red moscow

Chapter 2933

Without waiting for the reconnaissance troops to return, Zhukov and Khabarov's convoy returned to Borechevo.

As soon as Khabarov entered the church, he excitedly shouted to Sokov who was standing by the table: "Misha, Misha, we found the hidden arsenal, I found it inside..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Lukin and Bolkin next to Sokov, and immediately realized that his action was too reckless. He quickly restrained the joy on his face, stood at attention, and said to Sokov in a respectful tone: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we have found the hidden arsenal."

Sokov glanced at Zhukov who followed him in, nodded slightly, and then asked, "How much did you bring back?"

"Report to the brigade commander," Zhukov said, stepping forward and answering clearly, "We have taken out two hundred rifles and twenty Degtyarev light machine guns from the arsenal, each with three loads of ammunition."

"How did you deal with that arsenal?" Bolkin suddenly interrupted.

Zhu Kewen glanced at Bolkin quickly and replied, "I have ordered the armory to be camouflaged again."

"Comrade Lieutenant, what you did is very inappropriate." Bolkin criticized Zhu Kewen: "No matter how cleverly you disguise yourself, you may be discovered by the enemy. Once the enemy finds this arsenal, they will use the combat supplies inside to deal with us."

"Comrade General, what do you think we should do?" Zhu Kewen asked.

"Of course we have to blow up the arsenal. We can't leave the contents to the Germans."

After hearing what Bolkin said, Zhukov showed an embarrassment on his face. He looked at Sokov for help, hoping to get more accurate orders.

"Comrade General," Sokov saw Zhukov's dilemma and quickly came out to smooth things over. "You are right. If the arsenal falls into the hands of the Germans, they will definitely use the war materials inside to deal with us. But I believe more in Lieutenant Zhukov's ability to do things. Since he said they have camouflaged the arsenal again, the Germans will definitely not be able to find it, so there is no need to blow it up."

Seeing that Bolkin seemed to want to say something, Sokov quickly spoke before him: "Comrade General, you may be wondering why I advocate keeping this arsenal?"

At this point, he paused for a moment to observe Bolkin's expression. Seeing that the other party nodded to show that he wanted to know the reason, he continued, "You only consider that this arsenal may fall into the hands of the enemy, but why don't you think about it, if our army launches a counterattack soon and arrives nearby, we can rely on this arsenal to continue fighting?"

Just as Bolkin tried to refute Sokov, Lukin raised his hand to stop him and said with a smile: "Borkin, don't forget that the highest commander of this unit is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. We are just his guests. How can we dictate his decisions?"

Lukin's words made Bolkin shut up and stop expressing his opinions about the arsenal.

After the silence was restored, Khabarov whispered to Sokov: "Misha, what should we do next?"

"I have arranged for scouts to go to the Ruza River to conduct reconnaissance and see what the situation is there." Sokov said briefly: "If possible, we should try to find a way to return by the original route. Not only because this is the closest route back to the defense zone, but also if we are surrounded by heavy German troops, we can call for artillery support."

Half an hour later, the scouts sent to the Ruza River returned.

"Comrade Scout!" Sokov looked at the middle-aged scout standing in front of him and asked directly, "How is the area near the Ruza River?"

"Report to the brigade commander," the scout replied, "When we arrived at the river, we were strafed by machine gun fire from the opposite bank, which prevented us from getting close to the river for reconnaissance. But I still found that the enemy was repairing the bridge, and the bridge was basically completed."

Hearing the scout's words, Sokov was overjoyed and asked quickly, "Comrade Scout, can you really confirm that the enemy has roughly repaired the bridge over the Ruza River?"

"It is almost certain, Comrade Brigade Commander."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, this is good news." Hearing this, Bolkin couldn't help but interrupt again and said, "I see you are equipped with artillery. As long as we bombard the enemy on the other side with artillery fire, and then take advantage of the enemy's confusion to drive the trucks at full speed, we can successfully cross the Ruza River."

But Sokov disagreed with Bolkin's statement: "Comrade General, we don't know the enemy's firepower allocation at present. If we launch an attack rashly, we may suffer a great loss. We can use artillery fire to bombard the enemy on the other side, and the enemy's artillery can also bombard the moving convoy. If this really happens, I am afraid I can't guarantee your personal safety."

After Sokov finished speaking, he turned around and told Zhu Kewen: "Comrade Lieutenant, you must immediately call all company-level officers to hold a meeting to discuss how to break through the enemy's blockade and return to our defense zone."

While Zhu Kewen went out to call the commanders to a meeting, Sokov was not idle either. He came to the radio operator and told him: "Radio operator, send a telegram to the brigade headquarters, saying that we are going to return by the same route, and ask them to prepare for the reception."

After receiving Sokov's telegram, Belkin and Karsokov immediately sent a telegram asking Sokov about his next battle plan.

Sokov, who had already made up his mind, immediately sent his idea to the brigade headquarters by telegram and made arrangements for the contact.

Seeing that all the company-level commanders had arrived, Sokov immediately convened an emergency military meeting.

"Comrade Commander, I have two pieces of news to tell you. One is bad news, and the other is good news." Sokov asked, "Which one do you two want to hear first?"

But after he asked, no one responded, so he could only speak to himself: "The good news is that our superiors agree that we should end this combat operation early and return to the defense zone as soon as possible; the bad news is that the enemy has built a defense line on the other side of the Ruza River. If we want to return to the defense zone, we will have to fight the enemy."

"Comrade Commander," Olga said as soon as Sokov finished speaking, "Tell me quickly, how can we break through the enemy's defense on the other side?"

Sokov nodded and continued, "I plan to bombard the enemy positions on the other side of the Ruza River with artillery fire first. While the enemy is suppressed by artillery fire, I will send a troop to launch a charge, through the repaired bridge that has been superimposed, to quickly occupy the positions on the other side, to ensure that our UN convoy can smoothly pass through the Ruza River." "Comrade Brigade Commander, let me be responsible for the task of attacking the enemy on the other side." Olga assured Sokov, "I will definitely control the positions on the south bank of the Ruza River in the shortest time possible, and ensure that the convoy can smoothly pass through the bridge over the Ruza River."

"Comrade Captain, I want to warn you." Sokov was worried that Olga would underestimate the enemy, so he reminded him: "There is a small town on the other side of the river. Although the bridge was blown up after crossing the river, the buildings in the town were not destroyed. This means that when you rush to the other side, the enemy may hide in the buildings in the town and fire at you."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, you don't have to worry about that." After figuring out what Sokov was worried about, Olga said nonchalantly, "Even if there are people hiding in the buildings in the town shooting at us, the artillery deployed in the rear can destroy these buildings with artillery fire."

Seeing that Olga had considered all the issues that needed to be considered, Sokov did not say anything else to him but just nodded. He then turned to Laev and said, "Comrade Captain, the troops you lead are the reserve. If Captain Olga and his men's attack is frustrated, the troops under your command will take over the attack. How about it, are you confident?"

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander," Laev replied hesitantly, "I think I am confident that I can take over the task of seizing the position on the other side."

"Comrade Captain," Olga heard the reluctance in Laev's tone, so she came over and said, "I'm afraid I don't need your help. The troops I command should be able to break through the German defenses."

Sokov was worried that the two would start arguing and affect the entire meeting, so he interrupted them and said, "Okay, this matter is settled. First, we will bombard the enemy positions on the other side with artillery fire, and then the troops led by Olga will attack the enemy."

After the meeting was over and the commanders left, Sokov said to Bolkin, "Comrade General, can you get your men to come out and gather?"

Bolkin's face showed a vigilant look: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what are you going to do?"

Before Sokov finished speaking, Lukin next to him said with a smile: "Borkin, don't be nervous. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov asked our people to come out and gather. I guess he wants to distribute weapons to them. After all, a battle will happen soon. If everyone has weapons in their hands, they will not be so scared when they see the enemy."

Bolkin realized that he had misunderstood Sokov, and his face turned red. He said quickly, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I will send someone to notify everyone to assemble immediately."

Sokov accompanied one of Bolkin's men out of the church to personally supervise the distribution of weapons.

Bolkin watched Sokov's back disappear at the church door, then turned to Lukin and asked, "Lukin, I think you seem to have a good impression of this lieutenant colonel, and you often speak for him."

Lukin grinned and said, "Borkin, I don't know what's going on. Although I haven't known Lieutenant Colonel Sokov for a long time, I don't know why I always feel very familiar with him, as if he had been my partner for many years."

Hearing what Lukin said, Bolkin couldn't help but laugh, and then said: "Lukin, your statement is really far-fetched. You and I knew him at the same time, but I don't know why, I think he is a very strange person..."

"Very strange?!" Lu Jin asked in surprise, "What's so strange about him?"

"I can't tell you exactly," Bolkin said, shaking his head. "But from observing his words and deeds, I always feel that he is not from the same era as us."

If Sokov was present and heard what Bolkin said, he would definitely give him a thumbs up. Yes, I am indeed not from this era.

But Lukin laughed out loud after hearing this: "Borkin, you are such a joker. If Sokov is not from our era, then from which era could he be? There are some things that cannot be said carelessly. You and I can say them in casual conversation, but not in front of outsiders, so as not to cause him unnecessary trouble."

Borkin nodded and said with a bitter face: "I only said this when I was chatting with you. If it were someone else, I would not mention this matter at all."

Outside, when weapons were being distributed to Bolkin and Lukin's men, Khabarov stood beside Sokov again.

Seeing that there was no one around, he whispered to Sokov, "Misha, I'm curious, how did you go from being a recruit to a brigade commander in charge of thousands of people in such a short time?"

Seeing Khabarov's curiosity, Sokov briefly recounted some of the great achievements he had made since he came to this era, especially his record of capturing more than a dozen German tanks and dozens of soldiers by himself.

Khabarov's eyes widened in surprise after hearing this: "Misha, if I remember correctly, your experience of capturing tanks is very similar to the experience in the small town of Herrisheim in 1945, when 29-year-old German officer Bachmann used two Panther tanks to create a battlefield miracle of capturing 12 Sherman tanks and 60 soldiers with zero casualties."

"Anton, you are right." Sokov nodded and said, "When I think back on this incident afterwards, I also feel that the results I achieved at that time were simply a replica of Bachmann's. However, it is still 1941 now. Bachmann will have to wait for more than three years to establish a record that can be recorded in the history of West Point Military Academy."

Back to the topic, Khabarov asked whether it was safe to return to the defense zone: "Misha, do you really think we can return to the defense zone safely?"

"Why, you have no confidence?" Sokov asked.

Khabarov took off his hat, scratched the back of his head, and said in an embarrassed tone: "Didn't you say that according to Marshal Rokossovsky's memoirs, Lukin was captured by the Germans during a night raid while following Bolkin to our defense zone? Now that Lieutenant General Lukin is by our side, can he really return to our defense zone safely?"

"Anton, what are you worried about?" Sokov pointed to Olga, who was leading the troops towards the Ruza River in the distance, and continued, "Look, the captain Olga who led the troops is your great-grandfather. He is not married yet. If he died in the battle, not to mention you, even your grandfather and father would not exist."

Sokov's words reminded Khabarov that, yes, Olga was his great-grandfather, and he could only have a descendant like him if he was still alive, married, and had children. Since Sokov ordered Olga to lead the team to attack the enemy on the other side of the Ruza River, it meant that it should not be a big problem to break through the enemy's defense line on the other side.

Thinking of this, Khabarov felt relieved. He looked at Sokov and asked, "Misha, when are we going to the Ruza River?"

Sokov raised his hand to check the time and replied, "Don't worry. It won't be too late for us to go there after the battle on the river starts. Now, just stay here and I will call you when I leave. At this point, he raised his hand and patted Khabarov on the shoulder, "Don't worry, you will be fine if you stay with me."

(End of this chapter)