red moscow

Chapter 2932

Ever since the telegram was sent, Sokov has been in a state of anxiety, just like a student waiting for the teacher to announce the grades.

He knew very well that if Rokossovsky was the one who could make the decision, he would definitely order him to escort Lukin and Bolkin back to the defense zone after receiving his telegram. But now it was Zhukov who asked him to fight behind enemy lines, so whether he would allow him to return with his troops was an unknown.

Seeing Sokov's restless look, Khabarov asked curiously: "Misha, I see that you look very worried. What are you worried about?"

"What else can I worry about?" Sokov said to Khabarov with a wry smile, "Of course I'm worried that my superiors won't allow me to lead the troops back to the defense zone."

"I think Marshal Rokossovsky is a reasonable man. He should be able to prioritize and allow you to return to our defense zone as soon as possible."

"If Rokossovsky is the one who can make the decision, I will definitely not worry at all." Sokov shook his head and said, "But whether we can return to the defense zone immediately is not up to him. Zhukov needs to nod his head."

"Misha, your immediate superior is Rokossovsky. If he wants to withdraw you, he can do it on his own."

"Anton, have you forgotten the plot of "The Battle of Moscow"?" Seeing that Khabarov was somewhat blindly optimistic, Sokov reminded him: "Seeing that the situation was critical and he could not continue to hold on in the existing area, Rokossovsky planned to withdraw his troops to the Istra Reservoir area to build a new defense line, but was rejected by Zhukov. Later, Rokossovsky bypassed Zhukov and called the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Shaposhnikov, directly to request a withdrawal. After the old marshal consulted the Supreme Commander himself, he agreed to Rokossovsky's request and allowed the 16th Army to withdraw to the Istra Reservoir for garrison. Just as the troops of the 16th Army were withdrawing to the Istra Reservoir in an orderly manner according to orders, they were stopped by a stern telegram from Zhukov."

After hearing what Sokov said, Khabarov immediately understood what he meant and said hesitantly: "Misha, do you think Zhukov will reject Rokossovsky's proposal to withdraw our defense zone?"

"That's entirely possible." Sokov did not hide his true thoughts at all: "As long as he thinks we are still valuable behind enemy lines, he will definitely not let us go back."

"What about the hidden arsenal? Have you just given up?" Seeing that Sokov was eager to go home, Khabarov asked worriedly, "According to the map, the hidden area is no more than two kilometers away from here. Just give me an hour and I will definitely find the arsenal."

Sokov's eyes fell on the officers and soldiers who followed Lukin and Bolkin out of the encirclement, and he found that most of them were unarmed, and even the soldiers who had weapons seemed to have no ammunition. He nodded to Khabarov and said, "Okay, Anton, I will let Lieutenant Zhukov lead a platoon with you to search for the hidden arsenal. Whether we find it or not, we must return here in two hours. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, Misha." Khabarov pointed to the watch he had seized from a German officer and said confidently, "I will be punctual."

When Khabarov and Lieutenant Zhukov left with a platoon of soldiers in eight trucks, Bolkin walked up to Sokov and asked curiously, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where are your men going?"

"Comrade General," Sokov replied respectfully, "There is a batch of combat supplies hidden not far from here. My men are going to collect them." He pointed to the officers and soldiers who were eating not far away and continued, "I see that many of the officers and soldiers who broke out with you and Lieutenant General Lukin are unarmed. I will arm them as soon as the combat supplies are transported back."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, it would be great if we could re-issue weapons to our officers and soldiers." Borkin was very excited when he learned that Sokov was going to issue weapons to his men. "After we have weapons, when we meet the enemy again, we don't have to try to avoid them. Instead, we can bravely rush up to them and fight to the death."

As they talked, they came to Lukin's stretcher.

Sokov squatted beside the stretcher and asked Lukin with concern: "Comrade General, how do you feel?"

Hearing this, Lu Jin grinned and said, "It was still very painful at first, but the nurse changed my medicine and gave me a shot of morphine, and now I feel much better."

Sokov was thinking that although penicillin, a highly effective anti-inflammatory drug, had not yet been developed, the Soviet army already had anti-inflammatory drugs such as sulfonamide. He turned to the medic and asked, "Medic, I remember there is an anti-inflammatory drug called sulfonamide. Do you have any?"

"Comrade Commander!" The medic quickly explained after hearing Sokov's question, "I brought some sulfa with me this time, but after we captured Borechevo, I used up all the medicine while treating the wounded."

Upon learning that the sulfa had been used up, Sokov could not help but sigh inwardly that it was a pity that he could not reduce the inflammation of Lukin's wound. Although he knew that his blood had the effect of quickly healing wounds, he could not let the medical staff draw blood from Lukin here. If more people knew about it, he might cause unnecessary trouble for himself.

After some small talk, Bolkin asked the key question: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, did you get a reply to the telegram you sent to your superiors?"

"Not yet." Sokov shook his head and said, "It is precisely because I haven't received a call back that I can only let the troops stay here."

Lukin looked up at the sky and asked worriedly, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, we are standing in the middle of the road like this. Aren't we afraid of being discovered by German reconnaissance planes? Even if there are no reconnaissance planes, there may be enemy patrols on this road. If we expose our target, it will be troublesome."

Sokov felt that what Lukin said made sense and that he was too careless.

Just as he was about to call Olga and Laev over so that the vehicles and officers and soldiers could temporarily withdraw to the forest, the radio operator ran over in a hurry and said excitedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, telegram, telegram! A telegram from the army headquarters!"

When he heard that it was a telegram from the army headquarters, Sokov's heart beat faster. He was eager to know what was written in this telegram that determined his own fate and the fate of many others.

He snatched the telegram and read it quickly.

After reading the telegram, his tense nerves finally relaxed. Fortunately, the thing he was most worried about did not happen. Rokossovsky ordered him in the telegram to immediately lead the troops back to the defense zone and ensure the personal safety of Generals Lukin and Bolkin.

Seeing the surprise and joy on Sokov's face, Bolkin couldn't help but ask, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what did the telegram say?"

Sokov handed the telegram to the two men and said with relief: "Comrade Generals, this telegram is from General Rokossovsky, the commander of the army group. He asked me to lead the troops back to the defense zone immediately and ensure your safety along the way." Bolkin took the telegram from Sokov and read it carefully. Lukin, who was sitting on the stretcher, said with emotion: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, after the outbreak of the war, General Rokossovsky and I have fought side by side many times. The first time was in Shepetovka, Ukraine. At that time, he sent people to the military warehouse guarded by my troops to collect supplies. I told the Minister of Logistics Malankin to give them whatever they want. Only by giving our officers and soldiers sophisticated weapons can we better fight the enemy."

"Comrade General." Sokov interrupted Lukin while he was speaking and said, "Major General Malankin is now the Chief of Operations of the Western Front. He came to inspect the work of the 16th Army not long ago."

When Lukin learned that Malankin was still alive and had even become the chief of operations of the Western Front, he could not help but show a pleasant surprise on his face: "I never thought that I would have the opportunity to see my old buddies again. I really want to return to our defense zone immediately and meet them."

"Don't worry, Comrade General." Sokov assured Lukin, "We are only a few dozen kilometers away from our defense zone. If nothing unexpected happens, we will be able to return to the defense zone smoothly tomorrow."

After reading the telegram, Bolkin looked up at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, since your superior's reply has arrived, when do we set out?"

Sokov originally wanted to say that some of his men had not returned yet, but then he changed his mind and realized that the current priority was to escort Lukin and Bolkin safely back to the 16th Army's defense zone, and other matters could be put aside for the time being.

Thinking of this, he called Sergeant Zub, who was standing not far away, and ordered: "Comrade Sergeant, you take a squad and a truck and stay here to wait for Lieutenant Zhukov. If they come back, ask them to come to Borechevo to find me immediately. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander." Sergeant Zub nodded and replied.

After making the arrangements, Sokov ordered his men to carry Lukin's stretcher onto the truck, let Bolkin get on the jeep, and after waiting for the rest of the officers and soldiers to get on the vehicle, he turned the car around and headed towards the city.

When the convoy entered the city, the captain who was in charge of the rear guard came up to them and asked in surprise, "Comrade Brigade Commander, why are there fewer trucks and fewer people? Did you have an encounter with the enemy on the road?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the captain realized that Sokov and his men did not look like they had ever been in a war, so he quickly added, "But I didn't seem to hear any gunfire in the city!"

Sokov did not reply to the captain immediately. Instead, he turned to Bolkin and said, "Comrade General, I have something else to do. You should go to the church and have a rest first. I will come to see you after I am done."

"Well, we'll go over there first."

The captain looked at Bolkin leaving and Lukin lying on a stretcher and asked curiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, where did these two generals come from?"

"They had just escaped from the German encirclement not long ago," Sokov said briefly, "They happened to meet me while they were on their way to transfer our position. I saw that they were exhausted after a long journey, so I took them back."

After introducing the situation, Sokov asked the captain: "What's the situation in the city? Have you discovered the enemy's movements?"

"Everything is normal, Comrade Brigade Commander." The captain replied with a wry smile, "The residents of the city have all been evacuated. After you left, there were only about a hundred people in our company left. We didn't see any outsiders at all."

"Comrade Captain, I remember that when we liberated this city, we seized several three-wheeled motorcycles." Sokov looked at the captain and asked, "Where are those motorcycles?"

"It's in the open space behind the church." The captain asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, why are you asking about these motorcycles?"

"According to the order from our superiors, we must return to our defense zone immediately." Sokov said, "Because when we came here, the bridge over the Ruza River had been blown up by us, and now we don't know what the situation is near the bridge. Immediately send a few capable soldiers on motorcycles to scout the bridge."

"I understand, Comrade Brigade Commander. I will immediately order someone to ride a motorcycle to the Ruza River for reconnaissance."

When Sokov returned to the church, Borkin, who was drinking tea, stood up and asked Sokov anxiously: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, how long do we need to stay here?"

"Comrade General." After hearing Borkin's question, Sokov explained to him and Lukin, "When I led my troops to attack Borechevo, I was worried that the enemy would attack us from the rear through the bridge over the Ruza River, so I ordered people to blow up the bridge. Now our superiors have ordered us to return to our defense zone, so I sent people to check first, first to see if the bridge can be repaired, and second to see if there are any enemies on the other side of the river."

"What would you do if you found that the bridge could not be repaired, or if it could be repaired but the other side was occupied by the enemy?"

Facing the question raised by Bolkin, Sokov replied calmly: "Comrade General, don't worry. If the bridge cannot be repaired, or German troops appear on the other side, we can just find another way back. I don't believe that I, with more than a thousand people, cannot escort you safely back to our defense zone."

Hearing Sokov's words, Bolkin smiled a little embarrassedly, and then defended himself, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please don't misunderstand me. I am not questioning your decision, but I want to understand the actual situation here and see if I can give you reasonable suggestions."

Sokov knew that Bolkin asked this question because he did not trust him. But he tried to speak in a calm tone: "Comrade General, General Zhukov sent troops to fight behind enemy lines because he trusted me. Perhaps in General Zhukov's mind, I am capable of dealing with all unexpected events."

Just when Bolkin wanted to say something more, Lukin stopped him: "Borkin, stop talking! Since Lieutenant Colonel Sokov said he is confident that he can escort us back to our defense zone safely, we should believe him instead of questioning him."

Facing Lukin who spoke well of him, Sokov cast a grateful look at him. Even though he brought this troop, Lukin and Bolkin were of high rank. If they forcibly took over the command of the troop, he would have no choice but to obey even if he was not convinced.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Lukin said to Sokov with a smile, "Whether we can return to our defense zone safely and meet our old comrades and partners again depends entirely on your performance."

(End of this chapter)