When Zakharov received the call from Sokov, he thought the other party was reporting on the progress of the troops, so he asked directly: "Comrade Sokov, how many troops of your combat group have entered Romania?"
Upon hearing this, Sokov immediately understood that Zakharov had misunderstood, and quickly explained to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I called you for another matter."
"Something else?" Zaharov asked in surprise, "What is it?"
"The Romanian 18th Infantry Division stationed in the city of Otac sent someone to contact me not long ago. They want to fight alongside us."
"Fight alongside you?" Zakharov was a little confused by Sokov's statement, so he asked, "What do you mean?"
"What General Antonetta means is that he hopes to send troops to fight with our army against the German invaders." Sokov said into the microphone: "I think this matter is of great importance and it is necessary to report to the front army headquarters in advance."
After hearing this, Zakharov was silent for a while, and then said: "Comrade Sokov, you are right, this matter is of great importance, and I cannot make a decision. Just wait a moment, I will report this matter to the department immediately."
Marshal Nev reports."
Not long after, Konev's voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Sokov, what is going on? How can the Romanians remember to fight alongside you?"
In response to Konev's question, Sokov thought for a moment and replied: "Comrade Marshal, I think it may be that they saw that the German defeat was inevitable. In order not to be implicated by the Germans, they
It’s time to choose a side.”
"Do you think they really want to fight alongside us?" Konev continued to ask.
"It's hard to say," Sokov replied cautiously: "The reason why the Romanians made this request may be that they saw that the Germans could no longer suppress them, so they tried to resist and see what the result would be. If the Germans' strength
If they are not as good as our army, they will definitely fall to us completely."
"But if they find that our army's strength is no more than this, they will still choose to cooperate with the Germans." Before Sokov could finish speaking, Konev rushed to say: "Comrade Sokov, I am right.
Bar?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal, the possibility you mentioned completely exists."
"Then what did you think about it?"
"Comrade Marshal, I plan to deploy two divisions to assist the 52nd Army in breaking through the defense lines of the German and Romanian coalition forces." Sokov said cautiously: "The troops of the Romanian 18th Infantry Division will cooperate with these two divisions.
"
"Comrade Sokov, I don't think it is safe if the entire division of the Romanian Army is allowed to participate in the battle." Konev directly raised his concerns to Sokov: "If they defect before the battle, I am afraid it will cost our army
A heavy price."
"Comrade Marshal, this is what I think about." Sokov explained: "Actually, I only plan to integrate the 52nd regiment of the division into our army's combat order and participate in the next combat operations. The commander of this regiment is Wu
Colonel Drea has always been very friendly to our army, and I believe that with him here, he will be able to control the troops and avoid the situation we are worried about."
Knowing that Sokov only planned to accommodate one regiment of Romanian troops to participate in the war, Konev felt much more at ease. He thought that a regiment could only number 2,000 people. Even if they were bewitched by the Germans on the battlefield and turned against me, they would not be interested in me.
The influence of the Romanian Army is also limited. Thinking of this, he said into the microphone: "Comrade Sokov, I agree with your deployment, let the 52nd Regiment of the Romanian Army participate in this battle."
Now that Konev has agreed to let the Romanian army participate in the battle, Sokov feels much more at ease. Even if someone makes irresponsible remarks and wants to cause trouble for him in the future, Konev will come forward to help him solve it.
Sokov called Stilitz, the commander of the 116th Division, intending to explain something to him in person.
When Stilitz heard his chief of staff say that Sokov called him, he thought the chief of staff was joking, and said with some displeasure: "Comrade chief of staff, this is not the time for joking, so please stop teasing me.
How could the comrade commander bypass the military commander and call me directly?"
Seeing that Stilitz didn't believe it, the chief of staff suddenly became anxious: "Comrade division commander, how could I joke with you about such an important matter? It's really a call from the commander."
Stilitz took the phone from the chief of staff, put it to his ear and said: "I am Stilitz."
"Hello, Colonel Stilitz!" Sokov said into the microphone: "I am Sokov."
Stilitz had dealt with Sokov more than once, so he could naturally recognize his voice, and he quickly and respectfully said: "Hello, Comrade Commander, do you have any instructions?"
"Has the commander of the army, General Melekhov, explained the combat missions of your division to you?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Stilitz replied respectfully: "According to the strength of the headquarters, our division will, together with the 130th Infantry Division, launch an attack from the rear of the German troops blocking the advance of the 52nd Group Army.
They cannot help each other to help friendly forces break through the German defense line."
"Yes, you recorded the combat orders very clearly." After praising the other party, Sokov got back to the subject: "I called you because of an important matter. I plan to temporarily assign a unit to your command.
, and participated in the offensive operations against the German army."
Hearing that Sokov planned to put an army under his command, Stilitz felt ecstatic and asked quickly: "Which new Guards is this?"
According to his idea, Sokov sent troops to him at this time to participate in the next attack, which shows that the strength of this army is not weak. And the troops that are not weak, now broken down, are only those close to him.
Health teacher.
Unexpectedly, Sokov's answer was beyond his expectation: "I'm sorry, Colonel Stilitz, my answer may disappoint you. The troops under your command this time are not the Guards.
, not even our army’s troops, but the Romanian Army’s 52nd Infantry Regiment.”
"What, Romanian troops?" Stilitz heard what Sokov said and instinctively replied: "Comrade Commander, I have no interest in fighting side by side with the Romanian army."
"Colonel Stilitz, can you explain to me the reason?"
"The reason is very simple." Stilitz said without hesitation: "The combat effectiveness of the Romanian army is too weak. If I let them fight alongside me, I am worried that they will hold me back."
"Colonel Stilitz, you are worrying too much." Sokov said patiently into the microphone: "Although these Romanian troops took the initiative to hand over the city to us without fighting, it does not mean that their combat effectiveness is not strong.
Ah. I think it’s better to incorporate the 52nd Regiment into your division’s organization first. We’ll see if it’s good or bad.”
Now that Sokov had spoken to this extent, Stilitz had no choice but to agree. He thought to himself: at worst, he would leave the Romanian regiment behind as a reserve when the battle started and prevent them from participating in the battle.
, so that you won’t be afraid that they will hold you back.
At noon the next day, Stilitz led his troops into the designated attack position, and what stood in front of them now was a division of the Romanian Army. Although Stilitz did not place the division of the Romanian Army at all.
However, out of caution, he still summoned several regiment leaders for an emergency military meeting.
Just halfway through the meeting, a staff officer came in and reported to Stilitz: "Comrade division commander, the 52nd Regiment of the Romanian Army has arrived, and their regiment leader, Colonel Udrea, is outside asking for a meeting."
"See you, see you." Stilitz waved his hand vigorously and said, "Let him go back first. I will go over to find him when I have time."
Just when the staff officer turned to leave, the chief of staff stopped him and said to Stilitz: "Comrade division commander, since this Romanian army was sent by the commander, we should still warmly receive it, lest the commander in the future
When I find out, I will blame you."
"Okay, then invite the leader in!"
Soon, the staff officer came in with Udrea, "Comrade division commander, Colonel Udrea is here."
When Udrea saw Stilitz, he raised his hand to salute a military salute, and then said respectfully: "Hello, comrade colonel, I am Udrea. From now on, my troops and I will accept your command."
.”
Seeing that Udrea was so respectful towards him, Stilitz could not say any more sarcastic words, but pouted towards the empty seat next to him and said: "Colonel, we are having a meeting, you should sit down and listen.
"
After Udrea sat down, Stilitz continued: "Although the combat effectiveness of the Romanian division in front of us cannot be compared with ours, to defeat him, we must use at least one or two regiments of troops. In this way
If it comes, it will affect our subsequent attack on the German positions."
When Udrea heard this, he raised his right hand high to indicate that he wanted to speak.
Seeing Udrea's desire to be in the limelight, Stilitz showed an expression of disgust on his face, but in front of many subordinates, he still tried to control his emotions and said in a calm tone: "
Colonel, do you have anything to say?"
"Comrade Colonel, if I am not mistaken, the number of the Romanian army blocking you is the 20th Infantry Division, right?"
"That's right, Colonel Udrea." Before Stilitz could speak, his chief of staff said first: "The number of the Romanian army that is about to fight with us is indeed the 20th Infantry Division."
"Since it is the 20th Infantry Division, your regiment is no match for them."
Hearing what Udrea said, Stilitz couldn't help but feel a little annoyed: "Colonel, how do you know that one of our regiments cannot defeat the 20th Infantry Division?"
"Comrade Colonel," Udrea saw Stilitz's displeasure, but he still said to himself: "The Romanian 20th Infantry Division has the 82nd, 83rd and 91st Infantry Regiments, plus
A 20th Artillery Brigade.
The 39th Artillery Regiment under the Artillery Brigade has two 75mm cannon battalions and one 100mm howitzer battalion; the 40th Artillery Regiment has two 100mm howitzer battalions.
In addition, the units directly under the division include the 20th Engineer Battalion, the 20th Reconnaissance Battalion, the 20th Anti-Tank Company, the 20th Communications Company and the 20th Air Defense Company."
The chief of staff heard Udrea tell some information that the scouts had not yet grasped, and quickly started recording with a pen. He was secretly glad that there was an ally here who knew the enemy's strength and provided him with a lot of important information.
After hearing Udrea tell so much useful information, Stilitz also had a slight change in his opinion. He asked politely: "Colonel, how many troops do you think we need to use to defeat this army?"
Where are the troops?”
"Comrade Colonel," Udrea said with a smile after hearing this, "Maybe we should talk to each other. Maybe in the end we can solve the problem without using force at all."
"Can the problem be solved without the use of force?" Stilitz couldn't help being stunned after hearing this, "Colonel Udrea, can the problem really be solved without the use of force?"
After hearing this, Udrea nodded and said: "Comrade Colonel, the commander of the 20th Division, Major General Octave, and I are old acquaintances. Let me go to see him. Maybe I can convince them not to fight you."
Stilitz expressed doubts about Udrea's statement, but if the Romanian army blocking the road could be resolved through negotiations, the casualties of his own troops could be reduced. This is precisely because
With such considerations in mind, Stilitz stood up and said to everyone: "I'll leave for a moment and you can continue the discussion."
After Stilitz left, the commanders present began to whisper among themselves and privately discuss the reasons for Stilitz's sudden departure.
Someone whispered: "Maybe he called the commander and asked whether he should send someone to negotiate with the Romanian army."
"I think this is also possible." Another person added: "This is the first time I have seen a division commander get up and leave in the middle of a meeting."
And Stilitz came to the next room and told the communications company commander: "Get me through the headquarters immediately. I want to find the commander."
The call was quickly connected. Stilitz took the phone, put it to his ear and said nervously: "I am Colonel Stilitz, commander of the 116th Infantry Division. I have important matters to see the comrade, the commander."
Not long after, Sokov's voice came from the receiver: "Hello, Colonel Stilitz, what do you want from me?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Stilitz quickly replied: "I am holding a military meeting to discuss how to eliminate the Romanian troops blocking our front, and Colonel Udrea, who you sent, happened to be at this time
Come for the meeting."
Hearing Stilitz mention Udrea, Sokov realized that the problem was not simple, and quickly asked: "Did he make any speech at the meeting?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Stilitz replied truthfully: "He said that he knew the commander of the Romanian 20th Infantry Division, Major General Octave, and even boasted to me that as long as he went to talk to Octave
Once we talk, we may be able to peacefully resolve the Romanian army blocking our way without even fighting a battle."
When Sokov heard that Stilitz called him for such a trivial matter, he replied: "Colonel Stilitz, since Colonel Udrea said so, you might as well let him
Let’s try, even if it doesn’t work, we won’t lose anything, right?”
"Oh, Comrade Commander, since you have no objection to this matter, I will arrange for Colonel Udrea to go to the Romanian army camp as soon as possible to conduct preliminary negotiations with Major General Octave."
