red moscow

Chapter 2750

After two hours' march, Sokov and Vlasov, with their remnants of troops, arrived at a small city called Berezan.

Before the war, the city had more than 6,000 permanent residents, because most of the residents worked in Kiev, taking the train to the city every morning and taking the bus back home in the evening. Therefore, there were only a few restaurants, clothing stores, a hospital, and a cinema in the city, and there was no pillar industry at all.

After the war broke out, some young and middle-aged people joined the army, while others stayed in the factories where they worked and joined the militia. The old, weak, women and children who stayed in the city were evacuated to other places. When the Battle of Kiev broke out, this place had become a deserted city.

When Sokov and his men entered the city, they saw that the buildings on both sides of the street were filled with officers and soldiers with smoke on their faces. They must have escaped from Kiev. The appearance of Sokov and his men did not cause any sensation. The officers and soldiers with numb expressions gathered in groups of three or five, chatting and smoking, and no one looked at this unit.

When Sokov and his men were almost at the church in the city center, an officer who was sitting on the side of the road smoking suddenly saw Vlasov and Colonel Del in the crowd. He quickly threw away his cigarette, stood up and shouted, "Everyone stand up!"

As he shouted, a group of officers and soldiers sitting on the roadside stood up and stood at attention.

The officer quickly ran to Sokov and others, raised his hand and saluted Vlasov: "Hello, Comrade General!"

After Vlasov raised his hand to return the greeting, he asked expressionlessly: "Comrade Major, which unit are you from?"

"Comrade General," the officer replied respectfully, "I am Major Mira, the chief of staff of the 284st Regiment of the 851th Infantry Division."

"Where is your commander?" Colonel Del asked first.

Major Mira's expression darkened: "Sacrificed!"

"Where are the deputy regiment commander and the regiment political commissar?"

Major Mira lowered his head and replied in a heavy tone, "He also died."

"Major Mira," Vlasov asked, "how many people are left in your regiment?"

Mira looked up at Vlasov and pointed to the soldiers standing on the side of the road: "All the survivors of our regiment are here."

Vlasov's throat moved for a moment, and then he asked with difficulty: "Are there only so few people left?"

"Yes, Comrade General." Major Mira nodded and said, "There are 67 people in the entire regiment, including me."

"Major, do you know where the command center in the city is?" Colonel Del asked again.

"No, there is no headquarters." Mira replied: "At least I didn't find the headquarters after I entered the city."

"I see there are quite a few troops in the city. Isn't there a unified command?" Vlasov asked with a frown.

"That's right, Comrade General." Mira answered in a positive tone: "As far as I know, these troops all retreated from different places. They have many numbers. Some are like us, with sixty or seventy people; some are as few as two or three people."

"Comrade Commander," Colonel Del waited for Mira to finish speaking, then turned to Vlasov and said, "We will immediately take in the troops, restore the organization, and establish new defenses."

Vlasov did not immediately express his opinion on Colonel Del's proposal. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest and stared blankly at the church in front of him, as if he was considering whether he should follow the chief of staff's advice and set up a new defense here.

Seeing that Vlasov didn't speak, Colonel Del turned his gaze to Sokov: "Captain Sokov, what do you think?"

Major Mira, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but show a look of surprise on her face when she saw Colonel Del actually asking for the opinion of Captain Sokov.

Since entering this small city, Sokov noticed that the officers and soldiers on the roadside were all dejected and had no fighting spirit. The troops had lost their morale, and even if they were put together, they would probably have no fighting power. Establishing a new defense here was equivalent to concentrating the personnel and letting the Germans come directly to capture prisoners.

Sokov shook his head and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think it's necessary to build up defenses here. It would be better to gather the troops and transfer them to the Yagotin area to strengthen the defenses there."

"Captain Sokov, abandoning this city without a fight is a crime." Colonel Del waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then said sternly, "You will be brought to court-martial."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't scare Captain Sokov." Vlasov unexpectedly supported Sokov and expressed his attitude: "The troops that can be accommodated in the city now are only more than 300 at most. Together with the personnel we brought here, the total force does not exceed . Not only are we outnumbered, but we also lack sufficient ammunition, and our morale is low. I don't think the defense established under such circumstances can stop the fierce offensive of the Germans."

"Then what should we do?" Colonel Del heard Vlasov's words and realized the seriousness of the problem: "Abandon this city?"

Vlasov looked around and was silent for a long time. He nodded slowly and said, "Yes, under the current circumstances, we have no choice but to abandon this city."

"Comrade Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said without losing any time, "Can I tell you what I think?"

"Go ahead, Sokov," Vlasov said sensibly. "I'm sure you have your own ideas."

"As the commander just said, there are less than 500 troops in the city. Not only are they demoralized, but they also lack sufficient ammunition. Even if they are deployed in the city, they may not be able to hold out for long in the face of the German attack." Sokov said, "Why not abandon this city and take these troops to Yagotin and set up new defenses there? I think they can play a greater role." "But it's still more than 20 kilometers away from Yagotin." Colonel Del glanced at the surrounding troops and said to Vlasov in a low voice, "Our soldiers have traveled such a long way without eating. They are already tired and hungry. If they continue to march, I'm worried that the troops will collapse halfway."

"Major Mira," Vlasov felt that what Colonel Del said made sense. If the troops continued on their way, they might collapse. But staying here was not an option either. The residents of the city had already evacuated and there was no way to get supplies. Instead of waiting for death, it was better to try his luck. He turned to Mira and asked, "Do you know where the train station is?"

"Yes, Comrade General."

"Take us there." Before leaving with Major Mira, Vlasov instructed Colonel Del and Sokov: "I'll go see if there are any locomotives and carriages at the train station. After you collect the troops, bring them to the station."

Sokov did not trust Major Mira very much. Who knew if the Germans broke into the city at this moment, would he abandon Vlasov and run away with his men? So he called Lieutenant Zhukov and told him: "Comrade Lieutenant, take a few people to protect the safety of the commander." After that, he assigned Yegor, Romanov, Dyubrow and Chursin to him.

Seeing that the people assigned to him by Sokov were all comrades who had escaped from Kiev together, Zhukov felt Sokov's trust in him, and nodded vigorously, assuring him: "Don't worry, Comrade Captain, I will definitely protect the commander's safety."

The task of accommodating stragglers was not easy. The successive defeats of the Soviet army had caused many soldiers to lose confidence. Therefore, in the face of the persuasion of Colonel Del and Sokov, they remained silent, standing still with their feet rooted in place, unwilling to move at all.

Sokov knew that many soldiers had no intention of continuing to fight, and even if they were forcibly incorporated into the team, they would not be able to play a big role. If the battle situation was unfavorable, these people might even take the lead in running away, disrupting the morale of the army and causing the defense line to collapse.

It was for this reason that Sokov said on his own initiative: "Officers and soldiers who are willing to go with us, stand behind me. Those who don't want to go, put down your weapons, take off your uniforms, and then you can leave freely."

"Captain Sokov, do you know what you are saying?" Colonel Del was furious when he heard what Sokov said: "You are destroying the morale of my troops!"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov knew that his actions were difficult for Colonel Del to accept, but in order to complete the task of receiving the troops, Sokov patiently explained to him: "These people have become panicked under the attack of the Germans. Letting them continue to stay in our troops will not only fail to strengthen our strength, but will become an unstable factor. What if one day on the battlefield, they see the fierce enemy offensive and take the lead in fleeing because of cowardice, which will lead to more people fleeing, thus causing our army's defense line to collapse. Do you want to see this happen?"

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Colonel Del stopped talking and just waved at Sokov, signaling him to take in these defeated soldiers according to his wishes.

Seeing that Colonel Del did not object, Sokov spoke to the soldiers again, "I'll give you one last chance. Those who are willing to go with us, stand behind me. Those who are unwilling to go, leave your weapons and uniforms behind, and go wherever you want. I'll give you three minutes to think about it. If you haven't made a decision, I will assume that you are willing to go with us. Whoever dares to leave the team will be treated as a deserter, and I will enforce battlefield discipline without mercy."

After a short silence, many soldiers came behind Sokov and expressed their willingness to leave with him. But most of the soldiers remained where they were, hesitating.

"There's still one last minute."

Hearing Sokov's shout, a soldier took off his uniform and put his rifle and backpack on the ground. As he walked to the side, he kept looking back, fearing that Sokov would shoot him from behind. After finally moving to an intersection, he saw Sokov still standing there without moving, so he ran away and soon disappeared without a trace.

With one person taking the lead, more people would follow suit. Soon, military uniforms, backpacks and weapons piled up like a mountain in front of Sokov.

Colonel Del's heart was bleeding at this moment. In just a few minutes, more than a hundred soldiers escaped.

Sokov felt a little disappointed when he saw so many soldiers leaving, but he felt relieved when he saw more people staying. He turned to the soldiers behind him and said loudly: "Comrades, let these cowards leave. The more the better. Now, pick up the weapons and backpacks they left behind, re-arm yourselves, and prepare for a new battle with the enemy."

Sokov and Colonel Del led their men to the railway station, found Vlasov in the stationmaster's office, and reported to him: "Comrade Commander, the troops in the city have been accommodated. I wonder when we can set out?"

Vlasov walked out of the stationmaster's office and saw the troops lined up on the platform. After roughly counting the number of people, he couldn't help but frowned: "Chief of Staff, Captain Sokov, this number seems a little small?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, the number of people is indeed a bit small." After saying this, Colonel Del turned his head to look at Sokov beside him, indicating that he should explain to Vlasov the reason for the small number of people.

"Comrade Commander, please allow me to explain to you." After getting Vlasov's permission, Sokov told him his thoughts in detail, and finally said: "The factors that determine victory or defeat on the battlefield are not only the number of people, but also the morale and spirit of the army. If those who have completely lost their will and courage to fight are allowed to go to the battlefield, it will be a very dangerous thing for the entire army."

After listening to Sokov's story, Vlasov was silent for a long time. Finally, he nodded slowly and said, "Captain Sokov, you are right. If we let those panicked people stay in the army, it will affect the morale of the army. You are absolutely right."

In fact, when Sokov explained the facts to Vlasov, Colonel Del, who was standing beside him, was sweating in his palms, worried that he would be scolded by Vlasov, and was thinking about how to smooth things over. But he didn't expect Vlasov to be so reasonable and agreed with Sokov's approach.

After a pause, Colonel Del asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I wonder if you have found the carriage that transported the troops?"

"Found it." Vlasov nodded and said, "Although the residents of the city have been evacuated, many railway employees are still left. Before you came, I talked to the stationmaster, and he said that there is a locomotive and five freight cars in the station that can take us to the Yagotin area."

"Where's the stationmaster?" Colonel Del looked into the stationmaster's office and saw that it was empty. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "He's not in the stationmaster's office. Where did he go?"

"He went to find the train driver," Vlasov said. "The train can't move without a train driver."

As they were talking, a middle-aged man in railway uniform ran over from a distance. From a distance, he shouted to Vlasov: "Comrade General, the train driver has been found. The freight train is parked at platform 5. Once the train is filled with coal and water, it can set off. Have your people arrived? If so, I will take you to platform 5."

"Comrade Stationmaster, our people are all here and can go over anytime." Vlasov turned to Sokov and said, "Captain Sokov, take the soldiers to platform five to board the train!"

"Yes, Comrade Commander!" Sokov answered loudly.

(End of this chapter)