red moscow

Chapter 2936

As soon as Sokov entered the tent, Belkin and Karsokov came up to him and said anxiously, "Comrade Commander, you are finally back!"

Seeing the expressions of the two, Sokov immediately had a bad feeling in his heart and asked quickly, "What happened?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, I have bad news for you." Karsokov said in a heavy tone: "Volokolamsk has fallen!"

Sokov was shocked when he heard this. He thought that when he returned to the defense zone, he took the position of the Third Battalion bordering the 1073rd Regiment and did not notice anything unusual. How could Karsokov tell him that Volokolamsk had been lost?
"Comrade Chief of Staff!" Sokov asked back, "I entered the defense zone from the third battalion's position, but I didn't notice anything unusual?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, although Volokolamsk has been lost, the position of the 1073rd Regiment is still in the hands of friendly forces." Karsokov quickly added: "That's why you didn't notice anything unusual."

"What about Colonel Politik's 315th Division? Where is it now?"

"Shortly after the fall of Volokolamsk, the army group headquarters transferred us to Sun Mountain City to prepare to build new defenses there."

To Sokov, the existence of the 315th Division is useless. With more than a thousand officers and soldiers, they can't exert much combat effectiveness under the current circumstances. If they are transferred to Sun Mountain City, when the defense line can't be held in the future, they can retreat to the defense line they built to recuperate.

"I see." Sokov said calmly, "Anything else?"

"Major Vasya, the commander of the Fourth Battalion, called not long ago and said that there seemed to be some German troops moving in front of their position." Karsokov reported to Sokov: "According to his analysis, the enemy may launch a fierce attack on the Fourth Battalion's position and find a way to break through our defense."

In order to find out the situation at the Fourth Battalion, Sokov quickly picked up the phone and called Vasya: "Major Vasya, this is Sokov!"

When Vasya heard Sokov's voice, he said in surprise: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are back from behind enemy lines?"

"Yes, I'm back." Sokov answered briefly, and then went straight to the point: "By the way, the chief of staff said that you seem to have discovered some unusual movements by the Germans?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander," Vasya answered truthfully, "We have found traces of the enemy not only in front of our battalion's position, but also on the left. It seems that they are ready to choose the right time to launch an attack on our battalion's position."

Vasya's report made Sokov frown: "What, enemies appeared on your flank?"

"Yes." Vasya naturally understood what Sokov wanted to find out after hearing this question, and he explained: "After I received the report from the scouts, I was worried that they were wrong, so I sent new scouts to conduct reconnaissance there."

Since its formation, the mission of the Fourth Battalion has been to cover the flank of the First Battalion and prevent them from being attacked from the rear. During this period, the Germans had attacked the Fourth Battalion's position from the front without exception. But now that the Fourth Battalion had discovered the enemy on its flank, it would be more difficult to hold the position.

"How many troops does the enemy have?" Sokov asked with some difficulty: "If they launch a fierce attack on you, can you hold your position?"

"If the enemy only attacks from the front, we can still hold on." Vasya organized the words in his mind and said, "But if they attack our flanks while launching a frontal attack, we will not be able to hold on."

After saying this, Vasya was silent for a moment, and then continued: "If the reserve troops commanded by the deputy brigade commander were still deployed behind our battalion, then even if the enemy broke through our position, we could still recapture it through a counterattack. But now...ah..."

Hearing Vasya's sigh in the receiver, Sokov showed a bitter expression on his face. If Zhukov had not given him any counterattack order, allowing him to mobilize nearly half of the troops to participate in a meaningless counterattack, then the existence of the reserve force would have helped the Fourth Battalion hold its position.

"Major Vasya!" Sokov thought for a long time, and finally said into the microphone: "When the enemy launches an attack, you must find a way to hold the position. If you need help, call me. Remember?"

"remember!"

Seeing Sokov hang up the phone, Karsokov immediately came over and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, aren't you going to bring back some of the troops participating in the counterattack? Otherwise, we should send reinforcements to the Fourth Battalion overnight?"

Sokov did not even think about Karsokov's suggestion and shook his head to refuse: "Comrade Chief of Staff, now that Volokolamsk has been lost, our defense zone will definitely become the focus of the German army's next attack. With our current strength, it is basically impossible to stop them. Therefore, we must be prepared to retreat."

"Ah, retreat?" Hearing Sokov's words, Karsokov's eyes widened in surprise: "Are we just going to give our position to the Germans?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think what the brigade commander said makes sense." Deputy Brigade Commander Belkin echoed Sokov's statement: "The friendly forces on the left wing were repelled by the German army a week ago. And now our friendly forces on the right wing have also been forced to retreat under the enemy's attack. In this way, our brigade's position will become a salient, and the enemy only needs a small number of troops to bypass us to complete the encirclement of us. At that time, not only will we not be able to continue to stop the enemy's advance, but we may even be annihilated by them."

Karsokov's face turned livid. He asked unwillingly, "Comrade Brigade Commander, so maybe tomorrow we will have to abandon the position where thousands of officers and soldiers have sacrificed their lives and retreat to the east?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, although we all don't want this to happen," Sokov said with a wry smile, "but under the current circumstances, it is inevitable to abandon the existing position and retreat eastward."

After hearing what Sokov said, Karsokov remained silent and the tent fell into silence.

After an unknown amount of time, Belkin finally broke the silence: "By the way, Comrade Brigade Commander, didn't you say that you saved Generals Lukin and Bolkin? I wonder where they are now. I plan to go visit them."

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, after Lieutenant General Bolkin entered our brigade's defense zone, I arranged for someone to escort him to the army headquarters." Sokov said, "And Lieutenant General Lukin is currently undergoing surgery in the field hospital because of a leg injury. If you want to visit him, you can come over anytime."

Upon learning that Lukin was injured, Belkin asked with concern: "Is the injury serious?"

"I asked the military doctor, and he said that if he had an operation, the tragedy of amputation could have been avoided."

Belkin nodded and said, "Lieutenant General Lukin will definitely want to have a good sleep after the operation tonight. I think I should wait until tomorrow to visit him." "Okay, let's go together tomorrow."

Around ten o'clock in the evening, Sokov called the field hospital to inquire about Lukin's surgery.

The person who answered the phone was head nurse Vera. She recognized Sokov's voice and immediately understood what he was going to ask. She quickly said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, you want to ask how the general's operation went? Let me tell you, the operation was very successful. Tonya said that he only needs to rest for a month and then he can try to get out of bed and walk. He won't be disabled."

For Sokov, it was great news that Lukin's legs would not be disabled. He said repeatedly: "That's great, that's really great. Tell Lieutenant General Lukin that I will visit him tomorrow at noon."

After Sokov finished talking to Vera, he immediately told Belkin and Karsokov the good news: "Head nurse Vera told me that Comrade General's operation was very successful. He only needs to rest in bed for a month before he can try to get out of bed and walk. At most, he will be able to return to the battlefield in two months."

As soon as Sokov finished speaking, the phone on the table rang. He thought Vera had something else to say, so he picked up the phone and put it to his ear: "I'm Sokov, do you have anything else to say?"

Unexpectedly, there was silence for a moment, and then Rokossovsky's voice came: "Misha, this is Rokossovsky!"

When Sokov heard Rokossovsky's voice, he immediately stood up from his seat and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Commander!"

"Who were you talking to just now?"

"Comrade Commander!" Facing Rokossovsky's question, Sokov quickly explained: "Before you called, I was asking the head nurse of the field hospital about Lieutenant General Lukin's condition. When I heard the phone ring just now, I thought she hadn't finished speaking."

"So that's how it is." Rokossovsky took the opportunity to ask, "How is Comrade Lukin's injury?"

"The military doctor at the field hospital has performed surgery on him. The operation was successful. He only needs to rest for a month at most, and then Lieutenant General Lukin can try to get out of bed and walk."

"This is really exciting news." After chatting with Sokov for a while, Rokossovsky asked tentatively: "Misha, I want to ask, when can you send Lukin to my army headquarters?"

With the fall of Volokolamsk, the army headquarters where Rokossovsky was stationed became unsafe. He was worried that Lieutenant General Lukin, whom he had rescued, might be captured by the Germans after being sent to the headquarters of the army. Therefore, when he heard Rokossovsky's question, he said hesitantly: "Comrade Commander, Lieutenant General Lukin just had surgery and needs to rest for a while. If he is bumped around in the car, I'm afraid his wound will burst and even threaten his health."

"Misha, to tell you the truth, it wasn't me who wanted him to come over, it was someone else who wanted to see him."

Sokov's expression froze when he heard this, and he instinctively asked, "Who is it? Who wants to see him?"

Rokossovsky said nothing, but coughed heavily twice.

The cough coming from the receiver made Sokov shudder all over. He immediately remembered that Rokossovsky's war memoirs mentioned that after Bolkin escaped from the German encirclement, he was immediately sent to Moscow, received by Stalin, sat on the viewing platform next to Lenin's Mausoleum, and participated in the Red Square parade shortly afterwards.

Thinking of this, Sokov asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, could it be that the Supreme Commander himself wants to see him?"

Rokossovsky laughed after hearing this: "Misha, this is just your guess. I didn't say anything."

Sokov thought that because of his appearance, history had a small deviation here. Not only did Lukin not become a prisoner, but he might even be like Bolkin, who not only received an audience with Stalin, but also won the title of hero and watched the military parade on Red Square.

"Comrade Commander, it's a little late today. It's hard to say whether we will encounter German stragglers along the way." Sokov asked cautiously, "How about I send someone to bring Lieutenant General Lukin to you tomorrow morning?"

"Okay, Misha." Rokossovsky readily agreed to Sokov's proposal: "Then send Lieutenant General Lukin here tomorrow morning."

After Sokov put down the phone, he thought about whether he should go to Lukin to give him some blood overnight to speed up his recovery. But then he thought, if he really did that, then his secret would no longer be hidden.

Just as Sokov was struggling with his conscience, the phone on the table rang again. When he turned his head to look at the phone, Karsokov had already picked up the receiver: "I am Chief of Staff Karsokov!... What? I know, wait a moment, I will report to Comrade Brigade Commander..."

Karsokov covered the microphone with his hand and reported to Sokov: "Captain Alexa, the commander of the second battalion, reported that a large number of armed personnel appeared in front of their position. He guessed that the enemy might be planning to launch an attack at night, so he called us for instructions!"

"Of course I need to say that." As soon as Karsokov finished speaking, Belkin said without hesitation: "Let the troops prepare for battle, and when the enemy approaches, open fire decisively!"

Karsokov nodded and released his hand covering the microphone. He was about to convey Belkin's words to Alexa, but was stopped by Sokov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, wait a moment, tell the Second Battalion not to open fire!"

Sokov's order made Karsokov look puzzled: "Comrade Brigade Commander, why is this?"

"When we crossed the Ruza River and returned to our brigade's defense zone, some of our troops were chasing the enemy and could not be gathered for the time being, so I brought some of the officers and soldiers back first." Sokov explained, "And I left Captain Olga, the commander of the 3rd Company of the 2nd Battalion, behind to be responsible for gathering the scattered officers and soldiers. I think the troops Captain Alexa saw might be the officers and soldiers brought back by Captain Olga."

After figuring out what was going on, Karsokov quickly said into the microphone: "Comrade Captain, the brigade commander said that the figures you saw might be part of the counterattack force that just returned. Tell the soldiers to be on guard and not to fire carelessly to avoid accidentally injuring their own people. By the way, the commander of the team should be Captain Olga, the commander of the third company of your battalion."

"I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff." After Alexa figured out what was going on, she quickly explained her point of view: "I will immediately send someone to check and confirm whether the people coming are our own or Germans."

(End of this chapter)