red moscow

Chapter 2900

After listening to his subordinate's report, the sergeant's face was full of surprise. He turned his head and asked Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are these four the only enemies who entered the freight center?"

Before Sokov could speak, Zhukov said, "Yes, there are only these four people."

"Really only four people?"

"Yes, Comrade Sergeant." Sokov felt that he should take advantage of this incident to criticize the sergeant, so that he would not make similar mistakes in future reconnaissance operations: "As a scout, it is right to report to your superiors in a timely manner when you discover the enemy's whereabouts. However, before reporting, it is best to find out the specific situation of the enemy, so that your superiors will not make a misjudgment after receiving your report and make a wrong decision."

Hearing what Sokov said, the sergeant's face flushed all the way to his ears. He lowered his head and said a little embarrassedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I was wrong. I will remember this lesson and avoid making similar mistakes in the future."

Seeing that the other party had a good attitude of admitting his mistakes, Sokov nodded slightly and then said, "Comrade Sergeant, you have to do two things next."

"What two things?"

"First, send someone back immediately to report the actual situation of the freight center to Colonel Politic," Sokov said. "Second, have your men check the other locomotives to see if they can be used."

"Okay, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." The sergeant nodded and said, "I will take someone to check the locomotive first. After confirming whether it can be used, I will send someone to report the situation here to the division commander."

Seeing the sergeant personally leading people to check the train station, Zhukov leaned close to Sokov and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what should we do next? Should we stay here or follow the scouts back to the division headquarters?"

"I think we should stay here." Sokov looked at the locomotive and carriages in front of him and said to Zhukov, "Since it has been decided that the troops will move by train from here, we will follow the scouts back to the division headquarters and will come back later. Instead of going back and forth, it is better to stay here and wait."

The sergeant and his men quickly checked the locomotives and came to Sokov and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have checked them carefully. There are six locomotives in total, and four of them are usable, enough to pull 20 wagons."

"Now that the inspection is complete, send someone back to report to Colonel Politic as soon as possible." Sokov said to the sergeant, "Don't keep your division commander waiting."

Thanks to the newly captured motorcycles, the scouts who went back to report the news no longer ran back on foot, but drove their motorcycles at the fastest speed to the division headquarters.

Half an hour later, Haranchuk arrived at the freight center with a company of soldiers.

After arriving at the place, Halanchuk arranged his troops to set up defenses near the freight center to prevent any more German scouts from breaking in.

After doing all this, Haranchuk came to Sokov and said, "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid we wouldn't have figured out the situation at the freight center until now. On behalf of the division commander, I would like to thank you."

"You're welcome. After all, it's my duty to take you back." After saying this, Sokov asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Haranchuk, how long will it take for all your troops to arrive here?"

"The troops are too scattered and communication is difficult. It will take at least four or five hours to gather them all together."

"Ah, it takes so long?" Sokov said in shock, "Won't it be dark by the time the troops gather?"

"No way." Haranchuk replied bitterly, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, this is still the fastest speed. You know, we still have hundreds of seriously injured soldiers. It will probably take a lot of time to transfer them here."

Sokov began to think that it would take four or five hours just to assemble the troops. If the wounded were transferred, another two or three hours would be wasted. It would probably be late at night before the troops finished boarding the trains. Thinking of this, he said to Haranchuk, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I will go to Colonel Politik to discuss how to speed up the assembly of the troops. You will stay here and be responsible for the work of marshaling the trains."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, leave the matters here to me. You can go and find the division commander with peace of mind."

Sokov called Zhukov and Chulxin back to the car. The car had not driven a short distance when Sokov asked Chulxin to stop the car.

Upon hearing this, Churxin immediately stopped the car.

"Comrade Brigade Commander, is there anything else you haven't told me?" Zhu Kewen asked.

Sokov shook his head and explained to the two men, "We are wearing German uniforms and driving a German car. We are going directly back to the division headquarters. If we encounter the troops rushing here on the way, there might be misunderstandings."

"What should we do?"

"That's easy." Sokov called over the scout sergeant standing not far away and said politely, "Comrade Sergeant, I want to ask you for a favor."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if you have anything to say, please feel free to tell me."

"We are going back to the division headquarters." Sokov pointed to his German uniform and said, "We are wearing German uniforms. If we encounter the troops rushing to assemble on the road, there may be misunderstandings. So I would like you to send two people on motorcycles to lead the way for us."

After figuring out what Sokov wanted him to do, the sergeant agreed readily: "I'll arrange for someone to help you right away."

In this way, the three-wheeled motorcycle carrying two scouts led the way, and the German car driven by Churxin followed closely behind, heading towards the location of the division headquarters.

Sokov returned to the church where the division headquarters was located.

When Politic saw Sokov appear, he nodded at him and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I have sent out signal soldiers to notify those troops that cannot be contacted by phone to rush to the freight center immediately."

"Comrade Colonel, I have come to see you in a hurry because I have something important to discuss with you."

Politic showed a look of astonishment on his face, and then said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if you have anything to say, just speak up."

"Just now, Lieutenant Colonel Haranchuk told me that it would take four or five hours to assemble the troops. And it would take even longer to send all the wounded to the freight center." Sokov looked at Politic and said, "At this rate, it will probably be late at night when all the officers and soldiers get on the bus. The troops will march in unfamiliar areas at night, and many accidents may happen, so we must find a way to shorten the time it takes to assemble the troops." "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, Haranchuk is right. Four or five hours is already the fastest speed." Politic said with a wry smile, "After all, the troops are too scattered, and there are so many wounded, which will definitely affect the speed of the troops' assembly."

"Comrade Colonel, I am in a hurry to get back to the division headquarters because I have thought of a way to shorten the time it takes for the troops to assemble."

When Politic heard what Sokov said, his eyes lit up immediately, and he immediately asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, tell me quickly, what is the solution?"

"Comrade Colonel, come and see." Sokov pointed to the map on the table and said to Politic, "Some troops of your division are distributed along the railway. I think we don't need to let them go to the freight center. Instead, we can choose a boarding point nearby and let them board the train when the train passes by. In this way, the assembly time of the troops can be greatly shortened."

After listening to Sokov's proposal, Politic stared at the map in front of him and began to think. Yes, some troops were originally scattered along the railway. Now they were asked to gather together and go to the freight center to board the train. This would definitely take a lot of time. But if they followed Sokov's suggestion and set up a boarding point near the station, and waited for the train to arrive, they could greatly shorten the time it took to assemble the troops.

Thinking of this, Politic nodded vigorously, then gave Sokov a thumbs up and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, your suggestion is good. I will accept it. I will immediately send out signal soldiers to notify the troops along the railway line. They no longer need to rush to the freight center to assemble, but choose to board the train at the nearest boarding point."

Seeing that Politic agreed to his suggestion, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief and said to Politic, "Comrade Colonel, can I borrow your radio?"

"Radio?" Hearing Sokov's words, Politic was stunned at first, then he understood why the other party wanted to borrow the radio, and nodded quickly and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the radio is over there, please go ahead."

"Morozova!" After getting Politic's approval, Sokov called Morozova to his side and ordered, "Send a telegram to the brigade headquarters immediately, saying that we plan to return to the defense zone by train and will get off at a small station a few kilometers away from the defense zone. Ask him to arrange for someone to pick us up."

"Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander, I'll send the message immediately."

Just a few minutes after sending the telegram, Morozova received a reply from the brigade headquarters.

"Comrade Commander," Morozova translated the contents of the telegram and handed it to Sokov, "This is the reply from the brigade headquarters."

Sokov quickly glanced at the telegram, and the content was simple: "We have been informed, and personnel will be sent to meet you when the time comes."

After arranging the signalman to convey the order, Politic came to Sokov and asked curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what did your subordinates reply to you?"

"They said they would send someone to pick them up when the time comes." After Sokov finished speaking the contents of the telegram, he continued, "Comrade Colonel, in order to pass through the German defense zone smoothly, you need to find some German uniforms for your men to change into."

"Don't worry, we have prepared more than a hundred sets. Once you get on the train, we will arrange for people to change into them."

"In addition, we need to hang the German flag on the train." Sokov continued to remind the other party, "This way, the train we are riding will look like a German military train and avoid alerting the German troops along the way."

"Of course." Politic nodded and said, "In addition to the front of the train, there will also be several flags hung on the rear carriages to dispel the Germans' suspicions."

Sokov smiled and nodded: "That's great. This will greatly increase our chances of successfully passing through the German defense zone."

After waiting for Sokov to finish, Politic expressed his concerns: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, your plan is really too bold. If there is any mistake along the way, I am afraid that my army will be wiped out."

"Comrade Colonel, we can only take a gamble." Sokov said with a smile: "As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must find a way to return to our defense zone. It is better than staying here and waiting to die. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, you are right."

Under Politic's arrangement, an hour and a half later, the first batch of troops that arrived at the freight center boarded the train one after another.

After the train started, the troops waiting at the boarding points along the way were allowed to board the train one after another.

Three hours later, all the troops of the 315th Division successfully boarded the train.

Haranchuk, who was in the last carriage, was shocked when he heard the news. He said to Politic and Sokov, who were sitting next to him, "I didn't expect it. The original plan required at least six hours for all the troops to board the train. But after making adjustments based on Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's proposal, we only took half the time to get all the troops on board."

"All the troops have boarded the trains, which is only the first step of the retreat." Although all the troops have boarded the trains, Sokov is still in a tense state. He said with a serious expression: "Next, it depends on whether we can successfully pass through the German defense lines."

Politik agreed with Sokov's statement. He said to Haranchuk, "Comrade Haranchuk, before the troops boarded the train, did you tell the officers and soldiers that no one except soldiers in German uniforms could approach the half-open door before reaching the destination?"

"We've explained everything." Facing Politik's concerns, Haranchuk replied: "There is a commander next to each half-open door. Once they find a soldier not wearing a German uniform approaching the door, they will take the initiative to stop them."

Politik nodded: "Whether the officers and soldiers obey the orders we give is directly related to whether the troops can successfully pass through the German defense line and return safely to our defense zone."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Haranchuk turned his head and looked at Sokov, asking with some lack of confidence: "It will take another three hours for the train to reach the drop-off point. By the time we get there, it will be dark. Have you arranged for someone to pick us up?"

"Of course." Sokov nodded vigorously and said in a positive tone: "If the troops arrive in an unfamiliar area at night without a guide, they may lose their way. You know, our army and the German army are now in a jagged position. Once they lose their way, it will lead to extremely serious consequences. Therefore, long before we set off, I contacted my subordinates and asked them to arrange personnel to meet us at the area where we get off the bus."

Upon learning that Sokov's men had returned to support him, Haranchuk felt more at ease. He looked out the window and murmured, "If we wait a little longer, we may have to pass through the German defense zone. Can we really get through smoothly?"

Facing Haranchuk's concerns, Sokov smiled and said, "Don't worry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. Our train is flying the German flag, and standing at the door of the sealed carriage are soldiers wearing German military uniforms. Even if the Germans along the way see it, they will think that the train is carrying troops sent to the front line and will not doubt it."

Although Sokov had said this, Haranchuk still drew a cross on his chest and whispered: "God bless us, and bless our troops to pass through the German defense line smoothly."

(End of this chapter)