red moscow

Chapter 2731 Riding a Tiger and Being Difficult to Dismount
Sokov and Pokryshkin came out of the racecourse and stood on the side of the road waiting for the bus to take them back.

"Comrade Sokov, no, I should call you Captain Sokov now." Pokryshkin said, "Can you tell me what kind of merit you have made to receive the Order of Lenin, which is basically the highest level, and be promoted to captain as an exception?"

Sokov knew that Pokryshkin was a future air marshal, and if he and Victoria were trapped in this era and couldn't leave, it would be very helpful for him to have a good relationship with him. Therefore, he told Pokryshkin what happened in the town truthfully.

After hearing this, Pokryshkin's eyes widened in surprise: "What? You captured 12 German tanks by yourself?"

"I don't have the ability to do that alone," Sokov said modestly. "I have two T-2 tanks to assist me. Otherwise, how could I capture 34 German tanks alone?"

"Captain Sokov, I really underestimated you before." Pokryshkin said seriously, "If it were someone else, it would be impossible to capture 2 German tanks even with 20 tanks, let alone two. To put it bluntly, even if they win, it will be a miserable victory. Even if our tank troops suffer huge casualties, they may not be able to capture so many German tanks."

Sokov agreed with Pokryshkin's statement. He was able to capture so many German tanks and assault guns single-handedly because of luck. The Germans thought they were surrounded because they saw two Soviet tanks in front and behind them. The armored troops could not move in such a narrow street and were just sitting ducks. The German commander probably didn't want to die in vain, so he decisively ordered his troops to surrender. If he had encountered an infantry instead of a German armored unit, the outcome would have been different.

"Captain Sokov..."

Sokov interrupted him: "My name is Mikhail, my friends call me Misha."

Pokryshkin immediately understood what Sokov meant and quickly changed his words: "Okay, I will call you Misha from now on. You can also call me Alexander."

"Okay, I'll call you Alexander from now on."

"I'm ashamed to say that the first time I took off into the air for combat, I made a mistake and shot down the plane piloted by my comrade Pustego."

Sokov was somewhat surprised to hear Pokryshkin's name, because Pustego was also a future air marshal, and Pokryshkin shot down his plane on his first combat mission, so he must have been severely punished. So he asked cautiously, "I wonder how your superiors dealt with you later?"

Pokryshkin grinned silently and continued, "Of course it was the most severe punishment. The commander of the aviation regiment had me locked up in a small dark room and said he would send me to a military court. But the next day, we received an order from our superiors to provide necessary air cover for the ground forces. Because we did not have enough pilots, the commander mercifully let me out of the small dark room. Fortunately, I was lucky. I successfully shot down a Me-109 fighter during this aerial combat, which was considered meritorious service."

"Well done!" Sokov gave Pokryshkin a thumbs up and said with emotion: "I think air superiority is very important on the battlefield in the future. If the air superiority on the battlefield is in the hands of the enemy, we will not be able to launch an active attack and can only hide in the defensive position and passively defend."

"Comrade, I think you are wrong." Unexpectedly, just as Sokov finished speaking, a strange voice came from the side: "Even if we don't have air superiority, we can still launch a fierce attack on the enemy and even defeat the enemy completely."

Sokov turned his head and saw that the person who spoke was a captain, with a higher rank than himself. He could only smile faintly and then said tactfully: "Comrade Captain, I don't know if you have ever been to the battlefield. If you have seen our armored forces being bombarded by German bomber formations during the assault and completely losing their assault capabilities, you would not say such things."

"Of course I've been to the battlefield." The captain pointed to the medal on his chest and said, "Our battalion was ordered to block the German attack. The enemy, under the cover of tanks, planes and artillery, launched attacks on our positions again and again, but we repelled them all. We even launched a timely counterattack when the enemy retreated and recaptured some positions occupied by the enemy."

"Comrade Sokov! You are here. I've been looking for you everywhere." When Sokov was thinking about how to refute the other party, he heard a familiar voice calling him. He turned around and saw that it was Vlasov.

Sokov raised his hand and saluted Vlasov: "Hello, Comrade General, it's nice to see you again."

Not only did Sokov saluted Vlasov, but Pokryshkin who was standing nearby, as well as the captain who questioned Sokov and some officers, all saluted Vlasov at the same time because they all recognized Vlasov's identity.

When Vlasov shook hands with Sokov, he smiled and said, "Comrade Sokov, I congratulate you on receiving the Order of Lenin, which represents the highest honor, and being promoted to captain!"

"Thank you, Comrade General!"

"According to the order of my superiors, I will return to Kiev tomorrow." Vlasov looked at Sokov and asked, "How about it, are you willing to go back with me?"

Sokov's heart was immediately alarmed. The Battle of Kiev was about to begin. If he followed Vlasov back to Kiev, he would be in danger of death. Even if he managed to escape the German encirclement, when Vlasov rebelled in the future, he would definitely be implicated as his subordinate.

While Sokov was thinking about how to respond, Pokryshkin said, "General Vlasov, I think Misha would be very willing to return to Kiev with you."

"Misha?" Vlasov raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise: "Who is Misha?"

"Here he is." Pokryshkin pointed at Sokov and said with a smile, "His nickname is Misha."

Vlasov turned to look at Sokov and said, "Comrade Sokov, we have known each other for such a long time, but I still don't know your full name. Can you tell me your real name and patronymic?"

"Comrade General, my given name and patronymic name is Mikhail Mihajlovich."

"Well, I remember that. I'll call you Misha from now on." Vlasov continued to ask the previous question: "You haven't answered me yet, are you willing to follow me back to Kiev?"

Sokov looked at the people around him and found that they all had eager expressions on their faces, and they were just about to shout: "Follow him, follow him."

At this moment, Sokov realized that it would be a foolish move to reject Vlasov in public. After all, Vlasov was now a favorite of Stalin. If he rejected his kindness, it would probably make other commanders have bad associations. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer, "Comrade General, I am willing to obey your orders and go to Kiev with you."

"That's great." Vlasov said, "I'll leave tomorrow morning. You can go back and be ready to go at any time."

"Take the entire company with you?" Sokov asked tentatively.

"No need." Vlasov shook his head and said, "There are enough guards in my new army, so leave the soldiers you brought with you to the garrison headquarters. You will return to Kiev directly with me and my guards tomorrow." "Yes, Comrade General."

Vlasov saw the bus that was taking Sokov and his friends back. He raised his hand, patted Sokov on the shoulder, and said, "I still have things to deal with. You go back first. I'll have the guards call you when we leave tomorrow morning."

On the bus back to the garrison headquarters, Sokov said nothing, thinking in his heart how he could survive after going to Kiev this time.

After arriving at the place, Sokov and Pokryshkin got out of the car.

The two came to the yard, and Pokryshkin asked: "Misha, I think you seem to be worried, can you tell me?"

Sokov took out a cigarette case and handed it to Pokryshkin. When Pokryshkin took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, Sokov struck a match to help him light it, then lit one for himself and said, "Alexander, what do you think of the situation in Kiev?"

"Although the German offensive is fierce, it may not be easy for them to take Kiev." Pokryshkin said confidently: "In any case, our regular army and militia there have a total strength of more than 100 million. Even if we can't crush the enemy's attack, it shouldn't be a problem to stop them, right?"

Sokov looked around and saw that there was no one around, but he still lowered his voice and said to Pokryshkin: "Alexander, do you know why General Zhukov was dismissed from his post as Chief of the General Staff?"

"I don't know." Pokryshkin shook his head and asked, "Do you know the reason?"

"I heard that General Zhukov told Comrade Stalin that Kiev's terrain was special and not conducive to defense at all, and suggested abandoning Kiev and withdrawing all troops to the left bank of the Dnieper River to deploy defense to prevent the German army from attacking Moscow. But unfortunately, Comrade Stalin did not listen to General Zhukov's advice at all. Instead, he dismissed him from the post of Chief of the General Staff and demoted him to the position of commander of the reserve front."

Although Zhukov was dismissed more than a month ago, it was impossible for a grassroots officer like Pokryshkin to know about it. So he was shocked when he heard Sokov say this: "What? Marshal Zhukov was demoted to the reserve front? When did this happen?"

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"Mid-to-late July, I don't know the exact time."

"That's such a pity." Pokryshkin sighed softly, and then said: "Before General Zhukov became the Chief of the General Staff, he was the commander of the Kiev Special Military District. I have heard from many commanders that he is a very capable leader. I really didn't expect that he would be demoted to the reserve front. I am afraid he will hardly have a chance to turn things around."

"Alexander, I don't agree with you." Sokov shook his head and said, "Gold will shine everywhere. Although General Zhukov is currently commanding only the reserve front, perhaps one day the troops under his command will achieve impressive results. At that time, the Supreme Commander himself will re-entrust him with important tasks."

"I hope so." Pokryshkin remembered what Sokov had just said: "Since you know that the situation in Kiev is not optimistic, why did you agree to General Vlasov's proposal and follow him to Kiev?" He originally wanted to say that this was suicide, but in order not to affect Sokov's mood, he swallowed the last sentence.

"Alexander, there were so many people around. If I rejected General Vlasov in public, wouldn't it embarrass him?" Sokov explained to Pokryshkin, "If I really rejected him, even if General Vlasov didn't say anything, I'm afraid the other officers who saw it would gossip about it somewhere else, which might have a worse impact on me."

"So this is why you agreed to General Vlasov's request?"

"Yes, that's true."

After hearing this, Pokryshkin sighed, raised his hand and patted Sokov on the shoulder, and said in a sympathetic tone: "Misha, I wish you good luck! I hope that when the war is over, I can see you again."

"Don't worry, Alexander." Sokov said with a forced smile, "I have always had good luck. I believe I will have a chance to live until the end of the war."

The two chatted for a few more words, and then saw Andre and Dennis walking out of the building with the soldiers.

Sokov quickly stepped forward and asked, "Are you going on patrol again?"

"Yes, Comrade Captain." Dennis nodded and said, "The captain of the garrison headquarters told me that due to their lack of manpower, they hope that we can patrol once in the morning and once in the evening every day."

Sokov wanted to complain a few words, but suddenly remembered that when Vlasov returned to Kiev tomorrow, he would only take himself and his guards with him, which meant that all the subordinates he brought to Moscow would have to stay in the garrison headquarters.

Thinking of this, he said to the two men: "Lieutenant Dennis, Andre, let me tell you something now."

"What's the matter?" Andre asked curiously.

"I will return to Kiev with General Vlasov tomorrow," Sokov said to the two men. "As for you and the rest of the soldiers, you will continue to stay in Moscow. In other words, from now on, you will officially become a member of the garrison command."

"Ah, let us stay?" Dennis asked in surprise, "Is this true?"

"of course it's true."

Andrei suddenly saw the Order of Lenin hanging on Sokov's chest, and a look of shock flashed in his eyes: "Sokov, where did you pick up your Order of Lenin?"

"What do you mean picked up? This was awarded to me personally by Comrade Kalinin." Sokov patted the cloth bag containing the clothes while speaking, "In addition, I was awarded a new military uniform."

Andre urged, "Hurry up and take out the new uniform."

When Sokov took out the new uniform from the bag and showed it to everyone, Denis noticed the rank on the collar badge: "This is a captain's uniform. Comrade company commander, where did you get it from?"

(End of this chapter)