red moscow

Chapter 3013 Field Hospital Transfer
When Rokossovsky received the call from Sokov and learned that he wanted to move the field hospital in the city to a relatively safe place in the rear, he looked down at the map for a moment and then said into the phone, "Misha, if you really want to move the field hospital, you can move it to Krasnopolana. It's a small city only a dozen kilometers away from Moscow. I don't think the enemy can get there."

Hearing Rokossovsky's words, Sokov's lips twitched involuntarily. The Krasnopoliana he mentioned had fallen into German hands a week later. After occupying it, the Germans deployed a significant amount of heavy artillery, preparing to bombard Moscow from there. To prevent the city from being destroyed, Stalin personally ordered Rokossovsky to reinforce his forces with artillery units, tank units, and several thousand new recruits for a counterattack against the city.

“Comrade Commander!” Sokov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking before subtly offering his suggestion: “I think Krasnopolana is still too close to the front lines. The enemy might bypass our defenses and storm into the city one day. Therefore, I disagree with moving the field hospital to Krasnopolana.”

Rokossovsky was not angry after hearing this, but asked reasonably, "Misha, where do you think the field hospital should be moved to?"

"How about Shimki?" Sokov cautiously offered his suggestion.

"Khimki?!" Rokossovsky raised an eyebrow, asking in confusion, "Why did you move the field hospital there?"

Sokov moved his field hospital to Khimki for two reasons: first, it was the northern gateway to Moscow, with convenient transportation, making it easy to transfer seriously wounded soldiers who could not be treated in the hospital to the city; second, he wanted to go there in person to see if there was a soldier with the same name as him leading a garrison to protect the town of Khimki.

However, he organized his thoughts and came up with a reason that Rokossovsky could accept: "Comrade Commander, it's far from our front line. Moving the field hospital there will allow the wounded to recuperate in peace."

Such a far-fetched reason actually convinced Rokossovsky, who nodded and said, "Alright, Misha. Now that you've chosen a location, move the field hospital there as soon as possible."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Rokossovsky had agreed to his request, Sokov was overjoyed and quickly said, "I will arrange for the field hospital to be transferred as soon as possible."

After ending his call with Rokossovsky, Sokov called the director's office at the field hospital.

After the call connected, Sokov heard that the person answering the phone was a woman, and assumed it was a regular medical worker, so he politely said, "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the city defense commander. Please ask your hospital director to answer the phone. I have something important to discuss with him."

To everyone's surprise, the other person exclaimed, "Misha, it's you! I'm Donya!"

"Donya, are you Donya?" Sokov asked, somewhat surprised. "What are you doing in the dean's office?"

"What else can we do but come and offer him suggestions?"

"Make suggestions? What kind of suggestions?"

“Misha, here’s the situation,” Tonya explained to Sokov. “The number of wounded soldiers being brought to the hospital has been increasing these past two days. I’ve learned from the wounded that the city probably won’t last much longer, so I came to the hospital director to make a suggestion, hoping he can move the field hospital to a safe location as soon as possible.”

Sokov was somewhat surprised to hear this. He hadn't expected that Tonya, the military doctor, had also realized this problem and knew that the city's fall was inevitable, making the relocation of the field hospital unavoidable. He cautiously asked, "Tonya, have you said these things to anyone else?"

"What do you mean?" As soon as she asked the question, Tonya understood what Sokov meant and quickly explained, "You mean I'm going to suggest to the director that the field hospital be moved? Don't worry, so far, only the two of us know about this, not even the director knows."

Sokov breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Tonya hadn't told anyone, otherwise, if someone overheard and misinterpreted the situation, it might cause unnecessary panic in the city. He specifically instructed Tonya, "Tonya, you don't need to give the director any advice. I called him to inform him of this. The city really can't hold out for two more days. We need to move the field hospital out in advance. Otherwise, once the enemy occupies the city, the wounded and sick who haven't been moved in time will definitely be massacred."

"So where do you plan to move the field hospital?"

“Khimki,” Sokov said, then asked, “What do you think of that place?”

Donya thought for a moment and replied, "I think it's a good idea. It's far from the front lines, and the wounded soldiers in the field hospital can recover in a better environment."

"When you see the dean, ask him to call me back."

“Okay, as soon as I see the dean…” Tonya’s words were cut short as she exclaimed, “I see the dean! He’s walking toward his office!” Then, Sokov heard Tonya call out to the dean, “Comrade Dean, your call is from the brigade commander.”

Upon hearing that it was the brigade commander calling from Donya, the dean quickly ran over and took the microphone from Donya's hand.

"Comrade Director!" Sokov said to the director immediately upon hearing his voice, "I am now formally informing you of something: in order to ensure the safety of the wounded, I intend to move the field hospital as soon as possible."

Upon learning that the hospital had been transferred, the hospital director quickly covered the microphone and said to Donya, "Comrade Donya, the brigade commander has important instructions to convey. You may leave now."

Donya nodded, turned and walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.

"Comrade Brigade Commander, where are we moving to, and when?" the dean asked. "Also, what mode of transportation will we use?"

"The new location for the field hospital is the town of Khimki, and the relocation will take place tonight," Sokov said. "The town's public transport vehicles have been almost entirely destroyed in the enemy's shelling and bombing. I plan to request assistance from the cavalry corps and ask them to send some of their wagons carrying ammunition and fodder to transport the wounded."

"Yes, it's great to have horse-drawn carriages to help transport the seriously wounded," the hospital director said. "Which unit do you plan to send to escort the field hospital?"

"Captain Zaryagin's special company will escort you to your transfer." After instructing the hospital director to divert attention from the hospital, Sokov then asked Bobrikov to send someone to the hospital to find Captain Zaryagin, the commander of the special company, and tell him that he had a mission to assign to him.

Half an hour later, Zaryakin arrived at the command post after receiving the notification.

"Captain, you've arrived!" Sokov greeted Zaryakin immediately and led him to the table where the maps were laid out. He then instructed him, "I have an important task for your special company to complete."

“Comrade Brigade Commander, please give the order.” Zaryagin straightened his back and said to Sokov, “I guarantee to complete the mission.”

“Come here!” Sokov pointed to the location of the town of Khimki and said to Zaryakin, “I plan to move the field hospital to Khimki. Although this town is far from the front line, no one can guarantee that the enemy will not bypass our defenses and rush here directly. So after the field hospital enters the town, you will take over all the troops in the town, strengthen the defense deployment, and prevent the German army from launching a surprise attack.”

Zaryakin's eyes were fixed on the map before him, while his ears listened to Sokov's words. However, he was quite skeptical. Khimki was seventy or eighty kilometers away; he didn't believe the enemy had the capability to reach there. Therefore, he readily agreed verbally, but completely disregarded Sokov's warnings.

After assigning the task, Sokov waved to Zaryakin and said, "Comrade Captain, the task has been assigned to you. I hope you won't let me down. Now, return to the field hospital and assist them in transferring the wounded to the town of Khimki."

After Zaryagin left, Karsokov asked Sokov with some curiosity, "Comrade Brigade Commander, Khimki is so far from our operational area. Even if we don't send troops to protect the field hospital, there won't be any problems. But I noticed you were constantly giving instructions to Captain Zaryagin, as if you were worried that the place might be attacked by the enemy."

Sokov naturally couldn't tell them that in another two weeks, a German reconnaissance squad would storm into the town of Khimki on motorcycles and engage in a firefight with the town's garrison, only to be driven away by the instrument factory militia who arrived on the scene.

He simply smiled faintly and said, “Comrade Chief of Staff, we are at war now. Even if we are far from the front lines, we cannot let our guard down. Even if the German army cannot bypass our defenses and directly enter Khimki, they may still resort to other means to sabotage the town. There are more than two thousand wounded soldiers in the field hospital. If the hospital is destroyed by the enemy, many of them may die. I dispatched a special liaison to take charge of the defense of Khimki to prevent such a thing from happening.”

After listening, Karsokov thought for a moment, then reminded Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, how could you forget Lieutenant Zhukowen? He comes from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and he is the most skilled person to strengthen the security of the town."

Upon hearing this, Sokov nodded, thinking that his chief of staff seemed to have a point. He then called Bobrikov over again and said, "Comrade Captain, go and call Lieutenant Zhukovin, Sergeant Zub, and Chursin over. I have a task for them."

Bobrikov dared not delay and hurriedly returned to the guard company's quarters, bringing over the three men Sokov had called out.

"Comrade Brigade Commander!" Zhu Kewen had been largely sidelined for some time, so he was understandably excited to see Sokov. Upon seeing Sokov, he immediately stood at attention, saluted, and respectfully asked, "What instructions do you have?"

After announcing that the field hospital was about to be deployed to Khimki and that a special liaison would be in charge of the town's defenses, Sokov said to Zhukovin, "We all know you're from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and security work has always been one of your strengths. Therefore, I plan to appoint you as Captain Zaryagin's deputy to strengthen the management of Khimki. So, are you confident in completing the mission?"

Zhu Kewen immediately replied in a loud voice, "Don't worry, Brigade Commander, I will definitely live up to your expectations and do a good job in the security of Shimki town. If anything happens to the field hospital, you don't need to send me to a military court; I will just take out my pistol and shoot myself in the head."

"Lieutenant Zhu Kewen, I've always had a lot of confidence in you." Sokov patted Zhu Kewen on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I believe that this kind of mission is a piece of cake for you, without any difficulty at all."

Zhukovin, chin held high after receiving Sokov's praise, patted his chest and assured Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, just watch my performance."

After dark, the relocation of the field hospital began.

After receiving orders, nearby troops dispatched personnel to assist the hospital in transferring the wounded. Due to the large number of people and the dim lighting, the scene inevitably appeared somewhat chaotic.

Upon seeing this, the hospital director frowned. He immediately called Sokov to report the situation and said sincerely, "Although the nearby troops are helping us transfer the wounded, which can improve the efficiency of the transfer to some extent, there are too many and too varied people. If German agents are mixed in and cause sabotage, it could cause huge losses to the field hospital. Therefore, I suggest that you withdraw these troops and let us rely on our own strength to complete the transfer of the wounded."

“Alright, Comrade Director.” Sokov readily agreed to the director’s request: “As you wish, I will immediately order the nearby troops that went to help to withdraw to their respective posts.”

At daybreak, still feeling uneasy, Sokov went to the original location of the field hospital to check on the relocation.

Upon arrival, they found the hospital completely deserted; neither the medical staff nor the wounded had been seen. It seemed the hospital director was quite efficient, managing to evacuate over two thousand wounded patients in just one night.

Back at headquarters, Sokov was in much better spirits. Without the burden of wounded soldiers, even if the German army broke through the outer defenses and stormed into the city, he could calmly lead his troops out of the city.

Berkin looked up at Sokov and tentatively asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, have all the wounded been transferred?"

“Yes, they’ve all been moved.” Sokov nodded, giving the other party a definite answer: “Now we can go all out and have a good fight with the Germans. Even if they try to occupy the city, I will make them pay a heavy price.”

“Comrade Brigade Commander, since we have already prepared for the possibility of abandoning the city if things go wrong,” Karsokov reminded Sokov. “Do you think we should send someone to check those secret passages leading out of the city again? If the enemy rushes into the city too quickly and traps some of our troops inside, we can also quietly evacuate the city through the secret passages.”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right." Sokov agreed with this statement: "Immediately arrange for people to inspect the secret passage and see if it can be put into use immediately."

(End of this chapter)