red moscow

Chapter 2874: Leniency

"I don't know." Rokossovsky answered truthfully: "I received a notice two days ago that Comrade Stalin would soon come to inspect my army group. I thought your superiors had informed you in advance."

"I didn't receive any notice at all." Zhukov said in an unhappy tone: "If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that Comrade Stalin was inspecting the frontier."

Although Rokossovsky suspected that the person who came was not Stalin himself but just a substitute, he did not tell Zhukov his guess. Instead, he said tactfully: "I didn't tell you, probably for the sake of confidentiality. After all, we are very close to the front line. If the news leaks out and the Germans concentrate their forces to launch an assault, it is possible to tear a gap in the defense line of my army group and threaten the safety of Comrade Stalin."

Zhukov agreed with Rokossovsky's statement. If the Germans knew that Stalin was inspecting the frontier, they would definitely try to attack him. He then asked: "Koschka, did Comrade Stalin tell you where to launch a counterattack?"

"He didn't say that," Rokossovs replied. "After my Chief of Staff Malinin's research, I think the defense zone where the infantry brigade is now located is very suitable for launching the counterattack requested by Comrade Stalin."

"Which defense zone is the infantry brigade located in?" Zhukov asked tentatively, "The infantry brigade commanded by Major Sokov?"

"Yes, that's him I'm talking about."

"How is the situation there?" Zhukov asked with concern. "The troops on his left and right wings have basically been repelled by the German army. This unit has become an isolated force. If they are surrounded by the enemy, they may be annihilated at any time."

"The brigade has four infantry brigades under its command. From south to north, they are the 4th Battalion, the 1st Battalion, the 2nd Battalion and the 3rd Battalion." Rokossovsky introduced the situation of the infantry brigade to Zhukov: "The enemy is now bombarding and bombing the positions of the 4th Battalion. In addition, a large number of tanks and armored vehicles are gathering in the forest in front of the battalion's positions. It seems that they intend to use this as a breakthrough point to tear open the defense line of our army group."

"What measures did Major Sokov take in the face of the German army's fierce artillery bombardment and crazy bombing?"

"No measures have been taken yet." Rokossovsky was worried that Zhukov might have some bad associations with Sokov. "The enemy is bombing the Fourth Battalion's position right now. Even if he wants to take any measures, I'm afraid he will have to wait until the bombing is over."

"Koschka, do you think they can hold their positions?" Zhukov asked this question with a serious expression, and added: "You once told me that this unit was formed not long ago. You know, the commanders and soldiers of the new unit lack coordination and are not familiar with each other. Their cooperation in battle may not be satisfactory."

"You can rest assured about this. Although this unit was established not long ago, it has performed well in the battle." Rokossovsky: "I believe that they will have the confidence to stop the enemy even if faced with a crazy attack from the enemy."

"That's good, that's good." Zhukov felt more relieved after hearing what Rokossovsky said: "Then I wish them good luck!"

Just as Zhukov was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly remembered something important: "By the way, Koschka, I have one more thing."

"whats the matter?"

"Several people will pass through your army's defense line tonight," Zhukov said. "They are all wearing German uniforms. Tell the soldiers not to stop them."

When Rokossovsky heard that it was such a trivial matter, he said disapprovingly: "Comrade Zhukov, are our comrades disguised as Germans and trying to penetrate deep into the enemy's defense zone?"

Unexpectedly, after he said this, Zhukov remained silent for a long time before he slowly said, "No, among these people, except for one who is our comrade, the rest are real Germans, enemies who were captured by our army."

Zhukov's words confused Rokossovsky: "Georgy Konstantinovich, what is going on? Why are all these people enemies except one?"

"I don't know the specifics," Zhukov said. "Not long ago, Comrade Beria called me personally and said that he was planning to send a comrade disguised as a German to infiltrate the German army. In order to prevent the Germans from doubting his identity, he asked him to pretend to rescue several German prisoners of war and escape through our defense line into the German-controlled area."

After listening to this, Rokossovsky asked hesitantly: "Georgy Konstantinovich, since most of these people are enemies, do I need to send someone to contact them?"

"No, lest the enemy discover our flaws." Zhukov finally emphasized: "If possible, arrest them immediately after discovering their traces."

"But didn't you just tell me not to stop them?"

"Yes, I did say that." Zhukov said, "But if their escape is too smooth, even if they return to the German side, it may arouse suspicion, so the best way is to send people to hunt them down, but don't catch them. Do you understand?"

Rokossovsky found that this seemingly simple task was extremely difficult to carry out. Although he complained in his heart, since Zhukov asked him, he could only pretend to be nonchalant and said, "Don't worry, Comrade Zhukov, I will let them pass through my army's defense zone safely."

"If possible, it would be best to let them pass through the front line from the infantry brigade's defense zone. After all, there are a large number of enemies gathered there. After our comrades pass through the front line, they will be able to connect with the Germans in the shortest possible time."

"Ok."

After Rokossovsky hung up the phone, he turned to the communications director, Maximenko, and asked, "Comrade Communications Director, can we make a telephone call to the Infantry Brigade?"

"Not yet," the elderly Maximenko replied, "the telephone line may not be connected until tomorrow. If you have urgent matters, you can contact them by telegram."

"No." Unexpectedly, just as Maximenko finished speaking, Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "I have something important to tell Major Sokov. If we communicate via telegram, it may be intercepted by the German telecommunications department."

Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Maximenko showed an embarrassed expression on his face.

Lobachev, who had a low sense of presence, saw Maksimenko's expression and quickly came out to smooth things over: "Comrade Colonel, I think the commander may want to know the situation of the infantry brigade at any time. It may be inconvenient to always contact through telegrams. Moreover, the content of the telegrams sent by both sides is too much, which will attract the attention of the German intelligence department. If the telegrams are intercepted and the content is deciphered, then our plan will be exposed to the Germans."

After hearing what Lobachev said, Maximenko, after a mental struggle, gritted his teeth and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, I will immediately arrange for the signalmen to lay the line. If everything goes well, you will be able to communicate directly with the infantry brigade in two hours at most." Rokossovsky was very satisfied with Maximenko's answer, and nodded at him: "Comrade Colonel, I'm leaving it to you."

While Maximenko was arranging the signalmen to lay the telephone lines, Malinin approached Rokossovsky and whispered, "Comrade Commander, what task has General Zhukov assigned to you?"

Rokossovsky glanced at Malinin and said in a low voice: "Zhukov told me that several prisoners in German uniforms will cross our defense line and escape to the enemy at night."

"What? Some prisoners want to escape back to the German-occupied area?" Malinin got angry when he heard this. "Comrade Commander, don't worry. I will immediately arrange for people to intercept them and will never let any German prisoners escape back to the German-occupied area."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are mistaken." Rokossovsky waved his hand and said, "Zhukov's intention is to let us let these prisoners of war pass through the front line and escape to the German-occupied area."

Rokossovsky's words confused Malinin: "Comrade Commander, what is going on?"

Malinin didn't understand what was going on, but Lobachev, who was standing next to him, was enlightened and asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander, if I'm not mistaken, there must be some of our own among these German prisoners of war, right?"

A smile appeared on Rokossovsky's face. He didn't say anything, but just gave Lobachev a thumbs up.

Malinin asked Lobachev puzzledly: "Comrade Military Commissar, what kind of riddle are you and Comrade Commander talking about? I am completely confused."

"Is it OK, Comrade Commander?" Lobachev did not explain to Malinin immediately, but looked at Rokossovsky and asked. After seeing the other party nod, he explained to Malinin: "Since those German prisoners of war are real, and the superiors ordered us to let them pass through our defense line, it means that there must be one of our own among them. He fled to the German-occupied area with these real German prisoners of war. After he joined the Germans, it would not be easy to arouse the enemy's suspicion."

After listening to Lobachev's explanation, Malinin suddenly understood: "So that's what's going on. I understand." The next moment, he turned his gaze to Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade Commander, what should we do?"

Since Malinin and Lobachev already knew about this, Rokossovsky didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his plan: "I plan to send people to ambush them on their escape route. Once we see them appear, we will shoot them... Of course, we can't let the other side suffer casualties. We don't know what our people look like. If we accidentally kill them, the ambush plan will fail."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Malinin patted his chest and assured Rokossovsky, "I promise to let them pass through the front safely."

"Comrade Commander," Malinin had just finished speaking when Lobachev asked curiously, "Comrade Commander, from which section do you plan to let them pass through our defense line?"

"I'm thinking of going through the section where the infantry brigade is located," Rokossovsky said. "The infantry brigade is engaged in battle during the day, and when the fighting stops at night, both sides are busy cleaning up the mess and can't take care of other things. It shouldn't be a big problem for the prisoners to pass through this section."

When the infantry brigade was mentioned, Rokossovsky immediately remembered that it was being bombed by the Germans, and asked Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, does Major Sokov have any new telegrams?"

"Not yet, Comrade Commander," Malinin replied quickly, "The ground battle probably hasn't started yet, so Major Sokov didn't send a telegram."

Rokossovsky couldn't help but sigh after hearing this: "It's a pity that we can't get through to the infantry brigade headquarters by phone for the time being and can't get timely information about the battle situation over there. Everything can only be guessed."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Malinin saw Maximenko leave the headquarters and continued, "Our communications director has gone to arrange the work. I think we will be able to communicate with the infantry brigade headquarters in an hour or so at most."

"I hope so." Rokossovsky said, and then ordered Malinin: "Send a telegram to Sokov and ask him what the situation is there."

Malinin agreed and ran to a radio operator and told him, "Send a message to the infantry brigade and ask Major Sokov to report the situation there immediately."

A few minutes later, Malinin returned to Rokossovsky, holding a telegram he had just received, and reported to him: "Comrade Commander, Major Sokov's telegram has arrived."

"How did he say?"

"He said that the enemy's air raid had ended. Major Vasya, the commander of the Fourth Battalion, immediately arranged for someone to count the casualties and losses."

Hearing Malinin's words, Rokossovsky's heart tightened, and he immediately asked, "What are the casualties and losses?"

"The casualties of the entire battalion reached two-thirds, and the fortifications we had built were almost all destroyed by the enemy's artillery and bombing."

Malinin's words made Rokossovsky and Lobachev gasp. If the troops on the battlefield suffered such heavy losses, would they still be able to continue fighting? Moreover, if the fortifications were destroyed, how could the light infantry fight against the German tanks and armored vehicles?

"Tell Sokov to immediately transfer personnel from other battalions to reinforce the Fourth Battalion," Rokossovsky ordered. "At the same time, we must repair the fortifications as soon as possible, so as not to be unable to resist the possible attack launched by the German army."

"Comrade Commander, I haven't finished reading the contents of the telegram."

"Go on."

"Major Sokov reported that the reserve troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Belkin, the deputy brigade commander, are deployed in the forest behind the Fourth Battalion. He plans to draw some troops from the reserve troops to replenish the Fourth Battalion, which has suffered heavy losses. At the same time, the remaining officers and soldiers will continue to dig trenches and build fortifications in the forest. In this way, even if the Fourth Battalion's position is breached by the enemy, the newly established defense line will be able to block the enemy's attack."

Rokossovsky, who had been frowning, finally showed a relieved smile on his face: "This Misha is really extraordinary. I originally thought that the Fourth Battalion's position could not withstand the German attack after the German army's bombardment. I didn't expect that he actually had such a trick up his sleeve. It seems that the enemy cannot make an effective breakthrough from the Fourth Battalion's direction. This makes me feel relieved."

"Comrade Commander," Lobachev interrupted, "Comrade Sokov is now the brigade commander, but his rank is still major. Do you think he should be promoted?"

(End of this chapter)