Chapter 168 Leading by Example (Part 1)

"Major Sokov, everyone is here." Seeing Colonel Bantaileyev, the commander of the 322nd Infantry Division, and his three regimental commanders walk into the division headquarters, Chernyshov rushed to Sokov. He nodded and said, "You can assign tasks now." After speaking, he got up and greeted Bantai Layev and his subordinates to sit down.

Sokov came to the wall hanging on the wall, pointed to the map nailed on it, and said to everyone: "Commanders, everyone must know that the town of Marklaki is an important military stronghold of the German army. Once our army occupies here , then the complete defense system of the Germans in the direction of Zizdra will be broken. Our next task is to eliminate the enemy stationed in the village of Brunn and the small villages scattered on the vast plain, so that they will not Back to Zizdra..."

  Bantaileyev stared at Sokov who was standing in front of the map and asked Chernyshov in a low voice: "Comrade General, who is this major?"

   "Major Sokov, the battalion commander of the Istria Battalion." Chernyshov replied in a low voice: "Comrade Commander has decided that he will command the battle to capture the town of Marklaki when he comes."

   "What?" Hearing what Chernyshov said, Bantailaiev couldn't help but exclaimed: "A major will command us to fight..."

   "Don't talk!" Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted severely by Rokossovsky who was sitting on the side. Seeing Sokov stop, Rokossovsky said to him in an encouraging tone: "Major Sokov, keep talking."

Sokov nodded. He pointed to the map with a branch and said to everyone: "...The town of Markraki is a very important stronghold for the Germans. They will never give up here, so we want to seize it. This stronghold is bound to carry out extremely cruel battles..."

"My attack plan," Sokov said after introducing the situation in the town of Marklaki, and began to assign tasks. "The 291st Infantry Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Terebinski is the main attack, and the 11th Guards Division's 1st Guards The 33rd Regiment is the second echelon, and my Istria Battalion is the third echelon. The three regiments of the 322nd Infantry Division are responsible for clearing out the German troops in the villages on the right. The task of the 34th Guards Regiment is to attack Makraki Buren village on the left flank of the town; the 35th Guards Regiment as general reserve."

  After the deployment was completed, Sokov looked at Terepinsky and asked politely: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you still command the battle?"

  Hearing Sokov's question, Terebinsky stood up abruptly, because the movement was too violent, and he pulled the wound on his arm, causing him to grin his teeth in pain. But he still gritted his teeth and replied, "No problem, I can continue to command troops to fight."

  Sokov stared at him for a while, then slowly shook his head and said, "No, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you can't charge with a gun in your condition. I think you should stay and recuperate."

"Major Sokov is right." Rokossovsky promptly expressed his support for Sokov's proposal, and he said to Terebinski: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you should stay and rest in peace. "

"It would be a pity if I couldn't participate in this offensive battle." Although Rokossovsky arranged for him to stay and recuperate, Terebinsky asked unwillingly: "Then who will replace me?" Where is the commanding force?"

"I will command on your behalf, Lieutenant Colonel Terebinski." Sokov quickly took over the conversation and comforted him, "You can stay in the medical team to recover from your injuries. I wish you a speedy recovery and see you after our victory." After finishing speaking, he waved to the health worker standing in the corner, motioning for him to help Terepinsky out.

After Terebinsky left, Sokov began to talk about the details of how to attack: "... Ten minutes after the shelling started, I will lead the troops to attack. When we approached the town at a distance of 150 meters, the artillery stopped firing... As the second echelon of the 33rd Guards Regiment, after the troops I led rushed into the town, they immediately took action and rushed to the town to support us..."

"Commanders, commanders," Sokov asked the crowd in a calm tone after introducing the details of the attack, "Maybe everyone will ask why I led the troops to attack before the shelling stopped. Will the troops not be accidentally injured by our army's artillery fire?"

  After Sokov asked this question, he paused for a moment, as if he was waiting for the commanders present to give him an answer. But none of them spoke, just looked at him silently, hoping to hear the answer they wanted to know from his mouth.

Sokov coughed softly, and then said: "From our starting position to the German position on the edge of the town, there is a distance of about 1,200 meters. The soldiers have to pass through this open area with knee-high snow, It takes at least ten minutes. And in such a long time, it is enough for the Germans to enter the position from their hiding place and prepare to meet our army."

"What you said makes sense." Chernyshov couldn't help interjecting when he heard this: "But the artillery stopped firing until you were 150 meters away from the town. Major Sokov, Can you ensure that there will be no accidental injury?"

   "I can't guarantee it." Regarding Chernyshov's question, Sokov shook his head and said, "But we can rush in front of the Germans before they recover and catch them off guard."

   "Major Sokov's tactic is indeed very risky." Rokossovsky looked at Sokov and said, "But I think there is hope of success, so I can give it a try."

Seeing that his plan had been approved by Rokossovsky, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He looked at the commanders present and said, "Comrade commander, since the tasks are clear, everyone will go back to their respective departments." Prepare your troops. Our offensive will begin in two hours."

   After everyone in the headquarters had almost left, Rokossovsky came to Sokov, called him by his nickname, and asked with concern, "Misha, are you confident?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Sokov knew very well in his heart that the outcome of this battle would directly affect his image in Rokossovsky's mind, so he said in an affirmative tone: " I'm confident I'll take Maclaki Town."

Although Sokov showed full confidence in front of Rokossovsky, he knew very well in his heart that it was almost impossible to lead the 291st Infantry Regiment, which had just been defeated, to victory by relying on his own strength alone. possible. As soon as he left Chernyshev's divisional headquarters, he hurried back to his observation post, and began to issue orders to the company commanders sitting inside: "Captain Andrey, immediately arrest the platoon of Second Lieutenant Griza. Gather up and prepare to carry out combat missions with me. By the way, there is also Captain Vasili, and a platoon will also be drawn from your company to equip all the machine guns with three base ammunition. I will take them to fight hard Teach the Germans a lesson."

  (end of this chapter)