red moscow

Chapter 3018

After completing live-fire exercises, the officers and soldiers of the First and Fourth Battalions were full of praise for the new rifles they had just received.

Yefim went directly to the brigade headquarters and said to Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, when I first received this new rifle, I was a bit skeptical. I thought it would be better to equip us with more submachine guns and machine guns instead of spending so much effort to give us a batch of new weapons that haven't even been tested in the battlefield. But after today's live-fire exercise, I realized I was wrong. This rifle is just as powerful as a submachine gun on the battlefield."

Hearing Yefim's high praise for the assault rifle, Sokov was relieved. If commanders and soldiers don't like using a weapon, then the effectiveness of that weapon on the battlefield will certainly be greatly reduced.

"Comrade Captain!" Sokov said to Yefim, "After you go back, you still need to urge the officers and soldiers to familiarize themselves with this new weapon. The higher command may order our brigade to engage in combat tomorrow, so you need to prepare for combat in advance."

"Don't worry, Comrade Brigade Commander," Yefim assured Sokov. "Our battalion is fully prepared for battle and is ready to go into action at your command."

No sooner had Yefim left than Vasya followed him.

"Comrade Major!" Sokov looked at Vasya and asked, "What can I do for you?"

“Comrade Brigade Commander, you said yesterday that the higher-ups only gave us a day and a half to familiarize ourselves with the new weapons.” Vasya asked tentatively, “Does that mean that by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, the higher-ups will send us to participate in the battle of Red Polyana?”

"Comrade Major, I can only say that it is possible at this time." Sokov explained to Vasya, "At present, fighting is taking place in various sections of the army group's defense zone, and it is up to the headquarters to make overall arrangements on which unit can participate in the fighting in the Krasnopolana region."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, I would like to make a request to you."

“Speak, Major Vasya,” Sokov said encouragingly. “Just say whatever you need.”

"If our brigade can really participate in the battle in Red Polyana, we hope you can let our company lead the charge."

"Major Vasya!" Before Sokov could respond, Belkin interjected, "I can make you a promise on behalf of the brigade commander: if our brigade really wants to participate in the Battle of Krasnopolana, I will definitely put your battalion in the main attack!"

"Thank you, Deputy Brigade Commander!" Vasha was overjoyed to receive Berkin's promise: "On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the battalion, I express my gratitude to you!"

As the second day approached, Sokov's mood grew tense. He knew very well that by noon, Rokossovsky had given him a day and a half to go. Regardless of whether the soldiers of the 1st and 4th Battalions were proficient in using assault rifles, they would all be heading to Krasnopolana to participate in the counterattack and drive the enemy out of the city completely.

Seeing Sokov's bewildered expression, Belkin asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, are you waiting for orders from the Commander?"

“Yes, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander.” Sokov did not deny it, but nodded and said, “My feelings now are just like when I was in school, waiting for the teacher to announce my exam results.”

Belkin laughed: "Comrade Brigade Commander, your analogy is very apt. In order to drive out the enemy in Red Polyana, the Commander will certainly send the strongest fighting force to participate in the battle, and whether our brigade can be selected depends entirely on our position in the Commander's mind."

Around noon, the long-awaited phone call finally came.

The caller was Kazakov, who cut to the chase and asked Sokov, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I apologize for interrupting your rest. Comrade Commander has decided to assign your brigade to participate in the battle to liberate Krasnopolana. How are you? Are you ready for battle?"

"Yes, Comrade General, we are ready for battle."

"When will you be able to get to Krasnopolana?" Kazakov then asked.

Sokov thought for a moment and then replied, "Comrade General, if I were to assemble my troops now and rush to your location, it would take at least an hour."

“I’ll give you two hours,” Kazakov said on the other end of the phone. “I will launch a heavy artillery bombardment on the enemy in Krasnopolana in an hour and a half. You should be able to get there by the time the bombardment ends.”

After hanging up the phone, Sokov instructed Karsokov, "Comrade Chief of Staff, call Major Vasya, the commander of the 4th Battalion, immediately and tell him to assemble the troops and rush to Krasnopolana as quickly as possible to participate in the battle there."

"Shouldn't we wait until the entire brigade is assembled before setting off?" Karsokov asked.

“No need,” Sokov said, shaking his head. “If the entire brigade were to assemble before setting off, it would take too long. Sending out a battalion as soon as it is assembled would shorten the time it takes for the troops to reach the battlefield.”

Thus, before Kazakov's shelling of Krasnopolana even began, Vasha's 4th Battalion appeared near Hegliatzi's temporary command post.

Upon learning that the infantry brigade had arrived, Kazakov's face was filled with astonishment. He looked at the staff officer who had delivered the message and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's troops, they've arrived so quickly?"

Upon hearing Kazakov's question, the staff officer immediately realized he had misunderstood and quickly explained, "Comrade General, only one battalion of the infantry brigade has reached us."

"What? Only one battalion came? What's going on?" Kazakov frowned, pointed at the staff officer, and ordered, "Comrade Staff Officer, go out and call the battalion commander in. I need to ask him what happened."

Soon, Major Vasya, led by his staff officer, arrived before Kazakov.

He saluted Kazakov and reported in a loud voice, "Comrade General! Major Vasya, commander of the 4th Battalion of the Infantry Brigade, reports to you that our battalion has been ordered to participate in the battle to liberate Krasnopolana. I obey your orders and await your instructions!"

"Please rest!" Kazakov shook Vasya's hand. "Comrade Major, you've worked hard!"

"Serve the Soviet Motherland!"

"The orders from above to your brigade are for the entire brigade to participate in the battle to liberate Krasnaya Polyana." Kazakov looked at Vasha and asked, "Why is only your battalion here?" "Reporting, Comrade General!" Vasha, worried that Kazakov might have misunderstood, quickly explained, "The brigade commander said that if we waited for the entire brigade to assemble before arriving here, it would definitely take a lot of time. Therefore, he made timely adjustments, and one battalion was sent here immediately after completing its assembly. I believe that our brigade's first battalion will be reporting to you here soon."

“That’s great.” Kazakov nodded, then assigned the task to Vasya: “Comrade Major, in a little while, we will bombard the enemy’s defensive positions in the city with heavy artillery fire. Your battalion’s mission is to launch an assault on the city after the bombardment ends and drive out the enemy entrenched there.”

After Vasya and Kazakov finished speaking, he tentatively asked, "Comrade General, I would like to ask, how far is our starting point from the outer perimeter of the city from our positions?"

“It’s about 700 meters,” Kazakov said. “You’ll only need about five minutes to get to the vicinity of the enemy’s position.”

“Over seven hundred meters?!” Vasya repeated the data Kazakov had given him, then muttered, “That’s a bit too far!”

"Ah, seven hundred meters is still too far?"

“Yes,” Vasya nodded. “After our artillery preparations were finished, we started our attack from a distance of about 700 meters. It took us at least five minutes to get close to the enemy’s position. During that long period of time, the enemy had already recovered from our bombardment and could easily enter the position, choose a firing angle, and fire at our troops who were approaching the position.”

Kazakov thought that what the other party said made a lot of sense. The cavalry had been fighting for two days in a row, and their casualties in front of the German positions outside the city had remained high. It seemed that the enemy who were holding the position had taken advantage of the gap in the Soviet army's advance to wake up from the shelling and move into the defensive position in advance.

Thinking of this, he looked at Vasya and asked, "Comrade Major, do you have any good suggestions?"

“Comrade General, this is my plan,” Vasya said. “Ten minutes before our artillery preparations are complete, I will lead my troops away from the attack position and quietly approach the enemy's position…”

Before Vasya could finish speaking, Kazakov interrupted him: "No, Major. If you do that, you'll be caught in the crossfire."

“Don’t worry, Comrade General,” Vasya said with a relaxed expression. “This tactic was devised by our brigade commander. He always orders the troops participating in the attack to advance towards the enemy’s positions during the artillery preparation. To avoid being hit by friendly fire, we usually stop and take cover two or three hundred meters away from the enemy’s positions. As soon as the shelling ends, before the smoke has cleared, we decisively charge into the enemy’s positions. This way, we’ve already stormed into their positions before the enemy can re-enter their fighting positions.”

Orel, who had remained silent the whole time, couldn't help but interject, "I really didn't expect your brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, to be so clever and come up with such a good idea."

Just as Vasya was about to say a few more good words for Sokov, Kazakov raised his hand to interrupt him: "Comrade Major, I think your tactic is very effective. After the shelling begins, you will go to the attack positions and lie in ambush. Ten minutes before the shelling ends, you will quietly approach the enemy's positions."

Vasya raised his hand in salute to Kazakov and Orel, then turned and walked out of the command post. Led by a guide sent by Kazakov, he set off towards the attack position.

Shortly after the artillery preparations for Red Polyana began, Yefim led the First Battalion to the outside of the command post.

Kazakov summoned Yefim and said to him, “Comrade Captain, you’re late. Another battalion from your brigade arrived long ago, and I have already ordered them to take up positions and await further orders. Your battalion will remain at headquarters for now and await further instructions.”

Upon learning that Major Vasya's 4th Battalion was currently waiting on the attack position, Yefim couldn't help but feel annoyed. He thought that if his own troops were the first to complete the assembly, the brigade commander might assign the task of attacking Red Polyana to his 1st Battalion.

But since Kazakov had ordered his battalion to stand by, he had no choice but to obey. Once outside the command post, he led his troops to the nearby forest, where they awaited further orders.

The artillery preparation for Red Polyana had just ended, and the smoke from the German positions had not yet dissipated when Vasya personally led the officers and soldiers of the 4th Battalion to charge toward the German positions that were still filled with fire and smoke not far away.

Just as Vasya had said, the enemy had not yet fully recovered from the Soviet artillery barrage when they saw countless Soviet commanders and soldiers rushing out of the smoke. Before they could even fire, the assault rifles in the hands of the 4th Battalion commanders and soldiers had already opened fire first.

Faced with concentrated firepower, German soldiers fell in droves like felled wheat, utterly unable to mount any meaningful resistance. The officers and soldiers of the Fourth Battalion surged past the outer German positions like a tidal wave, rushing into the city in a frenzy.

Kazakov, looking through his binoculars from the command post, saw the scene unfold on the battlefield. He excitedly waved his fists and shouted, "Well done, well done, brothers! They've charged in, they've charged in! The German outer positions that blocked our way just a few hours ago have been breached by the infantry brigade's commanders and soldiers!"

“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov’s troops are really good at fighting.” Orel chimed in, “A couple of days ago, the cavalry corps’ commanders and soldiers also charged into the enemy’s positions, but they had to fight repeatedly in those areas before they could break into the city. I didn’t expect the infantry brigade’s commanders and soldiers to be so powerful, breaking through the enemy’s positions like a whirlwind.”

As the two were talking, a staff officer came over and reported, "Reporting to the General! Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the brigade commander, is at the door. He asked if you could see him."

"Oh, Sokov is here!" Kazakov exclaimed with delight. "Quickly, invite him in!"

Sokov quickly entered and raised his hand to salute Kazakov and Orel.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, come and take a look." Kazakov pulled Sokov to the lookout post and handed him his binoculars: "Your men are performing exceptionally well on the battlefield."

Sokov took Kazakov's binoculars and looked towards Red Polyana in the distance. He saw that most of the troops of the Fourth Battalion had rushed into the city, leaving only a few soldiers to mop up the remaining enemy.

"So, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Oror asked with a smile, "Are you satisfied with the performance of your men?"

Sokov put down his binoculars, turned to Kazakov and Orel, and said, “Comrade General, Comrade Chief of the Armored Corps! Although my troops have broken through the outer German positions and entered the city, it does not mean that the situation on the battlefield is in our favor.”

Kazakov was completely bewildered after hearing Sokov's words: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what do you mean? I don't understand. Can you explain it more clearly?"

“Comrade General, there are too few commanders and soldiers who have stormed into the city,” Sokov explained to Kazakov. “If the German troops in the city launch a counterattack, they are very likely to be driven out. Therefore, we must send new troops to reinforce them in order to avoid this situation.”

(End of this chapter)