red moscow

Chapter 2644

When Sokov and Rokossovsky were playing a war game on the map, a general with the rank of lieutenant general came over and after looking at it for a while, he expressed his opinion: "Comrade General, if you automatically use the troops of the Southern Army Group, then I can completely transfer the troops deployed in Belarus and the three Baltic countries back to strengthen the defense in the direction of Moscow, so that the situation on the battlefield will fall into a stalemate."

Sokov looked up and saw a strange face. He had never seen him before, so he didn't want to talk to him. But Rokossovsky smiled and said, "General Horvath, if you really do this, you will fall into Misha's trap, which will lead to the collapse of your entire defense line."

The lieutenant general known as Horvath asked in confusion: "Comrade Marshal, I don't understand what you mean. Can you explain it more clearly?"

"Look," Rokossovsky pointed to the map and said to Horvath, "the two army groups stationed near Belarus and the three Baltic countries not only play a role of containment and deterrence. Once they find that our army is transferring troops to reinforce the south, they will launch an unexpected attack and break through our defense line. It won't be long before the enemy's army will threaten the security of Moscow from three directions at the same time. Especially the troops that invaded Kursk Oblast, once they see their friendly forces approaching Moscow from the west and northwest, they can change from a feint attack to a main attack, and then Moscow will become precarious."

"Comrade Marshal," Horvath said cautiously, "At that time, you commanded the incomplete 16th Army and stubbornly blocked the German attack and crushed their attempt to break into Moscow. Don't you have any confidence in defending this city today?"

"General Horvath, I must first correct you on one point. Although the 16th Army under my command fought tenaciously, due to limited manpower and an overly open front, there were actually many loopholes in the defense line. The enemy had a reconnaissance squad that passed through the gap in my defense line and rushed directly to Moscow." Rokossovsky stared at Sokov as he said this: "If it weren't for the garrison squad commanded by Misha, which stopped the enemy in time, I'm afraid the enemy's boots would have stepped on the streets of Moscow. If this really happened, even if I was dismissed from my post, I might not be able to make up for the mistakes I made."

After hearing what Rokosovs said, Horvath turned to look at Sokov and said in surprise: "Comrade Marshal, is it the troops commanded by this general that blocked the German troops trying to break into Moscow?"

"Yes, it's him." Rokossovsky nodded, and then asked, "Haven't you heard of him?"

"Of course I've heard of it." Khovat nodded and said, "But I only heard that a garrison squad that held on to the town of Khimki, with the cooperation of the instrument factory militia, completely wiped out a small German force that tried to occupy the town of Khimki. I don't know who specifically commanded this battle."

"Yes, that battle was commanded by Misha." Rokossovsky continued: "Although the scale of this battle was negligible, its significance can be recorded in history. Their tenacious resistance completely shattered the Germans' attempt to set foot on the streets of Moscow."

They chatted for a while until Antonov, Zhukov and others came in from outside and then stopped talking.

At today's meeting, Shtemenko first announced the exercise plan, and then announced the senior commanders who would participate in the exercise.

Seeing the generals sitting in different positions stand up and answer "yes" loudly after their names were called, Sokov became nervous. Although he knew that he could participate in this military exercise, he had no idea which unit he would command.

"Misha," Rokossovsky, who was sitting next to him, whispered, "Although I wanted you to go to my Northern Group, Zhukov refused. He said he had arranged a suitable position for you, which is more promising than coming to me."

Sokov originally thought that since it was Rokossovsky who called to inform him to attend the meeting, he would have a greater chance of joining his Northern Group. Unexpectedly, he was arranged by Zhukov to take up a command position in another group.

After a while, Sokov heard Shtemenko calling his name, and he immediately stood up, straightened his back and looked at him, wanting to hear which unit he would be assigned to. He only heard Shtemenko read: "General Sokov, you are assigned to the 4th Guards Army under the Central Group as the commander."

Hearing that he was assigned to the Central Group, Sokov felt relieved. The unit was now under the command of Malinin, and he would surely take good care of him. Thinking of this, he answered loudly, "Yes!"

After all the names were announced, Zhukov stood up and said, "Comrades commanders, although our exercise is scheduled to begin in a month, as commanders, you should rush to the location of the troops as soon as possible, familiarize yourself with your troops and combat areas, and ensure the smooth progress of the exercise."

"Comrade Marshal," someone asked loudly during Zhukov's speech, "When should we go to our combat positions?"

"I can give you three to five days to hand over your work to others." Zhukov said, "After five days, no matter whether you still have work to hand over, you must leave for Europe immediately. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" The commanders present answered sparsely.

"What's the matter?" Zhukov said sternly, "Didn't you eat?"

"Understood!" This time the answer was not only uniform but also louder.

Zhukov nodded with satisfaction, and then announced: "Then everyone go back and prepare, the meeting is adjourned!"

When Sokov left, he wanted to ask Zhukov something, but when he saw that he was surrounded by a group of generals and asked questions, he gave up the idea and followed Rokossovsky outside.

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov looked around and saw that there was no one in the parking lot outside, so he asked Rokossovsky in a low voice: "Do you think this exercise can be carried out as planned?" The reason he asked this was that in real history, the Soviet army in the late 1940s did not conduct any exercises involving millions of people in Europe. In other words, even if there was such a plan, in the end, for some reason, the exercise was not carried out.

"Misha, do you know what you are talking about?" Rokossovsky said in surprise, "As far as I know, this exercise plan was revised five times before it was finally approved by Comrade Stalin. Since it was decided by the Supreme Commander himself, do you think it will be abandoned halfway?"

"Comrade Marshal, I have a bad feeling that this exercise may be suddenly cancelled for some reason."

"Some reason?" Rokossovsky asked puzzledly. "What reason?"

"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said, "It's just my intuition."

Rokossovsky laughed after hearing this. "Misha, your intuition is wrong this time. Think about it, at the military meeting that just ended, the commanders of the participating troops have been designated, and you are one of them. Think about it, under such circumstances, will the exercise be cancelled? I think you may be thinking too much."

"Maybe." Sokov had no concrete evidence, so he could not refute Rokossovsky, so he could only change the subject in time: "Lieutenant General Lukin returned to Moscow with me yesterday. As soon as he got off the train, he was picked up by people sent by Marshal Zhukov, but he has not contacted me yet. Do you know where he went?" Hearing Sokov's question, Rokossovsky showed a surprised expression on his face: "Why, don't you know that your superiors have assigned him a new position?"

"A new position? What position?"

"I also heard from Marshal Zhukov that Comrade Stalin appointed Lukin as deputy commander of the Odessa Military District." Rokossovsky said, "He will take office tomorrow."

"Do you know what he's doing?"

Rokossovsky spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and said helplessly: "Excuse me, Misha, I really don't know where Comrade Lukin is now."

"That's such a shame."

After chatting with Rokossovsky for a few more words, Sokov said goodbye and left.

When I got home, I found that Seryosha and Vaseligov had both returned.

"Seryosha," seeing Seryosha's depressed look, Sokov guessed that he must have seen the most undesirable situation when he returned home today, so he asked tentatively: "How was your return home today?"

"Oh, this is terrible." Seryosha sighed and said, "My original house has been allocated to someone else by the street housing management department. I have no choice but to continue living with you. I hope you don't think I'm annoying and drive me away."

"How could that be, Seryosha?" Sokov raised his hand and patted Seryosha on the shoulder, comforting him, "This is your home, you can stay here as long as you want."

"Misha, I heard that there will be military exercises in Europe in a while. I wonder when you can go there?" Seryosha asked cautiously, "If you want to go to Europe, can you take me with you?"

"Of course." Sokov was worried that there were too few people he could trust around him, and since Seryosha had volunteered, he was naturally more than happy. But he also knew that it was impossible to restore Seryosha's original rank, so he gave him a heads-up in advance: "But I have to remind you that even if you follow me to Europe, you can only be a soldier at best. I don't have the ability to make you an officer again."

"Even an ordinary soldier will do." But Seryosha didn't care about this at all. Instead, he said carelessly: "It's better to find something to do than to stay at home every day."

"Since you have made up your mind, you should prepare as soon as possible." Sokov said to Seryosha, "At the military meeting held today, I was appointed as the commander of the 4th Guards Army of the Central Group. I will leave for Europe in three days."

"Great, that's really great." Seryosha was overjoyed when he heard the news. But after a moment, he looked at the stairs not far away and asked Sokov in a low voice: "Misha, does Asiya know about this?"

"I just came back and haven't seen her yet. She definitely doesn't know." Sokov shook his head and said, "But I will tell her about this as soon as possible."

"Hey, Misha, I feel like you and Asiya have been apart for far too long since you got married. I don't know how long it will take for us to meet again after this separation." After Seryosha expressed his concerns, he took the initiative to make a suggestion: "How about taking her to Europe as well?"

"I'm afraid that won't work." Sokov said hesitantly, "Even if it's just an exercise, I'm afraid I can't bring Asiya with me. Otherwise, other commanders will see it and gossip about it, which might cause unnecessary trouble."

"By the way, where is Lieutenant General Lukin?" Seryosha suddenly asked, "He was your deputy commander during the Far East Campaign. Did your superiors appoint him as your deputy when you went to Europe to participate in the actual military exercise this time?"

"No. I have inquired about Comrade Lukin. He has been officially appointed as the deputy commander of the Odessa Military District and will take office in two days." Sokov couldn't help sighing when he said this. "It's a pity that I don't know where he is now, otherwise I really want to meet him. Because of this separation, I don't know when I will have the chance to see him again."

"Misha, Odessa is only a thousand kilometers away from Moscow." Seryosha said with a smile, "If you want to see him someday, just take the train to see him. It will take two days to reach your destination. It's very convenient."

Sokov was anxious to see Lukin, not because he was worried that they would not see each other for a long time after they separated, but because he was going to tell him about the impending famine in Ukraine and ask him to arrange for people to plant more drought-resistant crops such as potatoes and corn in the wasteland outside the city to alleviate the food shortage crisis.

Thinking of this, Sokov turned around and asked Vaserigov who was standing next to him: "Comrade Major, are you in touch with the people around Marshal Zhukov now?"

"Yes, Comrade General." Vaseligov looked at Sokov in surprise and asked blankly, "What can I do for you?"

"It's like this. I want to find out about Lieutenant General Lukin and where he lives now. I want to visit him." Sokov looked at Vaseligov and asked, "Comrade Major, can you do me this favor?"

Vaseligov originally thought that Sokov would give him a particularly difficult task, but now that he knew that he was only asked to find out the whereabouts of Lieutenant General Lukin, he felt much more at ease. He patted his chest and assured Sokov, "Comrade General, don't worry, I will go to my old friends and ask them about Lieutenant General Lukin. I will report to you as soon as I have any news."

"There's no time to lose. Go now." Sokov waved his hand at him. "Lieutenant General Lukin will leave Moscow in two days. If we don't find him soon, he will probably leave for Odessa."

"Then I will go find my friend now and ask about the whereabouts of Lieutenant General Lukin."

Not long after Vaseligov left, Asiya came down from upstairs. Seeing Sokov and Seryosha sitting in the living room, she said in surprise: "Misha, Seryosha, you two are back so soon."