red moscow

Chapter 3082

The battle was progressing much more smoothly than Sokov had initially anticipated. Before he could even lead the brigade headquarters to the front lines, the radio operator Morozova rushed over with a telegram, her voice tinged with excitement: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the Second Battalion has just sent a telegram that the battle is over and they are currently cleaning up the battlefield."

Sokov took the telegram, quickly glanced at its contents, and an approving expression appeared on his face. He turned to Belkin and Karsokov beside him and said, "Deputy Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, the Second Battalion's performance this time was truly outstanding. They managed to annihilate the enemy cleanly and efficiently in such a short time, which is commendable. They are now busy clearing the battlefield, preparing to continue their pursuit of the enemy after the cleanup is complete."

After a moment's thought, Belkin immediately offered his suggestion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the Second Battalion has just gone through a fierce battle, and the soldiers must be quite exhausted. In my opinion, it would be better to let them rest for a while longer. After all, behind them are the Third and Fourth Battalions, who are eager for battle and have high morale. Could we consider having the Second Battalion remain in place to clean up the battlefield and rest temporarily, while transferring the task of pursuing the enemy to the Third Battalion?"

Sokov was very satisfied with Belkin's proposal. He nodded in agreement and immediately gave Morozova the order: "Comrade Morozova, please send telegrams to the Second and Third Battalions immediately. Order the Second Battalion to continue clearing the battlefield and resting in place, and at the same time notify the Third Battalion to take over from the Second Battalion and pursue the fleeing German troops at full speed."

Karsokov immediately expressed his support, agreeing not only with Belkin's opinion but also adding, "The deputy brigade commander's arrangement is very reasonable. I suggest that after the 3rd Battalion successfully catches up with and annihilates the enemy, the 4th Battalion can take over as the vanguard to continue pursuing the fleeing enemy. This will maintain the continuity of our offensive and allow each battalion to take turns resting, thus maintaining a strong fighting capacity."

Suddenly, a loud and enthusiastic cheer came from afar. Brigade Commander Sokov looked in the direction of the sound, his eyes filled with curiosity and vigilance. He pondered for a moment, then called over a young soldier beside him and instructed him, "Comrade soldier, go and take a close look at what's going on over there, and report back to me as soon as possible."

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander!" the soldier replied loudly and firmly, then turned and ran quickly toward the direction from which the cheers came, his figure soon disappearing from sight.

Standing to the side, Deputy Brigade Commander Belkin also cast an inquiring glance in that direction, a look of surprise and confusion on his face. He turned around and asked with a hint of a joke in his tone, "Comrade Brigade Commander! What exactly happened over there that's worth celebrating? Did the Germans suddenly announce their unconditional surrender? That's truly fantastic news!"

Sokov chuckled at Belkin's earnest yet clearly exaggerated conjecture. He shook his head and replied in a relaxed yet serious tone, "Come on, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander. Although we firmly believe that we will eventually defeat the Germans completely and drive them all out of our territory, their military strength is still quite formidable at present. Expecting them to lay down their arms and surrender voluntarily at this time is obviously unrealistic."

After hearing this, Belkin chuckled dryly twice, and somewhat embarrassedly defended himself, saying, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I was just making a joke to help everyone relax and lighten the mood. Please don't take it to heart."

“Of course I know you’re joking.” Sokov shook his head slightly, his tone somewhat serious: “Although we have just successfully annihilated a German unit and the entire front is continuing to advance, to be honest, there is something I’m still worried about.”

"What is it?" Belkin asked immediately, his expression turning serious. Sokov frowned and said in a low voice, "You see, if the troops continue to advance like this, sooner or later we will encounter the fortified areas that the enemy has already built. Once the Germans resist with their strong fortifications, and we have no artillery cover, it will be extremely difficult to force a breakthrough into their lines, and the casualties will be considerable."

“That is indeed the case,” Karsokov added immediately. “Without effective artillery support, the sacrifices we would make by relying solely on infantry to assault the Germans’ heavily fortified positions would be staggering and could even affect subsequent operations.”

As the deputy brigade commander of the infantry brigade, Belkin was well aware that the advance of the vanguard was too rapid, and the army group's artillery units simply couldn't keep up, thus failing to provide timely and sufficient artillery support to the front. After a moment's thought, he suggested to Sokov and Karsokov: "Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, I suggest we immediately send a communications soldier to contact our artillery battalion to find out their current location and when they are expected to arrive at the front, so that we can be well-informed."

Upon hearing this, Sokov frowned even more deeply. He pondered for a moment and said, "The problem is, I wonder how the pontoon bridge over the Istra River is progressing? If the pontoon bridge is not yet completed, trucks transporting heavy artillery simply cannot cross safely on the still frozen river."

Just as Belkin turned to order his signalman to immediately set off to contact the artillery battalion in the rear, the soldier whom Sokov had sent to scout the situation earlier hurriedly ran back.

The soldier, panting, approached the commanders, trying to catch his breath, and reported loudly: "Reporting, sirs, the situation has been clarified! The soldiers are cheering because they saw our artillery battalion rushing this way—they really are coming!"

Upon hearing the soldiers' report, Sokov, Belkin, and Karsokov were all stunned. They had just been worried about the artillery not keeping up, and now the artillery battalion had appeared? The coincidence was simply unbelievable.

Berkin became somewhat agitated, grabbed the soldier's arm, and repeatedly asked, "Comrade soldier, are you sure you're not mistaken? Is it really an artillery battalion?"

The soldier straightened up and answered without hesitation, "Absolutely true, Deputy Brigade Commander! The artillery battalion commander himself is on his way. You'll see him in a moment—then you'll understand that I'm not lying!"

A few minutes later, Captain Lomonsov, the artillery battalion commander, appeared before Sokov and the others. He stood at attention, straightened his back, and reported to the three of them: "Comrade Brigade Commander, Captain Lomonsov, the artillery battalion commander, has arrived with his artillery battalion. Please assign us our combat mission."

(End of this chapter)