him. Their responsibility is to protect the military flag."
Sokov nodded at the other party and ordered him, "Comrade Sergeant, open the military flag and show me."
The sergeant placed the long object in his hand on the table, carefully opened the canvas wrapped outside, revealing the bright military flag inside. Sokov saw clearly that the flag was placed on a special flagpole, dark brown, with a metal hoop on the top and two golden strips tied. He raised his hand to stop the sergeant's next action: "Okay, sergeant, wrap the military flag."
The sergeant did not understand why Sokov suddenly ordered himself to wrap the military flag, but he still faithfully executed his orders. He carefully wrapped the military flag with canvas.
After the sergeant finished all this, Sokov said to the sergeant: "Comrade Sergeant, our division will meet with friendly troops coming from the west in the defense zone of the 122nd Regiment tomorrow. At that time, you will personally hold up this glorious guard flag and go with me to join forces with friendly troops."
Chapter completed!