Chapter 1887

"The Russians have reached an agreement with us." Now that an agreement has been reached with the Soviet army, although the written document has not been signed, Antonetta decided that he should tell the truth to his subordinates so that they know what they are saying: "Wait for me After the Army signs a written agreement with them, their troops will be stationed in Otac."

Seeing that his subordinates looked a little flustered, he comforted everyone and said: "Don't worry, the Russians have made it clear that they will not disarm our army and will not put us in a prisoner-of-war camp. implement common defense within the

   "What, don't disarm, and don't send us to a prisoner-of-war camp?" The head of the 53rd regiment asked in surprise: "Mr. Commander, is this all true?"

"Of course it is true." Antoneta nodded and said, "I have sent the chief of staff, Colonel Dinu, to Chernivtsi to sign a formal agreement with the Russians. After the signing is completed, the Russians will send The troops are stationed in Otatz. Before they arrive, in order to prevent the Germans from leaking out and alerting the Germans, this matter is strictly forbidden. Understand?"

   "Understood, Mr. Commander." The three regiment leaders replied in unison after hearing this.

   "Mr. Commander, I still have a question." The head of the 52nd Regiment expressed his concern: "If the Germans enter Otatz before the Russians arrive, what should we do?"

  The words of the head of the 52nd regiment solidified the atmosphere in the room again.

   Yes, if the Germans drive into Otatz in advance before the arrival of the Soviet army. When the two sides go to war, which side should you stand on and what should you do.

After a long time, Antoneta finally said: "In order to avoid this bad situation, we must think of countermeasures in advance. If the Germans want to enter our city before the arrival of the Russians, you have to find a way Delay time and let them enter the city as late as possible."

   This headache question has been answered, and a new question has emerged: "If the Soviet Union and Germany go to war, do we also need to go to war?"

"No need." Antonetta was very clear that this was a concern of his subordinates, so he told everyone bluntly: "The Russians have already said that once they fight the Germans, they will be responsible for fighting outside the city, and Our task is to maintain order in the city so that the residents don't panic because of the fighting outside the city."

   After finding out that the division commander had decided to cooperate with the Soviet army, several regiment leaders asked what they were worried about. While Antonetta faced many problems, he took the trouble to explain them one by one.

  Finally, the head of the 52nd regiment raised a question that everyone cared about: "Mr. Commander, who is the commander of the Russian army who agreed to our conditions? Can what he said count?"

   "If it was someone else, I might not believe it." Antonetta said confidently: "But the Russian commander who negotiated with us is General Sokov, commander of the 53rd Army."

   "General Sokov?!" The head of the 54th Regiment, who had remained silent all this time, asked tentatively, "Is that General Sokov?"

   "Yes, who else but him."

  The dialogue between the two was like a riddle, dispelling everyone's worries. Since they are cooperating with General Sokov's troops, there is nothing to be afraid of. It is said that this general has never lost against the Germans, so everyone is full of confidence in this cooperation.

   Besides, after Dinu came to Chernivtsi, he met Colonel Surodenko, the commander of the 130th Division, and signed a cooperation agreement with him.

  After the two parties signed, Dinu smiled and asked Surodenko: "Mr. Colonel, since we have completed the signing ceremony, when will your troops be stationed in Otac?"

   "Colonel Dinu, I think I'm going to disappoint you." Surodenko sighed and said, "Before you arrived, I just received a call from the headquarters that our division will not be stationed in Otac."

"What, you are not stationed in Otac?!" Hearing what Surodenko said, Dinu suddenly felt cheated. He looked at the agreement in the hand of an officer on the other side, and wished to rush immediately. Go up and grab it, then tear it to pieces. However, seeing the many Soviet officers and soldiers around him, he still gave up this impulsive thought.

  He said angrily: "Mr. Colonel, aren't you deceiving us? You said that after signing the agreement, you will send troops to Otac, but now you suddenly changed your mind."

From Dinu's words, Surodenko heard that the other party had misunderstood, and quickly explained: "Colonel Dinu, you misunderstood. I just said that our division will not be stationed in Otac, not that our army will not be stationed. You know, The higher-ups have arranged for new troops to enter Otac and implement joint defense with you."

  Dinu asked curiously: "Mr. Colonel, please tell me truthfully, which army entered Otac?"

Although the troops stationed in Otac are being secretly mobilized, there is no need to keep secrets for Dinu who came to negotiate, so Surodenko truthfully said: "The troops stationed in Otac this time are the 41st Guards. division."

   "The 41st Guards Division?" Dinu asked strangely: "Where is this unit now? Why did your commander choose this unit to be stationed in Otac?"

   "Colonel Dinu, if you knew the history of this unit, you wouldn't have asked such a question."

   "Is there anything special about this unit?"

Before Surodenko could answer, Efrem, who had accompanied Dinu to negotiate, approached his ear and whispered, "Mr. Chief of Staff, you don't know. When he stood guard on Mamayev Post, he commanded the 41st Guards Division." "I think he sent this unit to Otac for his special reasons."

   After finding out that the Soviet troops stationed in Otac were actually Sokov's direct troops, Dinu felt relieved immediately, which proved that Sokov attached great importance to this cooperation. After he breathed a sigh of relief, he asked tentatively: "Mr. Colonel, then I can ask, when can the 41st Guards Division be stationed in Otac?"

"Colonel Dinu," Surodenko said politely, "Now that we have signed the agreement, it shows that the cooperation between our two companies has officially started. After I send this agreement to the headquarters, maybe the commander will Send troops to Otac immediately."

"Since this is the case, what are you waiting for?" After signing the cooperation agreement, Dinu's heart kept beating. He was worried that the Germans would immediately enter Otac after hearing the news. You must know their defense zone, which is farther away from the Soviet army. Closer: "Please send the agreement to the headquarters immediately."

In order to reassure Dinu, Surodenko ordered the staff officer holding the agreement in front of him: "Comrade staff, you immediately rush to the headquarters with the agreement, and you must get the things in the shortest possible time." Hand it over to the Commander."

Seeing that Surodenko ordered someone to send the agreement, Dinu did rush to Anxin. He stayed here with Lieutenant Efrem as a liaison officer, and then he took a copy of the agreement and drove back to Otac to report to the division. Chang'an Dongneta returns.

When the agreement sent by Surodenko arrived at the army headquarters, Sokov was talking to the new commander of the 41st Guards Division, Ponedelin. Because no outsiders were present, Sokov resumed his previous treatment of him. Salutation: "General Bornegelin, I don't know how you are doing in the 41st Guards Division. Did your subordinates sing against you?"

"No, no," Pornejelin said, waving his hands, "Although I am only a lieutenant colonel now, many people in the division know about my past and know that I once served as a commander in the early days of the war. Acted friendly."

  When Sokov assigned Ponegerin to the 41st Guards Division as the division commander, he considered that there were many old troops in the division. If he sent a trustworthy person there, he could easily control the troops. Now it seems that after Ponegerin left, he has firmly controlled the situation.

"Now that you have mastered the troops, then I will assign you new combat tasks." Sokov said to Ponejielin: "We have reached a private agreement with the Romanian army stationed in the Otac area. A cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, we should send troops to Otac and take charge of the defense of the city."

  Ponegerin heard this, and immediately understood the purpose of Sokov's call, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, you mean to let our division be stationed in Otac?"

   "That's right, that's how I think about it."

But Ponegerin said in embarrassment: "comrade commander, it is close to the Transnistria, and it is also very close to the German defense zone. Once the Germans know that we are stationed in Otatz, they will definitely come to attack. With the current strength of our division, even if the Romanian army is added, it may be difficult to stop the German attack."

"General Ponegerin, don't worry." Although Sukov knew that Ponegerin knew the terrain of this area well, he still put the map between them, "The 130th Infantry Division is now stationed in Cherno Fuce, it is only 30 kilometers away from Otac, if you encounter any danger, they will send troops to rescue in time."

   "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, how many Romanian troops are there in the city of Otac?"

Fortunately, during the negotiations, Sokov asked Efrem specifically to answer Ponegerin's question accurately: "The troops stationed in the city of Otac are the Romanian 18th Infantry Division. The officers and soldiers of this division have a total of More than 6,000 people."

"What, only more than 6,000 people?" Ponegerin has been in Ukraine for a long time, so he naturally knows the organizational system of the Romanian army. When he learned that there was a Romanian division in the city of Otac, he thought that there were at least 10,000 troops. For the German attack, the two troops can still support it for a while. Now knowing that there are only more than 6,000 defenders in the city, my heart can't help but feel cold.

  He counted with his fingers: "Our division has more than 3,000 people, plus more than 6,000 people from Romania, and the full force is less than 10,000. This force is far from enough to deal with the German attack."

"Wait a minute, General Pornegerin, I forgot to tell you something." Sokov interrupted Pornegerin's calculations and told him tactfully: "I promised the Romanian commander, but encountered When the Germans attacked, we were responsible for defending against the enemy. Their task was to patrol the city and prevent the residents from causing panic due to fighting outside the city."

"In other words, I only have more than 3,000 troops at my disposal." Pornegerin's expression became serious: "Comrade Commander, with this strength, if the Germans really launch an attack, we will It is absolutely impossible to defend Otac."

"The soldiers you rescued from the open pit, I can allocate 8,000 to you, all of them are soldiers who can go to the battlefield immediately." Sokov said: "In this way, the total number of soldiers in your division will exceed 10,000." , have enough strength to deal with the enemy."

  Back then, Ponegerin was ordered by Sokov to rescue the commanders and fighters who were imprisoned in the open pit. Pornegerin was very clear about the situation of those prisoners of war. At this moment, when he heard Sokov saying that he would allocate 8,000 prisoners of war to supplement his troops, he immediately smiled. He knew that the soldiers Sokov allocated to him were definitely the kind that could fight with a gun.

But he still worried and said: "Comrade commander, after you have added so many soldiers to us, the number of troops has increased, but what about weapons? If there are no weapons, we can't use our teeth to bite the enemy in battle, right?" ?”

   "You don't have to worry about weapons." Sokov comforted the other party and said, "Colonel Yakov has already gone back to transport supplies. I believe it will not take long before the weapons and ammunition you need can be shipped over."

The soldiers and weapons have been settled, and the next thing to consider is how to get to Otac: "Comrade Commander, it is almost a hundred kilometers from here to Otac. If you rely on the soldiers to walk, I worry that it will take at least two days. time."

"General Ponegerin, we can't wait for two days." Sokov declared decisively: "I will help you mobilize enough transport vehicles to transport you to Otatz. No matter how bad the road conditions are, it is only eight A ten-kilometer road can take up to three hours."

   Seeing that Sokov had considered all the issues that should be considered, Ponejielin also felt that there was no more question to ask. He tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, when will the soldiers be added to our division?"

   "General Ponegelin, didn't you notice that Comrade Chief of Staff was not there when you came in?"

"Yes, General Smirnov is not here." As soon as Sokov reminded, Ponegerin realized that since he came in, he didn't seem to see Smirnov's shadow, so he asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, where did he go?"

"Where else can I go?" Sokov said with a smile: "Naturally, I took the rescued prisoners of war to the station of your division. By the way, with him, there is also the director of the logistics department, who will be in charge Solve the problem of transportation for you."

   "Great, this is really great." Pornegerin couldn't sit still, he stood up, and asked Sokov tentatively: "Can I go back to the army now?"

"Don't worry, General Ponegerin." Sokov said to him with a smile: "I'm waiting for the cooperation agreement signed by the Romanian side. When I get the agreement, your division can justifiably move towards Otac. gone."

"Comrade Commander," Koshkin came in from the outside and reported to Sokov, "Colonel Surodenko of Chernivtsi has sent a commander to say that there is something important to see immediately. to you."

  As soon as Sokov heard that it was the commander from Chernivtsi, he knew that the person coming was definitely related to the cooperation agreement, so he told Koshkin: "Comrade Lieutenant, let him in."

  (end of this chapter)