red moscow

Chapter 2927

On the way to Borechevo, they encountered a German motorized patrol.

The patrol leader, who was sitting in the sidecar of the first motorcycle, saw a convoy of soldiers coming towards him. He was very puzzled. Could it be the Brandenburg troops? He never dreamed that there would be Soviet troops so bold as to drive on the road in broad daylight.

Following the order from the patrol leader, seven or eight three-wheeled motorcycles stopped on the road one after another, and all the German officers and soldiers looked at the oncoming convoy with curiosity.

Seeing the convoy getting closer and closer, the patrol captain felt that he needed to find out where the other party came from. He quickly got out of the sidecar, raised his right hand high, and ordered in an extremely majestic tone: "Stop!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, the machine gun mounted on the dashboard of the first truck started shooting.

Before the patrol captain could figure out what was going on, he was knocked down by dense bullets. Covering his wounds with his hands, he fell in the middle of the road with a painful expression.

The German soldiers on patrol did not expect that the convoy on the opposite side would open fire on them without saying a word. After a brief panic, they realized that the enemy was not their own people wearing Soviet uniforms, but real Russians. They pulled the bolts of their guns and prepared to fight the convoy on the opposite side.

But they were still a little slow. As the machine guns opened fire, the soldiers sitting in the carriages also crowded to the position close to the driving platform, raised their weapons, and fired wildly at the enemy from a high position. For a moment, the sound of gunfire was everywhere, and many German soldiers on the opposite side fell under the muzzles of the Soviet army without even having time to pull the trigger.

In just two or three minutes, most of the German soldiers on patrol fell in a pool of blood. Only the motorcycle farthest from the truck saw the situation was not good and quickly turned around and ran back, trying to escape from this place of death.

However, the motorcycle did not get far before the rider was hit by a bullet. The out-of-control motorcycle immediately crashed into the roadside, throwing the only German soldier left in the sidecar out. The German soldier, thrown out by inertia, struggled to get up from the ground, staggered forward a few steps, and fell under the gun of the Soviet army without exception.

The commander sitting in the cab of the lead vehicle, seeing that the enemy's resistance had stopped, quickly got out of the vehicle and asked the soldiers to come forward to check.

After checking, they found that all the soldiers of the German patrol were dead. The commander quickly ran to the jeep and reported to Sokov who was sitting in the vehicle: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we encountered a motorized patrol of the German army. After a battle, all the enemies have been wiped out by us."

"Good job!" Sokov nodded to the commander, said approvingly, and then asked: "What are our casualties?"

"Comrade Commander, since the German patrol was completely unprepared when we opened fire, we destroyed them easily without any casualties."

"I understand." Sokov nodded and ordered the other party, "Comrade Lieutenant, let the convoy continue to move forward and hurry to Borechevo."

As the convoy continued to move forward, Khabarov asked Sokov in surprise: "Misha, what is going on? How did we win the encounter with the German army so easily?"

Sokov turned his head to look at Khabarov and said, "Anton, the reason is very simple. The current battlefield situation is very favorable to the German army. According to their idea, our army should be hiding in the fortifications at this moment, waiting for their attack. No one would be so bold as to directly break into their defense depth. If I am not mistaken, the German patrol captain probably mistook us for the Brandenburg Regiment wearing Soviet uniforms, otherwise we would not have won so easily."

Seeing Khabarov's smug look on his face, Sokov poured cold water on him in time to prevent him from underestimating the enemy: "Anton, although we have achieved several small victories today and arrived here smoothly, I'm afraid the situation will not be optimistic when we have to capture Borechevo next."

"But as we walked along, we could clearly see that the enemy had no defense at all." Khabarov heard what Sokov said and retorted unconvincedly: "I think the battle to capture Borechevo later shouldn't be too intense."

"Anton, you are wrong." Sokov said seriously, "The reason we were able to arrive here smoothly is not only because the enemy underestimated us and lacked vigilance, but also because our fighting style was completely beyond the German army's imagination."

"Our fighting style is beyond the enemy's imagination?" Khabarov asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

"We basically adopted the method of surprise attack, and before the attack, we did not make any fancy artillery preparations." Sokov explained: "We caught the enemy off guard and easily won the battle."

Khabarov questioned Sokov's statement: "But if we do not carry out artillery preparation on the enemy's positions before the attack, then when our ground attack begins, the firepower points on the enemy's positions will cause huge casualties to our attacking forces."

"I don't deny that the artillery preparation before the attack can destroy the enemy's firepower points and eliminate some of their manpower." Sokov continued, "But at the same time, it is also equivalent to telling the enemy that we will launch an attack from this direction, so that the enemy can mobilize troops from other areas to strengthen the area we are about to attack, thereby preventing us from breaking through their defenses. However, our tactics of not having artillery preparation and mainly relying on sneak attacks will confuse the enemy, making them confused as to whether this is a small-scale harassment from us or whether they really intend to launch an attack from this direction. By the time they figure out what is going on, our troops have successfully wedged into the depth of their defenses."

After listening to Sokov's explanation, Khabarov nodded repeatedly: "Misha, no wonder you can become the brigade commander, you think more comprehensively than I do."

At the same time, in the front headquarters dozens of kilometers away, Zhukov was still anxiously waiting for Rokossovsky's report.

However, by nine o'clock in the morning, there was still no report of the infantry brigade's counterattack. Zhukov, impatient, called the 16th Army Headquarters. When he heard someone talking on the receiver, he stated his identity directly: "I am General Zhukov, let Rokossovsky answer the phone."

Soon, Rokossovsky's voice came from the receiver: "Comrade General, do you have any instructions?"

"How's the situation going there?"

Not good." Rokossovsky said in a serious tone: "The enemy has launched an attack on Volokolamsk again. Less than an hour after the battle, some areas in the north of the city have been occupied by the Germans. In particular, the station that was lost yesterday is occupied by a German armored regiment. It seems that they are preparing to use it as a starting point for the attack and continue to launch a fierce attack on other defense areas of the Panfilov Division."

"Can we defend the city?" Zhukov asked in a stern tone.

"It's hard to say." Rokossovsky could not give Zhukov a definite answer, and could only say vaguely: "We will try our best to hold it." "I want to hear your exact answer, not this vague guess." Zhukov emphasized his tone and continued to ask: "You just need to tell me, why can't you hold Volokolamsk?"

Rokossovsky took two deep breaths and said decisively: "Comrade Zhukov, I can tell you truthfully that according to the enemy's current offensive momentum, the city will be occupied by the German army by three or four o'clock in the afternoon at the latest."

Zhukov had obviously expected Rokossovsky's answer. He did not lose his temper, but continued to ask: "So what measures have you taken?"

"I have already transferred some forces to strengthen the defense of Volokolamsk," Rokossovsky explained. "But everyone knows that the fall of the city is a matter of time. Sending more reinforcements is just doing our best."

"Didn't I order the infantry brigade to launch a counterattack to the flank and rear of the enemy attacking Volokolamsk to tie down part of the enemy's forces and disrupt their offensive rhythm?" Zhukov asked, "Why haven't they taken any action yet?"

Zhukov's words stumped Rokossovsky. After a moment's pause, he said into the phone, "Comrade Zhukov, please wait a moment. I will call and ask about this matter right away."

"Hurry up and call." Zhukov said impatiently: "If the infantry brigade has not taken any action by now, then remove Sokov from his post and let other commanders who can perform this task take over the post of brigade commander."

Rokossovsky put the receiver on the table, grabbed another phone and called the brigade headquarters.

After the call was connected, Rokossovsky angrily asked Belkin who answered the phone: "Who are you? Where is your brigade commander Sokov?"

Belkin recognized Rokossovsky's voice and hurriedly reported respectfully: "Comrade Commander, if you are looking for our brigade commander, I can only regret to tell you that he is not in the headquarters."

"He's not at the headquarters. Where is he hanging around now?"

"Comrade Commander, the brigade commander didn't go anywhere for a stroll," Belkin said hastily in Sokov's defense. "He set out with a troop before daybreak."

"He set out with the troops?" Rokossovsky asked. "Where did he go?"

"Didn't the front headquarters give him a direct order to lead his troops to seize Borechevo from the Germans?" Belkin continued to explain, "He led his troops to carry out this mission."

"Oh, he has led his troops to Borechevo?" Rokossovsky asked, "Any battle reports?"

"not yet."

"You will contact him immediately and have him report his condition to headquarters. Do you hear me?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander. I will immediately have someone contact the brigade commander and report the latest situation to you."

After finishing his call with Belkin, Rokossovsky picked up the microphone on the table and said, "Zhukov, I have already asked. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov led his troops to attack before dawn. But they have not yet contacted the brigade headquarters, and I don't know how they are progressing. However, I have already told the deputy brigade commander of the brigade that once Sokov is contacted, he will report directly to me on the situation there."

After Zhukov figured out what was going on, he slowed down his tone and said, "I understand. Report to me as soon as you have any news."

"What about Volokolamsk?" Rokossovsky asked while Zhukov was still on the phone. "If they don't get reinforcements, they won't be able to hold out for long."

Zhukov thought for a moment, then said: "I will immediately contact the Air Force and ask them to send a bomber formation to support Volokolamsk. I hope their bombing can defeat the armored forces and help the Panfilov Division defend the city."

"It would be great if we could get air support." Hearing Zhukov's announcement that he was going to send out the Air Force to support the Panfilov Division defending Volokolamsk, Rokossovsky showed a gratified expression on his face: "No matter how powerful the German armored forces are, they will only be bombed passively when they encounter our air force. I believe that the defenders with air support will be able to hold the city."

As soon as the call with Zhukov ended, Malinin, who was holding the microphone next to him, could not wait to report to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, General Panfilov called and said that the situation there is critical and he hopes to get help."

Rokossovsky took the microphone from Malinin's hand and put it to his ear: "Is this General Panfilov? I'm Rokossovsky!"

When Panfilov heard Rokossovsky's voice, he seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw: "Comrade Commander, the enemy's attacks on our division are becoming more and more fierce. After the fall of part of the northern part of the city, their armored forces broke through our outer positions in the west of the city and are about to break into the city. If we don't get any more favorable support, it's only a matter of time before the city falls."

"General Panfilov, I called you to tell you that the front headquarters will soon request the Air Force to rush to the sky above Volokolamsk to provide you with air cover and destroy the German armored forces on the ground so that you can defend the city."

"Comrade Commander, is this true?" Panfilov was overjoyed when he learned that his superiors were about to send air force support. "If we can really get air force support, then we don't have to worry about the German tanks at all. Without the support of tanks, even if the Germans rush into our positions, we are confident that we can completely destroy them."

"General Panfilov, it is good that you have such confidence," Rokossovsky said. "As long as the enemy cannot occupy the city, they will not be able to break through the defense line of our army and advance towards Moscow."

"Comrade Commander," Panfilov said when Rokossovsky finished speaking, "To defend the city, air support alone is far from enough. Didn't a friendly force enter the 1073rd Regiment's defense zone yesterday to help them repel the enemy's attack? I would like to ask, can we get that force to come to support us again today?"

(End of this chapter)