red moscow

Chapter 2997

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you can rest assured on this point. We will always maintain a high degree of vigilance and will not give the Germans any opportunity to take advantage of us."

Zakharov nodded in satisfaction at Sokov's answer: "In that case, I'm relieved."

Sokov paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Comrade Deputy Commander, according to my scouts' reports, many battles are now taking place a dozen kilometers west of the Istra Reservoir. Does this mean that our army will establish new defenses in the reservoir area?"

"Who told you that our army would establish new defenses in the Istra Reservoir area?" Zakharov asked without thinking, then smiled somewhat embarrassedly and explained, "Look at me, how could I ask such a stupid question? You just told me that many battles are taking place not far from the Istra Reservoir, and you must have made that judgment based on that intelligence."

Sokov replied without batting an eye, "Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander. I made this judgment based on this intelligence."

Zakharov looked at Sokov and asked with interest, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, tell me, should we withdraw to the Istra Reservoir to establish new defenses, and what would be the benefits of doing so?"

Faced with Zakharov's question, Sokov appeared confident, after all, he had read Rokossovsky's war memoirs more than once and remembered why the marshal had taken the initiative to withdraw his troops to the Istra Reservoir area during the defense of Moscow.

Therefore, Sokov pretended to think for a while, and then said, "I think the reservoir itself, the Istra River and its adjacent areas are the best defensive areas. After retreating to this area, a strong defense can be organized with a small force. In this way, some troops can be placed in the second echelon to establish a defense in depth, while the majority of the troops can be deployed to the Klin direction."

Zakharov's face showed surprise: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I must say, the commander is right. You are indeed a commander with unique insight, able to see the advantages of retreating to the Istra Reservoir area." After saying that, he gave Sokov a thumbs up.

Sokov smiled and shook his head, continuing, "Unfortunately, the idea is good, but I suspect that the army commander, General Zhukov, will definitely not agree to this plan."

Zakharov was shocked again: "That's right, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you're right. Comrade Commander went to the Front Headquarters and submitted a request to withdraw, but it was rejected without mercy by General Zhukov."

"It seems our army group can only continue fighting in the existing area."

“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you don’t need to worry about that.” Zakharov knew that the retreat order had been issued, so he didn’t hide it from Sokov: “Although General Zhukov rejected the retreat, Comrade Commander bypassed him and directly applied to Marshal Shaposhnikov, and it was approved. Now the retreat order has been issued to all the forward units, instructing them to withdraw from their current positions in an orderly manner after dark.”

Seeing that things were indeed as he had known, Sokov's facial muscles twitched. He cautiously said, "Although the retreat order has been issued, aren't you worried that General Zhukov will prevent the troops from retreating?"

“How could that be?” Zakharov said confidently. “After all, the retreat to the Istra Reservoir area to establish new defenses was approved by the Supreme Commander himself. Even if General Zhukov disagreed, he could only keep his opinion to himself.”

Seeing the questioning look Sokov gave him, he continued, "Comrade Commander told me this. He said that, given Marshal Shaposhnikov's character, approving our request must have been done after consulting with the Supreme Commander himself."

After Zakharov finished speaking, Sokov remained silent, but the deputy brigade commander, Belkin, excitedly said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, once the army group withdraws to the Istra Reservoir area, our defensive capabilities here will be further strengthened. In that case, we will no longer have to worry about the enemy launching an attack on us."

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel, you are right.” Zakharov agreed with Belkin’s statement: “The defensive width of the Istrian Reservoir is much smaller than the current defensive front. The extra troops can not only establish a second echelon, but also be deployed to various important defensive zones.”

Zakharov was eager to get back to Klin and left without staying long.

As soon as Zakharov left, Karsokov said excitedly, "Comrade Brigade Commander, once more troops enter Sun Mountain City, you, as the city's defense commander, will have even more forces at your disposal."

But Sokov said calmly, "Deputy Brigade Commander and Chief of Staff, you two are being far too optimistic about this matter. I have a bad feeling. Even though the Commander has given the order, there may still be setbacks in the withdrawal of the troops to the Istra Reservoir."

"Why?" the two asked, puzzled.

"The reason is simple. Given General Zhukov's personality, even if this retreat had the Supreme Commander's approval, it would still be blocked by him." Sokov looked at the two of them and said, word by word, "Because General Zhukov's perspective is different from ours. He cannot tolerate anyone withdrawing from their position and thus affecting the integrity of the defensive line."

Although Belkin and Karsokov did not say anything about Sokov's statement, they disagreed with it.

After returning to Klin, Zakharov briefly learned about the situation from the commander in charge of the city's defenses, and then sent people to contact the tank division stationed in Green City to discuss joint operations.

After doing all this, he called Rokossovsky, firstly to tell him that he had arrived safely in Klin, and secondly to discuss Sokov's reaction to the evacuation with Rokossovsky.

After the call connected, Zakharov briefly reported on the situation in Klin, and then mentioned Sokov's views on the troop withdrawal to the Istra Reservoir. After repeating Sokov's words verbatim, he joked, "Comrade Commander, if Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's words come true, then I strongly suggest that you transfer him to the army group headquarters and make him Malinin's deputy. Maybe he can give you more good suggestions in the future."

Rokossovsky was impressed that Sokov could see the advantages of the troop retreat to the Istra Reservoir. Hearing Zakharov's words, he chuckled and said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, your suggestion is good. If Zhukov really comes to stop our retreat, I should indeed consider transferring Misha to work at headquarters."

After ending his call with Zakharov, Rokossovsky fell into deep thought.

After a while, he said to Malinin, “Comrade Chief of Staff, although our withdrawal plan has been approved by the higher command, it is obviously inappropriate to withdraw all the troops to the Istra Reservoir area at once. Therefore, we must leave some troops behind to provide cover and ensure that the main force does not have to retreat due to enemy attacks while establishing new defenses.”

"So, which unit do you plan to leave behind to cover the retreat?"

“I think Colonel Beloborodov’s 78th Infantry Division is quite good,” Rokossovsky said. “Although they suffered considerable casualties in the battle to recapture Volokolamsk, they were the last unit to be deployed and the best-preserved unit in the entire army group. They are undoubtedly the most suitable for the covering mission.” “Comrade Commander, I agree with your plan,” Malinin nodded. “I’ll call Colonel Beloborodov right now and have him take charge of covering the main force’s retreat.”

As night fell, the troops, who had been prepared long ago, began to withdraw from their defensive positions in an orderly manner and moved towards the Istra Reservoir.

Colonel Beloborodov's 78th Infantry Division did not retreat; instead, it sent small units to take over the empty positions, intending to use them to block the German advance.

However, the retreat was discovered by the army's scouts operating in the area just one hour after it began, and they immediately reported this intelligence to their superiors.

When the army's chief of staff, Sokolovsky, received the report from the head of the reconnaissance department, his face was full of disbelief: "Comrade head of the reconnaissance department, is the intelligence your scouts sent back reliable? Is the 16th Army really retreating on a large scale?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I can be absolutely certain of this; the information reported by my scouts is all true." The reconnaissance chief said with certainty, "After receiving the report, I even arranged for people to verify it, and we found that the 16th Army Group was indeed retreating."

"Damn it, what's going on with them?" Sokolovsky was furious upon hearing this. "They're running away. I'm going to report this to General Zhukov immediately."

Sokolovsky took the telegram and walked towards the office door. When he reached the door, he remembered that the chief of reconnaissance was still standing inside. He stopped and shouted at him, "What are you still standing there for? Come with me to see General Zhukov immediately!"

Upon arriving at Zhukov's office, Sokolovsky did not call for a report, but instead barged in with the head of the reconnaissance department.

Hearing footsteps, Zhukov looked up at the uninvited guest who had barged in, and asked with slight displeasure, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is it?"

Sokolovsky quickly placed the intelligence he had received in front of Zhukov, and then said respectfully, "Comrade General, according to the reconnaissance report, the 16th Army is retreating in large numbers to the rear under the cover of night."

Zhukov's face darkened with anger: "Is this information reliable?"

“Completely reliable, Comrade Commander.” Upon hearing Zhukov’s question, the head of the reconnaissance department quickly stepped forward and reported, “To be honest, when I first received this intelligence, I couldn’t believe it was true either, and I even sent someone to verify it. Only after confirming that the intelligence was true did I report it to Comrade Chief of Staff.” As he said this, he intentionally cast a glance at Sokolovsky, hoping that the other party could vouch for him.

Seeing the head of the reconnaissance department looking at him, Sokolovsky immediately understood what was going on and nodded vigorously, saying, "Yes, Comrade General, the head of the reconnaissance department came to report to me immediately after verifying the situation."

"I understand, you can go now." Zhukov waved his hand impatiently at the two men. "I know what to do."

After the two left the room, Zhukov immediately picked up the phone on the table and said into the receiver, "This is Zhukov. Connect me to the headquarters of the 16th Army!"

But the next moment, the operator said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Comrade General. The headquarters of the 16th Army Group has moved, and we cannot get through to them."

"I understand!" Zhukov put down the phone and got up to walk out the door.

A few minutes later, Zhukov arrived at the communications room located in the basement.

Upon Zhukov's arrival, the staff officers and communications personnel in the room stopped what they were doing and stared at him.

Zhukov approached a radio operator with his hands behind his back and said to him, "Radio operator, immediately send a telegram to the 16th Army."

After the telegraph operator hurriedly prepared, he said to Zhukov, "Comrade General, I am ready. You may dictate the telegram now."

Zhukov nodded, then dictated the famous telegram: "It is I, in command of the front! I am rescinding the order to move the troops to the Istra Reservoir. I order them to hold their ground and not retreat an inch. General Zhukov!"

Rokossovsky received the telegram with a bitter expression. He hadn't expected Sokov to be so prophetic again; Zhukov really wasn't giving Stalin any face and sent him a telegram directly cancelling the approved evacuation order.

Malinin stared at Rokossovsky and tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, what should we do next? Should we retreat according to the original plan, or should we follow General Zhukov's new order to have the troops stay in place and hold their ground without retreating an inch?"

Rokossovsky remained silent for a long time, then looked up at the sky and sighed, "Zhukov is right. Under the current circumstances, our retreat is inappropriate." After saying this, he turned to Malinin and issued the latest order, "You immediately inform those commanders who are retreating or preparing to retreat that the original retreat order is canceled, and they should continue to hold their original positions and not retreat a single step."

Ma Lining hesitated and said, "Comrade Commander, if the troops operate at night, the slightest mistake could cause serious chaos. How about we wait until dawn to give them the order to return to their original positions?"

“No,” Rokossovsky shook his head. “Even knowing that chaos will ensue, we must return to our original positions as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the Germans learn of our retreat plan and launch an attack, many positions will be occupied by the enemy. We will have to pay a heavy price to take them back.”

After Rokossovsky explained the stakes, Malinin quickly replied, "Yes, Commander, I will immediately call the commanders who received the orders and instruct them to lead their troops back to their original positions as soon as possible. If I cannot reach them by phone, I will send a communications soldier to notify them. Make sure they are all back at their original positions before dawn."

(End of this chapter)