red moscow

Chapter 2778

The work of inspecting the fortifications had not yet been completed when the rumbling sound of artillery was heard in the distance, and black smoke rose up.

Judging from the direction of the artillery fire and gun smoke, the two reconnaissance teams sent out should have exchanged fire with the enemy.

Katukov realized this problem and didn't want to continue his inspection. There happened to be a battalion command post nearby, so he went in and called the brigade headquarters to ask the staff on duty: "This is Katukov. Tell me, is there any news from the Orel direction?"

"Report to the brigade commander," the duty officer replied respectfully, "I just received a call from Captain Burda, saying that a large German force has entered the ambush area, and the battle has begun."

"Yes, I understand," Katukov said briefly. "I'll go back right away."

After hanging up the phone, Katukov said to the chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, the work of patrolling the position is temporarily put aside. The reconnaissance troops sent to the direction of Orel have already started fighting with the enemy. We need to rush back immediately to take command."

Seeing that Katukov and the chief of staff were going back to command the battle, Sokov stepped forward and asked, "Comrade Colonel, what about me? Am I going back with you?"

"Let's go, Comrade Captain." Katukov said cheerfully, "You are the liaison officer sent by the army commander. Naturally, you should keep abreast of the progress of the battle and report to your superiors in a timely manner."

After returning to the brigade headquarters, the chief of staff rushed directly to the duty officer and asked impatiently: "What is the current situation? Is there any latest battle report?"

"The battle is still going on," the duty officer reported. "Our men are performing heroically in the battle."

Before the chief of staff could speak, Katukov had already walked up to the staff officer and said sternly, "I want to know the actual situation on the battlefield, not your all-purpose answer. Contact Captain Burda immediately. I want to know the latest combat situation."

The staff officer did not dare to delay and immediately called Captain Burda in the direction of Orel via radio.

Soon, the two sides established communication.

"Captain Burda," Katukov said, holding the headset in one hand and the intercom in the other, "Report on the situation there?"

"Report to the brigade commander!" Captain Burda could hear the deafening explosion in his headset, and he had to shout at the top of his voice: "The enemy has about a regiment of troops and a large number of tanks, advancing along the road and the plains on both sides. When they entered our ambush area, I decisively ordered the tanks to fire and destroyed several of them, and ordered the soldiers to use machine guns to fire at the infantry columns. Now the enemy has fallen into chaos, and I am preparing to order the troops to launch an attack."

"Well done." After the other party finished speaking, Katukov immediately issued a combat order: "Order the troops to attack, Captain Burda! Remember, after the enemy retreats, you must immediately withdraw from the battlefield. After all, your troops are limited and you don't have strong fortifications. Once the enemy regroups and launches an attack on you, you will not be able to stop them at all."

"Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander." Captain Burda replied loudly: "I will lead the troops to attack immediately!"

After the call ended, Katukov looked at Sokov and asked, "Captain Sokov, you have a general understanding of the situation of the battle. Do you think you should report to the commander now or wait a while?"

"Comrade Colonel, I think it is inappropriate to report to the commander in a hurry before the battle is over. Opening champagne at halftime may lead to tragedy?" "Opening champagne at halftime?!" The chief of staff was stunned when he heard Sokov say that, and then asked back: "Captain Sokov, what do you mean by this?"

Sokov had an embarrassed look on his face. You should know that the saying of opening champagne at halftime refers to the 2005 Champions League final, when the Italian team AC Milan played against the English team Liverpool. AC Milan, which had many stars such as Kaka, had a huge advantage of - in the first half, but in the second half, Liverpool scored three goals in a row to tie the score. In the end, Liverpool won the game through a penalty shootout. In a post-match interview, Milan right-back Cafu revealed that during the halftime break, the team thought they had won the game, so they opened the champagne prepared for celebration in advance, causing the team to relax their vigilance and miss the championship. This is where the saying of opening champagne at halftime comes from.

He organized the words in his mind and then explained to the chief of staff: "Opening champagne at halftime is mainly used to describe those people in sports events who are very confident about the result or ending of the game, but the actual result is not satisfactory."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Katukov nodded and said approvingly, "Captain Sokov, you are right. Although our reconnaissance troops caught the Germans off guard by ambush, no one can guess what the final outcome will be before the battle is over. If we celebrate the victory too early, it may backfire. Therefore, it is not too late for us to report to the commander after the battle is over."

Half an hour later, Captain Burda called and excitedly reported to Katukov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have the honor to report to you that the encounter between our troops and the German invaders ended with a great victory for our army. The German invaders, who were hit hard, are retreating frantically towards Orel."

"Report your results," Katukov said briefly.

"We destroyed a total of 6 German tanks and damaged 4. We blew up 12 trucks, killed 61 German soldiers, and seized a batch of weapons and ammunition."

"So what about our army's casualties?"

"One tank was damaged and two tank soldiers were injured." Burda replied: "More than a dozen infantrymen were injured, but no one was killed."

"The results are good." Katukov was naturally very happy to know that no one on his side had been killed, but the German army had paid a heavy price. However, while he was happy, he did not forget to remind Burda: "Captain Burda, your position has been exposed. You should not stay there for long. Move to our current position immediately."

After giving the order, Katukov ended the call.

The chief of staff asked Katukov with some concern: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our defensive positions have not been completed yet. If the Germans rush directly over, can we stop them?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you can rest assured about this." Katukov comforted the chief of staff, saying, "After the Germans have adjusted their troops, they will launch a new attack on Burda's position. When they arrive and find that there is no one there, they will definitely not dare to act rashly. In this way, we can buy time to build fortifications."

After saying this, Katukov turned to Sokov and said, "Captain Sokov, the battle is over. You can report this good news to the commander."

"Okay, Comrade Colonel." Sokov nodded, "I will immediately report your results to Comrade Commander."

After Sokov finished speaking, he took out a pen and paper and quickly wrote down the results of the battle achieved by Captain Burda and his men. Then he walked to the radio operator, tore off the page with the words on it, and told him, "Report the contents of the paper to the commander immediately."

(End of this chapter)