"Comrade Commander," Gavrilov's voice trembled with excitement: "Do you really know the news about my wife and son?"
"Yes, Comrade Major." Sokov nodded and replied in a positive tone: "I have indeed heard news about them."
Gavrilov grabbed Sokov's hand and asked impatiently: "Comrade Commander, please tell me where they are now?"
"I heard that after the two of them were captured, the Germans sent them to Poland. The next year, they found an opportunity to escape and returned to Brest Oblast. Although your adopted son Kolya was young at the time,
They were still young, but they still joined the local guerrillas." Sokov said: "As for where they are now, I don't know."
"So, they are all still alive."
"I think so, Comrade Major." Sokov continued: "But the Brest Fortress was not recovered for a long time. Whether they have returned to their original place is still unknown. If you go to look for them at this moment
, I think you might be in vain."
Gavrilov agreed with Sokov's statement. Although the German invaders in the Soviet Union had been eliminated, the residents who had fled Brest Oblast would still not be able to return in a short time.
Return home. At least until the war is over, they will gradually return home from their current habitat.
"Comrade Commander, do you want me not to look for them now?" Gavrilov asked tentatively, "but to wait until the war is over before looking for them?"
"That's right, Comrade Major, that's what I mean." Sokov said: "You know, even though it has been a long time since our army liberated Brest Oblast, the vast majority of the residents who fled here did not
They may return in a short period of time, but they will continue to live and work where they are now. At least they will not return one after another until this war is completely over and our country begins to rebuild."
"Misha is right." Lunev also said at the side: "Although it has been more than half a year since the liberation of Brest Oblast, the evacuated residents still have some scruples in their hearts, worrying that if they return at this moment,
Their hometowns may be threatened by war again. Therefore, the best choice for them is to wait until the war is completely over and their lives are no longer in danger before they return to their homes one after another."
"Comrade Commander," Koshkin came in from the outside and handed a red box in his hand to Sokov: "This is what you want."
Sokov took the box, opened it, looked at it, and saw a pair of major's epaulettes inside. He handed it directly to Gavrilov: "Comrade major, take this pair of epaulettes, and then Captain Koshkin will take them."
You go and take office."
After Gavrilov thanked Sokov, he took the box, took out the military rank inside, and put it on the shoulder of his military uniform.
"Not bad, not bad." Seeing Gavrilov wearing his military rank, he seemed to be a different person. Sokov nodded and said, "Wearing this military rank, you become a real major again. I hope you are here
In the new position, I can carry out my work better."
"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Gavrilov expressed his attitude to Sokov: "I will never betray your trust and will definitely do my job well."
"Captain Koshkin." Sokov nodded with satisfaction to Gavrilov, then turned around and told Koshkin: "I will give you a task now, to escort Major Gavrilov to our newly built prisoner of war camp.
From now on, he is in charge of the prisoner of war camp."
Hearing what Sokov said, Koshkin immediately understood that he was not only responsible for escorting Gavrilov, but also introduced his identity to the commanders of the prisoner of war camp. He quickly replied loudly: "Yes,
Comrade Commander! I will definitely send Major Gavrilov to the prisoner of war camp safely."
After Koshkin left with Gavrilov, Sidorin curiously asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, Major Gavrilov's wife and son, are they really alive?" The reason why he has
When asked like this, I was worried that Sokov didn't know the news about Gavrilov's wife and son at all, and these words were just to comfort him.
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, I do know." Sokov said in a positive tone: "The two of them are indeed alive, but I don't know where they are now." I was deeply afraid that Sidorin would not be alive.
I believe that he also specifically cited an example, "During the war, even with our status, it was not easy to find someone. For example, the military commissar Comrade Shula was looking for some time ago.
There is no definite news.”
Lunev smiled awkwardly and said: "Yes, I have been looking for Shula for a month or two, and so far, there is still no definite news. But after I reported the matter to Comrade Beria,
He asked me to give up and continue searching. So during this period, I did not spend any time or energy searching for this person among friendly troops."
Sokov thought to himself: According to records, Shura was unfortunately sacrificed in the battle to liberate Königsberg. From now on, he only has less than two months left, unless he can attack before he can
Königsberg finds him before, otherwise no one can change the established destiny.
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin said to Sokov: "One-third of the commanders and combatants rescued by the 3rd Infantry Division have injuries and need to be sent to the hospital for treatment. I'm afraid three or four of them have injuries."
I won’t be able to participate in the battle for a month.”
Sokov felt a little disappointed when he learned that thousands of rescued commanders and fighters would not be able to participate in the battle within three or four months. Therefore, it would take at most two months from now before the Germans would be completely wiped out.
Defeated, these people will not be able to make the trip, which is really a pity.
"What about the remaining two-thirds of the commanders and fighters?" Sokov asked helplessly: "Can they participate in the battle?"
"I'm afraid that only half of them can be incorporated into the army immediately." Sidorin said cautiously: "Although the condition of the remaining half is better than that of the commanders and soldiers who are going to be hospitalized, they are still very weak and cannot participate in strong offensive battles.
.”
After hearing this, Sokov sighed and said: "Chief of Staff, tell General Kirillov that those commanders and fighters whose physical conditions permit can be incorporated into combat units as soon as possible; those who are physically weak can temporarily arrange for them to be responsible for logistics work."
"Understood." Sidorin nodded and said, "I will call General Kirillov immediately and convey your intention to him."
While Sidorin was on the phone, Lunev asked Sokov: "According to the original battle plan, the friendly forces launched an attack on the German Vistula Group. I wonder what their current progress is."
"I'm not sure about this." Sokov said: "So far, I haven't received a call from the front army headquarters. I think the battle to attack the enemy is still going on."
"Misha, do you think we can defeat the German Vistula Group in a short time?" Lunev asked hesitantly: "You know, they have a lot of troops."
"Comrade Military Commissar, whether the German Vistula Group can be defeated in a short period of time depends on many factors." Sokov said to Lunev: "First of all, although the number of German troops is large, they are no longer the 1941
The combat effectiveness of these recently replenished troops is uneven. I am afraid that even if the strength of the troops is equal, they are no match for our army.
The second point depends on their commander. If the commander of this force is an excellent commander like Manstein, I am afraid that it will take a long time and pay a high price for us to defeat the enemy. But
The current commander is Himmler, and his command level is not on the same level as Manstein's."
After listening to Sokov's analysis, Lunev's mood suddenly improved: "Misha, if the situation on the battlefield is really as you analyzed, it would be great."
Seeing Sokov's stunned look, he emphasized: "If the Vistula Group commanded by Himmler did not have too strong combat effectiveness, then the losses of our offensive troops would be greatly reduced, and then the superiors would not
It will put us into the battlefield. As long as we do not participate in any battles before the attack on Berlin, only after entering Berlin can we have enough strength to participate in the attack on the Reichstag in Berlin."
Sokov knew very well that although the Soviet army planted a red flag on the top of the Reichstag Building was repeatedly publicized, if he was asked to make a choice, he would not choose the Reichstag Building as his attack target at all, but would lead
The troops pounced directly on Mustache's underground lair, trying to capture him alive.
"Comrade Military Commissar, I think seizing the Capitol is not the best option." Sokov shook his head and said, "Mustache does not work here at all, and there are no important government agencies in it. We have spent a lot of money.
The price, the political significance of seizing the Capitol is far greater than the military significance."
Listening to what Sokov said, Runev laughed: "Misha, on the battlefield, we not only have to settle military accounts, but also political accounts. Even if the Reichstag Building has lost its practical significance, it is still important to Germany.
For people, it has always been a symbol. If we take this place, it will have a devastating blow to the morale of the Germans."
Sokov knew that he came from a later generation and his views on many things were very different from those of people of this era. Therefore, he did not refute Lunev, but nodded and said: "Military Commissar, maybe you are right.
.As for whether we should launch an attack on the Reichstag after we enter Berlin, it depends on Comrade Marshal's arrangements."
Sokov's move was very clever. He kicked the ball to Rokossovsky. Regardless of whether he ordered himself to attack the Capitol in the future, he would have an explanation for all aspects.
In the evening, the front army headquarters sent a battle report, introducing the results achieved by the troops participating in the attack today. In the battle report, it can be clearly seen that due to the tenacious fighting of the participating troops, the Second Belarusian Front Army has successfully occupied Gne.
Hojnice, Ratzeburg area.
After Sidorin found the location mentioned in the battle report on the map, he excitedly said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it seems that the friendly forces are making good progress. If we continue to advance at this rate, it will take another two days at most.
Time can fill the gap between us and the First Front."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, please don't be blindly optimistic." Sokov knew that the battle in Eastern Pomerania was not going as easy as everyone imagined, and there were many iterations, so he reminded Sidorin, who was a little carried away.
: "Facing our attack, the Germans will definitely not sit still and wait for death. As long as they have the opportunity, they will launch a crazy counterattack. Although in today's battle, our friendly forces occupied a lot of places, but in the next
During the battle, certain areas may be gained and lost again.”
"No, Comrade Commander?" Sidorin said with a face full of surprise: "Didn't you say that Himmler, the commander of the Vistula Group, is not good at commanding troops? How could the Germans launch a counterattack against our army?
?”
"Yes, Himmler is indeed not good at commanding troops, but the generals under him are all experienced in hundreds of battles." Sokov said: "They will take various countermeasures according to changes in the situation.
"As long as Himmler doesn't give them arbitrary orders, it will be really difficult to defeat them as soon as possible."
When he said this, Sokov couldn't help but start to worry. If the troops that were progressing smoothly today were defeated by the Germans tomorrow, would Rokossovsky put his troops into the battlefield? You know, fighting
After fighting for such a long time, the casualties of the troops under his subordinates were not small, and they did not receive any decent supplements. If they were to be exhausted again in East Pomerania, when the troops marched to Berlin, I was afraid that I would have no choice but to
Watching the fun from behind.
What Sokov was worried about happened. The German army unexpectedly launched a counterattack the next day. The 50th Group Army commanded by Ponejelin faced the crazy German attack. Although it put up tenacious resistance, it was unable to do so in the end.
Instead, they retreated a distance of eight to twelve kilometers and abandoned the two cities of Piritz and Barn that the commanders and soldiers had sacrificed to capture.
When Rokossovsky learned that Ponedelin's troops were repulsed by the Germans and lost the two cities they captured yesterday, he couldn't help but became furious and said sternly: "What's going on with this Ponedelin?"
, why did you lose the city to the Germans?”
After hearing this, Bogolyubov quickly explained to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, the 50th Army advanced too fast in yesterday's battle, and many occupied areas have not had time to consolidate. Who would have thought that the Germans would counterattack?
Coming so quickly, it was inevitable that they would be defeated by the Germans due to lack of preparation."
Seeing Rokossovsky frowning and saying nothing, Bogolyubov added: "Comrade Marshal, in fact, not only the 50th Army, but also other armies have insufficient strength. Even the German army
Without launching a counterattack, with their current strength, they will not be able to advance further into the depths of the German army."
Rokossovsky lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, looked up at Bogolyubov and said: "Chief of Staff, immediately issue an order to the troops to temporarily stop the attack and switch to defense on the spot.
With our current strength, it is indeed difficult to continue the offensive, and we need friendly forces to help us."
