red moscow

Chapter 3012

By evening, after the new army group headquarters was established in Klyukovo, communication with its subordinate units was restored.

Rokossovsky was concerned about Dovator's injuries, and as soon as communications were restored, he immediately ordered Maximenko: "Comrade Chief of Signal Corps, make contact with the Cavalry Corps immediately. I want to ask about Dovator's condition."

The call was quickly connected, and Rokossovsky breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Dovator's loud voice coming through the receiver. However, he still politely asked, "Dovator, how are your injuries?"

"It's nothing, Commander," Dovator said casually. "It's just a minor injury. It'll be fine in a few days. Don't worry about it."

"Comrade Dovator, as far as I know, this is the second time you've been wounded since the outbreak of the war," Rokossovsky reminded Dovator in a kind tone. "Also, you're a corps commander, not a company commander. You don't need to lead the charge every time. Understand?"

Dovator knew that Rokossovsky was concerned about him, and quickly said, "I understand, Comrade Commander! From now on, I will lead my own command post and never lightly lead troops into battle." When he said this, he never dreamed that just three months later, he would be shot and killed while leading his troops into battle.

"By the way, Commander, we couldn't get in touch with you just now." Dovator quickly changed the subject: "Has something happened?"

"The village of Lyalovo, where the army group headquarters was located, was attacked by enemy tanks, and we had to move the headquarters back to Klyukovo."

“Comrade Commander, during the time you were out of contact, not only was I worried about you, but Lieutenant Colonel Sokov was also concerned about your safety,” Dovator said. “If possible, you should call him yourself so that he can also feel at ease.”

Rokossovsky thought Dovatore made a good point; now that he was safe, he naturally wanted to call those who were worried about him. But before he could pick up the phone, Zhukov called: "Rokossovsky, is your headquarters safe now?"

“Yes, Zhukov, it’s safe now,” Rokossovsky said. “Do you have any further instructions?”

“Rokossovsky, a gap of over ten kilometers has appeared between you and the 30th Army. If Sun Mountain and Klin fall, you and the 30th Army will be completely separated,” Zhukov said. “After careful consideration, I am prepared to send some reinforcements to you.”

Rokossovsky was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Zhukov, have you received reinforcements from the Supreme Command?"

"I have no reinforcements here," Zhukov sneered, and continued, "I've just transferred some troops from less important locations to your area."

As long as reinforcements could be obtained, Rokossovsky didn't care where the troops came from: "How many troops are there?"

“An infantry regiment, an independent cavalry regiment, a cannon artillery regiment, and an anti-tank regiment,” Zhukov said. “That’s all the mobile forces I can muster.”

Just as Rokossovsky was pondering where to place the newly arrived troops, he heard Zhukov continue, "Rokossovsky, the purpose of giving you these troops is not for you to stay in your positions and engage in passive defense. You are to use these troops to launch a counterattack in Lyalovo and disrupt the German offensive plan. Understand?"

Rokossovsky's face showed a bitter expression. He did not expect that the reinforcements Zhukov was about to send would not only fail to strengthen the already riddled defenses, but would also cost him more precious manpower in a counterattack in Lyalovo with little chance of success.

But since it was Zhukov who gave the order, Rokossovsky, no matter how dissatisfied he was, could only bite the bullet and reply, "Alright, Zhukov, as soon as the reinforcements you send arrive, I will immediately launch the counterattack in Lyalovo."

As soon as Rokossovsky hung up the phone, Malinin immediately leaned over and asked with concern, "Comrade Commander, what did General Zhukov say, and where does he plan to launch a counterattack?"

“Where else could it be but Lyalovo, which we left not long ago?” Rokossovsky said with a wry smile. “I was quite happy when I heard that he was going to send us some reinforcements. I never expected that he would actually let us use these reinforcements to launch a counterattack against the Germans in Lyalovo.”

Upon hearing this, Malinin was also taken aback: "What, you want us to launch a counterattack in Lyalovo? Comrade Commander, this is a battle that cannot be won. Not only will we be unable to repel the enemy, but we will also gradually deplete our precious manpower."

“There’s nothing we can do; these are Zhukov’s orders.” Rokossovsky looked at Malinin and said, “Comrade Chief of Staff, you should know Zhukov’s character. Once he gives an order, even if you know it’s wrong, you have to carry it out unconditionally. Go and make preparations now. Once the reinforcements sent by Zhukov arrive, we will prepare to launch a new counterattack in Lyalovo.”

“Alright,” Malining said helplessly, “I’ll contact the various units to see if we can spare enough troops to participate in this counterattack.”

While Malinin was on the phone, Rokossovsky called Sokov.

Sokov was overjoyed to hear Rokossovsky's voice. Although he knew Rokossovsky was safe and sound, it was only now, upon hearing the other's voice, that the weight on his heart finally lifted.

"Commander, we couldn't reach you for a while. Is it possible that the enemy has appeared near your command post?"

Rokossovsky did not hide anything from Sokov's question, but answered truthfully: "Our headquarters had just moved to the village of Lyalovo when it was attacked by the German army. Fortunately, an 85mm anti-tank gun battalion passed by and relieved us of the siege."

"Where is your headquarters now?" Sokov asked tentatively. "Is it still in Lyalovo village?"

“No, we’ve already moved. We’ve moved to Klyukovo,” Rokossovsky explained. “Because the distance was quite far, it took a long time.”

Upon hearing the name Klyukov, Sokov's eyebrows involuntarily rose. He recalled his previous life, when he had been caught up in the major counter-offensive outside Moscow. His infantry platoon had participated in the liberation of Klyukov. At the time, to help friendly forces capture the city quickly, he had taught some of his soldiers the three-three tactic, but unfortunately, due to the short time allotted and the lack of comprehension among many of the trainees, the resulting tactics were a hodgepodge. Rokossovsky spoke for a while, then, seeing that Sokov had suddenly fallen silent, he raised his voice and asked, "Misha, are you still there?"

"Yes, Commander."

Why aren't you saying anything? Are you thinking about something?

“Comrade Commander, I’m thinking that it’s not good for your headquarters to keep being chased around by the Germans like this.” Sokov said carefully, “I’m afraid we need to organize forces to launch a counterattack against the German army and disrupt their offensive rhythm.”

"Organize forces to launch a counterattack against the German army?" Rokossovsky asked with some surprise when he heard Sokov say this. "Misha, how could such an idea come to your mind? You know, our troops suffered too many losses in the early stages. They are barely enough for defense, but far from enough for offense."

"Comrade Commander, please forgive my bluntness." Sokov organized his thoughts and continued, "Your headquarters is being chased all over the place by the Germans. If General Zhukov knew about this, he would definitely send you a small force to organize a counterattack, disrupt the enemy's offensive plan, and prevent them from attacking your army group headquarters."

Rokossovsky stared in surprise after hearing Sokov's words, then asked, "Misha, who told you that our army is going to launch a counterattack soon?"

"These are all my own deductions." Sokov naturally wouldn't tell Rokossovsky that his so-called "conclusion" was actually something he had seen in Rokossovsky's war memoirs. He said with feigned seriousness, "I boldly drew this conclusion based on General Zhukov's character."

Sokov's words made Rokossovsky like him even more: "Misha, you're really amazing. To tell you the truth, not long ago, Zhukov gave me an order to launch a counterattack in the Lyalovo region to disrupt the German offensive and prevent them from attacking us with full force."

Rokossovsky reasoned that since Sokov could guess that Zhukov planned to launch a counterattack soon, he must have a way to make the counterattack even more successful. So he tentatively asked, "Misha, do you have any good ideas to make our counterattack even more successful?"

Sokov hadn't expected Rokossovsky to ask this question. After a brief silence, he could only say evasively, "Comrade Commander, I don't know how many troops are available for the counterattack, nor what kind of troops the enemy has, so it's difficult to offer any valuable suggestions."

Sokov's response was clearly within Rokossovsky's expectations. He said reasonably, "Misha, I'll ask for your opinion again after we've finalized the battle plan. Remember to tell me your thoughts truthfully then."

"Yes, Commander," Sokov said with a smile. "I will report to you truthfully whatever ideas I have at the time."

When he put down the microphone, Sokov found that his back was soaked with sweat.

Karsokov leaned closer and asked curiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I think I heard the Commander say that we were going to launch a counterattack somewhere? What exactly is going on?"

Seeing that Karsokov was very curious about this matter, Sokov repeated Rokossovsky's words to him and finally said, "Although, judging from the current situation, launching a counterattack against the enemy in a certain area can disrupt the enemy's offensive steps, it also has many disadvantages for us. For example, the loss of manpower will make our already insufficient troops face an even more severe shortage of troops in the following battles."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, since the counterattack will consume our precious manpower, can't we just cancel it?"

Hearing Karsokov's words, Sokov couldn't help but smile wryly and continued, "Comrade Chief of Staff, things are not as simple as you think. According to the Commander, there is absolutely no need to launch such a counterattack that has no chance of winning, wasting precious manpower prepared for defense. However, the order to counterattack was issued by General Zhukov, and even if the Commander is unwilling, he can only grit his teeth and carry out the order."

“Comrade Brigade Commander,” Belkin said to Sokov, “judging from the fighting these past two days, our brigade’s casualties are rising sharply. If this continues, we’ll probably be wiped out in less than a week. Without troops, how can we defend this city?”

Karsokov considered the problem from a different perspective than Belkin. He knew that with the increasing casualties, the fall of the city was only a matter of time, so he raised his concerns: "Comrades, there are still more than two thousand wounded soldiers in the field hospital. If the city really cannot be held, shouldn't we transfer them outside the city as soon as possible? Otherwise, once the enemy occupies the city, they will fall into enemy hands, and only death awaits them."

In response to Karsokov's question, Sokov nodded slowly. He knew very well that once the Germans occupied Sunhill, there would be no wounded soldiers in the field hospital who could be transferred, and they would die under the Germans' swords.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you're right." Sokov nodded and said, "If we don't evacuate the wounded from the field hospitals as soon as possible, they will probably be massacred once the Germans occupy the city, and their lives will be wasted. Therefore, we must transfer all the wounded to the rear before the Germans occupy the city."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, we lack sufficient transportation." Karsokov reminded Sokov, "The buses in the city have been mostly destroyed by enemy bombing and artillery fire. If we want to transfer the more than two thousand wounded soldiers in the field hospital as soon as possible, we can only ask the cavalry corps for help."

"Request assistance from the cavalry corps?" Sokov was taken aback, then a possibility occurred to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you mean to ask the cavalry corps to provide us with wagons to transport the wounded from the field hospital to the rear?"

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander, that's exactly what I mean."

Sokov thought for a moment, then said, "This matter is not urgent for now. I need to report this to Comrade Commander first. It will not be too late to arrange the transfer of the wounded after he helps us find a place to settle them."

Seeing that Sokov agreed to his proposal, Karsokov quickly said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, let me call the director of the field hospital first, so that he can be mentally prepared. That way, after the transfer order is issued, everything can proceed in an orderly manner."

“I think that’s a good idea,” Belkin nodded in agreement. “Let’s give the dean a heads-up beforehand so he’s aware of the situation. That way, we won’t make a mess of things once we give the relocation order.”

(End of this chapter)