red moscow

Chapter 2728

"I hope so." Victoria sighed and said, "Although in this era, many things are beyond your control, you should still find a way to leave Vlasov. If possible, you should cling to Marshal Zhukov or Marshal Rokossovsky. This will be very helpful for your future."

"Vika, I want to do that too, but unfortunately there is no chance now." Sokov spread his hands and said helplessly, "General Zhukov is now the commander of the reserve front. He has assembled 24 divisions of the 10th Army and is preparing to launch an attack on the German army in the Yelnya salient on August 8. At this moment, Major General Rokossovsky, who has not yet served as the commander of the 30th Army, is commanding the Yartsevo combat group, which is made up of scattered soldiers, and is confronting the German army across the Vop River."

Victoria showed a look of astonishment on her face: "Misha, I didn't expect that you know so much about the history of the Great Patriotic War. You even know more than me, a real Russian."

Sokov was hesitating whether to tell Victoria that this was his second time traveling to the Great Patriotic War, so it was not surprising that she knew about this period of history. But at this moment, the soldiers outside could not wait any longer and sent a representative to find Sokov: "Comrade Captain, shall we continue patrolling?"

"Yes, we have to continue patrolling." Sokov said to the soldier, "I have something else to say to this policeman, you go out first."

"Yes, Comrade Company Commander."

After the other soldiers left, Victoria looked at Sokov and said, "I never thought you would become a company commander."

"I am just the acting company commander." Sokov explained to Victoria: "As you can see, I currently do not hold any military rank, and it is still unknown how long I can serve as such."

"Where are you stationed now?" Victoria asked.

"The garrison headquarters." After giving the address, Sokov added, "We just moved in a few hours ago."

"Ah, we've only been here for a few hours and you're already being asked to go out on patrol?"

"There's nothing we can do." Sokov said helplessly, "You should know that the situation is seriously unfavorable to the Soviet army. Before the troops of the Far Eastern Front were transferred here, the Supreme Command could only continuously transfer the troops originally stationed in Moscow to the front line for reinforcement. Now the task of defending the city and patrolling falls on the newly formed militia division. They have not received enough military training. For patrolling, they can just walk around in the city in formation. If something really happens, we regular troops are the only ones we can rely on."

After Sokov finished speaking, he saw Victoria looking at him with a half-smile, and he couldn't help but ask awkwardly: "Vika, why are you looking at me?"

"You sound like you have a lot of military skills." Victoria said bluntly, "You should know that before this time travel, you were just a businessman selling clothes in the market. Even if you have played with guns on the shooting range and have developed good marksmanship. But on the battlefield, facing the enemy's dense artillery fire and bullets whizzing over your head, it is still unknown how much of these skills you can bring into play."

"Vika, it's getting late. I have to lead the team on patrol." Sokov looked at the soldiers outside the yard and said hurriedly: "If I told you that this is not my first time traveling through time, you probably wouldn't say that."

Victoria was stunned after hearing this, and then asked back: "Misha, what did you say?"

Sokov smiled and reminded the other party, "Vika, think carefully about your great-grandmother's attitude towards me. Am I really just possessing the memory of her former superior?"

"Misha, what are you saying that I don't understand?"

"I have something important to do. If you want to know the answer, let's talk about it next time we meet." Sokov said, raising his hand to his forehead and saluted Victoria, "Vika, good luck!" Then he trotted out of the yard and continued patrolling along the street with the patrol team.

Victoria looked at Sokov's back and murmured, "Misha, what do you mean by that? Have you ever traveled to this era before?"

……

After two hours of patrol, the patrol led by Sokov returned to the garrison headquarters.

Seeing Sokov coming back, the captain immediately came up to him and asked anxiously, "Comrade Soldier, why did you come back just now?"

"Comrade Captain, what's the matter?"

"General Vlasov is back and said he wants to see you."

"Where is he?"

"In the headquarters guesthouse." The captain offered, "I'll take you there to see him."

Ten minutes later, Sokov, led by the captain, arrived at the second floor of the headquarters guesthouse.

The captain raised his hand and knocked on the door. Soon the door opened and Vlasov's guard appeared at the door.

"Please tell Comrade General," the captain said respectfully, "I have brought his men here!"

"Is it Sokov?" Vlasov's surprised voice came from behind the guard.

The captain had no idea what Sokov's name was, so he could only answer vaguely, "I think so."

Sokov quickly stepped out from behind the captain: "Comrade General, I'm here."

"Sokov is here, come in quickly." After greeting Sokov, Vlasov thanked the captain again: "Comrade Captain, thank you for bringing my men here."

After Sokov came in, Vlasov asked him to sit on the sofa near the door, and then asked the guard to pour tea for Sokov.

After Vlasov sat down on the sofa next to him, Sokov asked, "Comrade General, I wonder if you are in such a hurry to find me here. Is there something urgent?"

"After a whole day's journey, why don't you take a good rest in your room instead of going out on patrol?" "Comrade General, the garrison headquarters has limited manpower, and even fewer can be sent to patrol the streets." Seeing that Vlasov seemed very dissatisfied with this matter, Sokov quickly explained to him: "We are just helping out."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Vlasov nodded and continued, "I called you here today because I have something important to tell you."

"I wonder what it is?"

"When I met Comrade Stalin today, I reported your achievements to him in detail." Vlasov said with a smile, "The Supreme Commander was very happy to hear it. He said that it would be a waste of talent for a hero like you to be just a soldier, so he plans to promote you to a higher rank. At the same time, he will award you a medal equal to your achievements. The rank and medal should be delivered tomorrow. I would like to congratulate you in advance."

Hearing Vlasov say this, Sokov quickly stood up, stretched out his hands to the other party, and said politely: "Thank you, Comrade General! Thank you for telling me such good news."

After the two men sat down again, Sokov asked tentatively: "Comrade General, I wonder if the Supreme Commander himself has arranged your future duties?"

Vlasov laughed and asked, "Sokov, I know you are very smart. Why don't you guess what position the Supreme Commander will give me?"

"Comrade General, this is what I think." Sokov pretended to be thoughtful and said, "For an excellent commander like you, if you continue to serve as the commander of the mechanized army, it is obvious that you cannot give full play to your true talents. If the Supreme Command wants to assign you a new position, it must be a group army commander. Also, if you stay in Moscow, it's fine. If you are arranged to return to Kiev, you may be appointed as a garrison commander."

After Sokov finished speaking, he stared at Vlasov, wanting to see his reaction.

After listening to Sokov's "analysis", Vlasov's face was full of disbelief.

"Comrade Sokov," the guard next to him said, "Did you speak so decisively because the captain who brought you here talked about Comrade General's new position?"

Facing the guard's question, Vlasov waved his hand before Sokov could speak, and said, "Except for the garrison commander, General Artemyev, no one else knows about my new position. Artemyev and I were old friends before the war, and I know his character. He will not disclose my position to others casually. And Sokov was able to guess it, I think he is really smart and knows how to analyze the essence of things through some clues."

"Comrade General, you are too kind." Sokov said modestly, "I am just guessing."

The guard, who was criticized by Vlasov, was somewhat dissatisfied. He asked on his own initiative: "Comrade Sokov, let me ask you, what will be the outcome of the decisive battle between our army and the German army in the Kiev area?"

Hearing this question, Sokov's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. He thought to himself, the Battle of Kiev was the largest annihilation war in the history of human warfare. If I tell you that the final winner was the Germans, I wonder what attitude you will use to respond to me?

Seeing that Sokov was still silent, the guard pressed the issue, "Sokov, why are you silent? Can't you guess?"

The guard's words aroused Vlasov's interest. He looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Sokov, since you can guess the position that the Supreme Command has just given me, then please analyze the upcoming war in Kiev and who will be the final winner?"

"Comrade General, I can't say for sure." Sokov said briefly.

"Go ahead, go ahead." Vlasov said in an encouraging tone, "We are just chatting like friends. Just say whatever comes to your mind. Don't be shy. Even if you say something wrong, I won't blame you."

With Vlasov's promise, Sokov said: "Comrade General, I think the war that is about to break out in Kiev will end in a disastrous defeat for our army. And the heroic city of Kiev will fall into the hands of the Germans."

"What? You said that the war that is about to break out in the Kiev area will end in a disastrous defeat for our army?"

"That's right." Sokov said evasively: "The German army has deployed a large number of armored forces in the Kiev area, but our Southwestern Front's armored forces were completely lost in the Battle of Uman. That is to say, in the next battle, our officers and soldiers can only use their flesh and blood to fight against the German steel torrent."

The guard seemed to want to say something, but Vlasov raised his hand to stop him.

Vlasov frowned and thought. He knew very well that as early as July, Zhukov, who was still the chief of the general staff, had proposed to Stalin that Kiev did not need to be defended and the main force of the Southwestern Front should be withdrawn to the left bank of the Dnieper River to build a solid defense. Who knew that Stalin would not listen to his advice at all. Not only did he remove him from the post of chief of the general staff, he also sent him to the reserve front as a commander with little power.

Vlasov raised his head again, looked at Sokov and said, "Comrade Sokov, your idea is very similar to that of General Zhukov. He also once proposed that if our army had a decisive battle with the German army in the Kiev area, it might suffer the fate of failure. However, because of this incident, he was punished by the Supreme Command and was transferred to the position of commander of the Reserve Front."

When Vlasov mentioned Zhukov's current position, Sokov remained silent. He knew very well that in a few days, Zhukov would become famous for successfully crushing the German heavy forces in the Yelnya salient. When Stalin saw the critical situation in Leningrad, he transferred him to the area without hesitation to replace Voroshilov as the commander of the front in order to rescue Leningrad from its predicament.

Sokov said nothing, but just looked at Vlasov quietly, waiting for him to say the next words.

"Sokov, tell me, will General Zhukov be reinstated in the future?"

Sokov thought that not only would he be re-employed, but he would be entrusted with important tasks as soon as the battle of the Yelnya salient was over. Moreover, during the entire Great Patriotic War, Zhukov would often travel to various fronts as a representative of the headquarters.

But facing Vlasov's question, Sokov pretended to be embarrassed and said: "I have heard of General Zhukov. He is a great general. I think his position as commander of the reserve front may be temporary. Maybe his superiors will soon entrust him with important tasks."

After Vlasov chatted with Sokov for a few more words, he looked at the time and said, "Comrade Sokov, it's getting late. You've been tired all day. Go back and rest first."

Sokov quickly stood up, saluted Vlasov, said "yes", and walked out of the room.

Seeing the door closed by the guard, Vlasov thought thoughtfully: "I only learned about Zhukov's appointment as the commander of the reserve front when I met with Stalin today. How could Sokov, a new soldier who had just joined the army for a few days, know this? It's really strange."

At this moment, a ridiculous thought suddenly popped up in Vlasov's mind: "Could this Sokov be a spy sent by the Germans?"

But as soon as the idea came up, he rejected it. You know, Sokov's contribution to the town was shocking. The Germans would never pay such a huge price to help a small person gain the trust of the Soviet army. In any case, Sokov was a very special person, and he needed to observe him more to see if he could use him for his own benefit.

(End of this chapter)