red moscow

Chapter 2841

Seeing that Karsokov's speculation was consistent with his own, Sokov couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

He had more than 4,000 well-equipped soldiers under his command. If he relied on a complete defense system to defend, it should not be a big problem to stop the attack of a German division. Even if he launched a local attack, against a German regiment-level unit, the outcome should still be 50-50.

Belkin and Karsokov looked at each other and guessed that Sokov might be thinking about how to use this to make some noise. So they both remained silent so as not to interrupt Sokov's thinking.

After a long while, Sokov said, "Deputy Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, I have a bold idea."

"Comrade Commander, what do you think?" Karsokov asked tentatively, "Are you planning to launch a counterattack against the Germans in this area?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov couldn't help but smile when he saw that his chief of staff had such a bold idea. Then he shook his head and said, "With our strength, it is definitely unrealistic to launch a counterattack in this area. Not to mention that our troops are far less than the enemy, the supply of ammunition and supplies is also a problem. Even if the counterattack we launched can wedge into the German-controlled area, it will not last long and will be repelled by the enemy's crazy counterattack."

"So what do you think?" After Belkin finished speaking, he realized that his tone was somewhat interrogative, so he quickly apologized and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, please don't misunderstand me. I just want to know what you were thinking just now?"

"It is definitely unrealistic to launch a counterattack, and it will only backfire." Sokov said cautiously: "According to my judgment, the Borodino battlefield on the left wing will not hold out for much longer. Even if we want to help them, I am afraid it will not be of much use. Although the attack on the right wing is also fierce, with the combat effectiveness of the 316th Infantry Division, it should not be a big problem to hold out for another ten days or half a month. What we have to do now is to support them with our own methods and let them hold out in the Volokolamsk area for a longer time."

"What are you going to do?" asked Belkin.

"Don't worry, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander." Sokov said to Belkin, "We know nothing about the enemy's deployment now. Even if we want to take some action, we don't know how to formulate a combat plan. So what we need to do now is to send a reconnaissance team to conduct reconnaissance nearby, find out the enemy's troop deployment, and then formulate a targeted plan. Do you think this will work?"

"Of course." Karsokov promptly expressed his support: "Comrade Commander, I support your proposal."

Seeing that his idea was supported by Karlsov, Sokov nodded with satisfaction and looked at his watch: "It's still three hours before dawn, everyone should take a rest."

After saying that, Sokov ignored the two of them and walked straight to a corner of the tent, lying down on a blanket on the ground with his clothes on.

When Sokov opened his eyes, he found that it was already dawn outside.

He sat up, looked at the chief of staff sitting at the table and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there anything going on?"

"No," Karsokov replied, "Our defense zone is still very quiet, and no trace of the Germans has been found." He paused for a moment and then continued, "I have sent out three reconnaissance teams to scout the Germans' whereabouts in three different directions at the same time."

Sokov stood up and walked to the table, staring at the map on it, and then asked, "Where is the deputy brigade commander?"

"He went to the field hospital."

The location of the field hospital was arranged by Karsokov, who had no idea where it was. When he heard Karsokov say that Belkin had gone to the field hospital, he asked curiously, "Where is the field hospital?"

"The deputy brigade commander said that if the field hospital is located too far forward, it will be convenient for treating officers and soldiers injured in the battle, but it will be very unsafe. If the area is covered by German artillery fire, the medical staff and wounded in the field hospital will suffer huge losses." Karsokov explained to Sokov: "Therefore, the field hospital is located in the forest 300 meters away from here."

"I see." Sokov nodded: "I'll go take a look too."

After leaving the tent, Sokov walked in the direction that Karsokov said. He wanted to see how the field hospital was set up.

Soon, he arrived at the forest where the field hospital was located.

He saw many tents built in the woods, with people sitting outside the tents. There was even a kitchen truck parked not far away, with several cooks providing food for the wounded.

After looking for a while, Sokov frowned and walked into the forest.

He stopped a nurse who was running by and asked, "Comrade nurse, do you know where Assistant Army Doctor Jenna is?"

The nurse recognized Sokov and quickly pointed to a larger tent not far away and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, Jenna is in that tent."

After thanking the other party, Sokov walked quickly towards the tent.

As soon as I walked to the side of the tent, someone came out from inside, pulling aside the curtain.

"Comrade Assistant Doctor," Sokov heard Belkin's voice, "If you need anything, just tell us and we will do our best to meet your needs."

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, the quartermaster provided us with enough medicines last night." Jenna's voice came from the tent, "But we are short of medical staff, and we are very short of them. As you can see, there are only 70 or 80 wounded here, and our nurses are very busy. If a war really breaks out, the wounded will be sent in continuously, and we will not be able to handle it with the current manpower."

As they were talking, the two men walked out of the tent. When they saw Sokov standing outside, they were stunned.

"Comrade Commander, you are here!" Jenna greeted Sokov with a smile.

"Well, I'm here." Sokov glanced at Belkin beside Jenna and said lightly: "I came to see if you need anything here?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, the deputy brigade commander was just talking to me about this." Jenna said, "We have barely enough medicines, but there is a huge shortage of medical staff. If we can't replenish them in time, once the battle starts, we will be overwhelmed by the continuous influx of wounded soldiers from the front line."

"Before I came here, I asked the chief of staff, and he said he had sent a telegram to his superiors, asking them to send us a group of medical staff." Sokov said, "But there has been no response yet."

Belkin saw Sokov's unhappy face and asked quickly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you seem a little unhappy. Is there something wrong?"

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, you have been here for such a long time, don't you find that there is something wrong?"

Hearing Sokov's words, Belkin was confused: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I don't understand what you mean. Can you explain it in more detail?"

Sokov pointed his finger around and said bluntly: "Deputy Brigade Commander, there are wounded everywhere, but you have neither arranged people to carry stretchers nor arranged guards to ensure the safety of the field hospital. If there is a surprise attack by the Germans, what will be the consequences? Even if I don't tell you, you can think of it, right?" Sokov's words immediately made Belkin break out in a cold sweat. He had been here for quite a while, but he basically sat in the tent and chatted with Jenna, and had never thought of arranging guards for the field hospital. He quickly apologized to Sokov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Brigade Commander, it's all my fault. I neglected it. I will immediately arrange people to protect the safety of the field hospital."

Since Belkin had already expressed his opinion, Sokov naturally would not hold on to it. He said to Jenna, "Comrade Assistant Military Doctor, there is a small town about seven or eight kilometers away from here. I wonder if you are interested in going to the town with me to see if there is a doctor there."

Jenna showed an embarrassment on her face: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I'm sorry, I may not be able to accompany you to the town. Several wounded are in poor condition and I need to perform surgery on them as soon as possible. You should find someone else to accompany you."

Sokov was not angry when he was rejected by Jenna. He looked around and saw the head nurse Vera who was checking the wounded. He said to Jenna, "Comrade Assistant Military Doctor, since you can't accompany me to the nearby town, let the head nurse accompany me."

Jenna did not object to Sokov's proposal. She immediately called the head nurse over and said to her, "Vera, the brigade commander is going to a nearby town to find a doctor. You can go with him and see if you can find any more medicine."

"Okay, Jenna." Vera nodded in agreement and turned to Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, when do we set off?"

Ten minutes later, a truck drove away from the infantry brigade's base.

Sokov and Vera sat in the passenger seat of the truck, while Chulhin and his machine gun team, as well as Zub's five soldiers, were crowded in the back compartment.

"Comrade Commander," Vera couldn't help but say when she saw Sokov making such a big show when he went out, "If we want to go to the town to find a doctor, a jeep will be enough, we don't need a truck."

“How can so many people fit in the truck if we don’t drive it?”

Vera silently counted the number of people in her mind, then said with a bitter face: "Two or three people would be enough to go to town to find a doctor, but we have more than a dozen people, which is too many."

"Not much, not at all." After hearing what Vera said, Sokov immediately realized that the head nurse had no battlefield experience at all, so he explained to her: "We went to the town to find a doctor. Although the area from the infantry brigade to the town is under the control of our army, if the Germans bypass our defense line and infiltrate our rear, we will suffer a great loss if we have too few people."

As for what kind of loss he had suffered, Sokov did not say, but the head nurse understood it. Thinking of the Germans who might show up at any time, she could not help but shudder, shut her mouth obediently, and no longer questioned Sokov's decision.

After entering the town, Sokov found that there were almost no pedestrians except the traffic police directing traffic at the intersection.

"Driver!" Sokov said to the driver, "Drive the car to the side of the traffic policeman and stop."

The driver agreed and quickly drove the car in front of the traffic police and stopped it steadily.

"Comrade traffic policeman," Sokov rolled down the window and stuck his head out to ask the traffic policeman, "Do you know where the hospital in town is?"

When the traffic police saw that the person asking questions was a major, he stood at attention, raised his hand to salute, and pointed to the west with his baton: "Comrade Major, drive forward along this road. After about three or four hundred meters, you will see the town hospital on the right side of the road."

After thanking the traffic police, Sokov told the driver to continue driving.

Soon, the truck stopped in front of the town hospital.

After getting off the car, Sokov walked up the stairs and into the outpatient hall.

However, this place was empty, without a single person in sight.

Vera followed Sokov into the hall. After seeing the scene, she smiled bitterly and said to Sokov, "Comrade Commander, there is no one in the hospital. It seems that the medical staff inside have either been evacuated or drafted into the army."

Sokov couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. Whether the medical staff in the hospital were evacuated or drafted into the army, it meant that his trip was in vain.

But he was not worried. He called Zub over and ordered, "Sergeant Zub, take someone to the pharmacy to see if there are any drugs left."

Zub agreed and was about to take people to the pharmacy when Vera interrupted and said, "I'll go with you."

In the empty hall, the footsteps of several people seemed particularly loud.

Sokov was about to go outside to get some fresh air when he saw an old lady in a headscarf rushing in. After she came in, she couldn't wait to shout, "Doctor, where is the doctor?"

Seeing the old lady's anxious look, Sokov said, "Old lady, the doctor in the hospital has left a long time ago. There is no one here at all."

"Impossible, this is impossible." The old lady said unwillingly, "I saw a doctor in the hospital last week. How come the doctor is gone in the blink of an eye? Commander, you must be lying to me, right?"

When Sokov heard the old lady say this, he couldn't help but laugh and cry. He thought to himself, I don't even know who you are, is there any need to lie to you?

When the old lady saw that Sokov ignored her, she began to check each clinic one by one to see if there was a doctor inside.

After struggling for a long time and getting nothing, the old lady returned to the hall and stood there wiping her tears.

Seeing this, although Sokov felt reluctant, he was not a doctor. If the old lady really wanted to come for treatment, he could not help at all, so it was better to remain silent.

Vera, who had just returned from the pharmacy, saw an old lady standing in the hall wiping her tears. She hurried over and asked with concern, "Old lady, what happened?"

The sad old lady heard Vera's voice, raised her head, and was about to say something when she suddenly saw the red cross armband Vera was wearing. She became excited. She grabbed Vera's arm, shook her and asked, "You are a doctor, you are a doctor, right?"

Vera, unable to break free, said with a smile: "Old man, please look carefully, I'm not a doctor, I'm just a nurse."

"Nurse, a nurse will do." The old lady's eyes were red, and she pleaded, "My daughter-in-law is about to give birth, and it seems to be difficult to give birth. I can't find a doctor, so a nurse will do. Girl, I beg you, please help me."

(End of this chapter)