red moscow

Chapter 3011

Sokov's prediction was quickly proven true. Just half an hour later, German bomber formations arrived over the settlement and began a massive bombing raid.

Fortunately, Dovator heeded Sokov's advice and moved most of the horses to the nearby forest in advance. The officers and soldiers in the settlement also took refuge in the prepared basements and air-raid shelters as soon as the air raid began.

The enemy planes bombed the three settlements for more than half an hour before leisurely leaving.

Emerging from the air-raid shelter, Dovator loudly addressed Priev beside him, saying, "General Priev, thankfully Lieutenant Colonel Sokov reminded us, allowing me to evacuate the horses in advance and quickly dig numerous air-raid shelters, thus preventing the enemy's bombing from achieving its desired results."

“Yes, Comrade Commander.” Priyev nodded in agreement with Dovator’s statement: “Without Lieutenant Colonel Sokov’s reminder, we don’t know how many of our commanders and soldiers would have sacrificed their lives in vain during this enemy air raid.”

Dovator considered calling Sokov to express his gratitude. But then he thought that with such a large-scale bombing raid on the settlement, Sokov must have known about it, so there was no need for him to call and inform him.

Although Dovator gave up on making the call, Sokov called soon after.

As soon as the call connected, Sokov eagerly asked, "Comrade General, I've heard that the enemy's bombing of settlements is quite extensive. I'd like to ask, are the casualties high?"

“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, thank you for your reminder,” Dovator said kindly. “If you hadn’t reminded me to move the soldiers’ horses to the nearby forest, given the scale of the enemy bombing just now, we would have lost at least one or two thousand horses. Without horses, how can the cavalry charge into battle wielding their sabers? On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the cavalry corps, I express my gratitude to you.”

“Comrade General, you don’t need to be so polite. We are allies. It’s absolutely necessary to give you a reminder on certain matters.” Sokov remembered the purpose of his call and continued, “I’m calling you to discuss something with you.”

"Please tell me what it is."

“You’ve placed nearly ten thousand cavalry officers and soldiers in three settlements. I think the troops are a bit too densely packed,” Sokov said cautiously. “How about you leave only one or two companies in each settlement to hold the line, and move the rest of the troops into the forest?”

Dovator did not immediately respond to Sokov's suggestion, but instead asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, why do you want me to put all the main force in the forest?"

“The reason is simple, Comrade General,” Sokov replied. “One or two companies in each settlement would be enough to hold off the enemy for two or three hours when they attack. Meanwhile, the troops hidden in the forest can take the opportunity to launch an attack on the enemy from the flank and completely crush their offensive.”

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you make a good point.” Dovator thought Sokov’s words made perfect sense, nodded, and readily said, “Do as you say. Except for leaving a small force to hold the line, the rest of the troops will withdraw to the nearby forest.”

Before hanging up, Dovator casually asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, which settlement do you think is most vulnerable to enemy attack?"

“It should be the settlement of Sverchkovo,” Sokov explained. “This settlement was the first to fall last time, and I think if the enemy launches another attack, they will definitely continue to attack Sverchkovo.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov,” Dovator said with a smile. “I know how to deploy my forces now.”

After hanging up the phone, Dovator called his chief of staff over and instructed him, "Comrade Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov told me that if the enemy were to launch a counterattack on the settlements, the first settlement they would want to capture would be Sverchkovo. Therefore, we should deploy all our tanks near the settlements. Once the settlements are attacked, the tank units can provide timely reinforcements."

"Yes, Commander. I will call the tank commander immediately and have him deploy all the tanks near the settlement of Sverchkovo."

Just as the chief of staff turned to make a phone call, he was stopped by Dovator: "Leave one or two companies in each settlement for defense, and withdraw the rest of the troops to hide in the nearby forests. Reinforce any settlement that is attacked by the enemy."

The chief of staff did not object to Dovator's instructions, but simply agreed and then made a phone call to assign tasks.

A few hours later, the German army launched an attack on Sverchkovo, with a large number of infantry and more than twenty tanks.

However, the German attack was ineffective. Soviet tanks that rushed out from the flanks stopped near the German attacking forces, bombarding the moving German tanks with their tank guns and wildly firing their machine guns at the infantry following behind them.

As German tank after tank was destroyed and burned on the battlefield, the infantry suffered heavy losses under the crossfire from both tanks and positions. Seeing that the offensive was ineffective, the German commander had no choice but to order a withdrawal from the battle.

The fighting in the direction of Sverchkovo was clearly visible to Sokov, who was standing on the roof of the municipal building, through his binoculars.

Seeing that the battle was over, Sokov put down his binoculars and turned to ask Belkin beside him, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I really didn't expect that the cavalry corps would be so powerful. The German attacking forces were almost wiped out before they even got close to the settlements. It seems that General Dovator's command skills are quite impressive."

When Sokov called the cavalry again, the person who answered was not Dovator, but his chief of staff.

Upon learning that it was Sokov who was calling Dovator, the chief of staff said in a somber tone, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I'm afraid the corps commander will not be able to answer your call."

Upon hearing this, Sokov's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding washing over him. He quickly asked, "Comrade General, what's wrong?"

“He was wounded in the recent battle,” the chief of staff replied. “He has now been taken to the first aid station in the forest.”

"What? General Dovator is wounded?" Sokov's heart sank. Although he knew that Dovator had been killed in battle after the counter-offensive began, he still asked with concern, "Is his injury serious?"

"He was shot in the shoulder while commanding the battle," the chief of staff said. "However, he was still conscious when he was carried away on a stretcher, so there shouldn't be any major problems. They just need to remove the bullet."

“General, you are wounded. This is no small matter.” Sokov knew that his rank was much lower than that of the cavalry chief of staff and he could not give the other party direct orders. He could only suggest in a roundabout way: “Do you think we should report to the commander?”

“Yes, yes, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you’re right.” The chief of staff quickly replied, “The corps commander is wounded; this is no small matter. I should indeed report to the commander immediately.” A few minutes later, Rokossovsky learned of Dovator’s injury. After understanding the general situation, he frowned and asked the chief of staff, “Comrade Chief of Staff, is a small battle in a residential area really worth the corps commander personally commanding?”

"Commander, this is an old habit of the army commander." The chief of staff explained, "He said that if the commander cannot set an example for the soldiers on the battlefield, how can he boost morale and unite the troops? So every time there is a battle, as long as he is nearby, he will definitely go to the front line in person. In the past, nothing has ever happened, but who knew that this time he was unlucky and the army commander was actually wounded."

"Is the injury serious?" Rokossovsky asked. "If the medics there can't treat him, he can be sent to the field hospital at the front headquarters. If the medics here can't treat his injuries either, then he'll have to be sent to the military hospital in Moscow."

"Comrade Commander, don't worry, the army commander's injury is not serious, he was just shot in the shoulder," the chief of staff said. "I think the medical staff at the first aid station will be able to treat his injury."

Despite the chief of staff's words, Rokossovsky remained uneasy and specifically instructed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if you discover any changes in Dovator's condition later, report to me immediately. Understand?"

"Understood, Commander." The chief of staff quickly replied, "I will report the army commander's injuries to you in a timely manner."

After ending the call with Rokossovsky, the chief of staff called the emergency medical services.

Upon hearing someone speak, he eagerly said, "I am the chief of staff. How is the army commander's injury?"

The person who answered the phone was a nurse. She replied, "Comrade Commander is currently in surgery. According to the military doctor, the bullet is stuck in a bone crevice, and it will probably take some time to remove it."

"I understand." The chief of staff instructed the other party, "Report to me immediately after the corps commander's surgery is completed."

"Yes, Chief of Staff. I will report back promptly."

Dovator's surgery ended an hour and a half later. Seeing that the commander was alright, the medical staff immediately called the chief of staff to report on the commander's surgery.

Supported by two soldiers, Dovator returned to his command post. He learned from his chief of staff that Rokossovsky was concerned about his injuries, and immediately instructed the communications officer beside him: "Comrade Staff Officer, immediately connect me to the army group headquarters; I need to speak with the commander."

The communications officer agreed and then began dialing.

Unfortunately, after ten or twenty minutes, the call still went unanswered.

Seeing this, Dovator couldn't help but get anxious and shouted at the communications officer, "Comrade Staff Officer, what's going on? So much time has passed, why haven't we been able to contact the army group headquarters yet?"

The communications staff officer replied timidly, "Comrade Commander, I think the headquarters may have moved."

"What? The headquarters has been moved?" Dovator asked in surprise. "But I haven't received any news about it."

"Comrade Commander, not only you, but even I was unaware of this matter," the Chief of Staff said, feeling wronged. "You know, just over two hours ago, I spoke with the Commander. How come I couldn't get in touch with them so soon after?"

He looked at the communications officer and asked, "Why do you think the headquarters was moved, rather than there was a problem with the telephone lines?"

Upon hearing the chief of staff's question, the communications officer replied with a wry smile, "Comrade chief of staff, I can assure you that it is definitely not a problem with the telephone line."

"So, the headquarters has moved again." Dovator sighed softly and said, "It seems the situation on the battlefield is unfavorable to our army, otherwise why would the headquarters keep moving around during this period?"

The chief of staff said from the side, "Unfortunately, we don't know where they moved to."

“Since they’re on their way to relocation, let’s just ignore them,” Dovator said. “They’ll definitely call us once the new command post is settled.”

The chief of staff thought about it carefully and realized that Dovator's words made a lot of sense. If the headquarters was in the process of relocating, the radio would certainly not be turned on, and no matter how many times they called, there would be no response. It would be better to wait until the headquarters had chosen a new location before contacting them.

As the communications officer stated, the army group headquarters' problem wasn't with the telephone lines, but rather that its location was under threat from the Germans. Rokossovsky immediately ordered a relocation to a new location. This new headquarters was located in a place called Lyalovo.

Unfortunately, just as Rokossovsky's headquarters was established, German tanks appeared on the northeastern outskirts of the village. The troops responsible for guarding that area immediately engaged the German tanks in battle. Everyone near the combat zone, including some staff officers and support staff from the army group headquarters, joined the fight with a motley collection of weapons.

Fortunately, an 85mm anti-tank gun battalion that happened to be passing by discovered that the village was in the midst of a battle with the enemy. The battalion commander immediately ordered the retreat to be canceled, the artillery battalion to be deployed on the spot, and then opened fire on the German tanks outside the village.

After several rounds of continuous fire, the shells destroyed several German tanks, and the wreckage burned fiercely in the night, thwarting the enemy's attempt to storm the village.

Although the enemy's attack was thwarted, Rokossovsky realized that this place was no safer than his original position. So he called over Malinin and instructed him, "Comrade Chief of Staff, the enemy has discovered this place. We can no longer stay here and need to move immediately."

Malinin looked at Rokossovsky and asked respectfully, "Comrade Commander, where do you intend to move the headquarters?"

Rokossovsky weighed the pros and cons in his mind and then made his decision: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have decided that we can establish the new command post in Klyukovo, which is closer to our army's heartland than here, and the possibility of the enemy appearing there is not high."

“Alright, Comrade Commander.” Malinin never deviated from Rokossovsky’s orders. He nodded and said, “I will immediately arrange for the headquarters to be moved to Klyukovo and strive to establish a new headquarters as soon as possible.”

(End of this chapter)