red moscow

Chapter 3048

Sokov made this decision for two reasons: First, although Colonel Zhuravlev commanded the battle to liberate Sun Mountain, he was not a member of the 20th Army and had no direct subordinate relationship with him, so he could simply obey orders without being summoned; second, his troops were in reserve in this battle, and if he did not repeatedly volunteer for battle, he would have virtually no chance to participate.

In winter, it always gets dark very early; it was already dark by four o'clock in the afternoon.

Apart from the Third Battalion and the brigade headquarters remaining in place, the First and Second Battalions, which left the defense zone, prepared to quietly approach Taiyangshan City through the residential area occupied by the Fourth Battalion, and use secret passages to enter the city and launch a surprise attack on the enemy.

Since two battalions were deployed simultaneously, without a brigade-level commander in charge, they might fight independently once the battle began. Therefore, Sokov specifically assigned Belkin to command the two battalions in carrying out the night raid plan.

Two hours after the troops set off, Sokov received a phone call from Rokossovsky.

“Misha,” Rokossovsky asked bluntly, “how did the battle go today?”

"We have captured three settlements," Sokov reported truthfully. "According to the plan of Colonel Zhuravlev, the commander-in-chief of the front, it will probably take another three to five days to clear out the enemy on the outskirts before we launch an attack on the city."

After listening to Sokov's report, Rokossovsky frowned. "What? It will take another three to five days to clear out the enemies on the outskirts? At this rate, it will take at least ten days to half a month to take Sun Mountain City. That's too slow."

“There’s nothing we can do,” Sokov said helplessly. “After all, this offensive operation is mainly led by two infantry brigades of the 20th Army, and our brigade is just cooperating with them.”

To everyone's surprise, Rokossovsky chuckled and said, "Misha, based on what I know of you, you absolutely can't stand this kind of slow and drawn-out attack. You must have other plans in mind, am I right?"

Seeing that Rokossovsky had guessed that he had other plans, Sokov no longer concealed anything and reported truthfully: "You are right, Comrade Commander. I have already dispatched the First and Second Battalions to quietly head to Sun Mountain City, preparing to take advantage of the cover of night to enter the city through secret passages, and then launch a surprise attack to catch the enemy off guard."

Rokossovsky wasn't concerned about whether the operation would succeed; he was only worried about the safety of the troops who had infiltrated Sun Mountain City: "Wouldn't two battalions be a bit too few?"

"Don't worry, Commander," Sokov said. "The first and second battalions together have a total strength of more than 1,300 men. Moreover, the first battalion is equipped with the most advanced new rifles and anti-tank rocket launchers. Even if they are outnumbered by the city's garrison, they will definitely not be at a disadvantage."

"Then I wish you good luck." Before hanging up the phone, Rokossovsky added one last thing: "If there's any good news, remember to let me know as soon as possible."

After Rokossovsky hung up the phone, Sokov remained holding the receiver for a while, feeling extremely uneasy, wondering if Belkin's troops could successfully enter the city and launch an attack on the German forces.

"Comrade Brigade Commander!" Karsokov called out twice when he saw Sokov holding the microphone in a daze, "Have you not finished your call with the Commander yet?"

Karsokov's voice startled Sokov from his reverie. He hurriedly placed the receiver on the phone stand, saying, "I was thinking about how things were going with the deputy brigade commander and his men, whether they had successfully entered the city. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I forgot to put the receiver down."

“If all goes well, they should already be outside the city of Sun Mountain.” Karsokov raised his hand to check the time: “They might be activating the secret passage right now, preparing to sneak into the city.”

Sokov began to pray silently, hoping that Belkin would achieve the desired results after entering the city with his two battalions of officers and soldiers.

At one o'clock in the morning, Sokov was shaken awake by Karsokov. Sokov opened his eyes and was about to ask what had happened when he heard Karsokov excitedly say, "Comrade Brigade Commander, good news, good news! The deputy brigade commander and the others sent a telegram saying that two battalions have successfully entered the city and are launching an attack on the enemy."

Upon hearing Karsokov's words, Sokov immediately became interested and asked, "Where is the telegram?"

“Here it is,” Karsokov said, handing Sokov a newly received telegram. “Although the telegram is very detailed, I think it would be better to report to you in person.”

Sokov understood why the chief of staff said that; it must be because the contents of the telegram were exciting, and he was repeating them to express his joy. So he nodded to him and said, "Then tell me."

"The deputy brigade commander said that after the troops entered the city through the secret passage, in order to find out the enemy's strength and deployment, they sent out scouts to capture several prisoners and interrogate them," Karsokov said. "Through the interrogation, we unexpectedly learned that in order to prevent us from taking the city, the enemy had placed the main force in the settlements and villages outside the city. There were only two companies in the huge city, and they were distributed in different areas of the city, making their strength extremely weak."

After ascertaining the enemy's troop distribution, the deputy brigade commander issued orders for the soldiers to form squads, advance in combat formations, clear a path with grenades, and use buildings for cover as they approached the city hall occupied by the enemy. With the combined fighting strength of the first and second battalions, they should be able to take the entire city in about one or two hours.

Sokov never expected that Sun Mountain City was practically deserted at the moment. It seemed that Belkin and his men should have no problem taking the city. But taking the city was easy; if the enemy was unwilling to accept defeat and launched a counterattack from several directions at the same time, it would be no easy task for a force of over a thousand men to hold them off.

Thinking of this, he instructed Karsokov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you should immediately contact Major Vasya and have him leave a company to hold the settlement, while the rest of the troops move toward the city. After the Deputy Brigade Commander captures the city, send troops into the city to assist in the defense and prevent any possible counterattacks by the enemy."

“Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander.” Karsokov nodded and said, “I will immediately convey your message to Major Vasya.”

Just as they were mobilizing troops, Zhuravlev called.

After recognizing Sokov as the person on the other end of the line, the other person became somewhat exasperated and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, my men reported to me that there is fighting in the city. Explain to me what your brigade is doing?"

"Comrade Colonel!" Sokov said calmly to the enraged Zhuravlev, "I felt that the enemy in the city was weak, so I sent two battalions through a secret passage to sneak into the city and fight against the enemy entrenched there."

"What? Your troops are fighting the enemy in the city?" Zhuravlev became even angrier upon hearing this: "You've gone too far! You didn't even give a heads-up before letting your troops into the city. Do you even respect me as the commander-in-chief of the front lines?"

Sokov thought to himself, "I really don't take you, this ambitious but incompetent front-line commander, seriously." But what he said aloud was something else entirely. He spoke with a straight face, spouting nonsense: "Comrade Colonel, I originally intended to send two battalions to reinforce the defenses of the settlements. However, the reinforcements captured several German signalmen near the settlements. After interrogation, we learned that there were only two companies in the city, and they were scattered throughout. Upon learning this, I realized it was a rare opportunity for us, so I sent the deputy brigade commander with two battalions to secretly enter the city through a pre-prepared tunnel."

“I see,” Zhuravlev said. “But anyway, you should have informed me before sending troops into the city. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be unaware of it when my superiors ask about it.”

"I'm so sorry, Colonel," Sokov said insincerely. "It happened so suddenly, I didn't even have time to inform you before your call came first."

"This matter ends here, and it will not happen again," Zhuravlev said. "If there are similar operations in the future, remember to inform me beforehand."

"No problem, no problem."

(End of this chapter)