red moscow

Chapter 3008

Half an hour later, the reconnaissance chief reappeared before Rokossovsky, accompanied by the intelligence chief of the army group headquarters.

Seeing the chief of the reconnaissance department and the chief of the intelligence department standing in front of him, Rokossovsky realized the seriousness of the situation and asked, "Which of you will tell me what happened?"

"Comrade Commander!" After exchanging a glance, the intelligence chief stepped forward and reported to Rokossovsky, "Through our interrogation, the captured German paratroopers provided some valuable intelligence."

“What intelligence?” the intelligence chief said. “They’ve located our army group headquarters and have airdropped nine sabotage teams into the area. Each team consists of anywhere from eight to twenty people. Their mission is to destroy the army group headquarters by any means necessary.”

The intelligence chief's words reminded Rokossovsky of the mortar attack he had suffered on his way back to headquarters. He figured the German paratroopers who attacked him must have been one of the nine sabotage teams.

Rokossovsky turned to look at Lobachev beside him and said with a wry smile, "Comrade Military Commissar, it seems the Germans have really gone to great lengths to eliminate us. Nine sabotage teams, basically a paratrooper company. If we wipe out all these sabotage teams, the Germans will surely feel the pinch."

“I don’t think so,” Lobachev said, shaking his head. “The Germans would probably think it’s worth any price to pay if they could just take down our headquarters.”

“Comrades, you two!” Rokossovsky turned to the two section chiefs and said, “On our way back to headquarters, the Military Commissioner and I encountered a mortar attack by German paratroopers, which caused some casualties to our convoy. In order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, your two sections should work together to try to eliminate the German sabotage groups near headquarters as soon as possible.”

The two section chiefs seemed quite troubled by Rokossovsky's order. They exchanged a glance, as if they had something difficult to say.

"What's going on?" Rokossovsky noticed their unusual behavior and asked, "Are you having any difficulties?"

“Yes, Comrade Commander.” The head of the intelligence department nodded and explained to Rokossovsky, “The army headquarters was attacked by enemy aircraft some time ago, and the intelligence and reconnaissance departments suffered heavy casualties. Therefore, could you assign someone else to be in charge of clearing out the German sabotage groups near the headquarters?”

"So, who do you think would be the most suitable person to take charge of this matter?"

“The army group headquarters has its own subordinate units and guard units,” the intelligence chief said. “I think we can hand this over to the guard chief.”

“Alright.” Rokossovsky knew the two were telling the truth, nodded, and waved them away. He then said to Malinin, “Comrade Chief of Staff, contact the head of the guard department immediately and have him send out guard units to search for and eliminate the enemy near the headquarters.”

However, the troops dispatched by the head of the guard searched the vicinity of the headquarters for two days but found no trace of the German sabotage team.

The situation on the battlefield was becoming increasingly unfavorable for the Soviet army.

One position after another fell under the fierce German attack. The 16th Army's defensive line retreated eastward little by little under the German onslaught.

Seeing that the existing command post location was already exposed to German attack range, Rokossovsky had no choice but to order another relocation.

He moved the main command post to the Lyalovo region, and set up a temporary command post for the army group in a village called Peshki near the city of Sun Mountain.

The temporary command post had just been established when an observation group from the front arrived, led by General Camela, an old friend of Rokossovsky. The two old friends greeted each other with a warm embrace.

Carmela patted Rokossovsky hard on the back and said excitedly, "Koschika, I never expected to meet you here."

“Carmela, ever since you were transferred to the front headquarters, I’ve made sure to visit you whenever I go to see Zhukov,” Rokossovsky said with a look of regret. “But sadly, you’re never there.”

"Koschika, I rarely stay in headquarters. I spend most of my time patrolling various units, so it's understandable that you don't run into me."

"Carmela, what brings you here?"

“According to your report to the front headquarters, neither Sunhill nor Klin can be held.” Carmela explained truthfully to Rokossovsky, “General Zhukov was not satisfied with this conclusion, so he sent our observation group to inspect the two cities.”

"So what results did you get?" Rokossovsky asked.

Carmela was silent for a moment before speaking, "Judging from the current situation, Klin will fall within the next day or two. As for Sun Mountain City, it should be able to hold out for longer."

Neither Carmela nor Rokossovsky knew that in actual history, both Sunhill and Klin fell on November 23rd. It's now the 24th, but both cities remain in Soviet hands, likely due to the butterfly effect caused by Sokov, this man from the future.

"Carmela, based on your observations, how many more days do you think Sun Mountain City can hold out?"

Carmela pondered for a moment, then held up four fingers: "I think we can hold out for at most four more days."

“Four days,” Rokossovsky said, frowning. “I can use these four days to withdraw the main force of the army group to the Istra Reservoir area and establish new defenses there.”

Upon hearing Rokossovsky mention the Istra Reservoir, Carmela raised an eyebrow and said, "Koschka, I think that when you retreated to the Istra Reservoir some time ago, General Zhukov found out and immediately ordered the cancellation of your retreat order. Now you're leading your troops to the Istra Reservoir again. Aren't you worried that you'll be stopped by Zhukov again?"

Rokossovsky grinned, revealing an expression more like a grimace: "Carmela, this retreat to the Istra Reservoir was a result of being repelled by the enemy. Being repelled by the enemy is completely different from a voluntary retreat."

Upon hearing Rokossovsky's words, Carmela immediately understood what he meant and nodded vigorously: "Koschka, you are right. Your troops suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat due to the German's split attacks; this is an indisputable fact."

After chatting for a while, Carmela and Rokossovsky left Peshki village by car with members of the headquarters inspection team.

After seeing Carmela off, Rokossovsky said to Malinin, "Comrade Chief of Staff, you and the Military Commissioner should go to Lyalovo as soon as possible. While I'm gone, the troops will be under your command."

Seeing Rokossovsky's reluctance to leave, Malinin hesitated, "Comrade Commander, it's too dangerous here. Won't you come with us to evacuate?" "I want to stay here and see how long Sun Mountain City can hold out," Rokossovsky said. "Our troops are moving towards the Istra Reservoir, and Sun Mountain City is a necessary route. If the city falls, it means that the retreating troops will have to take a long detour to bypass the enemy's defenses."

"The troops have now begun an orderly transfer towards the Istra Reservoir." Malinin asked tentatively, "I wonder which unit should be left behind to provide cover?"

“Of course,” Rokossovsky said without hesitation. “It’s Colonel Beloborodov’s 78th Infantry Division. The division is relatively well-organized, and it’s the perfect choice for them to take on the rearguard mission.”

“Alright.” Malinin nodded and said, “Once we get to the new headquarters, I will contact Colonel Beloborodov and have him lead the troops to cover the rearguard and ensure the safe withdrawal of the main force of the army group to the Istra Reservoir area.”

But before Malinin could leave, he heard the sound of artillery shells exploding outside, as if the village was being shelled.

"What's going on?" Rokossovsky shouted. "What's that cannon fire outside?"

A staff officer in the room quickly ran out and then rushed back in, excitedly reporting, "Comrade Commander, something terrible has happened! The village is under enemy artillery fire, and we need to evacuate immediately."

But before he could finish speaking, a loud noise came from the roof, and then something broke through the roof and fell from the sky, smashing directly onto the table and making a hole in the hard solid wood table.

When everyone saw what was fixed in the middle of the table, they were all shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. It turned out to be an unexploded shell.

Seeing this, Malinin quickly stepped in front of Rokossovsky and Lobachev, while turning his head to shout to the staff in the room: "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and take the commander and military commissar out."

Upon hearing Malinin's shout, the staff officers dared not delay and rushed forward to help Rokossovsky and Lobachev run outside.

After Rokossovsky was escorted outside, he saw that Malinin had not yet come out, so he shouted to the staff officers, "The chief of staff is still inside, hurry up and pull him out."

A few minutes later, Malinin emerged unharmed and said to Rokossovsky with relief, "Comrade Commander, we were really lucky; the shell that landed inside the house was a dud."

"Ah, it's a dud." Just as Rokossovsky was in surprise, a shell landed and exploded more than 20 meters away from them. Everyone who heard the sound instinctively bent over to avoid the shrapnel that might fly everywhere.

"Comrade Commander!" A soldier carrying a rifle rushed over and reported loudly to Rokossovsky, "German tanks have stormed into the village, followed by a lot of infantry. The infantrymen with submachine guns are constantly firing at the houses along the roadside."

"How far away is the enemy?" Rokossovsky asked.

"There's still about 70 or 80 meters left," the soldier said urgently. "Comrade Commander, if we don't move now, we won't be able to get out of here."

Knowing that the enemy was only a few dozen meters away, and that staying would be tantamount to suicide, Rokossovsky waved his hand and said to everyone, "Move out of here immediately!"

Thus, Rokossovsky, with a group of staff officers and a few soldiers providing cover, desperately rushed towards the south side of the village, where many vehicles were parked. Only by reaching the vehicles could they escape their fate of becoming prisoners of the German army.

Fortunately, Rokossovsky and his companions were lucky. When they arrived at the south side of the village, the vehicles were still parked there, and the drivers had already started the vehicles, waiting for everyone to get in before setting off.

Rokossovsky jumped into his jeep and pulled Lobachev and Malinin in as well. As soon as the door opened, he immediately ordered the driver, "Drive! Head straight to the army group headquarters in the Lyalovo region."

The driver nodded, immediately started the vehicle, and sped out of the village.

Rokossovsky's jeep left the village, and the other staff officers' vehicles followed suit. When the German tanks arrived south of the village, they only saw the departing Soviet convoy. One tank fired a shot in the direction of the convoy, but the shell missed without fail, causing no damage to the convoy.

Upon arriving in Lyalovo, Rokossovsky immediately asked the staff officer on duty, "Is there anything I need to report?"

“Yes, Comrade Commander.” The staff officer nodded, handed a transcript of a phone call to Rokossovsky, and said, “Before you returned, General Zhukov called and talked about Sun Mountain City.”

Malinin leaned closer and asked, "What did General Zhukov say?"

The staff officer looked troubled, unsure whether he should report the facts truthfully.

Rokossovsky, who was browsing the phone records, frowned and said in a muffled voice, "Since the Chief of Staff asked, just tell him. There's nothing to hide."

The staff officer, instructed by Rokossovsky, truthfully reported to Malinin: "General Zhukov said that Sun Mountain should not be defended..."

Before the staff officer could finish speaking, Ma Lining nodded and said, "You're absolutely right. Our forces in Taiyangshan City are too few. Even if we hold out, we can't hold out for long."

"No, Chief of Staff. You've got it wrong." Seeing that Malinin had misunderstood him, the staff officer quickly explained, "I haven't finished speaking yet. General Zhukov said that Sun Mountain City should not be defended, but should be attacked proactively to drive the enemy away from the vicinity of the city."

Malinin was stunned after hearing this. He turned to look at Rokossovsky, who had just finished reading the phone record, and tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, is everything he said true?"

“Yes, what he said is true,” Rokossovsky nodded. “According to the phone records, Zhukov did indeed say that. He felt we shouldn’t passively defend Sunhill, but rather launch a proactive attack to thwart the German attempt to capture the city.”

"This is insane, absolutely insane!" Zhukov's words drove Malinin to madness: "With our current forces, we're already thankful if we can hold the city. Where would we find the extra troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy outside the city and drive them away from the vicinity of the city?"

(End of this chapter)