Red Moscow

Sokov, who was staying in the headquarters, didn't know that Krylov and the others encountered German snipers, and they were still discussing with Bely where the tank brigade should be deployed.

The phone on the table rang, and Sidolin picked it up casually: "I'm Sidolin, where are you?...What, can you say it again?"

After answering the phone, Sidolin said to Sokov with a livid face, "Mr. Commander, something has happened."

Seeing Sidolin's expression, Sokov couldn't help but thump in his heart. He knew something must have gone wrong, and asked quickly, "What's the matter?"

"General Krylov's convoy was attacked by German snipers on the road, and the entourage suffered a lot of casualties."

The originally relaxed atmosphere in the room was instantly wiped away. Sokov's facial muscles twitched violently a few times, and he tried to ask in a calm tone, "Is General Krylov okay?"

"General Krylov is fine." Sidolin continued to report, "But his military commissar, General Vasilyev, died."

"What's going on here?" Bely asked confusedly, "Didn't it mean that General Krylov's convoy would pass through our defense zone at two o'clock? It's just past one o'clock now."

"Lieutenant Colonel Starcha reported to me that General Krylov said that they passed through our defense zone at twelve noon." Sidolin explained to Bely: "Maybe it was when the Army Command informed us. , got the time wrong."

"Nonsense, it's nonsense, how can such an important matter go wrong?" Anisimov said angrily: "We should report this matter to the army headquarters immediately, otherwise the superior will hold the responsibility, and we will not be able to explain it." Cleared."

"Yes, this matter should be reported to the Army Group Command immediately." Bely also agreed with Anisimov's opinion, and he specifically reminded: "Misha, Comrade Commander, not long ago, I specifically called you to tell you that you must The safety of the two generals, Krylov and Vasilyev, must be protected. As a result, General Vasiliev has died, and if the report is not made in time, the consequences will be very serious."

"Chief of Staff," the kind-hearted Sokov immediately told Sidolin: "Contact Lieutenant Colonel Starcha immediately and ask him to rush to the scene of the accident to find out the ins and outs of the incident. I will call Commander Cuikov and send Report this unfortunate incident to him."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov reported to Chuikov who answered the phone as soon as the army headquarters called: "Something has happened. General Krylov's convoy was attacked by German snipers."

Chuikov couldn't help being shocked when he heard this, and quickly asked, "Is General Krylov alright?"

"General Krylov is fine." Without waiting for Chuikov to breathe a sigh of relief, Sokov added in time: "But the accompanying General Vasilyev and more than 20 soldiers died unfortunately."

When he learned that Krylov was safe and sound, Chuikov was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, when he heard Sokov's words behind him, he couldn't help shouting into the microphone with embarrassment: "What's going on here? Colonel Sokov, didn't I tell you , Said that Krylov and Vasilyev are going to pass through your defense zone, let you protect their safety?

How did you promise me in the first place? Said that you will arrange the troops to be vigilant and ensure that they will not suffer any harm. Now that General Vasilyev has died, tell me, how should this matter be resolved? "

General Vasilyev was killed by German snipers in his own defense zone. Sokov must have some responsibility, but it is not the main responsibility. In order not to let Chuikov get angry with his subordinates, he decided that it was necessary to explain the matter clearly: "Comrade Commander, tell me that the convoys of the two generals Krylov and Vasiliev will pass by our division at two o'clock. The defense zone. After I received your order, I immediately arranged for troops to rush to that area for security. The troops set off before one o'clock, but before they arrived, the tragedy had already happened."

Chuikov, who was furious, couldn't help raising his hand to look at his watch when he heard what Sokov said, and found that it was not yet two o'clock, and realized that it was very inappropriate for him to be angry with Sokov. He turned his head and looked at the new chief of staff, Major General Vladimilov: "Chief of staff, according to the plan, when will Krylov and General Vasilyev pass through the defense zone of the 41st Guards Division?"

Vladimilov glanced at the notebook, raised his head and reported to Chuikov: "The time for passing the defense zone should be between twelve o'clock in the noon and two o'clock in the afternoon."

After hearing this, Cuikov raised his hand and slapped his forehead hard. He realized that it was his own negligence that made the mistake of the time when his old partner passed through the defense area of ​​the 41st Guards Division, which led to the tragedy.

After taking two deep breaths, Chuikov said apologetically into the microphone: "I'm sorry, Colonel Sokov, I made a mistake. The time for General Krylov and the others to pass through your division's defense zone should be around 12:00 noon. At two o'clock in the afternoon. But I beg you, General Krylov can't have any more accidents, and you must ensure his safety."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Since hearing the news of General Vasilyev's death, Sokov has been feeling uneasy. At this moment, when Chuikov mentioned Krylov's safety again, he took the initiative to say: "I will personally escort General Krylov to his headquarters."

After finishing talking with Chuikov, Sokov took a platoon of guards and rushed to the outskirts to meet Krylov.

Seeing Sokov rushing over, Krylov didn't give him a good face: "Colonel Sokov, what are you doing here? The Germans have already reached their goal, even if you come here, you will change your mind." Nothing that has happened."

"I'm sorry, General Krylov." Sukov considered that the situation would deteriorate in the future, and he might still have a place to ask Krylov for help, so it was necessary to explain the misunderstanding clearly: "For the sacrifice of General Vasilyev, I also feel very sad. But Commander Chuikov informed me that you will pass through this area at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. As soon as I received the order, I immediately dispatched troops to come here as a guard. "

"What, Chuikov told you that we will pass here at two o'clock?"

"Yes, General Krylov."

"What's going on here?" Krylov also had a confused expression on his face when he heard Sokov say this.

"Comrade General, I'll explain it to you." Bely Krylov, who was in a rage, would think that Sokov was making excuses, so he quickly stood up and smoothed things over and said, "The time that Comrade Commander notified us is indeed It's two o'clock in the afternoon. Commander Sokov just called to check and found out that the time you passed should be between twelve noon and two o'clock in the afternoon."

After explaining the misunderstanding, Krylov's anger gradually calmed down. He held Sokov's hand and said with some embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Colonel Sokov, I misunderstood you, please forgive me."

Sokov took a quick look at the corpses of soldiers lying on the side of the road, and said to Krylov: "Comrade General, I have made a promise to Comrade Commander that I will escort you to your post safely. As for the remains of these comrades, My men will be properly buried."

Krylov was in a hurry to take office, so he did not object to Sokov's proposal. He stepped forward to hold the hand of Bely who was in charge of dealing with the aftermath, and said gratefully: "Colonel Bely, everything here is left to you."

On the way to the headquarters of the 21st Army, Sokov, who was eager to get help from his friendly forces, said bluntly to Krylov: "Comrade General, I think the German army may launch a counterattack against our army in the near future. After the battle, the soldiers and ammunition are very short, I am afraid it will be difficult to resist the German attack..."

"Colonel Sokov," before Sokov could finish, Krylov interrupted him: "Aren't you a little nervous? The enemy has already been defeated under repeated attacks by our army. I don’t think they are capable of organizing any decent counter-offensive, so you should stick to Lugansk honestly.”

Seeing that Krylov didn't believe what he said, Sokov wasn't annoyed either. He tentatively asked, "Comrade General, I would like to ask, if Luhansk is in danger, can I ask you for help?"

Before setting off, Krylov had carefully studied the defensive zone of the 21st Army, and found that Luhansk was just on the edge of the army's defense zone. Therefore, he pondered for a moment about Sokov's request, then nodded and said: " No problem, according to the feedback, Colonel, we are all friendly troops. As long as there is danger in your place, we will definitely take the initiative to support you."

When the convoy arrived at the headquarters of the 21st Army, Kistyakov, the commander of the army who had not had time to hand over his duties, brought a group of members of the headquarters to greet Krylov who took office at the door. When he saw Sokov getting out of the car behind Krylov, he couldn't help being stunned for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, and went up to shake hands with Krylov to say hello.

When Kistyakov walked in with Krylov, he asked curiously: "General Krylov, why is Colonel Sokov here? Is he also the commander of the 21st Army now?" member?"

"No, General Chistyakov. He was just ordered to escort me here to take up the post." Krylov waved his hand and replied, "Since I have arrived, his mission has naturally been completed. By the way , how is the situation in the defense zone?"

"It's not good, Comrade Krylov." Chistyakov said with a serious expression: "I just received a report from the troops below that the enemy opposite them is gathering and seems to be preparing to launch a big operation."

"The enemy is planning to take a major action?" Krylov repeated Chistyakov's words, and asked in puzzlement: "General Chistyakov, what does this mean?"

Seeing that Krylov didn't understand what he meant, Kistyakov sighed softly and said, "Judging from the current situation, the Germans are likely to launch a large-scale counterattack. The defense zone of our army group, Maybe you will be attacked first, General Krylov, you have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders."

"What, the enemy may launch a large-scale counterattack?" Krylov was stunned by Chistyakov's words: "General Chistyakov, are you right? The enemy is under the strong offensive of our army. It has long been impossible to organize a decent resistance, how can it be possible to launch a counterattack? I think, you must have made a mistake."