red moscow

Chapter 2871 The truth comes out

According to Sokov's speculation, since the German army had completed the shelling of the positions of three battalions, their attack on the fourth battalion should begin soon. If Belkin and the reserve troops arrived near the fourth battalion's position in advance and stood by, they could provide timely support.

But after waiting for a long time, the German army never launched an attack on the Fourth Battalion. On the contrary, the enemy bombarded the positions of the other three battalions and even bombarded the high ground outside the Fourth Battalion's position, but never launched a ground attack.

After Karsokov finished calling the battalion commanders, he asked Sokov with a strange expression: "Comrade Brigade Commander, did we make a mistake in our judgment?"

"What misjudgment?" Sokov asked.

"Perhaps the enemy feels that there is no need to attack our brigade's defense zone. As long as they take the left and right wings, they can isolate us." Karsokov expressed his opinion: "From their performance today, they bombarded the positions of three battalions. Perhaps they are worried that when they attack the positions of the 1073rd Regiment, our army will attack them from the rear."

In response to Karsokov's statement, Sokov began to ponder: Were the Germans bombarding the positions of the three battalions in order to divert their attention? Or were they, as the chief of staff said, worried that when the Germans attacked the positions of the 1073rd Regiment, they would send their own troops to attack their flanks and rear?

After thinking for a long time, Sokov sighed softly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, now we can only wait and see what happens."

By the evening, the enemy still had not launched an attack on the Fourth Battalion's position.

Belkin, who had been on standby behind the 4th Battalion's position for most of the day with his reserve troops, returned to the brigade headquarters.

As soon as he entered the tent, he shouted anxiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have been waiting behind the Fourth Battalion's position with the reserve troops for most of the day, but there has been no German attack. What is going on?"

For a moment, Sokov didn't know how to respond and could only smile bitterly at the other party.

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander," Karsokov said, "I discussed this with the Brigade Commander this afternoon. I think there is another possibility that the Germans did not attack. That is, they were worried that they would be attacked from the flank by our brigade when they attacked the position of the 1073rd Regiment. Therefore, they bombarded the positions of the three battalions with artillery fire to prevent us from easily letting the troops leave the positions to support the friendly forces that were attacked."

Belkin nodded repeatedly after hearing what Karsokov said and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said is possible. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why the German army bombarded the positions of our three battalions continuously during the day but never launched a ground attack."

After saying this, he turned to look at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, should we withdraw the reserve troops first?"

"No, no." Sokov rejected Belkin's request without hesitation: "You know, the Germans have assembled a large number of armored forces in the forest in front of the Fourth Battalion. Even if there is no attack today, it does not mean that they will not launch an attack tomorrow. If the reserve troops are withdrawn, it will be too late to pull them up when the Fourth Battalion is in danger."

"But judging from various signs, it is unlikely that the enemy will launch an attack."

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I think you are wrong." Sokov said with a serious expression: "If the Germans do not want to break through the Fourth Battalion's position, then why did they gather so many tanks and armored vehicles in the forest? Are they just for show?"

After hearing what Sokov said, Belkin stopped talking. He had to admit in his heart that Sokov's worry was justified. The Germans had placed so many tanks and armored vehicles in the forest in front of the Fourth Battalion's position, and they were definitely not just for show. Although they did not launch an attack today, it did not mean that they would not attack tomorrow.

"Misha, Misha!" Tonya's voice came from outside the tent.

When Sokov heard her voice, he immediately realized that her presence here must be related to Chevaryag. He quickly walked to the door of the tent and asked Tonya who was standing outside: "Tonia, what do you want from me?"

"Corporal Chevaryanag has woken up, and he wants to see you." Tonya glanced into the tent, then asked cautiously, "Can you come over?"

Sokov thought that it was already dark and the German army would not take any action. It should be no problem for him to go to the field hospital with Tonya. He turned to the people in the tent and said, "Deputy Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, I'm going to the field hospital. If there is anything urgent, send someone to the field hospital to find me."

On the way to the field hospital, Sokov asked Tonya tentatively: "Tonya, after Corporal Chevaryanag woke up, did he tell him about what happened on the battlefield?"

"No." Tonya answered simply: "He said he would report to you personally."

"Then let's go faster." Sokov urged, "I'm eager to know what happened on the battlefield at that time."

Not long after, the two came to Chevaryanag's tent, where Vera was the only one.

Seeing Sokov coming in, Vera quickly stood up and greeted him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are here!" Then she bent down and said to Chevaryag lying on the stretcher, "Comrade Corporal, the brigade commander is here, just tell him what you want to say."

Chevaryag, lying on a stretcher, heard that Sokov had arrived and struggled to sit up. Sokov quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Comrade Corporal, you are still injured, you should lie down and rest."

After Chevaryag lay down again, Sokov asked with concern: "How do you feel?"

"Not bad, thank you for your concern, Comrade Brigade Commander."

After Sokov sat down on the stump next to the Chevaryag stretcher, he asked cautiously: "Comrade Corporal, can you tell me what happened on the battlefield at that time?"

Chevaryag nodded slightly and then told Sokov about the battle situation on the position at that time.

After Sokov patiently waited for the other party to finish his story, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Corporal, are you sure you were the only one left on the battlefield when the enemy attacked?"

"That's right, Comrade Brigade Commander, I can confirm this completely. I was the only one on the battlefield at that time."

"That's strange." Sokov pretended to be thoughtful in order to find out the truth of the matter. "But when Major Vasya, the commander of the Fourth Battalion, led his men to clean up the battlefield, they found another soldier. According to that man, he was the one who held the position alone."

When Chevaryang heard this, he became anxious. His face flushed with anger as he asked, "Who, who is that person?"

Sokov hesitated for a moment, but still said the man's name: "The surviving soldier is called Spinachski, and it is said that he has only been in the army for a few months."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Chevaryang said excitedly as he struggled to sit up, "How could he still be alive? I clearly shot him down with one shot."

This time it was Sokov's turn to be surprised: "What, the gunshot wound on his body was caused by you?" "He is not dead yet, it's too easy for him." Chevaryag said gritting his teeth.

Sokov asked curiously, "Why did you shoot him?"

"When the enemy started to attack, he was already panicking and was frightened out of his wits." Chevaryang said angrily, "The squad leader tried to stop him, but was pushed hard and rolled down the slope and was shot dead by the enemy. I shouted at him to stop, but he still ran to the rear of the position. I followed battlefield discipline and shot him. After seeing him fall to the ground, I turned around and continued to block the enemy's attack."

"Your shot did hit him, but it didn't kill him. It just made him unconscious." Sokov continued, "When the battle was over and Major Vasya and the deputy brigade commander led their men to the position, he just woke up and was naturally regarded as a hero who held the position alone."

Chevaryang raised his eyebrows and asked in confusion: "Did I stop breathing when they cleaned up the battlefield?"

"Of course not." Sokov shook his head and explained to the other party: "According to our later analysis, you might have been on the way to relocate your position, and the blast of the artillery shells directly blew you off the high ground, so the officers and soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield didn't find any trace of you."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Chevaryag nodded, and then asked Sokov cautiously: "Then how do you plan to deal with him?"

"Since he is not a lone hero who holds his ground, but a coward who flees from the battlefield, I will not be polite to him." Sokov said decisively: "He will be sent to a military court and receive the punishment he deserves."

After Sokov figured out what was going on, he comforted Chevaryag and left the tent.

Tonya chased after him, grabbed Sokov's arm and asked, "Misha, will Corporal Chevaryanag be awarded?"

"Of course, of course." Sokov glanced into the tent and said with a smile: "If a lone hero like him doesn't get rewarded, wouldn't the other officers and soldiers feel disheartened? Don't worry, he will get the honor that belongs to him."

Then he remembered something and said to Tonya, "Tonya, can you find the bullet that was taken out of Spinachski?"

When Dongnia heard this, she immediately understood what was going on and quickly said, "Misha, do you want to see whether the bullet is from our army or the German army?"

"Yes, that's what I thought."

"I'll go and ask right away to see if the warhead is still there."

When Sokov returned to the brigade headquarters, Belkin asked anxiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, has Corporal Chevaryanag woken up?"

"Yes, I'm awake now."

"Did he say anything?" Belkin asked timidly. "Who was the lone hero who held the high ground?"

"Of course it was Corporal Chevaryan," Sokov answered. "As for that Spinachsky, he was nothing but a panic-stricken coward and a shameful deserter."

"A deserter?" Belkin asked in astonishment. "He's running away from the battlefield?"

"That's right." Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "Corporal Chevaryanag told me that when Spinachsky was escaping, he pushed the squad leader of the eighth squad who was trying to stop him down the slope, and the squad leader was shot and killed. As the deputy squad leader, Corporal Chevaryanag shouted to Spinachsky to return to his combat post, but the squad leader ignored him, so he had to open fire to enforce battlefield discipline."

After listening to Sokov's story, Karsokov suddenly understood and said, "No wonder, the brigade commander said that based on the wound on Spinachski's back, it can be concluded that the bullet was shot from above. If it weren't for the internal organs blocking it, it would have most likely come out from the abdomen. At that time, I thought it was very strange. Why was the angle of the injury so strange? Now I understand that Spinachski is a coward who dares to be a deserter on the battlefield. If it were me, I would definitely shoot him."

Belkin's face was filled with shame. He regretted that he was careless and reported the matter to the army headquarters before finding out the truth. As a result, a deserter almost became a lone hero. If Sokov hadn't noticed something was wrong and stopped the awarding and promotion ceremony in time, Spinachski might have received the medal and become an officer.

If Spinachsky was awarded the medal and promoted to an officer, once the matter was exposed in the future, I am afraid that I, the deputy brigade commander, would be implicated, and even Sokov would be criticized by his superiors. Thinking of this, Belkin could not help but sweat. He apologized to Sokov and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I am so sorry, because of my recklessness, I almost made a big mistake."

Karsokov asked from the side: "Comrade Commander, what do you plan to do with this Spinachsky?"

"Of course, we should send him to a military court and let him receive the punishment he deserves."

Unexpectedly, after saying this, Karsokov shook his head and retorted: "Comrade Brigade Commander, Spinachski is just a private. How can he be qualified to go to the military court? Just tell the commander of the fourth battalion to take Spinachski back to enforce battlefield discipline."

"Well, then." Sokov felt that what Karsokov said made sense. It would be a great honor to have a private like Spinachski brought to a military court. He should just be handed over to Major Vasya for disposal. "Just hand it over to Major Vasya for disposal."

After receiving Sokov's order, Karsokov picked up the phone and connected to the command post of the 4th Battalion.

Vasya recognized Karsokov's voice and thought he was asking if the Germans in the forest were making any movement. So he took the initiative to say, "Comrade Chief of Staff, my men are closely monitoring the forest. If there is any movement by the enemy, they will report it to the brigade in time."

As soon as he finished speaking, Karsokov said, "Major Vasya, you are mistaken. I am not calling you to ask about the enemy's movements. I am calling you to ask about another matter."

"What's the matter?" Vasya asked in confusion.

"Do you remember Spinachski?" Karsokov was probably worried that Vasya would not remember him, so he reminded him, "He was the soldier you and the deputy brigade commander saved when you went up to clean up the battlefield after the enemy's attack on the hill was repelled."

"I remember, of course I remember." Vasya said, "Although the deputy brigade commander said he was a lone hero who defended the high ground, I doubted it, so I went to the brigade headquarters several times just to get to the bottom of it."

"Comrade Major, Corporal Chevaryanag has regained consciousness. According to his account, Spinachski was not a lone hero. On the contrary, he was a coward who was afraid of death. In order to escape, he even pushed his squad leader down the slope, causing him to be shot and killed. The wound on his body was left by the deputy squad leader, Corporal Chevaryanag, when he was enforcing battlefield discipline."

(End of this chapter)