red moscow

Chapter 2785

Seeing those strange vehicles appearing behind the position, the soldiers on guard immediately reported to the battalion commander Korovin by phone: "Comrade Battalion Commander, several strange trucks have arrived."

"What? A strange truck?" Korovin asked in surprise. "How is it strange?"

"These heavy-duty trucks all have rows of inclined rails," the soldier said. "This is the first time I've seen such a vehicle."

Sokov happened to be standing next to Korovin and overheard the conversation between him and the soldier. He quickly interrupted and said, "Comrade Captain, ask that soldier if those vehicles are rocket launchers?"

Although Korovin didn't understand what Sokov said, he still conveyed Sokov's words to the soldier truthfully: "Ask the driver if those heavy trucks are rocket launchers?"

The soldier immediately asked Captain Chumak who had just gotten off the truck: "Comrade Captain, are these trucks carrying rocket launchers?"

"Yes, these are rocket launchers." Chumak replied calmly, "I am Captain Chumak, the commander of the Guards Rocket Artillery Battalion. Please find someone to take me to see your battalion commander immediately."

"Comrade Battalion Commander," the soldier said quickly into the microphone, "The team leader is a captain. He said those strange vehicles are indeed rocket launchers. He needs to see you immediately. He asked me to take someone to find you."

"Let him come."

After Korovin hung up the phone, he asked Sokov curiously: "Captain Sokov, have you ever seen these rocket launchers before?"

Although Sokov was very familiar with rocket launchers, he had to pretend to be confused in front of Korovin to avoid exposing his flaws: "I have never seen it, but I have heard of it. So when I heard the soldier's description, I knew what it was."

"What's the purpose of our superiors sending us this rocket artillery battalion at this time?"

"Comrade Captain," Sokov explained to Korovin, "the rocket launcher is a secret weapon developed by our army before the war. Each truck has eight rails that can hang sixteen rockets. The power of these rockets is equivalent to that of 152mm heavy artillery. A salvo from a vehicle is equivalent to firing 16 152mm shells at the same time."

After listening to Sokov's explanation, Korovin was somewhat surprised: "My God, the firing of a rocket launcher vehicle is equivalent to a salvo of a 152mm artillery battalion. Is it really that powerful?"

"Of course." Sokov nodded and said, "When the commander of the rocket artillery battalion comes, you can ask him and you will know if I am right."

Not long after, Chumak, led by a warrior, came to Korovin and Sokov.

He glanced at the two men and then asked Korovin, "Comrade Captain, are you Captain Korovin, the commander of the mixed battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

"That's right," Korovin nodded and replied, "I am Captain Korovin, the commander of the mixed battalion, and this is Captain Sokov, the liaison officer sent to us by the military."

The next moment, Chumak made a move that surprised Korovin. He faced Sokov, stood at attention, raised his hand and saluted, and said respectfully: "Hello, Major Sokov! I am Captain Chumak, the commander of the Guards Rocket Artillery Battalion. I have been ordered to come here to cooperate with you in fighting the Germans."

Sokov was stunned when he heard Chumak address him, and then reminded him: "Captain Chumak, you are wrong, I am a captain, not a major."

"That's right, Comrade Major." Chumak said with a smile on his face, "I just heard a message from the army headquarters. In order to commend your brilliant achievements in today's battle, you have been promoted to the rank of major. This is a decision made by the Supreme Commander himself."

When Chumak said this, everyone in the room was stunned. It was such an honor to be heard by the gods. Everyone looked at Sokov with envy.

"Captain Chumak," Sokov asked cautiously, "is everything you said true?"

"Of course it's true." Chumak nodded and said, "I heard it from the army chief of staff himself. It can't be wrong."

"Captain Sokov, no, major." After Chumak finished speaking, Korovin extended his hand to Sokov and said with a smile in a friendly tone: "Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your achievement of a higher military rank."

After a few polite words, Sokov turned to Chumak and said, "Captain Chumak, are you here to assist us in the battle?"

"Yes, Comrade Major."

Sokov remembered that the Soviet army was currently equipped with only one battalion of rocket launchers, but he couldn't remember the exact number, so he quickly asked, "How many rocket launchers do you have?"

"Seven!"

"What? Only seven?" Korovin was a little disappointed when he heard the number Chumak said.

"Comrade Captain," Sokov interrupted, "It is said that when the rocket launcher was first developed, many people were not optimistic about this weapon and thought it was a failure, so only a small number were produced. But don't worry, as this weapon performs well on the battlefield, more rocket launchers will be produced in the future. By then, perhaps every division-level combat unit will add a rocket launcher battalion, and Captain Chumak and his men won't have to run around like they do now."

"Captain Korovin," Chumak asked Korovin politely, "Do you know where the German troops are assembled?"

"I know." Korovin brought Chumak to the map and pointed to a location a few kilometers away from the defense zone. "According to our scouts' report, the defeated enemy is hiding in this area and is regrouping to launch a new attack on us."

"Are there specific coordinates?"

"Yes." Korovin shouted to the deputy battalion commander, "Deputy battalion commander, tell Captain Chumak the coordinates you recorded."

When the deputy battalion commander handed Chumak the paper with the coordinate parameters, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Captain, how many rounds of attack can you carry out on the enemy's position?"

"We have been ordered to deliver a salvo upon the enemy's position."

"What? Only one volley?" The deputy battalion commander said with some disappointment, "Isn't that too little?"

"It's a lot, Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander." Chumak said with a smile, "One salvo is equivalent to an artillery preparation of a 152mm artillery regiment." Chumak took the coordinates provided by the deputy battalion commander, left the battalion command post, and went to arrange the shooting.

When Chumak's back disappeared from the door, Korovin, who was half-believing and half-doubting, immediately asked Sokov in an uncertain tone: "Comrade Major, do you really think the rocket launcher is powerful?"

"Comrade Captain, be patient," Sokov said with a smile, "Wait a few minutes and you will see the results. Now, let's go to the trench outside."

Sokov, Korovin and others came to the trench outside and looked at the area where the German troops were gathering in the distance.

A few minutes later, arrows of fire streaked across the sky. It was the mysterious rocket launcher that opened fire. Countless rockets drew arcs in the sky and disappeared into the area where the enemy was assembled. Then there was a terrible rumble and countless dazzling fireballs rose up.

"Oh my God!" Korovin's eyes widened in surprise. "One salvo can have such great power?"

"Yes, it is very powerful." Sokov agreed: "I have only heard others say that rocket launchers are powerful before, but this is the first time I have seen this kind of weapon used in actual combat."

When saying this, Sokov was thinking in his heart, in his previous life, with the help of Yakov, he made the 107 rocket launcher, assault rifle and anti-tank rocket launcher come into the market ahead of time. In this life, if he didn't have these weapons that were ahead of their time, would he still have the chance to achieve brilliant results?

After completing the salvo, the rocket artillery battalion quietly withdrew from the mixed battalion's position without even saying hello and disappeared into the night.

Everyone returned to the command post and excitedly talked about what they had just seen. They felt that if there were more rocket launchers, the chances of winning would be greatly improved.

However, at this moment, a lieutenant suddenly walked in from outside, raised his hand to salute Korovin, and reported: "Comrade Battalion Commander, our soldiers have captured two suspicious persons. They were caught by the soldiers when they tried to cross our battalion's defense line."

"Suspicious person, what suspicious person?" Korovin asked.

"They were wearing military uniforms without collar patches and looked very embarrassed," the lieutenant said. "I asked them which department they were from, and they said they were officers from the Intelligence Bureau and were ordered to carry out a mission behind enemy lines. Now that the mission has been completed, they are preparing to return to Moscow to report."

As soon as the lieutenant finished speaking, the deputy battalion commander couldn't wait to say, "This is impossible. How could the Intelligence Bureau send intelligence officers behind enemy lines at this time? These two people must be fake, disguised by the Germans."

After hearing what the deputy battalion commander said, Korovin waved his hand at the lieutenant and said, "Since it was the Germans who disguised it, why waste time talking? Just drag him out and shoot him."

Just as the lieutenant turned around and prepared to leave, Sokov stopped him and said, "Captain Korovin, are you going to shoot him without even giving him a trial?"

"What's there to interrogate?" Korovin said disapprovingly, "Since he's a German spy, just shoot him."

As expected, they are from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and they do things simply and directly. Sokov muttered to himself and reminded the other party, "Aren't you afraid of killing the wrong person?"

"Kill the wrong person?!" After hearing Sokov's question, Korovin turned around and asked his deputy battalion commander: "Did we kill the wrong person after all this time?"

"I don't think so."

Sokov knew from later records that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had mistakenly killed many people during the war. If the person captured by the lieutenant was really an officer of the Intelligence Bureau, and he was shot without any interrogation, if the superiors investigated, many people would be implicated.

It was for this reason that Sokov said with a serious expression: "Captain Korovin, I think we should not be too hasty in doing this. If they were really killed by mistake, the dead cannot be resurrected. I think we should bring them here for interrogation."

Korovin thought about Sokov's statement for a long time, and finally nodded slowly and said to the lieutenant: "Comrade Lieutenant, go and bring the man here. I want to interrogate him personally."

After a while, two men, escorted by a lieutenant and four soldiers, walked into the command post.

"Who are you?" Korovin asked.

The older man took a step forward and said, "I am Lieutenant Wald from the Intelligence Bureau, and he is my deputy, Sergeant Arseny. We were ordered to carry out a special mission behind enemy lines. Now that we have completed the mission and are on our way back to Moscow, we accidentally broke into your position and were captured by your people."

When Wald was speaking, Korovin kept staring into his eyes. When Wald finished, he sneered and said, "You are very brave. You dare to pretend to be an officer of the Intelligence Bureau. If it were someone else, they might be fooled by you. But we are different from them. We are from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and can easily see through your disguise."

"Comrade Captain," Wald stared at Korovin and said, "If you don't believe me, you can call Moscow to verify our identities."

Korovin sneered: "You didn't expect it, did you? Your words exposed your flaws. Do you think that at my level, I can directly communicate with the intelligence department in Moscow?"

Wald felt that his statement was indeed inappropriate. A grassroots commander at the front, even if he was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was probably not qualified to call the Intelligence Bureau in Moscow. Thinking of this, he changed his words and said, "Comrade Captain, please hand me over to your superiors and let them verify our identities."

"Comrade Battalion Commander, why are you still wasting time talking to him?" The deputy battalion commander said nearby, "I think he is a German spy. Just drag him out and shoot him."

Korovin agreed with the deputy battalion commander's statement, so he turned to the lieutenant and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, we have already questioned them. You and your men should take them out and shoot them."

When Wald and Arseni were being carried out by four soldiers, Sokov stopped them and said, "Wait a minute. Captain Korovin, you can't just shoot them like this."

Wald was delighted to hear someone speak for him, but when he looked back and saw the rank on Sokov's collar badge, he couldn't help but show a look of disappointment on his face. The person who spoke for him was just a captain, and he was from an ordinary combat unit. The captain of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in front of him would definitely not listen to him.

Unexpectedly, just when he was in despair, he saw Korovin respectfully asked Sokov: "Comrade Major, why can't we shoot them?"

When Wald heard Korovin's address, he was stunned. He thought to himself that the officer who spoke for him was only a captain. Why did this captain of the Ministry of Internal Affairs call him a major? What was going on?

"Captain Korovin, they have revealed their identities to us," Sokov said to Korovin. "From their accents, they are authentic Russians, definitely not Germans pretending to be Germans. If you just shoot them so hastily, and your superiors investigate this matter one day, will you be able to bear the responsibility?"

Korovin was stunned. He had always thought that the two were German spies, so he wanted to just shoot them. But after hearing what Sokov said, he felt that his decision was too hasty. If the two were really German spies, he would just shoot them. But if they were his own people, he would not be able to bear the consequences of ordering them to be shot.

(End of this chapter)