red moscow

Chapter 3042 Uninvited Guest

Shortly after the brigade headquarters and the 3rd Battalion moved into the village of Kamenka, Kazakov and Oror arrived.

Upon seeing Sokov, the two men greeted him with smiles and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, we meet again."

Sokov quickly stepped forward, saluted, and said politely, "Comrades, welcome to the infantry brigade."

Sokov then called to the staff officer in the room to pour tea for the two men.

After the steaming cups of black tea were placed in front of the two men, Sokov tentatively asked, "Comrades, you've come here today specifically to receive the tanks and artillery we've captured, haven't you?"

“That’s right.” Kazakov didn’t hide his purpose, answering truthfully: “If you keep the tanks and artillery you’ve captured, it will only enhance your brigade’s firepower. Large-scale operations emphasize teamwork. If only your unit is strong while other friendly units are weak, you’ll be left to face a powerful enemy alone once they are defeated. Turning in the tanks and artillery improves the overall combat effectiveness of the army group’s directly subordinate units. If any unit is in trouble, you can provide timely assistance…”

Sokov had dealt with Kazakov before, but he never expected him to be so eloquent. Without even taking a sip of water, he spoke to Sokov and the others for more than ten minutes about handing over the captured supplies.

After Kazakov finally finished speaking, Sokov finally got a chance to speak. He said with a wry smile, "General Kazakov, actually this afternoon, the Commander called me specifically to mention that the captured tanks and artillery should be handed over. I have already instructed the troops below to gather the captured tanks and artillery together and wait for you and Colonel Orel to come and receive them."

This time it was Kazakov's turn to be embarrassed. His face flushed red, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I transferred two of your artillery battalions last time, leaving your brigade without artillery support during the assault mission. I was sorry. I thought you would be resistant to handing over the captured tanks and artillery today, which is why I said so much. But to my surprise, you have been so cooperative, gathering the equipment so early and waiting for our takeover."

“Comrade General!” Sokov continued, “If you want to take over the equipment now, I will send someone to take you there.”

Kazakov and Orel, having achieved their objective, did not linger. They asked Sokov to assign them a staff officer as a guide and hurriedly left the brigade headquarters.

Karsokov felt quite regretful about having to send away the equipment before it could even be properly used: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our brigade will soon be participating in the attack on Sun Mountain City. If we had the support of tanks and heavy artillery, the casualties of the troops would be much smaller."

"There's nothing we can do, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov shrugged, spread his hands, and said with a sense of helplessness, "Since it's an order from above, we can only obey unconditionally. As for the attack on Sun Mountain City, the army group's artillery will provide us with artillery support, so you don't need to worry about that."

As they were talking, the staff officer who had led Kazakov and the others rushed in, slightly out of breath, and reported to Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, a general we don't know has come in and says he wants to see you."

"An unfamiliar general?!" Sokov said with some surprise, "Which general is he?"

The staff officer shook his head and replied, "I didn't ask, but the other party is a lieutenant general, with a higher rank than General Kazakov who just left." Sokov was taken aback, thinking to himself that Rokossovsky was only a lieutenant general, and the visiting general was also a lieutenant general. Could it be the commander of an army group?
Since the other party was a general, Sokov naturally couldn't stay in the command post waiting for someone to come in and see him. So he took all the members of the command post and went outside to greet him.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the command post, Sokov immediately saw someone he didn't want to see. Looking at the lieutenant general with round-framed glasses, he stammered, "General Vlasov, oh, what, what's this about you?"

"Why can't it be me?!" Vlasov said with a friendly smile and a teasing tone, "What, Misha, now that you're a lieutenant colonel, you don't recognize your old superior anymore?"

"Bah! To be a subordinate of a traitor like you is a stain on my life." Sokov cursed the other man in his heart, but on his face he pretended to be happy and said excitedly, "Comrade General, I am so happy to see you again."

After shaking hands with Vlasov, Sokov introduced him to Belkin, Karsokov, and others who had come with him. Although Vlasov would become the biggest traitor in the Soviet army a few months later, at this time he was still a highly regarded general under the Supreme Commander, and outward courtesy was essential. After Vlasov shook hands with Belkin and the others, Sokov led him back to the command post.

"Comrade General!" Sokov personally poured a cup of hot tea and placed it in front of Vlasov, asking respectfully, "I wonder what brings you here tonight?"

“There were no instructions, I only learned from Rokossovsky that your infantry brigade will be fighting alongside us to recapture Sun Mountain City,” Vlasov said. “I know you once served as the city’s defense commander, so I came here specifically to ask you what we need to pay attention to when liberating this city.”

"Comrade General, the terrain of Sun Mountain City is low in the north and high in the south. If we attack from the north, it will be difficult to defend." Seeing that the other party was humbly asking him for advice, Sokov did not hold back and answered truthfully: "But if we attack from the south to the north, we will face many difficulties."

"It is precisely because attacking Sun Mountain City is difficult that I would like to hear your opinion."

"Comrade General, please look at the map." Sokov dragged a map in front of Vlasov, pointed to the location of Sun Mountain City, and said to him, "There are several settlements to the south of the city. The settlement on the right has a rather complicated terrain. It is essentially a high point south of the city. If we cannot capture this settlement before attacking the city, the enemy can set up artillery and machine guns there and attack our attacking troops from above. We will probably suffer a very heavy price."

Upon hearing Sokov's words, Vlasov's expression turned serious.

He frowned and pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Before the attack begins, the army group's artillery will conduct artillery preparation. Since this settlement in the south of the city is so important, we must concentrate superior artillery fire to bombard it, destroy the enemy's fortifications, deplete their manpower, and thus reduce our casualties during the attack."

“If we can capture this settlement first, the subsequent battles will be much simpler.” Sokov pointed to the map again and said, “When I was the city’s defense commander, I left several secret passages in the south of the city. Before the formal siege, we can send out several small units through the secret passages to enter the city and cooperate with the troops outside the city to capture it.”

(End of this chapter)