red moscow

Chapter 3065

Rokossovsky was a cavalry general whose horsemanship was far superior to that of Sokov, an amateur. After the group rode away from the village, Sokov was left far behind in just a few minutes.

Seeing Rokossovsky and the others disappear into the distance, Sokov inwardly groaned. He wanted to speed up and catch up, but his riding skills were, to put it mildly, subpar. If he recklessly chased after them, he might fall from his horse and get injured, which would be far too risky. Left with no other option, he could only follow slowly behind on horseback with a few guards.

Then, after chasing for a short distance, a two-wheeled motorcycle caught up from behind.

Upon seeing Sokov "walking his horse," the motorcyclist quickly stopped beside him and reported, "Comrade Brigade Commander, a telegram! It's from the Deputy Brigade Commander."

Sokov took the telegram and, after reading its contents, broke out in a cold sweat. The telegram stated that the company assigned to escort Rokossovsky had been ambushed by German forces during their march and was currently engaged in fierce fighting. The main force of the 4th Battalion was on its way to provide support.

After reading the telegram, Sokov felt a chill of fear. If Rokossovsky hadn't broken away from the escort and had arrived at Dyakovo village to meet Sokov first, he might be under attack by the Germans right now. Bullets have no eyes; even if Rokossovsky had been extremely careful, he probably wouldn't have been able to avoid being wounded.

The motorcyclist delivering the message stood beside his warhorse, looking up at Sokov, who was sitting on horseback: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you need to reply to the Deputy Brigade Commander?"

Sokov thought for a moment, then said to the motorcyclist, "Send a telegram back to the deputy brigade commander and tell him to make every effort to rescue the attacked troops and minimize casualties."

The motorcyclist agreed, got back on his motorcycle, and returned to the village of Dyakovo to send a telegram to Belkin.

Sokov continued on his way, and it took him a full half hour to finally catch up with Rokossovsky.

Upon seeing Sokov's arrival, Rokossovsky jokingly remarked, "Misha, your horsemanship is terrible; you're probably slower than an infantryman on foot."

Sokov chuckled twice and said apologetically, "Comrade Commander, I've never ridden a horse before, so I'm a little slow. Please don't mind."

“It’s alright,” Rokossovsky said magnanimously. “You can’t ride a horse. If you were to gallop like me, you would probably have fallen off and been injured long ago.”

Sokov looked around and saw not only infantry brigade commanders and soldiers, but also a considerable number of cavalrymen on foot, and many more cavalrymen were steadily converging on the area. Seeing this, he asked in surprise, "Comrade Commander, have you already gathered the cavalry?"

“It’s probably unrealistic to gather them all,” Rokossovsky said. “But most of the cavalry are converging here.”

Sokov was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, and asked curiously, "Comrade Commander, how did this happen? How were you able to gather so many troops in such a short time? Is there any secret?"

Lieutenant Sokilkov explained from the side, “Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, here’s what happened. After the Commander caught up with several cavalry commanders, he ordered them to contact their respective units to cease pursuit. Before stopping, the units contacted nearby friendly forces, instructing them to return here to regroup. In this way, the Commander’s orders were quickly relayed.” After hearing Sokilkov’s account, Sokilkov gave Rokossovsky a thumbs-up: “Comrade Commander, you are truly remarkable. Only you could have regrouped the out-of-control cavalry in such a short time.”

Rokossovsky smiled faintly, not discussing the topic with Sokov, but instead asking with concern, "When will your troops arrive in full force?"

"According to the plan, the more than 3,000 officers and soldiers of the Fourth Battalion will arrive at Jiakewo Village in two hours. But now there has been an unexpected incident, and the arrival time may be delayed."

"What happened?" Rokossovsky asked, frowning.

"The company that escorted you was ambushed by the enemy during the march and is now engaged in fierce fighting with them."

"What? The company that escorted me is currently engaged in firefight with the enemy?" Rokossovsky asked with some concern upon hearing Sokov's words. "Can they escape?"

“There shouldn’t be any major problems,” Sokov replied confidently. “The main force of the Fourth Battalion is on its way to their rescue, and I believe it won’t be long before they are out of their predicament.”

After listening to Sokov's words, Rokossovsky nodded and slowly said, "It seems that our decision to regroup the cavalry in time was absolutely correct. Although the enemy began to retreat in most areas after our major counter-offensive began, they are still putting up a stubborn resistance in some areas. The cavalry, which has lost its organization and is like a heap of loose sand, may temporarily gain an advantage, but if they encounter an enemy counterattack, they will be defeated, which will affect our subsequent operations."

"Where should we deploy the troops after they are assembled?" Sokov asked Rokossovsky.

"Of course we should return to Jiakovo Village. There are houses there where the soldiers can take shelter from the cold, and we can also build fortifications using the village's terrain to prepare for an attack."

Sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard in the distance, sending chills down Sokov's spine. After mentally organizing his thoughts, he said to Rokossovsky, "Comrade Commander, since the order to halt the offensive, retreat, and regroup has been given to the troops, let's go back now."

Sokov, fearing Rokossovsky might disagree, emphasized, "Comrade Commander, although the fighting in this area is over, no one can guarantee that there aren't any enemies lying on the ground pretending to be dead nearby. What if they discover your whereabouts and shoot you?"

Rokossovsky wasn't worried about his own safety, but hearing Sokov say this and seeing the worried look in Sokov's eyes from time to time, he made a decisive decision to follow Sokov back to Dyakovo village first, so that Sokov wouldn't have to live in constant fear.

“Alright, Misha,” Rokossovsky nodded and said, “I think you have a point. Let’s go back to Dyakovo village now.”

Seeing that Rokossovsky agreed to his proposal, Sokov was overjoyed and quickly went along with it, saying, "That's right, let's go back to Dyakovo village now. I think the Military Commissioner is probably already impatient to get back."

(End of this chapter)