red moscow

Chapter 2720

The major and Andrei were surprised because Sokov captured several German tanks and a group of tankers with just two tanks. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, but heard about it from others, he would have thought that the other party was bragging.

Everything that happened before his eyes made it difficult for the major to speak. He saw the Soviet soldiers who helped Sokov escort the prisoners out, and asked in surprise: "Where did these people come from?"

"They were locked up by the Germans in a room in the alley next to them," Sokov explained to the major. "After the German commander surrendered to us, the people guarding them also surrendered, so I rescued these soldiers as well."

"Comrade soldier," the major said with emotion, "four tanks, two assault guns, and dozens of German prisoners. If your superiors knew about your achievements today, they would definitely award you a medal."

"More than that," Sokov shook his head and said, "The captured tanks were not four, but ten. To be exact, a total of ten tanks and two assault guns were captured."

The major showed a surprised expression on his face: "But there are only four tanks on the street, where did ten of them come from?"

"Just now when I went to count the prisoners, I found an alley next to it with six tanks parked in it."

When the major heard what Sokov said, his face twitched a few times, and then he said in an unbelievable tone: "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible, how could there be a tank next to it?"

"If you don't believe me, I can go with you to have a look."

The major called the second lieutenant who had just been rescued and said to him, "Comrade Second Lieutenant, you are in charge of this place for the time being. I'm going to go to the street ahead to take a look."

Sokov led the major up the street to check out the tanks parked in the alley.

When the two men came to the street and saw the six tanks parked there, the major couldn't help but take a breath. He turned his head and looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Soldier, I really admire your courage. The enemy's strength is several times stronger than ours, and you actually dared to provoke them and even won. This is incredible. I want to ask, when you made such a decision, weren't you afraid?"

"Of course I was afraid," Sokov answered truthfully. "When I came here and saw several tanks parked in the alley, I felt scared. If a tank driver hid in the tank and shot at me with a machine gun, I would be dead. Fortunately, I was lucky. The tank soldiers here also received the surrender order from their superiors. When they saw me coming, they said nothing and walked out with their hands raised."

"Comrade soldier," the major took out a cigarette case from his pocket, handed it to Sokov, and asked, "I don't know what to call you?"

"My last name is Sokov."

"Well, I'll call you Sokov from now on." The major said, "My name is Yosifov, nice to meet you." After that, he extended his hand to Sokov.

Sokov shook the other's hand and said, "Hello, Major Iosifov, nice to meet you."

"What are you going to do with these tanks and assault guns?" Major Yosifov asked. "Burn them all?"

"Why burn it?" Sokov asked back, "I just checked. At the other end of the alley, there are two trucks loaded with gasoline barrels parked. They should be refueling these tanks and assault guns. We can drive these tanks and assault guns to our defense zone and use them to attack the Germans in the future."

"Sokov, to be honest, I also want to drive these tanks back. The Type 26 tank is a medium tank, and the T- tanks we have equipped in large quantities now are light tanks, which can't beat the Type tanks at all." Yosifov shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, there are not enough tank drivers, so there is no way to drive them back."

"Who said there were no tank drivers?" Sokov said, "There were quite a few tank drivers among the prisoners."

"But how can the enemy help us drive the tanks back to our defense zone?"

"That's good," Sokov suggested to Iosifov. "Let one or two of our soldiers sit next to the German tank drivers to watch over them and force them to drive the tanks toward our defense zone. As for the rest of the tank soldiers, let them walk with the tanks."

"Sokov, your idea is good. Let's do it this way." After Major Yosifov finished speaking, he threw the cigarette butt in his hand to the ground and urged Sokov: "Let's go back quickly and don't let the comrades outside wait anxiously."

Iosifov returned to his tank and used the communication equipment to contact the ambulance team and asked them to pass through the town as soon as possible. After doing all this, he directed his men to put a cable on the destroyed tank and tow it to an open place to make way for the tanks blocking the street.

"Sokov," Iosifov asked Sokov tentatively while his tank was dragging the wreckage of the German tank, "What are your plans next?"

"Major Yosifov, to be honest, I have only been in the army for one day and I am just an ordinary soldier." Sokov said to Yosifov, "The commander of the company is a captain. He is injured and can no longer command the troops. I will temporarily take over his position. But I am unfamiliar with the place and don't know where to contact my superiors, so I can only stay in the bunkers for the time being."

"Sokov, take your people and follow me." Yosifov said sincerely, "We need to rush to Nezhin. The force protecting the convoy is somewhat weak. If you are willing to bring your troops to join us, I will recommend you to the city defense commander after we arrive in Nezhin. Then he may assign you to a combat unit, so you don't have to worry about you becoming a fatherless and motherless child."

Yosifov's words moved Sokov. If he continued to stay in the current position, no matter how many times he could repel the enemy's attacks, the final outcome would be annihilation. If he could follow the ambulance team and go to his own defense area, it might be a good choice.

Sokov made a quick decision: "Comrade Major, I have decided to go to Nezhin with you."

"Great, that's great." Yosifov raised his hand and patted Sokov's arm, smiling and saying, "From now on, we are a family."

"Andrei," Sokov turned and told Andrei, "I plan to follow Major Yosifov to Niejin. Now go back to the bunkers and bring the troops over."

Andrei had long felt that it was the most foolish thing for the troops to wait foolishly after losing contact with their superiors. But such a decision was made by the captain, and he, a small soldier, had no right to give orders to the captain. Now that the captain was seriously injured, Sokov took over the command of the troops. Since he said he wanted to evacuate the bunkers and follow the convoy to the Nizhen area, he naturally wanted it. After a loud promise, he drove away on a motorcycle.

An hour later, the ambulance convoy passed through the town smoothly, and the German tank formation led by Major Yosifov also followed the convoy and slowly advanced towards Nezhin. In the evening, a sentry outside Nezhin saw a convoy heading towards his defense zone. Seeing that it was a Soviet ambulance convoy, he immediately opened the roadblock to let the convoy pass.

As soon as the ambulance convoy passed, he found a long line of German tanks and assault guns behind him. He was immediately frightened and shouted at the top of his voice: "Combat alert! Combat alert!! The German tanks are coming! The German tanks are coming!"

His shouting caused a panic. The officers and soldiers who were originally in hiding rushed out one after another, quickly occupied favorable shooting positions, and aimed their guns at the slowly approaching German tank column.

But soon, the officers on the position noticed a red flag fluttering in the wind on the side of the approaching German tank, and they shouted to everyone around them: "They are our own people. No one is allowed to shoot without my order."

After shouting, the officer walked out of the trench and walked towards the tank.

The leading tank was a T-34 tank carrying Major Yosifov. When he saw someone blocking the road, he quickly ordered the driver to stop the car, and he himself climbed out of the turret and went over to greet the commander who came to greet him.

"Comrade Major, which unit are you from?"

"Comrade Captain," Iosifov said to the officer, "We are from Kiev. Our mission is to escort a group of seriously wounded soldiers to the military hospital in Nezhin for necessary treatment. The ambulance team has entered the city. Can I go in and see the commander of the city defense?"

But the officer looked at the long column of tanks and asked sternly, "Major, can you explain to me what's going on with those German tanks at the back?"

"Comrade Captain, please listen to my explanation. These are the German tanks we captured." Yosifov pointed at the German tank soldiers being escorted by the soldiers and said with a smile: "Don't you see those tank soldiers being escorted by our soldiers?"

"Oh my God," the officer said, "I will report your situation to my superiors immediately."

"Comrade Captain, please report quickly," Yosifov urged, "My men have been walking for a day and are very tired and hungry. Once you get permission from your superiors, we can go into the city and find a place to eat and rest."

The officer quickly ran back to his command post, contacted his superior by phone, and reported to him that Major Yosifov had brought a team of German tanks.

Soon, the officers received the reply: let their column pass and drive directly to the center of the city, because the garrison headquarters was in the church in the middle of the city.

The tank column quickly drove into the city and headed towards the city center.

Many soldiers and residents along the way saw the convoy. They pointed at the white crosses on the tanks and the group of prisoners following the tanks, and whispered to each other about where these prisoners came from.

Soon, the tanks arrived at the square in front of the church.

As soon as Major Yosifov jumped off the tank, a lieutenant colonel walked out of the church. He came up to Yosifov and asked directly: "Major, you are the commander who escorted the ambulance convoy here, right?"

"Yes." Iosifov nodded and gave the other party an affirmative answer: "I am Major Iosifov, responsible for leading the tank unit and escorting the ambulance team to Niejin."

"I'm the chief of staff of the garrison headquarters." The lieutenant colonel looked at the tanks and said with interest: "Major, you did a great job. You actually captured so many German tanks. This is a great achievement. I will report this to the garrison commander later and ask him to report your achievements."

Yosifov did not seek credit for himself, but called Sokov to his side, and then said to the lieutenant colonel: "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is Sokov. He led a small force to occupy an abandoned group of bunkers, where he stubbornly blocked the enemy and caused considerable casualties to the enemy. These German tanks behind me were all captured without paying any price thanks to his wit."

After hearing this, the lieutenant colonel saw Sokov looking him up and down, and then asked with interest: "Comrade Soldier, how long have you been in the army?"

Hearing the lieutenant colonel's question, Sokov showed an embarrassed expression on his face: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I just joined the army yesterday."

"What? He just joined the army yesterday?" The lieutenant colonel's expression turned cold. He said absentmindedly, "A new recruit probably hasn't received any formal military training. With his ability, it's simply a daydream for him to capture so many German tanks."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, everything I said is true." Seeing that the lieutenant colonel did not believe him, Yosifov quickly defended Sokov and said, "I saw the entire process of capturing the German tanks clearly. If you don't believe me, I can ask several other participants to come and testify for me." Then he told the lieutenant colonel everything that happened in the town.

The lieutenant colonel was still skeptical when he heard what Yosifov said. However, he came out this time on the orders of the garrison commander to welcome the hero who had captured a large number of German tanks. Even if he didn't believe everything Yosifov said, he still had to take him in to see the garrison commander. So he nodded to Yosifov and said, "Major, come in with me."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Yosifov reminded the lieutenant colonel when he saw that he was the only one allowed to follow him in, "Comrade Sokov is a great hero. Can he go with me to see the garrison commander?"

"No." The lieutenant colonel answered very straightforwardly: "The order I received was to take only you in. As for this soldier, leave him outside for now. When the garrison commander wants to see him, it won't be too late to call him in."

Since the lieutenant colonel had said this, Yosifov knew very well that no matter what he said, it would not change the fact. He could only say to Sokov apologetically: "Sokov, I'm so sorry. I have to trouble you to wait outside. When I meet the garrison commander, I will report your matter to him."

Sokov didn't care about that. He waved to Yosifov and said with a smile, "Major Yosifov, please go in quickly and don't keep the commander waiting."

After watching Iosifov and the lieutenant colonel walk into the church, Sokov turned back to the group of soldiers guarding the prisoners. He took out the cigarette Iosifov gave him and handed it to the lieutenant he rescued: "Comrade Lieutenant, do you smoke?"

(End of this chapter)