red moscow

Chapter 2756: Searching for Vlasov
Sokov's heart sank suddenly. In the current situation, disappearance meant sacrifice or capture. Zhukov and Djubro were fine, but Romanov was different. He was an important historical figure in the future. If something happened to him, it might have an uncontrollable impact on future history.

After a brief silence, Sokov asked again unwillingly: "You really didn't see Romanov?"

Chulsin was stunned, wondering why Captain Sokov was so concerned about a new recruit who had just joined the army? Could it be because they had escaped from Kiev together and had a deep relationship with each other? But then he thought, that's not right, Second Lieutenant Zhukov, Dyubro, and Air Force Lieutenant Yegor had also escaped from Kiev together. Why did he just ask these people a casual question and then stop asking?
With such doubts, Chulsin asked curiously: "Comrade Captain, why do you care so much about Romanov?"

Sokov was stunned by Chulsin's question. Just as he was thinking about how to answer, Lieutenant Konstantin came over and said to Sokov, "Comrade Captain, the newly evacuated comrades basically did not bring any dry food with them. Do you think we can let our soldiers share some with them?"

"Lieutenant, this is as it should be." Sokov thought that it would take a long time to completely escape the encirclement, and he couldn't be partial to some and let these newly joined soldiers starve, so he said decisively: "Give half of the dry food we carry to the new comrades. When they are full, we will continue on our way."

When the new soldiers were sitting by the lake drinking water and eating, Vlasov walked up to Sokov and asked, "Captain Sokov, there are only a few of us left. Do you think we have a chance to escape the German encirclement?"

In response to Vlasov's question, Sokov was silent for a moment, then said, "Comrade Commander, the soldiers around us are from different units, and they have just suffered a defeat. I'm afraid their morale is low. In addition, we are short of ammunition. If we fight the Germans head-on, I'm afraid we will be annihilated. Therefore, we must find a way to avoid the enemy and jump out of the gap in the enemy's encirclement."

"We left in such a hurry that we didn't even have a map." Colonel Del said with a headache, "If we wander aimlessly in the forest like this, even if we don't encounter the enemy, it's a problem whether we can get out."

Sokov thought it would be great if Jubro was here, as he was a hunter and would not get lost in such a forest. However, Jubro and Zhukov were missing, so they could only find someone who could find the way in the forest from the soldiers around them, so that this small unit would not get lost and get trapped in the forest.

Thinking of this, Sokov said to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, we should ask the soldiers around us to see if there are any hunters or forest rangers. If there are these two types of people, we will have a better chance of getting out of the forest."

Colonel Del was awakened by Sokov's words. He quickly said, "I'll go ask if there are any hunters or forest rangers among the soldiers."

A few minutes later, Colonel Del picked out three former hunters and forest rangers from the soldiers, and the small force set off again under their leadership.

At the same time, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Stalin, smoking a pipe, asked a general standing in front of him expressionlessly: "Has the contact with the 37th Army Headquarters not been restored yet?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin," the general replied tremblingly, "We have tried everything, but we have not been able to establish contact with the 37th Army Headquarters. I estimate that they may have met with an accident."

Unexpectedly, it was this sentence that angered Stalin: "I want to hear an accurate answer, not your estimate. As long as the German army has not announced their victory, it means that the 37th Army has not been annihilated by the Germans, and Vlasov still has the possibility of returning to Moscow."

The general knew that Vlasov was Stalin's favorite general, and his disappearance worried Stalin. But he was also worried. Seven or eight radio stations kept calling the 37th Army Headquarters, but there was no response. Moreover, according to accurate information, the Yagotin area where the 37th Army Headquarters was located had been completely occupied by the Germans before noon today. There were only two reasons why Vlasov lost contact, either he was captured or sacrificed, and the latter was more likely.

For a moment, the general comrade did not dare to express his opinion casually, so as not to anger the Supreme Commander again. He could only ask fearfully: "Comrade Stalin, what should we do next? Continue to call the 37th Army Headquarters?"

"Of course, such calls should not be stopped before contacting the 37th Army Headquarters." Stalin said, "Also, you send a telegram to Marshal Timoshenko and ask him to send a search team to the direction of Yagotin to find Vlasov's whereabouts."

"Yes, Comrade Commander," the general agreed. "I will convey your message to Marshal Timoshenko immediately."

A quarter of an hour later, Timoshenko, who had just taken over the post of commander of the Southwestern Front, received a telegram from the Supreme Command Headquarters, asking him to send personnel to search for Vlasov in the direction of Yagotin.

Timoshenko placed the telegram in front of Khrushchev and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Khrushchev, look, this is a telegram sent to us by the Supreme Command Headquarters, asking me to send a search team to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov, commander of the 37th Army. What do you think we should do next?"

After reading the telegram, Khrushchev looked up and said to Timoshenko: "Comrade Marshal, is there any need to say this? We must obey Comrade Stalin's order and send people to the direction of Yagotin to search for the whereabouts of General Vlasov. You know, he is Comrade Stalin's favorite general. If anything happens to him, the consequences will be very serious."

"I understand, Comrade Khrushchev." Timoshenko said with a smile: "When I took over the post of commander of the Southwestern Front, I heard a rumor that after Admiral Kirponos died in the breakout operation, Comrade Stalin originally planned to let Vlasov serve as the new commander of the front. It was precisely because he was trapped in the German encirclement that this position fell on me by chance."

"How is this possible, Comrade Marshal?" said the new Chief of Staff, Major General Pokrovsky. "You are a marshal, and General Vlasov is only a lieutenant general. How can you be the commander of a front?"

"That's not impossible, Comrade Chief of Staff." Khrushchev said, "Before the Battle of Kiev, General Vlasov was just a mechanized army commander, but Comrade Stalin personally summoned him to Moscow and appointed him commander of the 37th Army and commander of the Kiev garrison. This shows how much he valued him. Therefore, the idea of ​​making him the commander of the front should not be a rumor."

When Pokrovsky heard that Vlasov was so valued by Stalin, if something really happened, the front headquarters would be punished. He hurriedly said to Timoshenko: "Comrade Marshal, if you have no objection, I am willing to personally lead the search team to the direction of Yagotin to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov." Regarding Pokrovsky's self-recommendation, Timoshenko shook his head and said: "General Pokrovsky, don't forget your identity. You are the chief of staff of the front, not a regiment commander or battalion commander. How can you lead such a dangerous mission? Besides, the new front headquarters has just been established, and I still need your full assistance."

Since Timoshenko said so, Pokrovsky naturally could not mention taking people to look for Vlasov anymore, and could only ask tactfully: "Comrade Marshal, what are your plans?"

Timoshenko looked at the map in front of him and thought about the questions raised by Pokrovsky.

After a moment, he pointed to a location on the map and said, "Pull out a battalion of troops from here and head to Yagotin to look for General Vlasov. Chief of Staff Pokrovsky, you must tell them to go no further than 20 to 30 kilometers. If they can't find Vlasov, they should withdraw immediately."

Khrushchev heard the hidden meaning in Timoshenko's words and nodded, saying, "That's right. The enemy may soon launch an attack on our newly established defense line. We should not disperse our precious forces for a long time. Therefore, we should set up a search area. If General Vlasov is not found there, let them end the search, return to their original station, and prepare to resist the new round of German attacks."

Pokrovsky hesitated for a moment and asked cautiously: "Comrade Military Commissar, if we don't find General Vlasov's whereabouts, won't the Supreme Command blame us?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Khrushchev looked up at Pokrovsky and said, "Let me remind you that finding General Vlasov is indeed a task given to us by the headquarters. But our main task is to stop the Germans from attacking and prevent them from breaking into Moscow. Do you understand?"

"I see, Comrade Military Commissar," Pokrovsky replied hastily. "I will immediately send a telegram to the troops and ask them to look for General Vlasov."

Just as Pokrovsky was about to arrange to send a telegram to the front line, Khrushchev stopped him again: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I wonder in which area do you plan to search?"

"Of course, we will search along the railway or highway." Pokrovsky replied: "This is the quickest way to retreat."

But after he said this, Khrushchev shook his head and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, if there is transportation, retreating by rail or road is undoubtedly the fastest. But have you ever considered that if Vlasov and his men had not died or become prisoners of the Germans, they might not have been able to find any transportation to retreat."

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Pokrovsky looked at Khrushchev and asked in confusion: "Where will they retreat from?"

"Of course it's the forest." Khrushchev pointed to the map and said, "Although retreating by road or rail can reach our new defense zone as quickly as possible, it is not the safest route. Along the way, we will be bombed by enemy planes and attacked by airborne teams. If Vlasov and his men had not died or become prisoners, the most ideal retreat route would be through the forest area, avoiding the German blockade and returning to our defense zone."

After hearing Khrushchev's explanation, Pokrovsky immediately understood. He nodded and said, "I understand, Comrade Military Commissar. I will notify the search team to go to the forest area to search and find General Vlasov."

"Also, the distance from the Yagotin area to our defense front is about 200 kilometers." Timoshenko interrupted, "If they escape the German encirclement through the forest area, it will take at least a week or even longer. They retreated in a hurry and certainly did not carry much food. Therefore, the search team must carry enough food and medicine before setting off, and provide them with supplies in time after they meet up with General Vlasov and his men."

An hour later, an infantry battalion deployed in Belopoliye, carrying sufficient food and medicine, left its defensive position, entered the continuous forests, and launched a search and rescue operation for Vlasov.

Before the battalion commander left, the regiment commander who assigned him the task specifically reminded him: "Major, your battalion's mission is to find the whereabouts of General Vlasov, commander of the 37th Army, in the forest area. But the superiors consider that General Vlasov's loss of contact is due to his sacrifice or capture, so your search operation is not indefinite. You only need to go to kilometers into the forest area. If you still haven't found General Vlasov, withdraw immediately. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Comrade Commander." The battalion commander assured the commander, "Our battalion will definitely find a way to find Vlasov."

Since the German vanguard had been discovered near the search area, the battalion commander did not disperse after leading his battalion out of the defense zone. Instead, he entered the dense forest as a battalion unit and launched a search operation.

Vlasov, Sokov and others knew nothing about the search operation launched by the Southwestern Front. Led by three soldiers, they advanced towards the northeast. Along the way, they occasionally encountered solitary soldiers, most of whom had escaped from the Yagotin area.

Sokov would not let go of these stragglers easily. He incorporated them into his army and appointed Constantine as his deputy to manage these soldiers. These soldiers were originally walking alone in the forest, not knowing whether they could get out of the forest. Whenever they saw someone willing to recruit them, they would naturally be happy to do so.

When they fled into the forest on the 26th, Vlasov and his men were only accompanied by a dozen soldiers. By the evening of the 27th, the force had expanded to hundreds of people.

The expansion of the army gave Sokov confidence. Even if he encountered an enemy airborne team, he would be able to fight and even wipe out the enemy. But while he was happy, he also had something to worry about. The food that was originally enough for five days was only enough for three days as the number of people increased. If they could not get out of this vast forest within three days, the soldiers would face starvation, which was really a worrying thing.

(End of this chapter)