red moscow

Chapter 3061

The German 252nd Division, hastily retreating westward, had only constructed fortifications along the riverbank; the village itself had virtually no defensive system. After the Soviet troops broke through the riverbank positions, they followed the fleeing enemy into the village.

Although the enemy in the village resisted by relying on wooden houses or other buildings, their resistance was quickly crushed in the face of the Soviet offensive, and they had to retreat from the village in panic.

Through his binoculars, Sokov saw the enemy fleeing the village. Some soldiers ran forward without looking back, trying to escape the dangerous area as quickly as possible; others retreated backward, occasionally raising their weapons and firing at the pursuing Soviet commanders and soldiers. As for where the bullets went, only heaven knows.

"Captain Alexa!" Sokov heard the crunching sound of footsteps on the snow behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Alexa, the commander of the Second Battalion, walking towards him. He quickly ordered him, "The comrades of the First Battalion and the Cavalry Corps have driven the enemy out of the village on the other side. You should immediately lead the Second Battalion to charge up and try to eliminate more enemies."

Alexa agreed and then turned to give the order to attack to the warriors following behind him.

When Alexa led the 2nd Battalion to the deserted riverbank, they were shocked to find the ice littered with the bodies of Soviet soldiers. These soldiers, who had fallen during the charge, were destined never to rise again. But even in their deaths, their faces remained turned forward, gazing at the opposite bank, as if they still possessed an irrepressible desire—that even in death, their souls would reach the other side, a determination that even death itself could not sway.

Alexa's 2nd Battalion quickly crossed the village and caught up with the 1st Battalion, which was pursuing the enemy.

"Captain Yefim!" Alexa shouted as soon as he saw the familiar figure ahead, "I've brought the Second Battalion to support you."

Yefim, who was directing his troops in pursuit of the enemy, heard Alex's shout, came over, shook hands with him, and casually said, "Your battalion has arrived too!"

“Yes, our battalion has also arrived. I really didn’t expect that we could catch up with the enemy’s retreat. In this way, the troops can eliminate more enemies with minimal casualties.” Alexa finished speaking in one breath, and was surprised to find that Yefim’s brows were furrowed. He couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Comrade Captain, you seem very unhappy. What happened?”

“Captain Alex, your battalion did indeed arrive here without incurring any significant losses,” Yefim said gravely, looking at his colleague. “But do you know how much the cavalry commanders and soldiers paid in order to break through the German lines?”

“I know.” Alexa nodded and said with emotion, “When our battalion came over, I saw the shore and the ice covered with the bodies of cavalry soldiers and their horses. Their casualties were indeed considerable.”

“No, you don’t know.” Yefim shook his head and said, “You only saw the cavalrymen who sacrificed their lives, but you probably don’t know that the cavalry commander and political commissar, as well as some important commanders, all sacrificed their lives during the attack.”

"What?" Alexa's eyes widened in surprise. "Captain Yefim, what did you say? General Dovator and his political commissar were killed in action? Is it all true?"

“Of course it’s true. Would I joke about something like this?” Yefim said with great distress. “Captain Alexa, you didn’t see how, after General Dovator and his political commissar were killed, at least seventy or eighty cavalrymen fell around their bodies trying to retrieve them. It was a truly horrific scene.”

"Have General Dovator's body been recovered?"

"Yes, we got it back! I saw two officers crawl to his body and then drag it back into the forest under enemy fire."

"Damn Germans, we'll make them pay for this blood debt sooner or later." After saying this, Alexa asked with some curiosity, "Since the enemy's firepower was so fierce, how did our army manage to break through their defenses?"

"Speaking of how we broke through the enemy's defenses, we have to mention the two quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft guns we captured a few days ago," Yefim said. "We deployed these two guns on the edge of the forest, firing down at the exposed firing positions on the opposite bank. The 20mm shells easily penetrated the enemy's earthen fortifications, turning the enemies inside into fragments..."

After listening to Yefim's account, Alexa looked at the officers and soldiers who were chasing the enemy. Seeing the cavalrymen wearing black cloaks and wielding sabers, who were not on horseback, he couldn't help but say with emotion, "I really didn't expect that the cavalrymen who were not on horseback could still run so fast, leaving the soldiers of the First Battalion far behind."

"I think they witnessed their commander's sacrifice and were determined to avenge him, which is why they were able to unleash such astonishing fighting power."

As the combined forces of the cavalry corps and infantry brigade were pursuing the fleeing German troops on the left bank, Sokov, surrounded by several soldiers, walked toward the location of the cavalry corps headquarters.

Halfway there, they encountered a lieutenant who had been sent to make contact with the cavalry.

Upon seeing Sokov and the others, the second lieutenant quickly raised his hand in salute: "Hello, Comrade Brigade Commander!"

"Lieutenant, I asked you to contact the cavalry commander. Did you manage to get in touch?" Sokov asked, displeased.

"I'm sorry, Brigade Commander," the lieutenant said apologetically. "When I arrived at the cavalry headquarters, General Dovator had already personally led the men of the headquarters in an attack, and I was powerless to stop them."

Upon hearing the lieutenant's words, Sokov immediately lost his temper. Under the circumstances, Dovator had ordered a full-scale attack; even if he himself had personally intervened, it probably wouldn't have worked, let alone a lieutenant he had sent to make contact. He sighed softly and then said, "Do you know where the cavalry headquarters is located?"

"I know!" The lieutenant nodded, then turned and pointed to the forest on the other side: "There's a small cabin near the edge of the forest; that's where the cavalry headquarters is."

Sokov guessed that Dovator's body should be there, and quickly ordered the lieutenant, "Lieutenant, take me there quickly."

Led by the second lieutenant, Sokov and his men arrived near the wooden hut where the cavalry was located.

A group of cavalrymen stood outside the wooden house, with a stretcher in front of them. Dovator, covered in blood, lay on the stretcher.

Sokov strode forward, knelt on one knee beside the stretcher, took off his military cap, and bowed his head in silent tribute to the fallen cavalry commander!

A minute later, Sokov looked up, pulled his cap back on, stood up, and asked the cavalrymen in front of him, "Which of you is the commander?"

Two officers appeared before Sokov: "You must be Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the brigade commander of the infantry brigade? We are Lieutenant Kulikov and Second Lieutenant Sokilkov."

Sokov extended his hand and shook hands with the two officers one by one, saying with some emotion, "If I'm not mistaken, General Dovator's body was the one you rescued from under enemy fire, wasn't it?"

“That’s right, Major.” Lieutenant Kulakov did not deny Sokov’s question: “We dragged the corps commander’s body back, but unfortunately we couldn’t save his life.”

As Sokov bowed his head in silent mourning, he roughly examined Dovator's wounds. There were no fewer than twenty bullet wounds in his chest and abdomen alone. Unless he had saved the galaxy in his past life, there was no chance of him surviving.

He patted the two officers on the shoulder and said approvingly, "You two are both excellent. I believe the officers and soldiers of the cavalry will thank you."

"Lieutenant Colonel!" Kulakov looked at Sokov and asked tentatively, "What brings you here?"

"We were in a hurry to move because we were cooperating with the cavalry this time, and I didn't bring a radio with me. Do you have a radio here?"

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel.” Kulakov nodded, pointed to the small wooden hut behind him, and said, “There’s a radio inside. Do you intend to use it?”

"Is the radio operator still there?" Sokov asked tentatively. "Without the radio operator, I can't send a telegram to the army group headquarters."

“Of course there are radio operators,” Kulakov replied. “Radio operators are not combatants, so they don’t participate in the charge. If you need to send a telegram, please follow me.”

Kulakov led Sokov into the cabin and said to the female radio operator sitting in front of the radio, "Operator, this is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander of the infantry brigade. He needs to send a telegram to the army group headquarters. Could you help him?"

The female telegraph operator nodded, then looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what is the content of your telegram?"

After Sokov dictated the contents of the telegram, he urged, "Comrade telegraph operator, send the telegram out immediately. I need the army group headquarters to know exactly what happened here."

The female telegraph operator dared not delay and began sending the message as quickly as possible, transmitting Sokov's dictated message word for word.

After the telegram was sent, the female telegraph operator looked up at Sokov and tentatively asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you need to send telegrams to other units?"

Sokov thought for a moment and figured that the prisoners of war in the 4th Battalion had probably already received their equipment and were ready to join the battle. He said to the female radio operator, "Comrade radio operator, please send another telegram to the infantry brigade with the following content: If the soldiers of the 4th Battalion have received their equipment, then immediately have them come and join the first echelon to prepare for the next battle."

After hearing Sokov's words, the female radio operator couldn't help but ask with some curiosity, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, haven't the enemy in front of us already fled? Where else is there fighting?"

"Naturally, we should pursue those fleeing enemies. General Dovator was killed because of them, so we should naturally seek revenge against them."

(End of this chapter)