Red Moscow

"There is one more thing, Comrade Stalin." Although Stalin had made it clear that the power to appoint personnel for the Western Front was given to Zhukov, Zhukov did not dare to make the decision on his own regarding Romanov's work arrangements. He had to get Stalin's approval: "It is about the appointment of another comrade. Rokossovsky believes that this person can be appointed as the deputy commander of the 16th Army."

"Who is it?"

"Major General Romanov, the former commander of the 172nd Infantry Division, which was affiliated with the Western Front and had fought brutal battles with the enemy in the Mogilev area."

Although Stalin was very busy, he could remember the names of the commanders of each division. When Zhukov mentioned Romanov's name, he couldn't help but frowned: "Didn't he disappear after the battle to defend Mogilev? How come he popped up from nowhere?"

"Comrade Stalin, he is not missing. He was captured by the Germans because he was injured during the breakout. He is now in a prisoner-of-war camp near Mogilev." Zhukov glanced at Romanov, who was standing upright next to him, and continued, "This time, Major Sokov and the special team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs rescued Yakov while they were welcoming him."

"Has he been examined?" Zhukov immediately understood what Stalin meant when he asked this question. He was worried that the prisoners might defect, so he explained, "I think General Romanov is completely trustworthy. If you are worried, I will arrange for someone to examine him immediately."

"Comrade Zhukov, since you trust him, then don't examine him." Stalin asked calmly: "Didn't you say that he was captured because of injuries? How is his health? Is he qualified for the job of deputy commander?"

"Comrade Stalin, I have already understood it." Zhukov replied: "If he is asked to carry weapons and charge into battle with the soldiers, it will definitely not work. But if he stays in the headquarters and is responsible for the command of the troops, I think there will be no big problem."

Stalin thought about Zhukov's proposal for a moment and felt that although Romanov had been a prisoner of the Germans, since Zhukov had guaranteed that he was fine, then there should be no problem in letting him serve as Rokossovsky's deputy. Having made up his mind, he said to the microphone: "Comrade Zhukov, since you think General Romanov is suitable for the position of deputy commander, let him take office as soon as possible."

"Report!" Sokov's voice came from the door. He asked Zhukov in the room, "Can I come in?"

Zhukov nodded slightly: "Of course, of course."

Sokov walked into the office, looked at Zhukov and asked, "Comrade General, my mission has been completed. Can I return to the Fifth Army Headquarters?"

"Misha!" Zhukov said with a smile, "I'm afraid you can't go back."

Sokov was startled, and then asked, "Why?"

"Rokossovsky intends to send you to his army and make you the head of the regiment." Zhukov said, "I have agreed."

"Did General Potapov agree?" As soon as Sokov said this, he immediately realized that his question was a bit like questioning Zhukov, and hurriedly explained: "Comrade General, I used to be the commander of the guard company of the 37th Army Headquarters. Not long ago, it was General Potapov who persuaded General Vlasov to transfer me to his unit. Now, I haven't been under his command for long, and I have to be transferred to another unit again. I am worried about what General Potapov will think."

"Misha, don't worry about that." Zhukov said, "I will call General Potapov to explain. By the way, General Romanov, whom you rescued, will also go to the 16th Army as deputy commander, just like you."

When Sokov heard that Romanov would serve as deputy commander of the 16th Army, he was surprised but also relieved. In this way, Romanov would not be like in real history, appearing only briefly in the early stages of the war and then disappearing in the long river of history.

"Georgy Konstantinovich!" Rokossovsky began. "It's getting late. Can we leave?"

"Go ahead." Zhukov nodded and said, "Be careful on the road!"

When he got outside, Sokov saw two jeeps parked on the roadside with several officers and soldiers standing beside the cars. They should be Rokossovsky's guards.

Seeing Rokossovsky coming out of the headquarters, a second lieutenant officer hurriedly opened the back door of the car and respectfully invited Rokossovsky to get in.

Rokossovsky walked to the car, but did not get in immediately. Instead, he politely said to Romanov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, please get in first!"

After thanking Rokossovsky, Romanov got into the car first.

The second lieutenant standing next to him had a puzzled expression on his face. He didn't understand where this deputy commander came from.

Before getting into the car, Rokossovsky turned to Sokov who was standing next to him and said, "Misha, get in the car behind." After that, he got into the car and let the lieutenant help him close the door.

Sokov got on the jeep behind him. A soldier in the car asked curiously, "Comrade Major, have you just been transferred to our army?"

"Yes, I was just transferred here."

The soldier asked curiously, "Have you ever fought in a war?"

Sokov smiled and replied, "Yes. We fought against the Germans at Mtsensk and Borodino."

"You have fought in so many places." The soldier was a little surprised and said, "No wonder you became a major at such a young age."

The jeep soon entered the headquarters of the 16th Army.

This is a village, and the people in the village have been evacuated long ago. The people active in the village now are all officers and soldiers of the 16th Army.

The car stopped in front of a wooden house, and Rokossovsky took the two men into the headquarters.

The room was bustling with activity. Rokossovsky called several key members of the headquarters and introduced them to them: "Comrades, let me introduce you to General Romanov, the former commander of the 172nd Infantry Division. From now on, he is the new deputy commander of our army."

After introducing Romanov's identity to everyone, he turned to introduce the main members of the headquarters to Romanov, starting with Lobachev: "This is Comrade Alexei Andreyevich Lobachev, the Military Commissar of the Army Group!"

"Hello, Comrade Military Commissioner!"

"Hello, Comrade Deputy Commander!"

"Colonel Malinin, Chief of Staff, Colonel Maximenko, Chief of Signal Corps, Colonel Orel, Chief of Armored Corps." Rokossovsky introduced the other members and added, "Major General Kazakov, Chief of Artillery, has gone to inspect the artillery unit. I'll introduce you to him when he comes back."

"Comrade Commander!" Malinin saw Sokov standing beside him and couldn't help asking Rokossovsky curiously, "Who is this major?"

"Let me introduce you. This is Major Sokov." Rokossovsky said to everyone with a smile, "An hour ago, he was the adjutant of General Potapov, the commander of the 5th Army, but from now on, he is a member of our army. I plan to appoint him as the head of the regiment."

When Sokov heard Rokossovsky mention his name to everyone, he hurriedly took two steps forward and raised his hand to salute and greet these commanders who were familiar to him in his previous life.

"Comrade Commander," Malinin looked at Rokossovsky and asked, "Which regiment do you plan to assign him to as the commander?" He asked this because there was no vacant position as the commander of any regiment in the army's subordinate units.

Rokossovsky smiled and said, "I plan to send him to the independent regiment directly under the headquarters to serve as the head of the regiment."

Malinin asked in confusion: "But, Comrade Commander, our army group does not have an independent regiment?"

"Now I have it." Rokossovsky said, and turned to Sokov and said, "Major Sokov, from now on, you are the commander of the independent regiment directly under the army group."

Sokov learned from the conversation between Malinin and Rokossovsky that this regiment did not exist at all, so he asked Rokossovsky with a wry smile: "Comrade Commander, how many troops does this regiment have?"

"So far, it's just you."

When Sokov heard this, his heart sank immediately. He was told to be the regiment commander, but in the end he was a commander without any troops. There was no one else in the whole regiment except him.

Seeing Sokov's bitter face, Rokossovsky laughed out loud: "Major Sokov, although you are alone now, I will soon give you some reinforcements, but the number will not be too many, probably about a company. As for the remaining troops, you have to find a way to deal with it yourself."

"Comrade Commander, can you send me to that incomplete regiment as the head of the regiment?" For Sokov, it is much easier to form a regiment on his own than to directly lead an incomplete regiment. Just like in the stock market, it is much easier to go public by yourself than to go public through a backdoor listing.

"I'm sorry, Major Sokov," Rokossovsky said, shaking his head. "I don't have any incomplete regiments at the moment, so you have to form one yourself."

"Major Sokov," Malinin chimed in, "Two months ago, when the commander was appointed commander of the combat group, the front headquarters only gave him a staff team and asked him to go to the Yartsevo area to gather the defeated troops and organize a combat group to stop the enemy in the area. It seemed like an impossible task, but the commander still relied on the staff team to quickly gather the scattered troops in the area and built a new line of defense in the shortest possible time."

After Malinin's reminder, Sokov immediately remembered that Rokossovsky's memoirs did mention this matter. With a staff of more than a dozen people, he organized a force of more than 10,000 people in just a few days, and built a new defense line in the Yartsevo area in accordance with the order of the Supreme Command. Now Rokossovsky promised to give him a company of troops, so that he could form a new regiment based on this, which was probably a test for himself.

Thinking about the hundreds of thousands of troops trapped in the German siege in the Vyazma area, a part of them will soon be able to break out of the siege. If these troops are taken in, then let alone forming a regiment, even forming a division will probably not be a big problem.

After figuring out the problem, Sokov nodded vigorously and answered loudly: "Comrade Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff, I accept your appointment. I will organize the independent regiment in the shortest possible time and make it combat-ready as soon as possible."

Hearing Sokov's words, Rokossovsky smiled with satisfaction: "Major Sokov, I believe you have such ability. I hope you can achieve even more brilliant results in the next battle."

Malinin also said: "Comrade Major, I will take you to see the guard battalion commander and ask him to assign a guard company to your command."

When Malinin took Sokov away from the headquarters, Orel asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, where did this major come from? He doesn't look very old, how did he become a major?"

Orel's doubts were reasonable. In the Soviet army at the beginning of the war, only those who were at least 30 years old and had been in the army for about ten years could become majors. And Sokov looked to be in his early twenties. He could become a major perhaps because he had a good background.

"Colonel Orel," Rokossovsky explained to Orel when he saw that Orel had questioned Sokov's military rank: "The reason why Comrade Sokov was able to be promoted to the rank of major at such a young age is entirely due to his ability and military exploits." As he spoke, he recounted Sokov's deeds in detail to everyone in the room.

After listening to Rokossovsky's story, everyone suddenly realized that Sokov was able to obtain the rank of major not because of his background, but because of his ability and performance on the battlefield. It was reasonable for him to be awarded the rank of major.

After Rokossovsky finished speaking, Romanov suggested, "Comrade Commander, I think with Major Sokov's ability, it shouldn't be a big problem to form a force of several hundred or even thousands of people in a short period of time. But he doesn't have any commanders, so it may not be easy to make the troops fight."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry." Rokossovsky said, "Once his regiment has a sufficient number of soldiers, I will send a group of commanders to his regiment to assist him in his work. You can relax."