red moscow

Chapter 3046

Seeing Zhuravlev's confidence, Sokov didn't continue. After all, Zhuravlev was the commander-in-chief of the operation, and saying too much would surely displease him. One cannot teach another person to learn; but experience teaches. When the 28th Brigade's attack failed, Zhuravlev realized how foolish he had been to open the champagne at halftime.

A dozen minutes later, the telephone on the table rang.

Sokov glanced at the incessantly ringing phone and remained rooted to the spot. He guessed the call was from Valev and that it would be more appropriate for Zhuravlev to answer it.

"I am Colonel Zhuravlev!" Zhuravlev picked up the microphone and held it to his ear: "Where are you from?"

"Colonel Zhuravlev, the situation is bad." Valev's anxious voice came through the receiver: "One of my battalion commanders reported to me that enemy troops have appeared on both sides of the settlement, including infantry and tanks. It should be enemy reinforcements."

"What? Reinforcements have arrived?" Zhuravlev raised his voice unconsciously upon hearing the news. "Is this news reliable?"

“Completely reliable,” Valev said. “The battalion commander who reported this to me is an absolutely trustworthy commander; he would not deceive me on such a matter.”

"Valev, listen to me." Zhuravlev took a deep breath and then gave Valev his instructions: "Immediately have that battalion commander set up defenses in the direction the enemy is appearing, so that your operation to capture the settlement will not fail."

Valev replied, "Understood. I will inform him immediately and have his battalion switch to defense to prevent the flanks of the attacking forces from being threatened by the enemy."

After Zhuravlev put down the phone, he looked up at Sokov standing in front of him, then lowered his head and said in a serious tone, "Colonel Valev reported to me that enemy activity, including quite a few tanks, has appeared on the flank of the settlement that is being attacked by our forces. Do you think this news is true?"

“I think it’s true,” Sokov replied without hesitation. “There are quite a few settlements south of Sun Mountain City, and they’re not far apart. When one of these settlements is attacked, the enemy in the nearby settlements will definitely come to its aid.”

"I really didn't expect the enemy to arrive so quickly." Zhuravlev said with a frown, "If they had arrived half an hour later, and Colonel Valev's troops had captured the settlement, they could have used the terrain of the settlement to fight off the approaching enemy. Now things are a bit troublesome. The settlement has not yet been captured, and we have to deal with the enemy from two directions at the same time. The 28th Brigade is being attacked from three sides at the same time. The situation is not good."

“Yes, the situation is not good.” Sokov said slowly, “If the 28th Brigade were full of battle-hardened veterans, they wouldn’t have much of a problem even if they faced enemies from three directions. But if the unit is mainly composed of new recruits who lack training and combat experience, the situation will probably be very bad.”

After hearing Sokov's words, Zhuravlev scratched the back of his head and said with difficulty, "Are we going to send my 35th Brigade now?" "Comrade Colonel, if I were you, I would not send the 35th Brigade as reinforcement at this time."

Faced with Sokov's obstruction, Zhuravlev frowned slightly and said unhappily, "Are we just going to stand by and watch the 28th Brigade be defeated by the enemy? Do you know that if the 28th Brigade fails to attack the settlement, it will directly affect the morale and fighting spirit of other units?"

"Comrade Colonel, you misunderstood me." Sokov explained to Zhuravlev, "The reason I didn't want you to send the 35th Brigade to reinforce at this time is because the settlement is not large. If we put both brigades there, it would be too crowded. The enemy wouldn't even need to launch an attack; they could just shell the settlement and cause huge casualties to our army."

Sokov's words made Zhuravlev fall into deep thought. He had only been thinking about resolving the crisis for his allies, which was why he had considered sending reinforcements. But now, after hearing Sokov's words, it seemed inappropriate to send troops into the settlement at this time.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov!" After much deliberation, Zhuravlev finally set aside his pride and humbly asked Sokov for advice: "I heard from the Commander that you are always resourceful and can always come up with many good solutions in the most critical situations. What do you think we should do to rescue the 28th Brigade from this crisis?"

"Comrade Colonel, there are actually many ways to resolve the crisis of the 28th Brigade." Sokov pointed to the map on the table and said to Zhuravlev, "Enemy reinforcements have appeared on both sides of the settlements, which means they must be from nearby settlements. What do you think would happen if we sent troops to attack these settlements right now?"

Upon hearing Sokov's words, Zhuravlev's eyes lit up, and he excitedly exclaimed, "That's right! How come I didn't think of that? If the nearby settlements send troops to reinforce them, their defenses will surely be weakened. If we abandon the direct rescue of the 28th Brigade and instead split our forces into two groups to attack the nearby settlements simultaneously, even if we can't capture them immediately, we can force the enemy to retreat, thus eliminating their threat to the 28th Brigade."

“We only need to send a battalion to each of the settlements on the left and right to launch an attack there,” Sokov said. “Even if we can’t capture the settlements, we can force the enemy reinforcements to retreat, thus preventing the 28th Brigade from being attacked from both sides.”

Seeing that Sokov's statement was completely consistent with his own assumptions, Zhuravlev did not hesitate and immediately picked up the phone to call his subordinates: "This is Zhuravlev. Order the battalion commander to lead the battalion to attack the settlement on the right flank. That settlement should be sparsely defended at the moment, so the operation must be swift so that the mission of capturing the settlement can be completed when the enemy's main force withdraws."

Sokov considered the situation and decided to send his strongest battalion, the Fourth Battalion. After all, after capturing the settlement, they would have to deal with a fierce German counterattack. If the troops defending the settlement were not strong enough, they wouldn't be able to hold out for long against the enemy's onslaught.

Having figured this out, Sokov called back to the infantry brigade command.

Upon hearing Belkin's voice through the receiver, Sokov said directly, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, immediately notify Major Vasya and order his 4th Battalion to launch an attack on the settlement on the right flank within one hour. After capturing the settlement, quickly strengthen the defenses to prevent any possible enemy counterattack."

(End of this chapter)