red moscow

Chapter 2598

Sokov nodded, then made a gesture of invitation to Lieutenant Shurik, indicating that he could go in first and report.

Shurik raised his hand and knocked on the door twice, and without waiting for the person inside to answer, he pushed the door open and walked in. As soon as he entered the room, he closed the door behind him, so that Sokov didn't even see the situation in the room clearly.

A minute later, Shurik came out of the door and said respectfully to Sokov, "Comrade General, please come in!" Then he stepped aside to make way for Sokov.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Shurik." Sokov thanked Shurik and walked into the room.

Opposite the door in the room, there was a desk, behind which sat a man in plain clothes. When he saw Sokov coming in, he immediately stood up, walked around from behind the desk, extended his hand to Sokov, and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, General Sokov! Let me introduce myself, I am Rublev from the Ministry of Internal Affairs!"

"Hello, Comrade Rublev." Sokov extended his hand and shook it, then released it and asked in a polite but distant tone, "I wonder what you want me to do here?"

"General Sokov, please take a seat!" Rublev asked Sokov to sit down and said, "I heard that you are going to work in the General Armament Department. As a dispatched agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we have to review every person who joins according to the usual practice. I hope you can understand."

"I understand, I understand." Sokov felt more at ease when he learned that the other party was just conducting a routine review: "I will try my best to cooperate with your review."

Rublev sat back at the table, opened a notebook, picked up a pen, and then looked at Sokov and asked, "General Sokov, I heard that you returned from Berlin with Marshal Zhukov this time?"

"Yes, I did take Marshal Zhukov's special train from Berlin to Moscow."

Rublev smiled and said, "Very good, we have made a good start, and then we can continue to ask questions."

"Excuse me."

"I heard that you participated in the Battle of Stalingrad?"

"That's right." Sokov thought that many people knew about his history and there was no need to keep it secret, so he nodded and agreed: "I did participate in the Battle of Stalingrad. Before the battle began, I was the commander of the Infantry Brigade. By the end of the battle, I had been promoted to the commander of the Guards Division."

"It seems that you have made considerable contributions in this great battle?"

“Soon after the Battle of Stalingrad, I was decorated and promoted to major general.”

After Rublev wrote down what Sokov said in his notebook, he suddenly asked, "General Sokov, do you know Marshal Zhukov?"

Sokov was stunned when he heard this question. He thought, "You just asked me if I took the same train with Zhukov from Berlin to Moscow. How come you asked me if I knew Marshal Zhukov?" However, from this moment on, Sokov became more alert. He realized that Rublev must have set some language traps for him by asking this question. If he was not careful, he might be tricked by him.

"Comrade Rublev," Sokov calmed himself down and said slowly, "I think you may have forgotten that shortly after I came in, you asked me whether I took the same special train with Marshal Zhukov from Berlin to Moscow. How come you forgot it in the blink of an eye?"

Hearing Sokov's words, Rublev was stunned for a moment, then he slapped his forehead with his hand and said in an annoyed manner: "General Sokov, you see, I really have a bad memory. I actually forgot what you just said."

Rublev's performance was too exaggerated, and Sokov just smiled and said nothing.

After a pause, Rublev continued, "Did you deal with Marshal Zhukov during the Battle of Stalingrad?" "No, I did not deal with Marshal Zhukov during the Battle of Stalingrad." Hearing this, Sokov realized that the purpose of the conversation today was probably directed at Marshal Zhukov, so he answered without hesitation: "At that time, Marshal Zhukov was in the north of the city, commanding three army groups to launch a non-stop counterattack against the German army. The troops I commanded at the time were stationed at Mamayev Kurgan. The two places were far apart, and there was no chance for us to meet at all."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Rublev continued to ask, "Then do you think that the counterattack launched by the three armies led by Marshal Zhukov in the north of the city achieved the expected results?"

"I'm not sure whether it achieved the intended effect." Sokov answered cautiously, "After all, my rank was too low at the time, and I had no idea what combat objectives they were trying to achieve, but one thing is beyond doubt."

"Which point?"

"Although our army's counterattack in the north of the city did not successfully repel the enemy," Sokov said, "it was precisely because of their bravery and tenacity on the battlefield that they successfully tied down part of the German Sixth Army's forces, preventing Paulus from concentrating all his forces to launch a final general attack on the city, creating extremely favorable conditions for the 62nd Army commanded by Chuikov to defend Stalingrad."

But what Sokov said obviously did not satisfy Rublev. He pursed his lips and said unhappily: "Don't you think that Marshal Zhukov's counterattack in the north of the city has not achieved its intended purpose except increasing our casualties?"

"Comrade Rublev, I just said that my rank was too low at the time and I had no idea what strategic goal Marshal Zhukov was trying to achieve." Sokov was worried that someone would use his conversation to criticize Zhukov, so he emphasized, "But it was precisely because of the counterattack in the north of the city that the German forces were effectively dispersed, making it impossible for them to concentrate all their forces to launch the final general attack on the city."

"General Sokov, you have just said these words." Rublev reminded Sokov: "I want to hear some different opinions."

"Comrade Rublev, if you really think so, you will be disappointed." Sokov looked at him and said, "Marshal Zhukov's contribution during the Battle of Stalingrad is obvious to all. Anyone who wants to deny this is wrong."

Seeing that his goal had not been achieved, Rublev asked another question: "Did you participate in the defense of Moscow?"

Sokov thought of the fact that he had participated in the great counterattack outside Moscow, which should also be part of the defense of Moscow, so he gave the other party an affirmative answer: "I participated."

"Since you participated in the Battle of Moscow, I would like to ask you a question."

"Excuse me."

"In November 1941, the German army launched a frenzied attack to the west of Moscow, forcing our 11th and 5th armies to abandon their original positions and retreat to the suburbs of Moscow." Rublev said: "At that time, the 30th Army commanded by Marshal Rokossovsky was located between the two armies. In order to level the front and avoid being surrounded by the German army, Marshal Rokossovsky proposed to Zhukov that his troops be allowed to retreat to the Istrian Reservoir area to build a new defense, but Zhukov opposed it.

After weighing the pros and cons, Rokossovsky asked Marshal Shaposhnikov, then Chief of the General Staff, to withdraw. Marshal Shaposhnikov reported the matter to the Supreme Commander himself and obtained approval before he gave Rokossovsky an order to allow his troops to withdraw. But soon after the 16th Army's retreat began, it was brutally interfered with by Zhukov, who ordered them to stop retreating and return to their original positions immediately. Since some positions had been occupied by the German army, the 16th Army paid a huge price to seize the lost positions, which led to a significant reduction in the strength of the troops..."

Looking at the Internal Affairs personnel in front of him who were talking incessantly, Sokov understood more and more that today's so-called review was just a formality. The main purpose was to make him say something unfavorable to Zhukov so that some people could use it as a handle to attack Zhukov.

After realizing this, Sokov raised his hand to interrupt him: "Comrade Rublev, I don't know much about what you are talking about. You know, I was just a squad leader defending Khimkizhen at the time. I was not qualified to know about matters at the army level or even the front level. Therefore, I cannot answer the question you are going to ask."

When Rublev saw that Sokov's answer was flawless, an embarrassed expression appeared on his face, and for a moment he didn't know what to say next.

Sokov stood up and said bluntly: "Comrade Rublev, I want to ask you, you keep saying that you are here to examine whether I am qualified to stay in the General Armament Department, but since I entered the door, the questions you asked have all been related to Marshal Zhukov. Can you explain to me what is going on?"

"I was just asking casually." Rublev tried to force a smile on his face and defended himself with pale words: "I just thought that you have a good relationship with Marshal Zhukov, so I just wanted to chat with you casually to avoid making the review too serious."

At this time, there was a knock on the door. Before Rublev could say anything, Lieutenant Shurik pushed the door open and walked in. He straightened his body and reported to Rublev: "Report, Comrade Ustinov is here. He is just outside the door. Can you let him in?"