red moscow

Chapter 2891 Special Mission
At the edge of the snow-covered forest, there was a neatly-lined army.

At the front of the team stood a middle-aged commander wearing a gray otter-skin hat, a black military coat, and the rank of colonel on his collar badge.

There were three soldiers standing behind him. The soldier in the middle was holding a military flag. Although the flag was riddled with bullet holes, the unit number "315th Infantry Division" could still be clearly seen on it. On the left and right of the flag bearer, there was a flag bearer carrying a submachine gun.

Behind them are several new graves, each with a helmet on it, representing that a sacrificed soldier is buried there.

The colonel took two steps toward the team, then stopped and said in a heavy voice: "Comrades, today we are going to say goodbye to the comrades buried here. They sacrificed their precious lives for the freedom and independence of the motherland. We swear in front of the graves of our comrades that we will not let the enemy have a moment of peace. No matter day or night, as long as our hearts are still beating, as long as we still hold weapons in our hands, as long as there is an invader trampling on the land of our ancestors, we will fight to the end.

Years from now, when our children grow up, they will be proud of their fathers and mothers. They will tell our grandchildren about those who sacrificed their lives to defend our sacred land.

We will continue to march westward. There is still a long and difficult road ahead of us. We swear that we will return here with news of victory. "

As soon as the colonel finished speaking, the officers and soldiers in the queue shouted deafeningly: "We swear! We swear!! We swear!!!"

…………

"Comrade Brigade Commander, Comrade Brigade Commander!"

A burst of rapid shouting woke Sokov from his sleep.

Sokov sat up suddenly. When he saw that it was Romanov who woke him up, he rubbed his face with both hands, trying to make himself more awake, and then asked, "Romanov, what's the matter?"

"I heard you shouting in your sleep, 'We swear, we swear!' I guess you had a nightmare, so I had to take the liberty of waking you up."

Romanov's words left Sokov stunned for a long time, and then he remembered the dream he had not long ago.

He tried hard to recall whether the scene in his dream was from a movie he had watched before. But after thinking for a long time, he could not find the movie in his memory. It seemed that the content he saw in his dream was not a replay of a movie scene at all.

Seeing Karsokov sitting at the table and looking at him curiously, Sokov stood up and walked over, sat down next to Karsokov, and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you know the 315th Infantry Division?"

Karsokov answered without hesitation: "Comrade Commander, you are asking about General Panfilov's 316th Infantry Division, right? Their division is on the right wing of our brigade, and we have carried out joint operations before."

"No." But Sokov said, "I just dreamed of a troop. The number written on the flag they carried was the 315th Infantry Division. It was definitely not General Panfilov's troop."

Karsokov shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Comrade Brigade Commander. I've never heard of it. It shouldn't be a unit of the 16th Army."

After a pause, Karsokov asked curiously, "Comrade Commander, I heard you talking in your sleep just now. What did you dream about? Can you tell me?"

Romanlov, who was standing nearby, came over when he heard Karsokov's question, wanting to hear what Sokov would say.

Seeing that the two were interested in his dream, Sokov told them everything he had seen in his dream before the memory of the dream disappeared.

After hearing this, Karsokov couldn't help but frowned: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I think this is just an ordinary dream, don't think too much about it." In order to increase the persuasiveness, he also emphasized, "Comrade Brigade Commander, now our troops are retreating eastward, but the lieutenant colonel you saw in your dream said that he would lead the troops to the west. This is too absurd. If there really is such a unit, wouldn't it be tantamount to sending the officers and soldiers to their deaths?"

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander." Romanov also echoed Sokalsokov's statement: "Before our army launched a full-scale counterattack, all the troops were moving eastward. How could there be any troops advancing westward? Even if there were, I'm afraid it wouldn't take long for them to be annihilated by the enemy."

Sokov picked up the silver cigarette case on the table, opened it, took out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth but did not light it immediately. He was thinking in his mind whether his dream was real or just an ordinary dream as Karsokov said. After all, he was fighting every day, and he dreamed about what he thought about during the day. It seemed normal to dream about an unfamiliar army.

Seeing Sokov standing there in a daze with a cigarette in his mouth, Romanov quickly struck a match and wanted to light the cigarette for Sokov, but Sokov waved his hand to refuse: "Thank you, Romanov, I don't want to smoke for the time being." After saying that, he threw the cigarette on the table.

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov looked at Karsokov and asked, "Any news about the reconnaissance team sent out to search?"

Karsokov shook his head and then expressed his own opinion: "It may not be easy for them to find our secret arsenal hidden in the forest within 24 hours. Comrade Brigade Commander, I think we should give them an extension of the deadline?"

"No." Sokov rejected Karsokov's request flatly: "If we can't find the hidden arsenal as soon as possible, the troops will soon face a shortage of ammunition and supplies. At that time, let alone the enemy's attack, even if there is no attack, the soldiers will lose their combat effectiveness due to hunger."

Just as the tent fell into silence because of Sokov's words, Morozova, who was sitting in front of the walkie-talkie, suddenly exclaimed: "Comrade Commander, I received an unfamiliar band, and the other party is calling non-stop."

"Receive the signal immediately." Sokov walked quickly behind Morozova and told her, "Maybe some troops trapped behind enemy lines are trying to get in touch with their superiors. We have to help them."

A few minutes later, Morozova handed a telegram to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, this is the telegram I just received."

Sokov took the telegram and after reading its contents, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock.

Seeing this, Karsokov came over and asked curiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, what did you see?"

"The 315th Infantry Division." Sokov said excitedly, "The telegram is from the 315th Infantry Division."

Hearing what Sokov said, Karsokov snatched the telegram, quickly read through the contents, and asked Morozova: "Comrade Morozova, are you sure there is no translation error in the telegram?" "Comrade Chief of Staff." Morozova looked up at Karsokov and said with an aggrieved expression: "Please believe in my professional level. How could I translate such a simple telegram wrongly?"

After confirming that the contents of the telegram were correct, Karsokov turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, it seems that your dream is true. There is indeed a 315th Infantry Division, but I don't know where they are now."

"We'll figure it out, Comrade Chief of Staff." After saying this, Sokov instructed Morozova: "Comrade Morozova, call the other side immediately, state our identity, and ask where their troops are now."

"All right, Comrade Commander, I'll send them a telegram right away."

Watching Morozova send the telegram, although Sokov was anxiously waiting for the other party's reply, he did not urge Morozova, but just stood behind her and waited quietly.

Ten minutes later, a call back from the 315th Infantry Division arrived, which clearly stated the current location of the troops.

Karsokov took the telegram, returned to the table, and looked down at the map to find the current location of the 315th Infantry Division.

Soon, Karsokov looked up at Sokov and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, the Lechitsa area where the 315th Infantry Division is located is about kilometers away from us."

Hearing the data Karsokov said, Sokov couldn't help but frown.

If the enemy was only a few dozen kilometers away, I could still send troops to support them. But now they were more than 200 kilometers away. If they turned around and joined my troops, I didn't know how many German troops they would encounter along the way. Even if someone could break through the German encirclement and reach my defense zone, I'm afraid only one in ten would survive. Instead of letting them come and die, it would be better to let them continue to operate in the area. Maybe they could survive.

"Too far away." Sokov shook his head and said with regret, "They are too far away from us. Even if I want them to come and join us, it is impossible."

"What a pity." Karsokov sighed after hearing what Sokov said, "No matter what, they are an infantry division after all. Even if a large part of them were lost in the battles in the past few months, they should still have several thousand people. If they can rush over to join us, we can strengthen our strength."

Sokov had already given up the idea of ​​asking the 315th Infantry Division to rush over and join him. First, the two units were too far apart, so it was not realistic for them to join forces. Second, even if the other side managed to reach the location of the Infantry Brigade, one was a division-level unit and the other was a brigade-level unit. After the two sides joined forces, would he command this unit or would the other side command it?
The phone on the table rang, and Sokov picked up the receiver and put it to his ear: "I'm Sokov!"

Malinin's voice came from the receiver: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I hope I didn't disturb your rest."

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov knew very well that if it wasn't something important, Malinin wouldn't wake him up in the early morning by calling him, so he asked tentatively, "Do you have any instructions?"

"It's not really an instruction, but there is something I need your assistance with."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, please give me your orders."

"It's like this," Malinin said, "Half an hour ago, the army headquarters received a telegram from the 315th Infantry Division trapped behind enemy lines. The commander instructed that we must find the whereabouts of this unit as soon as possible and see if we can get them to the defense zone of the 16th Army."

Upon learning that the army headquarters was also looking for the whereabouts of the 315th Infantry Division, Sokov was briefly stunned and quickly said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, we have established contact with the 315th Infantry Division. They are now in the Lezitsa area, more than 16 kilometers away from our brigade's defense zone. It is obviously unrealistic to ask them to return to the area controlled by the th Army."

"What? They are in the Lecica area, more than 200 kilometers away from our army's defense zone?" Malinin was very surprised after hearing this. "So, they can't rush over to join us?"

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, that's right." Sokov answered truthfully, "I just thought about sending troops to meet them if the enemy is no more than 100 kilometers away from me, and let them come to my brigade's defense zone to join us. But when I learned that they were more than 200 kilometers away, I gave up the idea."

"Wait a minute, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't hang up yet." Malinin reminded him on the phone: "I will report this to the commander first and see what he says."

"Okay, please do as you please."

Soon, Sokov heard Malinin and Rokossovsky talking in low voices. Perhaps because Malinin covered the microphone with his hand, he couldn't hear what they were talking about, but the topic was definitely related to the 315th Infantry Division trapped behind enemy lines.

A few minutes later, Malinin's voice came out of the receiver again: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, after discussing with Comrade Commander, I plan to ask you to send someone to the Lecica area to contact this unit trapped behind enemy lines. If they can successfully break through and enter our army's defense zone, that would be the best. Even if they cannot return to our defense zone, Comrade Commander hopes that they can launch guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines and cooperate with our operations on the front battlefield."

Sokov knew not whether to laugh or cry when he learned that Rokossovsky had asked him to send someone to contact the 315th Infantry Division. The distance of more than 315 kilometers could only be reached within one day unless they took a fast means of transportation. If they walked, it would take at least four or five days to reach their current location. The th Division was trapped behind enemy lines and could not stay in one place for too long. Now, by the time they arrived on foot, they might have moved to a new location.

After Sokov hung up the phone, he told Karsokov the headquarters' order and finally asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, who do you think will carry out this mission?"

Karsokov said nothing, but just stared at Sokov.

Sokov frowned slightly, then asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are not going to propose that I carry out this mission, are you?"

Unexpectedly, after Sokov finished speaking, Karsokov nodded in affirmation: "Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander, I think no one is more suitable for this task than you."

After hearing this, Sokov smiled bitterly and said, "I am the head of a brigade. How can I leave my combat post and carry out a mission that an ordinary scout can complete?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, that's not the right way to put it." Karsokov shook his head and said, "Although an ordinary scout can perform such a mission, they may not be able to gain the other party's trust. I think it would be more appropriate for you to do it yourself."

(End of this chapter)