Red Moscow.

Chapter 2759

Unexpectedly, after counting the number of people, it was discovered that Sergeant Zub was missing. Sokov suddenly asked angrily: "What the hell, where did Sergeant Zub go? The second group of soldiers he led should not have been there long ago." Have you arrived here?”

Seeing Sokov getting angry, Chul worked hard and explained with a smile: "Comrade Captain, I'm sorry, I didn't see Sergeant Zub. Maybe he was unfortunately injured when the German army fired machine guns, and he fell behind."

"This is impossible." Sokov shook his head and said: "I also saw him when I ordered him to quickly pass through the open field. There was no sign of injury at all."

"Second Lieutenant Konstantin," Sokov called Konstantin in front of him and ordered him with a straight face: "You immediately take people to find Sergeant Zub. You will live or die or see the corpse. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Comrade Captain." Constantine replied quickly and loudly: "I will take someone to find him right away."

"What's going on?" At this time Vlasov and Colonel Del came over and asked curiously: "What happened here?"

"A soldier is missing." Sokov quickly replied: "I have arranged for someone to search for him."

When he learned that a soldier was missing, Vlasov didn't say anything, but Colonel Del looked at his watch and said anxiously: "Captain Sokov, the gunfire just now may have alerted the nearby enemies. If we don't Move as soon as possible, or you may be caught by the enemy. "

Just as Sokov was thinking about how to reply to Colonel Der, Vlasov said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the enemy has not come yet. If we lose our soldier, he may fall into the hands of the enemy. . If he is a strong warrior, the enemy will definitely not be able to ask anything from him; but what if he is timid? The whereabouts of all of us may be revealed by him."

Vlasov's words not only surprised Colonel Del, but even Sokov broke into a cold sweat. He secretly thought, yes, if Sergeant Zub was not found and the troops fled, the enemy might fall into the hands of the Germans. If Sergeant Zub could not withstand the torture of the Germans and revealed the whereabouts of Vlasov and others, the enemy might mobilize manpower to hunt him down, and it would be difficult to escape.

Out of this consideration, Sokov became even more determined to find Sergeant Zub. He called Qursin in front of him again and ordered him: "Chursin, take a few people to assist Constantine." The second lieutenant and the others found the whereabouts of Sergeant Zub."

Not long after Chulsin's group was dispatched, a soldier ran over and reported excitedly to Sokov: "Comrade Captain, we found it, we found Sergeant Zub."

"Where is he?" Sokov asked impatiently.

"Here." The soldier raised his chin toward the back: "Isn't he coming towards here?"

Sokov followed the soldier's line of sight and saw Sergeant Zub. I saw that the other party was carrying an mg34 machine gun on his shoulder, with several bullet belts wrapped around his body, and he was running towards his location with excitement on his face.

"Sergeant Zub," Sokov asked with a straight face when he saw Zub's arrival, "Where have you been and why did you fall behind?"

"Comrade Captain, look." Zub raised his hand and patted the mg3 machine gun on his shoulder, and said excitedly: "I took down the machine gun that the Germans put on the sidecar of the motorcycle. Maybe in the next It can also be used during the march.”

After figuring out that the opponent was lagging behind in order to dismantle the machine gun on the sidecar of the motorcycle, Sokov swallowed back many of his reproachful words: "Why didn't you say hello to me, so that I thought something had happened to you?" , specially sent two groups of people to find your whereabouts. "

"I'm sorry, Comrade Captain, it was my lack of consideration. I won't make similar mistakes again in the future." After Sergeant Zub admitted his mistake, he took off a satchel from his shoulder and said excitedly: "Comrade Captain, you Look, I also found this.”

Sokov took the satchel and opened it. There was an envelope and a folded map inside.

He took out the envelope, opened it, read the contents, and reported to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, the two German soldiers who were just killed by us should be the messengers who delivered the letter. This is the German division headquarters. An order is given to the troops below to launch a search and prevent our scattered troops from jumping out of their encirclement."

"I had expected it." Vlasov nodded and said: "Although the Germans occupied Kiev, they were still unwilling to do so and wanted to annihilate the entire Southwest Front to reduce the threat they faced when attacking Moscow. "

Colonel Del took out the map from his satchel and unfolded it, with surprise on his face: "Comrade Commander, look, there is actually a map of Ukraine. Now we don't have to worry about getting lost in the forest."

Vlasov hurriedly approached and asked urgently: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you see where we are now?"

Colonel Del looked at the map in his hand carefully. Although the ground on it was marked in German, it had no impact at all on a senior staff officer. Soon he pointed to a place and said to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, if I guess correctly, we have arrived in the Lochvita area now, not far from Romny."

"Great, this is great." After figuring out his location, Vlasov also became excited: "As long as we know our current approximate location, we don't have to worry about getting lost in this **** forest. ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Colonel Del nodded and said, "Although we don't have a compass, we rely on those soldiers with experience in jungle life to lead the way. I believe it won't be long before we can walk out of this forest and enter Luo. Mne area.”

Hearing Colonel Del say that he was about to enter the Romney area, Vlasov had a melancholy look on his face. Military Commissar Nikolsky, who had just walked over, saw this and couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Commander, what are you worried about? Are you afraid that the enemy has occupied the Romney area?"

Vlasov looked up at Nikolsky, nodded slowly, and said in a serious tone: "Comrade Military Commissar, you are right, I am worried that Romney has fallen into the hands of the Germans. To We know that the troops attacking Kiev this time were not only troops from the German Army Group South in the west, but also troops from the German Army Group Center in the north. Our Southwest Front was attacked from two sides by the enemy, so Romney fell. It’s entirely possible.”

"Then what should we do?" Colonel Del asked Vlasov for instructions: "Send someone to conduct reconnaissance in the Romney area?"

"I don't think it's appropriate." Vlasov rejected Colonel Del's proposal without hesitation: "You know, we are constantly marching in the forest. Even if we send out a reconnaissance team, they may not be able to find our traces when they return. So it would be unwise to send out a reconnaissance team."

"What should we do?" Seeing that Vlasov rejected his proposal, Colonel Del's face was full of anxiety. "Comrade Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov stepped forward and reminded them: "When we left this time, didn't we still take a radio with us? We might as well contact our superiors to see if they can provide us with it. Useful information.”

"The front headquarters has been annihilated by the Germans, and the rest of the troops have also been dispersed." After hearing this, Colonel Del shook his head and said, "Who should we contact?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov replied: "Although the Front Army Headquarters has been annihilated by the Germans under enemy attacks. But I guess that the Supreme Command will definitely not ignore the Southwest Front Army. I believe they will soon. Establish a new headquarters and appoint respected commanders to re-command this force."

Vlasov took out a cigarette from the cigarette case he took out, handed it to Sokov, and took one himself.

Sokov wants to give him some.

Vlasov did not let it go, but lit the match himself.

"Captain Sokov, do you mean to let us contact the new front headquarters?"

"Yes." Sokov nodded and said, "If you want to return to our defense zone safely, the best way is to get in touch with the front army headquarters and confirm the areas controlled by both the enemy and us, so that you can jump out by the way. Encirclement.”

Vlasov took two puffs of cigarette, threw it on the ground, and then ordered Colonel Del: "Chief of Staff, ask the communications staff to contact the front army headquarters."

Ten minutes later, the radio station with its antenna set up began to send telegrams to the front headquarters.

Soon, the New Front Army Headquarters received a radio signal from the 37th Group Army.

A staff officer handed the just-received telegram to the chief of staff, "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is the radio call we just received. After repeated confirmation by us, it is the radio station of General Vlasov's 37th Group Army."

Timoshenko, who was talking to Khrushchev, heard the voice of his staff and immediately stopped talking and came over and asked: "What did you say? You received Vlasov's radio signal. Is this true? ?”

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." The staff officer quickly and respectfully reported to Timoshenko: "We have repeatedly confirmed that the radio signal is indeed from General Vlasov's headquarters."

“Ask them where they are today.”

"Wait a minute." Khrushchev came over and said to his staff: "Send them a telegram and ask what their communication code is." In order to dispel Timoshenko's doubts, he also took the initiative to explain: "Marshal Comrade, the 37th Army no longer exists. Now a radio station belonging to the Army suddenly appears. Don’t you think it’s suspicious?”

Upon hearing this, Timoshenko felt that what Khrushchev said was very reasonable, and he could not rule out that the enemy would use the captured radio station to make a fuss. He quickly ordered his staff: "As Comrade Military Commissioner said, send them a telegram and ask them to report the communication code."

A few minutes later, the communications staff came over again to report: "Comrade Marshal, the other party has sent the communication code. After repeated verification, it can be confirmed that it is indeed the radio station belonging to the 37th Group Army."

The staff officer's words made both Timoshenko and Khrushchev heave a sigh of relief: "God bless, we have finally made contact with them."

Timoshenko pointed his hand at the staff officer and ordered him: "Send a telegram to Vlasov immediately and ask for their location."

After the staff left, Timoshenko rubbed his hands excitedly and said repeatedly: "Great, this is great. With the whereabouts of General Vlasov, I won't have to wait until Comrade Stalin asks about it." Worried."

"Comrade Marshal, don't be too happy too soon." Khrushchev reminded Timoshenko: "At present, we can only prove that the radio station that contacted us belongs to the 37th Army Headquarters. But Vlasov Whether General Vlasov will follow this radio station is still unknown. Even if General Vlasov does follow this radio station, whether they can escape from the German encirclement is also a headache. "

Timoshenko scratched his bald head and said irritably: "Comrade Military Commissar, you are right. What we can confirm so far is that this radio station belongs to the 37th Army Headquarters and whether Vlasov is still alive. , is still an unknown number." After saying this, he turned his head and looked at the location of the radio station, wanting to see if the communications consultant had received a call back from the other party.

"Comrade Marshal, don't be anxious." Seeing Timoshenko's confused look, Khrushchev comforted him and said, "I'm afraid it will take a while to receive a reply from the other party. Let's study it now. If Rasov is really following this radio station, what measures should we take to rescue him from the German encirclement.”

Timoshenko looked at Khrushchev and asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, do you have any good ideas?"

"In addition to letting the forward troops respond, there is another way." Khrushchev said: "That is to find the exact location of Vlasov, and then send a plane to pick him out."

Upon hearing Khrushchev's proposal, Timoshenko showed a thoughtful expression on his face: "Comrade Military Commissar, do you think that if I send a plane to pick up Vlasov, will he leave with the plane? You know, Peter Lavsky just refused to leave the encirclement on the plane I sent, and he died in the breakout operation. "

Khrushchev understood that the Petravsky whom Timoshenko was talking about was the commander of the 63rd Infantry Corps. Because he achieved good results in Belarus and recovered many cities occupied by the German army, he was promoted from colonel to colonel by Stalin. Lieutenant General. Later, the unit was encircled by the German army. In order to protect Petravski, Timoshenko, then commander of the Western Front, and Zhukov, the representative of the base camp, decided to appoint Petravski as the commander of the 22nd Army and sent The plane went to pick him up.

Unexpectedly, after receiving the order, Petravsky did not evacuate with the plane sent by Timoshenko. He only asked the health workers to take some seriously injured people and leave the German encirclement by plane. However, he himself picked up his rifle and led his commanders and soldiers to break through. Unfortunately, he was shot and died during the battle.

When Khrushchev heard Timoshenko mention Petravsky, he couldn't help sighing and said: "We have already sacrificed one General Petravsky, and we cannot sacrifice another General Vlasov. This is our army." A huge loss. If Vlasov’s location is confirmed, a plane must be sent to pick him up. In order to prevent him from being unwilling to retreat with the plane, it is best to have an important commander go and convince him.”

(End of chapter)