The next morning, Sokov woke up from his sleep. He sat up from the camp bed and was bent down to put on his boots when he heard a surprise voice: "Comrade Commander, you are awake!"
Sokov looked up and found that beside the table not far away, there was also Anisimov, a political commissar who had not appeared for a long time, who had not appeared. The person who greeted him was Anisimov. He quickly sat upright, nodded at the other party, and responded politely: "It's a political commissar. I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing recently?"
"Not bad." Anisimov answered casually, got up and picked up an aluminum lunch box covered with a lid on the table, walked towards Sokov, and said with a full face: "Comrade instructor, I wish you a happy October Revolutionary Day!"
Hearing Anisimov say this, Sokov was briefly lost, but he soon remembered that today was November 7, the great October Revolutionary Day of the Soviet Union. He quickly stood up and said to Anisimov: "Comrade Political Commissar, I wish you a happy October Revolutionary Day!"
Anisimov came to Sokov, unveiled the lid of the lunch box, and said with a smile: "This is the Siberian dumplings we prepared for you, let's try it."
Looking at the steaming dumplings in the lunch box, Sokov remembered that he had discussed some time ago that all commanders and soldiers of the division could eat dumplings during the festival, and even applied to the logistics department of the group army to collect meat. He took the lunch box from Anisimov, picked up a dumpling and put it in his mouth, and after eating two bites, it felt really delicious. For such a long time, he either chewed rind bread or potatoes every day. Now that he could eat a hot dumpling, it was considered to be a food improvement.
After eating a few dumplings, Sokov suddenly remembered something, and stopped and asked Anisimov who was standing in front of him: "Comrade Political Commissar, have all the comrades in the division eaten dumplings?"
"Don't worry, comrade Commander, this is the dumplings I left for you." Anisimov said with a smile: "As for the dumplings of other comrades, the cooks are cooking them in a fire."
"Chief of Staff," Sokov, after he said that, he tilted his head and looked at Cidolin sitting at the table, and asked, "Will the cooks have to cook so many dumplings cause oxygen deficiency in the tunnel?"
"Don't worry, comrade of the division commander." Sidolin replied with a smile when he heard Sokov's question: "The political commissar has solved this problem. He retrieved two small blowers from outside and placed them near the exit of the tunnel where the kitchen team is located. He was ventilating the outside for a moment, which would definitely not cause oxygen deficiency in the tunnel."
Sokov put on his boots, walked to the table, put the lunch box on the table, and asked with concern: "Chief of Staff, where is Captain Guchakov now?"
Yesterday, Sokov asked Sidolin to send a telegram to Guchakov, asking them to blow up the supplies in the station and evacuate immediately and return to Mamayev's hill as fast as possible. After receiving the telegram, Guchakov ordered the guerrillas to withdraw from the station, and then the members of the team detonated the explosives. As soon as the explosives piled in the oil barrel exploded, the entire warehouse instantly turned into a sea of fire.
After all the warehouses in the station began to burn, Guchakov took the members of the team out of the station, and did not chase after the guerrillas that had retreated first, so he rushed to the designated location to meet with Taflin and the others. Since then, the division headquarters has lost contact with him.
Seeing that Sokov was so concerned about Guchakov and his friends' whereabouts, Ivanov quickly said, "Comrade Commander, don't worry. Captain Guchakov is also an experienced commander. He knows how to lead a squad back from the enemy."
"Yes, what the deputy commander said makes sense." As soon as Ivanov finished speaking, Sidolin echoed: "Comrade Commander, don't worry about Captain Guchakov and others. No matter what, they are wearing German uniforms. It is probably not a big problem to come back from the enemy. As for their delay in contacting us, they may be worried that they will expose their target on the way back. Maybe he will appear in front of you in a while."
Perhaps in order to ease the tense atmosphere in the command center, Anisimov changed the topic in time: "Comrade Commander, you were in Moscow at this time last year?"
"Yes," Sokov nodded and replied, "I was still a corporal at that time, and I led a garrison team to be responsible for the defense of the town of Shimki north of Moscow."
"I want to ask you, did your troops attend the Red Square parade at that time?"
Anisimov's question was also what Sidolin and Ivanov wanted to know. Although they were not qualified to participate in the military parade last year, it would be a proud thing for their immediate superiors to participate in this military parade that was recorded in history. So everyone's eyes turned to Sokov, eager to hear his answer.
Seeing that the three of them were looking at him, Sokov couldn't help but smile bitterly and replied: "I'm sorry, I was not qualified to participate in that great military parade. After all, the troops used for defense in the city were tight at that time, so it was impossible to draw to participate in the military parade."
When the three of them were somewhat disappointed when they learned that Sokov had not participated in the military parade last year, Anisimov sighed even more and said with regret: "It's such a pity. Not only will there be many military parades in the future, but they cannot be compared with last year's military parade. It's a big military parade that saved the entire country."
"I heard that as soon as the troops participating in the parade left the Red Square, they took a truck parked by the Moscow River and were transported directly to the front line." Although all the division-level commanders were present, they did not know more about some things than the grassroots commanders and fighters. Cidolin said with emotion: "It is precisely because of this military parade that inspired people's hearts and morale that the military and civilians' confidence in defeating the enemy."
Sokov immediately spoke in his mind, and instinctively said: "For the Soviet military and civilians, this military parade was unexpected and exciting. Although it was a traditional military parade in form, its meaning was completely different. It showed the contempt of the Soviet people for Faxi Temple. Although the victory was still far away, the people had already seen the dawn of victory. For the members of the Faxi Temple, this military parade seemed like a bolt from the blue."
"This is very good." Anisimov asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, who said this? Why have I never heard anyone say it?"
"It was General Rokosovsky, commander of the Don Front Army," Sokov remembered who said this. He said to Anisimov: "The 16th Army under his command was stationed in the northwest of Moscow, tenaciously fighting against the fierce attack of the enemy."
When talking about Rokosovsky, Ivanov said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, if it were not for General Rokosovsky's strong support this time, I think it would be not easy for Captain Guchakov to successfully occupy the two stations."
"Based on the intelligence we have, in order to successfully attract the attention of the German army, Rokosovsky first sent the air force to bomb the frontier of the German 113th Infantry Division, and then shelled the positions of the 60th Motorized Division, and dispatched two infantry divisions to attack." As the chief of staff, Cidolin naturally knew a lot of details: "It was the series of actions he took that caused misjudgment to the German army. He thought that our army was ready to attack them again, so he hurriedly drew troops north to deal with the threat from the north."
"What a pity, what a pity." Ivanov shook his head and said, "Although the fight was quite lively, it was always a feint. I don't know when the real counterattack will start."
"Don't worry, my deputy commander." Sokov knew that the day when the big counterattack began was less than two weeks before, and he smiled and said to Ivanov: "I think at the end of the month, the big counterattack you mentioned will officially begin."
Sokov's words lit up the eyes of the three of them, and Anisimov even pulled Sokov and asked impatiently: "Comrade Commander, have you heard any news when you say this?"
"I didn't hear any news." Sokov naturally did not tell the three of them the truth, but pointed to the map on the table and analyzed it in a false way: "I guessed it based on the actions of the Don Front."
Seeing the confused expression on the faces of the three people, he continued to say: "Look, the two German positions that were broken through should be elite German troops stationed, right? Think about it, what does it mean to be able to break through in such a short time?"
"What does it mean?" Anisimov asked instinctively.
"Being able to break through the enemy's defense in such a short time means that our army has gathered enough attack power in the front of the enemy." Although Sokov knew the day when the counterattack began, he was not clear about the aggregation of counterattack troops everywhere. He could only continue according to his own ideas: "And before attacking the frontier of the 113th Infantry Division, General Rokosovsky even sent an air force to bomb. This shows that they now have the basis for counterattack against the German army. It is based on this point that I analyze the major counterattack of the superior organization and will officially launch in the near future."
Ivanov was half-believing and half-doubted about Sokov's statement. He stared at the map for a long time, looked up at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, I don't understand. You said that the big counterattack will be launched at the end of the month. How did this conclusion come about?"
"It's very simple." Sokov pretended to be innocent and pointed to the map and said to Ivanov: "I have just said that the troops of the Don Front have the strength to counterattack the enemy. I believe that our Stalingrad Front's counterattack troops have also completed the assembly on the east coast.
The reason why I said it was possible that at the end of the month was that the Army Command had not notified us to have a meeting yet. According to convention, ten days or even one week before the start of the large counterattack, commanders at all levels would be summoned to the headquarters for a meeting and assigned their respective combat tasks for everyone."
After Sokov's analysis, Ivanov was convinced. He nodded and said, "Comrade Commander, you are right. If you want to carry out such a large-scale military operation, you will definitely have to mobilize and arrange combat tasks in advance. The headquarters has not notified us to hold a meeting yet, which shows that it will not launch a counterattack against the enemy in the past few days."
After chatting with the three of them for a few more words, Sokov picked up the lunch box on the table and said to them: "Without any war now, I will go to the health team first. I will trouble you with the work here."
All three knew that Sokov went to the health team and was about to see Asia, so he nodded neatly. Anisimov said, "Go, comrade, we are here. You don't have to hurry back. You can spend more time with Asia in the health team and talk to her."
Before leaving, Sokov also specifically emphasized: "Remember, leave some dumplings for Guchakov's team so that they can feel today's festive atmosphere as soon as they come back."
"Don't worry, comrade of the division commander." Anisimov replied with a smile: "I have left them enough dumplings for them to have enough food for the squad."
Sokov came to the health team and found Asia who was resting. He handed over the lunch box in his hand. He smiled and said to her: "Asia, this is the Siberian dumplings made in the division. I will bring them to you for food."
Asia opened the lunch box, grabbed a dumpling with her hand, and after taking a bite, she kept saying it was delicious: "It's delicious, it's so delicious. I really didn't expect that I could still eat meat dumplings. When other comrades know about it, they will definitely be envious."
Sokov was stunned when he heard Asia say this. He had asked Anisimov before. The latter said that every officer and soldier in the division had dumplings. Could it be that what he said was incorrect? Can the wounded in the health team not eat dumplings? Thinking of this, he asked Asia tentatively: "Asia, have you not eaten dumplings here today?"
"Eat it!" Asia asked in surprise: "I told you, did we not eat dumplings today?"
"But, what you just said..." Sokov didn't know how to reply to Asia for a moment: "I thought you didn't have dumplings."
"Before you come, the cooksmen brought us dumplings." Seeing Sokov misunderstood, Asia quickly explained to him: "But because the meat-filled dumplings were limited, the captain made a decision to give all the meat-filled dumplings to the wounded. Our medical staff ate dumplings with mashed potatoes."
Sokov originally thought that during the festival today, the whole teacher ate dumplings, and they all ate dumplings with mixed meat fillings. Unexpectedly, there were still many dumplings with mashed potatoes. Everyone had been lying in the tunnel for several months, and probably had tired of eating them. Now they finally waited for the festival and thought they could eat dumplings with meat fillings. But in the end, they still ate mashed potato dumplings.
Seeing Sokov staring at the front without focus, Asia raised her hand and patted his shoulder, and asked curiously: "Misha, what are you thinking? Is there something wrong?"
Sokov woke up from his thoughts and looked at Asia and said, "It's nothing. I just thought that you don't have meat dumplings to eat. I'm ecstatic. I'll go back later to ask the political commissar to see if I can make another batch of meat dumplings and someone will send them to you. You can't eat meat dumplings, but let the medical staff in our teacher eat mashed potato dumplings that have a much worse taste."
"Misha, you are so good!" Asia quickly kissed Sokov on the cheek and said excitedly: "On behalf of all the medical staff of the health team, I would like to express my gratitude to you!"