red moscow

Chapter 2957

The call quickly reached the army group headquarters. The staff officer on duty politely said, "This is the duty room of the army group headquarters. May I ask who you are?"

"Hello, Comrade Staff Officer," Sokov said politely. "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the brigade commander of the infantry brigade. Please let the chief of staff, Colonel Malinin, take the call."

“The colonel is resting right now. If you don’t have anything urgent, please call back in an hour,” the staff officer explained to Sokov. “He should be starting work by then.”

Sokov knew that in an hour, not only would Malinin begin his work, but Rokossovsky, Lobachev, Oror, and others would also be in the command post, directing the troops in a counterattack against the Germans. However, he couldn't wait that long. If he couldn't figure out the identities of the men in front of the Third Battalion's position before the artillery preparations began, it would likely have a negative impact on the subsequent operations.

“No, Comrade Staff Officer, I can’t wait that long,” Sokov said urgently. “Please contact him immediately; I have something important to report to him.”

Sokov's anxious tone made the duty officer realize the seriousness of the problem. He dared not delay and quickly said, "Lieutenant Colonel, please wait a moment, I will transfer the call to Colonel Malinin immediately."

After a brief wait, Malinin's voice came through the receiver: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what important matter do you have to report to me?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, after my brigade reached the designated attack starting point, we unexpectedly discovered a unit of unknown origin in front of the position." Sokov quickly said in rapid succession, "I called you to find out whether this unit is friendly or enemy?"

"What? An unidentified unit has been discovered in front of your position?" Malinin was also shocked upon hearing this news: "Do you know what kind of unit they are?"

“I don’t know, Comrade Chief of Staff,” Sokov replied truthfully. “Although that unit is only two or three hundred meters away from our front line, it’s too dark and visibility is limited, so we can’t figure out their true identity for the time being. I’m worried that it’s a unit that you’ve temporarily assigned, so I’m calling to inquire.”

As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Malinin blurted out, "There are no other troops in the area where your brigade is hiding."

"No other troops?" Sokov asked cautiously. "In that case, we can launch an attack on this unit before the artillery preparation begins, to clear obstacles in our path of attack."

“Wait a minute.” But Malinin did not agree to Sokov’s suggestion, and instead asked cautiously, “Has that unit spotted you?”

“I think it’s probably not,” Malining quickly explained. “That unit was facing away from us, towards the German defensive direction.”

After listening to Sokov's explanation, Malinin fell into deep thought. If the troops appearing in front of the infantry brigade were indeed German troops, why were they facing away from the brigade? Wouldn't doing so expose their weakest point to the enemy?
“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov.” Malinin thought for a moment and said into the microphone, “You all hold your positions for now. I’ll find out more about the situation and see if any units have entered your area of ​​operation. I’ll call you once I’ve figured it out.”

Sokov agreed and put down the microphone.

The liaison officer standing nearby asked impatiently, "Lieutenant Colonel, what did the Chief of Staff say?"

Sokov looked at the liaison officer standing in front of him and said with a serious expression, "Comrade Chief of Staff said that he would go and find out the situation first, and then call me to let me know after he has figured it out."

"Did the Chief of Staff say whether that unit was an enemy or an allied force?" the liaison officer asked, still unwilling to give up.

Sokov was somewhat annoyed by the question: "Major, don't you understand what I'm saying? I'm telling you, even the Chief of Staff doesn't know where they're from. He's going to find out what's going on and he'll call me back once he has a better understanding."

The liaison officer, who had been reprimanded by Sokov, dared not say anything more and could only sit awkwardly in the corner, waiting for Malinin to call and report the results of the investigation.

Seven or eight minutes later, the phone on the table rang. Sokov grabbed the receiver and held it to his ear: "This is Sokov!"

“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov!” Malinin’s voice came through the receiver: “I’ve already checked. A militia annihilation battalion arrived from Moscow yesterday afternoon and has been deployed to your infiltration area. You should send someone to make contact with them as soon as possible to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.”

“Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff.” After Sokov had ascertained the situation of that unit, he assured Malinin, “I will send someone to make contact immediately.”

After hanging up the phone, Sokov said to Belkin, Karsokov, and the liaison officer, "It's all clear. The troops hidden in front of the Third Battalion's position are a militia annihilation battalion that came from Moscow yesterday afternoon. It's possible that the comrade in charge of this matter was negligent and failed to report it in time."

"Should I call Captain Nazorov and have him send someone to contact the other side?" Karsokov asked tentatively.

"Never mind," Sokov waved his hand and said, "I'll go to the Third Battalion's position myself and urge the Third Battalion Commander to send someone over to make contact."

Sokov was going to the Third Battalion's position, and the liaison officer, naturally, couldn't stay in the command post, so he followed him to the Third Battalion again.

Upon seeing Sokov's arrival, Battalion Commander Nazorov immediately went to greet him and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, are the troops ahead our own or the enemy?"

“Everything’s been sorted out. They’re our own people, a militia annihilation battalion that came from Moscow yesterday afternoon.” Sokov instructed the other party, “Find two reliable soldiers here. I need to give them a few instructions.”

Nazorov nodded and then summoned two soldiers, instructing them to take Sokov's orders.

Sokov looked at the two soldiers in front of him and realized that they were both elderly veterans. He thought that they would be the best candidates to contact the troops ahead.

Sokov said to the two veterans, "Comrades, I am now entrusting you with a glorious but arduous task: to go to the location of that unit ahead of the position and make contact with their commander." Hearing this, one of the veterans couldn't help but interject, "Comrade Brigade Commander, is that unit ahead really one of our own?"

“Yes, Comrade Soldier.” Sokov nodded and said with certainty, “I have already verified with my superiors that this is a militia annihilation battalion from Moscow. If they find a sizable army behind them after daybreak, it will likely cause panic. So you need to contact them as soon as possible and let them know that there is a friendly force lurking behind them.”

"Comrade Brigade Commander, don't worry, I will establish contact with them as soon as possible," the veteran said confidently.

"And one more thing," Sokov reminded them, "That unit is unaware of our presence. When you approach them, be careful to remain concealed so as not to be mistaken for an attacking enemy by their sentries. Understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander."

"Then let's set off." Sokov waved to the two soldiers. "Good luck!"

After the two soldiers quietly climbed out of the trench, they did not get up, but instead crawled quickly toward the unit not far away.

Upon seeing two soldiers crawling towards their friendly forces, the liaison officer couldn't help but grumble, "What's going on? Why don't they stand up and instead crawl forward? Don't they know they're wasting precious time?"

Sokov turned to look at the liaison officer and said coldly, "Major, while they can run quickly when they stand up, they are easily mistaken for enemies by friendly sentries on duty. If the sentries open fire, it will cause casualties. Crawling forward, on the other hand, is slower, but it allows them to conceal themselves and quickly approach the location of friendly forces."

“Comrade Brigade Commander is right.” Nazorov chimed in as soon as Sokov finished speaking: “Although crawling is slower than jogging, we are only two or three hundred meters away from our friendly forces, so it won’t take much time.”

Seven or eight minutes later, a flashing bright spot appeared at the location where the troops were hiding.

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Nazorov said excitedly upon seeing the flashing lights. He pointed to the two points and reported to Sokov with some emotion, "Look quickly, the other side is signaling to us with flashlights, saying that they know our identities."

"It's good that we've made contact." Sokov felt much more at ease after confirming that the friendly forces at the front had established contact with his men. Now, after the artillery preparations were completed at dawn, this militia annihilation battalion could launch an attack on the German-held settlements. If the attack went smoothly, great; if not, he could always commit his troops later.

As soon as Sokov returned to the command post with the liaison officer, Belkin stepped forward and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, how is the situation? Have you made contact with the other side?"

Sokov nodded vigorously, giving the other party an affirmative answer: "Yes, Deputy Brigade Commander, the men we sent have already made contact with the annihilation battalion at the front."

"Then what about the attack?" Karsokov asked tentatively. "When the artillery preparations are over and the ground attack is launched, should we charge along with this unit, or should we wait until their attack is thwarted before launching our own attack?"

Sokov was surprised that Karsokov shared the same idea. He smiled slightly and then said, "Since the militia annihilation battalion is deployed in front of us, it will definitely be the first unit to launch the attack after the artillery preparation is over. As for us, it's not too late to launch our attack after their offensive is thwarted."

“Comrade Brigade Commander,” Belkin said with a frown, “the militia annihilation battalion—just from the name, you can tell their combat effectiveness isn’t very high. Furthermore, this unit seems to have been recently formed; from officers to soldiers, they lack combat experience. I’m worried that during the attack, if they encounter enemy fire suppression, they won’t be able to continue the charge; it would be a miracle if the unit doesn’t collapse on the spot. Is it really appropriate to have them lead the vanguard?”

“Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander,” Karsokov said from the side, “the settlement we are going to attack is just over twenty two-story brick and concrete buildings. The enemy has not stationed many troops there. I suppose even if the militia annihilation battalion is not very strong, taking the settlement should not be a big problem.”

"Comrade Chief of Staff!" Belkin was clearly not as optimistic as Karsokov. He shook his head and said, "I'm worried that after the offensive falters, some panicked soldiers might desert..."

Although Belkin put it mildly, everyone understood what he meant: he was worried that the unit might not collapse under the heavy firepower of the German army, but could continue fighting.

“Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, after the battle begins, let the militia annihilation battalion launch the first attack.” Belkin wanted to say something, but Sokov raised his hand to stop him. Sokov continued, “If we attack at the same time as the annihilation battalion, and if the situation you described occurs—some soldiers with weak will fleeing under the enemy’s heavy firepower—it could have a negative impact on our attacking forces.”

Sokov's words gave Belkin a wake-up call. He began to imagine the scene of the battle: the annihilation battalion attacking the settlement was bombarded by enemy mortars and machine guns. The soldiers, who had no combat experience, immediately scattered and fled, even disrupting the ranks of the infantry brigade that was attacking at the same time as them.

Having thought this through, Belkin no longer questioned Sokov's decision, but nodded in agreement, saying, "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. If our troops and the annihilation battalion launch an attack at the same time, once their troops are in disarray, it will certainly affect our troops as well. Therefore, I agree with the Brigade Commander's suggestion to let the annihilation battalion launch the attack first and make a breakthrough. It is not too late for our troops to launch an attack after their attack is thwarted."

Although the three commanders at the brigade headquarters had reached a consensus, Sokov remained uneasy. He turned to the liaison officer sitting in the corner and tentatively asked, "Comrade Major, do you agree with the three of us?"

“I have no objection.” The liaison officer knew very well that he was incapable of commanding this unit, so he naturally would not object to Sokov’s decision: “Since it was the decision made by the three commanders of your brigade headquarters, just give the order to carry it out.”

Sokov glanced at his watch and casually asked the liaison officer, "Comrade Major, when will the artillery preparation begin?"

The liaison officer was taken aback by Sokov's sudden question, paused for a moment, and then replied somewhat flusteredly, "If nothing unexpected happens, we should begin artillery preparation against the enemy's defensive positions at seven in the morning."

"There are still more than two hours left." After muttering these words, Sokov turned to Karsokov and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, are our troops ready for battle?"

“Of course, Comrade Brigade Commander.” Hearing Sokov’s question, Karsokov replied confidently, “The officers and soldiers are ready for battle. They are just waiting for your order to leap out of the trenches, launch an assault on the German-occupied settlements, and completely annihilate the enemy inside.”

(End of this chapter)