red moscow

Chapter 2968

“Don’t worry, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander,” Sokov reassured Belkin. “I have faith in our soldiers; they are capable of accomplishing any task assigned to them by their superiors.”

Although Sokov's words were merely platitudes, Belkin's worry lessened considerably. He even thought to himself that since he led his troops out of the German encirclement and was incorporated into Sokov's infantry brigade, he seemed to have never suffered a defeat. Now that his superiors had ordered his troops to rescue trapped allies, perhaps he could actually accomplish this mission.

An hour later, Sokov received a call from Malinin himself.

In the phone call, Malinin told Sokov, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the situation is clear. General Puliev's 50th Cavalry Division is under siege by superior enemy forces. Although our cavalry put up a fierce resistance, they are still divided and surrounded by the enemy in several settlements and villages."

Upon hearing this, Sokov frowned.

He knew very well that if the cavalry division was concentrated in one place, even if it was surrounded by the Germans, breaking out of the encirclement wouldn't be a big problem. But if they were scattered in several different locations, rescuing all the besieged troops would be much more difficult. In the end, they might not only fail to rescue the besieged troops but also lose the reinforcements.

Thinking of this, he tentatively asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you intend for us to do?"

"Of course, they'll send reinforcements." Malinin also specifically reminded Sokov, "As for the two settlements you've seized, you must do everything in your power to hold them, understand?"

"Understood, Chief of Staff. We will find a way to hold the settlement."

After finishing his call with Malinin, Sokov put down the receiver and said to Belkin and Karsokov, "Deputy Brigade Commander and Chief of Staff, I just received a call from Chief of Staff Malinin. He said that General Priyev's 50th Cavalry Division is now divided and surrounded by the German army in several different settlements and villages, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of our rescue operation."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Karsokov interrupted before Sokov could finish speaking, "you can give us the orders on what to do next."

Sokov pulled the map from the table to his face, examined it carefully, and then pointed to the location where the 5th Cavalry Division was besieged. He said to the two men, “Look, the settlements occupied by the 2nd and 4th Battalions are no more than five kilometers away from their nearest points. As long as we launch a surprise attack, we can break through the encirclement hastily constructed by the Germans.”

Belkin tilted his head, staring at the spot Sokov was pointing at for a long time, before speaking his opinion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our surprise attack can indeed tear a hole in the German encirclement and allow our friendly troops to escape. But now our friendly troops are trapped in several different areas. Even if we can rescue some of them, we can't rescue everyone."

“Since we can’t save everyone, then we won’t,” Sokov said unexpectedly. “First, we need to find the location of General Puliev’s command post. We just need to send the Second and Fourth Battalions to that place and rescue him. As long as we rescue General Puliev, we can give our superiors an explanation.”

“You’re right!” Karsokov agreed. “We have no artillery or armored units right now. To send a light infantry unit to fight the German armored forces would be sending them to their deaths. Therefore, I agree with the brigade commander’s suggestion to send someone to rescue General Priev. As for the other troops, we can only let them pray to God.”

Thus, the three quickly reached a consensus: Major Vasya would leave a company to hold the occupied settlement, while the remaining troops would go to a nearby settlement to rescue the besieged General Puliev. Once General Puliev was rescued, the troops would no longer need to engage the enemy, but should withdraw from the battle as quickly as possible.

While drafting the telegram, Karsokov asked Sokov with some concern, "Comrade Brigade Commander, if the main force of the 50th Cavalry Division is annihilated by the German army, and the higher-ups investigate the responsibility, are you really okay?"

"Don't worry," Sokov reassured him. "Just proceed according to our plan. If the higher-ups want to hold us accountable after the battle, I'll handle it."

Seeing that Sokov was so confident, Karsokov put aside his concerns and arranged for the radio operator to send the battle plan to Major Vasya, the commander of the fourth battalion.

Upon receiving the telegram, Major Vasya fell into deep thought after reading it.

Seeing this, Captain Alex, the battalion commander next to him, couldn't help but ask curiously, "Major, what happened? Why do you look so unhappy?"

Vasya handed the telegram to Alexa: "Comrade Captain, this is a telegram just sent from the brigade headquarters. The higher command ordered us to rescue the besieged 50th Cavalry Division, but the brigade commander specifically instructed in the telegram that as soon as we rescue General Priev, the commander of the 50th Cavalry Division, we should immediately disengage from the enemy and quickly return to our current defensive zone."

After reading the telegram, Alex was equally puzzled: "Yes, this telegram is quite strange. If it orders us to rescue our allies, we should be rescuing all the besieged allies. Why would it only order us to rescue the division commander?"

Vasya pondered for a moment, then looked up at Alexa and said, “Comrade Captain, you and I should know that orders from superiors are meant to be executed, not discussed. Since this is the brigade headquarters’ order, we will simply follow it. The rest is none of our business.”

“You make a good point.” Alexa nodded and said, “Since this is an order from the brigade headquarters, we should just carry it out. Even if something goes wrong, as long as we faithfully carry out the orders from our superiors, we don’t need to worry about anyone holding us accountable.”

Next, Vasya began to deploy his troops. He left a company to hold the settlement, while the rest of his forces, under his leadership, headed towards the area where Priyev was besieged.

Meanwhile, the settlement where General Puliev was besieged was attacked from all sides by the German army.

Many cavalrymen's horses were killed by bullets or artillery fire during the battle. The cavalrymen, now infantry, took cover in the ruins of buildings and fired at the approaching German troops.

An armored vehicle drove through the rubble-strewn streets toward a building defended by Soviet troops. General Puliev happened to be inside that building.

Seeing the enemy getting closer and closer, the commander shouted orders, trying to use his light weapons to destroy the armored vehicle leading the way for the soldiers.

Unfortunately, bullets struck the armored vehicle's armor plates like hail, but failed to penetrate them and injure the Germans hiding inside.

Just as the German armored vehicle was only forty or fifty meters from the building, a rider suddenly rushed out from a nearby alley. The soldier on board, armed with a captured German submachine gun, opened fire on the German soldiers following behind the armored vehicle. A burst of fire felled five or six German soldiers.

The cavalryman quickly rushed to the side of the armored vehicle and shoved a smoking grenade into the vehicle's observation port.

Moments later, the armored vehicle exploded violently, bursting into flames. Several Germans, their bodies engulfed in flames, stumbled out of the vehicle, attempting to reach safety and extinguish their fire. But their attempt failed; now unprotected, they became easy targets for Soviet soldiers in the opposite building.

The cavalrymen who had destroyed the armored vehicles spurred their horses and charged quickly toward the building, trying to catch up with their own men.

However, he did not run very far before his horse was shot and fell to the ground, and he himself was thrown far away.

Not long after, the fallen cavalryman got up. He covered the wound on his left arm with his right hand, enduring the pain, and continued to rush towards the building. He knew very well that only by escaping into the building could he barely enter a safe zone.

Before he had run twenty paces, two German soldiers charging behind the armored vehicles stepped forward, raised their weapons, and fired at the cavalryman. They seemed determined to kill him.

The cavalryman who destroyed the armored vehicle was wounded not only in the arm but also in the leg. He endured the pain from his wounds and stumbled forward, constantly encouraging himself: "Come on, just a few more steps and I'll be back among our own people."

He was only five or six meters from the building, just one step away to rush in and rejoin his men. But then gunshots rang out behind him, and soon, several sprays of blood bloomed on his back. He managed to take two more steps forward, but the excruciating pain from his wounds made his steps slow and unsteady. Just as he was about to enter the building, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Upon seeing this, Priev, who was inside the building, immediately instructed one of his staff officers: "Comrade Staff Officer, take some men and carry the wounded cavalryman in."

The staff officer dared not delay and immediately called two soldiers to rush out of the building with him and run towards the cavalryman who had fallen to the ground.

Upon reaching the cavalryman, the staff officer immediately knelt down and carefully examined his injuries.

But soon, the staff officer discovered that the seriously wounded cavalryman showed no signs of life at all.

With no other option, he had to abandon the rescue plan and return to the building with his men.

When Puliev saw the staff officer return alone, he couldn't help but ask, "Where is that cavalryman? Where is he?"

"Comrade General, please forgive him, he has sacrificed his life." The staff officer lowered his head and explained to Puliev with some embarrassment, "When I went out to rescue him on your orders, I found that he had already died."

"After the battle, we must give him a proper burial," Priyev said to his staff. "If he hadn't sacrificed himself to blow up the German armored vehicles, we would have paid an even heavier price."

"Yes, Comrade General." The staff officer nodded and said, "After the battle is over, I will definitely order someone to give him a proper burial."

Puliev turned to another staff officer and asked, "Well, has the commander responded?"

"Not yet, Comrade Division Commander," the staff officer reported to Priyev. "We have sent many telegrams, but have not received a definite reply. Just now, an acquaintance quietly told me that Commander Dovator is not at her command post at all, and we don't know where she went."

After hearing this, Puliev sighed softly and said with some helplessness, "So, we can only rely on our own strength to break through the German encirclement." Then, he instructed a staff officer, "Immediately contact the 151st and 152nd Regiments and have them choose their own breakout direction while the enemy's encirclement is not yet secure, and jump out of the German encirclement as soon as possible."

Hearing Puliev say this, the staff officer said somewhat excitedly, "Comrade Division Commander, what about us? Aren't we supposed to participate in the breakout?"

“When the 151st and 152nd Regiments begin their breakout, they will definitely draw some of the enemy’s attention,” Puliev said. “Then our opportunity will come. As long as we find the enemy’s weak points, we can quickly break out of the German encirclement.”

Half an hour later, the 151st and 152nd Cavalry Regiments, which had received orders from Puliev, launched counterattacks against the enemy in front of them.

The enemy besieging them never dreamed that the Soviet cavalry, which they had divided and surrounded, would dare to launch a sudden attack under such circumstances. They were caught off guard, and their already weak defenses were immediately torn open in many places. The cavalry, whose mobility far surpassed that of the infantry, quickly used these gaps to break out of the enemy's encirclement.

Upon receiving the telegrams from his two regimental commanders, Priev was overjoyed. He knew perfectly well that as long as the main force of the cavalry division broke through the German encirclement, even if his own cavalry unit was wiped out, the division's designation would continue. Perhaps, with sufficient reinforcements, the unit could regain its fighting strength.

Just as Puliev was prepared to sacrifice himself, gunshots and explosions rang out outside the settlement, indicating that a large force was launching an attack on his area.

"What's going on?" Upon hearing gunfire and explosions coming from the opposite direction, Puliev immediately called the commander holding that position and asked bluntly, "What's going on over there? Which unit is engaging the enemy?"

The commander who answered the phone naturally didn't know the unit's designation. He could only reply tactfully, "Comrade Division Commander, what we've come into view is an infantry unit. They've routed the Germans fighting us and torn a gap in their encirclement. Do you think we should immediately head over to join the reinforcements?"

"Send someone to make contact first." Puliev was clear-headed; he knew he couldn't act rashly before figuring out the enemy's unit designation. He instructed the messenger, "Once you know their unit designation and their purpose here, report back to me immediately. Understand?"

“Understood, Comrade Division Commander.” The commander said loudly, “I will personally go and contact the commanders of the friendly forces to find out their unit numbers and why they are here.”

“Then you should hurry up and go,” Priev urged. “Find out their background and purpose quickly so I can formulate a targeted action plan for the next step.”

"Yes, comrade division commander. I will contact friendly forces immediately."

(End of this chapter)