red moscow

Chapter 2738 Two Prisoners
Sokov told the chief of staff and his entourage many basic street fighting tactics. These tactics were valuable experiences summed up by the blood of countless people in later generations. He just talked about it, and whether those people listened to him was not his concern.

Although he described a lot of tactics, he did not tell these people the famous "Three-Three Tactics". First of all, this tactic requires a certain amount of training and running-in before it can play a real effect on the battlefield; in addition, the Battle of Kiev ended in a disastrous defeat for the Soviet army, that is, in the following days, the Soviet army carried out a series of passive defensive tactics. It was a bit too wasteful to teach them the strongest tactics of the surface infantry.

It would not be too late to teach this tactic to the troops under his command after he becomes a division-level commander like last time.

After visiting the town recaptured by the Soviet army, Sokov reminded the chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I want to remind you that even if the troops here are limited, we cannot leave the bodies of our soldiers lying on the streets. This will affect the morale of our army to a certain extent."

As soon as Sokov finished speaking, a staff officer retorted: "Comrade Captain, I disagree with you. In our army, there is a saying: It is better to leave bones exposed in the wilderness than to take a step back. These soldiers died gloriously to defend the motherland. Even if they knew that their bodies would be thrown here and no one would care after they died, they would never complain."

Hearing the staff officer's bizarre remarks, Sokov's eyes flashed with anger. But because the divisional chief of staff was still beside him, he couldn't get angry, so he could only grit his teeth and say, "Comrade staff officer, I want to ask you a question. If your unit was stationed in a fortification not far from here, and you looked back and saw the bodies of your comrades piled up on the streets, what would you think?"

After asking this question, without waiting for the staff officer to answer, Sokov continued: "If you were one of these sacrificed soldiers, and after death, your soul would still stay nearby, would you want to see your body continue to be exposed on the street and no one would care about it, or would you like to be buried as soon as possible?"

Sokov's words left the staff officer completely speechless.

"Comrade deputy commander," the divisional chief of staff turned and called over the accompanying deputy commander, and said to him, "Did you hear what Captain Sokov said?"

The deputy head nodded: "I heard it."

"Now that you've heard it, why don't you quickly arrange for people to bury the bodies of these soldiers?"

"Yes, I will arrange someone to carry out this task immediately." The deputy commander cast a grateful glance at Sokov as he left.

After inspecting the position, the division chief of staff returned with Sokov.

Halfway through the convoy, three people suddenly rushed out from the roadside. One was a second lieutenant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs wearing a blue hat, and the other two were in civilian clothes, one wearing a white pullover and the other wearing a blue canvas work clothes and a peaked cap. They waved their hands desperately and seemed to be shouting something.

Seeing the three people suddenly appear, Sokov's hand went straight to his waist, ready to draw his gun and shoot at any time. But he was stopped by the division chief of staff: "Comrade Captain, don't be impulsive, it seems that the people in front are our own."

"One of our own?" Sokov was full of doubts when he saw this combination. How could a lieutenant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs get involved with two civilians? Therefore, even if the division chief of staff told him that they were one of his own, he still kept his hand on the holster at his waist. If he found anything wrong, he would draw his gun and shoot without hesitation.

After the convoy stopped, the second lieutenant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, accompanied by two civilians, came to the jeep where the division chief of staff and Sokov were riding, raised his hand to salute and said, "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, we meet again."

The divisional chief of staff extended his hand to the second lieutenant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, Second Lieutenant Zhu Kewen, it's nice to see you again. Where did you come from?"

"Stop talking, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. We are escaping from the Germans."

Hearing what Lieutenant Zhu Kewen said, the division chief of staff was stunned, and then asked back: "Comrade Lieutenant, I don't understand what you mean. Also, who are these two civilians, and why are they with you?"

In fact, when Sokov saw the combination of three people, he wanted to ask this question, but seeing that the division chief of staff seemed to know the lieutenant, he did not interrupt the two people's reminiscing, but quietly waited for the right time to ask the other party.

"They are the prisoners I am escorting." Lieutenant Zhukov glanced at Sokov, who was sitting next to the division chief of staff, and asked curiously, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, who is this captain next to you? Why is he sitting next to you?"

Lieutenant Zhukov was surprised to see that Sokov was not sitting in the co-pilot seat of the jeep but was sitting in the back seat side by side with the division chief of staff, so he asked this question specifically.

"Lieutenant Zhukov," the divisional chief of staff introduced him, "This is Captain Sokov, a representative of the army headquarters, who brought us here to inspect our work. Captain Sokov, this is Lieutenant Zhukov from the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"Hello, Lieutenant Comrade." Sokov stood up, shook hands with Lieutenant Zhukov, and asked, "By the way, you haven't told me how you escaped from the Germans. I'm very interested in this."

Although Lieutenant Zhukov was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sokov had a higher rank than him and was also a representative of the army group headquarters. He did not dare to neglect him and immediately began to tell his story: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you should remember that I was ordered to escort a train of prisoners back to Moscow yesterday."

"Yes, I remember." The division chief of staff nodded, indicating that it was indeed true.

"Our train was ambushed by German paratroopers halfway through the journey." Second Lieutenant Zhu Kewen continued, "I quickly led the soldiers escorting the train to fight back. We hid under the train and used the rails as cover to shoot at the Germans rushing over. But the enemy had too many people, and after ten minutes of fighting, most of the soldiers around me were killed. At this moment, a prisoner in a white pullover somehow escaped from the carriage, he lay down beside me, picked up the rifle of the sacrificed soldier, and shot at the Germans rushing over. His shooting skills were very accurate, and he killed seven or eight Germans in a row.

But the enemy was too numerous, and soon, we were the only two people left on the train. I thought I was about to sacrifice myself, but then a machine gun at the front of the train started firing, pinning the charging enemy to the ground. I thought it was the wounded machine gunner who was still firing, but when I turned around, I saw that it was the prisoner in the peaked cap who was firing non-stop with the machine gun.

With the support of machine gun fire, we were able to suppress the enemy. Unexpectedly, the Germans, seeing that they could not break through the blockade of machine gun fire, used mortars to bombard the train. One shell hit the joint of the carriages and blew off the hook of the carriages. Since our train was parked on a slope, the carriage with the hook blown off lost control and slid down the slope. Seeing that there was no protection above our heads, the three of us hurriedly followed the sliding carriage and ran forward, so as not to become a target for the Germans if we stayed there. "

The lieutenant's narration was very interesting. Although Sokov saw the three people standing in front of him, he still broke into a cold sweat because of their situation at that time.

"Then what?" the division chief of staff asked, "How did you get back here?" "After the carriage stopped sliding, we opened the locked carriage, but all the prisoners inside were dead." The second lieutenant sighed softly and said, "There was no choice but to abandon the carriage and turn back."

Sokov saw that Lieutenant Zhukov had a pistol on his belt and two rifles with bayonets on his shoulders, while the two prisoners next to him had nothing in their hands. He couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant, why do you have all the weapons on you, but they have nothing in their hands?"

Before the lieutenant could speak, the prisoner in the white pullover said, "Comrade Captain, it was Lieutenant Zhu Kewen who said that weapons should never be handed over to prisoners." He stared at Zhu Kewen and said indignantly, "On the way, we encountered a group of Germans. If the lieutenant had been willing to give the weapons to the two of us, maybe we could have killed a few more enemies."

Although the white-clad prisoner looked somewhat unruly, Sokov had a favorable impression of him when he heard him say that he wanted to exterminate the Germans. "My friend, can you tell me your name?"

The prisoner in white was stunned when he heard Sokov's question. He then pointed at his nose and said, "Comrade Captain, are you talking to me?"

"That's right." Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "I am talking to you."

"My name is Jubro."

"What did you do before?"

"I am a hunter."

"Why are you in prison?"

"Some time ago, the conscription committee came to our village to recruit soldiers," Jubro replied. "Because my wife was sick and needed someone to take care of her, I tore up the enlistment notice issued by the conscription committee and refused to join the army. As a result, because of this incident, they accused me of evading military service and put me in prison."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Sokov did not comment on whether the other party was right or wrong, but turned his gaze to the prisoner in the peaked cap: "My friend, what is your name, and why are you in prison?"

"Comrade Captain, my name is Churhin." The capped prisoner replied, "I served in the Belarusian army before the war and was a machine gunner. My unit was disbanded by the Belarusians, and I fled to Kiev with the refugees. I was caught by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and they said I was a deserter, so I was put in prison."

After figuring out the identities of the two prisoners, Sokov looked at Lieutenant Zhukov and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant, what are you going to do with them?"

Zhu Kewen quickly replied: "Comrade Captain, my mission is to send these prisoners to Moscow. As for how their superiors plan to deal with them, I am not sure. They may be sent to Siberia for labor reform."

"Comrade Lieutenant, now is a war, we need enough manpower to fight the German invaders together." Sokov thought that if he could keep these two prisoners with him, they might be of great use in the future, so he asked the lieutenant tentatively: "I wonder if you can hand these two people over to me for disposal?"

"Leave it to you to deal with?" Lieutenant Zhu Kewen asked in confusion, "How do you plan to deal with them?"

"Comrade Lieutenant, I just said that now is a war, and we need enough manpower to defend the motherland." Sokov didn't want to beat around the bush with Zhukov, so he said directly: "I want to incorporate them into my troops, so that we can have the opportunity to fight on the battlefield together in the future."

When Jubro and Chulsin heard what Sokov said, they were surprised. You know, if they were really sent to Siberia, the chances of coming back alive would be very slim. Although there was a possibility of sacrifice on the battlefield, even if they died, they could still gain a good reputation, so they were eager to stay with Sokov, so they both looked at Lieutenant Zhukov, wanting to hear his answer.

Zhukov was a stubborn person. He only thought that he should follow the order of his superiors and take the prisoners to Moscow. Even if only two prisoners were left in the car, this order must be carried out. So after listening to Sokov's words, he shook his head like a rattle: "No, no, Comrade Captain, I have no right to hand these two prisoners over to you for disposal."

"Comrade Lieutenant," seeing Zhukov was so stubborn, Sokov could only try to persuade him: "Look, you and your men were attacked by German paratroopers while escorting the prisoners. Your superiors may think that you have all died, and even the prisoners have all died. Even if you hand over these two prisoners to me, no one will investigate the matter."

Sokov had said this, but Zhukov was still stubborn: "Comrade Captain, my mission is to escort the prisoners to Moscow. Even if there is only one prisoner left, I will follow orders and escort him to Moscow."

"Captain Sokov." The divisional chief of staff saw that the two men were at a stalemate, so he stepped out to smooth things over: "I think you should not embarrass Lieutenant Zhu Kewen. He is also following orders."

Sokov thought quickly, wondering how he should keep the two prisoners. You know, when the train was attacked, they were able to calmly assist the soldiers escorting the train to fight back, which showed that they had certain military qualities and combat experience. If they followed him to the battlefield, they would definitely be of great use.

Just as Lieutenant Zhukov was calling the two prisoners to follow him, Sokov finally thought of a good idea and called him: "Comrade Lieutenant."

"Is there anything else?" Second Lieutenant Zhu Kewen stopped.

"I think it would be better if the three of you follow me and join the battle to defend Kiev." Sokov decided to use a delaying tactic to stabilize Lieutenant Zhukov and take the two prisoners under his command: "After the war is over, send these two people to Moscow. What do you think?"

Zhukov hesitated after hearing Sokov's proposal. It was 700 to 800 kilometers from here to Moscow. Even with a car, it would take a day or two. If we met Germans on the way, we would probably have a hard time dealing with them.

Seeing Zhukov was hesitant, Sokov decisively helped him make a decision: "Lieutenant Zhukov, don't hesitate. From now on, you and these two prisoners are part of the guard force of the 37th Army Headquarters."

(End of this chapter)