red moscow

Chapter 2764 Temporary Taking Over Command
Sokov's answer disappointed Karelin somewhat.

Although Karelin and Sokov had only known each other for a few hours, the Order of Lenin worn on Sokov's chest made Karelin realize that he was not an ordinary person. After all, the Order of Lenin represents the highest honor. Looking at the entire army, there are only a few who can receive it, let alone a small captain, even a colonel. This is why Karelin wanted to recruit him.

But at this moment, Sokov chose to refuse without hesitation. Although Karelin felt regretful, he was helpless.

After the troops set out, the commander of the first echelon sent people to report the situation ahead every half an hour, appearing to be extremely cautious.

Karelin did not think the company commander was being too cautious, but rather just right. After all, his troops were now tasked with escorting Vlasov, and if something went wrong on the way, they would be dead.

"Comrade Captain," when the soldiers sent by the first echelon appeared for the fourth time, Sokov suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked Karelin in a low voice: "I wonder if the enemy has dropped any leaflets on your position."

"Of course, they are leaflets about their achievements in battle, and they are used to persuade our officers and soldiers to surrender."

"Yes." Karelin's expression suddenly became nervous. He turned his head to look at the position behind Vlasov and others, and said cautiously: "The enemy, the Germans, initially dropped leaflets from planes, but later they thought this method was too slow, so they used mortars to directly shoot leaflets over. At first we could still see these leaflets, but later when the military commissar of the army learned about it, he immediately organized political workers to go to the battlefield to collect these leaflets. And they strictly ordered that once enemy leaflets were found on the battlefield, they must report to the political workers as soon as possible, and they would come and collect them. Anyone who dares to read or hide these leaflets without authorization will be severely punished."

"Ah, are the political workers there so strict?"

"Yes." Karelin nodded and said seriously, "Several veterans were found hiding leaflets on their bodies by political workers and taken away. Their whereabouts are still unknown and they are probably in grave danger."

Konstantin, who was walking beside Sokov, happened to hear this and asked curiously, "Why did those veterans hide the leaflets?"

Karelin smiled bitterly and said: "These veterans are heavy smokers and usually roll their own cigarettes. When they saw the leaflets all over the ground, they picked up a few and prepared to roll cigarettes with them. Who knew that this would become their evidence of guilt."

"Their luck is so bad." Constantine said with emotion.

"By the way, Comrade Captain." Sokov hadn't gotten the answer he wanted yet, so he naturally continued to ask: "Have you seen the leaflets?"

Karelin knew that it was taboo to peek at the leaflets dropped by the German army on the battlefield, so he seemed hesitant and didn't know whether he should answer Sokov's question.

Sokov saw the other party's worry and said quickly: "Comrade Captain, don't be afraid. The reason I asked you this question is because I want to understand the current situation."

"The situation is very clear," Karelin said in a muffled voice. "The original headquarters of the Southwestern Front was annihilated by the Germans during the breakout. Commander General Kirponos, Chief of Staff Major General Tupikov, and Military Commissar Burmishtenko were all killed."

Sokov knew that the original commander of the Southwestern Front had basically died. When he heard Karelin say this, his expression did not change. But the other party did not continue to speak at this point. He could not help but ask: "It's over?!"

His words confused Karelin: "Yes, that's what the flyer said."

Sokov could not help but frown after hearing this. He remembered that in the relevant materials, in addition to the annihilation of the front headquarters by the German army, one thing that the Germans were proud of was that Guderian's troops successfully captured Major General Potapov, the commander of the Soviet 5th Army. But Karelin's statement just now did not seem to mention this. According to the Germans' nature, if they really captured a Soviet army commander, they would have boasted about it in newspapers and on the radio, and would have mentioned it in the leaflets dropped on the Soviet positions.

"Yes, that's all." Karelin asked in confusion, "Don't you think this is enough?"

"No, Captain," Sokov waved his hand and said, "Didn't they mention the capture of our senior commanders?"

Karelin thought about it, then shook his head and said, "No, it was never mentioned."

Sokov began to think, since the leaflet did not mention the capture of a senior commander, then Potapov, who was captured in the Battle of Kiev, might still be hiding somewhere near Kiev and not fall into the hands of the Germans yet. The last time he traveled through time, he had dealt with Potapov. He was not only a very easy person to get along with, but also had good commanding skills. If he had a chance to find him and avoid his fate of being captured by the Germans, he might be able to play a greater role in the entire Patriotic War.

At noon, the troops were only five kilometers away from Belopoliye. As long as they worked hard, they would definitely reach the Soviet defense zone within an hour.

But due to the long journey, the officers and soldiers all looked a little tired. Especially Vlasov, who was almost unable to walk due to lack of exercise for a long time. He was seen bending over, holding his knees with both hands, and moving forward with difficulty.

Seeing this, Sokov stepped forward and asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, your current physical condition is no longer suitable for continuing the journey. How about we let the troops stop and rest for a while before continuing?"

Vlasov did not reply to Sokov immediately, but looked at Karelin and asked: "Comrade Captain, how far is it from here to Belopoliye?"

"Less than five kilometers, Comrade General."

Hearing what Karelin said, Vlasov turned to Sokov and said, "Captain Sokov, you heard it, we are less than five kilometers away from Belopolye. We must work harder and rush to Belopolye in one go. After entering our defense zone, we can rest as long as we want."

"Well, I'll continue on my way." Although he said so, Sokov saw that Vlasov really couldn't walk, so he definitely couldn't let him go on. He quickly ordered a stretcher to be made, and let him lie on it, and four strong soldiers carried him.

Vlasov did not make a fuss about Sokov's arrangement. He just lay down on the stretcher and let the soldiers carry him on their journey with peace of mind.

As they continued on their way, Sokov looked at Vlasov lying on the stretcher and muttered to himself: Was Vlasov's capture by the Germans during the Lyuban Battle related to his weak physique? You know, the encirclement set by the Germans was broken twice, and thousands of officers and soldiers were able to break through successfully, but Vlasov, as the commander, became a prisoner of the Germans, which is very telling.

But no matter what the reason was for Vlasov's capture, Sokov now wanted to leave him and join a new commander. Otherwise, it would be questionable whether he could survive until the end of the war.

As we were moving forward, we suddenly heard gunshots and explosions in the front, obviously some enemy was engaging in a firefight.

Hearing this voice, Sokov immediately ordered to stop advancing and turned to ask Karelin: "Comrade Captain, what is ahead?"

Karelin thought for a moment and replied, "It's a soap factory." "What's the gunfire and explosions ahead?" Sokov asked, "Did the first echelon engage in a firefight with the enemy?"

"That's possible." Karelin nodded and said, "I'll send someone to the first echelon right away to find out what's going on."

But before the people Karelin had arranged to set off, the first echelon had already sent someone to report to him: "Comrade Battalion Commander, there were gunshots and explosions coming from the soap factory ahead. The company commander asked me to ask you, what should we do?"

"Have you taken any measures?" asked Karelin.

"No." The soldier said, "The company commander said that we cannot take any action without your order, so he asked me to come and ask you what to do next."

Sokov couldn't help but smile and shook his head when he heard what the soldier said, thinking that this company commander was totally incompetent. Since he found that there was a battle ahead, the first thing he should do was to command the troops to join the battle and support the friendly forces who were fighting bloody battles with the enemy. Instead, he stayed where he was and sent someone to ask for instructions before he dared to deploy the troops.

After listening to the soldier's words, Karelin did not get angry. Instead, he nodded and said, "Captain, you are right. I will go to the front now to see what happened. After I understand the situation, I will decide what to do next."

Sokov was completely speechless. He originally thought that only the company commander was unreliable, but he didn't expect that the battalion commander Karelin was equally unreliable. At this time, shouldn't he directly order the troops to fight and relieve some pressure on the friendly forces? Who knew that he had to go to the front to observe in person and figure out what was going on before deciding whether to take the next step.

If Sokov's rank was higher than Karelin's, he would have taken over the command of the troops without hesitation. But now, he could only look to Vlasov, who was sitting on a stretcher, for help, to see if he could say a few words for him.

Vlasov saw Sokov's gaze and immediately guessed his intention. He nodded slowly and then said to Karelin: "Comrade Captain, I have a suggestion."

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"Comrade General, please speak!"

Vlasov looked at Sokov and said, "Although Captain Sokov has only been in the army for a short time, he has a strong command level on the battlefield. If you have no objection, I suggest that you hand over the troops to him for command. It may achieve unexpected results."

Hearing Vlasov's proposal, Karelin hesitated for a moment, then said: "Okay, Comrade General, I obey your order. From now on, my troops will be commanded by Captain Sokov."

Sokov originally thought that he could only be a spectator, but he did not expect that as soon as Vlasov opened his mouth, Karelin agreed to let him command the troops so readily.

"Comrade Captain, let's go ahead and take a look." Sokov said to Karelin quickly, "And ask the second and third echelons to speed up their march. We may need their help in the battle later."

"No problem." Karelin said readily, "I'll immediately arrange for someone to notify the troops behind us."

Sokov took Konstantin, Chulsin, Zub and others, and rushed to the location of the first echelon with Karelin.

On the way, Sokov curiously asked Karelin: "Comrade Captain, I thought you would refuse General Vlasov's order."

"How is that possible?" Karelin said with a smile, "He is a senior commander. I can only obey his orders. More importantly," Karelin pointed at the Order of Lenin on Sokov's chest, "I think people who can receive this medal must be quite extraordinary. I just want to use this battle to see what your true level is."

Come to the area where the first echelon is located.

The company commander came forward and saluted Karelin: "Comrade Battalion Commander, you are here!"

Unexpectedly, Karelin pointed at Sokov and said to his company commander, "Captain, from now on, the troops will be under the command of Captain Sokov. If you have any questions, just report to him."

Just as the captain of the first company raised his hand to salute Sokov, Sokov stopped him and asked, "Captain of the first company, what measures did you take after you found out that there was a fight in the soap factory ahead?"

"I think the situation is very serious and I need to report it to my superiors immediately." The company commander replied, "So I immediately sent a soldier to the back to report the matter to the battalion commander."

"Besides reporting to the battalion commander, what else did you do?" Sokov asked this question. Worried that the other party didn't understand what he meant, he added: "Did you send personnel to conduct reconnaissance at the soap factory?"

"No." The company commander blushed and said, "I can't take any action without the order from my superiors."

"Captain of the First Company," Sokov was furious when he heard what the captain said. He said with a straight face, "Do you know that every minute on the battlefield is precious? Captain Karelin's second echelon is relatively close to you, so there is no big problem. But if the battalion headquarters is more than ten kilometers away from you, by the time you come back after asking for instructions, the friendly troops fighting the enemy in the soap factory may have been wiped out."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it through."

"I don't want to hear you say anything about apology now." Sokov waved his hand at the captain of the first company, and then called Zub and Chulxin over: "Sergeant Zub, you and Chulxin select two squads of soldiers and immediately go to the soap factory for reconnaissance. After finding out what happened there, come back and report to me immediately. Do you understand?"

"Understood." Zub and Churhin answered loudly.

"Captain Sokov, I don't understand." Karelin, who had been standing by without saying anything, suddenly asked, "If we want to carry out a reconnaissance mission, three or five people are enough. Why do we need to bring two squads of soldiers?"

"Comrade Captain." Seeing that Karelin didn't understand, Sokov explained to him, "In addition to performing reconnaissance missions, if they see that the friendly forces in the soap factory are unable to hold on, they need to provide support. If only three or five people are sent, they will not be able to support the friendly forces in the factory. Maybe their reconnaissance mission has not been completed yet, and the friendly forces in the factory may have been wiped out."

After saying this, Sokov turned to Zub and the other man and said, "You should leave as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)