red moscow

Chapter 2930 An unexpected surprise

"Comrade General, Comrade General!" As the two were talking, a soldier came running over from a distance, shouting anxiously.

The standing general squinted his eyes and looked at the newcomer, then lowered his head and said to the general lying on the stretcher: "I sent out the scout!"

When the scouts came up to him, the general asked straight to the point: "Comrade soldier, have you found anything ahead?"

The scout nodded and said breathlessly, "There is a convoy heading in our direction. The captain sent me back to report to you."

The general lying on the stretcher was startled when he heard this, and then asked, "Are they Germans?"

Although they were in the forest, they chose to stay close to the roadside to avoid getting lost. If a convoy really came towards them, their whereabouts might be exposed, so they had to confirm the identity of the other party before making the next decision.

"The people in the car are wearing our military uniforms," ​​the scout replied, "but we can't confirm whether they are our own or the enemy in disguise."

"What do you think?" the standing general asked, "Let the soldiers be ready for battle?"

"No, although we have more than 200 people, most of them are commanders. Their combat effectiveness is not strong. In addition, we have been out of food for two days. The officers and soldiers are tired and hungry. If we rashly start a war, we will have no chance of winning." The general on the stretcher said, "I think we should hide first and wait until the convoy passes."

"Okay, as you say. Before we figure out the enemy's true identity, let the officers and soldiers go deep into the forest and hide."

The convoy was moving very quickly and had already approached the soldiers as they were moving deeper into the forest.

Captain Olga, who was sitting in the first car, noticed something unusual in the forest beside the road and quickly ordered the driver to stop the car: "Driver, stop the car!"

As soon as the car stopped, he opened the door and jumped out, shouting to the soldiers sitting in the car: "Alert, combat alert! Everyone get off the car immediately and get ready for battle."

When the vehicles following behind saw the lead vehicle stop, the soldiers in the vehicles got out one after another and quickly lined up beside the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle behind also followed suit and immediately stepped on the brakes to stop the car.

Sokov saw the convoy stopped and didn't know what happened in front, so he ordered Sergeant Zub who was sitting in the co-pilot seat: "Comrade Sergeant, go to the front and see what happened and why the convoy stopped."

Zub agreed, opened the car door, got out, and went to the front to inquire about the situation.

Laev, who was sitting in the back car, ran over to Sokov and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, why did you stop the car? What happened in front?"

Sokov shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I have sent someone to inquire about it. I believe there will be a report soon."

A few minutes later, Sergeant Zub trotted back to Sokov and reported to him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, everything is clear. Captain Olga saw some figures moving in the forest and was worried that they were Germans, so he ordered the convoy to stop. He ordered the soldiers to get off the vehicles and set up guards, and at the same time sent people to the forest to check what was going on."

Upon learning that a suspicious person had been spotted in the forest ahead, Laev took the initiative to ask Sokov for orders: "Comrade Commander, I will lead a company into the forest to search and see who is inside."

Sokov nodded and agreed to Laev's request, but at the same time reminded him: "Comrade Captain, the people hiding in the forest may be enemies or our own people. You must be careful to distinguish. Do you understand?"

"Comrade Commander, please rest assured," Laev assured Sokov, "I will definitely find out who is in the forest."

Laev led a company of soldiers into the forest, spread out in formation, and searched carefully. Fortunately, it was winter now, and there were no annoying bushes blocking the view, so they could see far in the woods.

After the search company entered the forest and walked about forty or fifty meters deeper, Layev suddenly heard some movement ahead. He quickly raised his hand to signal the soldiers to stop, and at the same time looked around vigilantly, trying to figure out where the movement came from.

As he was searching carefully, he suddenly heard someone shouting his name. Then, a figure in military uniform got up from the ground about 20 meters ahead and ran towards him quickly.

The soldiers around them, seeing a figure rushing over, immediately turned their guns and prepared to pull the trigger, but were stopped by Laev: "No one is allowed to shoot without my order."

Laev looked at the ragged, bearded man in front of him and asked tentatively, "You, are you Kurt?"

“Yes, yes.” Seeing that Laev recognized him, the man called Kurt nodded vigorously and said excitedly: “I am Kurt.”

"What the hell, why are you here?" Laev asked curiously.

"We just escaped the German encirclement and fled here two days ago." Kurt explained to Laev, "We were marching in the forest near the road when we learned that a convoy was coming ahead. Although the people in the carriages were all wearing our military uniforms, the superior commander could not confirm your identities, so he ordered us to temporarily move deeper into the forest. I didn't expect that when I saw that the person leading the search was you, I was so happy."

Laev looked at him and asked in surprise: "Where were you hiding just now? Why didn't I find you?"

Kurt did not answer the question immediately, but pulled Laev into the depths of the forest: "Laev, I will take you to see our commander."

Although he knew that the person he was going to meet was one of his own, Laev still ordered the soldiers to remain on guard, and he took a few soldiers with him and followed Kurt into the depths of the forest.

When he reached the place where Kurt appeared, Laev immediately understood why he had searched so carefully just now but had not found any trace of Kurt. It turned out that the place where he was hiding was a slope, and the place where he was hiding happened to be his blind spot.

Led by Kurt, Laev came before the two generals.

When he saw the general standing there clearly, a look of shock immediately appeared on his face. He quickly stepped forward and saluted the general: "Hello, Comrade Commander, Captain Laev, former commander of the 19th Infantry Battalion of the 34th Army, reports to you." "Hello, Comrade Captain." The general called the commander shook Laev's hand and said excitedly: "I didn't expect that we could meet our own people here. I wonder how far this place is from our defense line?"

"Comrade Commander." Hearing the general's question, Laev answered respectfully, "This place is about 40 kilometers away from our army. If you walk, it will take at least a day to get back to our defense zone."

"Who is the commander of your team?" The commander looked down at the general lying on the stretcher and continued, "We have wounded soldiers here who need urgent treatment."

"The leader of the team is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the brigade commander."

After the commander repeated the name that Rayev had said, he lowered his head and asked the wounded general: "Have you heard of this name?"

The wounded general shook his head, smiled bitterly and replied: "I have never heard of this surname. Obviously, he is not one of your subordinates."

After confirming the identity of the troops in the forest, Laev led them out of the forest.

Sokov, who was sitting in the car, saw Laev entering the forest to search, and came out with a group of officers and soldiers in tattered uniforms. He guessed that the people hiding in the forest should be a certain unit that had been dispersed. He opened the door and got out of the car, standing on the side of the road and looking at the people who were coming.

But when Laev and his men came to the roadside and were about to report to Sokov, Sokov's eyes stayed on the general who was carried by the soldiers on the stretcher. He did not know the general standing with Laev, but he was very familiar with the wounded general.

Sokov, with a look of surprise on his face, quickly walked to the stretcher, leaned over and asked the general lying on the stretcher: "Lieutenant General Lukin, are you injured?"

The general on the stretcher had his eyes closed, but when he heard his name, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked Sokov up and down. After confirming that the other person was someone he had never seen before, he asked in confusion, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you know me?"

"Yes, I know you." Sokov wanted to tell him that you were my deputy and participated in the "August Storm" in 194, defeating the Kwantung Army. We were comrades who fought side by side. But when these words came to his lips, Sokov swallowed them back. Therefore, these things happened in the previous life, and Lukin at this moment did not recognize him at all. Therefore, facing Lukin's question, he could only answer evasively: "I have seen your photo before."

After hearing what Sokov said, Lukin dispelled his doubts, thinking that the other party could recognize him because he had seen his photo before. With the help of the soldiers, he sat up and asked in a friendly manner: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are the commander of the infantry brigade that Captain Laev mentioned, right?"

"Yes, Comrade General. I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Sokov looked down at Lukin's legs and found that the bandages wrapped around his knees had been stained brown by blood. He quickly turned around and told Khabarov, who was standing beside him in a daze, "Anton, what are you still standing there for? Go find the medic and ask him to change the bandage for Comrade General."

Khabarov glanced at Lukin, nodded vigorously, and said, "Okay, I'll go find the medic right away."

After Khabarov left, Sokov came to another general, saluted him, and respectfully asked about his identity.

Seeing that Sokov didn't recognize this person, Laev quickly introduced him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, let me introduce you, this is Lieutenant General Bolkin, commander of the 19th Army!"

After listening to Laev's introduction, Sokov's face was filled with astonishment. He said in surprise: "But as early as the beginning of October, it was said that Lieutenant General Bolkin had returned to our defense zone. How come another one appeared?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, this may be a misunderstanding." Laev explained to Sokov: "I was originally a member of the 1st Army. There is no reason for me not to know my commander. I can assure you that this is the real Lieutenant General Bolkin!"

Seeing that Laev's words were so convincing and Lukin, who was lying on the stretcher, did not refute, it was clear that the general was indeed Lieutenant General Bolkin, the commander of the 1st Army. He quickly saluted Bolkin again and reported his name, rank, and position to him in accordance with the regulations.

After listening to him, Bolkin asked curiously, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, according to Laev, our defense line is more than 40 kilometers away from here. Why don't you stick to your own defense zone and come here?"

"We are also following orders." Sokov thought that his coming to Borechevo was no secret. Since Bolkin wanted to know, it didn't matter if he told him, so he said casually: "The front headquarters directly ordered us to launch a counterattack against the enemy and seize Borechevo occupied by the enemy. Now we have successfully occupied the city and plan to continue westward to carry out operations in the enemy's hinterland. Unexpectedly, we met you on the way."

After hearing what Sokov said, Bolkin turned his head and looked at Lukin on the stretcher, and said with a smile: "Comrade Lukin, I never thought that my predecessor had such courage to directly order a unit to carry out operations deep behind enemy lines."

Lukin nodded and agreed: "Yes, it may be because of his outstanding ability that the Supreme Command gave him a higher position."

The conversation between the two made Sokov feel confused. He asked puzzledly: "Comrades Generals, who are you talking about? The more I listen, the more confused I am."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, this is Lieutenant General Bolkin, the commander of the 19th Army," Lukin explained to Sokov, "His predecessor was none other than Colonel General Konev, who is now the commander of the front."

After hearing what Lukin said, Sokov immediately realized that the enemy had lost contact with the main force for such a long time and the intelligence they had obtained was outdated. He quickly explained to him: "Comrade General, you are wrong! The current commander of the front is not General Konev, but General Zhukov!"

"What? The current commander of the front is General Zhukov?" Bolkin was shocked and asked cautiously, "What about Admiral Konev? Where is he now? Won't he be sent to a military court because of the defeat?"

Although Bolkin tried his best to remain calm when he said this, the panic that flashed in his eyes did not escape Sokov's eyes.

Sokov understood their concerns and quickly explained to them: "Comrades, please rest assured, General Konev is fine. He has not been sent to a military court. He is now in the north of Moscow, commanding the newly established Kalinin Front."

Both Bolkin and Lukin breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that Konev was safe.

"Comrade Generals, what are your plans next?"

"Of course we have to find a way to get back to our defense zone." Bolkin said this, and then he looked at Lukin again, and said solemnly, "Comrade Lukin's leg is injured. If he doesn't get timely treatment, I'm afraid he will have to be amputated. I will never allow this to happen, so we need to send him back to our defense zone as soon as possible and take him to the field hospital for proper treatment."

(End of this chapter)