Soon, it turned out that Sokov's worries were not groundless.
Chief of Staff Zakharov, who had been staying at the front army headquarters, unexpectedly appeared at Sokov's combat group headquarters. After the two exchanged simple greetings, Zakharov asked straight to the point: "Comrade Sokov,
Have your troops entered Romania?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov replied: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponejelin's 41st Guards Division has entered Romania and took over a group of soldiers from the country's 27th Border Guard Regiment.
Defense of the defensive position.”
"Oh, you have occupied a defense position in Romania?" Hearing what Sokov said, Zakharov asked in surprise: "Then why didn't you report to the front army headquarters in time?" As soon as the words came out of his mouth
, Zakharov realized that he had said the wrong thing. After all, Sokov was now commanding a combat group, which was at the same level as the front army headquarters, and there was no need for real-time reporting.
"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov said in a slow tone: "For such a big matter, when you should talk to us about it, you should still talk about it so that we can be aware of it."
"I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, this is my negligence. Next time something similar happens again, I will definitely communicate with you in time." Sokov knew that Zakharov did not go to the Three Treasures Palace for nothing, and he did not
For important matters, he would not randomly come to his headquarters, so he asked tentatively: "Is there anything important that you came here for today?"
Zakharov came to the wall, picked up the explanation stick, pointed to the map hanging on it and said: "Comrade Sokov, I came here today to tell you. According to our intelligence personnel lurking behind enemy lines,
According to reports, the German army has dispatched an armored division and two infantry divisions from the direction of Lviv and are rushing over day and night."
After learning that three German divisions were coming from the direction of Lviv, Sokov stared at the map for a while and quickly came to a conclusion: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, the Germans' intention is to retake Cherno
Fuce?"
"Yes, this should be their purpose." Zaharov nodded and said: "After Marshal Konev knew about this, he specially sent me to inform you. If you underestimate the enemy too much, the Germans will retake Chelten.
Novtsi, and then launch a counterattack from Romania, and then the troops entering Romania may be trapped in a tight siege."
Gorokhov, who was standing nearby, couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat when he heard this. He had just tried to persuade Sokov to send all the troops to Romania except for leaving a small number of troops in the Chernivtsi area.
Strive to liberate the entire territory in the shortest possible time.
But now it seems that if we really do this, we will just fall into the trap of the Germans. If Chernivtsi is lost, the troops entering Romania will be completely cut off from the rear. Is it really there?
At that time, let alone making achievements, it is still unknown whether the surrounded troops can escape intact.
Just listen to Zakharov asking: "Comrade Sokov, what are your plans?"
"The Germans are here with bad intentions." Sokov looked up at the map and said: "Their intention is very obvious, which is to retake Chernivtsi, encircle our troops entering Romania, and cut off our supplies.
"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov looked away from the map and looked at Zakharov and said: "Once they achieve their intention and cut off our army's logistics supplies, the troops trapped in the encirclement will face two endings.
"First, they were annihilated by the Germans; second, they relied on aerial supplies provided by their superiors and struggled to support themselves in the German encirclement, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements."
"Comrade Sokov, which situation do you think is more likely to happen in the end?" Zakharov asked.
"I don't want it to happen under any circumstances." Sokov said without hesitation: "First, I will never let it happen like being annihilated by the enemy.
Second, the situation of being surrounded by German troops and waiting for rescue cannot be allowed to occur."
Sokov's words aroused Zakharov's curiosity. He asked tentatively: "Comrade Sokov, tell me why you don't allow the second situation to occur? You know, the German army wants to encircle such a large force of ours."
, will inevitably use a large number of troops, forcing them to draw troops from other fronts, which is equivalent to reducing the pressure on friendly forces in disguise."
"If our troops in Romania are encircled by the German army." Sokov explained to Zakharov and everyone in the headquarters: "Then the enemies participating in the attack will not only be the Germans, but also the Germans."
There will be Romanians. I don't deny that many Romanian troops are unwilling to fight against our army, but if they are under the surveillance and compulsion of the Germans, they will have to participate in the battle.
If we were fighting the Romanian army in Ukraine or Moldavia, the Romanian people might be less resistant to us. But if we were to fight their army on their own land, they would have to choose
Standing on the opposite side of us. In this way, we are not only fighting the German and Romanian coalition forces, but also fighting the local people.
Also, after the troops are encircled, the strength of the German army will be infinitely amplified, and some Romanian troops who originally wanted to remain neutral or even prepared to cooperate with us will have to choose their side again."
After Zakharov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he thought for a long time and finally understood what the other party meant. He nodded and said: "Comrade Sokov, you have indeed considered it very comprehensively. If our troops are attacked in Romania,
When the encirclement comes, the situation you mentioned may become a reality."
"Comrade Commander," Gorokhov interrupted and asked, "Then what should we do?"
"What else can be done? Of course, the troops will cover up the water and the soil." After using an idiom, Sokov continued: "Inform General Bogdanov immediately and let his 2nd Tank Army be in Chernov
We must deploy the strategy in the area and prepare for battle to meet the German attack."
Seeing Sameko picking up a pen and paper and recording his orders, Sokov struck while the iron was hot and said: "In addition, the 98th Guards Division and the 254th Infantry Division of the Ponejelin Battle Group will immediately enter Romania.
Strengthen the power of the Ponejelin tribe."
"What?" Samyko asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, you clearly know that the German attack target is Chernivtsi, why do you still send the two divisions stationed in Chernivtsi to Chernivtsi?"
What about being transferred to Romania?”
"The reason is very simple." Seeing Samyko's confused look, Sokov explained to him: "These two divisions belong to the Ponedelin Battle Group, and Bogdanov's 2nd Tank Division
There is no affiliation between the group armies. Even if they stay in Chernivtsi, the role they can play is very limited.
After they were transferred into Romania, the entire Chernivtsi became the defense area of the 2nd Tank Army. Bogdanov could mobilize any troops in the defense area at will, and no one would dissent from him.
He will perform better in the next battle."
"So that's it." After Samek figured out what was going on, he said, "Then I'll call immediately and convey your order to him."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Just as Samyko was about to leave, Sokov stopped him and continued: "Also, remember to inform Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin that he is commanding another
Two divisions will also enter Romania, allowing him to arrange the defense areas reasonably."
After Samyko went to call, Zakharov asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade Sokov, you divided the army into two parts, do you want them to support each other after the battle starts?"
"
"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Seeing that Zakharov saw his intention, Sokov nodded and said: "If I gather all the troops in one place, the Germans will definitely use a large-depth roundabout.
tactics, encircling our troops. But now that the troops are divided into two parts that can support each other, if the Germans want to encircle us again, the difficulty will increase exponentially."
Sokov took the explanation baton from Zakharov's hand and knocked heavily on the map where Chernivtsi and Ponejelin were located: "Our troops are divided into two parts.
This meant that if the Germans wanted to encircle them, they would have to prepare two encirclements.
After several years of fighting, the Germans have almost exhausted their previous elites; but our army has grown up during the war and is now much stronger than at the beginning of the war. If the Germans really use two encirclements to deal with us
, there will be the danger of being surrounded by us."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Zakharov was thinking: You Sokov are the nemesis of the Germans. Just hearing your name has caused many German commanders to have many worries when commanding operations.
And become helpless. If the German army uses two encirclements to deal with your troops, there is indeed the possibility of being counter-encircled.
But not all troops have the strength of your Sokov. If they fall into an encirclement by the German army, no matter whether the enemy uses one encirclement, two or three, they will either be annihilated by the Germans or be destroyed by the Germans.
After struggling to support themselves, they were rescued by friendly forces, but the troops would also lose their combat effectiveness in a short period of time due to heavy losses.
"Comrade Commander," Trofimenko asked Sokov, pointing to the map: "Since our deployment on the right wing has been greatly adjusted, what about the troops on the left wing? Do we also need to make adjustments?"
"Left-wing troops?" Before Sokov could speak, Zakharov asked in surprise: "What left-wing troops?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, General Trofimenko is talking about the 18th Guards Army currently in the south and General Kravchenko's 6th Tank Army." Sokov explained to Zakharov: "
The mission of these two troops is to advance from the position north of Wingene to the old national border, and forcefully cross the Prut River to transfer the war to Romania."
Zakharov nodded after hearing this, and then said with a smile: "Comrade Sokov, after seeing your combat deployment some time ago, we all felt that the troops heading south to Wingene would definitely reach the national border first.
And entered Romania from that location. But now it seems that someone moved faster than them."
After taking the tea handed over by Smirnov and taking a big sip, Zakharov continued: "By the way, how are their progress today?"
"I have ordered them to stop advancing and camp where they are."
"What, you have ordered them to stop advancing?" Zakharov asked in surprise: "Why?"
"The weather conditions in the north are pretty good. Where the Chernivtsi and Ponje divisions are stationed, the sun is shining and the sky is clear." Sokov tapped the location of Chernivtsi with his explanatory stick.
Then he pointed at Wenger: "But in this direction, it's snowing now. For safety reasons, I ordered the troops to stop advancing."
Knowing that the troops in the south had to temporarily stop their advance due to the weather, Zakharov couldn't help but said with some regret: "As a result, their entry into Romania will be postponed indefinitely.
"
"Chief of Staff of the Front Army, that's not necessarily the case." Sokov said with a smile: "I have learned that while there is a blizzard in the south, there is also a strong cooling weather. When the blizzard stops tomorrow, the ground will also be frozen due to the severe cold.
It will be very beneficial for us to use tanks on a large scale. I believe that General Kravchenko will take advantage of the geographical location to increase the speed of the troops."
"To win on the battlefield, weather is also a decisive factor." Sokov's words reminded Zakharov of the most difficult days in the early days of the war: "Comrade Sokov, I think of the early days of the Moscow Defense War.
Some things. At that time, the Germans used their powerful armored forces to quickly advance in the direction of Moscow. But we lacked anti-tank weapons and did not have enough anti-tank experience, so facing the German torrent of steel, we even paid huge sacrifices
, still unable to block their path forward.
But fortunately, the arrival of the rainy season did us a big favor. Because the roads were washed away by heavy rain, the tanks and armored vehicles that the Germans relied on were stuck in the quagmire, and they could no longer support the infantry at any time as before. We took advantage of this rare opportunity
opportunity, rebuilt and consolidated the defense line, and blocked the German attack."
Sokov only traveled to this era a few days before the start of the major counterattack under Moscow. He learned about what happened in the early stage through books. Some details would not be recorded in the book, so he naturally
I don't know. At this moment, Zakharov took the initiative to talk about some of his previous experiences, which made him very interested.
Zakharov was originally worried that Sokov would not want to listen to what he said, but now seeing that the other party was listening with interest, he picked up the tea cup and took another sip of tea, and continued: "This situation lasted until the end of October.
With the arrival of winter, the temperature dropped day by day and the ground was frozen hard, allowing the German armored forces, which had been dormant for more than a month, to put more tanks and armored vehicles into battle again.
Fortunately, our troops have replenished a large number of anti-tank weapons during this period, and the soldiers have also gained experience in anti-tank. Although our army is still retreating step by step towards Moscow in the face of the powerful German offensive, the Germans are advancing every time.
Every step forward will cost you more than before."
