red moscow

Chapter 2954

"Isn't that so?" Stavsky said, then turned and shouted at the soldiers who were stripping the uniforms off the bodies of German agents: "Stop! Stop right now! Are you trying to destroy evidence and eliminate the crime?"

The soldiers who were carrying out the order stopped, looked at Sokov and the captain, and asked if they should continue with the original order.

The captain also seemed somewhat hesitant, stammering as he asked Sokov, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, shall we still follow your orders?"

“Of course, Captain, continue to carry out my orders.” Sokov was worried that the captain and his men might have some reservations, so he emphasized, “I am certain that these people are Germans in disguise. If we don’t strip them of their uniforms and leave their bodies here, some comrades who happen to pass by and are unaware of the situation might think that our own people have been attacked by the enemy and rashly report it to their superiors, which could lead to a series of unnecessary troubles.”

With Sokov's endorsement, the captain didn't hesitate and said to his men, "Did you all hear what the lieutenant colonel said? Continue to carry out the order, strip these Germans of their uniforms and burn them, so as not to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings for the comrades who pass by later."

Seeing the soldiers resume their movements, Sokov turned to Stavsky and said calmly, "Comrade Stavsky, although these men are wearing our uniforms, they are actually Germans in disguise."

"What? Germans in disguise?" Stavsky, though an editor and reporter for Pravda, had never been to the front lines. He had only heard of Germans infiltrating behind the lines in Soviet uniforms to sabotage, but had never witnessed it firsthand. He had always thought such claims were rumors spread by panicked elements. Hearing Sokov's words, he widened his eyes in astonishment: "Lieutenant Colonel, is what you're saying true?"

“Of course it’s true.” Sokov happened to see a soldier unbuckle the belt of a corpse and pull down the overcoat. A boat-shaped cap hidden inside the clothes fell to the side. He quickly went over, bent down to pick it up, glanced at it, and handed it to Stavsky: “Comrade Stavsky, look, isn’t this a German military cap?”

Stavsky took the military cap, examined it carefully, and confirmed that it was indeed the boat-shaped cap worn by German soldiers. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Lieutenant Colonel, where did this cap come from?"

“Comrade Stavsky, didn’t you just see me pick it up from next to the German’s body?” Sokov, worried that the other party might pretend not to see, explained, “I wear a leather belt over my uniform and fold my cap inside. It’s not easy for it to fall off, and it’s also easier to take it out from my pocket when I need to identify myself to my own people.”

Although the German officer's cap was in his hands, Stavsky still said with resentment, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you can't just say the other person is German based on a cap. Maybe he captured it from the Germans and is carrying it with him as a souvenir."

Sokov hadn't expected Stavsky to be so stubborn; the German military cap was in his hands, yet he refused to acknowledge this evidence. Fortunately, Sokov had dealt with many captured German agents before and knew that in addition to wearing a German military cap, they usually carried prepared fake documents in their backpacks.

However, to avoid being accused by Stavsky of tampering with the items, Sokov pointed to a backpack that had been thrown aside and said to Stavsky, "Since you say that this German military cap is a war trophy to be kept as a collection, why don't you open that backpack and take a look? You might even find a few fake documents inside."

Hearing Sokov say this, the captain prepared to bend down to pick up the backpack and hand it to Stavsky for inspection, but was stopped by the latter: "Comrade Captain, don't move." Seeing the captain's body stiffen in place, Stavsky turned to one of the soldiers escorting him and said: "Comrade soldier, go and get the backpack."

The soldier who had been called upon by Stavsky responded, quickly walked over, bent down to pick up the backpack, and turned back to Stavsky.

Stavsky glanced at Sokov, who was standing still, and then ordered the soldier, "Comrade soldier, open your backpack and empty out everything inside."

The soldier dared not delay and quickly untied the opening of his backpack and emptied out its contents.

The backpack contained two round drum magazines, two hand grenades, a piece of black bread, two white pullovers, and several military ID cards.

Stavsky bent down and picked up the military ID cards, opening them one by one for careful examination. He indeed discovered problems with these cards; although they belonged to the same person, the name and rank differed on different documents. Even though Stavsky had never been to the battlefield and had no experience in this area, seeing these documents made him realize he had wronged Sokov; the NKVD officer who had just been executed was indeed a German in disguise.

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant Colonel.” Stavsky handed the fake identification to Sokov and said apologetically, “I apologize for my rudeness just now and hope to gain your understanding.”

"It's alright, Comrade Stavsky, it's just a misunderstanding." Sokov was in a hurry to get on his way, but before leaving, he wanted to find out where Stavsky was going and see if it was on his route: "Where are you planning to go?"

"I'm going to the headquarters of the 16th Army." After explaining his destination, Stavsky asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where are you going?"

“That’s quite a coincidence, Comrade Stavsky. I’m also going to the 16th Army headquarters, and we happen to be going the same way.” Sokov pointed to the captain and his men and continued, “This unit is also heading in that direction. If we go with them, we won’t have to worry about encountering small enemy groups on the way.”

As the convoy continued its journey, Sokov declined Stavsky's invitation to get into his jeep. Instead, he remained in the cab of the truck, escorted by the captain and his men, and continued on to the headquarters of the 16th Army.

Several hours later, the convoy entered the headquarters of the 16th Army Group.

A checkpoint blocked their path ahead.

When the convoy stopped, Sokov carefully observed the surroundings and noticed that in addition to the sandbag fortifications on both sides of the checkpoint, he could also vaguely see hidden machine gun positions in the roadside forest. Anyone attempting to breach the checkpoint would be riddled with bullets by the machine guns on either side.

The sentry post was headed by a second lieutenant, who came over with two soldiers after the convoy stopped.

Upon seeing Sokov sitting in the car, he raised his hand in salute and politely asked, "Lieutenant Colonel, please show me your identification!"

Sokov simply pulled out his identification and handed it to the other person.

As the lieutenant checked his identification, the soldier sitting next to Sokov whispered, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is this lieutenant another German imposter?" Sokov smiled faintly, thinking that this soldier was now a nervous wreck; it was clearly a checkpoint on their side, yet he mistook it for a German imposter. He turned his head and whispered, "Don't worry, this is clearly a checkpoint set up by our own people."

After checking the documents, the second lieutenant looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what brings you here?"

“Comrade Second Lieutenant,” Sokov explained, “I just returned from Moscow and was ordered to report to the Commander here.” Worried that the other party might not believe him, Sokov added, “By the way, in the jeep behind us is Comrade Vladimir Stavsky, editor and reporter for Pravda; he came all the way from Moscow.”

Hearing Sokov say this, the lieutenant handed the documents back to Sokov and then led his men toward the jeep behind them.

The lieutenant approached the jeep, saluted Stavsky inside, and politely said, "Please show me your identification!"

Since Stavsky was assigned to the 16th Army headquarters, his credentials were certainly complete. After checking the credentials, the lieutenant found that Sokov was telling the truth. He returned the credentials to Stavsky, turned around and walked back to the checkpoint, ordering his men to raise the barrier across the road to allow the convoy to enter the headquarters area.

After asking several soldiers for directions along the way, Sokov's truck and Stavsky's jeep both stopped in front of the headquarters.

After getting out of the truck, Sokov thanked the driver and the soldier before letting the truck leave. He then approached Stavsky and politely asked, "Comrade Stavsky, I'm on my way to see the Commander. Would you like to come with me?"

“That would be perfect.” Stavsky agreed, then turned to the two soldiers who had followed him off the vehicle and said, “I’ll go in first to see General Rokossovsky. You two find a place to rest, and I’ll come find you later.”

After the two soldiers left, Stavsky called to Sokov, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let's go inside."

Upon entering the command post, Sokov stopped a passing staff officer and politely asked, "Comrade Staff Officer, may I ask where the Commander is?"

The staff officer glanced at Sokov and Stavsky and asked coldly, "What do you want with the commander?"

“I’m here to report to him.” Sokov pointed to Stavsky: “This is Comrade Vladimir Stavsky, editor and reporter of Pravda, who is here to interview our commander.”

The staff officer didn't pay much attention to Sokov; after all, there were plenty of officers of the rank of colonel, nothing unusual. But this editor and reporter from Pravda in Moscow was a different story. The staff officer quickly and politely said to Stavsky, "Comrade reporter, please come with me, I'll take you to see the Commander."

Led by the staff officer, Sokov and Stavsky quickly arrived at the room where Rokossovsky and the others were.

Lobachev, who was talking to Malinin, saw Stavsky walk in with his staff officer and suddenly stood up from his seat, saying with a shocked expression, "Comrade Stavsky, what brings you here?" Lobachev and Stavsky knew each other before the war and knew where the other worked, so he was naturally very surprised to see him.

"Hello, Comrade Lobachev." Stavsky shook Lobachev's hand and said with a smile, "The newspaper sent me here to interview the commanders and soldiers of the 16th Army about their heroic deeds in this war."

“So that’s how it is, Comrade Stavsky.” Lobachev shook Stavsky’s hand vigorously and said, “I believe you will see many heroic deeds worth reporting in the days to come.”

Then, Lobachev pulled Stavsky over to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Vladimir Stavsky, editor and reporter of Pravda. He has come to our army group to interview the heroic deeds of our officers and soldiers."

"Oh, it's a journalist, comrade." Rokossovsky shook Stavsky's hand and said with a smile, "On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the 16th Army, I welcome you."

As soon as their hands parted, Stavsky asked Rokossovsky impatiently, "Comrade Commander, I want to go to the front lines for an interview right now. Could you send someone to act as my guide and take me to the place where the fighting is most intense?"

Stavsky's words startled Rokossovsky. The other man was an editor and reporter for Pravda, and if something happened in his own area, he would certainly be criticized by his superiors. It was with this in mind that Rokossovsky said tactfully, "I'm sorry, Comrade Stavsky, please forgive me for not being able to let you go to the front line right now. There is fierce fighting going on there, and if you go, we are afraid we cannot guarantee your personal safety."

In response to Rokossovsky's persuasion, Stavsky nonchalantly replied, "Comrade Commander, since the officers and soldiers are not afraid of death, what do I have to fear? You should arrange for someone to send me to the front as soon as possible."

Seeing that Stavsky was so stubborn, Rokossovsky quickly winked at Lobachev, signaling him to try and persuade Stavsky.

“Comrade Stavsky,” Lobachev said with a smile, seeing Rokossovsky wink at him and immediately understanding the other’s meaning. “I understand your eagerness to get to the front lines and interview the commanders and soldiers. However, the fighting is nearing its end today, and there’s not much to interview about. Why don’t you go and rest first, and we’ll arrange for you to go to a suitable place for interviews after the fighting starts tomorrow? What do you think?”

Upon hearing Lobachev's suggestion, Comrade Stavsky hesitated for a moment. After thinking about it, he finally agreed to Lobachev's proposal: "Alright then, I'll go to the front lines for interviews tomorrow. Now, please arrange a place for me to rest and write."

“No problem, no problem.” Lobachev agreed readily: “I’ll arrange it immediately.” With that, he called over a staff officer and instructed him to take Stavsky to rest.

After Stavsky left the command post, Lobachev noticed Sokov standing to the side and exclaimed in surprise, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, where did you come from?"

Sokov chuckled and explained to Lobachev, "Comrade Military Commissar, I actually arrived quite some time ago, but you were busy receiving Comrade Stavsky and didn't notice me."

(End of this chapter)