red moscow

Chapter 2908

Sokov was shocked when he heard this, and thought to himself that when he came down from the lookout tower, the enemy had not yet approached the position of the Fourth Battalion. How come in the blink of an eye, the enemy attacked the position and engaged in close combat with the officers and soldiers who were defending the position?

He asked quickly: "Major Vasya, please tell me quickly, what is going on?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, after our position was heavily bombarded by the German army, most of the fortifications were destroyed. After the soldiers returned from the second-line position, the enemy launched an attack before they had time to repair the fortifications." Vasya explained to Sokov on the phone: "There was no choice. The soldiers could only use the bomb craters as bunkers to resist the enemy's attack. Unexpectedly, several armored vehicles and more than a dozen motorcycles rushed over from the left side of the position, directly broke into our defense line, and engaged in close combat with our soldiers. Fortunately, the nearby troops discovered the enemy and went to support them in time, so they repelled the enemy and held the position."

Although Vasya's report was very brief, Sokov knew very well that the battle must have been extremely brutal. It was unknown how many soldiers had died before they repelled the enemy that had broken into the defense line and restored their original position.

He waited for Vasya to finish speaking, then said slowly: "Well done, Major Vasya. Keep it up. If you encounter any difficulties, call me at any time. I will find a way to support you."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander," Vasya assured Sokov, "As long as we have one soldier alive, we will never let the enemy pass through our position."

When Sokov hung up the phone, he happened to see Karsokov had just hung up the phone, and asked hurriedly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, which battalion are you calling?"

"It's the Second Battalion," Karsokov replied. "I just asked Captain Alexa, and he said that although the enemy's shelling of their positions has stopped, they have not launched a ground attack. I have told him to hurry up and repair the fortifications and prepare for the German attack."

"What about the first and third battalions?" Sokov asked. "Are there any movements in front of their positions?"

"No," Karsokov replied, shaking his head. "So far, everything is quiet in front of the positions of the two battalions. There is no movement at all."

"Even so, we must not let our guard down," Sokov warned. "We must be vigilant so as not to be caught off guard by the enemy."

When Karsokov was about to call the first and third battalions, Sokov asked again: "Why didn't I see the deputy brigade commander? Where did he go?"

"He was worried that the Fourth Battalion's position would be breached by the enemy, so he went to the reserve team's defense area, ready to reinforce the Fourth Battalion if necessary."

Sokov nodded, then turned to Politic and said, "Comrade Colonel, if the German army focuses its attack on the Fourth Battalion's position today, we still have the strength to firmly defend it. But if they shift their focus of attack to the Second Battalion, we will need your troops to serve as a reserve in the rear."

"Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Politik replied with a smile: "Just now at the headquarters, General Rokossovsky talked to me specifically and hoped that I would consider the overall situation and temporarily hand over the command of the troops to you."

"Comrade Colonel, so you intend to hand over the command of the troops to me?"

Unexpectedly, after Sokov finished speaking, Politic shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I can't hand over the command of the troops to you."

Sokov's face darkened. He didn't expect that Politic would be so disregarding of the overall situation and reluctant to hand over the command of the troops. But the next moment, Politic's words made him realize that he had misunderstood him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please don't misunderstand me. I don't hand over the command of the troops to you, not because I don't care about the overall situation, but because I consider that this unit has followed me to fight behind enemy lines for several months, and the trust that the officers and soldiers have in me cannot be replaced by anyone. Even if I hand over the command of the troops to you, I'm afraid everyone will pretend to obey your orders, and then not only will I not be able to help you, but will hinder you."

"So what do you think?" Sokov asked expressionlessly.

"Here's what I think. Although I won't hand over the command of the troops to you, from now on, I will obey your command." Politic explained: "If you have any combat missions, just give me orders, and I will give orders to the troops. What do you think?"

After figuring out Politic's intention, Sokov's expression became relaxed: "Comrade Colonel, you are very thoughtful. I will do as you say."

After the two sides reached a consensus on the use of troops, Politic made another request: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you should know the situation of our division better than anyone else. We have been fighting behind enemy lines for several months without any supplies. Our ammunition and supplies are basically exhausted. Can you replenish my troops as soon as possible so that we can have the ability to fight?"

"Comrade Colonel, since our troops will soon be fighting side by side, it is only natural for me to replenish your ammunition and supplies." Sokov had no reason to refuse Politic's small request, and nodded in agreement: "I will immediately notify the quartermaster to come over and have them replenish your weapons and supplies."

After that, Sokov picked up the phone on the table and called the quartermaster Popov: "Comrade Popov, this is Sokov! Come to the brigade headquarters immediately."

Captain Popov, who received Sokov's call, immediately rushed to the brigade headquarters as quickly as possible.

But when he hurried into the tent and saw a colonel standing next to Sokov, he seemed very hesitant. He didn't know Politic's identity, and he didn't know whether he should salute Sokov directly or salute the commander whose rank was higher than that of the brigade commander.

Sokov saw Popov's hesitation and spoke first, "Captain Popov, let me introduce you to Colonel Politic, the commander of the 315th Infantry Division. His troops will fight alongside us in the near future. Due to the lack of ammunition and supplies, they need to get supplements from us. How much military supplies can you provide them now?"

When Popov heard that the colonel next to the brigade commander was actually the commander of the 315th Infantry Division, he immediately raised his hand to salute him and asked politely: "Hello, Comrade Colonel, I wonder how many soldiers are there in your division. I need to count them first to see if there are enough military supplies to distribute to you."

Politic heard the other party's hidden meaning, that is, he was worried that there were too many soldiers in his division, which would clear out the existing combat supplies of the infantry brigade at once, so he smiled and explained: "Comrade Captain, don't worry, although my unit is nominally a division, after several months of arduous and outstanding fighting, there are only more than 3,000 officers and soldiers who can still fight. If we can be replenished with enough weapons and supplies, our unit will be able to play a huge role on the battlefield." Popov did not reply to Politic immediately, but turned his gaze to Sokov, waiting for his instructions.

"Comrade Captain," Sokov saw Popov's eyes on him and knew what he was thinking. He said quickly, "Colonel Politik's troops have been fighting behind enemy lines for several months. Since they have not received any supplies, the ammunition of the officers and soldiers has long been used up. I am now officially notifying you that you will provide them with as much combat supplies as they need. Do you understand?"

Hearing Sokov's order, Popov showed an embarrassment on his face: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the combat supplies we have now can only support a medium-sized battle. If we give all the supplies to the friendly forces, I am worried that the supply of each battalion will be difficult."

"Comrade Captain, we do not have much combat supplies in stock now, but our friendly forces are in a much more difficult situation than us." Sokov looked at Popov and said, "If they don't get supplies and rush to the battlefield, I'm afraid they can only fight the enemy with bayonets. Do you want to see this happen?"

Popov didn't say anything, but just shook his head vigorously, indicating that he didn't want to see such a situation happen.

Sokov didn't waste any more time talking to him and directly ordered: "Comrade Captain, go and prepare the combat supplies now and wait for the comrades from the friendly forces to come and collect them."

Just as Popov was about to leave, Politik spoke up: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, Lieutenant Colonel Haranchuk knows how much combat supplies we need. I think it would be better if he went with the captain. What do you think?"

"Well, I think this is quite suitable." Sokov nodded in approval of Politik's proposal: "Lieutenant Colonel Haranchuk knows how much combat supplies the troops need. When Captain Popov is ready, he can arrange for someone to go and pick them up. Not bad, not bad, this arrangement is quite good."

After watching Haranchuk and Popov disappear from the tent door, Politic suddenly felt uneasy. He asked Sokov cautiously, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, will our receipt of combat supplies have any adverse effects on you?"

"How could that be, Comrade Colonel?" Sokov said with a smile, "Although we have to find ways to get our combat supplies on our own, if there is a shortage of supplies, the army headquarters will not ignore us and will definitely find a way to resupply us. Your situation is different. Although you have entered the defense zone of the 16th Army, you are not a regular unit after all. You are not within the scope of replenishment. If we don't help you, you will have no way to solve the current situation of your troops' lack of combat supplies."

Politik held Sokov's hand and said gratefully: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, on behalf of the officers and soldiers of the entire division, I thank you. Thank you not only for rescuing us from danger, but also for your selfless dedication."

The two chatted for a while, and Politic was still worried about Haranchuk, so he got up and said goodbye.

Sokov was worried that he couldn't find the place, so he quickly called Romanov over and said, "Romanov, take Colonel Politik to the logistics department."

"Yes!" Romanov agreed, and then politely said to Politic: "Comrade Colonel, please follow me, I will take you to the quartermaster."

As soon as Politic left the tent, Karsokov came up to Sokov and reminded him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we have given the remaining combat supplies to the friendly forces. What should we do in the next battle? We can't let our officers and soldiers fight the Germans with bayonets, can we?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov thought that he had arranged Khabarov to lead the team to find the hidden arsenal. He was sure that Khabarov would live up to everyone's expectations and find the combat supplies that the troops urgently needed. He told Karsokov confidently: "I believe that it won't be long before the search team will bring us good news."

Seeing Sokov so confident, Karsokov asked in surprise: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you really trust Khabarov so much?"

"Yes, I trust him very much." Sokov nodded and gave the other party an affirmative answer: "I believe that the search team led by him will bring good news soon."

Karsokov pursed his lips, his face full of disbelief. After all, he had sent so many people to search the nearby forests repeatedly, but unfortunately, he did not find any clues. He even suspected that the secret arsenals built by the People's Commissariat of Defense in the suburban forests were probably only the two found by his men. At this moment, seeing Sokov confidently saying that the search team led by Khabarov could find the hidden arsenal, it felt like a fantasy.

However, his dissatisfaction was not shown on his face. Instead, he walked behind Morozova and asked, "Comrade radio operator, has the search team sent back any telegrams?"

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." Morozova shook her head and said, "So far, the search team has no news."

"Look, Comrade Brigade Commander." After receiving Morozova's reply, Karsokov felt more confident and turned to Sokov and said, "The search team has been gone for four or five hours, but there has been no response so far. This means that their search is in vain and they have not found the combat supplies we need at all."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry." Sokov comforted Karsokov and said, "Although the search team has not responded so far, it does not mean that they have not gained anything. You know, they may have just discovered an arsenal and are currently surveying it to see how much usable combat supplies there are. After they have calculated the approximate data, they will send us a telegram to report."

Karsokov did not argue with Sokov because he also felt that this was possible. He could only nod and say, "Comrade Brigade Commander, perhaps you are right. Perhaps the search team has found the hidden arsenal and is now counting the combat supplies stored in it. Once they have a rough estimate, they will send us a telegram to report."

Sokov nodded and said to Karsokov, "Chief of Staff, please call the Second Battalion and ask them what the situation is like there and whether they have found any traces of the enemy."

Karsokov quickly called the second battalion commander Alexa, asked about the situation, and then put down the phone to report to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have asked Captain Alexa, and he told me with certainty that there is no trace of the enemy in front of his position. It seems that the enemy has no intention of breaking through here except to bombard their position."

(End of this chapter)