The returning convoy brought over Sidorin and members of the division headquarters in the evening. Since the location of the division headquarters had been selected, when the people arrived, they entered the church directly and began to set up antennas and lay telephone lines.
By the time I finished all this, it was already around ten o'clock in the evening.
Seeing that it was not dark outside, Ponejelin suddenly became interested. He said to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, while we have nothing to do now, how about we go out for a walk?"
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sidorin said with great interest: "I want to see what the cities controlled by Romania are like."
The two of them walked along the main street, October Street, and unexpectedly discovered that although it was already ten o'clock, there were still many pedestrians on the street because it was not dark.
Most of the bars and restaurants on both sides of the street are open. The waiters have placed many dining chairs in the open air, so that customers can eat and drink while enjoying the street view. Some painters who set up stalls on the roadside are getting business
Finally, it always attracts many passers-by to stop and watch.
A young man holding a guitar was enjoying himself playing and singing on the street. Not far away, there was a young man in a tuxedo, holding a piece of paper in his hand and reading aloud Pushkin's poems.
A Romanian patrol of 20 people came over from the other side of the street. When they saw Ponejelin and Sidorin coming towards them, they stopped quickly and stood on the roadside with their hands raised to salute them. Waiting for two
After the people passed by, the patrol continued to move forward.
Seeing this scene, Ponejelin suddenly had the illusion that he had returned to before the war and was enjoying a peaceful and comfortable life.
"Comrade Commander," while Ponejelin was thinking about it, Sidorin, who was walking beside him, said, "Seeing all this, do you feel that we seem to have returned to a peaceful age?"
Hearing this, Ponijelin looked at Sidorin in surprise and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I thought I was the only one who had such an illusion. I didn't expect you to be the same."
"I really didn't expect that after Romania took control of this city, it managed it so well." Sidorin said with emotion: "If our local cadres can reach such a level, it won't take long for those liberated cities to
With time, we will soon be able to regain our strength and provide a continuous supply of soldiers and supplies to the front line."
"I feel the same way." Ponejelin echoed: "If the commander hadn't added 8,000 soldiers to us before coming here, I would definitely have set up a recruitment office to recruit a group of new soldiers into the army."
When it came to soldiers, Sidorin couldn't help but ask: "Comrade division commander, I just plan to talk to you about this matter. Now the total number of soldiers in our division has reached more than 11,000, but those with weapons
No more than four thousand. What to do with the rest? We can’t let them bite the enemy with their teeth during a war, right?”
"You don't have to worry about weapons and equipment." Ponedelin explained to Sidorin: "Colonel Yakov's hovercraft detachment is expected to arrive here in two days. By then, we will have no problem with weapons.
It will be completely solved.”
"The troops currently stationed outside the city are Colonel Papuchenko's 122nd Army." Sidorin said: "So far, their regiment is the strongest in the division in terms of equipment and combat effectiveness. If the German army goes to
If the city launches an attack, they should be able to withstand it for two to three days."
"Two to three days will be enough." Although Ponejelin is now the division commander, his understanding of the army is naturally not as good as that of Sidorin who has remained in the army. He originally thought that the 122nd Regiment
Under the strong offensive of the German army, it can last for up to one day, but when Sidorin said this, I felt much more at ease: "I think Yakov's transport team should be able to deliver the weapons we need within three days."
All the equipment has been shipped.”
Sidorin has seen Yakov's hovercraft team, and naturally has a certain understanding of the team's transportation capabilities. He does not think that one transportation can handle the weapons and equipment of more than 7,000 people. It requires at least three or four trips.
Just fine.
The two of them wandered the streets for an hour, and after understanding the general situation in the city, they turned and walked towards the headquarters. On the way, Ponejelin asked Sidorin: "When will the remaining troops of ours arrive?
Otats?”
"The fastest we have to wait until around three o'clock tomorrow morning." Sidorin explained to Ponijelin: "The troops who arrived in the early stage left a lot of work, and the rearguard troops need to stay to deal with the aftermath, and this will take time."
"At present, our military strength is roughly equal to that of the Romanians," Ponejelin said with a frown: "Although the two sides have a cooperative relationship, this cooperation does not seem reliable. We must be prepared to deal with the worst situation."
"Don't worry, comrade division commander." Sidorin said: "I will inform the troops and let them be prepared to be caught off guard by the opponent."
After the two returned to the headquarters, Sidorin picked up the phone and called Starcia, the commander of the 124th Regiment: "Comrade Colonel, is your regiment settled?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Starcia replied with a smile: "The whole regiment has settled in. The Romanian army helped us arrange accommodation. I really didn't expect that we would be fighting to the death with them on the battlefield for a few days.
, but now they have become allies."
"Colonel Starca," Seeing that Starcia was so vigilant, Sidorin couldn't help but frowned. He reminded him: "Although we have a cooperative relationship with the Romanian army now, no matter what,
, we were all enemies before. We cannot let our guard down against them, do you understand?"
After Sidorin's reminder, Starcha immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. He looked left and right and saw that they were all his subordinates, but he still lowered his voice and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, have you noticed anything?"
Something's wrong?"
"I didn't notice anything wrong." Sidorin said truthfully: "But it is completely necessary to remain vigilant."
"I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff." Starcia said: "I will set up sentries outside the military camp and equip them with machine guns, so that even if something happens, they will be able to deal with it."
Hearing that the other party planned to send out a squad of sentries on duty at night, Sidorin felt a little more at ease. No matter how capable the enemy in the sneak attack was, it would still take some trouble to clear out a squad of sentries, so that the commanders and fighters in the barracks could be
Allow sufficient reaction time.
After seeing Sidorin making the phone call, Ponjelin asked: "Have you called both regiment leaders?"
"I only called Colonel Starcia and asked him to be more vigilant to avoid being plotted by the Romanian army."
"They are stationed outside the city, so I don't think there is any need to notify them."
"It is precisely because they are stationed outside the city that we need to inform them all the more." Seeing Sidorin's disapproval, Ponejelin said to him seriously: "You know, they are facing more than just the other side of the river.
The Germans must also be on guard against the Romanians behind them, who knows when they will turn their backs on us.”
Since Ponejelin personally warned him about this matter, Sidorin naturally did not dare to neglect, and quickly called Papuchenko and told him to be more vigilant to avoid being caught off guard by others.
But Ponejelin and Sidorin's worries seemed to be unnecessary. Until four o'clock in the morning, the place where the Romanian army was stationed was quiet, and no one slipped out of the camp at all.
The sudden ringing of the phone woke Sidorin from his sleep. He grabbed the phone and put it to his ear: "I am Sidorin, where are you?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," a strange voice came from the other end of the phone: "I am the observation post in the east of the city. The 126th Regiment has arrived in the city and the convoy is entering the city in an orderly manner."
"Yeah, I got it!" Sidorin, who was sleeping heavily, hummed and was about to hang up the phone after listening to the observation post's report. But the observation post's next words made him wake up.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I saw a few jeeps in the convoy." the observation post said cautiously: "According to my observation, it should be the vehicle from the Army Headquarters. I think it is necessary to report to you."
"You did the right thing, comrade soldier." Sidorin said into the microphone: "You performed your duties faithfully."
After putting down the phone, he walked to the corner where the camp bed was, and bent down to shake Ponyjelin who was sleeping on the bed: "Comrade division commander, comrade division commander!"
Ponejelin was in a daze when he was woken up by Sidorin. He looked at him and asked feebly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what can I do?"
"Comrade Division Commander, I just received a report from the observation post in the east of the city."
Ponyjelin sat up straight, took out a pack of cigarettes from under the pillow, took one out and put it in his mouth, while casually asking: "What did he say?"
"He said that the convoy transporting the 126th Regiment has arrived and is entering the city one after another."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Ponejelin hummed absentmindedly, found a match, struck it, and lit the cigarette in his mouth: "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is why you put the
Did I wake you up?"
"Of course not, comrade division commander." Xiduo Linxin said that if there is really only news about the 126th regiment entering the city, I will not disturb your sweet dream, and quickly reported: "The observation post also said that several suspected vehicles appeared in the convoy.
The commander’s jeep, he suspected that the commander might be in the car.”
Hearing that Sokov might be coming, Ponedelin stood up suddenly, threw the newly lit cigarette in his hand on the ground, crushed it with his toes, and said to Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, tell the division headquarters immediately
Everyone, get up and let’s go outside to greet Comrade Commander.”
"Comrade Commander, please don't do this." Sidorin quickly stopped Ponejelin's impulsive behavior: "If Comrade Commander did not say hello to us before coming here, it proves that he wants to keep a low profile. If we
If you go out to greet him with great fanfare, he might be unhappy."
"Okay." Ponejelin knew Sokov's character very well. If he really organized people to go outside to greet him, he might make Sokov unhappy, so he could only give up his original idea and
He decided to stay at the headquarters and wait patiently for Sokov's arrival.
Unexpectedly, before Sokov could wait, there was a huge explosion outside, and even the window glass of the church was shaken and rattled.
"What's going on? Where did the explosion come from?"
Although the staff and communications personnel at the headquarters were awakened, no one knew what was going on with the explosion coming from outside.
Seeing that no one answered his question, Ponejelin seemed a little impatient and planned to take people outside to check in person, but was stopped by Sidorin: "Comrade division commander, your combat post is in the headquarters. What is the situation outside?"
If you don't know, you can't go out and take risks."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't you know that the commander is coming towards us?" Ponejelin said excitedly: "What if the explosion outside is aimed at him and something bad happens to him, who will bear the responsibility?"
responsibility?"
Although Sidorin felt that Ponejelin's words were reasonable, he still did not agree to let him go out. Instead, he called several staff officers and said: "You should contact the various troops in the city immediately and ask what happened.
The troops who are close to the explosion site had better send people to find out what happened."
Five or six minutes after the order was issued, Major Okunev, the chief of staff of the 124th Regiment, called and reported to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we have figured it out. There was an explosion in the post and telecommunications office in our defense zone. Now the building
It's burning, and we don't know if there are any casualties yet."
"Comrade Major, immediately cordon off that area and organize people to put out the fire."
"However, the Romanian fire brigade is organizing to put out the fire at the moment." Major Okunev said on the phone: "And they have blocked the fire site, so my people can't get close at all."
"I understand." Sidorin thought for a moment and ordered Okunev: "Comrade Major, since you can't go there, don't go there. Leave two people to monitor the situation, and the rest will go back to the camp to sleep."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin reported to Ponedelin after putting down the phone: "There was an explosion in the post office. Someone may have caused sabotage. However, the Romanians have cordoned off that area and organized firefighting there.
"
When he learned that the post and telecommunications office was on fire, Ponjelin immediately realized that there was something fishy about the matter. If the post and telecommunications office was on fire, it would make sense. After all, the paper products inside were relatively safe. But there was a violent explosion before the fire, which is a bit intriguing.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," thinking of the fire in the city at this time, he couldn't get involved, but Sokov's safety was mentioned in an important position. Ponedelin asked Sidorin: "Can I get in touch with Comrade Commander?"
, do you know where he is?"
"Theoretically, it is possible." Sidorin replied: "Normally, when Comrade Commander travels, he will bring a radio with him, and we can call the Commander through the radio."
"Since you can make a call, what are you still waiting for? Why don't you hurry up and ask the operator to make a call and try to get in touch with the commander as soon as possible."
Sidorin knew very well that although Sokov took the operator with him wherever he went, it was still unknown whether the operator was with him at this moment. However, seeing that Ponedelin was so worried about Sokov's safety,
Sidorin felt that he should still make some efforts, maybe he could actually contact Sokov.
