red moscow

Chapter 2864

After the operation, the captured German agents were handed over to the officers and soldiers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As for how the Ministry of Internal Affairs would deal with these agents, people of the level of Sokov and Gerchikov were not qualified to ask.

Since the German agents had been eliminated, Sokov originally wanted to return to the front line immediately, but Romanchenko informed him that he had to stay in Moscow for another two days.

Sokov used his stay in Moscow to find Victoria, wanting to ask her if she had any information about Baharov, since this person might be related to whether they could return to the future. But the result was regrettable, Victoria did not have any useful clues.

On the morning of the day of departure, when Sokov called on his men to get on the car and prepare to rush back to the front line as soon as possible, he met an unexpected person.

"Major Sokov," the Army Military Commissar Lobachev, accompanied by a colonel, appeared in front of Sokov. "If you have no objection, I would like to return to the front with you, is that okay?"

"Of course, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov asked in surprise, "Didn't you return to the army headquarters after sending Lieutenant Zhegarin to Moscow? How come you are here?"

"Yes, I did return to the front after I sent Regarin to Moscow that day," Lobachev explained to Sokov, "but I received an urgent order yesterday, so I rushed to Moscow overnight. Today, I heard that you were going to take people back to Moscow, so I came here specially to take a ride."

"Please get in the car, Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov said enthusiastically, "We will be leaving soon."

Unexpectedly, after taking a look inside the car, Lobachev asked a question that Sokov had not expected: "Major Sokov, can you drive?"

"Of course." After coming to this era, Sokov had learned how to drive the vehicles of this era, so that he could drive alone to escape at a critical moment. At this moment, hearing the question asked by Lobachev, he nodded vigorously and said in an affirmative tone: "Of course I can drive!"

"It's great that you can drive." Lobachev said to Sokov, "Would you mind being my driver?"

Sokov thought about it. Lobachev asked him to drive for him. There must be something important that he needed to talk to him privately. It would be inconvenient if there was a driver beside him. After realizing this, he nodded and said, "Comrade Military Commissar, it is my honor to drive for you. Please get in the car!"

After the convoy drove out of Moscow, Lobachev, who was sitting in the co-pilot seat, withdrew his gaze from the window and said seriously, "Major Sokov, the enemy dropped a large number of leaflets on our positions yesterday."

"What does the leaflet say?" Sokov asked casually.

Lobachev was silent for a moment, then said: "The leaflet says that their agents who infiltrated Moscow have successfully assassinated Comrade Stalin."

Sokov laughed. He didn't expect the Germans to be so stupid that they could be fooled by a substitute.

"Comrade Beria told me that the special task force you joined set a trap for German agents in the Kremlin and caught them all in one fell swoop." Lobachev said, "Then you should know that Stalin, who was assassinated, was just a substitute."

"Yes, I know." Sokov did not deny this. "When the German agents opened fire, I was with them. I saw with my own eyes that the double and the two MVD guards who followed him were shot and fell down."

"I didn't expect the Germans to use this incident to try to shake the morale of our army."

Sokov turned his head to look at Lobachev and asked, "So how do the superiors plan to deal with this?"

"After research by the Supreme Command, we plan to have Comrade Stalin go to the front in the near future, so as to dispel the enemy's rumors."

"What? Comrade Stalin is being sent to the front at this time?" Sokov was stunned when he heard Lobachev say that. He thought that the situation at the front was not favorable to the Soviet army. It would be very dangerous to send Stalin to the front at this moment. He wanted to refute, but before he could say anything, he suddenly thought of a possibility and quickly slowed down his tone and asked, "Comrade Military Commissar, if my guess is correct, then we should send a substitute, right?"

Lobachev didn't say anything, but just gave Sokov a thumbs up to indicate that his guess was correct.

"When does the superior plan to arrange for the substitute to appear at the front line?" asked Sokov.

"Tomorrow at noon." Lobachev said briefly: "Although it is just a substitute, the security work still needs to be carried out according to the standards. I heard that Lieutenant Regarin will return to the front line with you. I plan to second him to participate in the security work."

"No problem." To Sokov, no matter how capable Regarin was, he was at best a top soldier. If he followed him back to the front, he would only be able to play a limited role. Only if he stayed in the headquarters to do security work could he play a greater role. So he said readily, "Let him stay when we get to the army headquarters. It won't be too late to let him return to the base after Comrade Stalin returns to Moscow."

Lobachev didn't expect Sokov to agree so readily, so he said gratefully: "Thank you so much."

After a while, Lobachev spoke again: "Major Sokov, your brigade is really full of talents. Not only do you have a brigade commander who can capture a German armored unit single-handedly, but there is also a sharpshooter who killed 75 enemies alone. A few days ago, another outstanding combat hero emerged?"

"Combat hero?" Sokov was stunned when he heard Lobachev say that. He then asked, "Comrade Military Commissar, can you tell me more about what happened?"

"The day before yesterday, the enemy launched an attack on your brigade's defense zone." Lobachev introduced to Sokov: "A high ground defended by the third platoon of the second company of the fourth battalion was attacked frantically by a German battalion. The battle lasted for most of the day, and the officers and soldiers on the position were basically killed, but the battle on the position was still going on. When the reinforcements arrived after dark, they found that there was only one soldier left on the position. It was he who single-handedly blocked the enemy's attacks again and again..."

Lobachev's words shocked Sokov to the extreme. There was only one soldier left on the battlefield, but he still blocked the attack of a German battalion. This soldier could basically be rated as a special combat hero. He hurriedly asked: "Comrade Military Commissioner, what is the name of that soldier, what is his rank, and how many years has he been in the army?"

"According to the information reported by your brigade, this soldier is called Spinachski, he is 25 years old, and he joined the army one month after the war broke out. He is just an ordinary private."

"What? A private who has been in the army for less than half a year?" Sokov's eyes widened in surprise. He said in an unbelievable tone: "He can actually stop the attack of an entire German battalion by himself. It's incredible."

Lobachev laughed and said, "Didn't I just say that the infantry brigade has an excellent brigade commander like you and a sharpshooter with miraculous marksmanship. It seems only natural that a great combat hero will appear now." Sokov's mouth twitched. He thought to himself that he still didn't understand whether Regarin, who had amazing marksmanship, was a time traveler like himself, or a system carrier. Now there is a combat hero who can fight against a battalion alone. This is too unbelievable.

"Comrade Military Commissar, where is the war hero named Spinachski now?"

"In the field hospital of your brigade." Lobachev probably guessed what Sokov wanted to ask, so he spoke first: "He was injured in the battle. Although Commander Rokossovsky and I both advised him to go to the rear to recuperate, he refused. We had no choice but to let him stay in the field hospital of your brigade."

"So he's in the brigade's field hospital," Sokov nodded and said, "I'll go visit him in the field hospital when I get back to the brigade headquarters."

"The headquarters intends to promote him at the same time as awarding him the medal." Lobachev asked Sokov in a negotiating tone: "Major Sokov, what rank do you think is more appropriate for him?"

"Before Lieutenant Regarin was promoted, he was just an ordinary soldier." Sokov thought for a moment and said to Lobachev, "But he was a lieutenant many years ago, but was dismissed for special reasons and became an ordinary soldier. I promoted him to the rank of lieutenant, but it was just to let him reinstate his original position."

After hearing what Sokov said, Lobachev fell silent, probably thinking carefully about what Sokov said.

When the convoy arrived at the headquarters of the army group, Lobachev opened the door and got out of the car, then he said, "Major Sokov, as for the promotion of Spinachsky, after you return to the infantry brigade, discuss it with the other two deputies and see what they think."

"Okay, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov nodded and said, "I will report the results of the discussion to the headquarters as soon as possible."

After Lobachev got out of the car, Sokov also opened the door and got out. He came to a car behind and said to Regarin who was sitting inside: "Lieutenant Regarin, you will stay at the headquarters for a few days and obey the orders of the military comrade. It will not be too late to return after completing the task here."

"Comrade Brigade Commander." Regarin opened the car door and got out. He looked at Sokov and asked, "What is your mission at the headquarters?"

"The Military Commissioner will personally tell you the specific tasks." Sokov extended his hand to the other party: "Lieutenant Regarin, I hope we can meet soon."

An hour later, Sokov returned to the infantry brigade.

Seeing Sokov coming in from outside the tent, Karsokov said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, you are back!"

"I'm back!" Sokov said this while quickly looking around the tent. He found that besides Karsokov, there was only the radio operator Morozova. He asked curiously, "Where did the deputy brigade commander go?"

"He went to the field hospital." After Karsokov said this, he probably guessed that Sokov would ask the reason, so he took the initiative to say: "Comrade Brigade Commander, during the time you were away from the brigade, an outstanding combat hero emerged. However, he was wounded in the battle and is now recovering in the field hospital. The deputy brigade commander went to visit him."

"On my way back, I heard from Comrade Lobachev, the military commissar of the army group, that this combat hero fought against a battalion of German troops alone and stubbornly held the position when all his comrades were killed. Is this true?"

"Of course it's true," Karsokov said. "When our reinforcements arrived at the position after dark, they found that he was the only living person left on the entire position."

Ever since Sokov heard Lobachev mention this, he always had a strange feeling in his heart, thinking that such a record was a bit too outrageous. So the first thing he did when he returned to the brigade was to find out what happened in the battle. At this moment, he learned that the deputy brigade commander went to the field hospital to visit the injured soldier, so he said to Karsokov: "Chief of Staff, call Major Vasya, the commander of the fourth battalion, and ask him to come to the brigade headquarters immediately. I have something to ask him in person."

Ten minutes later, Major Vasya appeared in front of Sokov.

After Vasya saluted, Sokov stepped forward, shook his hand, and said enthusiastically: "Major Vasya, I heard that one of your platoons was almost completely killed, but the only remaining soldier still stubbornly blocked the enemy's attack and held the position. It's amazing!"

But when Vasya heard what Sokov said, a bitter expression flashed across his face.

Sokov saw the other person's expression clearly, and then asked back: "Why, Comrade Major, am I wrong?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, the enemy sent out a battalion of troops and launched an attack on the hill for a whole day, but they never captured it." Vasya said hesitantly, "When I brought the reinforcements there, there was indeed only one soldier left on the position."

Sokov found something wrong in Vasya's words, so he asked tentatively: "Major Vasya, do you think there is something wrong with this battle?"

"Comrade Commander," Vasya hesitated for a moment after hearing Sokov's question, and then said, "My men did block the German attack on the high ground, but I always have a feeling that the person who defended the position was not Spinachski..."

"How could it not be Spinachski?" Before Vasya could finish, Chief of Staff Karsokov said impatiently: "You yourself said that when you arrived with the reinforcements, Spinachski was the only one left on the position. If it wasn't him who stopped the enemy, who else could it be?"

After hearing what Karsokov said, Vasya fell silent.

"Major Vasya," Sokov raised his hand to stop Karsokov from saying something else, and said to Vasya in a friendly manner, "I want to hear your doubts. Why do you think that the person who is holding the position is not this Spinachski?"

"The reason is simple. He is a new recruit." After a fierce ideological struggle, Vasya decisively expressed his doubts: "After he was sent to the field hospital, I personally checked his backpack and found that there were 120 bullets left out of the 95 rounds of ammunition issued. This means that he only fired 25 bullets in the battle. Let me ask, with such a small amount of ammunition consumption, how could he hold off the Germans' attack for most of the day?"

"Major Vasya, why are you still dwelling on this?" Karsokov said disdainfully, "He should have picked up the weapons of his fallen comrades and repelled the enemy's attack."

(End of this chapter)