red moscow

Chapter 2988

“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I’ve been in the army for over twenty years, and this is the first time I’ve seen a commander like you.” Zakharov said with a smile after Sokov finished speaking, “The battle hasn’t even started, and you’re already thinking about how to retreat; after arranging the retreat plan, you’ve already figured out how to counterattack. I think if the commander had kept you in charge of the defense of Sun Mountain, the Germans would never have been able to occupy this city.”

Faced with Zakharov's praise, Sokov quickly replied, "Comrade Deputy Commander, you flatter me too much. I am just an ordinary person, I was just luckier than others to become the military commander of a unit."

“You are too modest,” Zakharov said. “I have never heard of anyone being promoted from a regular soldier to lieutenant colonel within a few months of enlisting, and then becoming the military commander of a force of several thousand men, independently in charge of a defensive direction.”

Sokov, not wanting to discuss his own promotion history with Zakharov, promptly changed the subject: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I'd like to ask when the higher command will send us additional troops to strengthen the defenses of Sun Mountain City?"

Zakharov fell silent upon hearing Sokov's question.

After a long silence, he sighed and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, it's not that the Commander didn't want to send troops to reinforce your defenses, but rather that he had limited forces at his disposal. I heard from Colonel Malinin that the Commander ordered your troops to halt their advance and remain in place while they were moving towards Sun Mountain, intending to deploy them in battle should the situation become tense at the front. However, after receiving your telegram saying that Sun Mountain was essentially an empty city, he changed his mind and ordered them to continue according to the original plan and proceed to Sun Mountain to garrison the city."

“Comrade Deputy Commander, you probably understand the importance of Sunhill City better than I do.” Seeing that Zakharov wasn’t very enthusiastic about strengthening the defenses of Sunhill City, Sokov quickly reminded him, “You also said that if this place falls, it will threaten the 16th Army’s supply lines. If the supply lines are cut off, our army will have to abandon the existing defensive zone and move to areas closer to Moscow.”

Zakharov looked at Sokov and asked seriously, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I just told you that the Commander has no reserves at all. It is simply impossible for you to get reinforcements from him."

“That’s right, Comrade Deputy Commander, you’re right. Given the current state of the army group, it’s basically impossible for us to get reinforcements.” After agreeing with Zakharov, Sokov added his own idea: “But you can make a request to General Zhukov, the commander of the front. Maybe we can get the reserves we need from him.”

It must be said that Zakharov was very tempted by Sokov's proposal.

He stood up, paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, and quickly considered whether he should listen to Sokov's advice and ask Zhukov for help.

After some thought, Zakharov stopped and looked at Sokov, asking, "Can you contact the front headquarters from here?"

“Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander.” Sokov nodded quickly, giving the other party an affirmative answer: “There are still more than a dozen employees left at the post office in the city to ensure that the communication lines are open, so we can make phone calls with the front headquarters.”

"Then help me get in touch with the front headquarters. I want to speak with General Zhukov personally."

With the assistance of postal and telecommunications staff, the telephone line to the army group headquarters was quickly established.

A low voice came through the receiver: "This is Zhukov. Who is this?"

"Hello, Comrade General!" Zakharov quickly replied, "I am Zakharov!"

"It's Comrade Zakharov!" Upon learning that the person he was speaking to was Zakharov, Zhukov smiled and said, "I heard that you have been transferred to the 16th Army as deputy commander. I congratulate you!"

Zakharov chuckled twice, then got straight to the point: "General Zhukov, I'm calling you today about replenishing the troops' reserves..."

Before Zakharov could finish speaking, Zhukov interrupted him, saying, "Comrade Zakharov, I have no reserves, not a single one. You must rely on your existing strength and do everything in your power to hold the position. Understand?"

Undeterred by Zhukov's refusal, Zakharov continued, "Comrade General, please let me finish."

"Then tell me."

"After I took office at the 16th Army, Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, the commander, gave me a task," Zakharov explained to Zhukov. "I was put in charge of the defense of the Sun Mountain-Klin line. But when I arrived at Sun Mountain today, I found that the city only had two thousand defenders, and they had just arrived. They had no tanks and lacked artillery. If they were to be attacked by the Germans, they would not be able to hold the city at all."

Zhukov paused for a moment, recalling the situation in the cities within the 16th Army's defense zone, then frowned and said, "Comrade Zakharov, you're wrong, aren't you? If I remember correctly, there should be a 2,000-strong garrison regiment in Sun Mountain, plus the 2,000 that just arrived, so the total strength in the city should be 4,000."

Hearing Zhukov say this, Zakharov was both amused and exasperated: "Comrade General, when General Rokossovsky sent an infantry brigade to Sun Mountain to set up defenses, he remembered that there was a garrison regiment in the city. He thought that using 4,000 men to defend the city shouldn't be a big problem. But after the new city defense commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, took office, he discovered that Sun Mountain was an empty city. Even if the infantry brigade was moved into the city, the defense force was still too weak."

Overhearing the conversation between Zakharov and Zhukov, Sokov recalled that Zakharov had later accepted the mission to retake Sun Mountain, deploying an infantry division supported by artillery and armored forces. It took them half a month of fierce fighting to barely recapture the city. If Zhukov could truly provide several thousand reserves and increase the number of artillery and armored units, he was fully confident he could hold the city.

Although he thought this way, Sokov did not dare to interrupt their call, but stood aside quietly waiting for the final result.

After Zakharov's repeated pleas, Zhukov finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, Comrade Zakharov, then I will send you a rocket artillery battalion and two infantry battalions. I hope you can use these forces wisely and strive to defend the city."

Upon learning that Zhukov had only given him one rocket artillery battalion and two infantry battalions, Zakharov was somewhat disheartened. However, he quickly adjusted his mindset; although the reinforcements were few, it was better than nothing.

After hanging up the phone, Zakharov repeated Zhukov's words to Sokov, Belkin, and others, and then asked Sokov, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the troops Zhukov has given us will arrive soon. Where do you plan to deploy them?"

Sokov quickly replied, "I intend to deploy them to the north of the city."

"Why?" "I think the enemy will appear from the north, so I have concentrated the vast majority of my troops in the north of the city," Sokov said. "The newly added reinforcements should also be positioned in the north of the city."

Belkin and Karsokov had been working with Sokov for quite some time and were used to his command style, so they didn't object to his ideas. But Zakharov was dealing with Sokov for the first time, and he really didn't know what Sokov's true abilities were.

He asked sternly, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you've concentrated most of your troops in the north of the city, but what if the enemy attacks from other directions? How will you respond?"

“I have deployed a company of soldiers to guard the southeast, west and south. They will report to me immediately if they spot any trace of the enemy,” Sokov replied. “I will adjust the troop strength in a timely manner according to the situation on the battlefield.”

“But I still feel uneasy.” But as soon as Zakharov finished speaking, he waved his hand at Sokov: “Never mind, you are the city defense commander of Sun Mountain City. If it is about defending the city, you are more professional than me. Then the work here will be handed over to you. I will go to Klin immediately after lunch.”

As the two were talking, a telephone on the table rang.

Sokov stared into the microphone, wondering which battalion was making the call.

"Comrade Brigade Commander!" Sokov had just picked up the microphone and put it to his ear when he heard the hospital director's voice coming through the receiver: "I am the director of the field hospital."

"I can tell." Sokov, worried that something had happened at the field hospital, asked anxiously, "Has something happened at the field hospital?"

"That's right, Comrade Brigade Commander," the hospital director said. "Many residents have come to our hospital, saying they've come here for medical treatment."

How did you handle this matter?

“Comrade Brigade Commander, this is what I’m thinking. We are a field hospital, not a local hospital,” the hospital director said. “I don’t think it’s necessary for us to treat city residents.”

“Comrade Director, you can’t say that.” But Sokov quickly refuted the director’s statement: “The original hospital in the city was moved to the rear some time ago. The people left in the city are mostly the elderly, women and children, who are more likely to get sick. If there were no hospital in the city, they would have to endure their illnesses on their own. But now that a hospital has appeared in the city again, even if it is just a field hospital of the army, it will become their lifeline.”

The hospital director understood Sokov's implied meaning and tentatively asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, are you planning to have us treat the residents?"

"Yes, they should be given medical treatment."

"But this would disperse our medical resources, and then caring for the wounded would be..."

Although the dean hadn't finished speaking, Sokov already guessed what he wanted to say and quickly added, "You only need to transfer a few military doctors to provide consultations; it shouldn't have much impact on you. In addition, you can take this opportunity to post recruitment notices in the hospital and recruit some young women to work as nurses."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, you are absolutely right." Upon hearing this, the hospital director slammed his hand on the table in front of him and said excitedly, "With the number of wounded increasing day by day, I am still worried that there are not enough nurses and medics to take care of them. If we could recruit girls from the city to serve as nurses, that would be perfect."

Sokov anticipated that battles might break out in the next day or two. His forces were still somewhat insufficient, and if he could find a way to replenish them, it would be very advantageous for the upcoming operations.

Thinking of this, he cautiously asked the hospital director, "Director, I'd like to ask how many wounded soldiers will recover and be discharged from the hospital soon?"

The hospital director was both amused and exasperated by Sokov's question: "Comrade Brigade Commander, have you forgotten that 70% of the wounded in the field hospital were injured in the counterattack a few days ago? No matter how advanced our hospital's medical skills are or how effective our medications are, the wounded cannot be discharged within four or five days."

Sokov was somewhat embarrassed. He felt that he had been too eager for quick results. As the director had said, those wounded soldiers had only been injured for four or five days. Even if the military doctors were highly skilled and the drugs they used were very effective, it was basically impossible for them to recover in such a short time.

“Comrade Dean,” Sokov felt it necessary to inform the Dean of the current grim situation so that he would be aware of the situation, “all indications suggest that the Germans will launch an attack on Sunhill City no later than tomorrow or the day after. I have limited troops at my disposal, and if we can get some of the wounded discharged from the hospital ahead of time, we can increase our defensive strength.”

Upon hearing Sokov's words, the hospital director immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. After a brief hesitation, he tentatively asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, if the battle goes against us, what should we do with the field hospital?"

Seeing that the director had already considered this issue, Sokov didn't hide anything from him: "Comrade Director, you should know very well that once the city falls and the field hospital is not evacuated in time, the medical staff and wounded in the hospital will be massacred by the Germans. But don't worry, I will arrange for your evacuation before the city falls."

“I understand.” Sokov’s words made the dean realize that without sufficient strength to defend Sun Mountain City, the city would be difficult to hold. After a fierce internal struggle, he said with difficulty, “Comrade Brigade Commander, I will soon mobilize some of the less seriously wounded soldiers to be discharged from the hospital and return to the front line to fight the enemy face to face.”

Sokov was very satisfied with the dean's reply. Although he knew the other party couldn't see it, he still smiled and nodded, saying, "Comrade Dean, then I'll wait for your good news."

After putting down the microphone, Sokov said to Zakharov, who was standing next to him looking confused, "Comrade Deputy Commander, I have asked the director of the field hospital to mobilize some of the less seriously wounded soldiers to be discharged as soon as possible and to reinforce the troops, thereby strengthening the city's defenses."

“The wounded soldiers haven’t even fully recovered, yet you’re sending them back to their combat units.” Zakharov frowned and asked, “Is that appropriate?”

“I think there shouldn’t be any problem,” Sokov quickly explained. “Those wounded soldiers who have returned to the troops, although their injuries have not fully healed, will not be unable to participate in combat in the slightest.”

(End of this chapter)