red moscow

Chapter 3032

As evening approached, the sounds of gunfire in Klyukovo gradually ceased.

Apart from the captured German soldiers, there wasn't a single living German left in the entire city; Klyukovo had been recaptured.

Now that the city had returned to Soviet control, Sokov naturally called Rokossovsky immediately to report the good news.

"Comrade Commander!" Upon hearing Rokossovsky's voice through the receiver, Sokov eagerly reported, "I have good news to report to you. We have not let you down. With the full cooperation of our allies, after a day of fierce fighting, we have cleared the enemy out of the city and recaptured it."

“Fantastic, Misha, you’re absolutely fantastic!” Rokossovsky said excitedly on the other end of the phone. “I thank you and your troops for the tremendous success you achieved in the defense of Moscow.”

Sokov grinned, then countered, "Comrade Commander, when do you plan to move the headquarters back to Klyukovo?"

Upon hearing Sokov's question, Rokossovsky remained silent for a moment before saying, "It's too late today; we certainly can't move the headquarters back. I think we should wait until tomorrow, when we can still hold a small entry ceremony."

Rokossovsky's words reminded Sokov of a scene from the film *The Battle of Moscow*, where the Soviet army, under Zhukov's command, recaptured the German-occupied city of Yelnya on August 8th. Zhukov held a small entry ceremony, striding at the head of the procession through the ruins, followed by a group of generals and a troop of fully armed soldiers. The film's background music was "Marshal Zhukov's March." I wonder if Rokossovsky will have a band accompanying him when he holds his entry ceremony tomorrow?
However, Sokov did not have the chance to see the entry ceremony organized by Rokossovsky, because at dawn the next day, he received a call from Rokossovsky: "Misha, I originally wanted to invite you to watch the entry ceremony, but now there has been an accident, and you will not have the chance to watch it."

Upon hearing this, Sokov's heart skipped a beat, wondering if something had gone wrong again. With this question in mind, he tentatively asked, "Comrade Commander, in which region do you intend to send our brigade to fight?"

"Under the enemy's frenzied attack, the left flank of the army group was forced to retreat to the line of Barantsevo, Khovanskoye, Petrovskoye, and Leninno," Rokossovsky said on the phone. "I intend to send your brigade to Leninno to assist the troops there in consolidating their defenses and preventing the enemy from advancing further."

Sokov quickly looked down at the map to find the location of Leninno. He soon located it; it was a small town, no more than 20 kilometers from Klyukovo. He nodded immediately and replied, "Yes, Commander, I will immediately lead troops to the area to assist the defenders and prevent the enemy from approaching Moscow from this position."

“Misha, I trust you, which is why I entrusted you with such an important task,” Rokossovsky continued. “I hope you won’t let me down.”

After hanging up the phone, Sokov immediately ordered his chief of staff to summon all the battalion commanders. After all, the officers and soldiers were exhausted from the fierce fighting the day before, and there were still many wounded soldiers to be treated. If they were to move their troops without prior notice, it would likely have a negative impact on morale.

Before long, several battalion commanders appeared in the command post.

"Comrades, battalion commanders!" Seeing that everyone who was supposed to come had arrived, Sokov got straight to the point: "I know you all fought all day yesterday and are very tired. But the enemy has not given us any time to rest. I just received orders from the commander to immediately lead the troops to Lenino to block the enemy and prevent them from continuing their advance on Moscow."

Before the battalion commanders came to the meeting, they guessed that there must be a new combat mission, but they did not expect that the headquarters would send the troops to a place more than 20 kilometers away to assist friendly forces in strengthening their defenses. It seems that another fierce battle is about to be fought.

"Comrade Brigade Commander!" No sooner had Sokov finished speaking than the Third Battalion Commander, Nazorov, interjected, "I hope you will entrust our battalion with the task of defending key areas on this trip to Leninno. I assure you, we will not let you down."

Seeing that Nazorov had spoken first, the other battalion commanders also spoke up, hoping that Sokov would hand over the important defensive positions to their battalions.

Sokov remained silent, listening quietly to the battalion commanders' argument.

After the room had finally quieted down again, Sokov spoke up: "The 1st and 4th Battalions have been responsible for important combat missions in these recent battles. I think the 3rd Battalion will be in charge of the blocking mission to Leninno this time. Does anyone have any objections?"

Despite the recent heated argument among the battalion commanders over who would take on the missions, they immediately realized, after hearing Sokov's explanation, that the 1st and 4th Battalions had been the main forces in the recent battles, while the 2nd and 3rd Battalions had become reserves on standby. Therefore, none of the battalion commanders voiced any objections to Sokov's arrangement.

Since there were no objections, Sokov waved his hand and announced loudly, "Since there are no different opinions, everyone go back to your respective units and prepare. We will depart within an hour."

"Comrade Brigade Commander!" Yefim stood up and said to Sokov, "Our battalion still has more than fifty seriously wounded soldiers who haven't been evacuated yet. Do you think it would be possible for our battalion to set off after the wounded have been evacuated?"

“I think it’s a good idea.” Sokov readily agreed to Yefim’s request and said reasonably, “Leninno is just a small town, and it won’t take too many troops to deploy defenses there. Your battalion can serve as the brigade’s reserve force, and it doesn’t matter if you leave last.”

An hour later, the Third Battalion, traveling by truck, arrived near Leninno.

Sitting in the cab of the first truck, Nazorov saw shells falling continuously on both sides of the road ahead, and many fleeing soldiers retreating along the road. Among the fleeing soldiers were many wounded men, who helped each other and stumbled towards him.

Seeing this, Nazorov immediately ordered the driver to stop the car. Then he opened the car door, stood with one foot on the footrest and both hands on the door, and asked the soldiers who were walking towards him, "Comrades, which unit are you from?"

The soldiers and wounded at the front glanced at Nazorov but said nothing and continued on their way.

Seeing that the soldiers and wounded were ignoring him, Nazorov became angry. He drew his pistol, fired two shots into the air, and shouted at the same time, "Stop! All of you, stop!"

At his shout, the soldiers of the Third Battalion in the truck also got off, stood on both sides of the truck with their weapons in hand, and pointed the dark muzzles of their guns at the soldiers and wounded coming towards them.

Faced with the obstruction ahead, the retreating soldiers and wounded stopped in their tracks, standing there at a loss.

In the crowd, someone shouted, "Why did you stop? Let's hurry up and move on, otherwise none of us will be able to leave once the Germans come up."

"Who is it? Who is saying such a thing?" Nazarov looked into the crowd, trying to find the person who was shouting, but all he could see was a sea of ​​heads below, making it impossible to make out who was speaking. He composed himself and shouted to the soldiers and wounded, "Comrades, I am ashamed of you. Faced with the advancing enemy, you didn't think about how to hold them off, but instead forgot your honor as soldiers, abandoned your positions, and fled in panic. Don't you know that Moscow is right behind us? Russia may be vast, but we have nowhere to retreat!" Although shells continued to fall and explode in the distance, the soldiers and wounded blocked by the convoy remained silent.

Seeing that the soldiers and wounded were silent, Nazorov asked loudly again, "Now can anyone tell me which unit you belong to and why you abandoned your position and retreated?"

Finally, a sergeant stepped out from the crowd, went straight to the truck, and looked up at Nazorov standing on the running board: "Comrade Captain, we are from the 1125th Regiment of the 374th Infantry Division. The regimental headquarters has been attacked by the enemy and we have completely lost contact. Our company commander and battalion commander have also been killed in battle. Without our commanders, we don't know how to fight the next battle, so we have no choice but to retreat."

The deputy battalion commander walked up from behind, looked up at Nazorov, and asked, "Comrade Battalion Commander, what should we do?"

“I can’t make this decision myself; I need to consult the brigade commander immediately,” Nazorov said, jumping out of the vehicle and telling the deputy battalion commander, “You watch over this place for now. I’ll go to the back and contact the brigade commander to see what he thinks.”

Nazorov went to the truck with the radio and radio operator at the back and said to the radio operator sitting in the truck bed, "Get me connected to the brigade commander immediately. I have something important to report to him."

The radio operator asked Nazorov, "Captain, are you going to send a telegram to the brigade commander, or do you want to communicate directly via radio?"

"How can such a thing be clearly explained by telegram? Naturally, it must be done by radio communication."

The radio operator quickly connected Nazorov to the brigade command: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is Nazorov. I have something important to report to you."

"Just tell me what it is."

"Near Leninno, we encountered a group of fleeing soldiers who said they were from the 1125th Regiment of the 374th Infantry Division. They had been attacked by the enemy, their regimental commander had been lost, and their company and battalion commanders had been killed. The soldiers had lost unified command. What should I do to settle them?"

Upon hearing this, Sokov was secretly delighted. He had been worried about the heavy losses his troops had suffered during the recapture of Klyukovo, and now this group of routed soldiers would be perfect for replenishing his forces. Suppressing his elation, he said, "Comrade Captain, it's simple. The wounded can leave, and the rest will be incorporated into your battalion."

Upon receiving Sokov's instructions, Nazorov was overjoyed. He quickly responded, threw down his headset and microphone, and ran back to the front of the convoy.

Upon seeing Nazorov return, the deputy battalion commander hurriedly asked, "Comrade Captain, what did the brigade commander say?"

"The brigade commander's order was simple: the more seriously wounded could leave, and the rest would be incorporated into our battalion to participate in the battle."

Then, the deputy battalion commander repeated Sokov's orders to the soldiers and wounded who remained at the front. Personnel were then assigned to screen the fleeing soldiers; those who were indeed wounded, and those with serious injuries, were allowed to leave; the uninjured soldiers, and those with minor injuries who could still move, were all incorporated into the Third Battalion.

The incorporation process did not last long, and the troops continued their advance toward Leninno.

Upon arriving in Leninno, Nazorov was surprised to find that the town had not been occupied by the Germans. Some small units were still holding their positions outside the town, stubbornly resisting the German offensive without retreating an inch.

Upon seeing this, Nazorov immediately ordered the first and second companies to join the battle and assist the defenders who were still fighting to repel the German attack.

The commanders and soldiers still fighting on the front lines were exhausted. If the German offensive intensified even slightly, breaking through their defensive positions would be a piece of cake. But just when they were about to give up, they suddenly heard noisy footsteps and shouts of "Hurrah!" behind them.

The soldiers turned to look behind them and saw countless Soviet soldiers, weapons in hand, surging towards them like a tide. Seeing the reinforcements arrive, many soldiers couldn't help but shed tears.

The German troops attacking the town were on the verge of victory when a new force suddenly appeared. Knowing that continuing the fight would not bring them any advantage, the German commander decisively ordered a retreat.

Seeing the German troops begin to retreat, Nazorov decisively issued the order for a full-scale attack, and also committed the Third Company to the battle.

The retreating German troops were caught off guard by a Soviet force of over a thousand men that launched a counterattack. They were thrown into disarray and unable to mount an effective defense, forced to retreat indefinitely.

After the German troops withdrew five or six kilometers, Nazorov finally issued the order to stop the pursuit, allowing the troops to return to the town and quickly build fortifications in preparation for any possible German attack.

While the Third Battalion was busy reinforcing its fortifications, Sokov led the Fourth Battalion to Leninno.

Upon learning of Sokov's arrival, Nazorov immediately came over to report the situation and request instructions on the next steps.

Upon seeing Nazorov, Sokov immediately asked directly, "Comrade Captain, how many soldiers did you recruit in Leninno?"

"We've taken in over four hundred people on the road and here," Nazorov replied with some pride. "Now the entire battalion has nearly fifteen hundred men."

Sokov nodded slowly after hearing this, and said repeatedly, "Not bad, not bad. Now your battalion is almost as strong as an ordinary infantry regiment." To prevent Nazorov from becoming arrogant, he also reminded him, "But a large number of soldiers does not necessarily mean a high combat effectiveness. You need to quickly integrate these newly recruited soldiers, help them adapt to the new unit as soon as possible, and strive to improve the overall combat effectiveness of the battalion as soon as possible."

Nazorov knew that Sokov was right. If a unit's combat effectiveness was low, simply having a large number of soldiers was useless; it would just be a mob. Only through integration and training could the unit's combat effectiveness be raised to a higher level: "Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander. I will integrate the unit as soon as possible and strive to improve its combat effectiveness as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)