red moscow

Chapter 2843

"Comrade Assistant Doctor," Sokov held Jenna's hand and pleaded, "The wounded man is an old subordinate of mine. You must keep him alive. Please!"

Jenna stared into Sokov's eyes and said firmly, "Don't worry, Comrade Brigade Commander, I will do my best to keep him alive."

After watching Jenna walk into the tent, Sokov turned to Zub who was standing beside him and said, "Comrade Sergeant, you will take a few soldiers to pick up head nurse Vera later. The old man once told me that Germans appeared nearby and killed the villagers who were treating Romanov's injuries. You must be vigilant when you go there, understand?"

Zub nodded, looked at Chulxin, and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, can you let Comrade Chulxin go with us? If we have a machine gun, even if we encounter the enemy, our chances of escaping danger will be greatly increased."

"Okay." Sokov nodded and agreed to Zub's request, and said to Chulhin: "Churhin, take your machine gun team and return to the village with Sergeant Zub."

Sokov waited until Zub, Chulhin and others left before heading towards the brigade headquarters.

Guards Captain Bobrikov was standing outside the tent, talking to Lieutenant Zhukov. When they saw Sokov approaching, they immediately stopped talking, stood at attention, and saluted Sokov.

"Comrade Commander," Bobrikov asked tentatively, "I heard that you brought back a wounded soldier from a nearby village?"

"Yes, I did bring back a wounded soldier." Sokov knew that Bobrikov would not ask about this for no reason, so he asked back: "Why are you asking this?"

Bobrikov's eyes unconsciously looked at Zhukov: "I heard from Lieutenant Zhukov that he saw you bring back a wounded soldier and sent him directly to the field hospital. I was wondering, could it be that this person is an important figure?"

"He's not a big shot." Sokov knew it very well. Zhukov must have seen that he attached so much importance to the wounded soldier, so he wishful thinking that he was a big shot, otherwise he would not have personally sent him to the field hospital. So he explained: "He was an old subordinate of mine. After being dispersed a few months ago, I thought he was killed. I didn't expect to meet him unexpectedly today, so I brought him back. By the way, Comrade Lieutenant," he said to Zhukov, "the wounded is Romanov."

"What, Romanov?" Zhukov's jaw almost dropped to the ground when he heard what Sokov said. "How could it be him? I thought he had died a long time ago."

"I thought he was dead, but I didn't expect he's still alive. God bless him." Sokov raised his hand and patted Zhukov on the shoulder, and continued, "I remember that you and Romanov seemed to have a good relationship. You can go see him when you have time."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Zhu Kewen asked cautiously, "I wonder how serious his injuries are?"

"He had bandages on his head, shoulders and legs," Sokov said. "But I'm not a doctor, so I don't know the specifics."

After speaking briefly, Sokov walked into the tent.

"Comrade Commander, you're back!" Seeing Sokov coming in, Karsokov asked anxiously, "How is it? Did you find a doctor?"

Hearing Karsokov's question, Sokov smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "I took people to the town's hospital, but it was empty, with no medical staff or patients. I don't know if they were evacuated or went somewhere else."

Karsokov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then sighed softly and said, "Ah, what a pity."

"By the way, has the headquarters called back?" Sokov was worried that Karsokov didn't understand what he was asking, so he emphasized, "Is it about sending us medical personnel to strengthen the field hospital?"

"Not yet." Karsokov shook his head and said dejectedly, "I think the headquarters may not have the energy to consider our request for the time being. After all, the battle today was extremely fierce, and they are thinking about how to crush the enemy's attack."

"How's the situation on our wings?"

"The Borodino Heights on the left wing have been occupied by the German army, and the Far Eastern Red Banner Division defending the secondary zone has been forced to retreat." Karsokov's expression became extremely serious: "Our left wing has been exposed to the enemy. It seems that we must prepare early."

The original defense line of the infantry brigade was parallel to the defense lines of the left and right wings, so the three battalions deployed in the first-line positions were defending the defense lines in the west direction. Now, with the retreat of the friendly forces on the left wing, the flank of the first battalion was in danger of being attacked by the German army.

"It seems that we need to strengthen the flank of the first battalion to prevent them from being attacked from both sides by the German army."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Belkin, who had been silent for a long time, asked, "How do you plan to strengthen the flank defense of the first battalion?"

"It's very simple," Sokov said, "form the Fourth Battalion immediately and deploy it on the left wing of the First Battalion to guard against possible attacks from the left wing by the Germans." After saying this, he turned to Karsokov and said, "Chief of Staff, do you have a suitable candidate for the position of commander of the Fourth Battalion?"

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander," Karsokov said confidently, "There is a commander from the 19th Infantry Division of the 38th Army. He used to be a battalion commander. I think he is undoubtedly the most suitable person to serve as the commander of the Fourth Battalion."

"Is it really appropriate?" Sokov asked back.

"Yes," Karsokov replied in a positive tone, "We have examined him and there is no problem."

Since Karsokov said the other party had been vetted, he simply asked: "What is his name and rank?"

"Vasya, major!"

"Very good." Sokov knew very well that any major of the 16th, 19th and 20th Army Group had more seniority than himself. There should be no problem in having such a person serve as a battalion commander, so he said readily: "Then let Major Vasya be the commander of the Fourth Battalion."

"Do we need to call him over?" asked Karsokov.

"Of course." Sokov said with a smile, "Since he has been appointed as the commander of the Fourth Battalion, I have to meet him. Otherwise, when I meet the commander of the Fourth Battalion in the future, I may not recognize him." Karsokov walked to the door of the tent, called a soldier over, and told him to go to the reserve and call Major Vasya.

"Chief of Staff," Sokov continued to ask when Karsokov returned to the tent, "What about the situation on our right wing?"

"The enemy's offensive on the right wing is mainly aimed at capturing Volokolamsk from the 316th Infantry Division, so the battles are all centered around the fight for the city." Karsokov reported to Sokov: "So far, no battles have taken place in the 1073rd Infantry Regiment bordering our defense zone."

When Sokov heard what Karsokov said, he couldn't help but shake his head, wondering which idiot was in charge of the German side? He only concentrated his forces to attack one point. Didn't he worry that his two wings would be attacked by the Soviet army?

But on second thought, the Germans must have their own purpose for doing this. They must have known that the Soviets' tactics were rigid and that the coordination between them was very poor. When a certain unit was attacked, the neighboring units on the left and right did not dare to act rashly without receiving orders from their superiors, and sometimes even watched their friendly troops being wiped out by the enemy. If the German commanders really understood the Soviets' usual tactics, then their current fighting style seemed to be understandable.

If the Germans were attacking the positions of the 1073rd Regiment, Sokov would not mind sending his st and nd artillery battalions to launch a round of artillery attacks to let the Germans experience the baptism of fire. But now the battle is centered around Volokolamsk, which is more than ten kilometers away. Even if they want to provide artillery support to the defenders, Sihui is a bit out of reach, so they can only choose to remain silent and watch the changes in the battle situation.

"Comrade Commander!" Just as Sokov was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Belkin's voice.

Sokov turned to look at Belkin, wanting to hear what the other person had to say.

"The Germans are attacking Volokolamsk. If the city falls, the 1073rd Regiment on our right wing will have to retreat, and we will be completely exposed to the enemy." Belkin asked cautiously, "Do you think we need to bombard the enemy attacking Volokolamsk?"

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, the distance from our artillery position to Volokolamsk is more than ten kilometers. How much do you think we can achieve by bombarding from such a long distance?"

Belkin remained silent. He really didn't consider the issue of distance. He just wanted to do something for his friendly forces.

At this time, a voice of reporting was heard from the door, and then a short commander walked into the tent.

When Karsokov saw the person coming, he turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, this is Major Vasya I just mentioned to you." Then he said to Vasya, "This is Major Sokov, the commander of the brigade."

Although he learned that the brigade commander was a major, and his rank was one level lower than that of the deputy brigade commander and the chief of staff, Vasya did not show any surprise on his face. He stepped forward and saluted Sokov: "Hello, Comrade Brigade Commander. Major Vasya has been ordered to report to you. I am waiting for your orders, please give me your instructions!"

"Hello, Major Vasya!" Sokov stepped forward, shook Vasya's hand, and said, "I called you here because I have something important to announce to you." Then he nodded to Karsokov, "Chief of Staff, announce the order!"

Karsokov nodded, coughed, and then said to Vasya, "Major Vasya, we called you here today because we want you to be the commander of the Fourth Battalion."

"But, Comrade Chief of Staff, as far as I know, the Fourth Battalion does not exist."

"That's right. The Fourth Battalion did not exist before, but from now on, there will be a Fourth Battalion." Karsokov said, "You go back and select the personnel to form the Fourth Battalion. You will appoint the company commanders and platoon leaders of each company."

When Vasya learned that he could be appointed as the company commander of the Fourth Battalion, he smiled, but he quickly asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, how many people are there in the Fourth Battalion?"

"At least 500 people, no upper limit." Karsokov replied: "Currently, the three battalions in the brigade have more than 600 people in each battalion. Your fourth battalion can also refer to this standard. Anyway, there are almost 2,000 people in the reserve now."

After figuring out the number of new troops and who would be in command, Vasya glanced at Sokov and asked, "What is the mission of our battalion?"

"Comrade Major, come and have a look." Karsokov called Vasya to the wooden table and pointed at the map and said to him, "Under the crazy attack of the German army, our friendly troops on the left wing have been forced to retreat eastward, so that the flank of the first battalion has been exposed to the enemy. In order to eliminate this threat, we have urgently formed the fourth battalion, and we plan to deploy you on the left side of the first battalion to cover the safety of their flank."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I already understand our battalion's mission." Vasya looked at Karsokov and asked, "But I'm worried about one thing now. Our battalion doesn't have any heavy weapons. If we encounter an attack from the German armored forces, I'm afraid it will be difficult to stop them."

Not many people knew that there were two artillery battalions in the infantry brigade, so it was normal for Vasya to have such concerns.

"Major Vasya, don't worry." Karsokov comforted him, "If you are attacked by the German armored forces, you can call the brigade headquarters for help in time. We will provide you with artillery support and destroy the German tanks."

"Oh, we have artillery?" Vasya asked in surprise. "What kind of artillery? Mortars?"

Hearing Vasya's question, Sokov and others smiled at each other.

"Don't worry, Major Vasya." Karsokov said to Vasya with a smile, "It's not a mortar, but a heavy artillery. You know, it's a 122mm heavy artillery. No matter how strong the German tank armor is, once it is directly hit by a shell, it will immediately become a pile of scrap metal."

When Sokov heard what Karsokov said, he couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Artillery fire relies on area coverage, not point strikes. It's not easy to directly hit a moving tank from a few kilometers away."

"Chief of Staff," Belkin interrupted, "since Major Vasya mentioned mortars, why not equip their battalion with a few mortars. Although mortars cannot hit tanks, they are still very effective against the enemy's heavy firepower."

"No problem." Karsokov nodded and said to Vasya, "I'll give you six mortars. You can use these mortars to form an artillery company."

"Any other questions?"

Vasya thought that he would not only receive artillery support from the rear during the battle, but also received six mortars. Naturally, he would not have any other requests. He shook his head and said, "No, there are no other questions. Brigade Commander, Deputy Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, you can rest assured that our battalion is fully confident that we can hold our positions. If the Germans want to pass through our battalion's position, they can only pass through our bodies if all of us are killed."

"Major Vasya," Sokov said unhappily, his face immediately turned serious when he heard Vasya's words. "I don't want your bodies, I only want the German bodies. I want to see the enemy's corpses scattered all over the ground in front of your position, not all of you killed. Do you understand what I mean?"

(End of this chapter)