Red Moscow.

Chapter 2812

After receiving the telegram, Malining looked at the contents above and then began to shake his head.

Rokosovsky, who was talking to Lobachev and Romanlov, saw Malining's head shaking, and couldn't help asking curiously: "Chief of Staff, what are you looking at?"

"It was a telegram sent by Major Sokov." Malining came over and handed the telegram to Rokosovsky, saying, "The above reported on his containment of the collapsed troops today."

Lobachev felt that at Sokov's level, he could not accommodate many troops in less than a day, so he said disapprovingly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I wonder how many troops Major Sokov has accommodated?"

"There are almost two thousand people." Before Malining answered, Rokosovsky had already spoken out the answer first.

"What?" Lobachev widened his eyes in surprise: "How many, have they accommodated almost two thousand people?"

As the deputy commander, Romanlov also had doubts about this number: "How is this possible? It's incredible that he had accommodated so many troops in less than a day. Will it be impossible. Got it wrong? ”

"You can't make a mistake." Rokosovsky closed his eyes and thought for a while, opened his eyes and explained to everyone: "I think it should be the troops that broke out from the Viazima area, after all, they are trapped in the enemy's encirclement. The troops are as many as hundreds of thousands, and even if only a small part enters the containment area set up by Sokov, they can still accommodate thousands of troops."

After confirming that Sokov had indeed accommodated nearly 2,000 troops, Romanov took the initiative to ask: "Comrade Commander, do you need to provide him with a group of commanders to help him build the framework of the independent regiment immediately?"

Rokosovsky smiled: "I don't think it's necessary. According to the telegram, he received a 456th infantry regiment with severe reductions, and the deputy commander and three battalion commanders were still alive. Now he has allocated the officers and fighters to the regiment. As long as we add a batch of weapons to them, they can perform combat missions independently."

"I can arrange a transport team to supplement them overnight." Malining heard Rokosovsky say this and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, should I arrange combat areas for the Independent Regiment now?"

"No, no hurry." Rokosovsky waved his hand and said, "Although the Independent Regiment has almost 2,000 people, since it was just formed, the cadres and soldiers have not yet been adjusted in, and they still lack tacit understanding. If it is hasty, it is time to do so. Pulling onto the battlefield, it will be defeated without a single battle."

"The area they are in is very close to the enemy and fighting may occur at any time." Hearing Rokosovsky said that the Independent Regiment does not have the ability to fight independently for the time being, Malining suggested to the other party: "Or why not let them do so." Retreat near the headquarters first and wait for a while before sending them to the battlefield?”

"Although the enemy is already very close to us, their attention is now focused on the Mozaisk region." Rokosovsky said cautiously: "I think Major Sokov and others can stay in the original state for the time being." Continue to contain more troops.”

"They already have almost two thousand people. Do they still need to continue to contain the troops?"

"It's totally necessary." Rokosovsky nodded and said in a affirmative tone: "As long as the Germans do not attack them, they can continue to stay where they are, so that more troops can be accommodated. Maybe after a while, they can take up more troops. , this unit will become the most powerful reserve team in our hands."

"If the manpower continues to increase, will the regiment be too small?" Malining suggested to Rokosovsky: "How about you let them be expanded into divisions?"

Regarding Malining's proposal, Rokosovsky thought for a while, then shook his head and refused, "As far as I know, Major Sokov has only been enlisted for two months. Obviously, he does not have the ability to command division-level combat units, so he rashly lets him go. It is obviously inappropriate to be a division commander. I think it is changed to an independent brigade and after Major Sokov has accumulated enough command experience, he will consider promoting him to a division commander."

"Okay, I'll send him a telegram right away to notify him of the good news."

"And," Rokosovsky added: "Appoint a transport team as soon as possible to transport weapons and ammunition for him, and arm them all. In this way, even if they encounter a sneak attack from the German army, they have enough ability to fight the enemy. .”

More than ten minutes later, Sokov received a telegram from the headquarters.

After reading the contents of the telegram, he said to Belkin: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have just received a telegram from the Army Command, so that we can stay in place for the time being and continue to accommodate the commanders and fighters who escaped from the German encirclement. . In addition, from now on, our regiment’s number has been adapted from the Independent Infantry Regiment to the Independent Infantry Brigade.”

"That's great, this is really great." Belkin was overjoyed to learn that the troops were about to be reorganized into infantry brigades, and then discussed with Sokov: "Major, the infantry regiment usually has three battalions under its jurisdiction, and the infantry brigade is overwhelmed by the It has four battalions under its jurisdiction. Now it is reorganized into an infantry brigade, so who do you plan to appoint as the battalion commander of the Fourth Battalion?”

Sokov thought carefully. Among the commanders and fighters who were accommodated today, except for Belkin and others, the highest rank was the captain. It is okay to be a company commander, but it is obviously not enough to be a battalion commander. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Comrade Commander let us stay in place for the time being and continue to accommodate commanders and fighters who escaped from the enemy's encirclement. I think it's better to wait and see if there are any suitable commanders and fighters to be contained tomorrow. A candidate. ”

"That's fine," Belkin nodded and said, "It's not too late to form the fourth battalion after meeting the right candidate tomorrow."

"Also," Sokov continued, "Since we want to stay here, the defense must be done well. Immediately organize personnel, dig trenches near the area where we are stationed, and build simple defensive positions to avoid being affected by the situation. To the German army's sneak attack. In addition, we need to send a guard post in the direction where the enemy is located to closely monitor the enemy's movements..."

Belkin was originally worried that Sokov was too young and had too short time in the army and had no command experience, but when he heard Sokov arranged tasks in an orderly manner, he couldn't help but be secretly surprised, thinking that even his own division commander was Colonel Orlov is probably not doing this here.

In the middle of the night, after the weapons from the Army Command encountered, Sokov immediately arranged personnel and quickly distributed them, arming all the commanders and soldiers of the brigade. At the same time, several machine gun fire points were established in the newly built trenches to ensure the safety of the troops' stationed.

Faced with Sokov's arrangements, many commanders and soldiers felt that it was unnecessary. Although it is only mid-October now, it is already winter in Russia, and the temperature at night has dropped below zero. In such a cold temperature, the Germans must be staying in the warm shelter. How could they do this for nothing?

Sokov couldn't help but get angry when he noticed this emotion in the army. However, instead of simply furious, he summoned several battalion commanders to a meeting and emphasized to them the importance of strengthening night defense.

After the battalion commanders left, Sokov lie down in the corner of the tent to sleep.

But I don’t know what happened. Although he felt very tired, he couldn’t sleep no matter how hard he was. He always felt that something was going to happen.

Since he couldn't sleep, he simply sat up, put on his clothes and walked out of the tent.

As soon as he left the tent, he met the guard company commander Bobricov who was patrolling several soldiers. Seeing Sokov come out of the tent, Bobricov asked curiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, why haven't you rested yet?"

"Can't sleep," Sokov said to Bobricov: "Captain, follow me to the position and let me see if the battalions have strengthened the night defense work as I told me."

Since Sokov was going to inspect the position, Bobricov, as the commander of the guard company, naturally chose to obey. So the two of them walked towards the nearest battalion with several guards.

After entering the trench, the group walked forward along the trench.

Bobricov couldn't help but sigh, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I really didn't expect that such a long trench was dug in just a few hours."

Sokov didn't say anything, just nodded slightly. He thought to himself that if he wanted to establish a defensive position, it was not enough to have trenches alone, and he had to build cover and anti-aircraft holes on the position; in front of the position, minefields should be laid, wire mesh should be drawn, anti-tank obstacles should be set up, etc. .

There were sentries hidden at the fork of the trench. When they saw someone walking along the trench, they immediately flashed out of their hiding place and prepared to stop the other party and interrogate. After seeing clearly that the brigade commander Sokov was coming, he immediately retreated.

The first battalion commander Ye Feim, who was checking the post, met Sokov and others head-on, and immediately stopped and reported, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I am checking the post!"

Sokov nodded at Yefim and said with satisfaction: "First Battalion Commander, it seems that your battalion has done a good job in nighttime alert. I have seen at least ten hidden sentries along the way. If there is really an enemy coming to attack , I'm afraid they will be discovered before they get close."

Ye Feim grinned, and when she was about to say something, the expression on her face suddenly became serious.

"What's wrong, Comrade Captain." After seeing the change in the other party's face, Sokov realized that something might have happened, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!

Yefim raised his hand and signaled Sokov not to speak, then whispered: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I seem to hear some special voices."

After hearing Ye Feim say this, Sokov quickly held his breath and listened carefully to the movements around him.

Soon, Sokov's eardrum caught a strange sound, not the rustling sound of the night wind blowing through the forest, but the crisp sound of dead branches under the heavy pressure, and the sound was slowly approaching. His pupils suddenly contracted. Based on his rich combat experience, someone was quietly approaching the first battalion's position.

"Someone is approaching us," Sokov said in a low voice.

"That's right." Ye Feim, who had just escaped from the encirclement, was more vigilant than Sokov. He even heard the approximate number of people on the other side: "They are more than fifty meters away, and there are about twenty people. .”

"Can we be our own people?" Sokov asked back.

Yefim understood what Sokov meant. If the person who came from his own people who had just escaped from the enemy's encirclement and opened fire rashly, it would cause accidental injury. But after listening carefully for a while, he slowly shook his head and said, "No, it's not his own."

"Why?" Sokov was worried that he would hurt his own people by chance, so he had to ask some things clearly.

"The reason is very simple." Yefim explained to Sokov: "Our commanders and fighters were trapped in the German encirclement for more than ten days, physically and mentally exhausted. If you walk in the forest at night, the footsteps should be It's messy and irregular. And you listen to the sound of footsteps in the distance, and you are approaching carefully, as if you are afraid of being discovered by us."

Sokov felt that Ye Feim's statement made sense, so he nodded and asked, "Comrade Captain, what are you going to do next?"

"Grenade!" Ye Feim took out a grenade, pulled the string, and threw it in the direction where the sound came.

After a loud "boom", the explosion of fire illuminated the crowd slowly approaching dozens of meters away.

Seeing that their whereabouts were exposed, some of them lay down on the spot, some hid directly behind the trees, and began to shoot in the direction where the grenades were thrown.

As soon as the gunshot sounded, Sokov immediately heard that this was the sound of the 98K and MP40 submachine guns. The Soviet commanders and fighters who escaped from the German encirclement obviously did not equip German weapons, so it can be confirmed that the figure approaching was enemy.

"Machine gun!" After confirming that the person who appeared in the forest was an enemy, Ye Feim shouted at the top of his throat, and raised his pistol and shot at the figure in the distance: "Shoot into the forest!"

With the shouts, the machine gun fire points on the position began to fire, and dense bullets flew towards the shaking figures in the forest.

Sokov was not to be outdone, and took a Mosinnagan rifle from the guards and shot into the woods. Since the troops did not have flares, Sokov could only rely on the muzzle flames that appeared when the other party fired, to determine the opponent's approximate position. He shot one after another, and as for whether he hit the target, only God knew.

The sudden gunfire alarmed the commanders and soldiers of the battalion who were resting nearby. Without waiting for their superiors to issue orders, they picked up their weapons, rushed directly into the trenches, and shot wildly at the forest where the enemy was hiding. Soon, the firepower of the enemy on the opposite side was completely suppressed and he was beaten to no strength to fight back.

When there was no movement in the forest, Yefeim asked the troops to stop shooting and asked Sokov for advice: "Comrade Brigade Commander, there is no movement in the forest. The enemy should have been wiped out by us. Look, are we? Send someone to clean up the battlefield?”

Sokov refused Yefim's request without thinking: "No, comrade Captain, the visibility in the forest is limited. If the remaining enemies are hidden in the dark, when our commanders and soldiers come to clean the battlefield, they suddenly shoot. It will cause us great casualties. I think it's better to wait a little longer. It's not too late to go after dawn."

Although Yefim was eager to know the outcome of the battle, Sokov did not allow him to clean the battlefield at this moment, so he could only obey orders. He then summoned the company commanders of each company to ask them to count the casualties and ammunition consumption of the troops.

(End of this chapter)