Chapter 1977

  Because the May Day celebration was approaching, not only Marshal Konev could not be contacted, but even Rokossovsky could not be contacted, because Stalin informed the senior commanders on all fronts to return to Moscow to participate in the grand military parade. And Rokossovsky, like Marshal Konev, returned to Moscow.

  Since the two of them could not be found, Sokov inevitably fell into confusion. Whose subordinate would he be in the future? The real thought in his heart is that he hopes to become a member of the First Belarusian Front Army, because this army will be taken over by Zhukov in a few months and become the first army to rush into Berlin.

Seeing that Sokov was silent, Ponegerin asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, many of those students at the Frunze Military Academy now hold the positions of regimental commander, deputy commander, and chief of staff. They follow you to the new unit, will they agree?"

Maybe he was worried that Sokov didn't understand what he meant, so he added specifically: "For example, Colonel Muzichenko, I thought he would follow you without hesitation when he heard that you were going to the new army. Who knew he And made the opposite decision…”

Seeing Ponedelin's resentment, Sokov quickly comforted him and said, "General Ponedelin, everyone has his own ambitions. Since Colonel Muzichenko chose to stay, we should also respect his choice. "

  Sokov thought that there were still a week or so before he left, and he should determine who was willing to leave with him, lest someone go back on his word before leaving and mess things up.

"General Ponedelin," Sokov said to Ponedelin, "when we were still at the Frunze Military Academy, both Ni and Kirillov were members of the advisory group and knew the cadets well. I want you to contact all the students in the past two days to see who is willing to go with me to the new army and who is willing to stay, so that I can have a good idea."

   "Comrade Commander, I don't think it's necessary to ask?" Pornegelin said disapprovingly: "Based on what I know about the students, they should all be willing to follow you to the new unit."

"People's hearts are separated from each other, and we have no way of knowing what they think in their hearts." Sukov continued: "I think it's better to ask, in case someone thinks that staying in the current army will lead to a better life." development, then we should not delay the future of others, let them stay."

  Ponedelin waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then looked into his eyes and said, "Comrade Commander, since you said so, I'll ask to see if anyone wants to stay."

"If you are too busy alone, you can ask Colonel Kirillov to assist you in your work together." Sokov said: "Anyway, the two of you will be dismissed as division commanders soon, so hurry up and finish your work." Hand it over to the deputy division commander or chief of staff, and then concentrate on talking to those students."

  What happened next proved that Sokov's worries were correct.

  Ponejielin and Kirillov talked with all the students, and five students expressed that they were satisfied with their current positions and were unwilling to follow Sokov to a new unit. For such a person, Sokov is not angry, it's easy to get together and leave, there is no need to force it.

   By May 4, Konev finally returned from Moscow.

  As soon as he returned to the headquarters, he asked Zakharov to call Sokov and asked him to come to the front army headquarters immediately, because he had something important to explain.

  Sokov received a call from Zakharov, and he didn't dare to neglect, and immediately drove to the location of the Front Army Command.

   "Comrade Sokov," Konev saw Sokov walking into the headquarters, immediately went up to shake his hand, and asked politely, "Is the journey going well?"

   "Smooth, very smooth!" Sokov nodded and said, "The places where we have fought are basically controlled by our army. The German stragglers have long been eliminated, so the route is very safe."

   "That's good, that's good!" Konev greeted Sokov to sit down, and then continued: "I want to tell you some bad news, General Vatutin has died!"

"Ah, General Vatutin died?!" Sokov couldn't help being secretly surprised when he heard Konev say this. He clearly remembered that in real history, Vatutin's wound was infected after surgery, and the doctor wanted to use it on him. Penicillin was used to reduce inflammation, but Stalin's permission was not obtained for a long time, which eventually led to his death from wound infection.

  Sokov used penicillin many times when he was hospitalized in the underground hospital in Lubyanka, and told those doctors with facts that this newly launched anti-inflammatory drug is completely reliable. He had thought that with the existence of his little white mouse, Stalin would agree to administer penicillin to Vatutin's infected wound. But now it seems that I am too idealistic.

However, out of safety, he still decided to find out the real cause of Vatutin's death first: "Comrade Marshal, I heard that General Vatutin's injury has improved and he may be discharged from the hospital at any time. Why did he die suddenly in the blink of an eye?" gone?"

Konev sighed and said: "Yeah, I also heard that Vatutin's injury has improved, and I am still happy for him. I thought he would come back to command the Ukrainian First Front soon, but I didn't expect this time Went to Moscow, but unexpectedly heard the news of his death. According to the hospital, he died of a wound infection."

"Wound infection?!" Sokov said with a look of surprise: "Comrade Marshal, General Vatutin was injured in February, and the injury was not too serious. How could he die of wound infection after two months of treatment?" ?”

But Konev obviously didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he waved his hand at Sokov and said, "General Vatutin has already died, as for why his wound got infected, that's the doctor's business and has nothing to do with us. I called you here today for your new duties."

   Sokov looked at Konev and asked in confusion: "For my new position? Didn't the Supreme Command appoint me as the commander of the 47th Army? Has this appointment changed again?"

   "No, no." Konev waved his hands and said, "Your new position is still the commander of the 47th Army, but the unit you belong to has changed for some reason."

   "Changed?" Sokov asked in surprise, "What changed?"

"Originally, according to the arrangement of the Supreme Command, the 47th Army Group will officially belong to the First Ukrainian Front Army from May onwards." Konev said with a bit of embarrassment: "But the situation has changed suddenly, and this army cannot be used for the time being." Put it under my command, so from now on, you belong to the First Belarusian Front."

   Knowing that he was about to become a member of the First Belarusian Front Army, Sokov almost pumped his fists and cheered. However, he hid his joy very well and pretended to be aggrieved: "Comrade Marshal, didn't you say that I went to the First Ukrainian Front Army with you? Why did the army I went to become the Belarusian Army in a blink of an eye?" What about the First Front Army?"

In this matter, Konev felt a little sorry for Sokov. First, the 40th Army, which had been arranged in advance, became the 47th Army; now this unit that should belong to the Ukrainian First Front Army, But stayed in the establishment of Rokossovsky's First Belarusian Front Army.

   "Comrade Sokov, although there was a little accident this time, it didn't allow you to stay in the First Ukrainian Front Army, but don't be discouraged. It's hard to say when we will have the opportunity to fight side by side."

   After saying this, Konev sat back behind his desk, looked at Sokov and asked, "Have you decided on the candidates you will bring to the new army?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov knew that he was going to take away a large group of people, including many regimental commanders, who would definitely report to Konev, so he made the list he had prepared in advance , placed in front of Konev: "This is the list of personnel who will follow me to the new army."

  Konev first took out the reading glasses from the glasses case on the side and put them on, and then picked up the list to browse carefully.

After reading the above names, a surprised expression appeared on his face: "Comrade Sokov, why is there no Colonel Muzichenko? As far as I know, he is with Ponedelin and Kirillov It's all up to you to enter this army. Why doesn't he follow you when you go to the new army?"

"He may like the environment of the Ukrainian Second Front Army." Although Sokov also had opinions on Muzichenko in his heart, he did not speak ill of him at this time: "Since he is unwilling to leave, I will not force him to leave." him, let him stay."

Konev took off his glasses, pointed to the list with the tip of his glasses and said, "It seems that there are five students missing from the Frunze Military Academy. It seems that they are also very satisfied with the environment of the Second Front Army, so they don't want to Follow you to the new unit."

   "That's right, Comrade Marshal." Sokov felt that everyone has their own ambitions, and the twisted melons are not sweet. Since these students, like Muzichenko, are unwilling to go to the new army with him, there is no need to force them. "They are also very satisfied with the current environment and their positions, and want to stay in the Second Front Army."

   "So that's the case." Konev nodded, put the list aside, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, since you are leaving, have you explained everything you need to do?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal, I have basically handed over all the work in my hand to the deputy commander, General Trofimenko." Sokov said to Konev: "I am ready to go. Once the superior gives an order, he can immediately go to the designated place to take up his post."

Konev stood up, walked around from behind the desk, stopped in front of Sokov, and said to him: "Comrade Sokov, you should go back and make preparations as soon as possible. I guess Rokosov will Ski will call you and tell you to rush over to the office."

   Sokov stayed in Konev's office for almost half an hour before taking his leave.

  Walking in the empty corridor, Sokov excitedly waved his fist. He never dreamed that he could become Rokossovsky's subordinate by accident. As long as he officially entered the First Belarusian Front Army, the unit under his command may become the first unit to rush into Berlin in the future. This is a great honor and it is enough to be recorded in history.

  Just returned to his headquarters, before Sokov had time to tell Smirnov and Sameko about his trip to the headquarters, the phone on the desk rang. Sameko, who was relatively close, directly grabbed the microphone and stuck it to his ear: "I am Chief of Staff Sameko, where are you?"

  After hearing the other party's answer clearly, Sameko was stunned. After a while, he murmured to Sokov, "Comrade Commander, it's your call."

   Just as Sokov reached out to pick up the microphone, he suddenly added: "It's General Rokossovsky, commander of the First Belarusian Front Army."

  Although Sokov already knew that Rokossovsky would call him, he still couldn't help shivering when he heard that Rokossovsky was calling. He took the microphone and stuck it to his ear, and said nervously, "Hello, Comrade General, I'm Sokov, what instructions do you have?"

"Comrade Sokov," although Rokossovsky followed Zhukov by his nickname Misha for a while, but at the moment he still calls the other party by his last name on the phone: "I want to ask, what do you mean?" When can you come to take office?"

Sokov hesitated for a moment, then replied: "Comrade General, I'm afraid I won't be able to arrive at your place until three days at the earliest. The reason why it takes such a long time is that the journey is too long, and some people have to be taken there. His subordinates are still scattered in various units, and it will take a certain amount of time to gather them together."

"I'm not afraid of the long distance," Rokossovsky replied bluntly, "I can send two transport planes to pick you up, so that you can also save some troubles. As for the matter of gathering subordinates, I think You need to hurry up, otherwise, when some of the members go out on missions, I'm afraid it will take a lot of time."

"No, Comrade General." Sokov explained to Rokossovsky: "As early as two days ago, I greeted everyone who was going to accompany me to the new army. On standby, just wait for my call, and rush over to assemble immediately. If you start to assemble now, then at noon tomorrow at the latest, everyone will be able to gather.”

"Time is running out, you should act as soon as possible." Rokossovsky said on the phone: "Although the offensive operations of the Ukrainian First Front and Second Front Army have come to an end for the time being, my troops will soon come to an end. It will attack the enemy, so I hope you will come over as soon as possible and familiarize yourself with your troops in advance, so that it will be easier to command."

"Understood, Comrade General, I'll have someone notify them immediately." Seeing Rokossovsky's urgent urging, Sokov temporarily changed his mind and assured the other party: "At the latest at noon tomorrow, everyone will be able to Complete the assembly and rush to your defense zone by plane, there will be absolutely no delay in matters."

"Very good, Comrade Sokov." Rokossovsky was very satisfied with Sokov's statement. He nodded and said, "After you come, I will have a good talk with you. If you If you need help, just ask, and I will try my best to meet all your needs."

Putting down the phone, he immediately ordered Koshkin to call Ponedelin and Kirillov, and said to them: "General Ponedelin, Colonel Kirillov, I have just received a report from Rokossovsky. A call from the commander, he asked us to report to duty as soon as possible. You should immediately contact the commanders who are going to leave with me, and ask them to gather here at noon tomorrow at the latest, and then take a plane to the First Belarusian Front. Understand ?"

   "Understood!" Pornedelin and Kirillov replied loudly.

  (end of this chapter)