red moscow

Chapter 2762

Soon, Lieutenant Constantine arranged for his men to set up the machine guns, pointing the muzzles at the dark forest ahead, ready to shoot at any time.

With the help of the moonlight coming through the leaves in the forest, Sokov could see the faces of the soldiers nearby were full of nervousness. It was no wonder, as it was unknown how many people the enemy had and what kind of equipment they had. Not to mention the soldiers were nervous, even Sokov, as the commander, was also nervous.

Since they didn't know the enemy's background, if they opened fire rashly, the situation might get worse. So Sokov lowered his voice and said, "Everyone, please pay attention. No one is allowed to shoot without my order. I repeat, no one is allowed to shoot without my order."

After waiting for a long time, there was no movement from the front. Constantine approached Sokov and whispered, "Comrade Captain, what's going on? Why is there no movement from the other side? Did they discover us?"

Sokov began to think quickly in his mind. If he were in the other party's situation, what would he do? Should he retreat immediately and move in another direction, or should he be on guard and send people to conduct reconnaissance to find out what was going on ahead?

Seeing that Sokov was still silent, Constantine continued, "How about we send someone over to scout and see who the other party is?"

"Lieutenant, don't act rashly." Sokov held Konstantin's hand and whispered, "We don't know the other party's details at the moment, and they know nothing about us either. So what we need to do now is to remain unchanged in the face of change."

"Well then." Since Sokov was going to keep his troops in place, Konstantin, as his subordinate, could not act on his own. He could only instruct the soldiers to be on high alert and be prepared for battle.

Time passed by minute by minute, and there was no movement in the front, as if there was no one there.

Just as Sokov was secretly wondering if the sentry had made a mistake, he suddenly saw a red dot appear in the forest ahead, as if someone was smoking.

"Comrade Captain, did you see that?" Konstantin pointed at the red dot and said to Sokov, "It looks like someone is smoking there."

"Yes, I saw it." Sokov began to consider whether to send someone to catch the smoker, and then bring him back for interrogation to find out what kind of troops appeared nearby.

"How about we send someone to bring him back for interrogation?" Konstantin suggested to Sokov.

Sokov thought that Chulxin was the most suitable candidate for such a task. But when he looked around, he could not see any trace of Chulxin, and then he remembered that he had sent him out to perform a reconnaissance mission. Sokov was not at ease to let other soldiers perform this task.

"How about this, Comrade Captain? Send two men over and bring him here."

"Do you have the right person?" Sokov explained to Konstantin, "If we send an inexperienced soldier, we might not be able to catch the tongue, but expose our actions, which would be a loss."

While the two were arguing, the other side seemed to have heard the noise coming from here, and the red dot disappeared in an instant. It should be that the smoker heard the noise and stepped out the cigarette butt.

"Not good!" Sokov saw the cigarette butt on the opposite side suddenly go out, and immediately realized that he might be exposed, and quickly issued a battle alert: "Everyone, get ready for battle. When you hear my command, open fire immediately."

Just as Sokov gave the order, Sergeant Zub, who was lying not far away, suddenly crawled over and whispered to Sokov: "Comrade Captain, it seems that the people ahead are ours."

"Our people?!" Sokov asked cautiously, "How do you know?"

"I vaguely heard someone talking over there, and they were speaking Russian," Sergeant Zub said to Sokov. "If they were Germans, they probably wouldn't speak Russian in a deserted forest."

"Did you hear it correctly?" Sokov asked tentatively, "Is there really someone speaking Russian on the other side?"

"That's right, Comrade Captain." Sergeant Zub said in a positive tone, "My hearing has always been good, I definitely didn't hear it wrong."

Seeing Zub's affirmative tone, Sokov couldn't help but hesitate, wondering whether he should send someone to scout or make contact?

"Comrade Captain," Konstantin said to Sokov, "Since Sergeant Zub said that the people on the other side might be ours, I suggest sending someone to contact them."

"Okay." Sokov nodded and agreed to Konstantin's proposal, then turned to Zub and asked, "Comrade Sergeant, do you dare to represent us to understand the other side's situation?"

"No problem, Comrade Captain." Zub handed the weapon in his hand to Sokov: "I will go over and contact them now."

Seeing Zub handing the weapon to Sokov, Konstantin couldn't help but feel anxious: "Sergeant Zub, how can you not bring a weapon? What if the other side is an enemy, and you go over unarmed, aren't you going to die?"

Zub grinned and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, if the other side is really an enemy, then what difference does it make whether I carry weapons or not? It is better to leave the weapons behind so that other comrades can use them to eliminate more enemies."

Although from various signs, the person on the other side might be one of their own, when Zub stood up and walked out, Sokov still reminded him from behind: "Be careful!"

"I will take note, Comrade Captain."

After Zub walked forward for 20 to 30 meters, Sokov heard a shout from the forest ahead: "Stop, or I'll shoot!"

Sokov felt relieved when he heard the person speaking fluent Russian. He turned to Konstantin and said, "That's right, Comrade Lieutenant. You can hear how authentically the Russian speaker speaks. He must be one of us."

Zub, who heard the other party's shouting, stopped and shouted into the darkness: "Don't shoot, they are one of us."

"Which part are you in?"

"Don't shoot, I'm alone and unarmed," Zub replied. "Please let me pass and I will explain everything to you in detail."

The other party was silent for a moment, then said, "Come here, but don't move too quickly, otherwise it will cause unnecessary misunderstandings, and you will be responsible for the consequences."

Sokov heard Zub's conversation with others and was worried about him. He was worried that if the other sentry got nervous and pulled the trigger when Zub approached, Zub's life would be in danger. Fortunately, what he was worried about did not happen. Except for the sound of Zub stepping on the fallen leaves and dead branches when he moved, no other sound could be heard.

A few minutes later, hurried footsteps were heard in the darkness ahead.

Hearing the footsteps, Konstantin ordered the soldiers without waiting for Sokov's orders: "Be prepared for battle and be ready to shoot at any time!"

But the next moment, Zub's voice was heard in the darkness: "Comrade Captain, don't shoot, they are all our own people."

Sokov listened carefully to Zub's voice, which was a voice of excitement and did not sound like someone being coerced. He then said to Konstantin, "Comrade Lieutenant, tell the comrades to keep their fingers off the trigger to avoid accidentally pulling the trigger."

As soon as the guard was lifted, Zub appeared in Sokov's field of vision. Sokov also saw two people following behind Zub. Although he couldn't see their faces clearly, he could tell that one of them was an officer from the wide-brimmed hat he was wearing.

"Comrade Captain, I'm back!" Zub came to Sokov, raised his hand to salute, and excitedly reported: "I also brought the commander of the friendly forces!"

Sokov saw clearly that it was a captain who came, and he quickly raised his hand to salute him, and said politely: "Hello, comrade captain! I am Captain Sokov, the commander of the special company of the 37th Army Headquarters. I wonder who you are?"

The captain raised his hand to return the greeting and said politely, "I am Captain Karelin, the commander of the 40st Battalion of the 135th Regiment of the 405th Infantry Division of the 37th Army. I have been ordered to come to find General Vlasov, the commander of the th Army."

Hearing Captain Karelin's words, Sokov showed a surprised expression on his face: "What, you are here to look for General Vlasov?"

"Yes, Comrade Captain." Karelin stared at Sokov and asked, "I think your special company should be protecting the headquarters. Can you take me to see General Vlasov?"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Sokov pondered for a moment about Karelin's request. Although the other party said that he was sent by his superiors to find Vlasov, it was not ruled out that he was a German in disguise. If he was really a member of the German Brandenburg Army, wouldn't it put Vlasov in danger if he took him to see him?

Seeing that Sokov was silent, Karelin guessed what he was worried about, and reached into his coat pocket: "Comrade Captain, if you have any doubts about my identity, I can show you my military ID."

After hearing what Karelin said, Sokov felt more at ease. If they were really disguised Brandenburg troops, they would not show their IDs on their own initiative. Since they took the initiative to say that they could use their IDs to prove their identities, it meant that they were truly one of our own.

Thinking of this, Sokov made a gesture of invitation to Karelin: "Comrade Captain, please follow me, I will take you to see General Vlasov!"

A few minutes later, Sokov brought Karelin to Vlasov and reported: "Comrade Commander, this Captain Karelin is from the 4st Battalion of the 135th Regiment of the 40th Division of the th Army. His mission is to go to the forest to find your whereabouts."

"What? You're here to look for me?" Vlasov was a little surprised when he heard Sokov say that. He turned his head to look at Colonel Del and Nikolsky, then turned his gaze back to Karelin: "When did you leave?"

"Yesterday," Karelin replied. "I received the mission to find you yesterday, and I set out with my troops."

Hearing Karelin say that they had set out yesterday, Vlasov's face showed a vigilant look: "You know, I just contacted the front headquarters during the day and reported our location to them. How did you find this place so quickly?"

Karelin was also a smart man. He realized from Vlasov's tone that the other party had doubts about him, and quickly explained: "Comrade General, please listen to my explanation. The task assigned to our division by our commander is to go forward to the defense zone for search. Since they don't know your exact location, they arranged a search range for me, no farther than 3 kilometers from the defense line. And your current location is just at the edge of 30 kilometers."

"Comrade Captain," Nikolsky interrupted, "how many of you are here?"

"A battalion." Karelin glanced at the rank on Nikolsky's collar badge and replied respectfully, "A fully staffed battalion, Comrade Political Commissar of the Regiment."

"That's quite a lot of people." Nikolsky said to Vlasov, then turned his gaze to Karelin: "I wonder how many groups you divided the soldiers into to search?"

"Comrade Regimental Commissar," Karelin replied, "Since there are German airdrop teams in these areas, I have gathered all the troops together and have not dispersed them."

"Comrade Captain," Vlasov asked, staring at Karelin, "where is your division's defense zone?"

"Belopolie," Karelin answered without hesitation. "Our regiment holds the outpost of the entire division."

"Have any enemies launched attacks on you recently?" Vlasov continued to ask.

"Not yet, Comrade General."

"Captain Sokov," Vlasov turned to Sokov after learning some interesting information, "Do you think we should go to Belopoliye?"

"Of course, Comrade Commander." Sokov nodded and said, "Since we have already joined up with Captain Karelin's troops, we naturally have to go to Belopoliye. Even if you want to go somewhere else, your safety will be guaranteed if you are in our defense zone."

"Okay, since you said so, let's go to Belopoliye first." Vlasov said, "Captain Sokov, tell the soldiers to pack up and prepare to go to Belopoliye following the notice from the friendly forces."

"Comrade Commander, I think it's better to leave after daybreak." Sokov thought that Chulxin and his men had not returned from their reconnaissance mission. If they moved overnight, when Chulxin and his men came back, they wouldn't be able to find anyone here, and they would lose contact with the troops. "We still have a reconnaissance team that hasn't returned yet."

After Sokov's reminder, Vlasov immediately remembered the reconnaissance team sent to the northeast. He raised his hand and slapped his forehead, saying with some annoyance: "Yes, yes, we also sent a reconnaissance team to the northeast. We can't move before they come back, otherwise they will lose contact with the troops."

When Karelin heard that Vlasov and his men wanted to move after dawn, he did not raise any objections. He just asked Vlasov, "Comrade General, if you allow me, I plan to transfer all my troops here to protect the safety of you and your colleagues."

"Yes, of course." Vlasov said with a smile, "After you transfer the troops here, we will have enough troops. Even if we encounter the Germans, we will be able to fight them in battle."

Seeing that Vlasov allowed him to transfer the troops over, Karelin quickly turned around and ordered the soldier he brought over: "Go back immediately and tell the deputy battalion commander that I have found General Vlasov and ask him to bring the troops over."

(End of this chapter)