Chapter 2227

  Sokov was eager to know the latest situation of the prisoner-of-war camp, so he called Kirillov himself, and asked straight to the point: "General Kirillov, do you have any news about the troops sent to the prisoner-of-war camp?"

   "No, Comrade Commander." Kirillov replied: "There is no news yet."

  Sokov couldn't help frowning slightly after hearing this: "What's the matter, don't you have a radio station for them?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Kirillov hurriedly explained: "According to your order, in order to facilitate the command of the troops, radio stations are equipped to battalion-level units, and telephones are equipped to platoon-level units. My staff officer The reason why the commander has not sent a call is that I guess they are still on the way, and when they find the prisoner-of-war camp, they will definitely send me a telegram as soon as possible."

   Didn't get the answer he wanted, and Sokov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed: "Okay, once Miyakov sends a telegram back, remember to report to me in time."

Putting down the phone, Sokov smiled bitterly and said to Lunev and Sidolin: "General Kirillov told me that the troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov have not sent back any news. They were delayed on the road."

"It's possible." Lunev nodded and said, "It's late February now, and spring in East Prussia comes earlier, and the ice and snow have begun to melt in many places, which has had some adverse effects on our march. .”

"Is there such a possibility?" As soon as Lunev finished speaking, Sidolin put forward his own opinion: "You say, will the commanders and fighters held in the prisoner-of-war camps have been killed by the Germans? Maybe it’s because of this that Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov doesn’t know how to report to General Kirillov even if he arrives at the prisoner-of-war camp?”

   As for Sidolin’s speculation, Sokov couldn’t help but feel a little shaken. Did the Germans really kill all the commanders and fighters held in the prisoner-of-war camp? If this is the case, then the rescue force sent by the 3rd Infantry Division this time will be in vain.

  Sokov shook his head, trying to drive this absurd idea out of his mind. After taking a sip of the tea on the table, he asked Lunev, "Comrade Military Commissar, when the chief of staff and I went to the headquarters of the Front Army for a meeting, did the divisions call?"

"Yes." Lunev picked up the notebook on the table and said to Sokov: "The 1st and 120th Guards Divisions once called and mentioned that there was a problem with their ammunition. Replenishment; the 284th Infantry Division called and said that a lot of the food supplied to their division was moldy..."

   Sokov is not interested in such trivial matters at all. He is more concerned about whether these division commanders have followed his orders to search for possible prisoner-of-war camps near the defense zone. So he waited for Lunev to finish his speech, and asked bluntly: "I gave them the task of searching the prisoner-of-war camp. How did they complete it?"

"Misha, I told you not to be angry." Lunev said cautiously: "According to my judgment, in the divisions under the group army, except for General Kirillov's 3rd Infantry Division, no one took you If you take this order seriously, you will naturally not send people to search for possible prisoner-of-war camps nearby."

   "It's outrageous," Sokov heard Lunev say this, and said angrily: "They dare to ignore my order. What are they trying to do, are they trying to rebel?"

"Misha, don't be angry." Seeing Sokov's face full of anger, Lunev quickly comforted him and said, "I think the reason why they are unwilling to carry out your order is because they are worried that if they really send a large number of people Go to the vicinity to search, and if you find it, it’s fine. If you can’t find it, it’s a waste of manpower and time. Instead of spending so much time looking for prisoner-of-war camps that don’t necessarily exist, it’s better for commanders and fighters to use this time Take a good rest."

"I think Comrade Military Commissioner is right." Sidolin echoed from the side: "The reason why the division commanders are not concerned about this matter is probably because they are worried that they will send a large number of people and spend a lot of time searching. It's a waste of time if you get nothing in the end."

"Chief of Staff," Sokov told Sidolin a little angrily, "Call the division commanders again and convey my order again. And tell them that if they are perfunctory about this order Once I discover that there is a prisoner-of-war camp near their defense zone, but because of their negligence, they miss the opportunity to liberate the prisoner-of-war camp, and they will all be punished accordingly."

   While Sidolin was on the phone, Lunev asked about today's military meeting again. "Misha, tell me what Marshal Rokossovsky said at today's combat meeting."

   Seeing that Lunev was interested in today's military meeting, Sokov told him what he heard at the meeting again. Finally, he said: "Comrade Marshal's meaning is very simple. It is to completely smash the German Vistula Group in the offensive, eliminate the right-wing threat of Marshal Zhukov's troops, and enable them to quickly rush to Berlin."

"Let us deal with the Vistula Group of the German army so that Marshal Zhukov's troops can quickly push towards Berlin." After hearing Sokov's words, Lunev couldn't help taking a breath, and then said to Sokov: " Misha, now I think your judgment is correct, the Supreme Command really wants the First Belarusian Front under the command of Marshal Zhukov to be the first force to enter Berlin."

"Well, I think so too." Sokov nodded and said, "Not only our front army wants to eliminate the threat from Marshal Zhukov's right wing, but even Marshal Konev's Ukrainian First Front Army also shoulders the task of eliminating Marshal Zhukov's left wing. The task. Only when the threats on both wings are completely eliminated can Marshal Zhukov's troops rush to Berlin more smoothly."

After Lunev waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he couldn't help but sighed up to the sky, and then said: "I originally thought that our army group was the most likely to become the first army to enter Berlin, but judging from the current situation, this Could have become infinitesimally small. What a pity, what a pity."

But Sokov took this matter very lightly. He said with a smile: "Comrade Military Commissar, it's not a big deal if we can't be the first troops to enter Berlin. As long as our troops can successfully take down Berlin's Capitol, capturing Mustache alive, that is also a great achievement."

Lunev, who was a little dejected at first, suddenly brightened his eyes when he heard what Sokov said: "Yes, entering Berlin is only the first step to completely defeat the Germans. If you want them to give up resistance and surrender unconditionally to our army, It was necessary to capture the Reichstag in Berlin and to capture Mustache alive. As long as our troops can accomplish either of these tasks, it doesn't matter if they don't become the first troops to enter Berlin."

Sidolin, who finished the phone call, saw Sokov and Lunev talking and laughing happily, and couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Commander, Comrade Military Commissar, what are you two talking about? I think you are very happy." look."

When Lunev repeated Sokov's words to him, he couldn't help applauding again and again: "Comrade Commander, we are just too horny, always thinking about being the first army to rush into Berlin, but we forgot , it's not up to us to be number one, it's up to our superiors. If they don't give us this chance, then we can't achieve our goal. But when it comes to capturing the Reichstag in Berlin or capturing Moustache alive, I I feel that these two tasks are relatively easy. With the combat power of our army group, I believe that even in street fighting, we can advance to the vicinity of the Capitol in a very short time."

"By the way, I heard that there are three anti-aircraft towers in Berlin." Lunev interrupted suddenly: "They are located in Berlin Zoo, Humboldt Hein, and Friedrich Hein. These three anti-aircraft towers just form a Triangle, the center of the triangle is the German Reichstag. If we want to capture the Reichstag, we must first capture these three anti-aircraft towers, otherwise the artillery on them will cause a devastating blow to our attacking forces."

  Unexpectedly, Sokov just laughed when he heard it. The air defense tower in Berlin is indeed indestructible, but the role it can play has been infinitely exaggerated. He remembered reading a post in later generations, apparently from Germany, saying that the Berlin air defense towers shot down tens of thousands of Soviet and Allied bombers overnight, to illustrate how amazing the air defense towers are. But he seems to have forgotten what the concept of 10,000 planes is, let alone whether the Soviet and Allied forces had so many planes in Germany at that time, even if there were, tens of thousands of planes were shot down overnight, and the explosion caused by falling The power is enough to raze Berlin to the ground.

"Comrade Military Commissar, don't worry." Sokov comforted Lunev and said: "The Berlin air defense towers have been greatly exaggerated by the Germans. If they really have the power of the propaganda, the air raids carried out by the British Royal Air Force on Berlin Can it last for a few more years?"

Hearing what Sokov said, Lunev frowned and thought for a while, and then said: "Yes, Misha, you are right. As far as I know, since the outbreak of the battlefield, the British have been conducting a long-term war against Berlin. Air strikes, if their anti-aircraft towers were really as powerful as they advertised, the British Royal Air Force would have wiped out the air raids on Berlin long ago." After saying this, he laughed haha, and added, "I really didn't expect that, we As a commander, I was almost deceived by this big lie of the Germans."

  While several people were chatting and laughing, the phone on the table rang.

Sokov thought it was Kirillov calling, and hurriedly grabbed the receiver, but Rokossovsky's voice came from inside: "Misha, I heard that you sent troops to the area near Letzen. Search the prisoner-of-war camp in the forest, I wonder if there is any result?"

Hearing that it was Rokossovsky's call, Sokov quickly straightened his body and replied respectfully: "Comrade Marshal, regarding the prisoner-of-war camp for our commanders and fighters in the forest near Letzen, It was General Kirilov who learned about it from the head of the Gestapo in the city. I think the news should be completely reliable. And after getting this information, Kirilov immediately sent a regiment led by his chief of staff Miyakov The lieutenant colonel led the team and personally went to the forest to rescue."

"I don't care what measures you have taken." Rokossovsky interrupted Sokov before he finished speaking: "I only care about the result. Did the people you sent find the place near Letzen?" POW camp?"

"Comrade Marshal, so far, I have not received any report from General Kirillov." Sokov replied, "However, he has promised me that he will notify me as soon as there is news about the dispatched troops. "

"Oh, so that's the case." Rokossovsky said: "If there is any news from the prisoner-of-war camp, you also remember to call and report to me as soon as possible." During the battle, the attrition situation was very serious, but the replenishment from our superiors was very little, and it came very slowly. If we can find a few more prisoner-of-war camps, liberate the commanders and fighters detained in them, and enrich them into the army, we can make up for it The loss of our army in the early stage."

"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Sokov said, "I'll call General Kirillov and ask him how the situation is. If there is any news about the prisoner-of-war camp, I will report to him as soon as possible. You report."

After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, did you hear me? Not only am I concerned about the prisoner-of-war camp, but Marshal Rokossovsky is also concerned about this matter. The attack some time ago The battle caused us to lose too many soldiers. It is unrealistic to just wait for the supplies from our superiors, so we must find a way to replenish our soldiers from various aspects."

   After saying this, Sokov picked up the phone again and connected to the division headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Division. When he heard that the person answering the phone was Kirilov, he ignored the politeness and asked directly: "General Kirillov, has your chief of staff returned any information?"

   "Not yet, Comrade Commander." Hearing Sokov ask about the prisoner-of-war camp again, Kirillov replied a little embarrassedly: "I haven't received any answer yet."

"Damn, what's going on here." Sokov raised his hand and looked at the time. Five or six hours have passed since Kirillov sent troops, but he still hasn't received any news. Encountered a ghost hitting the wall in the forest, do you keep turning in circles? "Did you order someone to take the initiative to contact Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov?"

Kirillov glanced at the telegraph operator in the corner who kept calling with a microphone, and replied: "Comrade Commander, my radio operator is constantly calling Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov, but unfortunately Unfortunately, it is still impossible to get in touch with them."

   Hearing what Kirillov said, Sokov couldn't help tapping his fingers on the table quickly. He wondered what was going on, why the radio station couldn't be contacted for a long time, could something be wrong? Thinking of this, he said to Kirillov: "General Kirillov, do you think there may be a problem with their radio station, which has caused them to be unable to contact. I think so, you immediately send two groups of communication soldiers , follow their route and find out what happened."

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Kirillov said: "I immediately dispatched a communication soldier carrying a radio to the forest area to find the whereabouts of Lieutenant Colonel Miyakov and the others. We must find out what happened. "

  (end of this chapter)