red moscow

Chapter 2661

Sokov noticed a detail from Captain Meglin's report. The other party was the deputy commander of the airborne battalion, which meant that the leader of the team this time might be the battalion commander. He quickly asked, "Comrade Captain, where is your battalion commander?"

Meglin quickly explained to Sokov: "Comrade General, the situation is like this. After receiving your telegram, the battalion commander learned that the bandits' defense at the front of the vehicle was the weakest, so he asked me to bring a company to join you. He will attack the remaining two companies from the rear and flanks of the vehicle."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of gunfire from the rear of the car, mixed with the sound of some grenade explosions.

Hearing this voice, Meglin's face lit up with joy: "Comrade General, this is the troops commanded by the battalion commander, attacking the enemy."

"How many people did you bring?" Sokov had just finished asking this question when he remembered that the other party had told him that he had brought a company of airborne troops. He quickly continued, "Oh, you said you brought a company, so there must be dozens or even hundreds of people. Now, I will give you a difficult task, which is to rush to the rear of the train and cooperate with other troops to annihilate the bandits."

"Yes!" Meglin agreed and rushed towards the rear of the carriage with dozens of soldiers.

Although bandits appeared from time to time, they were no match for the well-trained paratroopers. After a brief exchange of fire, they fell in a pool of blood.

The bandits who attacked the train were just a mob. When they faced unarmed passengers, they were able to control the situation. When they encountered several guards under Sokov, they made no progress except leaving a pile of bodies. Now facing the newly arrived airborne troops, they only held out for more than ten minutes before the battle ended. The bandits who occupied the train were either killed or captured.

After the battle, the airborne battalion commander came over to report to Sokov: "Hello, Comrade General, I am Major Felix, the airborne battalion commander, and I have come to rescue you." He looked at Sokov carefully and asked cautiously: "You are not injured, right?"

"No, I'm not injured." Sokov was most concerned about how many survivors were left on the train: "How many survivors were left when you liberated the rear carriage?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Felix lowered his head and said with a heavy heart: "We only rescued less than 30 people. The rest were killed by the bandits who hijacked the train."

"Major!" Seryosha, who was standing next to Sokov, asked, "Do you know where these bandits came from?"

"I don't know." Felix answered simply: "My troops are not stationed nearby, so I don't know where the bandits came from."

"Where did you come from?" Sokov asked.

After Felix mentioned a place name, he continued, "Our battalion was practicing airborne operations when we suddenly received a telegram from the military headquarters saying that the train you were on was attacked by bandits at the border between Hungary and Austria, and asked us to rush over to rescue you immediately. I asked the pilot to turn around and perform an airborne operation nearby."

Hearing this, Sokov finally understood why Malinin could confidently say that the reinforcements would arrive within a quarter of an hour. That was because the airborne battalion was conducting parachute training nearby, and if they flew a few minutes longer, they would arrive at the location where the train was hijacked.

"Major Felix, what unit does your battalion belong to?"

"7th Guards Airborne Division, Comrade General."

"I wonder which unit this division belongs to?" Sokov continued to ask.

"It belongs to the 4th Guards Army, Comrade General."

"Major Felix, let's get acquainted again." Sokov extended his hand to Felix and said in a friendly tone, "I am Admiral Sokov, the new commander of the 1st Guards Army. I never thought that when I encountered danger on the road, the person who saved me turned out to be my subordinate."

"You are the new commander!" After confirming Sokov's identity, Felix quickly took a step back, straightened his back, raised his hand and saluted Sokov: "Hello, comrade commander, it is our honor to serve you."

After some more small talk, Sokov got to the point: "Can we go to Vienna right now?"

Felix shook his head. "No, Commander. The railway ahead has been damaged and the locomotive can no longer operate. In addition, the carriages are severely damaged. Without repair, I'm afraid they will not be able to continue operating."

Hearing this, Seryosha said unconvincedly: "What should we do then? Should we just stop here?"

"No way." Felix looked at Seryosha standing in front of him, and muttered to himself, who is this man with an assault rifle, wearing military uniforms, and no military rank? Although he didn't know Seryosha's identity, seeing him standing next to Sokov, he guessed that he and Sokov must have a close relationship, so he answered truthfully: "We are all airborne soldiers. We don't carry tools to repair railways and locomotives. We can only see if the troops that arrive later have the corresponding tools."

After Felix explained to Seryosha, he turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, I want to arrange for someone to clean up the train. Can you allow me to leave?"

Sokov knew clearly that by cleaning the train, they meant removing all the bodies from the train and cleaning up the bloodstains. He nodded and said, "Allow me, go back to your work."

After Felix left, Kopalova returned to Sokov.

Sokov saw that her face was pale and knew that she had seen something she shouldn't have seen, so he asked tentatively: "Kopalova, were Maxim and the others killed?"

"Yes, Misha, they are all dead." Kopalova wiped her tears and said, "I never thought that the gangsters were so cruel that they killed almost everyone in the car. If I didn't live with you, I might have died like them, at the hands of the gangsters."

Sokov put his hand on Kopalova's shoulder and comforted her, "Kopalova, when we get to Vienna, you should call the newspaper and tell them about the murder of the other journalists, and ask them to send someone over as soon as possible to set up a press station."

"Misha, I can only stay at your place temporarily until new reporters arrive. You won't chase me away, will you?"

"How could that be?" Sokov said with a smile, "I'd love for you to live with me. How could I chase you away?"

"That's good." Kopalova nodded and said with relief: "Then I'm relieved." When Felix was clearing the train with his airborne battalion, Vasherigov came over to report: "Comrade Commander, another reinforcement has arrived. This unit is also equipped with two tanks and five armored vehicles. If you want to get to Vienna as soon as possible, I suggest you take an armored vehicle or tank, so you don't have to worry about being attacked by the enemy again on the road."

"I think we shouldn't do that." Sokov shook his head and rejected Vaserigov's proposal. "If our superiors knew our current situation, they would definitely send someone to repair the railway and the locomotive. I believe it won't take long before we can set off again."

Seeing that Sokov was unwilling to leave on a tank or armored vehicle, Vasherigov had nothing more to say and could only leave in embarrassment.

The new troop commander brought with him a radio operator who carried a high-powered radio on his back.

The commander came up to Sokov, raised his hand and saluted, then asked, "Excuse me, are you Colonel-General Sokov, the new commander of the 4th Guards Army?"

"Yes, I am Sokov." Sokov asked back: "What's the matter?"

"Commander General Malinin wants to speak to you, Comrade General!"

Sokov took the headset handed over by the radio operator, put it on, and said into the transmitter: "Hello, General Malinin, I am Sokov."

"Misha, I'm so glad to hear your voice." Malinin asked with concern, "You weren't injured in the attack just now, were you?"

"No, General Malinin," Sokov replied. "I came to Vienna to take up my post this time with five guards. When the bandits started to rob the train, it was they who successfully blocked the bandits' attack and used flexible tactics to eliminate a large number of bandits. It was because of their presence that I was able to live to see the reinforcements you sent."

"Misha, when I learned that you were in danger, I was very anxious. I immediately contacted the subordinate troops to see who could rush to meet you as soon as possible." Malinin said, "Later, my deputy told me that according to the daily training schedule, an airborne battalion will conduct airborne training today. If this unit is not far away, you can order them to rush to support you."

Malinin paused for a moment and continued, "Misha, is there anything you need my help with?"

"The bandits slaughtered the train. There are only about 30 survivors on the train, including me and my men." Sokov said, "The railway ahead is destroyed and the locomotive is damaged and cannot run. We can only stay where we are for the time being."

"Oh, the railway and the locomotive were destroyed?" Malinin asked in surprise, "Are there any railway workers among those who rushed to rescue?"

"No, Comrade General," Sokov answered simply, "Neither the airborne battalion nor the newly arrived troops have brought tools to repair the locomotive and lay the tracks. I'm afraid we can't leave here until the railway workers arrive."

"Misha, do you think this is okay?" Malinin asked Sokov in a negotiating tone, "I will send you a group of professional railway workers right away, but you should not sit idle. There should be a railway maintenance team near where you parked your car. Send someone to contact them and see if they can provide you with some help."

Sokov felt that what Malinin said made a lot of sense, and nodded quickly: "Okay, General Malinin, I will send someone to check it out as soon as possible."

After finishing the call with Malinin, Sokov returned the earphone and the transmitter to the radio operator, and then said to the commander: "Comrade Commander, General Malinin just said that there should be a railway workers' team nearby, and asked us to send people to find the railway workers and ask them to help us repair the locomotive and lay the tracks first, so that we can leave here soon."

But after hearing what Sokov said, the commander said seriously: "Comrade General, we did see a railway maintenance team on the way here, but unfortunately, all the railway workers in the maintenance team were killed by the bandits."

Hearing the commander's words, Sokov's facial muscles twitched twice: "What? All the railway workers in the road maintenance team were killed by bandits?"

"Yes, that's right." The commander nodded and continued, "According to my guess, even if the gangs can't stop your train here, as long as all the workers on the track are dead, once a train comes, there will be no one to move the rails, and there is a possibility of a collision between the two trains."

Sokov walked to the car window and saw Felix busy under the car. He called him quickly: "Major Felix!"

Hearing Sokov's shout, Felix stood at attention, looked up at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, what are your instructions?"

"Major, please send a few soldiers back in the direction the train came from. I remember there is a road maintenance room a few kilometers away from here with quite a few railway workers inside." Sokov instructed the other party, "Please ask them to come over and help us repair the locomotive and lay the tracks."

"Okay, Comrade Commander, I'll send someone over right away." After saying that, Felix called over an officer and began giving orders to him.

Watching the officers and soldiers sent by Felix walking away along the railroad tracks, Seryosha asked worriedly, "Misha, are the workers in the road maintenance team we saw on the way here still alive?"

Hearing Seryosha's speculation, Sokov felt heavy-hearted. Since the bandits could kill the railway workers of one track team, it seemed logical that they would massacre the railway workers of another track team. Fortunately, whether there was assistance from the track team workers or not, the impact was not too great. At most, they would arrive in Vienna a few hours later.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Felix, who received a report from his subordinates, ran onto the train and reported to Sokov with a heavy heart: "Comrade Commander, my subordinates reported to me that all the workers in the class were dead. He checked the bodies and found that they were killed by submachine gun fire. I guess this was done by the gang of bandits who were annihilated."

"Major, your guess is correct." Sokov said to Felix, "The commander of another troop told me that on the way here, they passed by a railway station and all the railway workers there were dead. It must have been the bandits who did it."

"Damn these bandits, they are so cruel." Felix gritted his teeth and said, "I will interrogate the captured bandits and find out where their lair is. I will lead people to wipe them out."

Felix reminded Sokov that although a lot of bandits were eliminated today, if the roots are not removed, they will grow again in the spring breeze. Today, this group of bandits was eliminated, but their lair was not taken down. It won't be long before they come back again and cause more innocent people to suffer.

After figuring this out, Sokov said to Felix, "Major, this group of bandits is always a nuisance. No matter what method you use, you must find out where their lair is from the captured bandits."

"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Felix assured Sokov, "No matter how tight-lipped those bandits are, I will make them tell me the information I want."