red moscow

Chapter 2963

Sokov quickly calculated in his mind how many troops the 8 armored vehicles, 15 trucks, and 12 three-wheeled motorcycles could accommodate. He then asked, "Do you have heavy technical equipment like tanks and artillery?"

“No,” Yefim answered decisively. “Those eight armored vehicles were probably mobile firing positions used to cover the German attack.”

Upon learning that the German forces preparing to counterattack the settlements were limited and lacked heavy equipment such as tanks and artillery, Sokov felt much more at ease. Although the troops were severely lacking in anti-tank weapons at the moment, dealing with a few armored vehicles should not be a problem.

"Captain Yefim." Based on the intelligence he had gathered, Sokov made a decisive arrangement: "You will be responsible for resisting the German attack on the settlements later."

"What about the Third Battalion?"

"I plan to have the Third Battalion outflank the enemy from the rear, cut off their retreat, and strive to annihilate this enemy force."

“Hmm, that works too.” Yefim thought Sokov’s arrangement was very reasonable and nodded, saying, “Comrade Brigade Commander, I was originally thinking that the enemy’s strength is not very strong. If we let them attack the settlement defended by two battalions, they will definitely be easily defeated by us. But it will be difficult to annihilate them completely. However, if we let the Third Battalion outflank them from behind, then they will have no way to escape.”

Just as Sokov was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly remembered something important and quickly asked, "By the way, where is Comrade Stavsky?"

“He has already returned to the settlement with me,” Yefim replied. “He is currently interviewing soldiers in my battalion.”

"Yes, I understand." Sokov reminded Yefim, "Once the battle begins, immediately send someone back to brigade headquarters. Understand?"

“Understood.” Yefim naturally understood that Sokov said this for Stavsky’s safety, and quickly replied, “If the enemy’s attack begins, I will immediately arrange for someone to send him back to the brigade headquarters.”

After finishing his conversation with Yefim, Sokov called Karsokov over and told him about Yefim's report. He then instructed him, "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately call Captain Nazorov, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, and have him lead the 3rd Battalion away from the settlement and outflank the enemy. After the enemy's attack on the settlement fails, launch an attack from their rear and make sure to annihilate this enemy force."

After discussing some details with Karsokov, he picked up the phone and connected to the command post of the Third Battalion.

Upon hearing Nazarov's voice through the receiver, Karsokov said, "Captain Nazarov, this is Karsokov."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, what are your instructions?"

"An enemy force is heading towards the settlement..."

Before Karsokov could finish speaking, Nazorov interrupted, saying, "Comrade Chief of Staff, rest assured, all the officers and soldiers of our battalion are ready for battle. If the enemy doesn't come, fine; but if they do, we will surely rout them."

"Comrade Captain, I haven't finished speaking yet. Please listen quietly." Karsokov said into the microphone, "The brigade commander has ordered your battalion to immediately hand over the defense of the settlement to the 1st Battalion, then leave the settlement and outflank the enemy through the forest. After their attack on the settlement fails, you will decisively launch an attack from their flank and rear, cooperating with the officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion to completely annihilate this enemy force. How about it, can you do it?"

After listening to Karsokov's instructions, Nazorov immediately replied, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I will immediately hand over the defenses to the 1st Battalion, then lead the troops into the forest, outflank the enemy's rear, and prepare for an attack."

Karsokov nodded and said, "Good luck! The brigade commander and I are waiting for your good news!"

When Sokov saw Karsokov put down the phone, he suddenly asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, where did the deputy brigade commander go?"

Karsokov was taken aback by Sokov's sudden question. His expression froze, and he began to think: Where had the deputy brigade commander Belkin gone?
Seeing that Karsokov was in a daze, Sokov quickly reminded him, "The deputy brigade commander said he would take Comrade Stavsky to the settlement to interview the commanders and soldiers who had participated in the battle. Later, Stavsky left the settlement with the scouts, but the deputy brigade commander's whereabouts are unknown."

“Yes, the deputy brigade commander said he was taking Comrade Stavsky to the settlement for interviews. If he hadn’t accompanied him throughout the interviews, he should have been back long ago.” Karsokov asked in surprise, “Where did he go?”

Seeing that he couldn't get Belkin's whereabouts from Karsokov, Sokov called out to Romanov, who was sitting in the corner: "Comrade Romanov!"

Upon hearing Sokov's summons, Romanov got up and walked over, waiting for Sokov to give him orders.

"Comrade Romanov!" Sokov said to Romanov, "Go find Captain Bobrikov, the guard company commander. He's the one who sent men to escort the deputy brigade commander and Comrade Stavsky to the settlement. See if his men have returned."

Romanov nodded, turned and left the room to find Bobrikov nearby.

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Karsokov asked with some concern after Romanov left the room, "Do you think the Deputy Brigade Commander will be alright?"

“From the brigade headquarters to the settlement, it’s less than a kilometer,” Sokov said. “At such a short distance, even if we were attacked by a small group of German troops, nearby units would rush to our aid in time. Moreover, the fact that Comrade Stavsky is safe and sound in the settlement means that they did not encounter any danger on their way there.”

Romanov, who had gone out to gather information, quickly returned and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, I have already asked Captain Bobrikov."

"How did he say?"

"He said he had sent a guard platoon to escort the deputy brigade commander and Comrade Stavsky to the settlement," Romanov reported. "So far, the guard platoon has not returned. He assumed the guard platoon and the deputy brigade commander were still in the settlement, so he did not inquire about it."

"So, the deputy brigade commander is missing." After saying this, Sokov turned to Karsokov and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, if the deputy brigade commander isn't in the settlement, where is he most likely to be?"

Karsokov pondered for a moment, then said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you think it's possible that the Deputy Brigade Commander went to the field hospital?"

"A field hospital?" Sokov asked in surprise. "What's he going there for?"

"Have you forgotten Captain Rubtsov, the battalion commander of the first attack on the settlement?" Karsokov cautiously reminded Sokov. "He wasn't wounded in battle and was rushed to the field hospital. The deputy brigade commander probably saw that there wasn't much fighting going on, so he went to the field hospital to visit him."

After listening to Karsokov's words, Sokov felt there was some truth to them. He quickly grabbed the telephone on the table and had the communications officer connect him to the field hospital.

The person who answered the phone was the director of the field hospital. After recognizing Sokov's voice, he asked with a smile, "Comrade Brigade Commander, you called specifically to inquire about Captain Rubtsov's injuries, right?"

"How is his injury?" "The bullet has been removed," the hospital director said. "His injury isn't too serious. He'll be able to be discharged after a month of rest at most."

"That's good, that's good." Sokov was relieved to learn that Rubzov's injuries were not serious. He then asked, "By the way, Comrade Director, have you seen my deputy brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Belkin?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Belkin?" the dean said with certainty. "I saw him. He arrived at the hospital an hour ago, first inquired about Captain Rubtsov's injuries from me, and then went to visit him in person."

"Where is he now?"

"He has left the hospital and I believe he will return to the brigade command soon."

When Sokov put down the phone, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief and said to Karsokov, "Comrade Chief of Staff, your guess was correct. The deputy brigade commander did go to the field hospital, and after learning about Captain Rubtsov's injuries from the director, he even visited him personally. He has now left the hospital and is on his way here; he should be back soon."

As Sokov and Karsokov waited for Belkin to arrive, a truck loaded with "Soviet troops" appeared to the west of the settlement.

Upon seeing the outer perimeter of the settlement, the truck immediately stopped.

As soon as the car came to a stop, the passenger door was pushed open, and a lieutenant got out and walked towards the outer perimeter of the position.

He was about 20 meters away from the trench when he heard a soldier shout, "Halt! If you go any further, I'll shoot!"

"Don't shoot, they're our own people!" The lieutenant shouted, waving his hands above his head. "We just escaped from the German encirclement. We hope you'll let us into the settlement."

The soldiers dared not act on their own and immediately reported the matter to their superiors.

Soon, Yefim received a call from a company commander on the outer perimeter: "Comrade Battalion Commander, a truck has appeared outside the settlement, and it's full of our own men. They want to enter the settlement. Do you have permission?"

"Wait a minute, don't hang up, let me check first." Yefim said, placing the receiver on the table. He then walked straight to the window, raised his binoculars, and looked towards the western entrance of the settlement. Soon, he spotted the lieutenant standing at the front of the position through the binoculars. After recognizing the man's face, his facial muscles twitched involuntarily. He thought to himself, "This German is really bold. He actually sent more than twenty soldiers to impersonate Soviet troops, trying to infiltrate the settlement and then support the German troops attacking it, allowing them to capture it."

Although he had clearly seen the lieutenant's face and could most likely confirm that the unit was a German in disguise, Yefim did not act rashly. Instead, he called over a soldier and ordered him to bring over the leader of the reconnaissance team.

The reconnaissance team leader was in the room next door. He would come over whenever the soldiers he was sent out called him.

He approached Yefim from behind, saluted, and asked respectfully, "Comrade Battalion Commander, do you have any instructions?"

"Lieutenant!" Yefim handed the binoculars to the lieutenant and said, "Take a look at the western entrance of the settlement. Doesn't the lieutenant standing there look familiar?"

The second lieutenant took the binoculars and looked in the direction Yefim was pointing. When he saw the lieutenant's face clearly, a look of shock crossed his face: "Comrade Battalion Commander, isn't that the German we just saw on the slope, the one disguised as one of our officers?"

“I think it looks a lot like him, but I’m not sure, so I called you over to let me know.”

“That’s right, Battalion Commander. I can confirm that the man was the German who impersonated one of our officers. He personally murdered the old man who was hauling firewood.” The lieutenant said with certainty, “And the truck behind him is one I’ve seen before.”

After the second lieutenant finished speaking, Yefim turned and walked to the table, picked up the microphone placed on it, and said to his ear, "Comrade Captain, we can now confirm that the lieutenant officer who appeared in front of you is a German in disguise. The soldiers wearing our uniforms in the truck behind him are also Germans in disguise."

The company commander, realizing that the men in Soviet uniforms at the front of the position were Germans in disguise, quickly asked Yefim, "Comrade Battalion Commander, what should we do next?"

"Captain, aren't you just spouting nonsense?" Yefim said with some dissatisfaction. "When you see the enemy in front of you, the best thing to do is to open fire on them immediately and wipe them all out."

"Understood, Comrade Battalion Commander." The company commander replied loudly, "I will immediately order the soldiers to open fire and wipe them all out."

"Captain, let me remind you," Yefim added, "There's a large enemy force behind us. After you eliminate this enemy force, there's no need to clean up the battlefield. Stay in your positions and prepare for battle, understand?"

The company commander naturally understood the true meaning of Yefim's order. Yefim was worried that if he sent men to clean up the battlefield, they would be caught off guard by the large German force following behind. He quickly replied, "I understand, Comrade Battalion Commander. After we eliminate this enemy force in front of us, we will remain in the trenches and wait for orders."

After hanging up the phone, the company commander immediately issued combat orders to his officers and soldiers.

With the order given, the machine guns, rifles, and submachine guns positioned in the trenches began firing.

The German officer standing in front of the trench was waiting for the Soviet troops on the perimeter to let his small unit into the settlement, but he did not expect the other side to open fire unexpectedly.

The German officer was immediately shot seven or eight times. He covered his wounds with his hands, staggered forward a few steps, and then fell straight to the ground.

The German soldiers on the truck fared no better; many were shot dead inside the truck before they could even jump out.

A few soldiers who reacted quickly jumped off the train and hid behind the train, returning fire at the soldiers firing into the trenches.

But only five or six of them survived, and they were clearly outmatched by the fifty or sixty men in front of them. Soon, in the exchange of fire, these soldiers were hit by bullets and fell to the ground.

The soldiers in the trench, seeing that the enemy outside had been wiped out, were about to rush out to collect the spoils of war when their platoon leader stopped them: "Stop! All of you stop! The company commander has given orders that a large number of enemy troops are following behind this group, and no one is allowed to leave the trench without permission."

Some soldiers had already climbed out of the trenches, intending to seize the spoils from the enemy corpses. But upon hearing the platoon leader's shout, although they were unwilling, they thought that they might be attacked by a large German force while cleaning up the battlefield. Compared to their own lives, those spoils seemed insignificant, so they turned back to the trenches.

(End of this chapter)