red moscow

Chapter 2722

Seeing that Sokov remained silent, Vlasov's face darkened: "Why, you don't want to be my subordinate?"

Without waiting for Sokov to express his opinion, Iosifov stepped forward, put his arm around Sokov's shoulders, and said to Vlasov with a smile: "Comrade General, you misunderstood. It's not that Sokov doesn't want to be your subordinate, but he is too excited and doesn't know how to answer you. Don't you think so, Sokov?" He said the rest to Sokov and gently shook the other's shoulders, hoping that Sokov would understand what he meant.

After all, Sokov was a man who had seen a lot of things. How could he not understand that Iosifov was helping him? He quickly followed his meaning and said, "Yes, Comrade General, I was so excited to be your subordinate that I didn't know how to answer you."

Sokov knew very well that if he did not agree to become Vlasov's subordinate, today's matter would definitely not end well, so he could only say against his will: "I am willing to escort you to Moscow with my troops to report on your work."

"That's right, Comrade Sokov." Vlasov smiled again. "I believe that in a few years, you will feel that the choice you made today was the right one."

Sokov secretly complained in his heart: I never expected to meet you the second time I traveled through time, and I was forced to become your subordinate. This is really unlucky. However, in front of Vlasov, he still tried to force a smile on his face and flattered: "Yes, Comrade General, you are right."

"Comrade Colonel," Vlasov turned to the garrison commander and said, "I came from Kiev this time with only a driver and a guard. If Sokov and the troops want to go to Moscow with me, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to prepare a few trucks for me."

"No problem, no problem." The garrison commander knew that Vlasov was a favorite of Stalin, so there was no reason for him to refuse his request. He nodded and said, "It's no problem to prepare a few trucks for you. How many do you want?"

Sokov thought for a moment and then replied, "The original company had more than 92 people, and more than ten of them died in the battle. Not long ago, more than officers and soldiers of our army were rescued in the town. Now, including me, there are a total of people."

After learning the specific number of people, Vlasov did not immediately decide how many vehicles to take, but said to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, we will set out tomorrow morning. You must integrate the troops tonight, leaving behind the wounded and those who are not fit for combat, and the rest will follow me to Moscow. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade General."

"Okay, there's nothing for you to do here." Vlasov waved at Sokov: "You can go out."

But Sokov stood still and looked at Vlasov and said, "Comrade General, it may not be easy to integrate the troops."

"why?"

"Because I just joined the army yesterday, the people in the team have more experience than me. And among the officers and soldiers who were rescued, there is also a second lieutenant." Sokov told Vlasov about the current problems he was facing, and finally said: "I am worried that they will not listen to my command."

"Comrade Sokov," Vlasov came up to Sokov and said with a smile, "In the army, not only positions and qualifications are important, but personal ability is also important. You can command the troops to block the German attack and successfully destroy a German armored column. This is a great achievement. Although you have only been in the army for one day, I think those officers and soldiers should be very convinced of you. Even if you are a new recruit with no rank, I think they will obey the orders you give."

"Comrade Colonel," Vlasov turned to the garrison commander and said, "Can you send someone to help Sokov?"

"No problem, it's a small matter." The garrison commander said to the lieutenant colonel next to him: "Chief of Staff, you accompany Comrade Sokov."

The lieutenant colonel naturally would not refuse the garrison commander's order, and he quickly and loudly agreed.

The lieutenant colonel accompanied Sokov to the outside of the church, gathered the officers and soldiers, repeated Vlasov's words to everyone, and finally said: "Considering that there are wounded soldiers and some weak people in the army who are not suitable for participating in the battle, they will not be incorporated into the guard force, but will stay in the city. Comrade Sokov has the full authority to decide who will stay and who will follow General Vlasov to Moscow. I hope everyone will obey his orders."

After the reorganization of the troops began, with the endorsement of the lieutenant colonel, even if some officers and soldiers were dissatisfied with Sokov, they had no choice but to obey the other party's arrangements. They either stayed in the city or were incorporated into the guard unit and prepared to go to Moscow with Vlasov tomorrow.

The next morning, when Vlasov walked out of the church, the troops had already lined up in the square.

Sokov trotted to Vlasov, saluted, and reported loudly: "Comrade General, the 72 officers and soldiers of the guard company have assembled and are ready to set off. Please give your instructions!"

Vlasov came to the front of the troops, checked the officers and soldiers who had finished lining up, then turned to Sokov and asked, "Comrade Sokov, are you the only commander of the guard company?"

"Comrade General, besides me, the company commander, there is also a deputy company commander." Sokov pointed at Denis and introduced him to Vlasov: "This is the deputy company commander, Lieutenant Denis."

Vlasov looked at the five trucks parked not far away and asked curiously, "Comrade Sokov, why are you sticking branches all around the trucks?"

Last night, when Sokov arranged for people to put branches on the trucks, someone also raised this question, which surprised Sokov. Because when he crossed last time, the troops used branches to camouflage vehicles when marching in the summer, but this time no one knew that vehicles needed to be camouflaged with branches when marching during the day to avoid being discovered by enemy reconnaissance aircraft.

Seeing that Vlasov was also puzzled, he quickly explained to him: "It's camouflage, Comrade General. We are marching during the day. If we don't have camouflage, we will be easily discovered by enemy reconnaissance aircraft, which will attract more enemy aircraft attacks, and we will suffer heavy casualties."

After Sokov finished speaking, Vlasov stared at him with a half-smile and said, "Comrade Sokov, you said you have been in the army for a short time, but I see you know a lot of military knowledge."

Facing Vlasov's doubts, Sokov quickly perfunctorily said: "Comrade General, the reason why I know so much is that there is an old soldier among my neighbors. He once participated in the Spanish Civil War and fought against the Finnish White Army, and has accumulated a lot of combat experience. When I usually chat with him, he likes to tell me about this knowledge. Over time, I have more or less learned some common sense on the battlefield." Sokov's words dispelled Vlasov's doubts: "Oh, so among your neighbors, there are old soldiers who participated in the Spanish Civil War and the Battle of Finland. No wonder he knows so much? By the way, after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, did the old soldier pick up his weapon again and fight the enemy?"

"I'm sorry, Comrade General." Sokov was worried that Vlasov might want to go look for his fictitious neighbor one day, so he could only arrange the death of this non-existent neighbor in advance: "After the war broke out, our city was bombed by enemy planes, and the old soldier unfortunately died in the bombing."

Vlasov had seen that Sokov was very good at military affairs, and guessed that it must have been taught by the veteran. He could not help but think of recruiting the veteran. You know, the troops on the battlefield nowadays are basically recruits, not only lacking sufficient military training, but also without any combat experience. If they could get guidance from experienced veterans, it would be very helpful to improve the combat effectiveness of the troops.

At this moment, when Sokov heard that the old soldier had died in the German bombing, he couldn't help but sigh: "That's such a pity."

Vlasov raised his hand to check the time, then waved his hand sharply and announced: "Get ready to go."

After Sokov responded loudly, he arranged for the soldiers to board the vehicle in an orderly manner.

Vlasov got into his car and saw Sokov commanding the troops to board the car so skillfully. He thought to himself that even if the other party often heard his neighbors talk about battlefield events, what he had mastered was just some theoretical knowledge. But when he saw Sokov at this moment, he seemed like a commander who had been in the army for many years.

Seeing that Vlasov was slow to give the order to drive, the driver turned his head and looked over to confirm whether the general was already in the car.

Vlasov saw the driver's gaze and understood his intention. He nodded and ordered, "Drive!"

The distance from Nezhin to Moscow is more than 600 kilometers, and some of the areas along the way may have been occupied by the Germans. Sokov ordered his men to mount a machine gun on the top of the driving platform of each truck so that they could immediately open fire if they found the enemy.

Sokov and Andrei sat in the driver's seat of the first truck, and Dennis sat in the last truck to support the team.

Looking at the fleeing crowds on both sides of the road, Andre said sadly: "It has been almost two months since the outbreak of the war, and our army has been retreating non-stop. I don't know when we can stop retreating, strike hard at the enemy, and drive them out of our land."

"Andrei," Sokov could not speak clearly because of the driver beside him, so he could only say vaguely: "Don't worry, one day our army will stop retreating and launch a counterattack against the enemy. Not only will we drive them out of our land, but we will also go straight to their lair and defeat them completely."

"Sokov, when do you think we can start our counterattack?" Andrei said with a gloomy expression: "In fact, shortly after the war began, we launched a counterattack in the Dubno area. But unfortunately, we failed and lost our five most elite mechanized armies."

"The counterattack in Dubno failed for many reasons." Sokov said this, reorganized his words in his mind, and continued: "The failure of the participating troops to arrive at the battlefield on time was a major problem. But more importantly, our army lost air superiority and air cover. No matter how many tanks and armored vehicles we had, they would only be targets for German aircraft attacks."

After Andrei heard what Sokov said, he showed a surprised expression on his face: "Sokov, this is the first time I have heard of your statement. After the failure of the Dubno counterattack, I heard many people say that the Germans had more troops and better equipment than us, which led to the failure of our counterattack."

"What they said is only part of the story." Seeing that Andrei didn't seem to understand what he meant, Sokov emphasized again, "In today's war, air supremacy is very important. Without air cover, the steel torrent will only become a sitting duck in the face of enemy aircraft's bombardment, with no power to fight back. We can only watch helplessly as our armored forces are destroyed bit by bit by the enemy."

Andrei might need some time to digest Sokov's words. He quickly changed the subject: "Sovkov, I want to ask you, do you think our army can crush the German attack on Kiev?"

"Kiev's strategic location is very important." Sokov answered the question somewhat irrelevantly: "This is not only visible to our military command, but I believe the German military command also understands it. Therefore, this place will become the focus of the decisive battle between the two sides."

"Can our army defend Kyiv?" Andrei asked again.

"Our army will try every possible means to delay the German offensive and consume their manpower." Sokov couldn't tell Andrei that in another month, the Southwestern Front deployed in Kiev and surrounding areas would face the fate of being basically annihilated. He could only say euphemistically: "Unless the Germans pay a heavy price, they will never be able to take this great city from our army."

Andrei was not stupid. Seeing that Sokov always avoided the main point in answering his questions, he was not sure whether he did not know how to answer or had some reservations. He did not continue to dwell on the question and changed the subject in time: "Sokov, where do you think the Supreme Command will send General Vlasov after he returns to Moscow to report on his work?"

"The most important place now is Kiev." Sokov answered without hesitation: "According to my analysis, after General Vlasov's report, the Supreme Command may appoint him to a new position and send him back to Kiev."

"Return to Kiev?" After hearing what Sokov said, Andrei went over what he had just said in his mind again, and couldn't help but said with some worry: "Sokov, then tell me, will we come back with him?"

Sokov showed a bitter expression on his face: "Andrei, don't forget that our company is now his guard company. Do you think that if he wants to return to Kiev, our troops responsible for protecting his safety can continue to stay in Moscow?"

"So, in the near future, we may return to Kiev?"

"Be more confident and remove the phrase 'possibly'." Sokov looked at Andrei from the side and said, "As General Vlasov's guard unit, we must follow him wherever he goes. Therefore, as long as he is reassigned to Kiev, we must follow him to Kiev."

"Sokov, although we have known each other for a short time, I find that you have a very good eye. Since you said that we will return to Kiev soon, then it is only a matter of time before we go to Kiev."

(End of this chapter)