red moscow

Chapter 2794

The Polosukhin Division successfully repelled the German attack. Potapov was very happy when he heard the news. He called to congratulate him: "Colonel Polosukhin, I heard that you repelled the German attack. I congratulate you. But you must not be proud. You must seize the time to reinforce the fortifications and prepare for another attack by the enemy."

"Don't worry, comrade commander." Having won a victory, Polosukhin seemed confident: "Since we can repel the enemy's first attack, then repelling their second and third attacks will not be a problem."

After finishing the call, Polosuhin turned to the political commissar and said, "Comrade Political Commissar, although our army won the battle just now, it also suffered considerable casualties. Do you think you can go downstairs and see how the soldiers are feeling?"

"No problem." The political commissar answered readily: "I'll go now."

Seeing that the political commissar was going to the frontier for inspection, Sokov could no longer sit still and quickly took the initiative to say, "I'll go too."

Polosukhin stared at Sokov for a while, then nodded slowly and said, "Okay, Major Sokov, then I'll trouble you to accompany the political commissar. Although the enemy was repelled by us, they are unwilling to fail. It won't be long before they will launch a new attack again. You must pay attention to your safety."

Sokov followed the political commissar to the front line for inspection, and the first place they came to was the defense area of ​​the 230th Regiment. After the bombing and shelling by the German army, the trenches that had just been dug yesterday were almost gone, and the few remaining trenches were only half a man deep. If they wanted to continue fighting, they had to dig again.

The political commissar walked forward along the incomplete trenches and said to Sokov with a serious expression: "Major Sokov, look, the trenches have been blown to pieces, so the officers and soldiers in the trenches must have suffered even more casualties."

As a veteran soldier, Sokov naturally knew that the political commissar was right. The field positions without strong fortifications would definitely suffer heavy casualties after being bombarded by the German army.

As I was walking forward, I suddenly heard a cry from the front.

Hearing this voice, the political commissar could not help but frown and muttered: "What's going on? Why is there someone crying on the battlefield?"

Soon, the two saw a young soldier wearing a cotton military cap, crying on the bloody body of an old man.

Sokov recognized them at a glance as Pavlov and his son. It seemed that old Pavlov had died in a battle not long ago.

The political commissar wanted to step forward and criticize him, but Sokov quickly stopped him and explained in a low voice: "Comrade Political Commissar, the old man who died was old Pavlov from the Hammer and Sickle Factory, and the one lying on his body and crying was his son, young Pavlov."

The political commissar, who was about to criticize, stopped immediately after hearing what Sokov said. He said with a serious expression: "We have paid a huge price to defend our great motherland. But in order to defeat the enemy, no matter how high the price is, it is worth it."

Someone nearby saw the political commissar and Sokov, and hurriedly walked up to little Pavlov and whispered something in his ear.

Little Pavlov stopped crying, wiped his face twice with his hands, stood up straight, and raised his hand to salute the political commissar and Sokov.

The political commissar walked over, shook hands with the man, and asked with concern: "Is the old man who died your father?"

Little Pavlov glanced at Sokov standing behind the political commissar, nodded vigorously, and replied in an affirmative tone: "Yes, he is my father."

"He died heroically." The political commissar looked at the body of old Pavlov and said to young Pavlov: "Comrade Soldier, I believe your father's death will not be in vain. We must make the Germans pay the price and use their blood and lives to compensate for the crimes they committed."

"Comrade Political Commissar, please rest assured." Pavlov said, "I will strike hard at the German invaders and avenge my father."

The political commissar encouraged little Pavlov a few more times before continuing to move forward with Sokov.

He said in a heavy tone: "This is the defense zone of the 230th Regiment. From what I have seen, they have suffered considerable casualties in the battle just now."

"That's right, Comrade Political Commissar, that's true." Sokov echoed, "Without solid permanent fortifications, the officers and soldiers on the battlefield would suffer heavy casualties once they were bombed by enemy planes and artillery fire."

"Major Sokov, do you have any ideas to reduce the casualties of our troops when they are bombarded?"

Sokov wanted to tell the political commissar that as long as the troops were moved to the reverse slope of the high ground before the enemy's shelling began, casualties could be reduced. But then he thought that doing so might cause unnecessary misunderstandings, making people think that the defenders who held their positions would flee when the enemy's shelling began. If this was seen by someone with ulterior motives and reported to the superiors, not only would Polosukhin be punished, but Potapov would also be implicated.

After inspecting the position, Sokov followed the political commissar back to the division headquarters.

Seeing the two men return, Polosuhin immediately came forward and asked the political commissar impatiently: "Comrade Political Commissar, what is the situation at the front and how are the soldiers feeling?"

Hearing the question raised by Polosukhin, the political commissar was silent for a while, and then said with a serious expression: "Comrade, our army's casualties are greater than we imagined. Although the officers and soldiers seem to be in high spirits, it is impossible to say that seeing their relatives and friends sacrificed beside them has not affected their emotions."

Polosuhin listened to the commissar's somewhat confusing words and immediately realized that the other party might have seen something that he didn't know about, so he turned to Sokov and asked: "Major Sokov, what happened?"

"Comrade, do you still remember Pavlov and his son?" Sokov was afraid that Polosukhin would not remember them, so he reminded him, "They were the father and son from the Hammer and Sickle Factory. The son was promoted to corporal, and you promised to promote the father to sergeant after the battle..."

"I remember, I remember, of course I remember." Polosukhin looked at Sokov and asked, "Did anything happen to them?"

"Old Pavlov died." Sokov explained to Polosukhin: "When we went to inspect the position of the 230th Regiment, we saw little Pavlov lying on his father's body and crying."

"Ah, old Pavlov died?" Polosukhin was also a little surprised after hearing this: "How did he die?"

"I don't know." Sokov shook his head slightly and said, "I only saw his body was bloody and I don't know whether he was killed by the enemy's shells or bullets. In a word, he died in the battle to defend Borodino."

As they were talking, the phone on the table suddenly rang. The chief of staff was nearby and picked up the phone: "I'm the chief of staff, who are you?"

After listening for a moment, he handed the microphone over. Just as Polosukhin was about to reach out to take it, the chief of staff unexpectedly said, "I'm sorry, comrade commander, the call is not for you, but the commander is calling Major Sokov."

Sokov was surprised to learn that it was Potapov who called him. What happened? Why did Potapov call him directly? He quickly took the phone and put it to his ear: "Hello, Commander, I am Sokov. What instructions do you have?"

"There is a special team from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that will soon enter the defense zone of the Polosukhin Division. Go and pick them up."

"A special team from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?" Sokov asked in surprise. "How many people are there and what mission are they carrying out here?"

"The special team consists of three people, two men and one woman. The leader is Alina, a second lieutenant." Potapov said: "As for what mission they are carrying out, I am not sure."

"Okay, I'll go get them."

After Sokov hung up the phone, he said to Polosukhin, "Comrade Division Commander, the commander told me on the phone that a group from the Ministry of Internal Affairs will arrive here soon and asked me to go and meet them. Can you lend me a guard squad?"

"Major Sokov," the Chief of Staff seemed a little flustered when he learned that a special team from the Ministry of Internal Affairs was coming over: "Did they tell us what their purpose was in coming here?"

"No." Sokov answered briefly: "I know that this team consists of two men and one woman, led by female Lieutenant Alina. As for what mission they are carrying out, I don't know."

"No problem, I'll arrange a guard squad for you right away." After Sokov finished speaking, Polosukhin immediately continued, "I can also give you a special authorization. If necessary, you can mobilize the nearby command."

"That's great." After Sokov came here this time, he felt that he had no subordinates around him and felt that he was restricted in everything he did. At this moment, he heard that Polosukin was willing to give him the authority to freely mobilize the troops in the action area, and he was naturally overjoyed: "Thank you, comrade commander."

Half an hour later, Sokov met the special team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs behind Borodino Heights. They did not come alone, but arrived at the meeting point under the escort of the guard platoon sent by the headquarters.

Sokov saw clearly that among the three young soldiers wearing blue hats, there was a beautiful female lieutenant. She should be the Lieutenant Alina that Potapov mentioned on the phone. He walked up quickly and asked loudly, "Is it Lieutenant Alina?"

"Yes, I'm Alina." The female lieutenant stepped forward, looked Sokov up and down, and asked, "Are you the Major Sokov that General Potapov mentioned?"

"Yes, I am Major Sokov." Although it was the first time Sokov met Lieutenant Alina, a beautiful woman always makes people feel inexplicably good about her. He asked politely, "How can I help you?"

Alina did not answer Sokov's question immediately, but turned to the guard platoon leader who escorted her here and said, "Comrade Platoon Leader, your mission has been completed. You can return to the headquarters. Thank you for your escort."

The guard platoon leader nodded to Alina, then called on his men to leave together.

Alina looked at the dozen guards behind Sokov and asked expressionlessly, "Major Sokov, are these your men?"

"To be precise, these are the people I borrowed from Colonel Polosukhin." After briefly introducing the origins of the soldiers behind him, Sokov asked again: "Lieutenant Alina, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Major Sokov, we have been ordered to carry out a special mission behind enemy lines." Alina looked at Sokov and said expressionlessly, "Your mission is to escort us through the front line and infiltrate the enemy's rear."

"Is it such a simple task?" Sokov heard that it was just to help them pass through the battle lines of both sides. This was not a difficult task at all, so he said carelessly: "No problem, after dark, I will escort you through the front line and infiltrate the enemy's rear."

"Major Sokov, wait a moment." Unexpectedly, Alina continued, "If we just want to pass through the defense line and infiltrate the enemy's rear, we don't need your help at all. We can do it ourselves."

Sokov heard the hidden meaning in the other party's words, and asked back with interest: "So, you still want me to accompany you to carry out the mission?"

"I heard that you speak German well. If you are willing, it is not impossible for you to follow us to carry out missions behind enemy lines."

Sokov hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Lieutenant Alina, it's not impossible for me to follow you to carry out the mission. But can you tell me what mission you are going to carry out behind enemy lines?"

"I'm sorry, we are carrying out a mission that is strictly confidential." Unexpectedly, Alina did not play by the rules: "We won't tell you a word until you agree to it."

After hearing this, Sokov cursed in his heart, "How can I make a decision when you don't even tell me what mission I'm going to perform?" Considering that the Ministry of Internal Affairs performs extremely dangerous missions behind enemy lines, Sokov didn't want to get involved in this mess, so he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, Lieutenant Alina, since you don't want to tell me what the mission is, I won't ask. I am now the liaison officer assigned by Potapov to the Polosukhin Division. If I want to perform special missions behind enemy lines, I must get permission from the commander in advance. I don't think he will agree to your proposal to send me behind enemy lines to perform some top-secret mission."

"Major Sokov, you are wrong." Unexpectedly, Alina said with a wry smile: "General Potapov has agreed to let you follow us to carry out the mission behind enemy lines."

Sokov didn't expect Alina to bring Potapov out, which meant that he might have to go behind enemy lines with them. But before agreeing to the other party's request, he still wanted to find out what the mission was.

He turned to the guards behind him and said, "Comrades, please go to a nearby place to smoke some cigarettes and chat. I have something to say to Lieutenant Alina in private."

Upon hearing Sokov's order, the soldiers in the guard squad turned around and left without hesitation.

After seeing that the soldiers were about 20 to 30 meters away from him, Sokov turned to Alina and said, "Lieutenant Alina, there are no outsiders here. Can you tell me what mission you are about to perform behind enemy lines?"

(End of this chapter)