"Comrades," Sidorin waited for Sokov to finish speaking and then said: "Actually, Comrade Commander has already given you ideas on replenishing soldiers. As long as you follow what he said, the soldiers lost by the army will be restored.
It was fully replenished in a very short period of time.”
He gave everyone a good suggestion: "If you want to say who knows the terrain and enemy situation in Belarus best, it is of course our guerrillas. If you recruit one or two guerrillas, then the intelligence of the areas where they operate
, even if you don’t send scouts to conduct reconnaissance, you can still know everything. If there is a prisoner of war camp somewhere, just ask them to take it there instead of having your scouts search around aimlessly. Do you think that’s right?”
"Yes, the chief of staff is right." Sidorin's words suddenly opened everyone's minds. If the guerrillas were really recruited, then even if they did not send out scouts to conduct reconnaissance, they would have all the information about their original areas of activity.
After being able to understand clearly, they all said: "When we return, we will send people to contact the guerrillas. In addition to adding them to our troops, we can also learn about the situation in unfamiliar areas in a timely manner."
After several division commanders and brigade commanders returned to their units, Sokov smiled and said to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I really didn't expect that you think about the problem more comprehensively than me. I just gave them ideas for replenishing troops.
, and you pointed out the specific implementation steps to them."
Sokov's words were sincere, and Sidorin's method was more applicable than what he said. If commanders at all levels follow their own methods and send scouts to scout around to find the location of the German prisoner of war camps, they can then
Report back. How much time will it take to come back?
But if we directly recruit a guerrilla group, we can get more timely and accurate information from them. We know where there are prisoner-of-war camps and can directly send a unit to rescue them, thus greatly saving time.
"Comrade Commander, you are very grateful." After hearing Sokov's praise, Sidorin said modestly: "I just reorganized what you said into words. In the end, it is still yours.
Good idea.”
Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then said to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I'm on duty tonight. You can go and rest first. If anything happens, I will handle it."
Hearing what Sokov said, Sidorin did not show any pretense, but nodded slightly: "Okay, Comrade Commander, if you need me for anything, just send someone to call me."
Nothing happened all night.
After dawn, when Sidorin arrived at the headquarters, Sokov handed over the work to him, and then led two divisions and two brigades to Baranovichi to join forces with the assault force commanded by Ponedelin.
Ponejelin's headquarters was located in the church in the city center, and he gave up the municipal building to Batov. The reason why he did this was because Marshal Zhukov was now sitting at the headquarters of the 65th Army, and he could not let others take over.
The headquarters is probably located in a church that was half destroyed by artillery fire.
When Sokov saw that Ponedelin had set up the headquarters in a half-collapsed church, he couldn't help but frowned slightly and asked: "Comrade Deputy Commander, why did you set up the headquarters here?"
"Comrade Commander," Ponedelin saw the displeased expression on Sokov's face and quickly explained to him: "I gave the municipal building to General Batov as the headquarters because Zhukov
marshal……"
His words stopped abruptly here, but Sokov already understood what he meant, nodded, and then said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you did the right thing. If I were in your position, I would do the same thing."
Such a decision.”
Next, he began to understand the situation of the troops: "With the two divisions and one brigade of the assault force, how many soldiers are there who can participate in the battle?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Ponedelin was silent for a while, and then replied: "Comrade Commander, after several days of fierce fighting, the casualties of the two divisions and one brigade were very serious. Now only the commanders and fighters who can go into battle are
Less than two-thirds.”
The casualties of the troops had long been expected by Sokov. After hearing this, he nodded and said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, have you taken any measures to replenish the troops?"
"No." Ponejelin shook his head and said: "The city has just been liberated, and the residents' emotions are not yet stable. If we are recruiting soldiers now, I'm afraid not too many people will respond."
Ponedelin's words made Sokov speechless. He shook his head with a wry smile, and then said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you have known me for more than a day or two. Don't you know that the way I replenish my troops is not
Just wait for supplements from superiors, or recruit troops on the spot."
The words woke up the dreamer. Sokov's words made Ponedelin realize that there was a problem with his thinking, and he quickly asked: "Comrade Commander, do you plan to use the commanders and fighters rescued from the prisoner of war camp to replenish our troops?"
?”
After seeing Sokov nodding in affirmation, he said hesitantly: "But as far as I know, there are no prisoner of war camps near Baranovichi. And we have just arrived in this area and are not familiar with the surrounding environment.
, even if the Germans established a prisoner-of-war camp nearby, it would be difficult for us to discover its location."
"Yes, you are right. We are not familiar with the terrain here and do not understand the distribution of the enemy. Even if they have established a prisoner-of-war camp nearby, we will not be able to find the prisoner-of-war camp without sending scouts to conduct reconnaissance.
Location." Sokov looked at Ponedelin and said: "Although we don't understand this place, someone does!"
"Does anyone understand?!" Ponejelin raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise: "Who is it?"
"Who else? Of course it's the guerrillas operating nearby." Sokov said: "Do you think there is anyone who understands the surrounding environment better than them?"
"That's not true." Ponejelin asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, do you mean that we send people to contact the guerrillas and obtain the information we want from them?"
Sokov took a deep breath and then said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I think it is most appropriate for us to send people to recruit nearby guerrillas. If we do this, not only can we supplement the missing soldiers in the army, but also
At the same time, we can also have a group of guides who understand the surrounding environment. Even if we are looking for a prisoner of war camp, they may be able to provide us with the specific location and help us liberate the prisoner of war camp and rescue the commanders and soldiers imprisoned inside."
After listening to Sokov's words, Ponjerin's eyes suddenly lit up. He slapped his hands on the table and said excitedly: "Yes, why didn't I think of this? As long as we recruit the guerrillas, we will not only supplement the
This provides the troops with urgently needed soldiers and at the same time has more guides who are familiar with the terrain, which is very beneficial for us to carry out the next operation."
"Comrade Deputy Commander, do you know where there are guerrillas nearby?"
"I know." Ponejelin nodded and said: "Before we attacked Baranovichi, we had received help from many guerrilla groups. These guerrilla groups had as many as two or three hundred people, but as few as four
Fifty people, although their combat effectiveness is average, can provide us with all kinds of useful information in a timely manner."
"Where are those guerrillas?" Sokov thought that there were two troops in Baranovichi that were not affiliated with each other. If the other party got in first and got into trouble, he urged Ponedelin: "Arrange manpower immediately.
Discuss the reorganization with several guerrilla captains."
The reason why Sokov urged him so urgently was because there were more wolves and less meat. After half a month of fierce fighting, the 65th Group Army's troop attrition was also particularly serious. If Bartov had a whim, he would take these soldiers who had contact with the troops.
All the guerrillas were recruited, and by then I would be a mute eating Coptis chinensis, unable to speak out about my sufferings.
Although Ponedelin didn't understand why Sokov was so impatient, he still called Tolstikov and others and asked them to recruit the guerrillas who cooperated with them, and while replenishing their troops, they also found out
Are there any prisoner of war camps nearby for Soviet commanders and fighters?
In the past few days, the troops commanded by Ponejelin have cooperated with seven or eight guerrilla groups. Although the number of each guerrilla group is not large, the sum of small numbers adds up to a large number.
After receiving Ponejelin's call, the headquarters of the two divisions and one brigade met with the guerrilla captains one after another to discuss with them the recruitment instructions. For the guerrilla captains, becoming a regular army was what they dreamed of, so the two sides hit it off.
In less than an hour, the recruitment of all guerrillas was completed.
After receiving a call from the commander below, Ponedelin reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the 1st Guards Division has incorporated two guerrilla groups and added 395 troops; the 6th Guards Division has incorporated
Three guerrilla groups were recruited, adding 249 soldiers; the 122nd Infantry Brigade incorporated two guerrilla groups, adding 416 soldiers."
When Sokov heard this, he laughed: "I didn't expect that Lieutenant Colonel Victor would add the most troops."
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Ponejelin nodded and said, "Actually, these two guerrillas assisted him in attacking the city. If he had not suffered a certain amount of casualties in the siege battle, he would still have been able to
There were more than two hundred people.
However, it is a pity that there is a guerrilla group of 200 people. After the troops of the 65th Group Army entered the city, they were sent to cooperate with them in fighting. Now they are stationed in the defense zone of friendly forces. If they want to recruit them, I am afraid they will end up with
Conflict arises between friendly forces."
They were all friendly forces fighting side by side. Sokov didn't have to turn against Batov's troops because of a guerrilla group of about two hundred people. He waved his hands a few times and said: "In this case, there is no need for that guerrilla group."
considerate."
After a moment of pause, he then asked: "By the way, did the guerrillas say that there is a prisoner of war camp for our army somewhere nearby?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Ponedelin raised his hand and slapped himself on the forehead, saying apologetically: "I'm so sorry, Comrade Commander, I think I forgot about it." In order to make up for his fault,
He took the initiative and said, "I'll make a call right away and ask them to ask the guerrilla leader."
These Belarusian guerrillas who have been active behind enemy lines for a long time are really unstoppable. Within half an hour of Ponedelin's call, Onuprienko came to the headquarters.
When he saw Sokov sitting at the table drinking tea, he was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and saluted: "Hello, Comrade Commander! When did you arrive."
"I've been here for almost two hours." After Sokov said this, he asked directly: "General Onupriyenko, what do you want to do when you come to the headquarters?"
"Comrade Commander, this is the situation." Onupryenko quickly glanced at Ponedelin standing next to him and said to Sokov: "Didn't Comrade Deputy Commander call us just now?
Let’s ask the newly recruited guerrillas if there is a prisoner of war camp nearby..."
When Sokov heard this, he interrupted Onupryenko's words: "General Onupryenko, so you have good news?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Onupryenko nodded and said in a positive tone: "The captain of a guerrilla group we recruited told me that there is a building more than fifty kilometers northwest.
The German prisoner-of-war camps housed a large number of our prisoners of war."
"A large number of our prisoners of war?!" Sokov felt ecstatic in his heart, but he still tried to control his emotions and asked in a calm tone: "Did the guerrilla captain say how many people there are?"
"Because the enemy's guard was very tight, they could not get close at all." Onupriyenko replied: "He roughly observed the size of the prisoner of war camp through the telescope, and there were about four to five thousand people in it."
Sokov turned to look at Ponedelin, who happened to be looking at him too. When the two looked at each other, Sokov saw a hint of surprise in the other person's eyes: "Comrade Commander, four to five thousand people are really impressive."
Quite a few.”
"Yes, there are really a lot of people." Onupryenko said with emotion: "If these commanders and fighters are rescued and integrated into my unit, then our division can return to full strength."
Sokov did not make any promises to the other party, but continued to ask: "General Onupriyenko, how many guards are there in the prisoner of war camp? If your troops are allowed to attack, how many troops will be needed to capture it?"
Where is this prisoner of war camp?”
"There are about two companies of guards." Onupryenko said: "There are only seven or eight wooden watchtowers in the prisoner-of-war camp, as well as machine gun fire points near the entrance and exit. If we want to seize the prisoner-of-war camp, we will dispatch at most two
One camp is enough."
Use two battalions to attack two companies. With such simple arithmetic, Sokov calculated the result in a moment: by attacking the few with more, there should be no problem in liberating the prisoner of war camp. But he didn't know that Onupryenko planned to send
Who is going to attack the prisoner of war camp: "General Onupryenko, who are you going to send to attack the prisoner of war camp?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Miresiev's 25th Guards Regiment," Onupryenko replied: "I think with the combat effectiveness of this regiment, there should be no problem in taking over this prisoner of war camp."
"General Onupriyenko," But Sokov shook his head after hearing this: "To seize the enemy's prisoner of war camp, we don't necessarily have to use storming tactics. If we really do this, the Germans will definitely resist to the death.
, and when they saw that the prisoner-of-war camp could not be defended, they would even kill the commanders and fighters detained in the prisoner-of-war camp."
"Then what should we do?"
"If you can avoid a force attack, try not to force a force attack." Sokov said to Onupryenko; "The best way is to have our commanders and soldiers disguise themselves as enemies and go to sneak attacks on prisoner-of-war camps to catch the enemy off guard.
Before they come to their senses, rescue our commanders and soldiers."
