red moscow

Chapter 3064

"Lieutenant Sokilkov!" Lieutenant Kulikov led the way outside and shouted towards a tent not far away, "Come here!"

At his shout, Lieutenant Sokilkov ran out of the tent.

“Comrade Second Lieutenant!” Kulikov said to Sokilkov, “This is Commander General Rokossovsky and Military Commissar Comrade Lobachev. They are going to the village of Dyakovo to see Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. You will be their guide.”

Kulakov nodded, then turned to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, do you need me to prepare horses for you?"

Rokossovsky considered that the distance from here to the village was not short, and that it would take a lot of time to walk there, so he nodded in agreement to the other party's suggestion: "Comrade Lieutenant, then I'll trouble you to prepare six horses for us."

There were many warhorses in the nearby woods, and at a command, cavalrymen immediately led over six warhorses.

Lieutenant Sokilkov brought a chestnut warhorse to Rokossovsky and said in a low voice, "Comrade Commander, this was the corps commander's mount. You may ride this horse later."

Rokossovsky was taken aback by this, then asked in return, "Lieutenant, how did this horse survive the enemy's hail of bullets?"

“Comrade Commander, you misunderstand. The corps commander was not on horseback when he was killed,” Sokilkov explained to Rokossovsky. “At the time, he saw that the 22nd Cavalry Regiment’s attack was thwarted, and officers and soldiers were falling one after another, even the regimental commander was unfortunately wounded. When the corps commander saw this, he took the lead and rushed out of the command post to try to rescue the wounded commander, but he was mowed down by enemy machine gun fire and died on the spot. In order to retrieve the corps commander’s body, we lost dozens of men.”

After hearing Sokilkov's words, Rokossovsky's face showed anger. He gritted his teeth and said, "Lieutenant, we will pay back the blood debt owed by the Germans one day, with interest."

Led by Sokilkov, Rokossovsky and his men quickly arrived at the village of Dyakovo and found Sokilkov's temporary command post.

While busy at work, Sokov looked up and saw Sokirkov walking in from outside. He quickly put down his work, stood up and went to greet him: "Comrade Lieutenant, what brings you here?"

“Lieutenant Colonel! I am here as a guide, leading the commander and the military commissioner.”

"What? The commander and the military commissar have arrived?" Sokov was taken aback, then asked, "Where are they?"

“We’re here, Misha!” Rokossovsky walked in from outside and said to Sokov, “You didn’t expect me to come here, did you?”

"No, Commander, I really didn't expect you to come to such a dangerous place." Sokov said with some worry, "The village is not far from the battlefield. Commander, you can't go any further, or your life will be in danger."

“If you’re not afraid of danger, what do I have to fear?” Rokossovsky walked straight to the table and sat down, looking up at Sokov standing in front of him. “Tell me, what’s the situation on the battlefield right now?” “My brigade’s soldiers and cavalry comrades are pursuing the enemy,” Sokov replied. “According to the latest battle report, the 103rd and 22nd cavalry regiments, which are at the forefront, are a good six or seven kilometers away from here.”

Rokossovsky frowned slightly after hearing this: "Misha, although I also hope that you can recover more land, the troops currently fighting in this area are only your brigade and part of the cavalry corps. If you advance too far, you will become an isolated force, and once the Germans recover, they may turn around and encircle you."

"Comrade Commander, do you think I don't want the troops to stop?" Sokov explained to Rokossovsky with a helpless expression, "The cavalry officers and soldiers are completely bloodthirsty because of the death of their commander. They have abandoned their guns and are using sabers to fight the enemy. Some enemies have clearly thrown down their weapons and surrendered with their hands raised, but the cavalrymen still rush up and cut off their hands with their sabers. There is basically no one alive in their path."

"Why don't you restrain them?" Lobachev, who had been silent since entering, asked. "If this fighting continues, the troops may get out of control."

“Comrade Military Commissar, the troops are out of control.” Sokov explained to Lobachev, “Since the senior commanders of the cavalry corps have all been killed in action, the lower-ranking commanders are only thinking about how to avenge their corps commanders. As soon as they see the enemy, they will charge forward without regard for anything else. As you know, I am just the commander of an infantry brigade. It is simply impossible for me to control the officers and soldiers of the cavalry corps.”

"Comrade Commander, what should we do?" Lobachev turned to Rokossovsky and asked, "Are we just going to stand by and watch the troops become out of control because they are blinded by hatred?"

Rokossovsky pondered for a long time before finally speaking: "Comrade Military Commissar, you stay here with Misha. I'll take a few men to the front to regroup the troops. We absolutely cannot allow the cavalry commanders to fall into chaos due to the loss of unified leadership. Lieutenant Sokilkov, you come with me."

“Yes, Commander, I will obey your orders.” Sokilkov replied.

When Sokov heard that Rokossovsky was preparing to personally go to the front to regroup the troops, he was immediately alarmed and quickly advised, "Comrade Commander, this won't do. Although the enemy is in retreat, it is still very dangerous. I can't watch you risk your life."

But Rokossovsky stared into Sokov's eyes and said coldly, "Misha, if I don't go, who do you think is capable of bringing the troops back into control?"

Sokov fell silent. He knew very well that the cavalrymen of today were bloodthirsty, capable of charging headlong into enemy ranks with a saber, utterly disregarding their own safety. To rally such a force, unless General Dovator were to come back to life, only Rokossovsky could accomplish it.

Having figured this out, he proactively told Rokossovsky, "Comrade Commander, since you are going to regroup the troops, I will no longer stop you. I have only one request: that I be allowed to stay by your side." Sokov did this for a simple reason: even if Rokossovsky was unfortunately wounded, as long as he did not die on the spot, he was confident that he could save him.

“Alright then, Misha.” Rokossovsky smiled with relief when he saw that Sokov was willing to come with him to regroup the troops. He nodded in agreement to the other’s request: “You can come with me to regroup the troops.”

Just as Rokossovsky and Sokov were heading to the battlefield to regroup their troops, a major event occurred in Berlin, 1,800 kilometers away.

Given the sudden shift in the battlefield situation to the German advantage, Hitler decisively relieved Field Marshal von Brauchitsch of his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and assumed the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces himself. Meanwhile, Field Marshal von Bock, commander of Army Group Center, who was already overwhelmed with problems, was ordered to take "sick leave," and his post was taken over by Field Marshal von Kluge. General Heinrich assumed command of the 4th Army, a position previously held by Kluge.

(End of this chapter)