red moscow

Chapter 2998

The retreating troops of the 16th Army received phone calls from Malinin or met with the sent communications soldiers, learning that the order to retreat to the Istra Reservoir had been canceled. Although they had many grievances, they still faithfully carried out the order and led their respective troops back to their original combat areas.

Although the Soviet retreat was carried out very discreetly, it was still inevitably discovered by German scouts. Upon learning of this, the German commander immediately ordered his troops to launch a swift attack on the deserted positions or areas with weak defenses.

When some units returned to their original positions, they found that the area had been occupied by the Germans. In order to retake the positions, the commanders and soldiers, despite their fatigue, immediately launched an attack.

The most intense fighting took place in the original defense zone of the 126th Infantry Division, where two-thirds of the area had been occupied by the Germans, making it the fiercest battleground.

The battle continued until dawn, and the 126th Infantry Division was unable to recapture its original positions. After consulting with Rokossovsky, the division commander led the remaining troops out of the battle, preparing to retreat through the dense forest to Klin, more than 20 kilometers away.

While continuing its offensive against the 16th Army, the German army actively redeployed its troops.

短短的两天时间，古德里安就将6个师调到了克林附近，这些部队包括第6装甲师、第7装甲师和第2装甲师、第106步兵师、第35步兵师和第14摩托化师，做好了进攻克林的准备。

Meanwhile, the Soviet forces in Klin were extremely limited, consisting of the greatly weakened 126th Infantry Division, the very weak 17th Cavalry Division, and the 25th Tank Brigade with only 12 tanks, plus some small, temporarily recruited units, totaling no more than 5,000 men.

Seeing the stark disparity in troop numbers, Zakharov had little confidence in holding Klin. After reporting the situation to Rokossovsky by phone, he tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, our forces are less than one-sixth the size of the enemy's, and the gap in equipment is even greater. This battle is simply unwinnable."

“Comrade Deputy Commander,” Rokossovsky said sternly after Zakharov finished speaking, “I sent you to Klin to command the troops in defending the city. The battle hasn’t even started yet. If you, the person in charge, lose confidence, how can we fight the next battle?”

"But in terms of manpower and equipment, we are far outmatched by the Germans," Zakharov said through gritted teeth. "Even if I wanted to defend the city, I would be powerless to do so."

Rokossovsky paused for a moment, then said, “I will contact Kazakov immediately and have him send an artillery unit to assist you. With artillery, they can provide fire support to your troops when the enemy attacks, thus ensuring that the defending forces can hold out for a longer period of time.”

“Having only one artillery unit is far from enough,” Zakharov continued. “My forces are limited, and if the Germans launch an attack from several directions at the same time, I simply cannot stop them.”

"Have you made contact with the troops from Greentown?"

Zakharov replied, "Yes, I sent someone to contact them a couple of days ago."

"How many tanks does that tank division have, and how many infantrymen does it have?"

"There are 216 tanks, but most of them are old-fashioned; the number of new T-34 tanks is very small," Zakharov said slowly. "As for infantry, an infantry division was just deployed to Green City yesterday..."

"Oh, an infantry division has been stationed in Green City?!" Rokossovsky was overjoyed upon hearing this. "Even if it's an understrength infantry division, it must have three or four thousand men. You can have them abandon Green City and withdraw to Klin to join forces with you and strengthen the defenses there."

"But would General Lelyushenko agree to us doing this?"

“I think he should be able to agree,” Rokossovsky said. “I just received news that the 30th Army has retreated northeast under the strong German offensive. The troops left behind in Greentown have lost contact with their main force. If they don’t rush to Klin to join you, they will be an isolated force.”

"The road to Green City has been cut off by the enemy, and it will probably not be easy to contact them."

Upon hearing this, Rokossovsky frowned. "Comrade Deputy Commander, what's going on? The road to Green City has been cut off by the enemy, and your communication with friendly forces has been severed? Didn't you discuss using radio or telephone to contact them when you sent people to do so a couple of days ago?"

Faced with Rokossovsky's rebuke, Zakharov replied somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, it was my oversight."

"Send someone to contact the troops in Green City immediately. If you can get in touch, it would be best to discuss with them how to communicate by phone or radio. This will be very helpful for your upcoming operations." After saying this, Rokossovsky was still a little worried, so he added, "The army group headquarters will be moving soon, and I'm afraid you won't be able to contact me for a long time."

Zakharov seemed flustered: "What should I do?"

"Don't worry, I'll get to Klin as soon as possible and we'll discuss how to defend the city."

After hanging up the phone, Rokossovsky said to Malinin, "Comrade Chief of Staff, the situation in the Klin direction is rather complicated. I plan to go there myself to take a look. You will be in full charge of the work here."

"Don't worry, Commander, leave it to me. I will definitely not let you down."

As Rokossovsky packed his things to leave, Lobachev approached him: "Comrade Commander, I'd like to go with you to Klin and see what's going on there."

Seeing that Lobachev had volunteered, Rokossovsky stared at him for a while, then slowly nodded and said, "Alright, Comrade Military Commissar, since you want to go to Klin together, let's set off now."

During the journey, Lobachev tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, we will be passing through Sun Mountain City on the way. I wonder if we should go into the city to check on their war preparations?"

Rokossovsky pondered Lobachev's suggestion for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Several days have passed since the Germans failed in their last raid on Sun Mountain City, and they haven't appeared near the city again. But the more this is the case, the more we need to remind Misha not to let his guard down, lest we be caught off guard by the enemy."

As soon as Rokossovsky's convoy entered the city, Sokov was immediately informed. Upon learning that Rokossovsky had personally come to Sunhill, Sokov was quite surprised. He turned to Belkin and Karsokov, puzzled, and said, "Damn it! What is the Commander doing here at this hour?"

Belkin thought for a moment and then said, "Whatever he does, as long as he doesn't divert troops from here to support other areas, it's fine. Although the enemy hasn't appeared recently, if our troops are gradually transferred away, the city's defenses will be weakened, and we won't be able to stop them if they launch a surprise attack."

After a brief chat, Sokov led the command staff to the outside of the police station, patiently waiting for Rokossovsky's arrival.

A few minutes later, a convoy of six jeeps pulled up outside the police station parking lot.

As soon as the car came to a stop, the passenger door of the third car opened, and a major jumped out of the car, quickly went to the back door, reached out and opened the door, and put one hand above the threshold to prevent the people inside from bumping their heads when they came out.

The man who stepped out of the car was indeed Rokossovsky. Sokov quickly stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Hello, Comrade Commander! Welcome to Sun Mountain City!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another familiar voice came from inside the car: "What, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, are you only welcoming Comrade Commander and not me?"

Then, Lobachev bent down and climbed out of the car.

Sokov smiled, raised his hand to salute Lobachev, and said, "Hello, Comrade Military Commissioner! I really didn't expect to see you in Sun Mountain City. On behalf of all the officers and soldiers, I extend my welcome to you!"

After the three shook hands, Sokov said to the other two, "Comrade Commander, Comrade Military Commissioner, it's cold outside, let's go into the command post."

Soon, everyone returned to the command center located in the police station.

After Rokossovsky sat down at the conference table, he looked up at Sokov and said, "Misha, please tell us about your situation here."

Upon receiving the report that Rokossovsky had arrived in Sunhill, Sokov was already planning how to brief him on the situation in the city. Hearing Rokossovsky speak, he immediately began to give him a detailed account of the city's conditions.

Rokossovsky listened quietly to Sokov's report, only occasionally interrupting Sokov when he wanted to know some specific data.

However, Sokov already knew everything about the city, so he answered Rokossovsky's questions seriously and accurately.

After listening to the report, Rokossovsky nodded in satisfaction and said, "Misha, it seems that appointing you as the city defense commander of Sun Mountain City was absolutely the right decision. With you here to defend Sun Mountain City, I feel much more at ease."

Hearing Rokossovsky's praise, Sokov's lips curled up slightly; nothing was more pleasing than receiving praise from a superior.

"Comrade Commander!" Sokov, after regaining his composure, tentatively asked Rokossovsky, "What's the situation in the other areas?"

“Not ideal.” Rokossovsky knew that even if he didn’t say anything, Sokov, with his abilities, could learn the true situation on the battlefield through other channels, so he didn’t hide anything from Sokov: “Although General Zhukov ordered us to hold our current positions, due to the heavy losses suffered by various units in recent battles, we are struggling to resist the enemy’s powerful offensive. I’m afraid it won’t be long before our main defensive position becomes the Istra Reservoir.”

Sokov agreed with Rokossovsky's assessment. Although the 16th Army, under Zhukov's strict orders, continued to hold its positions, its strength had been severely weakened by heavy losses in the earlier battles. Resisting repeated enemy assaults was an extremely difficult task. It was possible that one day, with the enemy breaching a position, the entire defensive line would collapse.

Next, Sokov, accompanied by Rokossovsky and Lobachev, inspected some of the city's defensive positions. He humbly asked Rokossovsky if there were any areas that needed improvement.

Rokossovsky realized that Sokov was genuinely seeking his advice, so he didn't hold back and directly pointed out some problems in the defense of Sun Mountain City. Sokov quickly took out his notebook to write it down; a bad pen is worse than a good memory. He wrote down the problems Rokossovsky pointed out so that he wouldn't forget them when there were too many things to do later.

As the group walked toward the jeep parked in front of the police station, a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap and sporting a mustache appeared from the side. Upon seeing him, the bodyguard accompanying Rokossovsky quickly stepped forward and blocked the man's path to prevent him from posing any threat to Rokossovsky.

The middle-aged man, who had been stopped by the guards, shouted loudly at Rokossovsky, "Comrade General, Comrade General! I have something important to tell you!"

Upon hearing the man say he had something important to say, Rokossovsky gestured to the guards, signaling them to bring the man over.

When the man came up to him, Rokossovsky politely asked, "Comrade, what can I do for you?"

The man glanced at Sokov, who was standing not far away, his eyes filled with resentment and malice. Then he turned to Rokossovsky and said, “Comrade General, I was born and raised in this city. A few days ago, I saw the Germans launch a massive bombing raid on our city, causing considerable casualties. To prevent a similar tragedy from happening again, I would like to make a request to you.”

Rokossovsky said amiably, "Comrade, please tell me what you need. If it's within my ability, I will certainly try to help you." His unspoken message was: I might help you with things I can, but if I can't, please leave gracefully.

"Comrade General, as far as I know, Paris was preserved precisely because it was declared an undefended city." The man looked at Rokossovsky and said confidently, "Although Sunhill City cannot be compared with Paris in size, it still has tens of thousands of residents. In order to prevent them from becoming victims of the war, I suggest that you announce to the outside world that Sunhill City is an undefended city."

As soon as he said that, it was as if the mute button had been pressed. Everyone around fell silent and stared at the man who looked like he was crazy.

Rokossovsky didn't speak, but turned and cast a reproachful look at Sokov, as if blaming him for letting such an incomprehensible person appear in front of him and ruining his good mood.

(End of this chapter)