red moscow

Chapter 2918

After Yakov and Sokov chatted for a while, they were about to leave, but Sokov stopped them: "Yasha, don't leave in a hurry. The soldier who designed the new rifle will be back soon. I want you to meet him."

After hearing what Sokov said, Yakov hesitated for a moment, but finally, perhaps because he thought that meeting the designer of the weapon would be helpful for the future cooperation, he nodded and agreed: "Okay, I'll wait here for him to come back."

When Khabarov came back, he brought another soldier with him. He walked into the tent and was about to report to Sokov when he heard Sokov say to him, "Anton, let me introduce you to Captain Yakov from the Moscow Armament Department."

Hearing the name Sokov said, Khabarov showed a surprised expression. He subconsciously looked at Sokov, as if he wanted to confirm something.

Sokov nodded quickly, indicating that the other party's guess was correct.

Khabarov immediately understood what was going on and smiled warmly: "Hello, Captain Yakov, I'm Khabarov, nice to meet you!"

"Hello, Comrade Khabarov." Yakov was unaware of the private exchange between Sokov and Khabarov. He shook Khabarov's hand and said with emotion: "I have seen the drawings of the new rifle you drew. Although I am not an expert in light weapon design, I can still see that the weapon you designed is very impressive."

"Thank you for your compliment." Although Khabarov knew that he was drawing the blueprint of a world-famous rifle, he still said modestly: "At present, the concept of this new rifle is still on the drawing board. Whether it can be mass-produced and equipped to the troops in the future is still an unknown."

"Comrade Khabarov, I have a question." After letting go of Khabarov's hand, Yakov asked puzzledly: "Since you are so talented, why don't you want to go to the Armaments Department? You know, only there can you display your talents."

"Captain Yakov, I have already told Comrade Alekhin that only by staying at the front can I inspire the development of new weapons." Khabarov explained to Yakov: "If I go to the Armament Department, it may limit my imagination, and I will not be able to design better weapons."

After hearing Khabarov's reasons for not wanting to go to the Armaments Department, Yakov could no longer persuade him. He turned to Sokov and said, "Misha, now that I have met the designer of the weapon, I will leave immediately. I will take Comrade Alekhin back to Moscow as soon as possible."

Seeing that Yakov was about to leave, Sokov did not try to keep him this time. He personally took Khabarov to send Yakov out.

After Yakov got into the car, Sokov added one last sentence: "Yasha, if the sample gun is manufactured and passes the test, remember to call me and let me know so that I can also know the situation."

"Don't worry, Misha." Yakov nodded and replied, "As long as Comrade Ustinov allows, I will promptly report the situation of weapons production."

Looking at the car going away, Khabarov couldn't help asking, "Misha, did you reach some agreement with Yakov in private?"

Sokov nodded slightly and replied, "I said I can provide him with the latest weapon blueprints. I just hope that after the weapons are manufactured, they will be given priority for us to use."

"Can he make the decision?"

"Didn't you hear what he just said?" Sokov said, "With his status, the chances of getting approval from Ustinov are relatively high."

"If that's the case, that's great." Khabarov seemed very excited after hearing what Sokov said: "I can't wait to see which one will have the advantage in firepower, the AK47 or the MP40."

"Needless to say, it must be the AK47." Sokov said without hesitation: "Although the MP40 submachine gun was very famous during World War II, after the war, this submachine gun basically withdrew from the stage of history and few people mentioned it anymore."

"By the way, Misha, I see you and Yakov seem to be quite familiar with each other." Khabarov asked tentatively: "When did you meet?"

"You should know that Yakov was captured by the German army during the Battle of Smolensk, right?" Sokov paused for a moment after saying this. Seeing Khabarov nod in approval, he continued, "I followed a special agent team to the enemy's rear to carry out the mission of rescuing Yakov. We were lucky enough to meet Yakov in a prisoner-of-war camp in Mogilev. At that time, I disguised myself as a German officer and rescued Yakov with a little trick. Then the special agent team sent him back to Moscow."

"So that's how it is." Khabarov became excited. "You are good friends with Stalin's son. Isn't that very helpful for your development?"

Sokov grinned and was about to say something when he was startled by the sudden sound of artillery fire in the distance.

Looking in the direction where the artillery sound came from, I saw that the Third Battalion was under enemy fire.

He shouted "Oh no" and turned and ran towards the lookout tower in the forest.

As he climbed up the narrow wooden ladder to the observation tower and raised his telescope to look in the direction of the artillery fire, Khabarov also climbed up to the observation tower and asked in surprise: "Misha, it will be dark in two hours. Why did the Germans choose this time to bombard? Which battalion's position are they bombarding?"

"They are shelling the positions of the third battalion." Sokov looked through the telescope and saw that the positions of the third battalion were covered by smoke or fire. He could vaguely see figures retreating towards the second-line positions in the smoke, and he felt a little more at ease: "I don't know why they chose this time to shell."

Khabarov looked in the direction of the Third Battalion for a while, and suddenly asked, "Misha, have you seen the second part of We Come From the Future?"

Sokov put down the binoculars in his hand, turned his head to look at Khabarov, frowned and asked: "Why are you asking this?"

"You just need to answer me, have you seen it or not?" "Of course I have."

"Now that you've seen it, it's easy." Khabarov said to himself, "In the first part, the four diggers promised the old milkmaid to help her find her son and the silver cigarette case, and then when they went swimming in the lake, they traveled back to the Great Patriotic War. Later, when they were performing a reconnaissance mission, they were unfortunately captured by the German army, but in the room where they were held, they accidentally met the old lady's son and found the silver cigarette case..."

The German army suddenly bombarded the position of the Third Battalion. The real purpose was unknown. Sokov was feeling irritated. Hearing Khabarov chattering beside him, he couldn't help but get a little impatient: "Anton, our position is being bombarded by the enemy, and you still have the time to tell me about a movie!"

Khabarov was startled by Sokov's harsh tone, but he quickly regained his composure and hurriedly explained: "Misha, don't be angry, I have something important to tell you, please listen to me first, okay?"

"Go ahead." Sokov suppressed his anger and said through gritted teeth, "If I find out you're talking nonsense, don't blame me for being rude to you."

"Then I'll make it short." Khabarov said, "At the beginning of the second part, the hero and a friend found an unexploded shell in an abandoned bunker. At this time, the other two companions played a prank and threw a firecracker into the bunker, which caused an explosion and blew the four of them back to the Great Patriotic War. However, this time they were not together like in the first part, but appeared in groups of two in different locations..."

After listening to Khabarov's story, Sokov recalled the plot of the movie, and then continued: "I remember that at the end of the movie, the four of them held on to a house on a high ground, stubbornly resisting the German troops coming from all directions. Under the fierce artillery fire of the German army, the house turned into a sea of ​​fire, and it was under this situation that they returned to their own era."

Khabarov gave Sokov a thumbs up and said, "Misha, you are absolutely right. They returned to their own era just as the house turned into a sea of ​​fire."

"Nonsense, it's just nonsense." After Sokov understood what Khabarov meant, he said sternly, "Do you want to wait until the four of us are all here, and then accept the baptism of fire from the German army, so as to get a chance to return to the future?"

"I think this should be a way to return to the future. We can give it a try."

"Try it?" Sokov sneered and said, "Anton, have you ever thought about what we should do if we enter the area covered by artillery fire and not only fail to return to the future, but are blown to pieces?"

Hearing Sokov's words, Khabarov's mouth twitched and he murmured, "I think our luck won't be that bad."

"Anton, let me tell you something." Sokov was worried that Khabarov would come up with some strange ideas in the future, so he quickly warned him: "What we need to do now is to gather the four of us together first. As for how to find the way back, it won't be too late for us to discuss it then. As for your ridiculous suggestion just now, don't mention it again."

"Okay, okay," Khabarov said impatiently after being criticized by Sokov, "I understand. I won't say such things casually in the future."

The two men came down from the lookout on the tree and walked towards the headquarters.

On the way, Khabarov asked another question: "I just heard Captain Popov say that you asked him to only transport the shells back and leave the rest of the combat supplies alone for the time being. At the same time, the arsenal must be camouflaged again. What's going on?"

In fact, even if Khabarov didn't ask about this, Sokov planned to find a chance to explain it to him. Since he asked at this moment, he explained by the way: "Anton, you are very familiar with the history of the Great Patriotic War. You should know that Volokolamsk will fall shortly after October Day. Rokossovsky plans to withdraw the troops of the 16th Army to the Istra Reservoir area and establish new defenses there."

"Yes, I remember." Khabarov nodded and said, "Marshal Rokossovsky proposed to Zhukov to withdraw the troops, but was ruthlessly rejected. He had no choice but to report to the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Shaposhnikov. After Shaposhnikov consulted the Supreme Commander himself, he agreed that Rokossovsky should lead the troops to withdraw to a new location for defense..."

"Anton, stop for a moment." Hearing this, Sokov interrupted Khabarov's next words and looked around before continuing, "Rokossovsky is not a marshal yet. It's okay for you to talk about it in front of me. If you mention it in front of others, it may cause unnecessary trouble. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes, yes. I'll remember that." Khabarov also realized his mistake and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I'll pay attention to it next time."

Seeing that they were not far from the brigade headquarters, Sokov stopped and said, "I have read Rokossovsky's memoirs, which specifically mentioned that he asked Shaposhnikov for instructions and, after getting permission, he issued a retreat order to the troops. Unfortunately, Zhukov learned about the matter while the troops were in the process of retreating and immediately issued a stern order to Rokossovsky, ordering all troops of the 16th Army to return to their original defense zone."

When Khabarov heard this, he immediately realized that something might have gone wrong, so he asked tentatively: "Misha, is there something wrong with Zhukov's order?"

Sokov nodded slightly and continued, "Since the troops were retreating, not all commanders received the order to cancel the retreat, which caused confusion in the 16th Army's combat sequence: some retreated to the Istrian Reservoir area according to the original order; while the troops that received the new order turned around and returned to their original positions. However, some positions had been occupied by the German army as the troops withdrew. In order to recapture these positions, the returning troops could only launch attacks while marching. As a result, they failed to recapture the positions and suffered considerable casualties. In the end, they had to retreat to the Istrian Reservoir area again."

"Misha, if you receive Rokossovsky's order to retreat, what will you do?"

"What can I do? Of course I have to stay put for the time being, so as not to withdraw from the position and then return. This back and forth will not only make the officers and soldiers exhausted, but also have an adverse effect on the morale of the army." Sokov continued: "By the way, don't you want to know why I ordered the newly discovered arsenal to be camouflaged again?"

"Why is that?"

"The 16th Army will be forced to move eastwards under the attack of the German army, and our move is also a matter of time." Sokov said, "If we store too much combat supplies here, we will not be able to move all the combat supplies in a very short time. This means that we have to reluctantly destroy these combat supplies that we have found with great difficulty to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Germans. I temporarily sealed up the newly discovered arsenal and plan to take out the combat supplies after the troops arrive at the new defense zone."

After listening to Sokov's story, Khabarov couldn't help but nod his head repeatedly and even gave him a thumbs up: "Misha, you are so thoughtful. In this way, after our brigade withdraws to the new defense zone, we don't have to worry about the lack of combat supplies."

(End of this chapter)