"The Russians have reached an agreement with us." Now that the agreement has been reached with the Soviet army, although the written document has not been signed yet, Antonetta decided that she should tell her subordinates the truth so that they would be well aware of it: "Wait for me
After the army signs a written agreement with them, their troops will be stationed in Otac."
Seeing the panic on his men's faces, he comforted everyone and said: "Don't worry, the Russians have made it clear that they will not disarm our troops or put us into prisoner of war camps, but will stay with us in the city of Otats."
implement common defense within the country.”
"What, you won't disarm us or send us to a prisoner of war camp?" The leader of the 53rd Regiment asked in surprise: "Mr. Division Commander, is this all true?"
"Of course it's true." Antonetta nodded and said, "I have sent the chief of staff, Colonel Dinu, to Chernivtsi to sign a formal agreement with the Russians. After the signing is completed, the Russians will send
The troops are stationed in Otac. Before their arrival, in order to prevent the news from leaking and alerting the Germans, this matter must not be reported outside. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Mr. Division Commander." The three regiment leaders replied in unison after hearing this.
"Mr. Division Commander, I have another question." The leader of the 52nd Regiment expressed his concern: "What if the Germans stationed in Otac before the Russians arrived?"
The words of the leader of the 52nd Regiment solidified the atmosphere in the room again.
Yes, if the Germans advance into Otac before the Soviet army arrives, when the two sides go to war, which side should you be on and what should you do.
After a long time, Antonetta finally said: "In order to avoid this bad situation, we must think of countermeasures in advance. If the Germans want to enter our city before the Russians arrive, you have to think of a way
Delay time and let them enter the city as late as possible."
With the answer to this troublesome question, a new question emerged: "If the Soviet Union and Germany go to war, do we also need to fight?"
"No need." Antonetta knew very well that this was a matter of concern to her subordinates, so she told everyone bluntly: "The Russians have already said that once they fight the Germans, they will be responsible for the fighting outside the city.
Our task is only to maintain order in the city to prevent residents from becoming panicked due to fighting outside the city."
After finding out that the division commander had decided to cooperate with the Soviet army, several regiment commanders asked the questions they were worried about. Antonetta, faced with many questions, took the trouble to explain them one by one.
Finally, the commander of the 52nd Regiment raised a question that everyone was concerned about: "Mr. Division Commander, who is the Russian commander who agreed to our conditions? Can what he said count?"
"If it were anyone else, I might not believe it yet." Antonetta said confidently: "But the Russian commander we are negotiating with is General Sokov, the commander of the 53rd Group Army."
"General Sokov?!" The commander of the 54th Regiment, who had remained silent, asked tentatively: "Is that General Sokov?"
"That's right, who else could it be besides him?"
The conversation between the two was like playing a riddle, which dispelled everyone's worries. Since they were cooperating with General Sokov's troops, there was nothing to fear. It is said that this general had never lost against the Germans.
, so everyone was full of confidence in this cooperation.
Besides, after Dinu came to Chernivtsi, he met Colonel Surodenko, commander of the 130th Division, and signed a cooperation agreement with him.
When the two parties completed the signing, Dinu smiled and asked Surodenko: "Mr. Colonel, now that we have completed the signing ceremony, when will your troops be stationed in Otats?"
"Colonel Dinu, I think I will disappoint you." Surodenko sighed and said, "Before you arrived, I just received a call from the headquarters that our division will not be stationed in Otats."
"What, you're not going to station in Otats?!" Dinu suddenly felt like he'd been deceived when he heard what Surodenko said. He looked at the agreement in the hand of an officer on the other side and wanted to rush out immediately.
He went up to grab it and tore it into pieces. However, seeing the numerous Soviet officers and soldiers around him, he gave up the impulsive idea.
He said angrily: "Mr. Colonel, aren't you deceiving us? You said that after signing the agreement, you would send troops to Otac, but now you suddenly changed your mind."
Surodenko heard from Dinu's words that the other party had misunderstood, and quickly explained: "Colonel Dinu, you misunderstood. I just said that our division will not be stationed in Otac, not that our army will not be stationed. You know,
The superiors have arranged for new troops to enter Otac and implement common defense with you."
Dinu asked curiously: "Mr. Colonel, please tell me truthfully, which unit entered Otac?"
Although the troops stationed in Otac are being mobilized secretly, there is no need to keep it secret for Dinu who came to negotiate, so Surodenko said truthfully: "The troops stationed in Otac this time are the 41st Guards
division."
"The 41st Guards Division?" Dinu asked strangely: "Where is this unit now? Why did your commander choose to send this unit to Otac?"
"Colonel Dinu, if you knew the history of this unit, you would not ask such a question."
"What's special about this unit?"
Before Surodenko could answer, Efrem, who had accompanied Dinu to negotiate, leaned close to his ear and whispered in his ear: "Mr. Chief of Staff, you don't know something. General Sokov was in the battle to defend Stalingrad."
When he was holding the Mamayev Heights, the unit he commanded was the 41st Guards Division." "I think he may have a special reason for sending this unit to Otats."
After finding out that the Soviet troops stationed in Otac were actually Sokov's direct troops, Dinu felt at ease. It proved that Sokov attached great importance to this cooperation. After he breathed a sigh of relief,
, asked tentatively: "Mr. Colonel, can I ask when the 41st Guards Division will be stationed in Otac?"
"Colonel Dinu," Surodenko said politely: "Now that we have signed the agreement, it means that the cooperation between our two companies has officially begun. After I send this agreement to the headquarters, maybe the commander will
Send troops to Otac immediately."
"If that's the case, then what are you waiting for?" After signing the cooperation agreement, Dinu kept beating in his heart. He was worried that the Germans would immediately move into Otac after hearing the news. They must know that their defense area was further away from the Soviet army.
Closer: "Please send the agreement to the headquarters immediately."
In order to reassure Dinu, Surodenko ordered the staff officer holding the agreement in front of him: "Comrade staff officer, you immediately rush to the headquarters with the agreement and be sure to get the things done as soon as possible."
Leave it in the hands of the commander."
Seeing that Surodenko ordered someone to send the agreement, Dinu did arrive and Anxin left Lieutenant Ephraim here to serve as a liaison officer. Then he took a copy of the agreement and drove back to Otac to report to the division.
The East Neita of Chang'an was restored to life.
When the agreement sent by Surodenko arrived at the group army headquarters, Sokov was talking to Ponedelin, the new commander of the 41st Guards Division. Since no outsiders were present, Sokov resumed his previous attitude towards him.
Title: "General Ponejelin, I wonder how you are doing in the 41st Guards Division. Have your subordinates ever acted against you?"
"No, no," Ponjelin waved his hands and said, "Although I am only a lieutenant colonel now, many people in the division know my past and know that I served as a commander in the early days of the war, and they all respect me.
Act friendly."
When Sokov assigned Ponedelin to serve as the division commander of the 41st Guards Division, he considered that there were many of his old troops in the division. If he sent a trustworthy person there, he could easily control the troops. Now it seems that
Come on, after Ponejelin left, he has firmly taken control of the situation.
"Now that you have taken control of the troops, I will assign you new combat tasks." Sokov said to Ponejelin: "We have reached a private agreement with the Romanian army stationed in the Otac area.
A cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, we should send troops to Otac and be responsible for the defense of the city."
When Ponedelin heard this, he immediately understood the purpose of Sokov calling him here, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, do you mean to let our division be stationed in Otac?"
"Yes, that's how I think about it."
But Ponejelin said in embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, it is close to the Dniester River and very close to the German defense area. Once the Germans know that we have stationed in Otats, they will definitely come to attack.
With the current strength of our division, even if the Romanian army is added, it may be difficult to stop the German attack."
"General Ponedelin, don't worry." Although Sokov knew that Ponedelin knew the terrain in this area well, he still placed the map between the two of them. "The 130th Infantry Division is currently stationed in Cherno.
Fuse, it is only thirty kilometers away from Otac. If you encounter any danger, they will send troops to rescue you in time."
"Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, how many Romanian troops are there in Otac?"
Fortunately, during the negotiations, Sokov asked Efrem specifically before he could accurately answer Ponejelin's question: "The troops stationed in Otac are the Romanian 18th Infantry Division, which has a total of 18 officers and soldiers.
More than 6,000 people.”
"What, only six thousand people?" Ponedelin had been in Ukraine for a long time and naturally knew the structure of the Romanian army. When he learned that there was a Romanian division in Otac, he thought there were at least more than 10,000 troops.
The two armies could still sustain the German attack for a while. Now that I learned that there were only more than 6,000 defenders in the city, my heart froze.
He calculated on his fingers: "There are more than 3,000 people in our division, plus more than 6,000 Romanians, which means that the full force is less than 10,000. This amount of troops is far from enough to deal with the German attack."
"Wait a minute, General Ponejelin, I forgot to tell you something." Sokov interrupted Ponejelin's calculations and told him tactfully: "I promised the Romanian commander, but when I encountered
When the Germans attack, we are responsible for resisting the enemy. Their task is to patrol the city to prevent residents from panicking due to the fighting outside the city."
"So, I only have more than 3,000 troops at my disposal." Ponejelin's expression became serious: "Comrade Commander, with this small number of troops, if the Germans really launch an attack, we will
There is absolutely no way we can defend Otats."
"I can allocate eight thousand to you for the soldiers you rescued from the open-pit mines. They are all soldiers who can go to the battlefield immediately." Sokov said: "In this way, the total number of soldiers in your division will exceed ten thousand.
, has enough power to deal with the enemy."
When Ponedelin was ordered by Sokov to rescue the commanders and fighters imprisoned in the open-pit mines, Ponedelin knew very well what the situation of those prisoners of war was. At this moment, he heard Sokov said that eight thousand prisoners of war would be released.
Replenishing his own troops, he immediately beamed. He knew that the soldiers assigned to him by Sokov were definitely the kind who could fight with a gun.
But he still said with concern: "Comrade Commander, after you have added so many soldiers to us, the number of troops has increased, but what about the weapons? If there are no weapons, we can't bite the enemy with our teeth during the war, right?
?”
"You don't have to worry about weapons." Sokov comforted the other party and said: "Colonel Yakov has gone back to transport supplies. I believe it won't take long to transport the weapons and ammunition you need."
The soldiers and weapons have been dealt with, and the next thing to consider is how to get to Otac: "Comrade Commander, it is almost a hundred kilometers from here to Otac. If we rely on the soldiers to walk, I'm afraid it will take at least two days.
time."
"General Ponedelin, we can't wait two days." Sokov declared decisively: "I will help you mobilize enough transportation means to transport you to Otats. No matter how bad the road conditions are, only eight
It’s a ten-kilometer road and can be reached in three hours at most.”
Seeing that Sokov had considered all the issues that should be considered, Ponedelin felt that there were no more questions to ask. He tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, when will the troops be added to our division?"
"
"General Ponejelin, didn't you find that Comrade Chief of Staff was not there when you came in?"
"Yes, General Smirnov is not here." After Sokov reminded him, Ponedelin realized that from the time he came in until now, he didn't seem to see the shadow of Smirnov, so he asked curiously:
"Comrade Commander, where has he gone?"
"Where else can we go?" Sokov said with a smile: "Of course he took the rescued prisoners of war to the station of your division. By the way, he went with him, as well as the director of the logistics department, who will be in charge
Solve your transportation problems."
"Great, this is really great." Ponejelin couldn't sit still. He stood up and asked Sokov tentatively: "Can I return to the army now?"
"Don't be anxious, General Ponejelin." Sokov said to him with a smile: "I am waiting for the cooperation agreement signed by the Romanian side. When I get the agreement, your division can legitimately move towards Otac.
Already."
"Comrade Commander," Koshkin came in from the outside and reported to Sokov: "Colonel Surodenko from Chernivtsi sent a commander and said that there were important matters that needed to be seen immediately.
To you."
As soon as Sokov heard that he was a commander from Chernivtsi, he knew that the person coming was definitely related to the cooperation agreement, so he ordered Koshkin: "Comrade Lieutenant, let him in."
