red moscow

Chapter 2923 The Mission of the Infantry Brigade
Major Vasya showed a shocked expression on his face: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our Fourth Battalion will not participate in tomorrow's counterattack?"

"That's right, Major Vasya." Sokov looked at Vasya and said in a positive tone: "Your battalion's position is the focus of the German attack. If we withdraw you to participate in the counterattack, wouldn't it be equivalent to giving the position to the Germans for nothing? When we launch a counterattack, as long as you can hold the position, it means that our retreat will not be cut off by the enemy."

"I understand, Comrade Commander," Vasya replied solemnly. "As long as one of us is alive, we will never let the enemy pass through our position."

"By the way, Comrade Major, I want to ask you for someone?"

"who?"

"He was the soldier who held his position alone when all his comrades were killed when the enemy attacked the high ground last time." Sokov said, "If I remember correctly, his name is Chevaryag and his rank is corporal."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. The soldier is indeed called Chevaryanag and his rank is corporal." Vasya said, "I will ask him to report to you when I return to the camp."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Belkin reminded Sokov after he finished talking to Vasya, "Comrade Brigade Commander, the four battalions now have about 700 people. If they don't join the counterattack, our strength will be weakened by a quarter."

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, this counterattack has no chance of winning. I cannot waste my precious manpower in such a meaningless battle." Sokov quickly glanced at the commanders present and continued, "Except for the Fourth Battalion, the First, Second, and Third Battalions will only send one company to participate. The main force of this counterattack will be the reserve force under your command."

Belkin raised his eyebrows after hearing this, and then asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are you going to let me command this counterattack?"

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Sokov waved his hand and said, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I plan to let you stay and control the overall situation with the Chief of Staff. As for the troops participating in the counterattack, I will command them."

"Comrade Brigade Commander." Hearing Sokov's intention to command the troops himself, Belkin immediately volunteered: "It is better for you and the Chief of Staff to stay here to coordinate the overall situation, and I will lead the troops to participate in the counterattack."

"No, no." Sokov waved his hand to reject Belkin's request and explained to everyone: "After the counterattack begins, we may be able to easily wedge into the enemy's occupied area in the early stage. But when the enemy reacts and sends troops to encircle us, many accidents may happen. For example, if the communication is interrupted, the commander on the front line cannot ask the brigade for the next move, which will cause the troops to suffer a devastating disaster. If I take command, I can avoid this situation to the greatest extent. I will adjust the deployment in time according to the changes in the battlefield situation without asking anyone for instructions. Even if the communication is interrupted, it will not have any impact."

After hearing what Sokov said, Belkin and Karsokov looked at each other, then nodded and said in unison: "Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander, we will obey your orders and stay here to coordinate the overall situation."

"Comrade artillery staff officer," Sokov turned to Lieutenant Artyom and asked, "In order to reduce casualties when breaking through the enemy's defenses during our counterattack, we will definitely need artillery assistance. Which artillery can we have with us?"

"Comrade Commander, this is what I am thinking," Artyom stood up and said to Sokov, "I can have the First Artillery Battalion send three to five 76.2mm cannons to accompany you. At the same time, I can have the Second Artillery Battalion move forward and use the range advantage of the 122mm howitzers to provide you with artillery support."

"Comrade artillery staff, I wonder what the range of the 122mm howitzer is?" Belkin asked.

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander," Artyom explained to Belkin after hearing his question, "The maximum range of the 122mm howitzer is 11800 meters, and the Ruza River is about ten kilometers away from our defense zone. That is to say, before the counterattack troops force their way across the Ruza River, they are within the artillery support range of the Second Artillery Battalion. But to be on the safe side, I plan to move the Second Artillery Battalion forward two kilometers, so that after crossing the river, the troops can also receive artillery support from heavy artillery."

"Lieutenant Artyom, since your heavy artillery can reach the other side of the Ruza River, the brigade commander can lead the troops to counterattack without carrying artillery." Belkin said, "The situation on the battlefield is complicated now. I am worried that it is easy to take those artillery out, but it will be difficult to bring them back."

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, although our heavy artillery can provide long-range artillery support for the Brigade Commander and his men." Facing Belkin's doubts, Artyom explained to him again: "But some enemy firepower points are in blind spots, and our artillery can't reach them at all. In this case, the artillery that moves with the troops can be used."

"Lieutenant Artyom is right." Sokov agreed, "Some enemy fortifications or firing points are built in tricky locations, and long-range artillery can't reach them at all. We can only rely on the artillery we carry to deal with them. As long as the artillery we bring out can reduce the casualties of the troops, even if we lose all of them, it won't be a big deal."

After everyone left, Belkin, who stayed behind, reminded Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, although the combat mission this time was arranged by the commander of the front, you should inform the commander of the army group so that he can also be aware of it."

"Deputy Brigade Commander, you are right. We need to inform the commander about this matter, otherwise he will not be able to contact me when he needs me for something tomorrow." After Sokov finished speaking, he personally dialed the number of the army headquarters.

When the voice of the duty staff officer came from the receiver, Sokov said, "Hello, I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander of the infantry brigade. I have something important to report to the commander immediately. If the commander is not convenient to answer the phone, you can also speak to the chief of staff."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please wait a moment." The duty officer said politely, "I'll connect you to the chief of staff right away."

Soon, Malinin picked up the phone and asked nervously, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you called so late, is there something wrong with your brigade's defense line?"

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov explained quickly, "It's not that there is a problem with our brigade's defense line, but after dawn tomorrow, we will be ordered to launch a counterattack along the Ruza River and find a way to retake Borechevo from the Germans."

"What's going on?" Malinin was stunned after hearing this, and then asked back: "Who gave you the order to counterattack? How come I don't know about this?"

"It was General Zhukov who personally gave us the order to counterattack." Sokov replied, "I think this matter is of great importance and it is necessary to report it to the army headquarters, so I called you to report it overnight."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, wait a moment. I'll ask the commander to answer the phone right away." Malinin said, "If you have anything to say, just tell him directly." Not long after, Rokossovsky's voice came from the receiver: "Misha, this is Rokossovsky. What do you think about tomorrow's counterattack?"

Seeing that Rokossovsky knew nothing about this matter, Sokov became more certain that Zhukov had not informed Rokossovsky at all about giving him the order to counterattack. He quickly told Rokossovsky the whole story in detail.

Rokossovsky was silent for a long time after listening to this, and finally said slowly: "Misha, since this is the task assigned to you by Zhukov himself, then you should carry it out. I hope you can make the counterattack tomorrow bigger and disrupt the German offensive steps to a certain extent, so that they can't attack Volokolamsk with all their strength."

Sokov felt something ominous when he heard what Rokossovsky said. He asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander, is there something wrong in Volokolamsk?"

"During the day, the German army launched a full-scale attack on Volokolamsk." Rokossovsky said in a heavy tone: "Although the enemy's attack was crushed under our tenacious resistance, the Volokolamsk station was lost and all the defenders in the station were killed."

Sokov couldn't help but take a deep breath. He clearly remembered that soon after the Volokolamsk station fell, the entire city also fell. This meant that no matter how hard Panfilov's 316th Division tried, it would not be able to hold on to the city for a few days.

But he would not spoil the news of the fall of the city to Rokossovsky, but instead said in accordance with his intention: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I will use tomorrow's counterattack to tie down part of the German forces and reduce the pressure on the Panfilov Division."

Rokossovsky was very satisfied with Sokov's answer. He said with a smile: "Well done, Misha, you are really great. If I had a few more commanders like you, we would be able to block the German army's advance and prevent them from getting close to Moscow forever."

However, when Rokossovsky hung up the phone, a layer of frost covered his face.

Malinin next to him asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, what is going on? How could General Zhukov bypass us and give orders directly to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov?"

"This is really what I want to know." After saying this, Rokossovsky called the communications chief to him and said, "Comrade Colonel, I will help you get through to the front headquarters right away. I want to ask Zhukov what is going on."

The call was quickly connected, and Zhukov's deep voice came from the receiver: "I am Zhukov!"

"Georgy Konstantinovich!" Rokossovsky called Zhukov by his real name and father's name, and asked directly without beating around the bush: "I want to ask, why did you bypass me and directly give the infantry brigade the order to launch a counterattack?"

After hearing this, Zhukov paused for a moment, then said slowly: "It seems that Lieutenant Colonel Sokov has reported this matter to you."

"How could he not report such a big thing to me?" Rokossovsky said angrily, "Otherwise, if the entire brigade participated in the counterattack, a huge gap would appear on the left wing of my army group, and the German army would outflank us and we wouldn't know what went wrong."

"Comrade Rokossovsky," Zhukov said sternly, "the enemy has concentrated its superior forces to launch a full-scale attack on Volokolamsk. They will never be satisfied unless they take the city. And you, you have left a force of several thousand people there doing nothing, and you are unwilling to take the initiative to launch a counterattack against the enemy and disrupt the enemy's offensive..."

Hearing this, Rokossovsky wanted to refute Zhukov, saying that Sokov's infantry brigade was not sitting idle in its current position, but also had to fight fiercely with the enemy and achieved considerable results. But he knew Zhukov's character very well and knew that if he argued with him at this time, the final result would be a fierce quarrel. So he chose to remain silent and listened quietly to Zhukov's opinion.

Zhukov talked for a while, and when he saw that Rokossovsky did not respond, he stopped.

After a moment, he slowed down his tone and said, "Koschka, I know that Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is your capable subordinate. Letting his troops launch a counterattack against the enemy at this moment is tantamount to sending them to their deaths. But I have no choice. The situation in Volokolamsk is now precarious. If we don't let this unit contain the enemy and disrupt the enemy's offensive steps, then the city will not be able to be defended at all."

"I understand, Zhukov!" Rokossovsky waited for Zhukov to finish speaking, then said with a heavy heart: "In order to defeat the enemy and crush their attempt to occupy Moscow, we must make some sacrifices. Even if Lieutenant Colonel Sokov and his men are completely wiped out, they are still valuable."

"Since you understand this, that's great." Zhukov said, "It's getting late, you should go to bed early. There will be more intense battles waiting for you tomorrow." After that, he hung up the phone without giving Rokossovsky a chance to speak.

Malinin watched Sorokosovsky put down the phone and asked quickly, "Comrade Commander, what did General Zhukov say?"

Rokossovsky heard this, looked at Malinin, and then sighed and said, "Zhukov also understands that letting Sokov's infantry brigade choose to attack at this time is tantamount to sending them to their deaths. But he has his own reasons for doing so. He hopes to disrupt the German offensive steps in this way, distract some of the enemies attacking Volokolamsk, and reduce the defensive pressure on the Panfilov Division."

Malinin's mouth twitched, and he said with difficulty: "Comrade Commander, after this battle, the infantry brigade may no longer exist."

"As long as Misha is alive, I will rebuild the infantry brigade as soon as possible."

Malinin was skeptical about Rokossovsky's statement. Sokov's troops were carrying out a life-or-death operation. Their attack was like a sheep rushing into a pack of wolves. The chances of survival were too slim.

However, he did not disappoint Rokosovsky, but nodded and agreed: "Comrade Commander, you are right. As long as Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is still alive, the infantry brigade can be reorganized at any time. When the counterattack begins tomorrow, do we need to provide some support for the infantry brigade?"

(End of this chapter)