red moscow

Chapter 3024

In the early hours of the morning, Sokov was awakened by the sound of gunfire outside. He sat up abruptly from his cot and shouted to Karsokov, who was sitting to his left, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what's going on? Is the enemy attacking the village?"

But Karsokov shook his head and said, "No, Comrade Brigade Commander, the gunfire should be coming from Klyukovo. Although we are five or six kilometers away from the city, as you know, sounds travel much farther in the quiet of the night."

“Hmm, that’s true.” Sokov listened for a moment, then said, “It must be the 4th Battalion’s raiding force that has engaged the Germans in the city.”

Hearing Sokov say this, Karsokov couldn't help but ask nervously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, our troops entering the city only have one or two companies. Can they really escape unscathed from the Germans?"

“I think there shouldn’t be any problem.” Sokov had just said this when he suddenly remembered something and broke out in a cold sweat. Without even putting on his boots, he lunged at the telephone on the table, startling Karsokov.

Sokov dialed the number for the 4th Battalion and said, "This is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Please have your battalion commander answer the phone."

Soon, Vasya's voice came through the receiver: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is Vasya. What are your instructions?"

"Comrade Major, let me ask you something," Sokov said, cutting straight to the point without bothering with pleasantries: "Did the troops you sent into the city carry rocket launchers?"

“Yes, I brought it, Comrade Brigade Commander.” Vasya clearly understood what Sokov was worried about and quickly assured him, “But I only brought one rocket launcher. I told the company commander that when the troops withdraw from the city, the rocket launcher must be taken out with them and must not fall into the hands of the Germans.”

"That's good, that's good." Sokov felt a little relieved to hear Vasya's words and instructed him, "When your troops return from the city, be sure to report to me immediately. Remember that?"

“I understand, Comrade Brigade Commander,” Vasya replied. “I will report to you as soon as the troops return.”

Sokov hung up the phone and put down the receiver. Karsokov, who was next to him, leaned over and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, your concerns are valid. If there really are rocket launchers lost in the city, the Germans will quickly figure out how to use this weapon, and then mass-produce it through their rear factories and equip their troops with it. That would be a nightmare for our tank units."

“Yes, yes,” Sokov wholeheartedly agreed with his chief of staff. He had once watched a Russian time-travel drama where a group of recruits traveled back to the Great Patriotic War. One of the recruits' AK-74 assault rifles was captured by the Germans. Although the ammunition used by this rifle differed from the 7.62mm intermediate-power cartridge of the AK-47, the Germans, with their capabilities, could easily replicate it. To prevent this rifle from the future from being sent to Berlin, the recruits did everything in their power to stop the Germans, even sacrificing several comrades, to retrieve the lost weapon. “We absolutely cannot let such a powerful anti-tank weapon fall into German hands; otherwise, it will be a nightmare for our tank units.”

"Should we send scouts to the vicinity of the city?" Karsokov asked cautiously. "That way, when the troops in the city begin to retreat, the scouts can report to us immediately."

Sokov thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement with Karsokov's suggestion: "I think that's a good idea. You should immediately send out several reconnaissance teams to monitor the area around Klyukovo. Once they discover that the commanders and soldiers of the Fourth Battalion have withdrawn from the city, they can report to us immediately."

A dozen minutes later, three reconnaissance teams consisting of more than twenty scouts, carrying three radios, rode motorcycles toward the city of Klyukovo, intending to monitor the city's movements and report any firsthand intelligence they obtained to the brigade command via radio.

Just as Sokov was anxiously waiting for news from the city, the telephone on the table rang without warning.

Sokov assumed it was a call from one of his battalion commanders, so he casually picked up the receiver and held it to his ear: "Hello, this is Sokov, who is this?"

But a familiar voice came through the receiver: "I am Rokossovsky!"

Upon learning that it was Rokossovsky calling, Sokov was startled. He quickly composed himself and asked in a calm tone, "Comrade Commander, you're still up so late. Is there something important that you're calling me about?"

“I had already gone to bed, but Chief of Staff Malinin woke me up, saying that there were gunshots coming from inside Klyukovo, and it seemed that a battle was taking place.” Rokossovsky asked tentatively, “Misha, I called you to find out if the fighting in the city is related to you?”

"Yes, Comrade Commander, it is indeed related." Since Rokossovsky had asked, Sokov seized the opportunity to report: "I sent a company to sneak into the city under cover of night and launch a surprise attack on the enemy. The gunfire you heard should be our soldiers fighting the enemy."

"Well done," Rokossovsky praised, then asked, "Isn't one company too few? Should we send reinforcements to meet them?"

“Comrade Commander, that’s not necessary.” Sokov said with a hint of pride, “My men are led in by police officers who are familiar with the city. After they complete their attack mission, they will leave the city smoothly with the help of guides, so there is no need to meet them.”

“Misha, it seems you’ve considered all the issues that need to be considered,” Rokossovsky said. “Your actions tonight will definitely disrupt the German army’s original plans. I’m afraid that after dawn, the German commanders will not be considering sending troops to continue the attack on us, but will instead allocate troops to clear out our troops in the city.”

"Yes, that's entirely possible."

"Misha, how many troops do you have at your disposal?" Rokossovsky asked.

Sokov thought for a moment and replied, "There should be more than three thousand, almost four thousand people."

Rokossovsky was taken aback by this and immediately asked, "After the battle to liberate Krasnopolana, didn't your troops have less than two thousand men left? Where did the extra troops come from? Did a large number of wounded soldiers from the field hospital return to their posts?"

“No, that’s not it,” Sokov explained to Rokossovsky. “We took in a large number of troops who had retreated from the city, which replenished our brigade’s manpower. However, apart from a few hundred regular soldiers, the rest were police officers or militiamen. The increase in personnel did not increase our brigade’s combat effectiveness; on the contrary, it diluted it.”

Rokossovsky gasped upon hearing this: "I was quite pleased to hear you say that the troop strength has increased to nearly four thousand. But if the number of troops has indeed increased, but the combat effectiveness of the troops has been diluted, then my plan will need to be adjusted accordingly."

"What plan?" Sokov blurted out.

“You should know that the Germans have already occupied Klyukovo,” Rokossovsky said. “We absolutely cannot allow the Germans to gain a foothold in the city, so I plan to organize a counterattack soon to drive the enemy out of Klyukovo.” Rokossovsky thought for a moment; it was actually less than ten days before the start of the major counter-offensive around Moscow. In other words, even if the 16th Army suffered heavy casualties during this period, it wouldn't have a significant impact on the overall battle situation.

Having figured this out, he cautiously asked, "Comrade Commander, when do you plan to launch the counterattack?"

"In three days."

“Three days later,” Sokov repeated the time, and continued, “I will use these precious three days to train the troops. That way, when the counterattack begins, our brigade’s combat effectiveness will be improved to a certain extent.”

“Misha, since you’re so confident, I’ll speak to Colonel Malinin later and have him include your infantry brigade in the list of units participating in the counterattack.” After saying this, Rokossovsky specifically asked Sokov for his opinion: “You won’t object, will you?”

“Of course we won’t object,” Sokov quickly replied. “Our brigade is currently stationed in the village of Klyukovo, which is the closest to the city. If we are to launch a counterattack on the city, our brigade will undoubtedly be the main attacking force.”

As soon as Karsokov put down the microphone, he said anxiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, it's simply impossible to improve the combat effectiveness of those low-combat-capable police officers and militiamen in just three days."

“Don’t worry.” Sokov waved to Karsokov and said, “I have a way to get the troops ready for combat within three days.”

Karsokov initially wanted to ask Sokov how he planned to bring the troops to combat readiness within three days. But then he thought that the brigade commander never spoke of anything he wasn't certain of. Since he claimed he could improve the troops' combat effectiveness in three days, he must have some method he didn't know to achieve this goal. So he obediently kept quiet and didn't argue with Sokov.

At four o'clock in the morning, a reconnaissance team near the city sent a telegram to the brigade command.

After reading the contents of the telegram, Karsokov immediately handed it to Sokov, saying with some excitement, "The scouts reported that they saw about thirty people evacuating the city from the south side; they should be the commanders and soldiers of the 4th Battalion."

Sokov frowned upon hearing this. He remembered Vasya telling him that the company involved in tonight's operation had 120 men, but now the scouts saw that only about 30 men were withdrawing from the city. Could it be that the remaining officers and soldiers had all been killed in battle?

Thinking about it this way, Sokov felt particularly heavy-hearted.

Seeing the grave expression on Sokov's face, Karsokov was taken aback at first, but then guessed the reason for his dejection and quickly comforted him, saying, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I know what you're worried about. But don't worry too much. Although only about thirty officers and soldiers have withdrawn from the city so far, it doesn't mean that the troops have been reduced to such a small number. You can hear that the gunfire in the direction of the city hasn't stopped, which means that the fighting in the city is still ongoing. Just wait patiently a little longer; perhaps more troops will withdraw from the city."

No sooner had Karsokov finished speaking than Morozova sent another telegram.

The telegram was sent by another reconnaissance team, who had discovered more than twenty officers and soldiers who had evacuated from the city in their area.

Upon seeing the telegram, Sokov's dejected mood finally improved. With these twenty-odd men, the number of commanders and soldiers evacuating the city had reached over sixty. Moreover, the fighting within the city was still ongoing, meaning that even more soldiers had the opportunity to evacuate alive.

Thinking of this, he said to Karsokov, "Comrade Chief of Staff, call the battalion commanders and tell them that we have soldiers evacuating from the city. Tell them to be on the lookout for them and not to mistake their own men for the enemy."

At six o'clock in the morning, the battalion deployed directly north of the village was the first to call.

Battalion Commander Yefim reported to Sokov by telephone: "Comrade Brigade Commander, 51 officers and soldiers from the 4th Battalion have entered my battalion's defense zone. After I had the medic bandage the wounds, I arranged for them to be sent back to the 4th Battalion."

Sokov then called the Fourth Battalion and asked Vasya, "Comrade Major, can you tell me how many soldiers from your battalion have returned?"

"Reporting to the brigade commander, so far, 65 people have returned to their posts." Vasya said in a slightly hoarse voice, "The remaining half of the officers and soldiers have not yet returned to their posts. I don't know whether they are dead or alive yet."

After a brief pause, he remembered something crucial and quickly added, "By the way, the rocket launcher that the raiding force brought into the city has been successfully brought back."

Upon learning that the rocket launcher had been brought back, Sokov felt much relieved. As long as the rocket launcher hadn't fallen into German hands, it was a remarkable victory. He cautiously asked, "Did the rocket launcher play any role in tonight's surprise attack?"

“Comrade Brigade Commander, I’ve already asked,” Vasya said. “The anti-tank team carrying rocket launchers successfully destroyed three German tanks and five armored vehicles. In addition, while covering their comrades’ attack, they also destroyed several firing positions hidden in residential buildings.”

"That was absolutely brilliant!" Sokov exclaimed excitedly. "I'll write down all the names of these soldiers and recommend them for commendation."

Vasya remained silent for a long while before speaking in a low voice: "Comrade Brigade Commander, all these anti-tank soldiers have sacrificed their lives in the battle. It was the other soldiers who risked their lives to snatch the rocket launchers back from the Germans."

"These soldiers who recovered the rocket launchers are all commendable and deserve praise," Sokov said into the microphone. "Major, when you submit your report, remember to include their names. Got it?"

Vasya knew very well that these honors were earned with the blood and lives of the soldiers, and that their achievements must not be buried. He quickly and loudly replied, "I remember."

“Very good.” Sokov raised his hand to check the time. “There are still a few hours until dawn. You should take the time to get some sleep. When you take a headcount at dawn, you might find that there are quite a few extra soldiers.”

(End of this chapter)