Chapter 175 Commander Injured When Sokov walked into the headquarters, he saw that in addition to the commander himself, there were also Chief of Staff Malinin, Artillery Commander Kazakov, and several staff members. He went straight to Rokossovsky, raised his hand to his forehead, and reported in a loud voice: "Comrade Commander, Major Sokov, Commander of the Istria Battalion, is here to report to you, please instruct!" Hearing Sokov's voice, Rokossovsky, who was working at his desk, raised his head and said with a smile, "Misha, you are here!" They shook hands, pointed to the empty space next to them, and said, "Sit there for a while, I'll read this document first." "Major Sokov, you are here!" Malinin, who was standing by the wall looking at the map, also walked over at this time, smiled and stretched out his hand to Sokov, and said, "In the process of liberating the town of Markalaki this time, During the battle, your battalion played a vital role, if not for your participation in the battle, perhaps the town is still in the hands of the enemy." "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are too proud. I am not the only one who liberated the town of Maklaki." Regarding Malinin's praise, Sokov said modestly: "Without the support of Comrade Commander, there would be no Chernyshov. The general voluntarily gave up his command, and without the support of the army artillery, it may be very difficult for us to capture the town of Makraki." Hearing what Sokov said, Malinin couldn't help laughing, turned his head and said to Kazakov who had just walked over, "Comrade General, you see, our young major is quite modest, and he has made such great achievements. But not at all arrogant.” After hearing this, Kazakov nodded with a smile, and echoed: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right. He is quite similar to his father in this regard." Sokov didn't have the slightest memory of inheriting this body, and he didn't know anything about the "father" mentioned by the chiefs of the group army. So when Kazakov said that, he could only smile awkwardly at him. Fortunately, Rokossovsky came out in time to make a rescue. He put down the documents in his hand, stood up and said to Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am going back to Moscow with Major Sokov. All the work of the Army Group, I I will leave it to you and Deputy Commander Zakharov to take charge." "Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Ma Linin said with a smile: "I will handle the usual work properly, so you can go back to Moscow with peace of mind."
"Okay, then I'll set off with Misha..." A "boom" sound outside the window interrupted Rokossovsky's words, he turned his head and looked out the window instinctively, and said strangely: " Hell, the German strongholds near Susinich have been wiped out by us, where did this shell come from?" Just as Rokossovsky was speaking, Sokov, with sharp ears, heard the scream of shells coming from the air, flying towards the direction of the window, and hurriedly shouted: "Be careful..." He shouted While preparing to rush over, he pulled Rokossovsky away from the window. Before Sokov rushed in front of Rokossovsky, a shell fell outside the window and exploded. The blast wave was like an invisible hand, knocking him to the ground. When he got up from the ground, he saw Rokossovsky lying motionless on the ground near the window. Sokov hurriedly crawled over on hands and feet, knelt down on one knee and helped Rokossovsky sit up, and shouted anxiously: "Commander, Comrade Commander..." Although he was shouting at the top of his voice, But he couldn't hear his shout at all. The explosion just now had already deafened his ears. Malinin, Kazakov and several staff officers were also affected by the explosion and were all knocked to the ground. When they found that their commander was lying in a pool of blood, they quickly surrounded him. Everyone approached Rokossovsky and shouted loudly, trying to wake him up from his coma. Amidst the shouts of the crowd, Rokossovsky finally opened his eyes. He managed to force a smile on his face, and said with difficulty: "I... I seem to... seem to have been shot..." After finishing speaking , closed his eyes, and passed out again. The staff officer sent by Ma Linin to find the military doctor came in with the military doctor and two stretcher soldiers at this time. When Ma Lining saw the military doctor, it was as if he had grasped a life-saving straw, and quickly told him: "Comrade military doctor, come quickly and help the commander check it out." Everyone hurriedly took off Rokossovsky's military coat and put him face down on the stretcher. The military doctor lifted his blood-stained jumper and carefully examined the wound on his back. Malinin asked anxiously from the side: "How is it, comrade military doctor, is the situation serious?" The military doctor nodded, and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Commander suffered a few pieces of shrapnel in the back and needs immediate surgery. However, Susinich's condition is too poor, so I suggest sending him back to Moscow for treatment." Hearing what the military doctor said, Ma Linin got up, walked to the desk, picked up the phone, and prepared to report the news of Rokossovsky's injury to Zhukov. Unexpectedly, he put the receiver close to his ear, but he didn't hear any sound coming from it. After careful inspection, it turned out that the telephone line was blown off. Malinin threw the microphone on the table, rushed out of the room quickly, went to the communication room next door, and shouted at Maximenko: "Comrade Director of the Communications Corps, quickly connect me to the Front Army Command. If there is an important situation, it needs to be reported to General Zhukov immediately." Maximenko saw military doctors and stretcher soldiers entering the headquarters next door just now, so he guessed who was injured in the shelling. He wanted to ask who was injured, but when he saw Ma Lining's cannibalistic expression, he quickly swallowed the question and ordered the messenger to quickly connect to the front army headquarters. Zhukov, who was looking at the map, heard the phone ringing in front of him, reached out and picked up the receiver, put it to his ear, and said slowly: "I am Zhukov!" "Hello, Comrade General." Hearing Zhukov's voice from the receiver, Ma Lining hastily identified himself: "I am Ma Lining, chief of staff of the 16th Army." In Zhukov's mind, Ma Linin was a very calm person, but judging from his voice at this moment, he seemed a little panicked. Zhukov frowned, and asked with some displeasure: "Comrade Malinin, what's the matter?" "The German army just fired a cold shot at the location of our headquarters." Ma Linin, who was so anxious, said very fast: "Comrade Commander was injured in the shelling." "What, Rokossovsky was injured?" Zhukov suddenly stood up from his seat when he heard this, and asked anxiously, "Is the injury serious?" "Yes, Comrade General, the injury is not serious." If Rokossovsky's injury was not serious, Malinin would not have made this call. Hearing Zhukov's question, he quickly answered affirmatively: "From his injuries, if he is not treated in time, his life may be in danger."
"I see, hurry up and clear an area where the plane can land." Zhukov said to Malinin on the phone: "I will immediately send a plane to pick up Rokossovsky and send him to Moscow for treatment. " (end of this chapter)