red moscow

Chapter 2982

At midnight, the infantry brigade began its transfer towards Taiyangshan City.

Sokov was worried that the field hospital would not have enough transport to move all the wounded, so he personally led a guard platoon to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the field hospital, we saw a bustling scene of activity.

A hospital nurse, seeing Sokov arrive with his men, quickly reported to the hospital director beside her, "Comrade Director, the brigade commander is here!"

After the dean clearly saw where Sokov was, he immediately came forward to greet him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you've arrived!"

Sokov shook hands with the other party and politely asked, "Comrade Director, how is the situation? Can all the wounded be transferred before dawn?"

Upon hearing Sokov's question, the hospital director shook his head, a troubled expression on his face: "Comrade Brigade Commander, due to the limited number of oxcarts and horse-drawn carts temporarily collected from nearby villages, only a small number of seriously wounded soldiers can leave by vehicle. The remaining seriously wounded soldiers will need two to four soldiers to carry them on stretchers. In addition, many of the lightly wounded soldiers who leave on foot have leg injuries, which will slow down the entire hospital's evacuation speed."

When the artillery battalion was transferred, the infantry brigade's transport unit was also transferred, leaving them with almost no transportation except for a few jeeps or motorcycles. Hearing the director's words, Sokov, even if he wanted to help, was powerless to do so. He could only helplessly say to the director, "Comrade Director, since the higher-ups transferred the brigade's transport unit, we've basically had no decent means of transportation. So, given your current situation, I can't offer much help."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, the guards you assigned to the hospital are mostly being used to carry stretchers for the seriously wounded." Seeing that Sokov couldn't provide him with transportation, the hospital director asked reluctantly, "Could you perhaps send us some more guards to ensure the safety of the field hospital during its relocation?"

Sokov thought about the director's request and nodded in agreement. After all, these wounded soldiers could be immediately reinstated to the troops after they recovered and were discharged from the hospital. They were valuable personnel and could not be allowed to suffer any accidents during the transfer.

"Comrade Director, continue the transfer according to the original plan," Sokov said to the director. "The guards we arranged for you will be in place within an hour at most."

After saying goodbye to the dean, Sokov led his men to meet up with the brigade command.

Upon seeing Sokov's arrival, Belkin asked curiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, how is the situation at the field hospital?"

"Due to a lack of sufficient transport, most of the wounded have to march on foot, while the seriously wounded can only be carried on stretchers." After briefly explaining the situation at the field hospital, Sokov instructed Karsokov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately send someone to contact Captain Zaryagin and have him take the special company to find the director of the field hospital, follow his orders, and escort the field hospital safely to Sun Mountain City."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

While Karsokov was calling his staff officer to arrange for him to go find Zaryagin, Belkin tentatively asked Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, since we are heading to Sun Mountain City, do you think we should send someone to contact the city's garrison first, so as to avoid any misunderstandings between the two sides because of the darkness?"

Sokov knew perfectly well that Sun Mountain was currently an empty city, with no troops at all, so there was no way a misunderstanding could have occurred. However, remembering his orders to build a defensive line in Sun Mountain, Sokov decided to personally investigate the situation in the city. He said to Berkin, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I plan to personally travel to Sun Mountain to check on the situation. Do you intend to follow the main force, or would you like to come with me first?"

Berkin thought for a moment, then said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, although we are marching within our own defense zone, we cannot rule out the possibility of encountering German paratroopers. Without someone to command the troops, chaos may ensue if the unit is attacked..."

From Belkin's words, Sokov understood that the other man did not believe Karsokov was capable of independently commanding troops and intended to stay behind to take his place. After Belkin finished speaking, Sokov nodded slightly and said, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I think you're right. So you can stay. I'll take Morozova, Romanov, and a guard platoon to Sun Mountain. Once we arrive, I'll contact you by radio."

After Karsokov finished assigning the task, Sokov gave him a few more instructions before getting into the three jeeps parked by the roadside with his entourage.

Sokov sat in the middle jeep, with the radio operator Morozova in the back, while Romanov sat in the passenger seat. The two jeeps in front and behind were filled with the accompanying guards.

During the journey, Romanov turned to Sokov and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, we should be able to reach Sun Mountain in two hours at most. It will be early morning when we enter the city. Won't that disturb the rest of the garrison commander?"

"Romanov, this is wartime," Sokov said calmly. "Let alone a small garrison regiment commander, even an army group commander probably won't have a good night's sleep. No matter how soundly they sleep, they have to get up immediately to deal with any situation that arises."

Hearing Sokov's words, Romanov fell silent. He knew very well that, according to his superiors' instructions, after the infantry brigade entered Sun Mountain City, the garrison regiment in the city would directly return to the command of the infantry brigade. When the convoy entered Sun Mountain City, even if the garrison regiment commander, whose sleep had been disturbed, harbored any dissatisfaction, he would not dare to complain in front of Sokov.

The journey was smooth; they encountered neither Soviet patrols nor German paratroopers who had been airdropped behind Soviet lines.

As the jeep entered Sun Mountain, Romanov looked out the window, somewhat bewildered. The streets were deserted; there were no barricades, no obstacles on the roads, and not even a patrol in sight.

"Comrade Brigade Commander, something seems amiss." Romanov turned to Sokov and asked in surprise, "There are no fortifications in the city, not even a patrol in sight. What's going on?"

Looking at the streets outside, now pitch black due to the blackout, Sokov said with a wry smile, "Comrade Romanov, I have a bad feeling. Maybe we won't find any trace of the garrison regiment in the city."

"What? We can't find any trace of the garrison regiment?" Romanov said in shock. "How is that possible? Didn't the commander tell you on the phone that there was a garrison regiment here that you could put under your command?"

Sokov chuckled and continued, "I've heard that many units have been annihilated by the Germans in battle. But because the war was progressing too quickly, the statistics weren't kept up, so these annihilated units still exist in the archives of the higher command. And some senior commanders are constantly issuing various combat orders to units that don't even exist, based on outdated records."

Upon hearing Sokov's words, Romanov immediately guessed a possibility. He cautiously said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, according to you, the original garrison regiment in the city may have been annihilated by the Germans?"

“Besides being annihilated, it’s also possible that they were transferred to other places by their superiors, but our commander wasn’t informed in time, so he still thinks there’s a unit that can be used here.” Sokov turned to the driver and said, “Driver, drive along the street and see if you can find a place with lights on.”

The driver agreed and continued driving along the street.

Passing by the municipal building, I found it to be completely dark, with no light coming out of any of the windows, indicating that no one was working inside.

After driving a little further, Sokov saw a light coming from the gate of a yard next to him, and quickly instructed the driver, "Driver, there's a light there, drive over there immediately."

After the car stopped, Sokov got out. He walked a few steps forward and realized that it was a hospital, with lights shining from the guardhouse at the entrance.

The person inside must have heard the commotion outside. He immediately put on his coat, picked up a lantern, and came out of the house. Stepping outside, he saw several cars parked and about a dozen people standing there. A sense of unease crept over him; he wondered if the visitors were his own people or the Germans.
Just then, he heard someone ask in Russian, "Excuse me, what place is this?"

Upon realizing that the other person was speaking Russian, he immediately felt more confident and quickly replied, "This is the First Hospital of Sun Mountain City."

"Are there still medical staff and patients in the hospital?" Sokov asked.

“No, not a single one left.” The person on duty shook his head and said, “A week ago, the medical staff and patients in the hospital were evacuated to Moscow. Now the hospital is empty, with only me on duty.”

When Sokov first heard that this was a hospital, he was quite happy, thinking that he could replenish some medical staff for his field hospital. However, when he learned that the medical staff and patients had been transferred, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Are there troops in the city?" Romanov interjected.

"There aren't any left either." The person on duty shook his head and said, "The hospital was empty not long ago, and all the troops in the city have been transferred away."

Although Sokov already knew that Sun Mountain was a ghost town, he still felt quite disappointed to hear the guard confirm it. He paused, then asked, "Without troops in the town, who will maintain order?"

"Who else could it be but the police officers?"

"Where is the police station?" Although there are no troops in the city, recruiting some police officers to bolster their force would be a good option; every little bit helps. Sokov continued, "How can we find it?"

“Drive straight ahead along the street,” the officer on duty said to Sokov, pointing ahead. “Turn right at the intersection, and drive a few hundred meters further. You’ll see a two-story stone building on your left side of the road. That’s the Sun Mountain Police Station.”

After thanking the officer on duty, Sokov told his men to get in the car and head to the police station as quickly as possible.

A few minutes later, the jeep carrying Sokov and the others arrived at the location of the police station, as mentioned by the duty room.

Dim light shone from the duty room outside the police station. Hearing the noise outside, the officer on duty pushed open the door and came out, asking Sokov and his group, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Romanov stepped forward and announced loudly, "We are an infantry brigade directly under the 16th Army..."

But before Romanov could finish speaking, Sokov shoved him aside and continued, "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the newly appointed city defense commander of Sun Mountain City. Officer, where is your superior?"

Upon learning that the officer standing before him was none other than the newly appointed city defense commander of Sun Mountain City, the policeman on duty immediately stood at attention. He first stood at attention, then raised his hand to salute Sokov: "Hello, Comrade City Defense Commander. Our bureau chief and deputy chief, along with most of our personnel, escorted the government offices, hospitals, and banks to the rear, and they haven't returned yet."

Sokov frowned slightly. He had originally planned to incorporate the police officers into his unit, but reality had ruthlessly slapped him in the face. The vast majority of the police officers in Sun Mountain City had actually been transferred to the rear.

After a brief silence, Sokov continued, "How many people are left in your police station?"

“There are still 30 police officers,” the officer on duty replied. “The officer in charge is Sergeant Grigory.”

"Where is he?"

"He should be sleeping in his dormitory." The police officer on duty tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander of the City Defense, should we call him over?"

"Okay, go and call him over. I need to ask him about the situation in Sun Mountain City."

The officer on duty agreed, turned around and ran back to the duty room, where he used the phone to call the officers' dormitory.

After making the call, the police officer on duty came out and reported to Sokov, "Comrade City Defense Commander, Sheriff Grich will be here soon. Please wait a moment."

Sokov didn't speak, he just nodded slightly.

After glancing at Sokov and the soldiers around him, the police officer on duty tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander of the City Defense, it's too cold outside. Why don't you come and sit in my duty room? There's a kerosene stove inside; it'll be warmer than outside."

Sokov turned to Morozova, who was standing next to him, and said, "Comrade Morozova, go to the duty room, set up the radio, and contact the deputy brigade commander and the others to ask where the troops are now."

Morozova agreed and then beckoned Romanov to join her in the police duty room.

The police officer on duty overheard what Sokov said and cautiously asked, "Comrade Commander of the City Defense, are troops about to enter the city?"

"Yes."

The officer on duty smiled and said, "That's great, that's really great."

Perhaps worried that Sokov might misunderstand, he specifically explained: "Comrade City Defense Commander, you don't know, although the enemy is still far away from here, with the withdrawal of troops from the city, the residents are all in a state of panic, fearing that one morning they will wake up to find that the city has been occupied by the Germans. Now that our troops have been re-entered, the residents feel at ease after hearing this news."

"How is the evacuation of the city going?" Although the garrison regiment was gone, Sokov had not given up. He still wanted to recruit men from the factory militia or residents to expand his troops, so he tentatively asked, "How many people are left?"

(End of this chapter)