red moscow

Chapter 2792

After hearing what the officer said, the political worker turned to Sokov and said politely, "Comrade Major, I am First Class Instructor Klochkov. May I ask who you are?"

"I am Major Sokov, a staff officer of the Fifth Army." After confirming the other party's identity, Sokov looked at the commander who shouted the famous saying "Russia may be big, but we have no way to retreat - Moscow is behind us!" with curiosity, and said, "I heard that a troop appeared here, so I came here to take a look."

"I see." Klochkov asked curiously, "What do you want to do with our division commander and political commissar?"

"This is the defense zone of our 5th Army. A strange army suddenly appeared. Isn't it normal for us to come here to understand the situation?" Sokov said here and asked again: "Where can I find your division commander General Panfilov and political commissar Comrade Yegorov?"

Seeing that Sokov could easily call out the names of the division commander and the political commissar, Klochkov naturally no longer doubted his identity, but said politely: "Hello, Major Sokov! You are lucky, I happen to know where the division commander and the political commissar are, and I can take you to see them."

The officer next to him saw that Klochkov agreed to take Sokov to see the division commander and political commissar, and he winked at him desperately, worried that his actions would bring danger to Panfilov and the others. After seeing the officer's look, Klochkov said bluntly: "Don't worry, he is one of us. Let him meet the division commander and political commissar, there is no problem."

A few minutes later, Sokov, led by Klochkov, appeared in front of Panfilov and Yegorov.

After listening to Klochkov's introduction, Panfilov, who had a toothbrush beard, asked politely: "Major Sokov, what is it that makes you so anxious to see me?"

Sokov thought that according to historical records, Panfilov's 316th Infantry Division was responsible for defending the Volokolamsk area, so how could it appear here? With such doubts, he asked tentatively: "Comrade General, I want to ask, how did you appear here?"

"According to the orders from our superiors, we should rush to Mozhaysk and build a solid defense here to resist possible attacks from the Germans." Panfilov glanced at Yegorov and said helplessly, "But after we walked dozens of kilometers and arrived here, we suddenly received a notice saying that our garrison location was changed from Mozhaysk to Volokolamsk. We had no choice but to change our route to the new defense zone."

Sokov learned from historical data that the order Rokossovsky first received from Zhukov was to gather troops to establish defenses in Mozhaisk. But as soon as he returned to his headquarters from the front headquarters, he received a new order from Zhukov to adjust the 16th Army's defense zone to Volokolamsk. In desperation, Rokossovsky, who had not yet established a firm foothold, could only move his headquarters and the 18th Militia Division to Volokolamsk.

Judging from the situation of the Panfilov Division, the order they initially received must have been to garrison in Mozhaysk. However, as soon as they arrived at the defense zone, they received an order to change their defense zone. They had to continue moving north to build a new defense line in the Volokolamsk area.

A bold idea suddenly occurred to Sokov at this moment. If the Panfilov Division was left behind, the 5th Army could stay in the Mozhaisk area for a longer time. As long as the Germans did not retreat too early, the flank of the 16th Army would not be exposed to the enemy, and Rokossovsky would not consider withdrawing his troops to the Istrian Reservoir area, thus clashing with Zhukov.

Thinking of this, he asked Panfilov tentatively: "Comrade General, the enemy has launched an attack on the Borodino area, and many troops of the 5th Army have not yet arrived. It is very difficult to stop the enemy. Do you think the 316th Division can stay in the Mozhaisk area to assist us in defense?"

Panfilov rejected Sokov's proposal without hesitation: "I'm sorry, Comrade Major, the order our division received is to be incorporated into General Rokossovsky's 16th Army and establish defense in the Volokolamsk area. You know, orders are orders. Since we have received orders from our superiors, we can only obey unconditionally. I'm sorry, I can't agree with your proposal. If we really want to stay in the Mozhaisk area, it means disobeying orders."

Sokov had never had much hope of keeping Panfilov's division, and now that he saw that the other party refused so straightforwardly, he could not persuade him any further. He could only smile bitterly and said, "If that's the case, it's a pity."

After that, Sokov raised his hand and saluted the two of them, saying politely: "Then I won't delay you and continue your journey. I wish you good luck!"

Facing Sokov's departing figure, Panfilov asked Yegorov: "Comrade Political Commissar, tell me, was it Major Sokov's decision to let us stay because of the Fifth Army Commander's decision or his personal decision?"

"It's hard to say." Yegorov shook his head and said, "I heard that the commander of the rebuilt 5th Army is still General Potapov. You know, when the war broke out, the commander of the 16th Army, General Rokossovsky, was a commander under General Potapov. If he really wanted to keep our troops, he only needed to give a heads-up to his superiors. There was no need to send a small staff officer to test us."

"So, this matter was the staff officer's own decision?"

"I think this is very likely." Yegorov suggested to Panfilov: "When we arrive in Volokolamsk, we should report this to the commander."

"Yes, we should report it," Panfilov said. "If we don't report it, General Rokossovsky will definitely think badly of us if he finds out about it one day in the future because we concealed it."

Sokov didn't know what Panfilov and Yegorov said after he left. He just wanted to go back to see Polosukhin as soon as possible and explain to him what he knew.

When he returned to the division headquarters, Polosukhin saw him at a glance and immediately came over and asked with concern: "Major Sokov, you are back!"

"Well, I'm back."

"Have you figured out the origins of that unit?"

"I understand." Sokov nodded, and without waiting for Polosukhin to ask again, he took the initiative to say: "The troops that suddenly appeared in your defense zone are the 316th Infantry Division from Central Asia. They are ordered to rush to the Volokolamsk area to prepare to establish new defenses there."

After hearing this, Polosukhin asked in surprise: "Comrade Major, I don't quite understand. Volokolamsk is an important transportation hub, with well-developed railway and road transportation. If this force from Central Asia is here to defend Volokolamsk, why don't they go directly to the region by car, but have to pass through our defense zone?"

In response to Polosukhin's question, Sokov explained to him: "Comrade Commander, the situation is like this. According to the original order they received, they were to rush to Mozhaisk to build a defense line, so they got off the train not far from here. But after getting off the train, they received a new order saying that their defense zone was changed to Volokolamsk, so they had to change their route to the north and go to the new defense zone."

"How could this happen?" As soon as Sokov finished speaking, the chief of staff raised his own question: "Since the defense zone assigned to them by their superiors was Mozhaysk, how could it be inexplicably changed to Volokolamsk? This doesn't make sense at all."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov saw that not only the Chief of Staff had a different opinion on this matter, but Polosukhin also had a puzzled look on his face, so he explained to the two of them: "What you don't know is that General Zhukov recently became the new commander of the Western Front. After taking office, he did two things. First, he appointed the former commander of the front, General Konev, as his deputy to go to the Kalinin area to command the troops there; second, he asked the commander of the 16th Army, General Rokossovsky, to build a defense in Mozhaysk..." The chief of staff interrupted and said, "But the troops building the defense in Mozhaysk now are our 5th Army..."

Before he could finish, Polosukhin raised his hand to stop him: "Let Major Sokov continue."

Sokov continued, "After receiving the order, General Rokossovsky immediately returned to Mozhaysk, preparing to establish a new defense zone here with his own troops. Unexpectedly, as soon as he returned to the headquarters, he received a new order from Zhukov to adjust the 16th Army's defense zone from Mozhaysk to Volokolamsk."

"Major Sokov, where did you get this information?" asked Polosukhin.

"Comrade Division Commander," Sokov naturally would not tell Polosukhin that he had seen it from historical documents, but he used his identity as a liaison officer to say: "Don't forget, I am a liaison officer from the army headquarters. It's nothing special that I know some inside information."

Sokov's far-fetched explanation really frightened Polosukhin and the chief of staff. They really thought that everything Sokov had just said was heard in the headquarters.

After they chatted for a while, the phone on the table started ringing.

The chief of staff picked up the phone and listened, then handed it to Polosukhin: "Comrade division commander, your call is from the commander."

"Hello, Comrade Commander!" Polosukhin took the microphone and asked politely, "Do you have any instructions?"

"Colonel Polosukhin, I congratulate you."

"Congratulations to me?" Potapov's words stunned Polosukhin. He asked in confusion, "What can I be congratulated for?"

"I just received a call from the front headquarters, and there is a telegram about you." Potapov on the other end of the phone said with a smile: "Your wife gave birth to a son for you on October 10rd, and named him Anatoly. Because your troops have been marching, I have been humming a song and have delayed telling you the good news until now."

Hearing that his wife had given birth to a son, Polosukhin showed an ecstatic expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, is what you said true? My wife really gave birth to another son for me?"

"Of course it's true," Potapov replied. "I checked the news again and again before calling you to congratulate you on the birth of your son."

"Thank you, Comrade Commander, for the good news you have brought me."

"Colonel Polosukhin, I hope you can achieve more meritorious deeds in the upcoming battle, so that when your son grows up and mentions you in front of others, he can proudly tell others that the troops commanded by his father severely struck the German invaders in the Borodino area and defended our great motherland."

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I will definitely lead the troops to stop the German attack and achieve immortal merit."

After hanging up the phone, the chief of staff next to him immediately asked impatiently: "Comrade Division Commander, your wife gave birth to your second son. Is this news true?"

"Of course it's true." Polosuhin nodded, his face full of unconcealed joy: "The commander told me that because the troops have been marching, the news has been delayed to inform me until now."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov waited until Polosukhin finished speaking, walked up to him, held out his hand, and said in a friendly tone, "Please accept my sincere congratulations on the birth of your son!"

Polosukhin shook hands with Sokov and said gratefully: "Thank you, thank you!"

When the surrounding staff learned that their commander had a baby boy, they came over to congratulate him. Polosuhin expressed his gratitude to everyone one by one.

After the congratulatory staff dispersed, the chief of staff asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, the birth of a baby boy is a great and happy event. How about we have a drink?"

Polosukhin decisively rejected the chief of staff's proposal: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff, although I also want to celebrate the birth of my son. But now we are at the front line and the war is about to break out. As commanders of the troops, we must remain absolutely sober. Therefore, we should wait until we drive away the Germans before drinking this wine."

"Okay then." Since Polosukhin had already said so, the chief of staff could not say anything else and could only nod: "Let's drink after we drive the Germans away."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Polosukhin quickly shifted his attention from the birth of his son to the current war, "The Germans may attack us at any time. Immediately notify the troops below to increase their vigilance after dark to avoid a surprise attack by the Germans."

"That's fine." The chief of staff nodded and said, "I will notify all troops to change the single guard at night to double guard to strengthen the nighttime security work."

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff, double posts alone are not enough." Sokov quickly put forward his opinion: "I think that under the current circumstances, it is far from enough to simply adjust the sentries on duty at night to double posts. We should send out squads, and the strongest squads, so that even if there is a sneak attack by the enemy at night, they can respond in time and buy precious time for the troops to respond."

(End of this chapter)