red moscow

Chapter 2781 The Mission of the Mixed Battalion

Korovin was skeptical about Sokov's statement. He asked cautiously, "Captain Sokov, you said that we can get support from the rear during the battle. Is this true?"

Sokov had dealt with Katukov in his previous life and knew his character very well. He knew that he would not stand by and watch his men in danger. The reason why the motorized infantry battalion was withdrawn to the vicinity of the First Military Village was not to leave the Ministry of Internal Affairs mixed battalion as cannon fodder, but because the terrain there was not conducive to defense. If the hastily dug field fortifications in the plains were hit by the fierce artillery fire of the German army, the officers and soldiers hiding inside would pay a huge sacrifice. It would be better to withdraw to a new area unknown to the enemy and organize a new defense.

"Comrade Captain, what I said is true." Sokov was worried that Korovin would be hesitant in the next battle, so he explained to him: "As far as I know, Colonel Katukov has a tank unit ambushed between you and the second echelon. If your position is in danger of being breached by the enemy, the tanks ambushed there will rush to support you in time."

The expression on Korovin's face became relaxed. Since there was a tank unit ambushing behind him, it would not be easy for the German infantry to break through his defense line even under the cover of the tanks.

Sokov saw the change in Korovin's expression and said, "Comrade Captain, you already have a tank platoon on your position. I believe that with their help, even in the most dangerous situation, it will be enough to hold out until the reinforcements arrive."

Confident, Korovin took Sokov back to the battalion command post.

The first thing he did after entering the room was to tell the deputy battalion commander: "Comrade deputy battalion commander, notify the company commanders to come to the meeting."

A few minutes later, the company commanders and deputy company commanders came to the battalion command post, waiting for Korovin to give them combat orders.

"Comrades, company commanders," Korovin said when everyone was present, "You may have seen that the enemy is bombarding the original position of the motorized infantry battalion with intensive artillery fire, trying to use artillery fire to destroy our friendly forces on the position."

Upon hearing this, the commander of the third company could not help but ask, "Comrade Battalion Commander, I seem to have heard you mention the original position of the motorized infantry battalion? Could it be that they have already withdrawn from the position?"

"Yes, they had quietly withdrawn from their positions before dawn."

When Korovin said this, the commanders in the room suddenly changed their expressions. It was the third company commander who spoke up, "Comrade Battalion Commander, if our friendly forces withdraw, won't our flanks be exposed to the enemy? If we engage in a battle with the enemy, we will be easily surrounded by the enemy who is flanking us."

Seeing that everyone was worried, Sokov quickly came out to smooth things over: "Comrade commanders, please listen to me. The brigade ordered your left infantry battalion to withdraw from the position, not to let you stay here to act as cannon fodder to attract the enemy. It's because the infantry battalion has exposed its position in yesterday's battle. Think about it, the field fortifications hastily built on the plains can't withstand the bombardment of the enemy's heavy artillery. If the officers and soldiers of the infantry battalion stay there, I'm afraid there won't be many survivors on the position after the enemy's round of artillery preparations."

After hearing Sokov's explanation, the company commanders began to discuss in low voices: "Yes, the fortifications on the position are very simple. Even if the Germans only use 105mm artillery to bombard, they can completely destroy the trenches. Listen to the artillery fire outside, let alone 105mm, I'm afraid there are 150mm heavy artillery."

"So the brigade ordered the infantry battalion to move for the purpose of protecting them."

"But no matter what, the retreat of the infantry battalion has exposed our left wing to the Germans. If they make a detour from the flank, we will be in danger of being surrounded."

Seeing everyone talking, Korovin quickly raised his hand and clapped twice. After the room was quiet, he continued, "Everyone go back and have the soldiers prepare for battle. Once the Germans attack our position, we must resolutely stop them."

"Comrade Battalion Commander," the company commander asked, "If the Germans do not discover our hidden position but pass by our flank, what should we do? Should we take the initiative to fire at them, or remain silent?"

"Is there any need to say more?" Sokov spoke up again, "Since our mission is to stop the Germans from advancing, there is no reason not to open fire when we see them passing by us. We should open fire decisively and teach them a lesson they will never forget."

All the commanders present knew Sokov's identity. So when they heard his speech, no one was surprised. Some even asked, "Comrade Captain, what if the Germans turn around and attack us?"

"That is, of course, to fight them face to face and find a way to eliminate as many of their manpower as possible."

"But our troops and equipment are no match for the Germans," the third company commander said with concern, "and we are fighting alone. Once we are surrounded by the Germans, it is only a matter of time before we are annihilated."

"Comrade Company Commander, don't worry, we are not fighting alone." Sokov knew that the words of the third company commander represented the thoughts of everyone, so he took the initiative to say: "You should know that there are many friendly troops behind us, and they will not watch us being wiped out by the enemy. Not to mention the far distance, there is an ambush of a tank unit a few kilometers away. Colonel Katukov once told me that once your battalion's defense line is in danger, he will order the tank unit to rush over to support you and help you hold the position."

Although the latter part of the words were fabricated by Sokov, the commanders showed a relieved expression on their faces after hearing them.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Korovin said to the commanders present: "Comrade company commanders, the mission has been made clear. Everyone should return to their respective units immediately and prepare the soldiers for battle. Yesterday, the comrades in the infantry battalion taught the Germans a lesson. Today it is finally our turn to make achievements."

After the company commanders left, Korovin said to Sokov, "Come on, Captain Sokov, let's go out and see what the situation is outside."

"Comrade Battalion Commander," the deputy battalion commander said when he saw Korovin and Sokov preparing to leave again, "How about I ask the soldiers to build you an observation post with a wide field of view so that you can observe the battlefield situation in several directions at the same time."

The deputy battalion commander's proposal was very tempting, but after a brief thought, Korovin rejected his good intention: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, your proposal is not bad, but it's a pity that now is not the right time. I am sure that as long as we start to dig, we will be discovered by the enemy, and then overwhelming artillery fire will come towards us. Let the signalman connect a telephone line for us so that I can command from the observation point."

When the two returned to the observation position, the enemy's artillery bombardment of the infantry battalion position had stopped. Before the smoke cleared, a German armored group appeared in the distance, followed by a line of skirmishers like black dots.

After Korovin roughly counted the tanks, he couldn't help but gasp. He turned his head to look at Sokov, trying to find panic on his face, but surprisingly, Sokov, who was holding a telescope, didn't seem to take the huge German armored group seriously.

"Captain Sokov," Korovin asked tentatively, "Did you see the German tanks clearly?"

"The Germans are really willing to spend a lot of money." Sokov looked at the densely packed tanks and sneered, "In order to seize a small position of our army, more than 80 tanks were dispatched at a time. In addition to the tanks, the infantry following behind them is at least a regiment of troops." Korovin was stunned after hearing this. He had just roughly counted that the number of German tanks was no less than 70, and as for how many infantry followed behind, he really hadn't calculated it. The reason was very simple. The German infantry following the tanks, in addition to those scattered in skirmish formations, also had many armored vehicles or trucks. After all, Korovin had been on the battlefield a limited number of times, and it was difficult to judge the approximate strength of the enemy based on the various means of transportation used by the German army.

Hearing Sokov say this, he was a little surprised: "What? A regiment of troops was dispatched? Captain Sokov, is the number you said accurate?"

"It's impossible to be absolutely accurate, but we can still calculate the approximate number."

After weighing the pros and cons of the data given by Sokov, Korovin chose to believe it. Then he squatted in the trench, picked up the phone, and said into the receiver: "I am Captain Korovin, connect me to the brigade headquarters."

The call was connected, and the person who answered was the chief of staff: "Captain Korovin, do you have anything to report?"

"The enemy dispatched about 80 tanks and a regiment of infantry to attack the original position of the motorized infantry battalion."

The infantry battalion had only one anti-tank artillery company on its position. After such a fierce bombardment by the Germans, it was still unknown whether it had survived. The chief of staff had originally wanted to learn about the situation through the mixed battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Since Korovin had called him, the chief of staff asked eagerly, "Has the enemy captured the original position of the infantry battalion?"

"Not yet." Korovin shook his head and said, "They are advancing towards the original position of the infantry battalion. The nearest one is about 500 meters away."

"So what about the battlefield? Can you see any living people?"

"What? There are still our people on the battlefield?" Korovin asked in surprise, "Didn't they say that the infantry battalion had withdrawn from the battlefield?"

"Yes, the infantry battalion did withdraw from the position." The chief of staff said helplessly, "but because the withdrawal was very hasty, an anti-tank artillery company was left behind. I don't know if they survived the shelling just now."

Korovin thought about the devastating bombardment in his mind, then slowly shook his head and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think it is basically impossible for the soldiers of the artillery company to survive. The bombardment just now can be said to have plowed the land on the position. No one can survive under such circumstances..."

But before Korovin finished speaking, Sokov suddenly saw several pillars of mud rising into the sky among the German tanks that were rapidly moving toward the Soviet positions. According to his experience, this should be the anti-tank artillery firing at the enemy tanks.

Although the shells fell on the open ground, they forced the German tanks to adopt serpentine movements to avoid the anti-tank fire from the Soviet positions.

"Comrade Captain," Sokov quickly put down his binoculars and said to Korovin, "I saw anti-tank guns firing at the original position of the infantry battalion. It should be the anti-tank artillery company that the chief of staff mentioned."

Korovin quickly leaned out half of his body and looked towards the distant position, but due to the smoke, he could not see clearly whether there were any moving figures on the position. However, in the column of tanks rushing towards the position, pillars of mud rose into the sky.

Just as he was lamenting that the artillery fire had not caused any substantial damage to the enemy tanks, a dazzling fire suddenly appeared on the body of a moving tank, and then the tank was engulfed in flames. After continuing to move forward for a distance, it stopped and began to burn. Two tank soldiers covered in flames crawled out from the top and bottom of the tank and stumbled back in the direction they came from.

"Well done, our anti-tank artillery destroyed a German tank."

But after Korovin shouted this, he felt that Sokov beside him did not speak. Turning his head, he saw that the other party was holding his hands in front of his chest, staring at the rapidly advancing tank cluster in the distance, as if he was thinking about something.

Seeing this, Korovin quickly asked, "Captain Sokov, what are you thinking about?"

Sokov glanced at Korovin, pointed at the microphone in his hand, and said, "The Chief of Staff is still waiting for your reply."

After Sokov's reminder, Korovin immediately remembered that he was talking to the chief of staff, and quickly put the microphone close to his ear and said loudly: "Report to Comrade Chief of Staff, there should be quite a few anti-tank artillery soldiers on the position who are still alive. Judging from the frequency of their shooting at the German tanks, there are at least four or five anti-tank guns still fighting."

After listening to Korovin's report, the chief of staff secretly breathed a sigh of relief and gave him an order: "Captain Korovin, your mixed battalion is the closest to them. I now order you to take necessary measures to support the anti-tank artillery company."

"Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although Korovin felt embarrassed by the order given by the Chief of Staff, he could only try his best to complete the task: "We will do our best."

"It's not about trying your best, but doing your best." The chief of staff said in a stern tone: "I don't ask you to rescue all of them, but at least rescue some of them. Do you understand?"

"Well, Comrade Chief of Staff, we will definitely do our best to rescue the anti-tank artillery company in danger."

After hanging up the phone, Korovin looked at Sokov and said with a wry smile: "Captain Sokov, the Germans are so powerful. Do you think it is appropriate for us to go out and rescue the anti-tank artillery company over there at this moment?"

Sokov shook his head and answered without hesitation: "Comrade Captain, please forgive me for being blunt. If we go out to rescue them now, it would be like sending ourselves to die in vain. Not only will we fail to rescue our friendly forces, but we will also lose ourselves in vain."

Korovin understood that what Sokov said made sense, but since the chief of staff had given him the order, he had no choice but to go ahead even if there were mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead.

(End of this chapter)