After Potapov left, Borosukhin's troops began to build fortifications centered on the ancient Borodino battlefield.
The 18th Infantry Regiment of Major Romanov was deployed on the Borodino Heights. Porosukhin personally told him: "Comrade Major, the tomb of the famous Prince Bagration is not far from the Monument to the Heroes of the War of 1812.
Far away, when your regiment is building fortifications, you must be careful not to damage his tomb, otherwise we will become sinners through the ages."
"Don't worry, comrade division commander." The elderly Major Romanov assured Porosukhin: "I will warn the soldiers that when building fortifications, they must bypass Prince Bagration's tomb and not go there.
Disturbing the peace of this ancestor."
When Sokov heard what Romanov said, he couldn't help but murmur to himself: Even if you carefully avoid Prince Bagration's mausoleum when building fortifications, it will be of no use. The fierce German artillery fire will destroy it.
After the experience of the Tolstoy Manor, Sokov will no longer blindly mention the relocation of graves, because such cemeteries are cultural relics, and if they are to be moved, it requires the cooperation of multiple departments. And this
One thing, which is very difficult to do during the war.
When the leaders of each regiment assigned tasks, Porosukhin occasionally secretly looked at Sokov out of the corner of his eye to see if he would interfere with his deployment. But until the tasks were assigned and the leaders of each regiment left, Sokov
They all remained silent.
Seeing Sokov's performance, Porosukhin felt much more at ease. Although he had been in contact with Sokov for a short time, the other party's performance won his favor. As long as these liaison officers sent by their superiors
, not arbitrarily pointing fingers when assigning combat tasks, is the greatest support for yourself.
"Comrade Major," Porosukhin took out the cigarette case and handed it to Sokov: "Want one?"
"Thank you, I don't smoke." Sokov waved his hand to reject the other party's kindness.
Seeing that Sokov did not smoke, Porosukhin did not force himself. After passing one to the chief of staff and the political commissar, he also took out one and held it in his mouth. The chief of staff quickly lit a match and gave him and the political commissar a little.
superior.
The telegraph operator Potapov left for Sokov came over with a telegram and whispered: "Comrade Major, this is a telegram from the commander, asking you to convey the above content to Potapov as soon as possible.
Colonel Luo Suxin."
Sokov took the phone, quickly read the above content, and said to Borosukhin: "Comrade Colonel, I just received a telegram from the headquarters, saying that new troops will enter Borodino tonight to reinforce
Defense here."
After hearing such good news, Porosukhin was happy, but he did not forget to ask the most important question: "I wonder if these troops will be directly commanded by the army headquarters after entering Borodino, or will they be commanded by me?
"
"Comrade Colonel, since you are the main force defending Borodino, these newly added troops will naturally be under your command."
"That's great." Sokov's answer made Porosukhin very happy. As a battlefield commander, the most worrying thing is that the friendly troops deployed near him are directly commanded by his superiors, and he needs help.
When doing so, you must also ask your superiors for instructions, and then the
Superiors come to issue combat orders to that unit. In this way, there will inevitably be delays in combat opportunities. But if you leave it to your own command, you can avoid such disadvantages. "With the addition of these units, we can defend the
Borodino’s certainty is even greater.”
Then he ordered the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the troops are about to start building fortifications. Please arrange for manpower to set up guard posts in different directions. Once you find troops approaching, report them to me immediately so that I can arrange them to
The right area.”
"Okay, Comrade Division Commander." The Chief of Staff nodded and said, "I will set up guard posts around the defense area to ensure that if any troops appear, I will report to you as soon as possible."
…………
Early the next morning, Sokov, who was sleeping in the corner of the headquarters, was shaken awake by the radio operator: "Comrade Major, Comrade Major, wake up quickly!"
Sokov opened his eyes, looked at the operator standing in front of him, and asked feebly: "What's the matter?"
"The telegram is from Comrade Commander." Hearing what the operator said, Sokov suddenly woke up. He thought something important had happened, so he quickly grabbed the telegram and read it carefully.
But after reading it, he realized that he had been overly worried. Potapov said in the telegram that he would go to the Borodino Battle Indoor Museum at nine o'clock this morning and asked Sokov to call Porosukhin to go with him.
Sokov felt that for such a trivial matter, it was a bit superfluous to convey it through himself when he could have called Porosukhin directly.
And after Porosukhin waited for Sokov to read the telegram, he immediately asked with concern: "Major Sokov, what happened?"
"Comrade Commander said that he will go to the Borodino Battle Indoor Museum at nine o'clock this morning and would like you to go there too."
Upon hearing Sokov's words, Porosukhin was stunned for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully and replied calmly: "I understand."
When the time was almost up, Sokov and Polosukhin took a jeep to the museum, followed by two trucks full of guard soldiers.
The Borodino Battle Indoor Museum is located in the middle of the battlefield. It was built in 1912 and covers an area of more than 200 square meters. In the small courtyard in front of the museum, there are rows of old-fashioned straight-barreled stubby artillery on each side, and in the center of the door stands a
The bust of the Russian commander-in-chief Kutuzov, with two deputies facing him on his left and right
The bust of Marshal Bagration and Barclay is said to be set according to the location of the Russian army they commanded. In other words, the Russian army commanded by Bagration is located on the left side of the battlefield; Balkla
Rai's troops were located on the right wing of the battlefield, while Kutuzov was stationed in the center of the entire battlefield.
Potapov and two guards stood at the entrance of the museum, talking to the curator with a goatee. When he saw the arrival of Sokov and Porosukhin, he immediately stopped talking and said: "You guys come
Got it!"
"Hello, Comrade Commander!" Sokov and Porosukhin both raised their hands to salute Potapov.
After Potapov shook hands with the two, he said: "Since you are here, let's go in and have a look."
Several people walked into the museum under the leadership of the curator.
A standard large sand table is placed in the center of the museum, with topography and features of the ancient Borodino battlefield marked on it, such as residential areas, rivers, roads, woods and major battle sites. A large oil painting hanging on the wall behind the sand table shows the
Russian and French armies
The scene of fierce fighting and smoke-filled scenes was surrounded by various weapons, military uniforms, flags and portraits of the Russian army in the early 19th century, as well as trophies captured by the French army, including Napoleon's personal camp bed abandoned during his retreat from Moscow.
When everyone walked into an exhibition room, Potapov looked at the various flags of the Tsarist Russian army hanging on the wall. He could not help but frown slightly and asked the curator in an unhappy tone: "Comrade Director,
Why haven’t these precious cultural relics been moved yet?”
Hearing Potapov's question, the curator's face showed an embarrassed expression: "Comrade General, the Germans came too fast. The evacuation committee had not had time to formulate a transfer plan, so most of the cultural relics in the museum have been destroyed."
It’s still there.”
"No, these things cannot be left to the Germans. Even if the evacuation committee has not made any decision, we must find a way to complete the transfer as soon as possible." Potapov said, turned around and asked Porosukhin: "Comrade Colonel
, how many people did you bring?”
"A platoon of guard soldiers." Porosukhin is also a smart man. He heard the other party's intention from Potapov's words: "Comrade Commander, you want my subordinates to move the objects in the museum.
Cultural relics?”
"That's right." Potapov nodded and said, "The first thing that needs to be moved is the military flags displayed here. These flags represent the honor of the Russian army, and we must not let them fall into the hands of the Germans."
During the conversation between the two, Sokov could not help but be a little stunned. He remembered that in the movie "The Defense of Moscow", these military flags were distributed to various combat units. Why are they in such a hurry to move to the rear now?
But soon, Sokov figured out the reason: in the movie, the person who handed the general's flag to Porosukhin and ordered him to distribute it to the troops was General Lelyushenko. But now because of the appearance of his butterfly,
The commander of the 5th Army became General Potapov. The two generals had different ways of handling problems, and naturally they also handled these military flags differently.
Thinking of this, Sokov quickly said: "Wait a minute."
Potapov, who was speaking, was stunned. He looked at Sokov and asked in confusion: "Major Sokov, what do you want to say?"
"I think these flags don't need to be moved at all."
"No transfer?!" The expression on Potapov's face became serious: "Do you want to leave these precious flags to the Germans? I tell you, if you really do this, it is a crime. Once the flags
If it is damaged, you will be despised by future generations."
Faced with Potapov's accusation, Sokov was not anxious at all. Instead, he patiently explained to Potapov: "Comrade Commander, you misunderstood me. I said I will not move these flags because I want you to
Distribute the flags to the troops defending Borodino, and let these glorious flags bless us and bring luck to the troops."
After listening to Sokov's words, Potapov thought for a moment, then looked at Porosukhin and asked: "Colonel Porosukhin, what do you think?"
"Comrade Commander, I think Major Sokov's proposal is good." Porosukhin looked at Sokov with admiration in his eyes: "These glorious flags should be distributed to the troops, so that the flags of our predecessors can protect us from defeating the enemy.
"
"Since you have no objection, the matter has been decided." Potapov did not ask the curator for his opinion, but directly ordered Porosukhin: "Colonel Porosukhin, let your people come in and take away all the flags.
Bar."
The curator took out a guest book, walked up to Potapov, and said with a smile: "Comrade General, please write a few words in it."
Potapov asked in confusion: "What is this?"
"VIP Guestbook."
Potapov took the guest book and pen, and was about to write something when he saw Porosukhin who was directing the soldiers to take down the flag from the wall, and changed his mind: "Colonel Porosukhin, you represent Potapov
Defenders of Rodino, please write something in this guest book."
Porosukhin was not pretentious. He took the guestbook from Potapov's hand and began to write: "We are here to defend the Borodino battlefield, Porosukhin."
Sokov, who was standing next to him, looked at what was happening in front of him and muttered to himself: In the movie, there is another scene where German Marshal von Kluge addressed himself in front of a war monument with an eagle on top.
The French volunteer troops from the Lorraine region gave a swearing-in speech. This is inconsistent with the real history, because the entire ancient Borodino battlefield was under the control of the Soviet army, and it was impossible for them to appear before the battle started.
of that area.
Potapov walked to Sokov and asked in a low voice: "Major Sokov, do you know why I sent a telegram asking you to bring Porosukhin to the museum?"
"I don't know, Comrade Commander." Sokov replied truthfully, but he was complaining about Potapov in his heart. This was simply superfluous and unnecessary.
Unexpectedly, Potapov smiled faintly after hearing Sokov's answer, and then said: "Although Porosukhin agrees to you serving as a liaison officer in his division, his subordinates may not agree in a short time.
Your existence. Therefore, I can only use this method to let those people understand that you are someone I value, which will help you gain a foothold as soon as possible."
Sokov was still complaining about Potapov, but after hearing his words, he felt ashamed and said gratefully: "Thank you, Comrade Commander, thank you for everything you have done for me.
I assure you that I will never betray the trust you have placed in me."
Seeing that all the flags had been taken down, Porossu walked to Potapov and asked him for instructions: "Comrade Commander, do you plan to go to the position in person to distribute these glorious flags to the troops?"
But Potapov shook his head and said: "No, Colonel Porosukhin, I still have something to do and need to rush back to the headquarters immediately. You will be solely responsible for distributing the flags. If possible, it is best to send Sokov
Take the major with you too."
"Of course, Comrade Commander, I will definitely take Major Sokov with me." Potapov said with a smile: "After all, he is the liaison officer you sent to me."
"Go quickly." Potapov raised his hand and looked at his watch and continued: "According to the latest intelligence, the Germans are only a few kilometers away from here, and they may launch a violent attack on the Borodino area at any time.
, there is not much time left for us, we must prepare the troops for combat as soon as possible."
Potapov raised his hand in a salute and asked in accordance with the order: "Comrade Commander, do you allow me to leave?"
"Permission." Potapov nodded, then stretched out his hand to Borosukhin and said in a friendly tone: "Comrade Colonel, I wish you good luck! I hope your battle to defend Borodino will be remembered by future generations.