red moscow

Chapter 3080

"Comrade Brigade Commander!" Yefim's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. He exclaimed, "Our battalion's progress today has been incredibly smooth, practically unstoppable. In just four hours, we've successfully advanced a full five kilometers."

Completely oblivious to Sokov's darkening expression, he continued enthusiastically, "At this pace, I'm sure we can advance at least another five kilometers before nightfall. That would bring our total advance today to ten kilometers, which is an absolutely exhilarating achievement."

"Enough, stop talking." Sokov impatiently interrupted Yefim, his tone clearly displeased. "If this were a battle to break through enemy lines, penetrating five kilometers into enemy territory within four hours would indeed be considered rapid progress. But we're pursuing a retreating enemy, and there hasn't been any fighting or resistance along the way. We've only advanced this little distance. Don't you think the troops' movement is far too slow?"

Yefim was completely unprepared for Sokov's sudden change in attitude. Just moments ago, Sokov had been chatting and laughing with him, but now he had inexplicably started to lash out. For a moment, he was caught off guard and didn't know how to deal with this sudden reprimand. He could only remain silent, his face showing confusion and grievance.

Just as the officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion were passing by Sokov and Yefim, new troops arrived at the scene. The leading officer was still loudly asking, "Is the brigade commander here? We have something important to report."

"I'm here!" Sokov heard the voice, turned around, and saw a captain he didn't recognize. He raised his voice and asked, "What's up? Which unit are you from?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander!" The captain strode up to Sokov, straightened his back, saluted respectfully, and replied, "I am Captain Sidorov, the company commander of the 1st Company of the 2nd Battalion. I have come to find you on the orders of the battalion commander. We have important military information to report to you."

"Where is Captain Alexa?" Sokov asked directly, his tone filled with concern.

“They’re right behind our company, they’ll catch up in a few minutes at most.” After saying that, Sidorov tentatively asked, “Comrade Brigade Commander, may I lead the troops to continue our march? Our company’s officers and soldiers want to catch up with the enemy as soon as possible.”

“Wait a minute, Captain,” Sokov waved his hand. “Have your company stop and rest for a while. I’ll give you specific tasks after I’ve met with Alex. Moving forward now might disrupt the overall battle plan.”

Upon hearing Sokov's order, Sidorov immediately turned to his men and gave commands: "Attention all comrades of the first company, halt immediately, rest in place, and await further orders. Platoon leaders, maintain discipline and remain vigilant."

As the order was given, the soldiers of the 1st Company of the 2nd Battalion stopped advancing and rested in place, waiting for the commander to give new orders.

"Captain Sidorov!" Sokov looked at Sidorov standing in front of him and asked curiously, "I know all the company-level officers in the entire brigade, but I don't think I've ever seen you before?"

“Comrade Brigade Commander, I was recently rescued from the prisoner-of-war camp,” Sidorov replied. “Since the company commander was killed in battle, the battalion commander thought I was a suitable candidate and asked me to take over the company commander’s position.”

As they spoke, Alex, surrounded by a dozen soldiers, quickly approached Sokov. Just as he was about to raise his hand in salute, Sokov stopped him. "Captain," Sokov said, "haven't I told you many times that you can't just salute your commander on the battlefield? Doing so is tantamount to guiding German snipers hiding nearby to their targets. Your safety awareness and battlefield discipline need improvement."

“I’m sorry, Brigade Commander, I was wrong…” Alex quickly lowered his arm, a look of shame on his face. “I got excited and forgot this important battlefield discipline.”

"Tell me, what important matter do you have that you sent someone to see me about?" Sokov asked bluntly, his gaze sharp as he looked at the other man.

Alex glanced at Yefim standing beside him, looking somewhat hesitant, but finally spoke up: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our soldiers feel that the First Battalion's advance is too slow, which is delaying our operations. They hope I can request that our Second Battalion be sent to lead the pursuit of the enemy. We promise to advance at a much faster pace, giving the Germans no chance to regroup. Do you agree to this request?"

Sokov did not reply immediately, but fell into deep thought. Judging from the current situation, the 1st Battalion's advance was indeed too slow. Without encountering German resistance or engaging in any fighting, they should have advanced more than ten kilometers in four hours. However, the battalion's movements were sluggish, and so far, the entire unit had only advanced a mere five kilometers, still quite a distance from their original operational objectives.

"Comrade Brigade Commander!" Seeing that Sokov seemed to intend for the 2nd Battalion to be the vanguard, Yefim was clearly unhappy. He quickly stepped forward, straightened his back, and said firmly, "Please rest assured, in the coming period, our 1st Battalion will do its best to speed up the march and catch up with the enemy as soon as possible, and will not let you down!"

Before Sokov could respond, a sudden burst of footsteps and the clanging of weapons came from behind. Alex immediately turned to look in the direction of the sound, then his face lit up with excitement as he reported to Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, the Deputy Brigade Commander is leading the comrades of the Third Battalion up!"

Upon hearing this, Sokov immediately turned around and, sure enough, saw Deputy Brigade Commander Belkin and Third Battalion Commander Nazorov leading their troops rapidly toward them. He quickly strode forward to meet them, and even from a distance, raised his voice to greet them warmly, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, you're quite efficient! You caught up with us so quickly!"

Berkin quickened his pace and walked up to Sokov, extending both hands to shake his tightly. With a smile on his face, he said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, it's not that we're moving so fast, it's just that the First Battalion's marching speed is too slow. If we continue to dawdle like this, I'm afraid all the officers and soldiers of the brigade will be crammed together on this road, seriously affecting the overall progress efficiency of the troops."

Sokov was secretly surprised by Belkin's words. He immediately asked, "Then where are the Chief of Staff, the officers and soldiers of the Fourth Battalion, and the brigade's directly subordinate units now?"

“They’re about a kilometer or two behind us.” Belkin shook his head with a hint of helplessness and added, “They should be able to reach our current location in about ten minutes.”

“Once the Chief of Staff and the Fourth Battalion Commander arrive, we will hold an emergency military meeting,” Sokov said with a serious expression. “I need to readjust the operational deployment.”

(End of this chapter)