red moscow

Chapter 2765 Potapov is rescued

Soon after the reconnaissance team led by Zub and Chulxin set out, the second and third echelons arrived at the edge of the forest one after another.

Seeing that his troops were all gathered in one place, Karelin suddenly felt confident. He said to Sokov: "Captain Sokov, my men are all here. Why don't we attack the soap factory directly and eliminate the enemies in the factory?"

When Karelin said this, he deliberately glanced at Vlasov, Colonel Del and Nikolsky who were not far away, as if he wanted to get their support. But to his surprise, the three of them said nothing, but just looked at Sokov with a smile, as if waiting for him to make a decision.

"Don't worry, comrade captain." As expected, Sokov shook his head and said, "We currently have no idea how many enemies are in the soap factory, what kind of equipment they have, who are the people fighting against them, how many troops and equipment they have, etc. If we rashly send our troops into battle, I'm afraid it will cause a lot of unnecessary casualties."

"But you just said that the people in the soap factory may not be able to hold out for much longer." Karelin continued: "Although you sent two squads to scout, with their limited strength, they are simply unable to deal with the enemies in the factory."

"Don't worry, Comrade Captain." Sokov said, "I just said that they not only have reconnaissance missions, but will also fight when necessary. If the enemy's forces are not large, we will deploy our troops to attack the soap factory and kill the enemies in the factory. But if the enemy is too large, we can only use them to contain the enemy and then bypass them from other directions to avoid fighting with the enemy."

Seven or eight minutes later, the sound of gunfire and explosions from the soap factory became more frequent. Based on Sokov's experience, it should be the two squads commanded by Zub and Chulsin who were involved in the battle in the soap factory. At this time, a soldier could be seen running towards this side.

When the soldier came close, he saluted Sokov and reported breathlessly: "Comrade Captain, Sergeant Zub asked me to come back and report to you: there is about a platoon of German soldiers in the soap factory, equipped with two armored vehicles and more than a dozen sidecar motorcycles. The troops engaging in fire with them should be our small troops that were dispersed. They are relying on the factory building to resist the German attack. Now our people have exchanged fire with the Germans. Sergeant Zub asks you to send people to support them as soon as possible."

After figuring out the enemy's strength and equipment, Sokov began to issue orders: "The first company will attack from the front, the second company will make a detour from the left, and the third company will make a detour from the right. We must completely wipe out the enemy in the soap factory."

After hearing Sokov's order, the three company commanders stood still and turned their eyes to their battalion commander, Karelin, wanting to hear his instructions.
Karelin glanced at Vlasov's men and asked Sokov tentatively: "Captain Sokov, if we put all our troops into battle, who will protect General Vlasov's life?"

"Don't worry." Sokov said, "My subordinates can handle this task. Your task now is to wipe out all the German troops in the soap factory."

"I understand." Karelin nodded, then turned to his company commanders and said, "What are you still standing there for? Follow Captain Sokov's orders and attack the enemy. If you miss the opportunity, I will punish you."

Seeing that Karelin was angry, several company commanders immediately dispersed and returned to their respective troops. Following Sokov's orders, they launched an attack on the soap factory.

The troops were fighting, so Sokov naturally would not stay at the edge of the forest waiting for news. Instead, he went to the soap factory with Karelin to personally command the final annihilation battle.

The German troops at the soap factory had already lost nearly half of their troops when they attacked the factory. Not long ago, they were attacked by the reconnaissance troops commanded by Zub and Chulsin, and many more soldiers were killed and wounded. They were already unable to hold on, and when several Soviet companies pressed forward, they had no power to fight back. The battle lasted only a few minutes and ended hastily.

When Sokov and Karelin arrived at the soap factory, the battle was over and all the German officers and soldiers fell under the Soviet guns.

Seeing that the battle was over, Sokov quickly came to the front of the factory and shouted inside: "Hey, comrades inside, the enemy has been eliminated by us, you can come out!"

Hearing Sokov's shout, a dozen ragged officers and soldiers walked out of the factory gate. The one walking in front had two gold stars on his diamond-shaped collar badge, indicating that he was a major general.

Although the other person's face was blackened by gunpowder, Sokov was still shocked when he saw the other person's face clearly, because the person standing in front of him was none other than Major General Potapov, whom he had been thinking about in his heart not long ago.

Sokov quickly took two steps forward, raised his hand to salute Potapov, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade General! I am Captain Sokov, the commander of the special company of the 37th Army Headquarters. I am very happy to meet you here."

"Hello, Captain Sokov!" Potapov took two steps forward, stretched out his hand and shook hands with Sokov, and said with a smile: "If you hadn't arrived in time, we would have been completely wiped out by the Germans when our ammunition was exhausted. Let me introduce myself. I am Major General Potapov, the commander of the 5th Army."

Sokov muttered to himself, I never thought that Potapov had not become a prisoner of the Germans. This was really strange. He looked at him and asked cautiously: "General Potapov, I saw a leaflet distributed by the Germans a few days ago, saying that you have become their prisoner."

Potapov's face darkened, and it was obvious that Sokov's question touched a sore spot.

After a long while, he finally spoke: "Yes, I was captured by the Germans a few days ago. But I pretended to be nice to them and took advantage of their relaxed vigilance to successfully escape from prison. On the way to escape, I met some small units that were scattered, so I took them in and continued to move northeast, trying to enter our army's defense zone. But as soon as we got here, we were caught up by the Germans, and then a battle broke out."

"How many people do you have?" Sokov asked.

"Before the battle, there were hundreds of people." Potapov turned around and pointed at the dozen soldiers around him and said, "Now there are only these few left."

Sokov couldn't help but twitch his lips when he heard Potapov say that, they had the advantage in numbers and also occupied a favorable terrain, but a platoon of German soldiers almost wiped them out. If he had come a little later, Potapov might have been killed or become a prisoner of the Germans again.

Potapov obviously did not want to talk about these things that spoiled the fun, so he changed the subject in time: "Comrade Captain, these are your men, right?"

"No, Comrade General." Sokov shook his head and said, "These are the officers and soldiers of the 40th Army."

"What? They are all officers and soldiers of the 40th Army?" Potapov was confused when he heard this. "You are from the 37th Army. How can you command the troops of the 40th Army? What's going on?"

"It's like this, Comrade General." Sokov explained, "This unit was sent by General Podlas, commander of the 4th Army, to support General Vlasov." "They are here to support General Vlasov?" Potapov was surprised when he heard what Sokov said, "So, General Vlasov is nearby?"

"Yes, he is in the nearby forest." Sokov continued, "Now that the battle is over, he will probably come here soon, and then you will be able to see him."

"I met him once after he became the garrison commander," Potapov said. "In a blink of an eye, I haven't seen him for more than a month."

While waiting for Vlasov to come, Sokov muttered to himself that in real history, Potapov might have escaped from the Germans after being captured. But because the area near Kiev fell into the hands of the Germans, he fell into the hands of the Germans again before he could escape back to the Soviet defense zone.

Seeing Vlasov, Colonel Del and Nikolsky entering the soap factory, Sokov hurriedly went up to them, briefly reported the situation of the battle to them, and then said to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, one of the friendly troops we rescued is Major General Potapov, the commander of the 5th Army."

"What, Potapov?" Vlasov was shocked. "According to the German leaflets, he was captured by the Germans. How could he be here? Captain Sokov, are you mistaken?"

"There is no mistake, Comrade Commander." Sokov explained quickly, "I have confirmed his identity. It is indeed General Potapov. If you don't believe me, I will take you over to see him."

"Okay, take me there now." Vlasov turned over and got off the stretcher, ready to go find Potapov.

"Comrade Commander, you'd better go on a stretcher."

"No, no." Vlasov waved his hands and said, "I'm not injured, why should I sit on a stretcher? Besides, I've been sitting on a stretcher for so long that my strength has long been restored. Stop talking nonsense and take me to see General Potapov quickly."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Sokov led Vlasov and others to where Potapov was resting. He followed him from a distance and shouted, "General Potapov, our commander is here to see you!"

Hearing Sokov's voice, Potapov immediately came out. Seeing Vlasov coming towards him, he immediately stretched out his hands and said excitedly: "General Vlasov, it's a great pleasure to see you here."

"General Potapov!" Vlasov quickly stepped forward and hugged Potapov. He patted him on the back and said excitedly, "I was worried about your safety when I learned that you fell into the hands of the Germans. I didn't expect to see you here. It's a surprise."

"General Vlasov," Potapov said, "if your men hadn't come to rescue me, I would have been killed by the Germans or captured by them again. Thank you so much."

"Don't thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Captain Sokov." Vlasov said with emotion: "To be honest, if Captain Sokov hadn't been by my side, I would have been captured by the Germans in Kiev."

"Ah, what happened? How did you escape?"

Seeing Vlasov and Potapov reminiscing about the past, Sokov was worried that they would not stop talking, so he quickly reminded them: "Comrade commanders, we are still in the area controlled by the German army. We should rush to our defense zone immediately. Otherwise, when the Germans come, it will not be so easy for us to leave."

"Right, right, right." Hearing what Sokov said, Potapov nodded immediately and said, "It took me a week to lead my soldiers to get here, but we were entangled by the Germans and almost wiped out. I think Captain Sokov is right. We can't stay here for long. Let's continue on our way. We can relax our vigilance when we enter our defense zone."

The troops continued on their journey, but there were two more armored vehicles and a dozen sidecar motorcycles in the team. Vlasov and Potapov could ride in the armored vehicles, and the marching speed of the entire army was greatly accelerated.

When the troops approached the Soviet defense zone, Sokov, who was walking in the front, ordered the troops to stop: "Stop advancing, the troops stay where they are!"

Seeing the friendly defense zone right in front of them, Sokov ordered to stop advancing. Vlasov couldn't help feeling a little surprised, so he ordered Karelin, who was traveling with him, to go over and ask what was going on.

After Karelin found Sokov in front, he asked in confusion: "Captain Sokov, why did you order the troops to stop advancing when they were about to enter our regiment's defense zone?"

Sokov pointed at the armored vehicles and sidecar motorcycles in the queue and said, "Comrade Captain, look at how clear the white cross marks on the vehicles are. If we just march past them in such a swagger, do you think your comrades will regard them as enemies?"

Karelin was frightened by Sokov's words. He thought that if he saw a team approaching his defense zone, and there were many German armored vehicles and motorcycles in it, he would definitely order his men to open fire without hesitation. Fortunately, Sokov ordered the troops to stop and wait, otherwise they might have a conflict with their own people if they moved forward rashly. After all, it was late at night, visibility was reduced, and it was difficult to distinguish between the enemy and ourselves beyond a certain distance.

"Captain Sokov, I understand what you mean." Karelin raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and continued, "I will send someone to contact them immediately to avoid any misunderstanding."

Sokov looked at Karelin and thought that by the time you remembered, it might be too late. He smiled and said, "Comrade Captain, don't bother. I have sent a company commander with several soldiers to contact them. I think he will be able to bring back good news in no time."

After Karelin chatted with Sokov for a few more words, he returned to Vlasov and Potapov and reported to them: "Comrade Generals, Captain Sokov said that it is a little dark now and the visibility on the position is limited. If we rush in rashly, it may cause misunderstandings to the defenders on the position. Therefore, he temporarily ordered the troops to stop advancing and sent one of my company commanders to make contact. I believe it won't be long before we can successfully enter our regiment's defense zone."

"Thank God, we have finally arrived," Potapov said with emotion, "Now we don't have to worry about the enemy catching up with us."

(End of this chapter)