red moscow

Chapter 3090

"Shout into the forest and tell the enemy inside to surrender," Sokov ordered decisively, his eyes fixed on the dense forest in the distance.

“Alright!” Vasya responded excitedly, his face beaming with anticipation. He quickly turned around, called over an officer who was waiting for orders, and instructed him in detail: “Go find a soldier with a loud voice right now and have him shout loudly towards the forest, ordering the enemy inside to lay down their weapons and surrender immediately.”

However, upon hearing Vasya's instructions, the officer looked troubled and somewhat uneasy. He hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, "Comrade Battalion Commander, we do have quite a few loud-voiced soldiers in our battalion, but the problem is, I'm afraid none of them speak German. Even if we shout the loudest, the other side simply won't understand what we're saying."

These words immediately jolted Vasya awake. He realized that the troops trapped in the forest were German soldiers, who naturally couldn't understand Russian. If he simply sent a loud-voiced soldier to shout in Russian, even if he shouted himself hoarse, the enemy would be completely confused; it would be like casting pearls before swine, achieving no practical effect whatsoever.

“Comrade Brigade Commander!” Vasha quickly turned to Sokov and explained with a slightly apologetic tone, “Our battalion currently has no soldiers who understand German. If we just have the soldiers shout in Russian, it is indeed not appropriate, and I’m afraid it will not achieve the desired effect of persuading them to surrender.”

Upon hearing this, Sokov frowned slightly, his expression becoming grave. He realized that if effective communication from the outside was impossible, the only option was to send men into the forest to persuade them to surrender. But this was extremely risky—if the Germans were cornered and resisted stubbornly, they might kill the soldiers sent in. This was an outcome he absolutely did not want to see.

Just as Sokov was struggling with his internal struggle and weighing the pros and cons, Vasya suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of a plan. He said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, our battalion captured a German propaganda vehicle during the battle. That vehicle is equipped with a loudspeaker. If you are willing to personally persuade them to surrender, I can immediately send someone to bring that vehicle over. You can use the vehicle's broadcasting system to shout directly to the German troops in the forest."

Upon hearing this, Sokov's eyes lit up, and an approving expression appeared on his face: "Excellent! Quickly, bring that propaganda vehicle over immediately! I want to personally address these Germans in German, urging them to recognize the situation and surrender as soon as possible."

Vasya nodded quickly, then turned to the officer and instructed him again: "Go and arrange for the German propaganda vehicle we captured to be brought here immediately. The brigade commander must personally use the equipment on the vehicle to persuade the enemy to surrender."

While waiting for the propaganda vehicle to arrive, Deputy Brigade Commander Belkin, Battalion Commander Yefim, and Battalion Commander Alexa, among others, arrived at the scene one after another and gathered around Sokov.

Berkin, seeing that his troops were merely surrounding the forest without taking any further action, grew puzzled. He tentatively asked Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, are we just going to keep surrounding the enemy like this without taking any other action?"

Sokov turned his head and answered calmly and confidently, "Who says we haven't taken action? The first step is to persuade them to surrender. If they refuse, we will concentrate all our artillery fire and bombard the forest area." A cold smile appeared on his lips as he continued, "In such a small area, just a few rounds of precise artillery fire will be enough to inflict heavy losses on them and completely disable their ability to resist."

"Then why don't we start persuading them to surrender now?" Belkin asked with some confusion, his gaze fixed on Sokov's face, as if trying to find an answer.

Sokov turned slightly, his gaze sweeping across the edge of the distant forest, and calmly explained, “Major Vasya just reported that they successfully captured a German propaganda vehicle equipped with large broadcasting equipment; the volume and coverage are ideal.” He paused, then continued steadily, “I plan to personally address the German troops in the forest in German as soon as the vehicle arrives. If they are willing to lay down their arms and surrender, we can avoid unnecessary casualties. If they insist on not surrendering, then we will consider carrying out the next step of military operation.”

Just then, the roar of a car engine came from afar, growing louder and breaking the surrounding silence. Sokov, Belkin, and the others turned their heads simultaneously and saw a German propaganda vehicle wobbling towards them, its body covered in snow and bullet holes, clearly having been through fierce fighting. Looking through the windshield, they saw that the driver was the same officer who had just left; he was focused, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, struggling to control the vehicle.

"The propaganda vehicle is here!" Sokov's voice carried a hint of decisiveness. He quickly turned to Belkin and added, "I'll be broadcasting from the vehicle in a bit. You guys set up a few machine guns next to the vehicle and be on guard. If any of those ignorant Germans try to provoke us or resist, open fire immediately. We absolutely cannot let them threaten our operations."

“Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander.” Berkin nodded in agreement with Sokov’s statement, then turned to an officer beside him and solemnly ordered, “Quickly fetch several machine guns, a mix of light and heavy machine guns, to ensure sufficient firepower. Set them up on both sides of the vehicle, and all machine gunners must be ready to fire at any time. We must not give the enemy any opportunity.” The propaganda vehicle slowly came to a stop in front of Sokov, the roar of the engine gradually diminishing. The officer opened the car door, nimbly jumped out, saluted Sokov, and reported, “Comrade Brigade Commander, the propaganda vehicle has arrived safely, the equipment is basically intact, and you can use it now.”

Sokov nodded without saying a word, and immediately opened the car door and got into the driver's seat. He began to carefully check the broadcast equipment, trying to familiarize himself with the functions of each button and switch. The officer who had driven over was originally standing outside the door, but seeing that Sokov seemed unfamiliar with the equipment, he leaned in and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you need any help? I'm quite familiar with this kind of equipment."

"Do you know how this damn device works?" Sokov looked up, his tone tinged with urgency.

“Yes, I know. I have received relevant training before,” the officer replied confidently.

“Since you know, get in the car,” Sokov said to the officer. “Help me adjust the equipment to make sure the volume is loud enough and the coverage is wide. I need to get to the Germans as soon as possible; time is of the essence.”

After boarding the vehicle, the officer quickly and skillfully adjusted the equipment, the knobs and switches turning nimbly in his hands. A moment later, he turned to Sokov and reported, "Comrade Brigade Commander, the equipment is ready. The volume is at maximum, and the frequency is set. You can now speak into the microphone."

Sokov took a deep breath, leaned close to the microphone, and spoke loudly in clear and forceful German: "German officers and soldiers, I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 16th Army Infantry Brigade. You are completely surrounded by my troops. Continuing to resist will only increase unnecessary casualties. I order you to lay down your weapons and surrender immediately. We will guarantee your safety..."

Before Sokov could finish speaking, a German captain rushed out of the woods with a submachine gun. His face was contorted with rage as he roared, "Damn Russians! Come and fight us like soldiers, let's see who wipes out whom!" With that, he raised his submachine gun and, disregarding the distance and lack of accuracy, began firing wildly at the propaganda vehicle.

Although submachine guns are largely inaccurate at distances exceeding fifty meters, the whistling bullets still posed a significant threat. Belkin and his men reacted swiftly, immediately dropping to the ground for cover. At the same time, Belkin shouted orders to the machine gunner beside him: "Fire! Suppress that madman!"

As the order was given, the six machine guns positioned on either side of the propaganda vehicle opened fire simultaneously. A dense hail of bullets poured out like a torrential rain, instantly riddling the arrogant German captain with bullets. Some German soldiers who had initially come out to watch the spectacle turned pale with fright and hastily retreated into the woods, never daring to show themselves again.

Seeing the enemy retreat into the woods, Sokov continued, "German officers and soldiers, if you lay down your weapons and surrender, we will ensure your safety and the wounded will receive medical treatment. If you continue to resist, we will bombard your area. I will give you five minutes to consider, and after that time, my troops will take military action."

Sokov put down the microphone, leaned out of the car, and asked Belkin, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, where is our artillery battalion now?"

"They are heading this way, at most two or three kilometers away."

Sokov pondered for a moment and figured that even if the artillery battalion fired from two or three kilometers away, it could still inflict heavy casualties on the enemy in the forest. So he said to Belkin, "Deputy Brigade Commander, send someone to inform Captain Lomonsov to have his artillery battalion set up artillery positions as soon as possible and prepare to fire."

(End of this chapter)