Chapter 1996 Encountering Cuikov

  Two weeks later, Sokov received a call from Malinin, asking him to take the members of the headquarters to the headquarters of the Front Army to attend the upcoming military meeting.

   On the way, Sidolin asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Commander, tell me, what is the topic discussed at this military meeting? Will it have something to do with the next battle plan?"

   "That's for sure, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov, who knew it well, nodded and replied affirmatively: "We have stayed here for too long, and we really should consider moving."

   "What about the active direction?" Sidolin asked, "Will it be the direction of Ilich?"

   Regarding Sidolin's question, Sokov smiled and said nothing. He felt that it would be more appropriate to wait for Malinin to announce the main attack direction at the meeting.

But Ponegerin is an old commander after all, no matter how experienced he is in command, and he also knows how to read his words, he looked at Sukov's expression, and said to Sidolin who was sitting in the co-pilot position: "Comrade Chief of Staff, could it be You still don’t understand, our next main attack direction, Comrade Commander has already told you some time ago.”

"The commander told me the direction of attack some time ago?" Sidolin was stunned for a while when he heard what Pornejelin said, and then a shocked expression appeared on his face: "My God, I won't really choose the swamp. area, should we launch a main attack on the enemy? That would be unbelievable.”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, since you find it inconceivable, the enemy is even more unexpected." Pornejelin said thoughtfully: "I think attacking from this direction, no matter whether it is successful or not, can at least have the effect of surprise." As a result, the Germans were caught off guard."

  Sidolin still felt dubious about what Ponegerin said. He turned his head to look at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, is everything the Deputy Commander said true?"

   "I didn't say anything, it's all your own random guesses."

  Although Sokov did not admit that the attack direction he mentioned some time ago was the main attack direction of the front army, but from the tone of his speech, Sidolin could confirm that this must be true. But before the official announcement, continuing to discuss the next step of the front army's combat plan would involve leaking secrets. Naturally, Sidolin would not make such a low-level mistake, so he didn't say anything else.

Entering the meeting place, Sokov saw a long table directly opposite the door. Rokossovsky sat in the center of the table, Malinin sat on his right, and Lieutenant General Teretin, the military commissar, sat on the table. left.

Since the station was too far away from the front army headquarters, when Sokov and others arrived, the meeting room was almost full, and the three of them finally found a seat for themselves, sitting on the bench in the last row facing the table superior.

   Seeing that everyone was present, Ma Linin stood up, with a smile on his face, and said in a loud tenor voice: "Commanders, commanders, hello!"

  Sokov felt that Malinin was very excited. It may be that the large-scale military situation that is about to unfold made him a little unable to control his emotions, so that his voice became trembling with excitement.

"I am very happy, comrades and commanders of the First Belarusian Front Army." Ma Linin did not say nonsense, but said bluntly: "I can call you here for a meeting today. It is to announce to you the next step of the Front Army Battle plan..." He picked up the document on the table and read it out to the commanders present.

   When listening to the battle plan read out by Malinin, which was roughly the same as the battle plan Sukov assumed some time ago, Sidolin couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise. The next moment, he touched Sokov with his elbow, and when the latter turned his head towards him, he asked in a low voice, "Comrade Commander, did you already know about this battle plan?"

   "I am also listening to the chief of staff of the front army read out the specific battle plan." Sokov replied in a low voice, "However, I proposed the initial idea of ​​this battle plan."

   "Oh, so it is, so it is." Sidolin was filled with shock. He never dreamed that such a huge battle plan was actually proposed by Sokov first. I thought that the other party had heard something from Rokossovsky, so he knew some content of the battle plan, but I didn't expect that he was the initiator of the plan.

   On the other hand, Ponegerin, knowing that the attack plan was proposed by Sokov, showed a knowing smile on his face. He felt that following such a commander was indeed the most correct choice for him.

  After assigning combat tasks to each group army, the military meeting will be declared over.

  When the three of Sokov walked outside, they were stopped by someone from behind: "General Sokov, Colonel Sidolin!"

  Sokov and Sidolin turned their heads and looked back, and found that the person who called them was Cuikov, commander of the 8th Guards Army. Both of them were Chuikov's subordinates during the defense of Stalingrad. Although Sokov's military rank is the same as Chuikov's now, he still showed due respect to this former superior.

  Bornegelin said to the two people standing against the wall: "It seems that you have met old friends. I will wait for you in the car. You can stay and catch up with General Chuikov slowly."

Sokov originally wanted Ponegerin to stay with him, but after thinking about it, Pornegerin's current status is rather embarrassing. I am afraid that he will have nothing to say when he sees Chuikov, so it is better to let him go first. Go back to the car and wait, so as not to embarrass him, he readily agrees to the other party to leave.

Chuikov followed the crowd, came to Sokov and Sidolin, shook hands with them one by one, and said with a smile: "General Sokov, I really didn't expect that in less than two years, your rank Just like me."

   "General Chuikov," Sokov replied with a smile: "You know, after the Battle of Stalingrad, I have been directing operations on the battlefield almost all the time, and I have made some contributions to some extent, so the promotion speed is naturally faster."

   "You, you," Chuikov said, pointing at Sokov, "You are basically commanding operations on the battlefield. Do I just stay behind and sleep?"

He turned his gaze to Sidolin, and stretched out his hand to him: "And you, Comrade Sidolin. It has been more than a year, and you have not thought about returning to the army. Every time your son sees me , I have to ask you if you have been here. Tell me, how should I answer him?"

   Hearing Chuikov mention his son, Sidolin asked curiously: "How is little Sidolin now? Is he still serving as your messenger?"

   "During the Battle of Stalingrad, little Sidolin was only 16 years old, and he was still a child." Chuikov said with emotion: "Now he is 18 years old, and he is the youngest company commander under my command."

   Don't see that Sidolin has been serving as the chief of staff of the 41st Guards Division for two years, but he has cut off contact with his son. Hearing Cui Kefu mention his son at this moment, the circles of his eyes suddenly turned red: "I really didn't expect it. I haven't seen you for two years. This kid has become a company commander."

"Colonel Sidolin, I think your son must have inherited your soldier's genes, and he was able to become a company commander because of his outstanding performance in just two years." After Cuikov finished speaking, he felt that there was nothing here It was not a suitable place to talk, so he said to the two: "This is not a place to talk, let's talk in another place."

Cuikov took the two of them to the place where he parked the car, asked his subordinates to set up a small table, and found a few folding chairs, then greeted the two of them: "It's a rare chance to meet, let's sit here and have a drink." Catechu."

   While Chuikov was calling his subordinates to prepare the samovar, Sidolin asked Sokov in a low voice: "Comrade commander, do you need to call the deputy commander over?"

   "It's not necessary." Sokov knew that Ponegerin probably didn't want to deal with Chuikov, so he just found an excuse to leave first. Even if Sidolin went to call him at this moment, I am afraid he would not find an excuse: "Let's chat with General Chuikov at ease."

Chuikov's subordinates quickly moved the samovar over, placed it beside the table, poured a cup of hot tea for each of the three, and placed them on the table, then quietly stepped back a few steps so as not to disturb the others. The commander speaks.

"Sidorin," Chuikov said after putting two cubes of sugar into Sidolin's teacup, "I thought you were still serving as the chief of staff of the 41st Guards Division and planned to report to General Rokossovsky. Make a request to let him transfer you to my army. But when I met with him today, when I mentioned this to him, he told me that you are now the chief of staff of the 48th Army. When I heard it, this is really amazing Yes, I asked you to join my army, at best I let you serve as the chief of staff of the army, but I didn't expect you to become the chief of staff of the group army now."

Sidolin turned his head to look at Sokov, and said emotionally: "Actually, I can hold the current position because the commander recommended it to General Rokossovsky, otherwise I might still be the chief of staff of the division. duty."

   "Misha, you don't mind if I call you Misha?"

"do not mind."

"Misha, look, Sidolin is now the chief of staff of the group army, why is he still a colonel?" Chuikov smiled and said to Sokov: "Should I ask the superiors to let Sidolin Lin's rank has also been raised by one rank."

  How could Sokov have not considered what Chuikov said? Since the other party asked, he replied: "General Chuikov, in fact, I have already applied to my superiors for this matter. You also know that it may be very easy to go from a major to a colonel. But from a colonel to a major general, That's a hurdle, many people stay in the army for a lifetime, and finally stop at the rank of colonel."

"That's true." Chuikov agreed with Sukov's statement very much: "If you don't make great achievements or get special appreciation from your superiors, it is very difficult to complete the step from colonel to major general. Now it is It’s easier to handle military officers, as you know, our army has always had a tradition of despising staff officers, so Sidolin’s inability to get promoted quickly is also a matter of liquidation.”

  Cuikov took a sip from his teacup and continued: "But I think it is very difficult for other staff members to become generals, but it should not be a big problem for Sidolin to become a general."

   "Oh, why do you say that?" Sokov asked in surprise.

"It's very simple, because he is your Misha's chief of staff." Chuikov said with a smile: "I don't know the situation of others, but how can I still not understand the feats you Misha established? I believe that at the latest After this battle is over, Sidolin's colonel's epaulets can be replaced by general's epaulets."

   Hearing what Chuikov said, Sidolin didn't know how to respond, so he could only smile bitterly and say, "I hope so."

   After a short pause, he continued: "The scale of this battle is very large, and the situation should be extremely tragic. If I can survive, I may have the hope of becoming a general."

"Sidorin, you are too pessimistic." Chuikov said: "The scale of this battle is indeed huge, but as the chief of staff of the group army, as long as the headquarters is not attacked by the enemy or bombed, you should not There will be any danger. I believe that you will become a general sooner or later."

   While talking, a major with a red armband ran over and said to Sokov, "Thank God, General Sokov hasn't left yet, otherwise you would have to come back even if you returned to the headquarters."

  Sokov recognized that the major was from the Front Army Command, and seeing that he had come to find him on purpose, he tentatively asked, "Comrade Major, is it Comrade General who wants to see me?"

   "That's right." The major nodded and said with certainty: "In addition to you, I also want to see Colonel Sidolin."

   "What, Comrade General still wants to see me?" Hearing what the major said, Sidolin showed a surprised expression on his face: "Comrade Major, do you know what it is?"

   "I don't know." The major replied simply: "I was just ordered to come to you."

   "General Cuikov, I'm sorry, Comrade General wants to see us, so I can only excuse you."

   "It's okay." Cuikov said generously, "Go and do your work if you have something to do. I'll sit here and drink some tea."

   Sokov and Sidolin followed the major to Rokossovsky's office.

   Not only Rokossovsky was in the office, but Terekin and Malinin were also there.

Seeing Sokov walking in from the outside, Rokossovsky said with a smile: "Misha, I thought you were going back, and you are discussing with the chief of staff whether to call your headquarters and let your subordinates The notification will be returned as soon as possible."

  After saluting the three of them, Sokov asked Rokossovsky cautiously: "Comrade Commander, I wonder if you called me back. Is there any important task?"

   "There is no important task," Rokossovsky said with a smile on his face, "I just tell you that the application you made some time ago has been approved."

   "The application I made some time ago?!" Sokov asked in surprise after hearing this: "What application?"

"Why, you forgot?" Seeing Sokov's bewildered expression, Rokossovsky deliberately put on a stern expression, pretending to be displeased and said, "Don't tell me you make a lot of applications to me every day? "

  Sokov was thinking in his heart that he didn't seem to have applied for Rokossovsky recently. What did the other party mean by saying that?

Fortunately, Ma Linin was more enthusiastic and took the initiative to say: "Comrade Sokov, have you really forgotten that the application to us two weeks ago said that in view of Colonel Sidolin's bravery in the great war to defend the motherland, and bravery, as well as excellent staff ability, recommends that he be awarded the rank of general."

  He paused for a moment, then continued: "Your application has been approved!"

  (end of this chapter)