Red Moscow.

Chapter 2756 Looking for Vlasov

Sokov's heart sank suddenly. In today's situation, missing meant sacrifice or capture. Zhu Kewen and Dyuburo were fine, but Romanov was different. He was an important historical figure in later generations. If anything happened, it might have an uncontrollable impact on future history.

After a brief silence, Sokov reluctantly asked again: "Did you really not see Romanov?"

Chulsin was stunned and thought to himself: Why is Captain Sokov so interested in a recruit who has just joined the army? Is it because the other party broke out from Kiev together and they have a deeper relationship with each other? But then I thought about it, that's not right. Second Lieutenant Zhu Kewen, Dyubro, and Air Force Lieutenant Yegor also escaped from Kiev together. Why did he just ask these people casually and not ask any more questions?

With this question, Chulsin asked curiously: "Comrade Captain, why do you care so much about Romanov?"

Sokov was stunned by Chursin's words. Just as he was thinking about how to answer, Second Lieutenant Konstantin came over and said to Sokov: "Comrade Captain, the newly withdrawn comrades basically don't carry dry food. You see , should we give some of our soldiers to them?”

"Second Lieutenant, this is what it should be." Sokov wanted to escape completely, but he didn't know how long it would take to escape from the encirclement. He couldn't favor one and let these newly joined soldiers starve, so he said decisively: "Let's take it. We will give half of the dry food we carry to the new comrades, and when they are full, we will continue on our way.”

When the new soldiers were sitting by the lake drinking water and eating, Vlasov walked up to Sokov and asked: "Captain Sokov, there are only so many people left around us, do you think we have any Do you want to escape the German encirclement?”

Facing the question raised by Vlasov, Sokov was silent for a moment, and then said: "Comrade Commander, the soldiers around us come from different armies, and they have just lost the battle. I am afraid they are in a state of low morale. Coupled with the lack of ammunition, if we have to fight the Germans, we will probably be wiped out. Therefore, we must find ways to avoid the enemy and jump out of the gaps in the enemy's encirclement."

"We were walking in a hurry, and we didn't even have a map." Colonel Del said with a headache: "Wandering aimlessly in the forest like this, even if we don't meet the enemy, whether we can get out is still a problem."

Sokov thought to himself that it would be great if Dyubro was here. He was a hunter and would definitely not get lost in such a forest. However, the whereabouts of Jiubro and Zhu Kewen were unknown at the moment. They could only find someone from the soldiers around them who could know their way in the forest, lest this small force get lost and be trapped in the forest.

Thinking of this, Sokov said to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, we need to ask the soldiers around us if any of them are hunters or have been rangers. If there are these two kinds of people, We will be more confident when we get out of the forest.”

The words awakened the dreamer, and Sokov's words reminded Colonel Del. He quickly said: "I'm going to ask now to see if there are any hunters or rangers among the soldiers."

A few minutes later, Colonel Del picked out three former hunters and rangers from among the soldiers, and under their leadership, the small force set off on the road again.

At the same time, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Stalin, smoking a pipe, asked a general standing in front of him expressionlessly: "Have the contacts with the 37th Army Headquarters not been restored yet?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." The general replied tremblingly: "We have tried every means, but we are unable to establish contact with the 37th Army Headquarters. According to my estimation, they may have encountered something unexpected."

Unexpectedly, it was this sentence that angered Stalin: "What I want to hear is an accurate answer, not your estimate. As long as the German army does not announce their results, it means that the 37th Army has not been annihilated by the Germans, Vlasov There is also the possibility of returning to Moscow.”

The general knew that Vlasov was Stalin's favorite general, and his disappearance affected Stalin's heart. However, he was also worried. The radio stations of No. 7 and 8 kept calling the 37th Army Headquarters, but there was no reply. What's more, according to the accurate situation, the Yagojing area where the 37th Army Headquarters is located has already arrived today. It was completely occupied by the Germans before noon. There are only two reasons why Vlasov lost contact, either he was captured or sacrificed, and the latter is more likely.

For a moment, Comrade General did not dare to express his opinions casually, lest he angered the Supreme Commander again, so he could only ask in fear: "Comrade Stalin, what should we do next? Continue to call the 37th Army Headquarters?"

"Of course, such calls should not stop before getting in touch with the 37th Army Headquarters." Stalin said: "Also, you send a telegram to Marshal Timoshenko and ask him to send troops in the direction of Yagotin. Search troops to find Vlasov’s whereabouts.”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The general agreed, "I will immediately convey your wishes to Marshal Timoshenko."

A quarter of an hour later, Timoshenko, who had just taken over as commander of the Southwest Front, received a telegram from the headquarters of the Supreme Command, which asked him to send personnel to search for Vlasov's whereabouts in the direction of Yagotin.

Timoshenko placed the telegram in front of Khrushchev and said seriously: "Comrade Khrushchev, look, this is a telegram sent to us from the headquarters of the Supreme Command, asking me to send a search force to What do you think we should do next to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov, the commander of the 37th Army?”

After reading the telegram, Khrushchev raised his head and said to Timoshenko: "Comrade Marshal, needless to say, we must follow Comrade Stalin's order and send personnel to the direction of Yagotin to search for the whereabouts of General Vlasov. "You know, he is Comrade Stalin's favorite general. If something goes wrong with him, the consequences will be very serious."

"I understand, Comrade Khrushchev." Timoshenko said with some laughter and tears: "When I took over as commander of the Southwest Front, I once heard a rumor that since General Kilponos fought in the breakout battle, After his death in the battle, Comrade Stalin originally planned to make Vlasov the new commander of the front army. It was precisely because he was trapped in the German encirclement that this position fell on me by chance. "

"How is this possible, Comrade Marshal." Major General Pokrovsky, the newly appointed chief of staff, said: "You are the Marshal, and General Vlasov is just a lieutenant general. How can you hold the position of commander of the front army? ?”

"There is nothing impossible about this, Comrade Chief of Staff." Khrushchev said: "Before the Battle of Kiev broke out, General Vlasov was just a commander of the mechanized army, but Comrade Stalin personally summoned him to Moscow. Appointing him as the commander of the 37th Army and also the commander of the Kiev garrison shows how highly he is valued. Therefore, it should not be a rumor to appoint him as the commander of the front army. "

When Pokrovsky heard that Vlasov was so valued by Stalin, if something really happened, the front army headquarters would probably be punished. He quickly said to Timoshenko: "Comrade Marshal, if you don't If you object, I am willing to personally lead the search troops to the direction of Yagotin to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov.” Regarding Pokrovsky's self-recommendation, Timoshenko shook his head and said: "General Pokrovsky, don't forget your identity. You are the chief of staff of the front army, not a regimental commander or battalion commander. Such a dangerous thing Why should you lead the mission? Besides, the new front army headquarters has just been established, and I still need your full assistance."

Since Timoshenko said this, Pokrovsky naturally could no longer mention the matter of leading people to find Vlasov. He could only ask tactfully: "Comrade Marshal, what are your plans?"

Timoshenko looked at the map in front of him and thought about the question raised by Pokrovsky.

After a while, he pointed to a location on the map and said: "Deploy a battalion of troops from here and go to the direction of Yagotin to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov. Chief of Staff Pokrovsky, you must warn the other party, Go 20 to 30 kilometers deep at most, and if there is no whereabouts of Vlasov, withdraw immediately.”

Khrushchev heard the implication of Timoshenko's words, nodded and said: "Yes, the enemy may soon launch an attack on our newly established defense line, and we should not distract our precious troops for a long time. Therefore, a search area should be designated, and if the whereabouts of General Vlasov are not found, they should end the search and return to their original base to prepare for a new round of German attacks. "

Pokrovsky hesitated for a moment and asked cautiously: "Comrade Military Commissar, if we fail to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov, won't the High Command blame us?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Khrushchev looked up at Pokrovsky and said: "Let me remind you that finding the whereabouts of General Vlasov is indeed the task given to us by the base camp. But our main task is, It’s to stop the Germans from advancing towards Moscow. Do you understand?”

"Understood, Comrade Military Commissar." Pokrovsky quickly replied: "I immediately sent a telegram to the troops and asked them to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov."

Just when Pokrovsky was about to send a telegram to the front, Khrushchev stopped him again: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I wonder what area you plan to search in?"

"Of course, search along the railway or highway." Pokrovsky replied: "This is the fastest way to retreat."

Unexpectedly, after his words came out, Khrushchev shook his head and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if there is transportation, it is undoubtedly the fastest to retreat by railway or road. But have you ever considered it, Vlasov?" If they had not died or become prisoners of the Germans, they might not have been able to find any means of transportation if they wanted to retreat.”

Pokrovsky looked at Khrushchev and asked with a confused expression: "Then where will they retreat from?"

"Of course it's the forest." Khrushchev pointed to the map and said: "Although retreating by road or railway can reach our army's new defense area as quickly as possible, it is not the safest route and will be bombed by enemy planes along the way. , and the attack of the airborne team. If Vlasov and the others are not sacrificed or captured, the most ideal retreat route is to go through the forest area, avoid the German blockade, and return to our defense zone."

Hearing Khrushchev's explanation, Pokrovsky immediately understood. He nodded and said: "Understood, Comrade Military Commissar, I will inform the search troops to search in the forest area and find a way to find Frasso." "General Husband."

"Also, there is a distance of almost two hundred roads from the Yagotin area to our defense front." Timoshenko interjected: "If they escape from the German encirclement through the forest area, they will have to walk for at least a week or even more. They are retreating in a hurry, and they will definitely not carry much food with them. Therefore, before setting off, the search troops must carry a sufficient amount of food and medicine, and wait for them to meet up with General Vlasov in time. Provide supplies.”

An hour later, an infantry battalion deployed in Belopoliye, carrying a sufficient amount of food and medicine, left its defensive position and entered the continuous forest to launch a search and rescue operation for Vlasov.

Before the battalion commander left, the regiment commander who assigned him the task specifically told him: "Major, your battalion's mission is to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov, the commander of the 37th Group Army, in the forest area. But the superiors considered that Vlasov General Vlasov's loss of contact was due to his death or capture. Therefore, your search operation is not indefinite. You only need to go 20 to 30 kilometers deep into the forest area. If you have not found General Vlasov's whereabouts, Just withdraw immediately. Do you understand?”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." The battalion commander assured the commander: "Our battalion will definitely find a way to find Vlasov."

Since the vanguard of the German army had been discovered near the search area, the battalion commander did not disperse after leaving the defense area with his battalion. He still entered the dense forest as a battalion unit and launched a search operation.

Vlasov, Sokov and others knew nothing about the search operation carried out by the Southwest Front. Under the leadership of three soldiers, they advanced in the northeast direction. Along the way, we met lone soldiers from time to time, most of whom had escaped from the Yagojing area.

Faced with such stragglers, Sokov naturally would not let them go easily. He incorporated them into his own troops and appointed Constantine as his deputy to manage these warriors. And these warriors were originally walking alone in the forest, not knowing whether they had the ability to get out of the forest. Whenever you see someone willing to take you under your wing, you naturally want it.

When they fled into the forest on the 26th, Vlasov and others had only a dozen soldiers with them. By the dusk of the 27th, this force had expanded to hundreds of people.

The expansion of troops gave Sokov the confidence that even if he encountered the enemy's airborne team, he would still be able to fight and even annihilate the opponent. But while he was happy, he was also troubled by the fact that the food that was originally enough for five days was only enough for three days as the number of people increased. If they cannot get out of this vast forest within three days, the soldiers will face starvation, which is really a sad thing.

(End of chapter)