red moscow

Chapter 3026

The bombing of Klyukovo had just ended, and the officers and soldiers of the 7th and 8th Guards Divisions, who had been eagerly waiting on their starting positions, rushed into the still smoke-filled and fire-ravaged city like tigers descending a mountain, ready to annihilate the enemy inside and retake the city.

The battle started smoothly, with commanders and soldiers rushing into the city from the northeast, east, and southeast directions, and charging towards the city center along streets full of bricks and rubble.

Each infantry regiment had a squad consisting of a standard bearer and two flag guards, who followed the charging soldiers and quickly approached the church and city hall in the city center. This was a tradition passed down from the Tsarist army; planting a flag on a high point in the city meant that the city had been captured, even if most of the city was still under enemy control.

But just as the attacking forces approached the city center, countless tongues of fire suddenly erupted from the windows of the municipal center, which had remained largely intact despite the bombing, weaving an insurmountable net of fire in the path of the Soviet commanders and soldiers. Countless soldiers who rushed into this net of fire quickly fell in pools of blood in various postures.

At the same time, countless German soldiers emerged from the ruins that the Soviet commanders and soldiers had passed through. They used the broken walls and rubble as cover to fire at the Soviet commanders and soldiers from behind, causing countless soldiers to fall to the muzzle of German guns before they even knew what was happening.

After being attacked from both sides by the German army, some soldiers sought cover nearby to resist, while others turned back and tried to escape the dangerous area. In an instant, the attacking force, which had been so imposing just minutes before, was completely thrown into chaos.

Major General Leviakin, the newly appointed commander of the 8th Guards Division, frowned as he saw his troops begin to retreat. He immediately instructed his chief of staff, "Comrade Chief of Staff, send someone to organize the fleeing soldiers and regroup them to prevent the Germans from launching a counterattack."

The chief of staff agreed and, with a dozen staff officers and guards, headed to the route the fleeing soldiers were sure to take to stop them from continuing their escape.

Just then, Rokossovsky called Levyagin and asked with concern, "Comrade Levyagin, how is the situation there? Have you captured the city hall?" Before the other could answer, he continued, "You must make sure the soldiers plant the red flag on the top of the city hall as soon as possible, so as to tell the commanders and soldiers who are still fighting that we have captured the city, thus boosting morale."

"Comrade Commander!" Levyagin cried out, his face contorted with grief, "I'm sorry, but I may have bad news. Our attacking forces were met with heavy enemy fire as they approached the city hall. At the same time, countless Germans emerged from the ruins of some streets behind our lines, attacking us from both sides alongside the enemy holding the city hall, causing us heavy casualties..."

Rokossovsky listened to Levyagin's report with a grim face, then said sternly, "General Levyagin, you must find a way to reorganize the troops. If we allow them to rout, morale will collapse and soldiers will lose heart. How can we fight the next battle then?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander," Levyagin said into the microphone. "I have already sent my chief of staff to lead men to gather the routed soldiers and reorganize the defenses."

After ending his call with Levyagin, Rokossovsky called Major General Bedin, commander of the 7th Guards Division, and asked rather bluntly, "General Bedin, how is your division's progress in the city?"

"Reporting to Commander!" Major General Bedin replied clearly, "When the 16th Guards Regiment attacked the municipal building in the city center, it was attacked from both sides by the German army and the attack was unsuccessful. It had to retreat two blocks to join the 20th Guards Regiment that had just arrived and organize a defense on the spot."

"So what are your plans next?" Rokossovsky asked.

"I plan to have the 20th Guards Regiment launch another attack on the city hall in two hours, while the 16th Guards Regiment will hold their current positions." Major General Bedin asked cautiously, "As for the 26th Guards Regiment, I intend to keep it as a reserve and deploy it in the battle when necessary."

"That's all?" Rokossovsky asked coldly after Bedin finished speaking.

Bedding was taken aback at first, then asked in confusion, "Comrade Commander, is there something wrong with my deployment?"

"Your deployment sounds fine, but the chances of it succeeding are not high."

"Why?" Beding asked.

“You only said to order the 20th Guards Regiment to launch a new attack in two hours, but you didn’t mention what kind of support to provide to the regiment,” Rokossovsky pointed out bluntly. “The enemy’s firing positions in the city hall will cause huge casualties to your attacking forces. Didn’t you think of any way to destroy them?”

Bedin clearly hadn't expected Rokossovsky to say that. After a brief moment of panic, he mustered his courage and tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, what do you think I should do?"

“Doesn’t your division also have the 25th Guards Artillery Regiment?” Rokossovsky said. “You can move the artillery regiment into the city and have them provide artillery support when the 20th Guards Regiment attacks, destroy those damned firing points, and clear the way for the attacking forces.”

Rokossovsky's words were a wake-up call for Bedin, who immediately agreed: "That's right, that's right. We should move the artillery into the city and have them provide artillery support when the 20th Guards Regiment launches its attack, destroy the enemy firing points in the city hall, and clear the way for the infantry to advance."

"Then act quickly," Rokossovsky said sternly. "The sooner you get your artillery into the city, the sooner you can destroy the enemy's strongpoints. The troops that liberated Klyukovo this time are your 7th Guards Division and Major General Levyagin's 8th Guards Division. Let's see which division performs better in the battle."

As soon as Rokossovsky put down the microphone, Malinin leaned over and tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, since the offensives of the 7th and 8th Guards Divisions have been thwarted, shouldn't we immediately move the infantry brigade into the city to join the battle?"

But Rokossovsky shook his head and rejected Malinin's suggestion: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff. Our offensive operation has just begun. The two Guards Divisions that are in charge of the main attack have not yet completely lost their offensive capabilities. How can we arbitrarily transfer infantry brigades into the city to participate in the battle? I think we should let them rest and reorganize, and wait until the time is right."

Since Rokossovsky did not intend to immediately commit Sokov's infantry brigade to battle, Malinin promptly changed the subject: "Then when should a regiment of the 354th Division, which is in reserve, as well as Dovator's cavalry corps and Gaidukov's cavalry division, be committed to battle?"

“In the battle to capture a city, cavalry units have limited effectiveness. Especially in urban warfare, mounted cavalry are the biggest targets; they suffer heavy casualties if they are hit by enemy machine gun fire. The main reason I transferred Dovator and Gaidukov here is to prepare for the cavalry to pursue the enemy after they are driven out of the city, so as to deplete as many enemy troops as possible.” After understanding Rokossovsky’s intentions, Malinin no longer blindly suggested which unit to send as reinforcements. Instead, following Rokossovsky’s orders, he transferred a regiment of the 354th Infantry Division to the vicinity of Klyukovo, ready to be deployed in the battle at a critical moment.

Meanwhile, in the infantry brigade command, several battalion commanders were urging Sokov to call Rokossovsky: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you should call the Commander and ask about the progress of the battle in the city. If needed, we can immediately join the fight."

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander, you should contact headquarters as soon as possible. If you keep dawdling, the battle will probably be over by the time we enter the city."

"Yes, yes, hurry up and make the call."

"..."

"Enough, stop arguing." Facing the incessantly noisy battalion commanders, Sokov slammed his hand on the table. Once everyone quieted down, he continued, "Didn't I tell you all to go back to your battalions and wait for orders? Look at you, how much time has passed, and you're already here asking for missions again. Do you think I'd be sitting here doing nothing if I received combat orders from my superiors?"

Sokov's words silenced the battalion commanders.

Berkin stood up and said to the bowing battalion commanders, “Comrades, I can guess what you’re thinking. But the brigade commander and I feel the same way. We’re all hoping that the higher command will issue us combat orders soon so we can enter Klyukovo and eliminate the enemy entrenched there. However, so far, we haven’t received a call from the higher command, which means that the time is not yet ripe for our brigade to participate in the battle. Therefore, everyone should return to their respective units immediately and await orders.”

Seeing that the battalion commanders remained seated, Belkin continued to persuade them: "Everyone, go back. There's no point in you staying any longer. Unless the higher-ups assign us combat missions, the brigade commander can't give you combat orders. Stop dawdling and go back."

At Belkin's urging, the battalion commanders stood up and slowly made their way outside. But they all looked back every step of the way, afraid that they would walk too fast and miss the phone call from their superiors.

As Yefim emerged from the brigade headquarters, he called out to Vasya cautiously, "Major, your battalion has also recruited quite a few personnel. I'd like to ask, have you equipped some of them with new rifles?"

“No.” Vasya answered Yefim’s question decisively: “As you and I both know, most of the new personnel assigned to the army are police officers and militiamen with little combat capability. They are not proficient in using conventional weapons, so it would be a waste to let them use new weapons.”

“Yes, you’re right. We really can’t let them use the new rifles,” Yefim nodded in agreement.

“Captain Yefim.” Vasya, worried that Yefim might misunderstand his words, quickly explained further: “There are many reasons why I don’t give them the new rifles. For example, most of them have no combat experience. If they go to the battlefield and face the enemy charging at them, they will be so frightened that they will panic and even turn around and run away, leaving their new rifles to the enemy. That would not be a good thing for us.”

“Yes, what you said makes sense.” Yefim agreed with Vasya’s statement: “Many of the people we recruited were unarmed, and they lost their original weapons during the retreat. If we equip them with new rifles directly, they might also abandon their weapons.”

Yefim and Vasya were chatting not far from the command post when Sokov and Belkin spotted them.

Berkin spoke up, "Comrade Brigade Commander, guess what they're talking about?"

Sokov shook his head and said, "I can't guess. But the conversation must be related to combat."

"So when do you think we can join the attack?"

"It's hard to say." Sokov shook his head again: "Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after, maybe the two Guards Divisions alone can completely wipe out the enemy forces in the city. Our brigade has no hope of participating in the battle at all."

“It would be such a shame if we couldn’t participate in the battle,” Belkin said with a regretful expression. “Our brigade has finally recovered to a standard of nearly four thousand men, but we don’t have the opportunity to participate in the battle. It’s really a pity.”

Sokov began to wonder when he would find Khabarov's friend named Braun. Once he had four people, he would have a chance to return to his own future and not have to stay in this war-torn era. He started to think that after capturing German prisoners, he would personally check to see if Braun was among them.

He even considered the worst-case scenario: Braun was found, but not alive. In that case, the three of them might be trapped in this era forever.

"Comrade Brigade Commander, what are you thinking about?" After talking for a while, Belkin noticed that Sokov's gaze was fixed on the side, his eyes were vacant, and he seemed absent-minded. He quickly called out to him, "I've been talking to you for a long time, were you even listening?"

"I'm listening, I'm listening!" Sokov nodded vigorously, saying with certainty, "I've been listening to you the whole time. But I'm also considering that if our friendly forces' attack falters, the higher-ups might still call our brigade into the city to join the battle. At that time, we might have to face a considerable number of German tanks, and I'm not sure if the rocket launchers we're equipped with now can really destroy German tanks?"

“I think there shouldn’t be any problem,” Belkin said. “After returning from the forest, I made a special trip to the Fourth Battalion and talked with the commanders and soldiers who participated in the night raid. I also specifically inquired about the use of rocket launchers. According to the soldiers, the anti-tank crew fired from a distance of seventy or eighty meters from the enemy tanks, and one rocket destroyed the German tanks. But when those tank crews crawled out of their tanks covered in flames, they probably didn’t even know how their tanks had been destroyed.”

Belkin's account reassured Sokov considerably. If the rocket launchers provided by the Armaments Department could truly prove effective, then for the German tank crews, this would be the beginning of a nightmare.

(End of this chapter)