red moscow

Chapter 2989

Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, Sokov arrived at the church bell tower, located at the highest point in Sun Mountain City.

Upon seeing Sokov's arrival, several soldiers on lookout duty immediately stood at attention and saluted him.

Sokov nodded to them, went to the railing of the clock tower, picked up the binoculars on it, looked into the distance, and asked, "Is there any situation?"

“No, Comrade Brigade Commander,” the leading sergeant immediately replied. “So far, we haven’t detected any movement.”

After a pause, he cautiously asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you think the enemy might not be interested in our city?"

Sokov lowered his binoculars, turned to look at the sergeant, and unconsciously traced the metal edge of the binoculars with his fingertips. He spoke slowly and deliberately, “Sergeant, don’t underestimate Sun Mountain City just because it’s a small city. If the Germans occupy it, they can threaten or even cut off our supply lines. Not only do our commanders know this, but the German commanders know it too. An attack on the city is inevitable, so you must be vigilant. Once you spot any enemy activity, report it to the brigade headquarters immediately. Understand?”

Sokov's words made the sergeant realize the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. He immediately stood at attention and replied in a loud voice, "Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander. As soon as we discover any movement from the enemy, we will report to the brigade headquarters immediately."

Sokov raised the binoculars again and looked in the east, west, and south directions. After confirming that there was no movement, he handed the binoculars back to the sergeant and said, "I'm going back to the brigade headquarters now. If anything happens, remember to call me."

However, just as Sokov reached the top of the stairs and was about to go down, he was stopped by the sergeant: "Comrade Brigade Commander, wait a moment, I think I heard something?"

Upon hearing what the sergeant said, Sokov stopped and listened intently, but heard nothing.

However, he did not criticize the sergeant, but simply grunted in response and walked downstairs.

Just as he descended a few steps, he heard the sergeant shout to him again: "Comrade Brigade Commander, there's really movement! Come up and take a look!"

Sokov returned to the clock tower and asked the sergeant, "Is there really any movement?"

“Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander.” The sergeant’s hurried voice trembled as he pointed to the edge of the dark forest north of the city: “Just as you judged yesterday, the Germans came from the north.”

Sokov quickly raised his binoculars, and the sight within made his pupils contract sharply. A long column of armored vehicles was slowly advancing along the dirt road that wound through the forest, their tracks grinding through the damp earth and kicking up yellowish-gray dust. The Iron Cross on the turret of the lead tank gleamed coldly in the morning light, followed closely by armored vehicles and trucks loaded with infantry, like a giant steel python crawling towards the city.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in his chest, then put down the binoculars, picked up the telephone next to him, and connected to the brigade command.

"Comrade Chief of Staff!" After hearing Karsokov's voice through the receiver, Sokov said directly, "An enemy armored column has appeared to the north, about seven or eight kilometers from the city. There are about thirty tanks and armored vehicles, and more than fifty trucks full of infantry. Contact Major Vasya, the commander of the 4th Battalion, immediately and have him prepare for battle."

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander." Karsokov was not alarmed at all when he heard that German troops had appeared in the north of the city. After all, since the troops had entered Sun Mountain City, Sokov had been saying that the enemy would appear from the north of the city, and he had deployed most of his troops in that direction: "I will call Major Vasya immediately and tell him to prepare for battle."

"Where's the deputy brigade commander?" Sokov asked casually. "Where is he?"

"He went to the north of the city, saying he was going to inspect the Fourth Battalion's preparations for war." Karsokov seized the opportunity to offer his suggestion to Sokov: "We have many units deployed in the north, and it's probably impossible for Vasha, the battalion commander, to command them all. How about letting the deputy brigade commander take charge of that direction? What do you think?"

“I think that’s a good idea.” Sokov nodded in agreement with Karsokov’s suggestion: “I’ll stay here to observe the situation on the battlefield. I’ll leave the command post to you.”

"Don't worry, it's no problem."

After receiving the call from Karsokov, Vasya immediately ordered the first echelon of commanders and soldiers to enter the defensive fortifications that had been repaired the day before.

As soon as the order was given, the officers and soldiers of the two companies in the first echelon entered the trenches at top speed. They propped their guns against the trench walls and stared intently at the approaching target in the distance.

As Vasya was assigning tasks, Belkin walked into his command post.

Seeing the bustling scene, I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Major, what's going on here?"

Upon hearing Belkin's question, Vasya was taken aback, wondering if the deputy brigade commander didn't know the enemy was approaching the city. He cautiously explained, "Comrade deputy brigade commander, I just received a call from the chief of staff, saying that the enemy's armored column is rapidly approaching our lines and that we should prepare for battle immediately."

"What? The enemy is here?" Belkin's expression froze. "How come I didn't know about this?"

“It was the chief of staff who called to inform us.” Vasya secretly guessed that the enemy's armored column probably appeared north of the city after the deputy brigade commander left the brigade command post, so it was understandable that he didn't know the enemy was approaching the city. He quickly said, “If you don't believe me, you can call and ask.”

Belkin agreed with Vasya's suggestion and immediately picked up the phone on the table to call the brigade headquarters.

After the call connected, he got straight to the point: "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is Belkin. What's going on? Has the enemy really appeared?"

“Yes, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander,” Karsokov replied. “It was the Brigade Commander who saw it from the church bell tower and immediately sounded the battle alarm. Because you were not in the command post at the time, the situation was not reported to you in time.”

Belkin had no time to argue with Karsokov; he was more concerned about his position after the battle began: "And what about me? Does the brigade commander have any plans for me?"

“Of course, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander,” Karsokov replied. “He said the troops to the north have many unit numbers, especially the two battalions that were just reinforced to us yesterday. Major Vasya alone simply can’t command them. But if you were there to oversee things, all the problems would be solved.” Upon learning that Sokov intended for him to command the troops in the north of the city, Belkin was overjoyed. Of the more than three thousand defenders in the city, fewer than five hundred were deployed in the east, west, and south. The remaining two thousand-plus infantry, along with two artillery batteries and a rocket artillery battalion, were all deployed in the north. If he were to command these troops, he would certainly strike the invading enemy hard and teach them a lesson they would never forget.

After hanging up the phone, Belkin said to Vasya, "Major Vasya, from now on, I will be in command of the troops in the north of the city."

Vasya had anticipated this arrangement from the moment Berkin appeared before him. He nodded, then tentatively asked, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, should we call over the commanders of the other units?"

“Of course, of course I need to call them over. I need to assign them tasks.” When Belkin saw Vasya’s men preparing to make phone calls, he added a special note: “Don’t forget to call the two battalion commanders who just arrived yesterday as well. They will play a huge role in today’s battle.”

Upon receiving the phone call, the commanders at all levels quickly arrived at the battalion command post of the Fourth Battalion.

Fortunately, Vasya set up the command post in a classroom in the school, and even with more than a dozen commanders crowding in, the room still did not feel crowded.

Once everyone who had been notified had arrived, Belkin began, "Comrades, I am Lieutenant Colonel Belkin, the deputy brigade commander. From now on, you will all be under my direct command. Next, I will brief you on the upcoming battle and make the corresponding deployment arrangements."

While waiting for the commanders to arrive, Belkin not only inquired about the troop deployment from Vasha, but also called Sokov, who was in the church bell tower, to learn about the Germans' progress. He then proceeded to brief the commanders present with ease.

“Comrades, according to the latest report, the enemy has deployed more than 30 tanks and armored vehicles, as well as more than 50 trucks full of infantry.” Belkin pointed to the map and said to everyone, “They have now stopped in this open area two kilometers from the city, and they should be making preparations for the attack.”

“Lieutenant Colonel!” A battalion commander who had just been transferred there yesterday asked, “I would like to ask what anti-tank weapons we have?” He was a veteran commander who had dealt with the Germans many times and knew very well that without effective anti-tank weapons, it would be impossible to stop the enemy’s tanks. That is why he asked this question.

“Don’t worry, Captain,” Belkin said with a smile, looking at the other man. “From the moment our brigade entered Taiyangshan City, the brigade commander said that the enemy’s attack direction should be from the north of the city, so we concentrated most of our forces in the north. In addition to the infantry, we also deployed two cannons equipped with 76.2 mm caliber guns and a rocket artillery battalion in the north of the city. Furthermore, we deployed three anti-tank guns in the forest to the left front of the defensive positions outside the city, ready to attack the sides of German tanks.”

“Lieutenant Colonel!” the battalion commander continued, “If the enemy discovers the location of the anti-tank guns and sends infantry to destroy them, wouldn’t our anti-tank artillery be in danger?”

Before Belkin could finish speaking, Vasya interrupted him, saying, "Comrade Captain, don't worry. I've specially dispatched an infantry platoon to accompany the anti-tank artillery platoon; they will ensure the artillerymen's safety."

The German troops stopped two kilometers from the city. As the infantrymen in the trucks began to disembark, a German lieutenant colonel, surrounded by several officers, went up a small hill, raised his binoculars, and looked toward the city, trying to figure out the city's defenses.

After the infantry brigade entered the city yesterday, Sokov specifically instructed the battalion commanders to ensure the dug fortifications were well concealed and not discovered by the enemy, otherwise they would become targets for German artillery and air force attacks. The officers and soldiers strictly carried out Sokov's orders, camouflaging the newly built fortifications so well that not a single flaw could be detected.

The German lieutenant colonel peered through his binoculars for a long time but saw no sign of any troops stationed in the city. He put down his binoculars and began to ponder whether he should send scouts into the city to investigate or order his troops to attack directly.

Just as he was hesitating, a captain next to him cautiously asked, "Lieutenant Colonel, what should we do next?"

The German lieutenant colonel lowered his binoculars, glanced at the captain beside him, and then said, "There's no movement in the city right now, and we don't know if there are any Russians inside. Captain, take a company into the city and check if there's any trace of Russians."

The captain nodded upon receiving the order, turned and returned to his company, ordering them to spread out in skirmish lines, and then strode towards Sun Mountain City.

Standing atop the clock tower, Sokov couldn't help but laugh at the Germans' actions.

It was clear that the German commander wanted to send a small force into the city to probe the situation. But his biggest mistake was not to send tanks or armored vehicles with him, but instead to send a light infantry unit forward alone, which was tantamount to sending them into a fire pit.

"Comrade Brigade Commander, what exactly is going on?" The sergeant asked Sokov with some confusion upon seeing the situation. "Why did the enemy only send infantry? They didn't even send a single tank or armored vehicle. Aren't they just sending them to their deaths on our positions?"

Sokov sneered upon hearing this, then said disdainfully, "I think the German commander is either too complacent or looks down on us, thinking that a mere company of soldiers can take over the city."

However, after saying this, Sokov paused. In actual history, the German army consisted of only about twenty soldiers, riding seven or eight motorcycles, who swaggered into the city and occupied it without bloodshed.

But now, Sokov has already set a trap for them here. He has no intention of letting any of the twenty-odd soldiers, let alone the one or two hundred soldiers who are heading towards the city, go back alive.

Sokov put down his binoculars, turned around and went to where the telephone was, and picked up the receiver.

This time, instead of calling Karsokov, he called the 4th Battalion's command post directly. The biggest advantage of conducting defensive operations within the city was that communication lines could be kept open with the help of postal and telecommunications workers.

The call was quickly connected.

Upon recognizing Belkin's voice, Sokov immediately spoke rapidly: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, about a company of German infantry, without the cover of tanks and armored vehicles, are approaching your positions in a scattered formation."

“I see, Comrade Brigade Commander,” Belkin asked tentatively. “What do you intend to do?”

“Tell Major Vasya not to fire indiscriminately. Let the enemy get closer before you fire.” Sokov paused for a moment, silently calculating the speed of the German charge, before continuing, “It’s best to wait until the enemy is thirty or forty meters away from the position before opening fire.”

(End of this chapter)