Red Moscow

Although the company commander of the garrison army is not Sokov's subordinate, but Sokov's military rank is higher than that of the opponent. Naturally, the opponent dare not refute the order he issued, and can only reply obediently: "Understood, Comrade Colonel, I will immediately Organize residents and form patrols to protect the safety of the warehouses in the city."

After dismissing the garrison company commander, Sokov felt that the vigilance of the garrison in the city was really too low. If the German army bypassed the direction of the Soviet army's attack and came to attack here, it is estimated that the garrison company would die. Do not know at all.

Considering this serious problem, Sokov felt that it is necessary to set up guards around the city so that the enemy's movements can be detected in time. Just at this time Samoilov had finished burying Ivanov and came back to report to Sokov. Sokov said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant, I have a difficult task for you to complete."

Hearing that there was a task for him, Samoilov suddenly became interested, and asked with a playful smile: "Comrade commander, I wonder what task you plan to assign to me?"

"Comrade Lieutenant, you are not an outsider, and I will not hide some things from you." Sokov pointed to the map on the table and said to Samoilov: "Don't look at the attacking arrows of the friendly forces, they are pointing at Manstein. Because of the headquarters. However, if we cannot kill and injure the vital forces of the German army in large numbers, no matter how many areas we recover, it may be difficult to hold them.

I am a little worried now that the enemy may send troops to bypass our army's attack direction, quietly sneak into the vicinity of the city, and attack us here. You also know that there are only more than 300 defenders in the city now. It is basically impossible to defend such a vast area.

Therefore, I order you to lead a reconnaissance team to perform reconnaissance missions nearby to see if any German troops are trying to approach the city. If there is any, please notify me through the radio in time, so that I can deploy defenses according to the actual situation. "

"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." Samoilov assured Sokov, "I will immediately lead the remaining tactics of the guard platoon to go outside to perform reconnaissance missions."

"Wait a minute, Comrade Lieutenant." Seeing that Samoilov turned around and was about to walk outside, Sokov quickly stopped him, and said with some displeasure: "I haven't told you where we are going to conduct reconnaissance , are you going to take someone out?"

"Comrade Commander," Samoilov turned to Sokov and explained, "After I came here, I have seen the nearby terrain. If the enemy wants to attack the city, they can only come from the west. Therefore, I only need to Take people to the west for reconnaissance, and you will be able to discover the movements of the German army in time."

Seeing that what Samoilov said was so reasonable, Sukov was speechless for a while. After being silent for a long time, he nodded and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, what you said is very reasonable. If the Germans want to surrender the city, the only way they can appear is to the west."

Seryosha, who was staying outside, was about to set off with his subordinates shortly after seeing Samoilov and Sokov meeting. He hurried to Sokov and explained what he saw. report.

"I ordered Lieutenant Samoilov to carry out the mission." Seeing that Seryozha was so vigilant, Sokov was quite happy in his heart. He explained to the other party: "I am worried that the enemy may come to attack the city, so it is necessary to send reconnaissance personnel to carry out reconnaissance on the enemy's only way."

"Misha, are you a little nervous?" Seryozha didn't take Sokov's statement seriously: "You know, the German army is being defeated steadily in the face of the powerful offensive of the friendly army. How could it be possible to send troops to attack Lugansk?”

"Seryozha, have you forgotten Khimki?" Seeing that Seryozha underestimated the enemy, Sokov reminded him: "At the beginning, no one thought that the enemy would sneak attack on Khimki, so that in the whole town, only We were in the same squad. If we hadn’t been lucky enough to discover the German army’s intentions in time and ask for assistance from the militia at the nearby instrument factory, I’m afraid you and I would have died in Khimki long ago.”

Hearing what Sokov said, the thrilling scene at that time immediately appeared in Seryozha's mind, and he realized that he was dazzled by the recent victory, and he didn't even have basic forward-looking. If the enemy really came to surrender Luhansk, it would be impossible to defend the city with just two or three hundred people.

After thinking about this, he apologized to Sokov: "Misha, you are right, I underestimated the enemy." After the apology, he asked Sokov again: "Then what is the mission of our company?"

"Leave one platoon as a reserve in the city, and the rest of the troops will rush to the west of the city to find a suitable place to deploy." Sokov still hesitated when he gave this order. If the enemy really came from the west, they would have to fight alone and tenaciously resist the German attack for a long time. "Before the main force arrives, you must hold your position at all costs."

"Don't worry, Misha." Seryozha said confidently: "Our company's combat effectiveness is strong. A company is equivalent to a battalion of others. We have the confidence to stop the enemy."

Nothing to say all night.

Early the next morning, Sokov received a call from Samoilov. He reported to Sokov: "Comrade Division Commander, a small German army has been found to the west of the city."

"Small German troops?" Although Sokov had expected the German sneak attack, he was still somewhat nervous when he heard that the German troops had appeared. "How many people are there?"

"There are about two hundred people." Samoilov said: "According to our scouts' careful observation, this is a light infantry. Except for a few mortars and machine guns, there are no tanks or armored vehicles."

"Comrade Lieutenant, your task is to take the lead in firing on the enemy." Sokov told Samoilov: "Then you use the method of fighting and walking to lead the enemy to Seryosha's preset position and give them With a heavy blow."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Samoilov said on the other end of the phone: "Even if you don't say it, I will lead the enemy to the defensive position of Captain Seriosha, where I will rely on the fortifications to teach Germany a lesson. One pass."

After saying this, Samoilov asked hesitantly: "Comrade Commander, the enemy's strength is about the same as ours. Do you think you can stop them?"

"Comrade Lieutenant, whether you can block the enemy is not something you should consider." In order to prevent Samoilov's words from affecting the morale and morale of the army, Sokov interrupted him before he finished speaking: "Your task is to lead the enemy to our preset position, and then engage in a decisive battle with the enemy there."

After Sokov ended Samoilov's call, he immediately asked the communications soldier to connect to Seryosha's command post. When Seryozha heard Sokov's voice, he asked rather proudly: "Comrade commander, we have built some field fortifications overnight, and the Germans will not come. If they are not afraid of death and insist on breaking in, we will We must rely on the terrain to teach them a lesson."

"Seryozha, your chance has come." Seeing that Seriosha was so confident, Sokov said bluntly: "According to Samoilov's report, there are more than 200 German soldiers approaching from the west. Your line of defense, I hope you can command troops to block them."

"What?" Hearing what Sokov said, Seryozha couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat: "Did the enemy really appear?"

"What do you think, Seryozha?"

"So, the enemy is approaching us from the west." Seryozha asked nervously: "Misha, my two guard platoons only have a hundred or so people. Do you want to send the reserve team around you to us?" How much should I send over?"

"No." For his request, Sokov denied without hesitation: "There are still fifteen warehouses in the city. If you really can't hold the position in the west of the city and there are troops in the city, you can wait until the enemy rushes into the city." In the city, at least you can fight a thrilling street battle with them."

To be on the safe side, Sokov called Samoilov and Seriosha, and then called the defending company commander. Hearing the other party's voice coming from the receiver, Sokov said straight to the point: "Comrade Captain, I am Colonel Sokov. I have something important to inform you now."

The company commander of the garrison was taken aback by Sokov's tone, and asked quickly, "Comrade Colonel, what's the matter?"

"There is a German army of about 200 people approaching the city from the west." Sokov said, "With our current strength, it will be very difficult to block them, let alone destroy them. Therefore, I give You made this call to ask you to inform your superiors so that they can send reinforcements to rescue them."

"Comrade Colonel, is your news reliable?" Regarding Sokov's statement, the commander of the defending army was dubious. "Now that the enemy has long been defeated under the attack of our army, how could they have the courage to bypass the fighting area and rush here?"

"Of course it's true." Seeing that the other party didn't believe what he said, Sokov could only patiently explain to him: "I released the reconnaissance team to the west last night. The commander of the team just reported to me that Spotted German troops approaching the city."

"Then what should we do?" Upon hearing Sokov's words, the commander of the garrison immediately panicked: "You know, we can't stop the enemy with just a few people. Comrade Colonel, why don't we withdraw?"

"Nonsense!" Hearing what the commander of the garrison said, Sokov couldn't help getting angry: "Comrade captain, what are you and your soldiers holding in your hands? Is it a weapon or a fire stick? The enemy's shadow has not yet been seen." It turns out that you actually thought of escaping, and you are simply blacking out the honor of a soldier. If you were my subordinate, I could have shot you with a single shot for the few words you just said."

"Then what should we do?" The defending company commander, who was reprimanded by Sokov, became even more panicked: "With our strength, we really can't stop the enemy."

"If we can't stop it, we have to stop it. We must not let an enemy enter the city." Sokov said firmly: "As for the problem of insufficient troops, it is easy to solve. Open a weapon warehouse to arm the residents and fight against the enemy attacking the city." Let the battle begin. As long as one of us is alive, we shall fight the enemy bravely."

"Okay," the commander of the defending army said in a panic, "I, I immediately ordered people to open the arsenal, arm the nearby residents, and fight the enemy."

"Made, you damn coward." After putting down the phone, Sokov immediately ordered someone to send a telegram to Rokossovsky, briefly reporting the news that the enemy was approaching Lugansk.

After the operator finished sending the telegram, he asked Sokov with some concern: "Comrade commander, what should we do if the enemy really storms into the city?"

"What else can we do?" Sokov glared at the radio operator. "Of course, take up arms and fight the enemy. As long as there is one person alive, the enemy must not be allowed to rush into the city. Do you understand?"

"Ming, I understand, Comrade Master."

Standing in front of the window, Sokov looked west and said to himself, "I hope Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko's 122nd Guards Regiment can arrive quickly, so that we can hold the city with confidence."

Hearing Sokov talking about the 122nd Regiment, the radio operator seemed to grasp a life-saving straw, and quickly said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, please see if you can call Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko and urge They speed up their march. In this way, our main force will be able to arrive as soon as the battle begins. A reinforced regiment of 4,000 to 5,000 men, against a German army of 200 men, isn’t that a sure chance of victory?”

"You make sense." Sokov didn't want to send a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko who was on the march, telling them to speed up. Even if the whole regiment could not arrive, even if a battalion or even a company could come first, All can make the balance of victory completely fall to one's own side. "However, the 122nd Guards Regiment is on the march, can you contact them?"

"As long as they turn on the phone, they will be able to be contacted." After the operator finished speaking, he looked at Sokov with pleading eyes and asked, "Comrade commander, do you need me to contact them?"

"Yes." In order to win and save the city and his own life, Sokov agreed to the operator's request without hesitation, asking him to immediately contact the radio station of the 122nd Guards Regiment, and make sure the other side speeds up their march. "Contact the radio station of the 122nd Regiment immediately."

Five minutes later, the operator finally got in touch with the radio station of the 122nd Regiment, and he exclaimed in surprise: "Comrade Commander, I have contacted the radio station of the 122nd Regiment."

"Great, that's just great." Sokov felt that it was basically impossible to rely on the defender's company commander to get support from friendly troops. On the contrary, as long as the Papchenko regiment, which is marching towards Lugansk, speeds up, it is the key to resolving the crisis: "Immediately tell Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko about the situation here, and let him send elite troops to come as soon as possible." reinforce."

Sokov's order was transmitted by the radio operator through the electric button into electric waves. Soon, Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko's call back arrived, which said: "The road is rough and difficult at present. It is unrealistic for the whole regiment to arrive before noon. But in order to ensure the safety of the division commander, I have dispatched Two elite companies took trucks and motorcycles and rushed to Luhansk at the fastest speed. If everything goes well, they will arrive in Luhansk around 1:00 noon."