Although the 15th Tank Army was destroyed by the army commander's unauthorized action, their assault successfully disrupted the unified command of the German army and put the three German divisions in a situation of fighting on their own. In this case, Rebarko successfully jumped out of the German encirclement with tens of thousands of commanders and fighters.
When he learned that Rebarko had successfully jumped out of the German encirclement, Zhukov, who was far away in Lugansk, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He said to Sokov: "Misha, fortunately, the plan you proposed was effective, so that the tank army would attack Valky town and drive the enemy's headquarters out of the town, causing the enemy to lose unified command for a long time."
"But, Comrade General." Sokov said with regret: "If the commander of the 15th Tank Army can resolutely obey General Rebarko's orders and mobilize troops north in time after completing the mission, then our army's chances of successfully breaking through will be higher."
"It is an amazing victory to have tens of thousands of people successfully breaking through the siege." But Zhukov was obviously very satisfied with this situation. He told Sokov: "If we do not take the initiative to attack Valky Town, we may be hearing the news that the entire army of the Rebarko Tank Army was destroyed."
"By the way, I heard you have been training recruits in the city recently." Zhukov asked curiously: "How about it, are the performances of recruits still satisfying you?"
"Yes, comrade General." Whether in or outside the city, all the troops near Lugansk were under their jurisdiction. Sokov naturally could not say bad things about them, but could only say idealisticly: "It performed very well. Even if the bullets flew over the soldiers' heads, they would not become panic."
When Sokov said this, he did not tell Zhukov, saying that he had some of the recruits hidden in the trench behind the target to experience the feeling of bullets flying overhead. If bullets fly overhead, they acted in panic and jumped up and wanted to run, they would be at risk of being hit by bullets.
"I have been staying with you for a long time. It seems that even if the German army recaptured Kharkov and Belgorod, they would probably not attack Lugansk in a short period of time." Zhukov sighed softly and said, "The plane to pick me up back to Moscow in the afternoon is about to arrive. I will say goodbye to you first, so as not to be in a hurry and not see your figure."
When Sokov learned that Zhukov was about to leave, he felt very disappointed. He said with regret: "Comrade General, this is really a pity. I have always wanted to fight with the Germans under your command. But now it seems that my wish may not be realized."
"Don't worry, Misha." Zhukov waved his hand at Sokov and said, "In my judgment, this war will last at least two years. Maybe one day I will have the opportunity to command you to fight as a representative of the base camp and be stationed on the front line."
In the afternoon, the plane from Moscow landed on an open space not far from the command center.
The general who came to greet Zhukov, when he saw Zhukov, immediately raised his hand to salute and said excitedly: "Comrade Zhukov, please accept my congratulations."
"Congratulations?" Zhukov looked at the other party and asked in confusion: "General Bettykov, I don't understand. Is there anything worth congratulating me?"
"I just heard the news before I set out. You have been officially promoted to the rank of marshal." General Bedikov said excitedly: "Master Zhukov, please allow me to congratulate you."
Zhukov was officially promoted to marshal. Although it was almost two months later than the real history, he became the Soviet marshal, which was a matter of celebration after all. Sokov quickly ordered someone to bring a bottle of vodka and put it on every commander present to celebrate Zhukov's promotion.
After toasting Zhukov, Betickov turned to Sokov, took out a document from his bag and handed it to Sokov, and said with a smile: "Major General Sokov, this is your promotion order. At the same time, all the commanders and fighters of the 41st Division of the former Guards were promoted to the first-level military rank to commend you for the heroism and the merits you have shown in the battle to defend Stalingrad."
Sokov took the documents from the other party and, in accordance with the regulations, replied loudly: "Serve the Soviet motherland!"
When he heard Sokov was promoted to major general, the commanders and fighters in the command immediately cheered, and his voice was even greater than just celebrating Zhukov's promotion to marshal. No matter what, no matter how high Zhukov's rank is, it has little to do with them. Sokov is different. He is the commander of the Guard Division. His promotion is not only his personal glory, but also the glory of the entire Guard Division. What's more, in the order of the superior, he also specifically emphasized that all the commanders and fighters of the former 41st Guard Division were all promoted to the first-level military rank as a whole, which is exciting good news.
"Comrade Commander, please accept my congratulations." Sidolin walked to Sokov, reached out to him, and said sincerely: "Congratulations on becoming the first general in our Guard Division."
When Sokov heard Cidolin say this, he couldn't help but think of Colonel Ivanov, the deputy division commander who died not long ago. If he was still alive, he might be a general. He held Cidolin's hand and said with a smile: "Chief of Staff Cidolin, please accept my congratulations, congratulations on your promotion to colonel."
After the two of them loosened their hands, Sokov suddenly thought of a question and asked Bettikov: "Comrade General, I want to ask, has my Cluster Chief of Staff Colonel Vitkov also been promoted?"
"No." Betickov seemed very familiar with the people around Sokov and replied without hesitation: "Don't say that Colonel Vitkov was not promoted, even your current partner, Colonel Bere, did not get promoted." Seeing Sokov open his mouth and seemed to want to ask something, he waved his hand and said first, "General Sokov, don't ask me about this matter. I am just a person who conveys orders. Who will be promoted is decided by the Supreme Command."
Witkov, who was standing beside him, was disappointed when he learned that this promotion had nothing to do with him. But he still stretched out his hand to Sokov and said generously: "Comrade Commander, please accept my congratulations. After you become a general, the command of the troops has become more legitimate."
"Comrade Marshal," Betchikov raised his hand and looked at his watch, saying to Zhukov respectfully: "It's getting late, it's time for us to set off."
Zhukov nodded, then walked to Sokov, reached out to hold me with him, and said with a smile: "Misha, since you are already a general, you must show off. I hope to hear that you have made new achievements soon."
Chapter completed!