Red Moscow

As soon as Sokov put down the phone, he saw Seryozha rushing into the command post in a hurry.

"Seryozha," Sokov frowned, "Why don't you rest in the barracks and come to me?"

"Comrade Commander," Seryozha said emotionally, "Troops, some troops are coming!"

"Our troops are being mobilized. Isn't it normal for some troops to pass by the headquarters?" Sameko waved his hand at Sergey and said impatiently, "Captain Sergey, you'd better go back quickly." Go ahead and rest."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, not our troops, but..."

Before Seryozha could finish speaking, Sokov suddenly thought of a possibility, and quickly asked, "Seryozha, you mean the 73rd Infantry Brigade, which was formed for the second time, is here?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Seryozha nodded and said, "Our observation post found that a unit was approaching our station, so we sent someone over to inquire. Brigade, I was ordered to come here to report."

"Does Major Guchakov know about this?"

"I don't know." Seryozha shook his head. "When I came out, Major Guchakov was still sleeping in his room."

"Seryozha, go and wake up Guchakov immediately, and then go to receive the troops."

"Hey, I'll go right away!" Seryozha agreed excitedly, turned around and was about to run to Guchakov.

"Wait a minute." But as soon as he took two steps, he was stopped by Sokov: "You'd better take me to see the commanders and fighters of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. As for Major Guchakov, I will send others to call his."

After finishing speaking, Sokov shouted towards the outside: "Lieutenant Samoilov, Lieutenant Samoilov, are you outside?"

Following the shout, Samoilov ran in from outside. After entering the door, the lieutenant cast a strange look at Seryozha who was standing in front of Sokov, then saluted Sokov, and asked respectfully, "Comrade Commander, what instructions do you have?"

"Comrade Lieutenant, go and wake up Major Guchakov immediately, and let him take over his troops." Sokov said this, and turned to Sergei who was on the side: "What did the comrades at the observation post say to take them?" place?"

"Outside the woods to the east of the headquarters."

"Well, I see." After figuring out the location of the troops, Sokov continued to say to Samoilov: "Comrade Lieutenant, after you wake up Major Guchakov, take him to the east. meet us in the woods beyond."

After hearing Samoilov's resounding answer, Sokov shook his head at Seryozha and said, "Seryozha, now take me to see the commanders and fighters of the 73rd Infantry Brigade."

Lunev saw that Sokov was going to meet the newly arrived troops, so he took the initiative to follow. When Sameko saw the two leaving, he quickly caught up and asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander, what should I do?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think you need to go." Although Sokov knew that Sameko wanted to see the newly arrived troops very much, but there must be important commanders on duty in the headquarters, so he could only face him in his heart. Sameko said sorry: "The task assigned to us by the marshal, you should arrange it as soon as possible, and don't delay the big event."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Seeing that the ending was as expected, Sameko was a little disappointed, but he still tried to speak in a calm tone: "I will arrange the combat mission as soon as possible."

Sokov and Sameko were like each other playing riddles, which made Seryozha very curious. As soon as he walked out of the headquarters, he couldn't help asking Sokov: "Misha, what were you talking to the chief of staff just now, and where are we going to attack?"

Sending troops to rescue the imprisoned Italian army is still a confidential matter, so Sokov will naturally not tell anyone casually, even if the other party is his old friend. He narrowed his eyes and said in a stern tone: "Seryozha, have you forgotten the confidentiality regulations? Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. Even if you ask, I won't tell you what you shouldn't know. .”

When he came to the woods to the east of the headquarters, Sokov saw people everywhere in and out of the woods. Some soldiers smoked and chatted in groups, and some were sitting in the woods to rest.

Seeing Sokov and Lunev walking past, a loud voice suddenly rang out from the crowd: "Everyone listen to my order and assemble immediately! Line up in companies!"

With the shouts, the commanders and fighters scattered around immediately began to gather in the middle, and quickly began to line up in companies. Seeing this, Sokov quickly raised his hand and looked at his watch, trying to figure out how long it would take them to complete the assembly.

But in less than two minutes, these commanders and fighters lined up in a dozen or so neat phalanxes.

An officer carrying the colonel's epaulettes stood in front of the queue, and after the commanders and fighters finished the queue, he nodded with a smile, then turned around and trotted towards Sokov and Lunev.

He stopped in front of the two, stood at attention and raised his hand to salute Lunev: "Hello, Comrade Commander! Colonel Weisbach, deputy brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, reports to you, our brigade was ordered to come here to report to you Report, please instruct!"

After Lunev raised his hand to salute Weisbach, he said with a smile: "Hello, Comrade Colonel, you are welcome to become a member of the glorious 27th Army. But I want to correct you, I am the Military Commissar of the Army Group Lunev Lieutenant General Husband, the one next to me is Major General Sokov, commander of the Army Group."

Before Weisbach came here, he didn't ask the relevant personnel about the situation of the 27th Army, so that when he saw Lunev with a high rank, he naturally thought that the other party was Commander Sokov, but he didn't expect to make a joke because of it. He blushed and saluted Sokov, and reported again.

After returning the salute, Sokov took the initiative to hold his hand and said enthusiastically: "Colonel Weisbach, on behalf of the commanders and fighters of the 27th Army, I welcome you and welcome you to become a member of the glorious 27th Army."

After a brief greeting, Sokov asked, "Colonel Weisbach, can you tell me how many people are there in your brigade?"

"There are four infantry battalions in the brigade plus a mortar company and a machine gun company, with a total strength of 2,300 troops."

Seeing the weapons in the hands of the commanders and fighters in the queue, most of them were rifles, Sokov asked, "What about the equipment?"

"Each infantry company has eighty rifles, twenty submachine guns, and two rotary machine guns." Weissbach replied: "The mortar company has 12 mortars and two base ammunition; There are six rotary machine guns and two heavy machine guns."