red moscow

Chapter 2753

The situation on the battlefield was very unfavorable to the Soviet army.

The deputy commander of the army group, who was sent to command the flank troops, died in battle on the third day after arriving. With his death, the troops assembled here were also defeated by the German army. Most of the officers and soldiers were either killed or captured by the Germans. Only less than 200 people escaped to the Yagotin area.

"Comrade Commander," Colonel Del asked Vlasov agitatedly after learning that his deputy commander had been killed and the flank of the Yagotin area had been occupied by the Germans, "Now the entire army group only has these few troops left. Facing the crazy attack that the Germans are about to launch, can we stop it?"

Before Vlasov could express his opinion, Military Commissar Nikolsky came in again and placed a piece of paper in front of the two men: "Commander, Chief of Staff, look, these are the leaflets that the Germans just dropped on our positions from airplanes."

Vlasov picked up the German leaflet and after just one glance, his pupils contracted violently and an expression of shock appeared on his face.

There were three photos on the leaflet, including the front commander, Admiral Kirponos, member of the Military Committee, Burmistenko, and the chief of staff, Major General Tupikov, and they were their portraits after they died. Below the photos was the German army's message of persuasion to surrender, which said that all the high-ranking officers of your front had been killed, and it was meaningless to continue to resist. They called on everyone to stop resisting, lay down their weapons and surrender to the German army in exchange for a chance to survive.

After seeing the contents of the leaflet, Colonel Del was horrified. He said to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, if our officers and soldiers see such leaflets, their morale will definitely be shaken and low. This is a vicious move by the Germans."

"Commander, Chief of Staff," Nikolsky said, "As soon as I got the news, I arranged for the political workers to collect the leaflets on the battlefield and destroy them on the spot. If anyone is found hiding them, they will be severely punished."

"Comrade Military Commissar, even if you do this, I'm afraid the effect will not be very good." Vlasov shook his head and said, "After all, many people have already seen this leaflet. Even if we start to collect it and burn it on the spot, those who have not seen the leaflet will know about it from other people."

"We'll keep it a secret for as long as we can," Nikolsky said. "The battlefield situation is already unfavorable to our army. If we allow these rumors to spread among the army, it will definitely affect the morale of the army, which will be very detrimental to our subsequent operations."

"Report!" At this time, a voice shouting report came from not far away.

The three turned their heads and saw that it was Sokov who came.

"Captain Sokov, you're just in time." Vlasov raised his eyebrows when he saw Sokov coming, and then he picked up the leaflet and handed it over: "Have you seen this leaflet distributed by the Germans?"

Sokov glanced at the leaflet quickly, then nodded and said, "Yes, Comrade Commander, I have seen it."

"So do you think the content on the leaflet is true or false?" asked Colonel Del.

"If there is no photo, it is most likely fake." Sokov replied casually, "But now there is a photo on it, which means it must be true."

"Comrade Military Commissioner has arranged for people to collect these leaflets to prevent them from affecting our military morale. Do you think his approach is correct?"

Sokov turned his head and glanced at Nikolsky, organizing his words in his mind, and then said, "Comrade Military Commissar's approach has good intentions, but the effect may be counterproductive?"

Hearing Sokov's words, Nikolsky looked displeased: "Captain Sokov, why do you say that?"

"Comrade Military Commissar, everyone is curious. The more a fact is deliberately concealed, the more people want to know." Sokov explained to Nikolsky: "Many officers and soldiers have seen the surrender leaflets dropped by the Germans. If we forcibly confiscate them at this moment, those officers and soldiers who have not seen them will become curious and ask around about what is written on the leaflets. Those who have seen the leaflets will definitely tell them what is written on them to satisfy their curiosity. This will actually speed up the spread of the information."

Nikolsky was silent for a long time, then he said, "So what do you think we should do? Just let it go?"

"Comrade Military Commissar, I think it doesn't matter much even if we admit that the content of this leaflet is true." Sokov said this, and seeing that Colonel Del seemed to be ready to speak, he quickly sped up his speech: "We should tell all the officers and soldiers through the political workers that our superiors have died heroically in the battle against the Germans. But we were not frightened, conquered, or killed. We crawled out of the ground, wiped the blood off our bodies, buried our comrades' bodies, and continued to fight the enemy."

"Well, well said." Vlasov clapped his hands on the table and said excitedly, "Captain Sokov, what you said is great. I believe these words will boost the morale of the troops. Comrade Military Commissar," he said to Nikolsky, "you should ask the political workers to convey Captain Sokov's words to every soldier, so that they understand that although the enemy is stronger than us for the time being, we are still capable of continuing to fight."

Nikolsky said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, I understand. I will immediately call the political workers to do political propaganda work for the soldiers, boost morale, and make all the soldiers confident to continue fighting the enemy."

After Nikolsky left, Vlasov looked at Sokov and asked, "Captain Sokov, what do you want to see me about?"

"Comrade Commander, my special company now has less than 20 people. I think that with such a small number of people, it is definitely not enough to protect the safety of the headquarters." Sokov looked at Vlasov and said, "I wonder if you can give me some more people?"

"Captain Sokov, we need people everywhere on the front line." Before Vlasov could finish, Colonel Del said, "As far as I know, some regiment headquarters don't even have a sentry at the door except for the signalman and a few staff officers. This shows how short of manpower they are. Anyway, the troops protecting the headquarters, plus your special company, still have 100 to 200 people, which is already pretty good."

"Captain Sokov, I'm so sorry." Vlasov also said apologetically: "You have seen the situation of the headquarters. I really can't provide you with additional manpower."

Sokov came to Vlasov today after careful consideration. If he waited for another three days, the 37th Army in the Yagotin area would be completely wiped out by the German army. If he had too few people, how would he break out? He didn't want to be a prisoner of the Germans.

Thinking of this, he continued, "Comrade Commander, we have brought hundreds of people from Berezhan. Let us select fifty fighters from them. If it is not possible, thirty will do. The current number of people I have is not enough to form a platoon."

"Captain Sokov, I have something important to do." But Vlasov didn't seem to want to help Sokov solve the problem. He looked down at the map in front of him and said nonchalantly, "If you need help, find a way to solve it yourself."

Although he failed to get any more troops from Vlasov, Sokov felt more at ease after hearing his words. If you can't assign me any more troops, I will go outside to take in those small troops that have been scattered. By the time the Yagotin area is occupied by the Germans, I may have a large number of troops in my hands. He raised his hand to salute Vlasov and Colonel Del, then turned and walked out of the headquarters.

Seeing Sokov coming out of the headquarters, Lieutenant Zhukov and Major Mira immediately came up to him and asked with concern: "How is it, did the commander agree to give us some manpower?"

"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "The commander and the chief of staff said that they don't have any extra manpower to assign to us."

After hearing what Sokov said, Zhukov and Mira showed disappointed expressions on their faces.

Zhu Kewen even said, "Comrade Captain, I have just told you that the front headquarters was annihilated by the German army when it broke out because it had too few troops around it. Judging from the current situation, it can't hold out here for long. If we have to choose to break out in the end, I don't think we can escape the German encirclement with such a small number of people."

"Comrade Lieutenant, don't worry." Sokov put a hand on Zhukov's shoulder and comforted him, "Although the commander and the chief of staff have not agreed to add more people to us, the commander also said that if we want to expand the troops, we can find a way to solve the problem ourselves."

"Where can we find soldiers to expand our army?" Zhu Kewen asked with a frown.

Major Mira's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked Sokov, "Captain Sokov, do you mean that we can expand the troops in our own way?"

"Yes, that's it."

Zhu Kewen heard the conversation between Sokov and Mira, but was confused: "What are you two talking about? Why can't I understand?"

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"Comrade Lieutenant," after spending some time together, Sokov found that Zhukov was actually a good person, but sometimes he was too stubborn. Seeing that he didn't understand what he and Mira were talking about, he explained to him: "Since the commander has agreed to let me find the manpower for the special company myself, I plan to take in those scattered troops and incorporate them into the special company to strengthen our strength."

"Is this appropriate?" Sure enough, as soon as Sokov finished speaking, Lieutenant Zhu Kewen, who was not very smart, raised his own question: "If our superiors knew that we did this, they would not blame us, right?"

"No, Comrade Lieutenant." Sokov said to Zhukov with a smile, "I have obtained the personal consent of the commander. Even if there are any problems in the future, if anyone wants to hold someone responsible, I will bear the responsibility alone."

"Comrade Captain," Major Mira urged, "We must start the evacuation work as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the fighting here becomes intense, the scattered troops withdrawn from Kiev will retreat to our new defense zone through other areas."

In this way, Sokov led the special company to set up checkpoints on major traffic routes to specifically intercept those officers and soldiers withdrawing from the city of Kiev.

In less than a day, the special company expanded rapidly from less than 20 people to 300 people, and most of the officers and soldiers had weapons in their hands.

Someone soon called Colonel Del to complain about Sokov and his men sheltering the defeated soldiers.

Colonel Del received a complaint call and was shocked to learn that Sokov's special company had increased to 300 people in less than a day. He covered the microphone with his hand and reported to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, someone below complained that Captain Sokov took in the troops evacuated from Kiev without permission and expanded the special company to 300 people in a very short time."

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Vlasov smiled and said, "I knew that Captain Sokov was no ordinary man. If it was someone else, he would definitely not do anything if his request for additional manpower was rejected by us. Only Sokov would think of increasing his power by taking in the defeated soldiers."

"So what should we do with him?"

"Why should we deal with him?" Vlasov asked in return.

"He took in the defeated soldiers without authorization from his superiors, which was a violation of regulations."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think there is anything wrong with Captain Sokov's approach." Seeing that Colonel Del did not have a clear understanding, Vlasov quickly reminded him: "I told him to find a way to expand the special company, which is equivalent to giving him authorization. In addition, the special company is to protect the safety of the headquarters. If the worst happens and the Yagotin area cannot be defended, and we have to choose to break out, Captain Sokov's special company is strong, which is also good for us."

Vlasov's words reminded Colonel Del of the escape from Kiev, when he was too small to attack the German-occupied bridge. If it weren't for Sokov's cleverness in impersonating the German Brandenburg Army, perhaps all of them would have been captured by the Germans.

After realizing this, Colonel Del released his hand that was covering the microphone and said to the commander who had made the complaint: "Comrade Commander, Captain Sokov's sheltering of the defeated soldiers was authorized by Comrade Commander, which means that his approach was not wrong at all. You don't have to meddle in other people's business." After that, he hung up the phone without waiting for the other party to speak.

Sokov didn't know that he had been reported, but he discussed with Mira privately: "Comrade Major, although our number has exceeded 300, this amount of troops may be enough for a fight. But if we are surrounded by the German army in the future, this amount of force is far from enough to break out."

"You mean we should continue to accommodate the troops?"

"Yes, that's what I think." Sokov nodded and said, "Another point is that so many soldiers from different units are gathered together and are unfamiliar with each other. If they are not distributed reasonably, I'm afraid they will be in chaos when the war starts."

"Captain Sokov, I understand what you mean." After hearing what Sokov said, Mira immediately understood: "You take Lieutenant Zhu Kewen to continue to receive the defeated soldiers, and I will be responsible for reorganizing the officers and soldiers and try to restore their combat effectiveness as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)