Early the next morning, Sokov received a call from Zakharov: "Comrade Sokov, I am informing you now to come to the front headquarters immediately to attend an important military meeting."
Sokov didn't wait for the other party to finish speaking, and rushed to say: "Is it just me or together with Smirnov and Gorokhov?"
Unexpectedly, Zakharov said: "In addition to the three of you, the division-level commanders of the infantry and artillery, and the brigade-level commanders of the tank troops will all come to the meeting."
After learning that all his division and brigade commanders were asked to attend the military meeting, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, if all the division and brigade commanders leave, if something happens, the troops may be
It will lead to chaos.”
"Don't worry, Comrade Sokov." Zakharov comforted Sokov and said, "The Germans have just suffered a defeat at our hands. It is impossible to launch a new attack in the short term. Don't worry."
"Okay." Since Zakharov said so, Sokov couldn't say anything else and could only reply: "I will rush over with my men as soon as possible."
Although Zakharov said that the enemy would not take action in the short term, Sokov did not dare to take it lightly. After all, opposite the defense zone of the 41st Guards Division was the German-held October Town, which contained not only the 1st Armored Division, but also
There are powerful banner guard divisions. If any division launches an attack, it will give itself a headache.
As soon as Sokov put down the phone, he said to Smirnov and Gorokhov who came over: "Chief of Staff, Comrade Military Commissar, we have just received a notice from General Zakharov, asking us to go to the front army headquarters for a military launch.
Meeting."
Smirnov asked: "Is it just the three of us?"
Sokov shook his head and said to Smirnov: "In addition to the three of us, the division-level commanders of the infantry and artillery, and the brigade-level commander of the tank force will all go to the meeting together."
Hearing what Sokov said, Smirnov showed a surprised expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, what happened? You actually want division and brigade commanders to attend the meeting?"
"Not sure." Zakharov didn't say the content of the meeting, so Sokov naturally didn't know. But he was silent for a moment, and suddenly thought of a possibility, and said to the two of them: "Our army has attacked hard.
For the enemies in the Cherkasy encirclement, the front army headquarters is holding a meeting at this time, probably to hold a commendation meeting."
After listening to what Sokov said, Gorokhov nodded repeatedly and said: "Yes, yes, I think what Comrade Commander said makes sense. Although the number of German troops we destroyed in the Cherkasy area cannot be compared with other
Compared with other battles, the death of Commander Stemermann of the German 11th Army was considered a remarkable result."
Before Smirnov called the commanders of each division and brigade, he specifically asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, do you want everyone to gather here?"
"No need." Sokov shook his head and said: "Our troops are too scattered. It will take at least an hour to gather everyone at the headquarters. Then rush to the front army headquarters to attend the meeting, and it will take another hour on the road. In this way
It was a waste of almost two or three hours.”
"Then where should I let them gather?"
Sokov lowered his head and looked at the map in front of him, then pointed to a location on it and said to Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please inform them to gather here, and then we will go to the front headquarters together."
Smirnov looked at the location pointed by Sokov and felt that it would save at least half the time for everyone to gather there instead of gathering at the headquarters, so he readily agreed, then picked up the phone and informed the order.
The commanders of each unit went to attend the military meeting at the front army headquarters.
Facts have proved that Sokov's decision was correct. The location he chose was not too far from the defense areas of each division. In less than half an hour, all the division and brigade commanders attending the meeting arrived.
When the large convoy arrived at the city where the front army headquarters was located, a major officer at the entrance blocked the convoy's way, and then asked loudly: "Which unit are you from? What are you doing in the city?"
Smirnov quickly opened the car door, leaned out half of his body, and said to the officer: "Comrade Major, we are from the 53rd Army and we have been ordered to come to the city to attend a military meeting."
After learning that they were the commanders of the 53rd Army, the officer immediately called the two soldiers to give some instructions. When the two soldiers entered the sidecar motorcycle parked nearby, he said to Smirnov: "General
Comrade, these two soldiers are your guides, please follow them in your convoy, and they will take you to the meeting place."
The convoy followed the motorcycle leading the way for several blocks and arrived outside a small theater.
Looking at the vehicles parked in the parking lot not far away, Sokov smiled and said to Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it seems we arrived a little late. Look, there are one or two hundred people parked in the parking lot.
car. If we arrive a little later, we might not even be able to find a parking space."
Gorokhov, who was sitting next to Sokov, smiled and said: "Comrade Commander, we have more than 30 cars here, and they probably won't be able to park any more. They will probably have to park on nearby streets."
Gorokhov's words soon became reality. Due to limited parking spaces, after parking five or six cars, the remaining cars could only be parked on nearby streets. Sokov waited for all his subordinates to gather
After that, he took them towards the small theater.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked into the hall, he saw that the place was crowded, at least several hundred people. Seeing this scene, Smirnov couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh my God, there are so many people."
"This is normal, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said with a smile: "If you think about it, our army group alone has more than fifty people here. With so many troops under the front army, there must be many people coming."
Sokov's eyes searched the crowd to see if he could find a familiar face. Suddenly he felt someone tapping his shoulder from behind. He turned around and saw a familiar face appearing in front of him, and he couldn't recognize it immediately.
Exclaimed: "Colonel Chuvasov, it turns out to be you!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately realized that he had made a mistake. At this moment, the epaulets carried by Chuvashov, the commander of the 98th Guards Division, were no longer a colonel but a major general.
Before he could speak again, Chuvasov had already raised his hand and saluted him, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I'm glad to see you here."
Sokov was somewhat surprised to meet Chuvashov here, because he knew that the 27th Army was under the command of the First Ukrainian Front. Today was a meeting of the Second Front. How could the other party appear here? With this question in his mind
, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Chuvashov, are your troops still in the 27th Army now?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, my 98th Guards Division is still part of the 27th Army." He saw Sokov's confusion and took the initiative to explain: "In the later stages of the encirclement and annihilation campaign, the 27th Army was
Officially placed under the command of General Konev."
After listening to the other party's explanation, Sokov finally understood the reason why Chuvasov appeared here. He turned to the curious Smirnov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, let me introduce to you. This is Chuvasov."
Comrade, he is the commander of the 98th Guards Division. When I left the 27th Army, he was still a colonel, and now he has become a general. Chuvashov, this is General Smirnov, formerly at the Podolsk Infantry Academy
He once served as principal, and now he is my chief of staff."
"Hello, General Smirnov." Chuvasov shook hands with Smirnov and said in a friendly tone: "I once participated in the defense of Moscow because of you and your students.
The crude weapons and our own flesh and blood held the Germans back for 12 days, giving us enough time to build strong defenses in the direction of the enemy's advance."
The Battle of Yukhnov was the first battle of the Podolsk Academy, and it was also a battle that Smirnov was proud of. At this moment, hearing Chuvashov mention something that he was proud of, he couldn't help but reveal a little bit on his face.
With a smile, he stretched out his hand to hold the other person's hand and said: "Hello, General Chuvashov, nice to meet you."
Sokov waited for Chuvasov and Smirnov to chat for a while, then asked tentatively: "Chuvashov, are there anyone else from the army here?"
"Yes, of course." He grabbed Sokov's hand and said with some excitement: "Comrade Commander, I will take you to meet them. Since you were injured and sent to Moscow, everyone has been thinking about you.
Woolen cloth."
After walking a few steps, Chuvashov noticed that Sokov was limping. He quickly stopped and asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, is the injury on your leg not healed yet?"
"Yes, it's not completely healed yet." Sokov said with a grin: "So it's not very convenient to walk. If you walk too fast, I can't keep up with you."
After hearing what Sokov said, Chuvashov quickly apologized to him: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I didn't notice the injury on your leg. Please forgive me for my rashness."
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." Sokov waved his hand magnanimously, and then urged the other party: "Hurry up and take me to meet other comrades in the group army. I can't wait."
When Chuvashov led Sokov to a corner of the hall, Sokov saw that almost all of the people standing here were carrying the general's epaulettes. The next second, he saw countless familiar faces.
.
At this time, Chuvasov, who was supporting Sokov, suddenly shouted loudly to the group of commanders: "Comrade commanders, look, who is here to see you?"
When the commanders heard Chuvashov's voice, they all turned their heads and looked over. When they saw Sokov clearly standing next to Chuvashov, they couldn't help shouting, and then rushed over.
The leader of the walk was Army Chief of Staff Samyko. He came to Sokov, looked him up and down, opened his arms and gave him a warm hug. He patted Sokov's back with his hand.
, while saying emotionally: "Comrade Commander, it's so great to see you again. You don't know how much everyone missed you after you were injured and left."
"I miss you too, Comrade Chief of Staff."
After the two ended their embrace, Sokov looked at Samyko's lieutenant general epaulettes and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are now a lieutenant general too."
Sameko grinned, and then explained: "My new military rank was just obtained yesterday." After saying that, he turned around and pointed at his subordinates surrounding him, and continued, "Besides me, there are many others.
Commanders have all been promoted to military ranks, and the original colonels have basically become generals."
At this time, someone shouted: "Stand at attention!"
The commanders surrounding Sokov suddenly stood at attention.
Then the voice continued to shout: "Salute to Comrade Commander!"
Seeing that the old subordinates around him were all raising their hands to salute him, Sokov quickly raised his right hand to his forehead and returned the salute to everyone. He also muttered in his heart that so many people were saluting him at the same time. How could he feel like saying goodbye to the body?
?
After everyone put down their hands, Samyko immediately helped Sokov sit down on a bench next to him, took the initiative to help him take off his military coat, and asked a commander to send him to the clothes storage area.
Sokov and Samyko had just chatted for a few words when the door of the theater was opened and a lieutenant colonel officer walked out. He stood at the door and said loudly: "Comrade commanders, you can go in."
The commanders who were chatting quieted down and walked towards the open door in an orderly manner.
At this time, the lieutenant colonel said loudly: "Each army group has its own sign. Please take your seats according to the sign."
Smirnov and Gorokhov squeezed over and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it's time to enter. Let's go in too."
Sokov nodded, and with the support of the two men, he followed the crowd towards the theater.
In the theater, on the chairs in the corridor, there is a sign every few rows with the numbers of each unit written on it. According to the instructions on the sign, Sokov and others successfully found their position, and it was actually the same position as the first three batches.
After Sokov found a seat and sat down, he looked up at the bureau and saw a long table above it. Behind the table sat Konev, Zakharov, Susekov, and five or six of his own
An unknown general.
When the theater fell silent, the first person to stand up was Zakharov. He picked up the microphone in front of him and said loudly: "Comrades, commanders, we are having a meeting now! First of all, I would like to invite General Susakov, the military commissar.
, read to everyone the commendation order given to us by the Supreme Command!"
"Hello, comrades!" Susaikov stood up, greeted everyone with a smile, picked up a piece of paper, and began to read the content on it: "Commendation Order!
After 14 days of continuous fierce fighting, the 2nd Ukrainian Front troops ended the campaign on February 25 to annihilate 10 divisions and 1 brigade of the German 8th Army encircled in the Korsun-Shevchenkosky area.
.
In this battle, 52,000 German soldiers died and 11,000 officers and soldiers were captured.
All the enemy's technical weapons and weapons and equipment were captured by our army.
Those who distinguished themselves during the battle were: Lieutenant General Trofimenko, Lieutenant General Sokov, troops commanded by Lieutenant General Koroteyev, cavalry commanded by Lieutenant General Selivanov, Rotmystro
The tank crews were commanded by the tank crews led by Lieutenant General Kirichenko, the tank crews commanded by Major General Polozkov, and the pilots commanded by Air Force Lieutenant General Goryunov.
To commemorate the victory, the regiments and units with outstanding achievements in the battle were awarded the title of "Korsun" and medals were awarded.
Today, at one o'clock in the morning on March 1, Moscow, the capital of our motherland, will fire a 20-gun salute with 224 guns in the name of the motherland to pay tribute to the heroic troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front who completed the annihilation of the besieged German troops.
In recognition of outstanding combat actions, awards were announced to all units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front that participated in the battle on the outskirts of Korsun, and to General Konev himself, who commanded the campaign to eliminate the encircled German troops.
The heroes who lost their lives in the struggle for the freedom and independence of our motherland shall be immortal!
