Chapter 2230

   "Comrade Commander," Gavrilov's voice became trembling with excitement: "Do you really know the news about my wife and son?"

   "Yes, Comrade Major." Sokov nodded and replied in a positive tone: "I have indeed heard about them."

  Gavrilov grabbed Sokov's hand and asked impatiently: "Comrade Commander, please tell me, where are they now?"

"I heard that after the two of them were captured, the Germans sent them to Poland. The next year, they escaped when they had a chance and returned to the Brest Oblast. Although your adopted son Kolya was old at the time They are still young, but they still joined the local guerrillas." Sokov said: "As for where they are now, I don't know much."

   "So, they're all still alive."

"I think so, Comrade Major." Sokov continued: "However, it hasn't been long since the Brest Fortress was recovered. Whether they have returned to their original place is still unknown. If you look for them at this moment , I think you might miss out."

Gavrilov agrees with Sokov's statement. Although the German invaders on the Soviet Union's territory have been wiped out, the residents who fled the Brest region at the beginning were still unable to regain control in a short period of time. back home. At least until the end of the war, they will gradually return to their hometowns from their current habitats.

   "Comrade Commander, do you mean to tell me not to go to them now?" Gavrilov asked tentatively, "But wait until the war is over before going to look for them?"

"That's right, Comrade Major, that's what I mean." Sokov said: "You know, even if our army has liberated Brest Oblast for a long time, most of the residents who fled here did not They may return in a short time, but they will still stay in their current place and continue to live and work. At least until this war is completely over and our country begins to rebuild, they will return one after another.”

"Misha is right." Lunev also said beside him: "Although it has been more than half a year since the liberation of Brest Oblast, the residents who were evacuated originally still had some scruples in their hearts, worried that if they return at this moment The township may be threatened by war again. Therefore, for them, the best choice is to wait until the war is completely over and their lives are no longer in danger, and then they will gradually return to their respective homes."

   "Comrade Commander," Koshkin walked in from the outside and handed a red box in his hand to Sokov: "This is what you want."

Sokov took the box, opened it, and saw that it was a pair of major's epaulettes, so he handed it directly to Gavrilov: "Comrade major, put this pair of epaulets on, and then Captain Koshkin will wear them." You go to work."

   After thanking Sokov, Gavrilov took the box, took out the military rank inside, and put it on the shoulder of the military uniform.

"Not bad." Seeing Gavrilov wearing the military rank seemed to be a different person, Sokov nodded and said, "Put on this military rank, and you become a real major again. In the new position, I can better carry out my work.”

   "Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Gavrilov stated to Sokov, "I will never disappoint your trust and will definitely do my job well."

"Captain Koshkin." Sokov nodded to Gavrilov in satisfaction, then turned and told Koshkin: "I will now give you a task to **** Major Gavrilov to our new prisoner-of-war camp. From now on, he is the head of the camp."

Hearing what Sokov said, Koshkin immediately understood that he not only had the task of escorting Gavrilov, but also introduced the identity of Gavrilov to the commanders of the prisoner-of-war camp, and quickly replied loudly: "Yes, Comrade Commander! I will definitely deliver Major Gavrilov safely to the prisoner-of-war camp."

After Koshkin left with Gavrilov, Sidolin asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Commander, Major Gavrilov's wife and son, are they really still alive?" When I asked this question, I was worried that Sokov didn't know the news about Gavrilov's wife and son at all, and the words he said were just to comfort the other party.

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, I do know." Sokov said in an affirmative tone: "The two of them are indeed still alive, but I don't know where they are now." Believe me, he also specifically cited an example, "During the war, even in our capacity, it was not easy to find someone. For example, the military commissar Comrade Shula was looking for some time ago. No definite news."

Lunev smiled awkwardly, and said: "Yes, I have been looking for Shura for a month or two, and so far, there is still no definite news. But after I reported the matter to Comrade Beria, He told me to give up searching. So during this period of time, I didn't spend any more time and energy looking for this person in friendly troops."

  Sokov thought to himself: According to the records, Shura unfortunately died in the battle to liberate Königsberg. Counting from now, he has less than two months left. Unless he can be found before he attacks Königsberg, no one can change the established fate.

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin said to Sokov, "A third of the commanders and fighters rescued by the 3rd Infantry Division have injuries and illnesses and need to be sent to the hospital for treatment. I'm afraid three or four You won't be able to participate in the battle for a month."

Knowing that thousands of rescued commanders and fighters will not be able to participate in the battle within three or four months, Sokov can't help but feel a little disappointed. Therefore, counting from now, there are still two months at most before the Germans will be completely wiped out. Defeated, these people will not be able to catch up, what a pity.

   "What about the remaining two-thirds of the commanders?" Sokov asked helplessly, "Can they participate in the battle?"

"I'm afraid only half of them can be incorporated into the army immediately." Sidolin said cautiously: "Although the remaining half are in better condition than those commanders and fighters who will be hospitalized, they are still too weak to participate in strong physical offensive battles." .”

  Sokov sighed after hearing this, and said: "Chief of Staff, tell General Kirillov. Those commanders and fighters whose physical conditions permit can be incorporated into combat troops as soon as possible; those who are weaker, temporarily arrange them to be responsible for logistics."

   "Understood." Sidolin nodded and said, "I will call General Kirillov immediately and convey your meaning to him."

   While Sidolin was on the phone, Lunev asked Sokov: "According to the original combat plan, the friendly forces launched an attack on the German Vistula Group. I don't know how they are progressing now."

   "I'm not very clear about this." Sokov said: "So far, I haven't received a call from the Front Army Command. I think the battle for fortifications should still be going on."

   "Misha, do you think we can defeat the German Vistula Group in a short time?" Lunev asked hesitantly, "You know, they have a lot of troops."

"Comrade Military Commissar, whether the German Vistula Group can be defeated in a short period of time is affected by many factors." Sokov said to Lunev: "First of all, although the number of German troops is large, they are not 41 years old. Those elites who have been recruited recently, the combat effectiveness of these newly added troops is uneven, I am afraid that even in the case of equal strength, they are not the opponents of our army.

  The second point depends on their commander. If the commander of this force is such an excellent commander as Manstein, I am afraid that it will take a long time and pay a high price for us to defeat the enemy. But the current commander is Himmler, whose command level is not at the same level as Manstein's. "

  After listening to Sokov's analysis, Lunev's mood immediately improved: "Misha, if the situation on the battlefield is really as you analyzed it, it would be great."

Seeing Sokov's stunned expression, he specifically emphasized: "If the Vistula Group commanded by Himmler does not have too strong combat effectiveness, then the losses of our attacking troops will be greatly reduced, so that the superiors will not It will put us on the battlefield. As long as we do not participate in any battles before the attack on Berlin, we will be strong enough to participate in the attack on the Berlin Reichstag after entering Berlin."

Sokov knew very well that although the fact that the Soviet army planted a red flag on the top of the Capitol was repeatedly publicized, if he were given a choice, he would not choose the Capitol as his attack target at all, but would lead the The troops rushed directly to Mustache's underground lair, trying to capture him alive.

"Comrade Military Commissar, I don't think it's the best choice to seize the Capitol." Sokov shook his head and said, "Moustache doesn't work here at all, and there are no important government agencies in it. We spent a huge The price, seizing the Capitol, has far greater political significance than military significance."

Hearing what Sokov said, Lunev laughed: "Misha, on the battlefield, we not only have to settle military accounts, but also political accounts. Even if the Capitol has lost its practical significance, it is still important to Germany. For the Germans, it has always been a symbol. If we take this place, it will be a devastating blow to the morale of the Germans."

Sokov knew that he came from a later age, and his views on many things were very different from those of this era, so he did not refute Lunev, but nodded and said: "Military Commissar, maybe you are right As for whether we should launch an attack on the Reichstag after we enter Berlin, it depends on how Comrade Field Marshal arranges it."

  Sokov's move was very good. He kicked the ball to Rokossovsky. Regardless of whether he ordered himself to attack the Capitol in the future, he had an explanation for all aspects.

  In the evening, the front army headquarters sent a battle report, introducing the results of the troops participating in the offensive today. In the battle report, it can be clearly seen that due to the tenacious fighting of the participating troops, the Belarusian Second Front has successfully occupied the Gniew, Hojnice, and Ratzeburg areas.

After Sidolin found the location mentioned in the battle report on the map, he excitedly said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it seems that the friendly forces are making good progress. Continue to move forward at this speed, and there will be another two days at most." Time will fill the gap between us and the First Front Army."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you can't be blindly optimistic." Sokov knew that the battle in East Pomerania was not progressing as easily as everyone imagined, and there were many repetitions in it, so he reminded Sidolin, who was a little carried away : "In the face of our attack, the Germans will definitely not sit still. Whenever they have the opportunity, they will launch a crazy counterattack. Don't look at today's battle. Our friendly forces occupied a lot of places, but in the next During the battle, individual areas may be gained and lost again.”

"No way, Comrade Commander?" Sidolin said with a face full of surprise: "Didn't you say that Himmler, the commander of the Vistula Group, is not good at commanding troops? How could the Germans launch a counterattack against our army?" ?”

"Yes, Himmler is indeed not good at commanding troops, but the generals under him are all experienced in battle." Sokov said: "They will take various countermeasures according to changes in the situation. .As long as Himmler doesn't give them random orders, it's really not easy to defeat them as soon as possible."

   When he said this, Sokov couldn't help but start to worry. If the troops that went well today were beaten to pieces by the Germans tomorrow, would Rokossovsky send his troops into the battlefield? You know, after fighting for such a long time, the casualties of all the troops under him are not small, and they have not received any decent supplements. If they are consumed again in the East Pomeranian area, when the troops march into Berlin, I'm afraid I can only watch the fun from behind.

  What Sokov was worried about, it really happened. The German army launched a counterattack unexpectedly on the second day. The 50th Army under the command of Pornegelin faced the crazy German attack. Although it resisted tenaciously, it finally had to retreat eight to twelve kilometers. distance, and discarded the two cities of Piritz and Barn, which were captured by the commanders and fighters at the expense of their sacrifices.

When Rokossovsky learned that Ponegerin's troops were repulsed by the Germans and lost the two cities they occupied yesterday, he couldn't help being furious and said sharply: "What's the matter with this Pornegerin?" , why did you lose the city to the Germans?"

After Bogolyubov heard this, he quickly explained to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Marshal, the 50th Army made too fast progress in yesterday's battle, and many occupied areas have not had time to consolidate. Who wants to get a counterattack from the Germans? It came so quickly, and it was inevitable that they would be defeated by the German army when they were insufficiently prepared."

Seeing that Rokossovsky frowned and said nothing, Bogolyubov added: "Comrade Marshal, in fact, not only the 50th Army, but even other armies are also understrength. If they do not launch a counterattack, with their current strength, they will not be able to develop further into the depths of the German army."

Rokossovsky lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, looked up at Bogolyubov and said, "Chief of Staff, immediately give the troops an order to temporarily stop attacking and turn to defense on the spot. With our current strength, it is indeed difficult to continue to attack, and we need the help of our friendly forces."

  (end of this chapter)