red moscow

Chapter 2715

Although Sokov had been in the basement many times, he had no lighting tools, so he only knew that bullets, grenades and guns were piled near the stairs, and he had no idea what was in the other corners. Since the captain had a flashlight and was going to go down to check, he followed him down.

"Sokov," the captain saw Sokov following him into the basement and turned around to ask, "How did you know there was an arsenal here?"

"I also heard it from a neighbor." Sokov continued to use the words he had said to Andrei to evade the captain: "He has participated in the construction of many such national defense fortifications. He said that in order to ensure the supply of ammunition, there are usually hidden ammunition depots not far from the permanent fortifications, which store supplies that can last for a period of time."

"Well, Sokov, you come here quite often, do you know what's inside?"

"Except for a few piles of supplies near the stairs, which I can confirm are bullets, grenades and guns, I didn't check the rest of the place because the light was too poor."

"Don't worry, I have a flashlight here, we can find out what it is right away."

After some searching, the captain found food and medicine in the corner.

Probably for the sake of preservation, the items stored here are all rusks and some canned fruits. The medicines are morphine, iodine, alcohol and some medical equipment.

After discovering the food, Sokov hurried to the stairs and looked up and shouted outside: "Hey, is anyone there?"

Hearing Sokov's shout, Andrei came over immediately, "Sokov, how can I help you?"

"We found food and medicine down there," Sokov said, "Hurry up and bring some people down to move them."

Upon learning that food and medicine were found in the basement, the soldiers outside cheered and ran after Andre.

Sokov led a few people to the captain's position, and the captain gave them orders: "Andrei, this box contains medicines, you take it out and give it to the medical staff first. Comrades, the boxes next to it are all filled with rusks, you all move them out."

While Andrei and others were carrying food and medicine, the captain continued to use a flashlight to check the supplies piled in the basement. Sokov followed closely beside him, trying to find out what weapons were available as soon as possible.

The captain shone a flashlight at a pile of things covered by canvas in the corner and said to Sokov beside him, "Sokov, go and lift the canvas quickly. I think there may be something good underneath."

Sokov walked quickly forward and opened the canvases one by one.

With the help of the flashlight, Sokov could see the weapons clearly and couldn't help showing an ecstatic expression on his face. They were actually four Maxim heavy machine guns, two 82mm mortars, and a 45mm anti-tank gun.

The captain came over and said in surprise: "I didn't expect there were so many good things. With these equipment, even if the German army of the same number attacks, I am sure I can stop them."

Sokov couldn't help but secretly shook his head when he heard what the captain said. You know, although the company was newly reorganized and the quality of the personnel was uneven, it was too cowardly for a force of more than 70 people with so much equipment to only be able to block the attack of the same number of German troops. If I were to command it, not to mention the same number of people, even if the enemy had twice as many, I would still be sure to destroy them.

"Since there are heavy machine guns, there must be light machine guns nearby." The captain shone his flashlight to other locations: "For our company, light machine guns may be more suitable."

Sokov agreed with the captain's statement. Half of the soldiers in this company were new recruits who could not even use rifles, let alone machine guns. Moreover, the operation of the Maxim heavy machine gun was more complicated than that of the rotary light machine gun. If a new recruit was asked to act as a machine gunner, he might not hit a target even after the ammunition belt ran out. Sokov had killed dozens of enemies with the Maxim heavy machine gun, but since he became the brigade commander, he had no chance to use this weapon again. Sokov secretly planned to ask the captain to arrange for someone to carry a Maxim heavy machine gun out, so that he could act as a shooter and suppress the enemy with firepower in the battle.

There were indeed quite a few rotary machine guns placed nearby. Sokov counted them and found that there were twelve of them.

The captain said to Sokov, "Sokov, go out and see if the people who moved the things have returned. If they have, have them drag these light and heavy machine guns and anti-tank guns out and place them on the battlefield."

"Wait a minute, Captain." Sokov stopped the captain immediately after hearing what he said. "The anti-tank guns can be pulled out. After all, the Germans may send out tanks or armored vehicles to attack the bunkers we occupy. As for light and heavy machine guns, we only need two rotary machine guns and one Maxim heavy machine gun."

"Why?" the captain frowned and asked, "So many weapons are not used against the enemy, but just thrown here for display?"

"Captain," Sokov looked at the captain and said, "Most of the soldiers in the company are recruits like me who can't even shoot. Machine guns are much more difficult to operate than rifles. Even if they are equipped with these weapons, I'm afraid they will not be able to play any role on the battlefield. So I suggest taking out two rotary machine guns and one Maxim heavy machine gun, which will be enough."

"Sokov, you said you've never been a soldier and you haven't received any military training, but your performance today doesn't look like it." The captain said, "I heard from Andrei that when you encountered those two German soldiers, you killed them all with two shots. I'm afraid I can't match such marksmanship."

Sokov's face turned red. Fortunately, the light in the basement was too dim, and the captain could not see the change in his expression. He continued to deceive with a thick face: "My shooting skills are all practiced at the shooting range. At that time, the two German soldiers were standing next to the motorcycle dozens of meters away and smoking. They were simply the best targets. It would be strange if I didn't hit them."

After listening to Sokov's explanation, the captain did not speak, but continued to check the weapons in the basement.

After checking the weapons in the basement, Andre and his companions returned to the basement and asked the captain: "Comrade Captain, what else do we need to move out?"

"Have you handed over the medicines to the medic?" "Yes." Andrei nodded and said, "Captain, you didn't see the medic's expression when he saw the medicines. He almost cried. He said that if we could have found this medicine yesterday, maybe we could have saved two wounded soldiers." As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously glanced at Sokov who was standing next to him.

Because the light was too dim, Sokov did not notice Andrei's eyes on him, but took the initiative to introduce to the captain: "Captain, the light and heavy machine guns can wait a while before pulling out, and we need to pull out the anti-tank guns first. You know, the Germans are leading the way with armored units. If we don't have anti-tank guns, we can't stop their attack at all."

"Sokov, you are right." After Sokov finished speaking, the captain ordered Andrei: "Take the anti-tank gun out first. Maybe it will be useful soon."

Andrei had also been on the battlefield, so he naturally understood what the consequences would be if infantry faced enemy tanks without anti-tank weapons. He quickly agreed and called a few soldiers to prioritize moving the anti-tank guns out of the basement.

After several hours of hard work, the weapons and ammunition that were moved out of the basement had been used to equip the entire company. The veterans who got the bullets and the new recruits who got the weapons were all smiling.

Sokov had the heavy machine guns moved into the westernmost bunker, preparing to block the entire road with firepower from there. The captain gave the anti-tank guns to Andrei and two other veterans, who were responsible for dealing with the German armored forces.

After distributing equipment and eating and drinking, someone suggested to the captain: "Captain, you see, the bunkers have been unoccupied for a long time, and there are weeds everywhere. From a distance, it looks like it is abandoned. How about we clean up the surroundings, at least clear the weeds nearby?"

Sokov was standing nearby when the man spoke. He was frightened when he heard what he said. The bunkers were overgrown with weeds. The German troops passing by on the road would mistakenly think that there was no one stationed here. After all, in the early days of the war, there were a large number of such half-built and unmanned defense fortifications in the areas occupied by the Germans. But if the weeds nearby were cleared, wouldn't it be equivalent to telling the Germans that there were Soviet troops stationed here, and you should be vigilant when passing by.

"Comrade Captain, I think we should leave the bunkers as they are," Sokov said quickly. "That way, when enemies appear nearby, they won't be suspicious of this place. When they pass by the road nearby with confidence, we can catch them off guard and cause them heavy casualties."

The captain listened to what the two said, looked at Sokov, then looked at the old subordinate, and after thinking for a long time, he asked Andrei beside him: "Andrei, what do you think?"

Faced with the captain's question, Andrei pondered for a moment, then answered decisively: "I think Sokov is right. We are stationed here to stop the Germans rushing towards Kiev. If we expose our target too early, the German tanks will bombard us with enough fire. If we don't clear the weeds in the bunkers, the Germans passing by here will think that this is another abandoned national defense fortification, and will enter our firepower range without any precautions."

"Andre, what you said makes sense." The captain nodded and said, "Your idea is the same as mine. In order to avoid exposing our target, we will not clear the weeds around the bunkers."

Sokov was quite happy to see that the captain had adopted his suggestion. He was just worried that the captain would suddenly organize everyone to clean up the weeds around the bunkers and then reinforce the fortifications. By then, not to mention the German scouts that appeared nearby, even the reconnaissance planes flying in the sky would be able to easily find that there were Soviet troops stationed in the bunkers on the roadside. They would then find a way to send troops to remove this nail and clear the road to Kiev.

"Sokov," the captain trusted Sokov even though he had only been in the company for less than a day. "Tell me, what should we do next?"

"Of course it's training." Sokov said, "The company is mostly made up of new recruits. Since everyone has weapons and enough ammunition, we can let the veterans teach them how to use their weapons. This way, when they see the enemy appear, they can keep their composure and fight the enemy instead of running away in panic."

The captain raised his hand to check the time, then said, "It's getting late today, everyone should rest first. It won't be too late to continue training tomorrow."

After everyone dispersed, they each returned to the bunker assigned to them.

When Sokov returned to the bunker, the assistant shooter assigned to him by the captain asked curiously, "Comrade Sokov, when do you think the Germans will appear?"

"It's hard to say." Although Sokov knew when the Battle of Kiev began, he had no idea when the battles in some small places took place. So he could only shrug his shoulders and spread his hands in response to the other party's question: "I'm not a senior commander, how can I know the Germans' movements? So all we can do now is wait here, wait for our superiors to give us orders, and wait for the Germans to show up."

The assistant shooter was called Alexei, a new recruit who had just joined the army yesterday. He looked at the gradually darkening sky outside the firing hole and said gloomily, "I hope the Germans will never appear on that road outside, otherwise we can't stop them at all."

"Alexei, why do you say that?" Sokov looked at him and asked in surprise: "Have you ever seen a German?"

"That's right." Alexei nodded and said in a positive tone: "I'm from Zhitomir. I fled with my family before the Germans broke into the city. On the way, we met the Germans. I was smart and hid in a ditch on the side of the road. I was not discovered by the Germans. But the refugees who fled with me were driven to a meadow by the Germans and then shot at with machine guns."

Sokov raised his hand and patted the gun of the Maxim heavy machine gun, and said to Alexei: "Alexei, we have this. If the Germans don't come, it's fine. Once they come, I will definitely make them pay a heavy price."

But Alexei was obviously not as optimistic as Sokov. After hearing this, he just said calmly: "I hope so."

There were three other soldiers in the bunker, all of whom were ammunition handlers assigned to Sokov by the captain. However, they were all leaning against the wall with their eyes closed at the moment, and seemed to have no interest in the conversation between Sokov and Alexei.

Sokov chatted with Alexei for a few more words and found that this was a young man full of pessimism about the future. He knew that no matter what he said, the other party might not listen. In this case, why waste his breath? He found a place where no one was, and lay down to sleep in a more comfortable position.

After sleeping for an unknown period of time, Sokov was suddenly awakened by a strange sound. He sat up straight and listened carefully, his face suddenly changed. According to his experience, it should be an armored unit advancing towards the location of the bunkers.

After listening for a while, he noticed that the sound was getting louder and louder. He thought he should remind the captain and let the soldiers prepare for battle to avoid being caught off guard by the Germans. So he stood up and walked out of the bunker and headed towards the captain's temporary command post.

(End of this chapter)