Chapter 1375 Salute (Part 2)

  Although the phone used by the bearded man did not leak sound, and Antonov could not hear what the person on the other end of the phone was saying, he still guessed that the other party was Marshal Zhukov from the address used by the bearded man.

   As the chief of the general staff, Antonov naturally knew in his heart that the two marshals Zhukov and Vasilevsky were now staying in Vatutin's Voronezh Front Army as representatives of the headquarters. The content involved in the call with the bearded man at this moment is nothing more than the results of the attack on Belgorod.

The bearded man didn't keep Antonov waiting too long. He quickly ended the call, lit the pipe in his mouth, looked up at Antonov, and asked with a smile on his face: "Comrade Chief of Staff , I wonder what good news you brought me?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin! I have brought you news about Orel and Belgorod." Antonov nodded and said: "After fierce and brutal battles, our troops took The enemy drove away from the above two cities and successfully liberated the cities."

   After speaking, he opened the briefcase, took out the organized briefing from it, carefully placed it in front of the bearded man, and then said respectfully: "Please have a look!"

The bearded man finished reading the briefing given to him by Antonov in a minute or two, then nodded and said: "Comrade Rokossovsky's battle on the northern front lasted for almost half a month. Only then did we succeed in capturing Orel, thereby removing the danger to Moscow from the Germans and allowing our troops to defend the city to be used on other battlefields."

  Antonov had a gratified smile on his face when the bearded man said this. You must know that Orel's German army threatened the safety of Moscow at any time, so that there were almost 70 divisions of troops, which could only be placed there and could not be used. Now that Rokossovsky's troops have driven the enemy away from Orel, it means that these idle troops can be put into important battlefields.

Before he could express his opinion, the bearded man continued: "During the battle to liberate Belgorod, the commanders and fighters of the Voronezh Front Army and the Steppe Front Army performed very well. In less than two days, they successfully liberated Belgorod. Gorod."

"The reason why our army's troops on the southern front were able to liberate Belgorod so quickly was mainly because the troops of the 27th Army attacked quickly. In just half a day after the battle started, they captured the German army in the municipal building. Command, and drove Hoth out of Belgorod."

"Yes, Xiao Xiaosha is really good at fighting. If it weren't for him, I guess it would take two to three days at the earliest before our army can take Belgorod." The bearded man said with emotion: "For such a He is a hero, how should we reward him?"

"Yesterday I received a report from Marshal Zhukov and General Konev, the commander of the Cao side," Antonov reported, "They hope to send the 62nd Marine Brigade and the 84th Marine Brigade, which belong to the 27th Army. Brigade, and the 46th Infantry Brigade, were merged into a new Infantry Division and awarded the honorary title of the 98th Guards Division."

Hearing what Antonov said, the bearded man stood up, walked out from behind the desk, frowned and said, "Why did they make such a proposal? Don't they know that the award granted to several infantry divisions at the end of March this year After the honorary title, the base camp has decided not to add any more guards?"

"The two marine brigades were the first to rush into Belgorod from the west of the city, and the first to plant the red flag on the top of the municipal building." Antonov explained to the bearded man: "Not only Marshal Zhukov but also General Konev felt that an exception should be made for such a heroic unit and the necessary honor should be awarded to them."

  The bearded man took the pipe out of his mouth, tapped it twice on the ashtray, then put it on the table, walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, and began to think about the situation reported by Antonov.

Seeing that the bearded man did not object, Antonov realized that there was something to be done about this matter, so he said while the iron was hot: "Also, Major General Sokov made great achievements in the Battle of Kursk, but the Supreme Command has not yet Give him any commendation..."

But before Antonov could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the bearded man raising his hand: "Comrade Antonov, in fact, after the explanation of the Battle of Kursk, I planned to promote the military rank and award honors to Misha. But Comrade Zhukov reminded me that Xiao Misha was too young in grade, and now he is the youngest general in our army. If he is promoted and awarded rashly, it will arouse the jealousy of other commanders, and it will easily make him upset. Impatient. Therefore, a series of things that were originally planned for promotion and honors have been put on hold for the time being."

"So that's how it is." After listening to the bearded man's explanation, Antonov finally understood why Sokov had not been promoted or awarded for so many military exploits. It turned out that he was worried that he was young. Just taking a high position will ruin this person in disguise.

However, out of the consideration of caring for talents, Antonov felt that the promotion and honors for Sokov were imminent, and he quickly reminded: "Your consideration is correct. But I think that if Sokov Husband has made such great achievements, but he has never been awarded titles or honors, I'm afraid it will make his subordinates feel chilling."

Hearing what Antonov said, the bearded man stared at him for a long time, then slowly nodded and said, "Comrade Antonov, you are right. Little Misha has made so many achievements, but we always It's really hard to justify it without any indication. I think you have informed Misha in the name of the Supreme Command that his request has been approved and that two marine brigades and one infantry brigade can be reorganized into the 98th Guards division."

  Antonov originally thought that he would have to spend a lot of time talking before he had a chance to persuade the bearded man to agree to reorganize Sokov's three brigades into guard divisions. But he didn't expect the bearded man to agree to the adaptation so readily without waiting for his own persuasion, and he couldn't help being overjoyed for a while.

"Comrade Antonov," the bearded man added after seeing Antonov's happy face, "I have given him a new designation, but first, he will not be given additional troops, and second, he will not be dispatched with commanders. All commanders at the top level are directly appointed by Xiao Xiaosha."

   "Understood!" Antonov waited for the bearded man to finish speaking, and quickly replied loudly: "I will inform General Sokov of the good news as soon as possible."

"Also." The bearded man picked up the cigarette case on the table, took out two cigarettes from it, crushed them with his fingers, and stuffed the shredded tobacco into the pipe: "Our troops liberated Orel in the same day. And Belgorod, this is a great victory. Tell me, how should we celebrate such a victory?"

Antonov thought for a while and replied: "According to the tradition in the army, after a great victory, a salute can be fired to celebrate. You see, have we arranged for people to fire a salute in Red Square to celebrate our victory?" The army succeeded in liberating the cities of Orel and Belgorod?"

   "I think it's okay." The bearded man was very satisfied with Antonov's proposal: "I think you will be in charge of when to fire the salute and the specifications."

  Antonov returned to his office and the first thing he did after putting away his briefcase was to pick up the phone and call the Sokov Command far away on the outskirts of Belgorod.

  After the call was connected, Antonov said straight to the point into the microphone: "I am Chief of the General Staff Antonov, please help me talk to Major General Sokov."

   Soon, Sokov's respectful voice came from the receiver: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, I am Major General Sokov, Commander of the 27th Army, please give me instructions!"

"Comrade Sokov, on behalf of the Supreme Command, I formally inform you that your superiors have approved your restructuring plan to combine two marine brigades and one infantry brigade into a new infantry division, and to award the 98th Guards Rifle Division Honorary title. I will send someone to deliver the official documents and the flag of the Guards Division to you within three days."

  Sokov couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard the amazing good news, and quickly said into the microphone: "Comrade Chief of the General Staff, thank you! On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the 98th Guards Division, I would like to express my thanks to you."

"Comrade Sokov," Antonov said with a smile: "You don't have to thank me, this is a decision made by the Supreme Command, as long as you make greater contributions in the next battle, it will be better than anything else." All strong. By the way, there is one more important thing that I almost forgot to tell you."

   "What's the matter?" Sokov asked curiously.

"To celebrate the liberation of Orel and Belgorod by our army on the same day." Antonov said excitedly: "The Supreme Command has decided that tonight, at 22 o'clock on August 4, 1943, in the Red Square in Moscow celebrated the victory with 120 salutes fired 12 times. You know, this is the first time since the Great Patriotic War started, we have used salutes to celebrate victory, and this may become a practice in the future. "

  Sameko, who was standing aside, vaguely heard what Sokov was talking about about guards, and hurried over. As soon as Sokov put down the phone, he couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Commander, what did the Chief of Staff say to you on the phone? I seem to have heard him mention something about the Guards Division."

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov was particularly pleased to learn that the marine brigade and the infantry brigade could be converted into guard divisions. He said to Sameko: "The Supreme Command agrees to transfer the two The battle brigade and the infantry brigade were reorganized into a new infantry division and given the designation of the 98th Guards Division. Official orders and military flags will be delivered within three days."

   "This is good news." After hearing this, Sameko said emotionally: "I think it is necessary to recruit several brigade commanders to the headquarters and tell them the good news."

  After saying this, Sameko remembered a key question, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I wonder if the division commander was dispatched by the superior, or was he born among the original three brigade commanders?"

   "Comrade Chief of Staff, the Chief of Staff has said about the question you raised. The superior will not send us new commanders. Therefore, the commanders at all levels of the division will be selected from the original commanders of the troops."

   An hour later, Colonel Chuvashov, Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, and Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov, who were notified, hurried to the headquarters.

After Sokov and the other three saluted him, he went up to shake hands with them one by one, and at the same time said enthusiastically: "Commanders, comrades, hello! You and your subordinates have achieved great success in the battle to liberate Belgorod. A huge victory has been achieved. I called the three of you here just to announce to you the latest decision of your superiors."

   After saying this, Sokov took a step back, nodded to Sameko next to him, and signaled that he could formally inform the three of the results of his research.

Seeing Sokov's eyes, Sameko nodded, took out a note full of words and said: "In order to commend the three brigades of you for your efforts in the battle to liberate Belgorod, the Supreme Command The great meritorious service established, decided to merge the three brigades into a new infantry division, designated as the 98th Guards Infantry Division, and set up the 296th, 299th, and 302nd Guards Infantry Regiments, and the 239th Guards Artillery Regiment... "

   When the three heard Sameko say that the Supreme Command had reorganized its troops into the 98th Guards Division, they were taken aback for a moment, and then all of them showed ecstatic expressions on their faces.

Sameko went on to read: "After research by the chiefs of the group army, it was decided to appoint Colonel Chuvashov as the division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin as the deputy division commander, and Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov as the chief of staff. The three infantry regiments and The candidates for the commander of an artillery regiment, as well as the candidates for the battalions and company commanders under the four regiments, will be determined by the three of you and reported to the group army headquarters."

  Sokov waited for Sameko to finish reading, and asked the three with a smile: "Congratulations to the three commanders of the Guards Division. Do you have anything else to add?"

After the three looked at each other, Chuvashov took a step forward, straightened his body and replied: "Comrade commander, thank you for your trust in us, we assure you that we will never disappoint your expectations, in the next In the battle, build more meritorious deeds."

   After listening to Chuvashov's statement, Sokov nodded slightly, and then he remembered something, and said to Chuvashov: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to recommend a candidate for the head of the regiment."

   Chuvashov heard Sokov say that, a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes. But after a while, he still pretended to be calm and asked: "I don't know who the commander comrade plans to recommend to me as the head of the regiment?"

"Your battalion commander, Major Shamrich," Sokov saw Chuvashov's displeasure, but he didn't care about it. He was my subordinate during the Gele defense battle. According to my observation, he is a very capable commander, and it would be too wronged for him to be only a battalion commander."

When he learned that the candidate Sokov recommended to him was actually his most trusted battalion commander, Major Shamrih, Chuvashov felt relieved, and he replied with a smile: "Comrade commander, your thoughts are consistent with ours. In the same way, I also think that Major Shamrih is only serving as the battalion commander now, which is a bit too condescending. Since you think he is fully qualified for the post of regimental commander, then I plan to appoint him as the commander of the 296th Guards Infantry Regiment. I don’t know. Do you agree?"

  (end of this chapter)