red moscow

Chapter 2848

For a moment, Rokossovsky almost agreed with Malinin. According to his previous experience, it was basically impossible for a company-level unit to attack the enemy's supply point and escape unscathed.

But when the words came to his lips, he said something else: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if other troops attacked the German supply point at night, the possibility of retreating would be almost zero. But this time it is the troops of the Infantry Brigade. Misha is a man who is good at creating miracles. I believe that the night attack troops he sent will be able to return smoothly in the end."

Seeing that Rokossovsky trusted Sokov so much, Malinin smiled bitterly and shook his head. He said nothing, but continued to look down at the battle report in front of him.

"By the way," Rokossovsky suddenly changed the subject: "What is the situation in Volokolamsk?"

"General Panfilov reported that after a night of fierce fighting, all the enemies that entered the city have been wiped out," Malinin reported, "but the troops defending the city have suffered heavy losses. We hope we can send reinforcements."

Rokossovsky showed a bitter expression on his face: "Chief of Staff, you know our current situation. Where can I find a reserve force for Panfilov?"

Malinin rolled his eyes and suggested to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, don't we still have the Infantry Brigade? You know, the total strength of the brigade is close to 5,000 people now. If we transfer them to Volokolamsk, we will be able to strengthen the defense of the area."

Hearing Malinin's words, Rokossovsky's eyes widened in surprise: "What? The strength of the infantry brigade is close to 5,000 people. Is this information reliable?"

"It is absolutely reliable, Comrade Commander," Malinin replied in a positive tone, "This was reported to me personally by Lieutenant Colonel Karsokov, Chief of Staff of the Infantry Brigade."

"I never expected that Misha could gather so many troops in such a short time." Rokossovsky shook his head and said with emotion, "You know, when we asked him to recruit the defeated soldiers, we only gave him a company of troops. Look, after just a few days, not only did he have several thousand troops, but he also got enough weapons, equipment and supplies from the hidden arsenal. No one else could do better than him."

"Comrade Commander, you can't say that." Malinin said flatteringly, "A few months ago, when your superiors appointed you as the commander of the combat group, they only gave you more than 20 staff members. In a very short period of time, you organized a force of tens of thousands of people and blocked the German advance in the Yartsevo area."

"My situation is different from Misha's." Rokossovsky pointed to his collar badge and said modestly, "No matter what, those retreating officers and soldiers will choose to obey my orders when they see my rank. But Misha is just a major, and he was promoted to major not long ago. If he doesn't have some skills, you can imagine how difficult it would be for so many retreating officers and soldiers to accept his command."

"That's right." When Malinin said this, he couldn't help but look towards the communication area and muttered, "Why is there still no news?"

Rokossovsky heard Malinin's mumbling and asked curiously: "Chief of Staff, what's the news?"

"I wonder if the chief signalman has intercepted the latest German telegram." Malinin replied, "I think Major Sokov must have been waiting for news from us."

After hearing what Malinin said, Rokossovsky immediately understood what was going on. He glanced at Maximenko who was busy and said, "Chief of Staff, the Chief of Signal Corps is a very responsible person. If the intercepted German telegram contains information that we urgently need to know, he will report it to us as soon as possible."

Near noon, Maximenko personally came to Rokossovsky with a telegram: "Comrade Commander, here is a telegram, you'd better take a look at it yourself."

When Rokossovsky received the telegram, he asked curiously: "Is it related to the company that attacked the German supply point?"

Maximenko hesitated for a moment, then nodded vigorously and replied in an affirmative tone: "Yes, it is indeed related to that company!"

After Rokossovsky quickly read the contents, he was shocked. He slammed the telegram on the table and said angrily, "Nonsense, it's just nonsense. Misha, I trust him so much, but he lied about military intelligence. Isn't he afraid of being brought to court-martial?"

Malinin, who was busy nearby, saw Rokossovsky getting angry, and hurried over and asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, what happened?"

Rokossovsky picked up the telegram sheet on the table and put it into his hand. "Chief of Staff, take a look at what is in Misha's telegram?"

Malinin took the telegram with a puzzled look on his face and carefully checked the contents of the telegram. After he finished reading the telegram, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise: "Comrade Commander, this result is too outrageous. A soldier was surrounded by the enemy and killed 75 enemies in one breath. This is too exaggerated. Is Major Sokov crazy? How dare he report such a ridiculous battle report to the headquarters?"

"Chief of Staff, call the infantry brigade immediately," Rokossovsky said angrily, "ask the brigade commanders, including Sokov, to review this matter."

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away."

Lobachev, who had just come from the grassroots, happened to hear the conversation between Rokossovsky and Malinin, so he asked casually: "Comrade Commander, what happened? Why do you and the chief of staff look unhappy?"

Malinin quickly handed the telegram that had angered Rokossovsky to Lobachev: "Comrade Military Commissar, please take a look at this telegram."

After reading the telegram, Lobachev frowned and asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, are you angry just because of the content of the telegram?"

"That's right." Rokossovsky did not hide his opinion, but told the truth: "No matter how capable a person is, it is impossible for him to kill 75 enemies in one go when surrounded by the German army. Only a god can do this. Can such a lowly lie fool us?"

Lobachev read the contents of the telegram twice and said slowly: "Comrade Commander, you are very optimistic about Major Sokov, aren't you? Why are you skeptical about the telegram he sent?"

Rokossovsky was stunned after hearing this, and then asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, do you think the contents of this telegram are all true?"

"I can't judge whether the content of the telegram is true or not." After Lobachev put the telegram back on the table, he suggested to Rokossovsky: "Why not send a reply to Major Sokov and ask them if they have verified the results of this battle? It won't be too late for you to decide how to deal with it after the new telegram arrives." Rokossovsky thought about Lobachev's suggestion and nodded in agreement: "Comrade Military Commissar, what you said makes a lot of sense. We can't easily draw conclusions about the results of the telegram. We have to verify it first. Chief of Staff!"

Hearing Rokossovsky calling him, Malinin said quickly: "Comrade Commander, I understand. I will call the infantry brigade back immediately to verify the matter with them."

Just a few minutes after the telegram was sent, the reply from the Infantry Brigade arrived.

Malinin quickly read the contents of the telegram, then walked quickly to Rokossovsky, handed him the telegram, and reported: "Comrade Commander, according to Major Sokov's report, he was also skeptical after learning about the results of the battle. For this reason, he specially sent Deputy Brigade Commander Lieutenant Colonel Belkin to the place where the battle took place for verification. Lieutenant Colonel Belkin led his men to the forest where the battle took place and found 78 German bodies, 75 of which were shot in the head. They should have been killed by that soldier."

After listening to Malinin's report, Rokossovsky read the contents of the telegram carefully several times, then slapped his hand on the table and said excitedly: "I never thought that such an exaggerated victory result was actually true."

Lobachev, who was a little nervous at first, picked up the telegram and carefully read the contents after hearing what Rokossovsky said. After reading it, he looked up at Rokossovsky and said, "Comrade Commander, since this battle report is true, we should publicize it within the army group to achieve the purpose of boosting morale."

"That's right, Comrade Military Commissar, you are right." Rokossovsky said excitedly, "We should not only carry out extensive publicity within the army group, but also commend this soldier. Since Misha has promoted him from soldier to lieutenant, he cannot be promoted again in the short term, but he can be awarded a medal."

"Leave the awarding of honors to me," Lobachev volunteered. "After all, I have always been in charge of this aspect of the work."

"No problem." Rokossovsky agreed to Lobachev's request very readily: "I think we should award him the Order of the Red Banner. His achievements are fully worthy of such an honor."

"Well, I also agree to award him the Order of the Red Banner."

"This is a great event." Rokossovsky walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back for a few times, then suddenly stopped and said, "I will report the results of the battle to Zhukov immediately to see how he reacts."

After saying this, Rokossovsky grabbed the telephone on the table, cranked it a few times, picked up the receiver, put it to his ear and said, "This is Rokossovsky, connect me to the front headquarters, looking for General Zhukov."

The call was quickly connected, and Zhukov's deep voice came from the receiver: "I am Zhukov!"

"Dear Georgy Konstantinovich!" Rokossovsky said excitedly, "I have good news for you."

"Koschka, what's the good news?" Zhukov asked with interest, "Did you destroy the enemy that attacked Volokolamsk?"

"Well, that's not the case." Rokossovsky felt embarrassed when he heard Zhukov's question, and then replied: "I called you for another matter." Then he reported to Zhukov the results of the battle achieved by Regarin.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, he was ridiculed by Zhukov: "Koschka, what's wrong with you? You actually believed such a ridiculous thing? I really want to open your head and see if it's filled with cheese residue."

Rokossovsky was not angry after being scolded. Instead, he called Zhukov by his real name and father's name, and said with a smile: "Georgy Konstantinovich, when I first received this report from the Infantry Brigade, I was also very angry. I felt that the brigade commander, Major Sokov, was playing us for fools. No matter how capable a soldier is, it is impossible for him to kill 75 enemies alone. But the deputy commander of the Infantry Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Belkin, personally led people to the scene to verify and found that such a result was indeed true. Among the 78 German bodies they found, 75 were shot in the head. It should be that soldier who did it."

After listening to Rokossovsky's explanation, Zhukov slowed down his tone and asked, "What is the name of this soldier, what is his rank, and what position does he hold?"

"His name is Zhegarin. He was a private when he defeated the enemy. But when the brigade commander, Major Sokov, learned of his achievements, he promoted him to the rank of lieutenant." Rokossovsky replied, "Now he is the deputy commander of a special company."

"Special Company?!" Zhukov was surprised to hear this unfamiliar number and asked, "What does this company do?"

"According to Major Sokov's report, this special company was newly formed and is specifically used to attack special targets deep in the German defense." Rokossovsky continued, "After being formed last night, they were ordered to go behind enemy lines to destroy an important supply point for the German army."

"What was the result? Did we destroy this German supply point?"

Rokossovsky was silent for a while, and replied in a heavy tone: "Georgy Konstantinovich, there has been no news about this unit since it left the infantry brigade's camp last night. So we have no idea for the time being whether they have destroyed the German supply point."

"So this company has lost contact with the infantry brigade headquarters?"

"This is the region." Rokossovsky continued, "Major Sokov sent me a special telegram after daybreak, asking if there was any news about this company in the German telegrams intercepted by our headquarters."

Zhukov had guessed the result from Rokossovsky's words, but he still asked cautiously: "So, there is no news about this company in the telegram you intercepted?"

"Yes, there is no news at all." Rokossovsky couldn't help sighing and said with regret: "If this company was really wiped out when attacking the German supply point, then the death of Lieutenant Regarin is really regrettable."

"Yes, that's right. It's a pity that such an excellent soldier died in vain." After Zhukov said this, he suddenly thought of something and added, "Koschka, but don't worry too much. No news is sometimes good news. I will immediately contact the communication department of the front and ask them to check whether there is any content in the intercepted telegram that any German supply point has been attacked."

(End of this chapter)