Sokov originally planned to wait for Gurdiev's troops to hand over the defense and then retreat to Ivanovka together. Unexpectedly, as soon as Gurdiev left, Vasilyev said to him unexpectedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I forgot to notify you of another thing. According to the command of General Kazakh Ning, the 308th Infantry Division was officially incorporated into the 24th Army of our Don Front Army. That is to say, from now on, you no longer have to command this unit and you can leave first."
After crossing the river and undressing the bridge, and killing the donkey, Sokov heard what Vasilyev said, these two idioms immediately popped up in his mind. When he was trapped in the enemy's encirclement, he handed over the troops to his own command; just as soon as he escaped from danger, the troops were placed under the command of the 24th Army.
Thinking of this, Sokov asked a little dissatisfiedly: "Comrade General, I want to ask, does General Cui Kefu know about the assignment of the 308th Division to the command of the 24th Army?"
"About this question," Vasiliev's face turned red when he heard Sokov's question. He explained with some embarrassment: "General Kazhao Ning has applied to the Front Army, hoping to incorporate the 308th Division into the combat sequence of the army."
"So, putting the 308th Division into your army is just the wishful thinking of General Kazenin. Not to mention General Cuikov, even General Rokosovsky doesn't know the inside story." Sokov learned that this was just Kazenin's personal thoughts and did not get permission from his superiors, so he began to argue: "Comrade General, General Cuikov handed over the 308th Division to me for command. Please forgive me for not handing over this force before receiving his order."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please listen to my explanation." Vasiliev understood Sokov's mood very well. Seeing that his reaction was so strong, he quickly explained to him: "A few days ago, we lost an infantry division in order to seize this position. According to regulations, this unit will be cancelled. In this way, there will be one division within the organization of the group army. It is precisely because of this that Commander Kaxianing applied to his superiors to incorporate the 308th Division into our group army."
Although Vasilyev's rank is two levels higher than Sokov, Sokov did not feel timid because of this. Instead, he said with striking remarks: "General Vasilyev, I repeat again. Without receiving the order to hand over the troops, I cannot hand over the 308th Division to your army. I will take them and continue to retreat to the north as planned."
"Commander Kazanning has applied to the Front Command, and it will be a matter of time to get approval." Although Sokov was stubborn, Vasiliev was not angry. Instead, he said patiently: "After they withdraw from their positions later, it is best to stay by the river and not go far, otherwise after it is officially assigned to our army, even if you arrive at Little Ivanovka, you will have to return here again."
No matter what Vasilyev said, Sokov had an idea in his mind. As long as Cuikov did not give me an order, I would never hand over the 308th Division to the 24th Army. Even if you carry out Rokosovsky to suppress me, it would be useless. I did this to stick to the principle.
After Gurdiev and Bere completed the handover mission, they led their troops to withdraw from the position, but they did not see Sokov's shadow. Gurdiev looked at Berere and asked, "Col. Berere, have you seen the brigade commander?"
"No!" Bi Lei shook his head and said in surprise: "I have been staying with my subordinates and waiting for friendly troops to receive the tanks, but I didn't see him."
Gurdiev looked up at the other side of the river and said to himself, "Has he left first?"
"This is impossible." As soon as he finished speaking, Be Lei retorted: "Comrade Brigade Commander will never leave us alone."
"If he hadn't left, where would he go?"
"By the way, Colonel Gurdiev." Bere asked Gurdiev tentatively: "Didn't the brigade commander be with you all the time before you handed over defense to friendly forces?"
"Is he still in the command center?" As soon as Gurdiev said this, he shook his head vigorously and said, "This is unlikely. It has been almost an hour, so why is he still in the command center?"
"Since we can't see him anywhere else, we might as well go to the command center to see it." Bie Lei said: "Maybe he's still there at this moment."
Gurdiev asked Svirin to gather by the river with his troops, and he and Bereh walked towards the command center together. When he arrived at the door, the sentry standing at the door blocked their way and asked politely: "Two Colonels, do you have anything to do?"
Seeing that the sentry did not recognize him, Gurdiev quickly introduced himself, "I am Colonel Gurdiev, the commander of the 308th Division. This is Colonel Bere. We are here to find Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."
After hearing Gurdiev's identity, the sentry immediately recognized the other party and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, comrade Colonel, it's too dark, I didn't see you clearly."
Gurdiev was eager to find Sokov's whereabouts, and had no intention of blaming the sentry, and asked back: "Is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov still inside?"
"Yes, it's still inside." When the sentry said this, he couldn't help but turn his head and look at the entrance blocked by the curtain, and lowered his voice and said, "I seem to hear the division commander and the lieutenant colonel quarrel."
"Arguing?" Gurdiev asked in confusion after hearing the sentry's words: "What are they quarrels?"
The sentry shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Colonel, look at what you said, what the division commander and others are arguing about? Where can I, a soldier, dare to eavesdrop. Please come in quickly!"
Both Bere and Gurdiev knew Sokov's character and would not get angry easily. Since they had an argument with Vasilyev inside, something must have happened. They quickly lifted the curtain and walked in.
The two walked into the command center and saw Sokov and Vasiliev facing each other at the table, staring at the table without saying a word. When they heard someone coming in, Vasiliev thought it was his own troops coming down, so they turned their heads and looked at it. They saw that they were two colonels, one of whom had seen Colonel Gurdiev, so they stood up and greeted Gurdiev politely: "Comrade Colonel, you are here!"
"Comrade General, I'm here." Gurdiev responded casually, then looked at Sokov, who was sitting next to him without saying a word, and asked Vasiliev curiously: "Comrade General, is something wrong?"
"A little misunderstanding happened." Vasiliev said with a haha: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is sulking with me."
"Super?" Gurdiev couldn't help laughing when he heard Vasilyev say this: "Comrade Brigade Commander, how old are you, and you still sulk like a child."
"Col. Gurdiev," Sokov felt that it was necessary to explain this matter to the parties involved, so he repeated what Vasilyev had just said to Gurdiev, and finally emphasized: "Your division was handed over to me by General Cuikov. I will never hand over the troops to anyone until I get a new order."
After figuring out what happened, the smile on Gurdiev's face gradually disappeared. He looked at Vasilyev and said in a stern tone: "Comrade General, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is right. Our division is under General Cuikov's command. Before we get the new order from Commander Cuikov, we only obey Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's order."
"The front and the army leader have great trust in Lieutenant Colonel Sokov and handed over many troops to him to command." Bi Lei felt that he could not stand by and watched, so he interrupted and said, "Although he is just a brigade commander now, he is actually performing the duties of a commander. Therefore, he will never hand over any troops to others without the orders of our direct superiors."
Vasiliev looked at the colonel who interrupted, and a surprised expression appeared on his face. After Bere finished speaking, he asked curiously: "I don't know what to call this colonel?"
"I am Colonel Bere, the commander of the 84th Tank Brigade." Berere replied expressionlessly: "I am also under the order of Commander Chokov and lead the troops to accept the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."
"I really didn't expect it." Vasiliev took a step back, looked Bere and Gurdiev up and down, and then looked at Sokov and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov actually has two colonels under him."
"Comrade General, you are wrong." After Vasiliev finished speaking, Bere said lightly: "In Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's men, there are not only two of us colonels. He commands more troops than you command."
Vasiliev realized that he had thought the problem too simply. He thought that he had received the order from Kazanning and just said it to Sokov, the other party would leave the troops without hesitation, waiting for General Kazanning to come and accept it himself. At this moment, he felt a dilemma and didn't know what to do.
Seeing that Vasiliev was not speaking for a long time, Sokov said first: "Comrade General, I have been waiting for you for so long and have not received a telegram from my superiors. Please forgive me, I still said the same thing, I cannot hand over the 308th Division to your 24th Army. If you have nothing to do, I will take my troops to cross the river first."
"Okay." Vasiliev knew that if he did not get the support of Rokosovsky, even if General Ning took action in person, he might not be able to leave the 308th Division. Instead of being stalemate, it would be better to do a favor. He nodded and said, "Since you have completed the handover of defense, there is nothing here. You can cross the river north immediately and rush to Little Ivanovka."
After the three left the command center and walked a distance along the trench, Sokov stopped. Bere and Gurdiev thought that apart from something, they also stopped quickly. Sokov looked at the two and said gratefully: "Two colonels, fortunately you came here in time to rescue me, otherwise I don't know when the stalemate will be held today."
Although Gurdiev is supporting Sokov in the command center, he still asked with some confidence: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you think our superiors will really assign our division to the command of the 24th Army?"
"No." Sokov remembered that among the several infantry divisions that played a decisive role in the late stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, there was the 308th Division, indicating that the superiors would never assign this division to other troops to command. Therefore, he shook his head and said in a positive tone: "Now the city is short of troops. Even if we reach Little Ivanovka, we might be sent back to the city. How could we assign your division to other army groups?"
"We only have such a little force left. Even if we return to the city, it may not have any effect." Gurdiev heard that he might be sent back to the city, and he couldn't help but be filled with worries: "If our superiors don't replenish our troops, we will stay in the city for two or three days at the best, and we will have to retreat to the rear again to make up for it."
"Col. Gurdiev, don't be so pessimistic." Sokov said to him with a smile: "To return to the city, you must first cross the river to the left bank of the Volga River. There must be many new troops there, and maybe your troops will be replenished there."
"If this is true, that would be great." After hearing Sokov's enlightenment, Gurdiev's frown stretched out: "As long as there are enough soldiers, weapons and ammunition, we will definitely be able to block the enemy's attack."
When they arrived by the river, Svilin, who had just assembled the troops, immediately came up and asked Sokov nervously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, when can we cross the river?"
"Comrade Political Commissar, immediately order the troops to board the ship." Sokov knew that there was only a limit on the ship here and could only cross more than 200 people at a time, so he urged Sveling: "We must cross all the troops in the shortest time."
Svelin didn't know what was happening in the command center, so after hearing Sokov's orders, he summoned several officers to follow him to arrange the troops to board the ship. As soon as Svelin left, Bere approached Sokov and whispered: "Misha, are you worried that General Kazakh Ning would arrive here at any time?"
"Col. Bilei, you guessed right." Sokov nodded and replied, "Although I can argue with reason in front of General Vasiliev, if General Kassin really appears before me, what qualifications do I have to refuse to implement the order he gave? Therefore, we are now racing against time. If we do not want the 308th Division to become someone else's army, we must seize the time to cross the river."
Gurdiev, who was watching the soldiers boarding the ship, vaguely heard the conversation between Sokov and Bere. He turned his head and looked at Sokov and said, "Don't worry, Comrade Brigade Commander, even if General Ning comes to join the school, it's okay. You can't violate his orders, but my military rank is higher than you. Even if he violates his orders, he can't do anything to me. After all, he is not my direct superior."
Chapter completed!