Chapter 2205 Recommended

   Rokossovsky went to the 50th Army, and dismissed the former commander of the army, Bolkin, and replaced the chief of staff Ozerov as acting commander. Soon, the news spread within the front army, and everyone was discussing the reason for his dismissal.

Sidolin asked a few friends from the Front Army Command, and after inquiring about some details, he said to everyone: "I heard that because he was drunk, he did not follow the order of Comrade Marshal. He sent an observation post to closely monitor the opposite party. The enemy. As a result, the enemy secretly abandoned their positions and retreated without our troops knowing.”

  Sokov was also very surprised when he heard it. Bolkin actually drank heavily during the battle, and it also caused the Germans to escape from under his nose. The nature of this matter is relatively bad. He hurriedly asked: "Isn't the rumor wrong? You know, even if Bolkin is drunk, doesn't he still have a chief of staff? Could it be that he was the chief of staff during the time he was drunk? Did nothing get done?"

"It is said that in the evening, a reconnaissance team that went deep into the enemy's defense found that the German army had fled from the solid defense position, so they sent this information back by telegram." Sidolin went on to say: "The chief of reconnaissance received this After this telegram, he felt that the situation was very important, so he reported it to Bolkin in a timely manner. Unexpectedly, after Bolkin read the telegram, he insisted that it was a conspiracy by the Germans. The false information sent, did not take any measures at all.

   Chief of Staff Ozerov felt that he should find out what was going on, whether the scouts were annihilated and the radio station was seized by the Germans; or what the scouts said was true. It was with this mentality that he dispatched several reconnaissance teams to enter the German defensive positions from different areas to find out the movements of the Germans. At the same time, he also reported the information detected by the scouts in the early stage to General Bogolyubov, Chief of Staff of the Front Army.

   After knowing this situation, Bogolyubov realized the seriousness of the problem, and reported the information to Marshal Rokossovsky. When the marshal heard this, he was immediately angry, and took the military commissioner to the headquarters of the 50th Army Group, only to find that Bolkin was indeed sleeping. After waking him up, ask about the movement of the enemy, he knows nothing about it. In a fit of anger, the Marshal dismissed his position as Army Commander and was replaced by Chief of Staff Ozerov. "

  Bolkin was dismissed and Ozerov took over his position. Sokov knew about it a long time ago. He is very concerned about whether he has figured out the situation of the enemy and whether the troops have taken any military actions?

Faced with a series of questions raised by Sokov, Sidolin, who had known the details for a long time, replied confidently: "The Germans did retreat from the area they originally occupied. But when did they withdraw? Where, but no one knows. The first thing General Ozerov did after he took office was to decisively order the 19th and 38th infantry armies under his command to attack the German positions. By dawn, they had already Advance five kilometers."

   "Very good record." After Sokov finished speaking, he continued: "It's a pity that the enemy has already fled. Otherwise, when the German army retreated, attacking them would have accelerated the defeat of the German army."

"The 50th Army was the worst-performing unit in the battle for the liberation of East Prussia." Lunev said with emotion: "It stands to reason that in such a situation, as the commander, Bolkin should actively look for fighter opportunities. , dealt a heavy blow to the German army. But unexpectedly, he gave up on himself and drank all day long. It will be a matter of time before he is dismissed. If he continues to serve as the commander of this group army, it may bring greater losses to the troops.”

Sokov was thinking to himself: "This is probably the legend. There are raging soldiers and raging generals. With an irresponsible commander like Bolkin, it is no wonder that the 50th Army can achieve good results in battle. gone."

Although Sokov has never dealt with Bolkin, the situation of the 50th Army is so bad, I am afraid it is not caused by Bolkin alone. Responsibility. Thinking of this, he said, "I think that if the 50th Army wants to change the status quo, it must have a capable commander. As for the acting commander, General Ozerov, I think he is not suitable."

  Sidorin heard Rokossovsky say this, and said with some surprise: "But Comrade Marshal has appointed Ozerov as the acting commander of the army group, which proves that he still trusts General Ozerov."

"You can't say that." Sokov shook his head and said: "After Comrade Marshal dismissed Bolkin, he couldn't find a suitable candidate for a while, so he appointed Ozerov to replace Bolkin. It's a helpless move. I don't think that with Ozerov's ability, he may not be able to lead this army well."

"Besides, who else is qualified for the position of commander of the 50th Army?" Sidolin looked at Sukov and asked, "Comrade commander, do you have a suitable candidate and would like to recommend it to Comrade Marshal?" ?”

   "Yes, I do have such an idea." Sokov said with a smile: "I want to call Comrade Marshal right now and recommend a suitable candidate to him."

   "Who is it?!" Sidolin asked urgently, "Do I know him?"

   "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov quickly glanced at Pornegerin, and then said, "Of course you know him."

Sokov found Rokossovsky after getting through the phone of the Front Army Command, and said cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, I heard that you relieved the command of the 50th Army Commander Bolkin and appointed His chief of staff, General Ozerov, succeeds the commander of the army?"

   "Yes, there is such a thing." After answering Sokov's question, Rokossovsky asked curiously, "Why do you ask this?"

"Comrade Marshal, please forgive my presumptuousness." Sokov intends to recommend a suitable candidate to serve as the commander of the 50th Army, so he said seriously: "I called you because I think General Ozerov , may be competent as a chief of staff, but not necessarily a good army commander."

   "Your words are reasonable, but I don't have any suitable candidates for a while." Rokossovsky asked, "Do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal. This is really the reason why I called you. I do have a very suitable candidate to recommend to you." Sokov said: "If you can appoint him as the commander of the 50th Army , the face of the force will change in a very short period of time.”

  Sokov's words aroused Rokossovsky's curiosity: "Who is it? Misha, who is the commander of the army group you want to recommend?"

Sokov's eyes stayed on Ponegerin, and he said firmly: "Comrade Marshal, I strongly recommend to you my deputy commander, General Ponegerin, he is fully capable of taking up this position. You know, Before the outbreak of the war, he had already served as the commander of the group army. He has rich experience in how to command large corps in combat. If he can be appointed as the commander of the 50th group army, I believe it will not be long. , the appearance of the group army will undergo a great change."

  Ponejielin, who was sitting next to him drinking tea, didn't expect Sokov to recommend him to Rokossovsky as the commander of the 50th Army, and he couldn't help being stunned. After a long time, he said, "Comrade Commander, this is not suitable. I think Comrade Marshal must have someone more suitable for this position than me."

  Pornegelin had such scruples because he considered that he was once a prisoner of the Germans, and in the eyes of some people, he was classified as a separate book. If it hadn't been for Sokov to protect himself, I am afraid that he would not be qualified to become a general again and serve as the deputy commander of the 48th Army.

   After listening to Sokov's suggestion, Rokossovsky fell into deep thought. In his mind, Bonegelin was indeed a suitable candidate. After all, others were the commanders of the group army before the war, while he was only the commander of the 9th Mechanized Army at that time, and his rank was lower than that of the opponent. However, since the other party has been captured before, you need to be cautious about how to use him, otherwise you will bring unnecessary trouble to yourself.

"Misha, your proposal is very good." Rokossovsky expressed the possibility of Sokov's proposal, but he did not give an accurate answer: "But this matter is very important, I need to think about it carefully, I will reply to you as soon as possible." After finishing speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for Sokov to speak.

   Seeing Rokossovsky's solemn expression, Su Bojing asked with concern, "Comrade Marshal, what's going on? I think you seem to have something on your mind."

Rokossovsky picked up the cigarette case on the table, took out a cigarette from it, put it in his mouth and lit it, took a puff and said: "Just now Misha told me on the phone that he felt that General Ozerov He is not the right candidate, and recommended his deputy chief of staff, Bornejelin, to take up the post of commander of the 50th Army."

"Comrade Marshal," Subbotin knew Ponejielin, so he naturally knew who he was before, so he said to Rokossovsky: "I think General Sokov is right. General Lin's appointment as the commander of the 50th Army may change the mental outlook of the troops. I went to the 50th Army with you last night, and the impression that this army gave me was, how should I put it, that it was simply lethargic. The slightest vitality. Maybe there really needs to be someone to change all the status quo, and Ponegerin is undoubtedly the breaker."

"Comrade Military Commissar, I agree with you." Rokossovsky stubbed out the cigarette he had smoked twice in the ashtray, then looked up at Subbotin and said, "But General Ponejielin was once He was captured by the German army and sent to the Ministry of the Interior for review after being rescued, so I need to be cautious about how to use him."

"Comrade Marshal, as far as I know." Su Bojing said: "As the situation on the battlefield becomes more and more favorable to our army, we have rescued more and more commanders from prisoner-of-war camps, and there are even some generals. But where are these people now? Either they were sent to Siberia to dig potatoes, or they were locked in a cell in Lubyanka. Who can be like General Ponedelin, who is not only restored to his post, but even an elite Served as the deputy commander in the group army? No?"

   "Indeed, no."

"This shows that the Supreme Command turned a blind eye to his affairs." Subbotin said to Rokossovsky: "If we appoint him as the commander of the 50th Army, we will I think the Supreme Command will still agree."

  Subotin's words made Rokossovsky completely determined. He nodded and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, what you said is very reasonable, then do what you said. I will call Comrade Antonov and ask him to pass this matter on to the Supreme Commander himself. What's your opinion?"

   "General Sokov, do you need to inform him?"

   "No, no." Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "Don't disturb him for the time being. It's not too late to tell him when we have good news."

In the 48th Army Headquarters, Ponegerin seemed a little apprehensive. He said to Sukov: "Comrade Commander, I know that you recommended it to Comrade Marshal out of good intentions, but I know my own affairs. Because of being captured by the German army, it has become a stain on my resume. I am satisfied to be your deputy commander, and I dare not expect to get a higher position."

When Sokov did not get a reply from Rokossovsky on the spot, he felt a little uneasy. Maybe he was too reckless and should have communicated with Rokossovsky in advance instead of directly recommending Pornegerin to him. . As a result, it is better now, which is tantamount to roasting Rokossovsky on the fire and putting him in an embarrassing dilemma.

   But in front of everyone, Sokov did not show this worry. He also deliberately pretended to be relaxed, and said to everyone: "If Comrade Marshal can agree, everyone will be happy; even if he disagrees, it doesn't matter. General Pornegerin is still my deputy."

When everyone was eating lunch, a staff officer walked into the headquarters, went straight to Sokov, raised his hand and handed him a cowhide envelope: "General Sokov, this is Rokosov Marshal Ski ordered me to send you the document!" After speaking, the staff officer raised his hand and saluted, then turned and walked out of the room.

   "What is this?" Sokov stared at the cowhide envelope in his hand, hesitated for a long time, and finally opened the envelope. There was a piece of folded paper inside. After opening it, you could see a few lines written on it: "After research and decision, and with the approval of the Supreme Command, the former Deputy Commander of the 48th Army, Lieutenant General Bonejelin, was formally appointed as the No. The post of commander of the 50th Army. And immediately go to the new unit to take up the post. Signature: Rokossovsky."

   Sokov read the words on the paper over and over again, and finally realized that what Rokossovsky sent to him was actually a letter of appointment. He slapped the appointment letter in front of Ponedelin, and said with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Commander, no, it should be called Commander Ponedelin now. Congratulations, you have been officially appointed by Rokossovsky Marshal appointed commander of the 50th Army."

  (end of this chapter)