red moscow

Chapter 2751

After arriving in the Yagotin area, Sokov originally thought that Vlasov and the other two were going to find a place to reorganize a new headquarters. But as soon as they got off the train, a major came over and saluted them: "Commander, Chief of Staff, welcome."

Vlasov nodded to the other party and then asked, "Where is the army headquarters?"

"It's in a church not far from here." The major said respectfully, "I'll drive you there."

Seeing Vlasov following the major towards a black car parked not far away, Sokov quickly grabbed Colonel Del and asked curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, wasn't our headquarters destroyed by the Germans? Where did this new headquarters come from?"

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Colonel Del laughed and said, "Captain Sokov, the place where you usually stay is also called the 37th Army Headquarters, but it is also the Kiev Garrison Headquarters. The task of commanding the operations is actually commanded by the deputy commander of the army stationed here."

Sokov followed Vlasov and Colonel Del into the command center and saw a bald commander standing in front of a map with his back to the gate, giving orders to the staff around him.

The major leading the way walked quickly to the bald commander, stood at attention and reported: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the commander and the chief of staff are here!"

The bald commander turned around and saw Vlasov and Colonel Del standing not far away. He quickly walked over, raised his hand to salute, and then extended his hand to Vlasov and said enthusiastically: "Commander, Chief of Staff, it's great to see you."

While the three men were shaking hands for a long time, Sokov saw clearly that the bald commander's diamond-shaped collar badge had two gold stars inlaid on it, indicating that he was a major general.

"Captain Sokov, come here." After exchanging pleasantries with the deputy commander, Vlasov turned to Sokov and said, "Let me introduce you to our deputy commander, Comrade."

"Hello, Comrade Deputy Commander." As soon as Sokov walked in front of the bald commander, he raised his hand and saluted: "I am Captain Sokov, the commander of the special company of the headquarters."

"So you are Captain Sokov." After hearing Sokov's identity, the deputy commander was very enthusiastic: "I have heard the commander and the chief of staff mention you several times, but today is the first time we meet."

"We can't help it. Although we are the commander and deputy commander of the 37th Army, we have to stay in two different places for various reasons." Vlasov said with emotion: "This should be the first time for the three of us to meet."

"Yes, this is the first time we meet." The deputy commander said, "I never thought that we would meet under such circumstances. By the way, I heard that the Germans occupied Kiev. How did you escape?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you don't know that if it weren't for Captain Sokov's cleverness, we would have fallen into the hands of the Germans." Colonel Del said.

The deputy commander was stunned after hearing this, and then asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell me in more detail how you escaped?"

Since the deputy commander wanted to know how he and Vlasov escaped, Colonel Del did not hide anything and told the deputy commander in detail how Sokov used a strategy to impersonate a Brandenburg soldier of the German Army, deceived the German major, and with the help of the other party, successfully passed the Dnieper River Bridge controlled by the German Army.

After hearing this, the deputy commander's eyes widened in surprise, and then he gave Sokov a thumbs up and said repeatedly: "Comrade Captain, I never thought that you could come up with such an amazing plan to rescue the commander and the chief of staff from danger."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you are too kind." Facing the Deputy Commander's praise, Sokov still maintained the necessary humility: "I am the commander of the special company. My responsibility is to protect the safety of the army group leader, so I am doing my job."

"That's my job." The deputy commander was very satisfied with Sokov's answer. He turned to Vlasov and said, "Comrade Commander, I think Captain Sokov will achieve great success in the future."

"That's for sure, my deputy commander." Vlasov said this and asked the deputy commander curiously: "By the way, where is Comrade Military Commissar? Why can't I see him?"

"He went to inspect the troops." The deputy commander's expression became serious again. "Most of our troops in the Yagotin area are from the Kiev fortification area. When they learned that Kiev had fallen into the hands of the Germans, the officers and soldiers were in a low mood. The military commissar took a group of political workers to the front line to do propaganda work, hoping to boost the morale of the troops."

"How is your defense here?" Vlasov continued to ask.

"Since the troops I can mobilize are limited, my defense will mainly focus on the west, south, and north..."

Seeing that the three army chiefs began to discuss the defense deployment, it was obviously inappropriate for the young captain Sokov to stay here, so he quietly left the room and prepared to find a place to stay so that he could appear in time when Vlasov and others called him.

"Comrade Captain," the major who led the way called him as he came out, "You brought more than 300 people with you. I plan to distribute them to various troops. Do you have anyone who wants to stay?"

Before coming to Yagotin, Sokov knew clearly in his mind that due to the serious shortage of combat personnel, the officers and soldiers brought over from Berezan would be assigned to various combat units in a very short time, but he had to find a way to keep a few confidants so that when he had to stand on his own in the future, he would have his own team.

Hearing the major's question, he quickly took out a notebook from his pocket, tore off a page from it and handed it to the other party: "Comrade Major, except for these few people, you can assign the rest of the officers and soldiers freely."

The major took the paper and saw more than a dozen names written on it, with some of them also marked with military ranks. When he saw Mira's name and rank, he was a little surprised and said, "Comrade Captain, why is there a major on it?"

"This major is the chief of staff of the 284st Regiment of the 851th Division. The commander has a good impression of him and plans to entrust him with important tasks in the future." Sokov was worried that the major in front of him would do something strange and assign Major Mira to some frontline combat unit, so he used Vlasov as a shield: "So don't assign him to the frontline combat unit for the time being."

"Yes, I know." The major nodded and continued to ask, "Is there anything else?"

"Comrade Major, can you find a place for those who stay behind to stay?"

"No problem." The major answered very straightforwardly: "I will let you know after I settle them down."

Shortly after the major left, several people came over.

When Sokov saw clearly that one of the men had the rank of a regimental political commissar on his collar, he guessed that the man might be the military commissar of the army group, and quickly stepped aside, leaned against the wall, and raised his hand to salute the man. The regimental political commissar had already walked over, but when he saw Sokov saluting him, he stopped, looked at him carefully, and then asked, "Comrade Captain, I don't think I've ever seen you before, which unit are you from?"

"Reporting to Comrade Regimental Political Commissar." Sokov replied respectfully, "I am Captain Sokov, commander of a special company under the army headquarters. I have just escorted the commander and chief of staff here."

"So you are Captain Sokov." The regimental political commissar smiled. "I've heard of you before, but I didn't expect to see you here today." He extended his hand to Sokov and said in a friendly tone, "Let's get to know each other. I'm Nikolsky, the military commissar of the army group and the regimental political commissar."

Sokov quickly stretched out his hands, shook the other's hands, shook them twice, and said politely: "Hello, Comrade Military Commissar, nice to meet you!"

After a few pleasantries, Nikolsky asked casually, "Comrade Commander and Comrade Chief of Staff, are you both in the headquarters now?"

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "They are inside."

When Nikolsky was about to go inside, his eyes stopped at Sokov's chest and asked in confusion: "I heard that you were awarded the Order of Lenin, which represents the highest honor. Why don't I see you wearing it?"

"That's right, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov explained to the other party: "When we broke through, in order not to expose our true identity, I put it away temporarily."

Nikolsky did not ask any more questions, but just said "hmm" softly and then walked into the command center.

Seeing Nikolsky coming, Vlasov was very enthusiastic: "Comrade Military Commissar, I am glad to see you here."

"Me too, Comrade Commander." Nikolsky said with emotion as he shook hands with Vlasov: "When we lost contact with the headquarters in the city, I was worried about your safety. Now that I see you all standing in front of us safely, I feel relieved."

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"Comrade Military Commissar," Colonel Del said, "If it weren't for Captain Sokov, the commander and I would have fallen into the hands of the Germans."

Nikolsky was stunned after hearing this, and then asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is going on? Can you tell me about it?"

In fact, even if Nikolsky didn't ask, Colonel Del would find a chance to tell him about what happened to him and Vlasov in Kiev. Since the other party asked, he took the opportunity to tell him in detail how he escaped.

After listening to Colonel Del's story, Nikolsky showed a look of enlightenment on his face: "So that's it, so that's it!"

His reaction puzzled everyone.

"Comrade Military Commissioner," the deputy commander asked curiously, "what do you mean by that?"

"It's like this," Nikolsky explained to everyone, "Just before I came in, I met Captain Sokov in the corridor outside. I remember that in the report from his superiors, it was mentioned that he was awarded a Lenin Medal by the Supreme Command for his outstanding performance on the battlefield. But I didn't see this medal on his chest. I asked him about it at the time, and he said that he took it off deliberately to avoid exposing his true identity during the breakout.

I was still wondering at the time, what kind of medals you wear during a breakout operation, and what is the connection between whether you can escape the German encirclement? But after listening to the chief of staff's story, I finally understood that Captain Sokov took off the medal hanging on his chest because he was worried that the enemy would recognize it as the Order of Lenin, which represents the highest honor, and thus doubt his identity. "

"Comrade Military Commissar," the deputy commander asked, "what is the mood in the troops?"

"Tell the truth?"

"Of course." Vlasov said, "I must hear the real situation, which will be helpful for the next combat deployment."

"It's terrible," Nikolsky said. "Due to our army's defeat, the morale of our officers and soldiers has dropped to an extreme low. In addition, the replenishment of ammunition is also very bad. Rumor has it that the warehouse that provides us with ammunition and supplies has fallen into the hands of the Germans, which makes our officers and soldiers even more unstable."

"The troops' morale is low and their fighting spirit is scattered. This is not a good sign," Vlasov said solemnly. "If this continues, the Germans only need to launch another offensive and our defense line may collapse."

"But under the current circumstances, what good ways can we use to boost morale?" asked the deputy commander.

Vlasov stared at the map in front of him and said thoughtfully: "I think we should launch a counterattack somewhere to repel the German attack. That way, our commanders and fighters can see the dawn of victory and regain their confidence."

"Comrade Commander, this is easy to say but difficult to do." The deputy commander pointed to the map on the wall and complained to Vlasov: "Look, the area we are defending is so vast, and our troops are seriously insufficient. It's hard to defend, let alone have extra troops to attack."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, since we are seriously short of troops, why do you want to distribute them evenly?" Vlasov pointed at the map and said dissatisfiedly, "Look, whether it is an important defense area or an ordinary defense area, the troops you use are roughly equal. If the German army concentrates its forces and focuses on attacking our main defense points, once a breakthrough is achieved, what kind of troops will we use to fill such a gap?"

The deputy commander knew that his way of deploying troops had many flaws, but he had limited troops and could only deploy them in this way. Hearing Vlasov's criticism, he asked with a bitter face: "Comrade Commander, how do you plan to adjust the defense?"

"Pull out the troops from those unimportant areas to reinforce the main defense areas." Vlasov said without hesitation: "In those unimportant areas, only a small force needs to be left to monitor the enemy."

"Okay, comrade commander." The deputy commander nodded and said, "Since you have made a decision, we will adjust the deployment according to your order."

"By the way, we also brought several hundred troops from Berezan." Colonel Del interrupted and said, "Most of them are veterans who have fought in the battlefield and have combat experience. Adding them to the frontline troops can enhance the combat effectiveness of the troops."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, my men are already working on this."

(End of this chapter)