red moscow

Chapter 3067

After taking over as army commander, Puliev said to Rokossovsky, "Comrade Commander, I plan to build the new army headquarters in the room next door. What do you think?"

Before Rokossovsky could speak, Sokov interjected, "General Priev, there's no need for that. Why don't you just use this place as the new army headquarters? That way, the new headquarters can be operational immediately."

“This isn’t quite right, is it?!” Puliev said. “After all, this is your brigade headquarters.”

"Comrade General, my infantry brigade is only operating in conjunction with the cavalry corps. Next, we may be moving to other operational areas. Don't you agree, Comrade Commander?" Sokov's last words were addressed to Rokossovsky.

“That’s right, Misha is right.” Rokossovsky nodded in agreement with Sokov’s statement: “The infantry brigade is currently the most complete unit, and they will shoulder more important combat missions. Puliev, don’t be shy, just set up the new command here.”

Since Rokossovsky had spoken, Puliev naturally couldn't object and nodded in agreement. However, he made his own request: "Comrade Commander, since most of the members of the army command have been killed in battle, I intend to continue using the 50th Division's command structure. I wonder if you agree?"

“Pliev, since you are the new commander of the cavalry corps, you are in charge of setting up the corps command yourself. I will not interfere.” Rokossovsky paused slightly after saying this, then reminded him, “By the way, the remains of General Dovator and some other commanders are still in the wooden house on the other side of the Ruza River. Do you think we should arrange for people to send their remains to Moscow as soon as possible?”

Puliev was taken aback by Rokossovsky's words. His original plan was to find a suitable location on the banks of the Ruza River to bury the fallen commanders and soldiers. But since Rokossovsky specifically requested that the remains of Dovator and others be sent to Moscow, he was naturally more than happy to oblige and quickly nodded in agreement, saying, "I understand, Comrade Commander. I will arrange for people to handle this matter as soon as possible."

Standing nearby, Sokov overheard Rokossovsky and Puliev's conversation and thought to himself: If the remains of Dovator and the other commanders were buried on the banks of the Ruza River, it would not be easy to come and pay respects to them in the future. On the contrary, if Dovator were buried in the Moscow cemetery, it would be much easier to come and pay respects to them.

As Puliev began to allocate manpower and establish a new army command, the brigade chief of staff, Karsokov, arrived with three battalions.

Sokov led Karsokov and the third battalion commander to a nearby empty house, and then instructed them, "Comrade Chief of Staff, our brigade is stationed in the village today, and the first thing we need to do is establish the brigade command post."

“No problem.” Karsokov nodded and said, “I’ve brought most of the staff officers and communications soldiers from the brigade headquarters. Give me just one hour, and the brigade headquarters will be operational.”

"By the way, Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov continued, "arrange for men to contact the First and Second Battalions and have them return to the vicinity of Dyakovo village to set up defenses and temporarily halt the pursuit of the enemy."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, I don't understand, why do we need to stop pursuing the enemy?" Karsokov asked, puzzled.

“The reason is simple,” Sokov said. “Every time we occupy a region, we have to leave some troops behind for defense. The more territory we occupy, the more dispersed our forces become, and the weaker our offensive forces become. If the enemy launches a counterattack at that time, do you think we can stop their attack?”

Upon hearing Sokov's question, Karsokov thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I think it's impossible to hold them off. Moreover, some areas that were previously occupied will also fall under the enemy's counterattack. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to concentrate our forces."

Seeing that Karsokov understood his intention, Sokov smiled and nodded, and continued, "That's right. Only by concentrating our forces can we launch an attack wherever we want and firmly grasp the initiative on the battlefield."

“Comrade Brigade Commander, may I ask you a question?” As Sokov and Karsokov’s conversation came to an end, the Third Battalion Commander, Nazorov, asked cautiously.

Sokov turned to Nazorov, who was standing to the side, nodded, and said understandingly, "Third Battalion Commander, please ask whatever questions you have." "When I followed the Chief of Staff into the village, I saw the cavalry comrades busy at work, seemingly setting up a new army command." Nazorov asked tentatively, "Don't they already have an army command? Why are they setting up a new one? Has something happened?"

"Comrade Captain, you guessed right, the cavalry corps is indeed in trouble." Sokov sighed and recounted in detail to the two men the sacrifice of Dovator and most of the members of the cavalry corps command during the battle to cross the Ruza River.

After hearing Sokov's account, Nazorov was shocked: "What? Almost all the members of the cavalry corps command were killed in action? Is that true?"

“Of course it’s true,” Sokov nodded, speaking with certainty. “When I arrived at the Ruza River with my battalion, waiting for the second battalion to arrive, the cavalry hastily launched an attack on the enemy on the other side of the Ruza River. Without artillery cover, the cavalry suffered heavy casualties in the battle. Now, Major General Priev, commander of the 50th Cavalry Division, has taken over as corps commander and is preparing to reorganize the troops before continuing the pursuit of the retreating enemy.”

When Nazorov heard Sokov mention the word "pursuit," he couldn't help but get excited: "Comrade Brigade Commander, when Napoleon's army withdrew from Moscow, they were pursued by the Russian army and fled Russian soil in a panic. Do you think the Germans will also completely withdraw from our land under our counter-offensive, just like the French army did in the past?"

“Comrade Captain, the situation you described is the outcome everyone wants to see, but things are not as simple as they seem.” Sokov shook his head and said, “The Germans of today are not the French of a hundred years ago. It will probably not be so easy to drive them out of our country in one fell swoop. We must be prepared to fight the enemy for several years.”

"What? Our war with the Germans is going to last for several more years?" Nazorov frowned upon hearing Sokov's words. "Is that true?"

“Of course it’s true.” Sokov was worried that Nazorov would become complacent because of some recent small victories, so he quickly reminded him: “Although we have achieved good results on all fronts since the major counter-offensive began on December 6, we must also see that the enemy is still strong enough in some areas. If we want to defeat them, we will need to spend more time and pay a greater price.”

“The brigade commander is right. For example, the battle that took place on the banks of the Ruza River today is enough to raise our awareness,” Karsokov said in a heavy tone. “Think about it, the cavalry corps that had achieved such a glorious victory yesterday, the corps commander and most of the members of the corps command will be killed in the same battle on the same day. No one could have predicted that this would happen.” As he said this, he couldn’t help but glance at Sokov, because he knew that Sokov was also the kind of person who liked to lead from the front, and he was really worried that one day he would be like Dovator, dying on the way to the charge.

Nazorov nodded, then asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, in the days to come, will our brigade continue to assist the cavalry corps in combat?"

“I think that’s unlikely.” Sokov shook his head and explained to the two men, “The terrain here is suitable for highly mobile troops. Apart from the cavalry, the troops that are more suitable for fighting here are the newly formed ski brigades, who can quickly pursue the enemy when they retreat.”

"If the higher-ups really intend to deploy a ski brigade to this region, what about our brigade?" Karsokov asked tentatively. "What new tasks will the commander assign us?"

"The army group's offensive focus remains on the Istra Reservoir area." Sokov recalled that in his previous life, the 16th Army had stayed at the Istra Reservoir for nearly half a month, demonstrating the strength of the German defenses in the region. Based on his understanding of Rokossovsky, Rokossovsky would certainly deploy infantry brigades to that operational area: "Once the 4th Battalion arrives, the forces of each battalion will be readjusted to ensure that each battalion has sufficient manpower to sustain operations in the upcoming battles."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, this is wonderful!" Nazorov was overjoyed to learn that Sokov was preparing to readjust the troop strength of each battalion. After this period of fighting, the total strength of the Third Battalion was only a little over three hundred men. If some of the prisoners of war rescued by the Fourth Battalion could be added, the combat effectiveness of the entire battalion would be improved. He said to Sokov, "If possible, I hope that the strength of the Third Battalion can be increased to eight hundred men."

“No problem.” Sokov had originally planned to replenish each battalion to a thousand men, but after hearing Nazorov’s words, his thinking changed. He decided that maintaining each battalion at eight hundred men would be sufficient, with the remainder as reserves under the direct command of the brigade headquarters. If any battalion suffered heavy losses, men would be drawn from the reserves to reinforce that battalion. He readily said, “Captain Nazorov, I will definitely increase your battalion’s strength to eight hundred men.”

After a brief pause, Sokov said to Karsokov, "Chief of Staff, send a telegram to the deputy brigade commander and ask him where he is now and when he can come and join us."

(End of this chapter)