red moscow

Chapter 2780

"Comrade Chief of Staff, what's going on?" As soon as the Chief of Staff hung up the phone, Sokov couldn't wait to ask, "What happened?"

The chief of staff turned to look at Sokov, and said with a smile: "It's the motorized infantry battalion. Their battalion commander said that they achieved good results here today, and they plan to continue to hold there for another day. The brigade commander is not here, and I have no right to let them stay there any longer."

Sokov had been a commander in his previous life, so he naturally understood the principle of hesitating when necessary. As soon as the chief of staff finished speaking, he said with a straight face: "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is a clear act of disobedience. Doesn't the battalion commander know that he will be punished by his superiors for doing this?"

In response to Sokov's statement, the chief of staff shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly, "People are very tolerant of the victors. The infantry battalion achieved good results in the daytime battle. Even if they knew that their actions were disobedience, I'm afraid they would not be punished even if their superiors knew about it."

Sokov knew that he was a lowly person and his words were not taken seriously. No matter what he said, the chief of staff would not listen. He could only ask helplessly: "Where is Colonel Katukov?"

"The second echelon of troops has arrived." The chief of staff replied: "The brigade commander has gone to deploy defenses, and I don't know when he will be back."

After learning that Katukov's return date was uncertain, Sokov hesitated for a moment and finally said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, although I am only a liaison officer sent by the army commander and have no right to give you orders, I still suggest that you let the infantry battalion follow Colonel Katukov's order and immediately move to the First Military Village under the cover of night to build new defenses. If you continue to delay, I am afraid it will affect the brigade commander's entire combat deployment."

But the chief of staff was obviously not a man of courage. Although Katukov had given orders to the commander of the infantry battalion during the day, asking them to move their positions immediately after dark and retreat to the First Military Village to build a new defense line, the commander of the infantry battalion was obviously overwhelmed by the victory during the day and wanted to continue to hold the original position and create more brilliant results the next day.

But the battalion commander obviously forgot that there were no permanent fortifications on their defense line, only some crude field fortifications. If the German army bombarded their positions before the attack tomorrow, before they could see the enemy, the officers and soldiers on the positions would probably suffer heavy casualties. When the enemy attacked, there would probably not be many people left who could continue to resist.

The chief of staff ignored Sokov and continued to work. Sokov felt disappointed that his words were not kept, but he could do nothing about it.

It was not until after ten o'clock in the evening that Katukov, looking tired, walked in from outside.

Seeing Katukov coming back, the chief of staff immediately went to meet him and asked with concern: "Comrade Brigade Commander, has the second echelon been deployed?"

"Yes, everything has been deployed according to my orders." Katukov said briefly, and then asked, "Is there any new situation in the first echelon's defense line?"

"No, Comrade Brigade Commander." The Chief of Staff shook his head and said, "Everything is normal."

Sokov, who was sitting next to him, waited for a while, but did not hear the chief of staff mention the infantry battalion. After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, he resolutely said, "Comrade Colonel, I have something to report to you."

Katukov looked at Sokov in surprise and asked in astonishment: "Captain Sokov, what's going on?"

"You gave the motorized infantry battalion an order during the day, asking them to move to the direction of the First Military Village after dark and establish a new position under the cover of night." Sokov glanced at the pale-faced chief of staff and continued, "But so far, they have remained in their original positions and have not carried out your order."

Katukov frowned and asked the chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is everything Captain Sokov said true?"

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander, what he said is true." The Chief of Staff defended himself, "The infantry battalion commander said that they had achieved good results in the existing position during the day. If they continue to hold on there, they will definitely achieve even more brilliant results tomorrow. So, they decided to continue to hold on to the original position."

After listening to the chief of staff's report, Katukov raised his hand and slapped the table, and asked dissatisfiedly: "Chief of Staff, why didn't you report such an important matter to me?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, you were deploying the second echelon's defense at the time. I don't think I should disturb you for such a trivial matter..."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, what are you talking about?" Katukov said angrily, "I must have had my considerations when I asked the infantry battalion to withdraw to the vicinity of the First Military Village after dark to set up a new line of defense. Although they have achieved good results in today's battle, they have also exposed the specific location of their positions. If I were the commander of the German army, I would definitely concentrate artillery fire on the location of the positions before the attack tomorrow, and wait until the fortifications are almost destroyed before launching the attack. By then, the officers and soldiers on the infantry battalion's position will probably have suffered heavy casualties. How can they stop the enemy's attack?"

After hearing what Katukov said, the chief of staff also realized the seriousness of the problem and asked timidly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what should we do now?"

"What else can we do? Of course we should let them follow the original plan and retreat to the First Military Village to build a new defense line." Katukov was probably worried that the infantry battalion commander would disobey orders again, so he emphasized: "Tell the infantry battalion commander that this is an order I personally issued. If he disobeys, I will consider replacing him with a battalion commander who knows how to execute orders from his superiors."

While the chief of staff was calling the infantry battalion, Katukov said to Sokov gratefully: "Captain Sokov, thank you for telling me this. If the infantry battalion does not retreat according to the original order and continues to stay in the current position, it will disrupt my defensive deployment and force me to readjust it tomorrow."

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov said quickly, "This is what I should do."

Katukov took out a cigarette case and handed it to Sokov. After Sokov waved his hand to refuse, he put the cigarette case back into his pocket and asked tentatively: "Captain Sokov, what are your plans for the future?"

Sokov did not know what Katukov's question was for, so he remained silent and just looked at him without saying a word.

"It's like this." Seeing that Sokov didn't seem to understand his intention, Katukov explained, "I think that with your ability, being a liaison officer with no real power is a bit of a waste of talent, and there will be no good future. But if you are determined to serve as a grassroots commander in the front-line troops, I think you may be able to reach the same level as me in less than two years. You may wish to consider my suggestion."

"Comrade Colonel, I will seriously consider your proposal." Sokov had thought about the grassroots troops. The reason why he was able to become a general and even the commander of an army group in just over a year in his previous life was because he had more opportunities to make achievements in the frontline combat troops. If he continued to stay with Potapov and be a liaison officer with no real power, by the end of the war, perhaps the colonel would be the ceiling of his military career.

Seeing that Sokov agreed to consider his opinion, Katukov smiled and said, "If General Potapov agrees that you can go to the grassroots, you might as well consider my troops. I believe that this platform can better display your talents."

…………

Early the next morning, the German army began artillery preparations before the attack. The position of the infantry battalion was shrouded in smoke and fire in just a few minutes.

After learning that the Germans had begun shelling the infantry battalion's position, Katukov immediately asked the chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, have all the infantry battalions withdrawn from their positions?"

"Yes, the infantry battalion had already withdrawn from its original position before dawn." The chief of staff said hesitantly: "But..."

"But what?" asked Katukov sternly.

"Although the infantry battalion withdrew to the First Military Village as ordered, there was still an anti-tank artillery company left at the original position."

Hearing what the chief of staff said, Katukov's face was immediately filled with anger: "What, there is still an anti-tank artillery company left on that position? Why don't they retreat?"

Faced with Katukov's anger, the chief of staff explained awkwardly: "When the infantry battalion retreated, it forgot to notify the anti-tank artillery company."

"Nonsense, absolutely nonsense." Katukov was furious after hearing this: "This matter must be dealt with seriously. If the anti-tank artillery company suffers heavy losses in today's battle, the commander of the infantry battalion will not be able to escape responsibility."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," the chief of staff asked tentatively, "How about we withdraw the anti-tank artillery company from the position now?"

"Do you think they can evacuate in the current situation?" Katukov sighed and said, "We can only pray for them to survive such fierce German artillery fire."

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov felt that staying in the brigade headquarters was meaningless, so he stood up and said to Katukov, "If you allow me, I would like to go to the mixed battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Katukov stared at Sokov for a while, nodded slowly, and said, "I allow it! But I have to remind you, Captain Sokov, although the mixed battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not participate in the battle yesterday, there may be fierce fighting in the area they are defending today. You must pay attention to your safety and make sure to return safely."

"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, I will come back alive."

Sokov drove to the position of the mixed battalion.

Battalion Commander Korovin was surprised to see Sokov walk into his command post, and immediately asked, "Captain Sokov, what are you doing here?"

"I think there might be a fierce battle here today." Sokov said to Korovin with a smile, "I am here to join the battle."

Korovin stared at Sokov for a while, then sighed softly and said, "Captain Sokov, you shouldn't have come!" Then he stood up, walked to Sokov, raised his hand and patted his shoulder, and said, "Come with me."

Sokov followed Korovin to yesterday's observation point.

Korovin pointed to the original position of the infantry battalion in the distance, which was shrouded in smoke and flames, and said, "Look at how fierce the enemy's artillery fire is on the infantry battalion's position. If the enemy uses the same fierce artillery fire against us, will you still think that coming to fight is a correct choice?"

Sokov looked at Korovin and said seriously, "Captain Korovin, I am a soldier. It is my responsibility to defend my country. I can't just hide in the headquarters because the front line is dangerous. I came here today to fight side by side with you and eliminate the invading enemy together."

After listening to Sokov's words, Korovin was silent for a long time. Finally, he extended his hand to Sokov and said in a friendly tone: "Captain Sokov, welcome to join us."

After the two shook hands, Korovin continued to ask Sokov: "Captain Sokov, do you have relevant combat experience?"

"Of course." Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "If I had not been on the battlefield and did not have rich combat experience, I would not have been assigned to the 4th Tank Brigade."

"So, tell me, what should we do today?"

Soko stared at the position in the distance and said, "Comrade Captain, according to my analysis, the enemy's focus of attack today is still the infantry battalion's position. But the comrades of the infantry battalion were ordered to withdraw from the position last night. The enemy is now bombarding an empty position. What they are doing is just a waste of shells."

A commander of Korovin's rank had no idea that the infantry battalion had withdrawn. Hearing Sokov's words, a shocked expression suddenly appeared on his face. He grabbed Sokov's arm and said excitedly, "Captain Sokov, who told you that the infantry battalion had withdrawn from the position?"

Hearing Korovin's question, Sokov knew that the infantry battalion's retreat last night must have been very secretive, so that the mixed battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on their right wing knew nothing about it. If Korovin asked at this moment, Sokov would not hide it: "It was the brigade commander who issued the order. He had long guessed that after the German army suffered a defeat yesterday, they would definitely concentrate their superior artillery fire to launch a fierce bombardment on the infantry battalion's position. If the infantry battalion continued to stay in the field position without permanent fortifications, it would inevitably suffer huge casualties."

After figuring out what was going on, Korovin seemed a little panicked: "Captain Sokov, in this case, won't our flank be exposed to the enemy? Do you think I need to ask the brigade commander to withdraw our existing defense line?"

"Comrade Captain, do you think the brigade commander will agree to your withdrawal under the current circumstances?" Sokov pointed to the place where artillery fire was raging in the distance and said, "Once you withdraw your position, you will be discovered by the enemy, and then the overwhelming artillery fire will cover your retreating troops. How many of you do you think will survive the fierce enemy bombardment?"

Sokov's words made Korovin silent. After a long time, he asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"

"Just like yesterday, stay put." Sokov said, "The enemy has not discovered your position. When they advance towards you, you can catch them off guard." In order to dispel Korovin's concerns, he continued, "Although the infantry battalion has retreated, you are not fighting alone. If necessary, you can get support from the rear. Don't worry!"

(End of this chapter)