Fortunately, Sokov was just anxious and woke up after only a moment.
He looked at Cidolin standing in front of the bed and said in a hoarse voice: "Immediately connect me Samoilov, and I want to ask clearly how Colonel Ivanov sacrificed."
"The phone has not hung up yet..."
Before Sidolin finished speaking, Sokov had already turned over and got out of the camp bed, stumbled to the table, grabbed the microphone above, and said loudly: "Hey, is Samoilov? I am Sokov, tell me how the deputy commander died?"
"Comrade Commander," Samoilov, on the other end of the phone, said with a sob: "This morning, I took the guard platoon and followed the deputy commander to survey the terrain. We had two cars in total, two trucks in front and behind, and there were soldiers from the guard platoon and the jeep that the deputy commander was riding in, between the two cars..."
"I know very well what kind of car you are taking." Sokov, anxious, interrupted his words, "Tell me directly, what happened?"
"We surveyed the terrain in the west of the city and headed towards the north of the city along the road. Unexpectedly, halfway through the road, the car in front of us hit a mine and was blown up on the spot. Nine of the twenty-five soldiers in the car died on the spot, and the remaining soldiers were also injured to varying degrees.
I was sitting in the jeep with the deputy division commander at that time. When I saw the car in front of me touching a mine, I quickly ordered the jeep driver to stop. I asked the deputy division commander to stay in the car and wait, so I got out of the car and arranged the soldiers in the back of the car to set up a warning circle and go to treat the soldiers in the car in front of me.
Just as I was bringing people to treat the wounded, the deputy division commander walked out of the car. Maybe he wanted to check the injured soldiers, so he walked straight to the place where the car was overturned. When I was still two or three meters away, he was suddenly hit by two bullets flying from the snow next to him, one hit his head and the other hit his abdomen..."
Hearing this, Sokov knew that he had been hit on the head by a bullet and had basically no hope of survival, but he interrupted Samoilov again and asked with a lucky heart: "Comrade Lieutenant, have you ever asked a military doctor to treat the deputy division commander?"
"No." Samoilov replied with difficulty: "After the deputy division commander was shot and fell down, I rushed to him immediately. After inspection, no matter how breathing was gone, my heartbeat stopped. I immediately organized more than a dozen soldiers and rushed towards the place where the enemy sniper might be hiding. After fighting, a German sniper was killed, but another sniper escaped with injuries."
"Comrade Lieutenant, I order you to find a coffin to preserve the body of the deputy commander. After I handle the matters outside, I will rush to Lugansk as soon as possible."
Officially confirming that Ivanov had died, Sokov hung up the phone, fell in his position weakly, and was recalling the unforgettable years he had spent with Ivanov.
Seeing Sokov sitting at the table in a daze, Cidolin walked to him and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Ivanov's sacrifice is an amazing event. Do you think you need to report to the commander immediately?"
"Chief of Staff, you're right." Sidolin's voice woke Sokov from his contemplation. After looking at Sidolin for a while, he nodded slightly and said, "We need to report this matter to the commander immediately."
A division-level commander was killed by a German sniper while surveying the terrain. This is not a trivial matter. Not only did he report to the Army Command, but he also had to the Front Command. But the first thing Sokov connected was the Army Command. When he heard Sokov's voice, Cuikov, who answered the phone, asked with a smile: "Col. Sokov, is your troops going to set off and call me to say goodbye?"
"Comrade Commander," Sokov said bitterly, "I call you not to say goodbye, but to report bad news to you."
"Bad news, what bad news?" Cuikov joked disapprovingly when he heard Sokov say this: "Did Paulus escape from the place where he was imprisoned?" After that, he burst into laughter.
Sokov didn't think there was anything ridiculous about Cuikov's joke. He continued to say in a deep mood: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Ivanov, my deputy division commander, was ambushed by an enemy sniper while surveying the terrain in Luhansk this morning, and unfortunately died."
Cuikov's smile froze on his face. After a long time, he said seriously: "Col. Sokov, don't joke about such things."
"Comrade Commander, how could I make a joke about such a thing?" Sokov saw that Cui Kev didn't believe him, so he was a little anxious: "It must be after verified news that I will report to you."
Although Sokov was convinced, Cuikov was still full of doubts: "Where did you get this news?"
"It was Lieutenant Samoilov, who was responsible for defending Colonel Ivanov, who reported to me by phone: Colonel Ivanov was shot twice, one in the head and the other in the abdomen, and he died on the spot." Sokov was afraid that Cuikov would not believe it, so he added: "He used to be from the Ministry of Internal Affairs before and would never dare to lie on such matters."
It was confirmed that Sokov's news was true, and Cui Kov was silent. He did not expect that an excellent division commander would sacrifice soon after he won the victory, and he felt particularly heavy. "Where is his body?"
"It's still in Lugansk." Sokov replied: "I have asked Samoilov to find a coffin and to restrain Colonel Ivanov's body."
"Col. Sokov, when are you going to Luhansk?"
"The troops are still preparing for the departing, and there is no suitable means of transportation." Sokov said quickly: "I guess I will have to wait two or three days at the earliest..."
"We can't wait that long." Before Sokov finished speaking, Cuikov said firmly: "We will set off tonight and go in armored vehicles. We should be able to arrive in Lugansk by noon tomorrow."
"No problem, Comrade Commander, I will always wait for your instructions." After Sokov made his statement to Cuikov, he added: "I also need to report this matter to the Front Command."
Chapter completed!