red moscow

Chapter 2964

The soldiers, who had just returned to their trenches after trying to collect the spoils, spotted enemy activity in the distance.

When the German army realized that their surprise attack plan had failed, they turned the attack into a full-scale assault.

Eight armored vehicles lined up in a row, guiding the infantry step by step toward the temporary positions on the outskirts of the settlement.

Yefim stood at the window of his command post, observing the approaching armored vehicles through binoculars, and frowned. A week ago, encountering such an enemy would have been simple: contacting the artillery battalion would have sufficed to call in artillery fire to intercept them. But now, the artillery battalion was gone, and the troops lacked anti-tank weapons; they could only watch helplessly as the enemy armored vehicles slowly approached the outer perimeter, unable to do anything about it.

The deputy battalion commander, standing next to Yefim, saw this scene through his binoculars and asked somewhat nervously, "Comrade Battalion Commander, we don't have anti-tank weapons. How are we going to deal with the armored vehicles leading the infantry charge?"

"I really don't know what the higher-ups were thinking, they actually transferred both of the brigade's artillery battalions away." Yefim said with a wry smile, "Without the artillery battalions, the armored vehicles, which were originally vulnerable to artillery fire, have become a headache for us."

"Then what should we do?" the deputy battalion commander asked.

Yefim thought for a moment, then said, "The only way is for the soldiers to eliminate the infantry following behind the armored vehicles, and then try to get close to the enemy armored vehicles and destroy them with cluster grenades or anti-tank grenades."

The deputy battalion commander nodded after hearing this, and said with a wry smile, "It seems that's the only way."

After issuing the combat orders to the front-line troops, Yefim received a call from Sokov: "Captain Yefim, has Comrade Stavsky been brought back?"

"I had already arranged for men to escort Comrade Stavsky back to the brigade headquarters before the battle even started."

Upon learning that Stavsky was already on his way back and that fighting had broken out in the settlement, Sokov continued, "Report on the situation in the settlement?"

“The enemy has deployed eight armored vehicles,” Yefim replied. “These armored vehicles are lined up and slowly moving toward the positions outside the settlement to cover the infantry charge behind them. Since we don’t have any decent anti-tank weapons, I can only order the soldiers to first eliminate the infantry following the armored vehicles, and then try to get close to the armored vehicles and destroy them with cluster grenades or anti-tank grenades.”

Sokov was surprised that his infantry brigade, after losing two artillery battalions, was having such difficulty dealing with a German force without tank cover. He frowned and asked, "Explain in detail, where is the enemy now?"

“It’s to the west of the settlement,” Yefim replied. “It’s about 300 meters away from our battalion’s outer perimeter positions outside the settlement.”

Sokov thought for a moment and said to Yefim, "Comrade Captain, do you have any way to keep the enemy at this distance for a long time?"

Upon hearing Sokov's question, Yefim was taken aback, then asked in confusion, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I don't understand what you mean. Could you explain in more detail?"

"Comrade Captain, didn't you say that your battalion lacks anti-tank weapons and it's difficult to destroy the German armored vehicles?" Sokov explained to the other party, "I intend to request the army group artillery to provide you with artillery support and use long-range artillery fire to destroy these German armored vehicles."

"That's great, that's really great." After understanding Sokov's intentions, Yefim was overjoyed and said repeatedly, "Comrade Brigade Commander, don't worry, I will definitely make sure the soldiers keep the enemy 300 meters away from the settlement."

As Sokov put down the microphone, Karsokov asked curiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, can you really get the army group's artillery to provide artillery support for the garrison in the settlement?"

“I’d like to try my luck.” Sokov wasn’t sure if he could persuade General Kazakov, the army’s artillery chief, so he couldn’t give Kazakov a definite answer: “Hopefully he can provide artillery support for our troops.”

Sokov had his communications officer connect him to the headquarters of the army group's artillery chief. Upon hearing a voice on the other end, he immediately identified himself: "Hello, I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the brigade commander of the infantry brigade. May I speak to General Kazakov, the artillery chief?"

To everyone's surprise, the person who answered the phone said, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel. There is no subordinate relationship between artillery and infantry, so I cannot connect you to the general."

Sokov was surprised that his request would be rejected, and he stood there for a long time, holding the microphone that had gone silent.

Karsokov realized that Sokov's phone call did not seem to have achieved its intended purpose, so he cautiously suggested, "Comrade Brigade Commander, why don't you call Chief of Staff Malinin and ask him to put in a good word with the artillery? Maybe that will get the artillery to contact us on their own initiative?"

After thinking about Karsokov's suggestion for a while, Sokov felt that it made some sense and nodded in agreement.

Soon, Sokov got through to the army group headquarters and found Malinin, who was extremely busy.

Upon hearing Sokov's voice, Malinin asked somewhat impatiently, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, is there something important that you called me about?"

“It’s like this, Comrade Chief of Staff.” Sensing a hint of impatience in the other’s tone, Sokov quickly explained, “The enemy is launching a counterattack on the settlements we’ve captured. Because we lack anti-tank weapons, we can’t even handle German armored vehicles. Therefore, I intend to request artillery support, which is why I’m calling you…”

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, if you need artillery support, you can just call General Kazakov directly. Why are you calling me?"

Hearing Malinin say this, Sokov explained aggrievedly, "I just called the artillery command, hoping to speak with General Kazakov, but the staff officer who answered the phone refused. He said that there was no subordinate relationship between our infantry and artillery, and refused to transfer the call to General Kazakov."

Ma Lining was somewhat surprised upon hearing this and asked in astonishment, "Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I'll call General Kazakov right away and let you know when I have news." After hanging up, Malinin immediately ordered the communications officer to connect him to the artillery chief's command post.

The staff officer who answered the phone, upon learning that the caller was Malinin, naturally dared not neglect the matter and quickly connected him to Kazakov's number.

“Colonel Malinin.” Kazakov assumed Malinin was relaying some order from Rokossovsky, so he asked directly, “Does the Commander have some important task to assign?”

“General Kazakov.” Time was of the essence, and Malinin had no time for pleasantries with Kazakov. He went straight to the point: “I just received a call from Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. He said he called your command not long ago, hoping to get your artillery support. But the staff officer who answered the phone was unwilling to transfer the call to you.”

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov?" Kazakov asked, somewhat bewildered. "Which unit is he commanding? I don't recall ever hearing about this order."

“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is the commander of an infantry brigade.” Seeing that Kazakov couldn’t remember who Sokov was, Malinin reminded him, “General Kazakov, have you forgotten that you incorporated two artillery battalions last week, one a 76.2mm cannon battalion and the other a 122mm howitzer battalion? These two artillery battalions came from Lieutenant Colonel Sokov’s infantry brigade.”

"Oh, so it was him." After Malinin's explanation, Kazakov finally remembered who Sokov was. He softened his tone and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what brings him to me?"

"He wants your artillery to provide artillery support for his troops," Malinin said urgently. "I don't know the specifics either, you should just call him and ask." After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Kazakov to speak and continued his busy work.

After Kazakov put down the phone, he asked a staff officer sitting in the corner, "Comrade staff officer, when Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the brigade commander, called just now, you didn't transfer his call to me, did you?"

Upon hearing Kazakov's question, the staff officer quickly stood up and explained to him, "Yes, Comrade Artillery Chief, it was indeed my fault for not transferring his call to you."

"Why?" Kazakov stared at the other man, somewhat annoyed, and asked, "Why did you do this?"

"Comrade Artillery Chief, please let me explain." The staff officer explained to Kazakov, "We have no subordinate relationship with the infantry. If anyone needs artillery support, they call us directly. We are too busy to handle that, so we simply refused his request to speak with you."

After hearing the staff officer's explanation, Kazakov was somewhat amused and exasperated. To be honest, as the army group's artillery chief, he also disliked receiving calls from infantrymen asking him to provide direct artillery support for a specific area. Usually, in such situations, he would politely ask the caller to contact army group headquarters so that Malinin could understand the situation before issuing operational orders. In today's case, the staff officer's approach wasn't entirely wrong.

That's why Kazakov didn't reprimand the other man. Instead, he gestured for him to sit down and said, "When other infantry units call here needing artillery support, they should first contact the army group headquarters and get approval from their superiors before Colonel Malinin gives me the order. However, this unit is a bit special. The two artillery battalions we incorporated last week came from this infantry brigade. If we don't transfer those two artillery battalions, with their original strength, they are fully capable of dealing with the German armored forces."

After saying this, Kazakov asked the communications officer to connect him to the infantry brigade command. He planned to explain the situation to Sokov in person and ask what kind of help he needed after calling him.

The call was quickly connected, and Kazakov heard an unfamiliar voice on the other end: "This is the infantry brigade command. Who is this?"

"I am Major General Kazakov, the artillery chief of the army group." After identifying himself, Kazakov asked in return, "Who are you?"

"Oh, it's General Kazakov!" The person on the other end of the phone sounded excited and quickly identified himself: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Karsokov, Chief of Staff of the Infantry Brigade. Please wait a moment while I have Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the Brigade Commander, take over the phone."

Soon, Sokov's voice came through the receiver: "Hello, General Kazakov, this is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the infantry brigade!"

"Lieutenant Colonel, I received a call from Colonel Malinin, who said that you had called me, but my subordinates refused to transfer your call to me. Is that true?"

Sokov knew perfectly well that Kazakov was only asking this to find a common topic, and didn't want to hear any criticism of his subordinates. He also didn't want to offend anyone in the artillery command over such a trivial matter. So he smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Comrade General, I think your subordinates might have had some considerations for not transferring my call to you. Please don't blame them."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov!" Seeing that Sokov did not criticize his subordinate, Kazakov smiled and said, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Sokov quickly explained to Kazakov his desire for artillery support to use artillery fire to block the enemy's attack on the settlement.

After listening, Kazakov grunted twice and then asked, "Where is the enemy located now?" After Sokov gave the enemy's approximate location, he frowned and said, "The distance between us and the enemy is a bit close. If we use heavy artillery to bombard them, we will inevitably injure our own people."

"Comrade General, the enemy attacking the settlement only has a few armored vehicles," Sokov quickly said. "The artillery only needs to use 76.2 mm guns to destroy these armored vehicles."

“Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what you said makes a lot of sense.” Kazakov went along with it and said, “Then we will use the 76.2 mm guns to intercept the enemy attacking the settlements. But even so, you must make sure our soldiers take cover to avoid being hit by friendly fire.”

After ending his call with Kazakov, Sokov clenched his fist and waved it excitedly twice. He then said to Karsokov, "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately inform Captain Yefim that the army group's artillery will soon begin fire to intercept the enemy attacking the settlements. Tell him to tell the commanders and soldiers on the outer positions to take cover to avoid being accidentally hit by our artillery fire."

While Karsokov was on the phone with Yefim, relaying Sokov's orders, Stavsky and photographer Blinov walked in from outside.

As soon as he entered, Stavsky said impatiently, "Lieutenant Colonel, my interview wasn't over yet, and you've already sent us back?"

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel,” Blinov echoed. “I wanted to take some pictures of the soldiers fighting, but your Captain Yefim arranged for us to be sent back without a word.”

"Gentlemen!" Sokov said with a forced smile after the two had finished speaking, "We are doing this for your safety. You should know that the enemy's attack on the settlement has already begun. Don't underestimate the number of troops they have deployed now. If they fail to capture the settlement soon, they will likely send in more troops. At that point, the settlement may be bombarded and shelled. If you continue to stay there, your safety may not be guaranteed."

(End of this chapter)