Red Moscow

The phone on the table rang suddenly, but strangely, none of the people near the phone answered it. They all thought to themselves: Who is calling this call, and who is it for?

Seeing that everyone didn't answer the phone, he stood at Atakuz to avoid Sokov's displeasure. He turned his head and asked Mikhaiev sharply: "Comrade Captain, the phone keeps ringing right in front of you, why don't you untie?"

"Comrade Commander," Mikhaiev replied embarrassingly, "the calls here are all from the 300th Infantry Division. I think the call should be to them."

"Confused, you are really confused." Sokov said dissatisfiedly: "Although this call is from the 300th Division, but now the most sober people in the entire Fisky collective farm are only your battalion. If there is any hostile situation , the only ones who can deal with it in time are your battalion. Don't dawdle, answer the phone quickly."

When Sokov reprimanded Mikhaiev, Atakuz and Chukliko both bowed their heads in shame. If they hadn't ordered the vodka in the underground wine cellar to be removed after they occupied the Fiski collective farm Come out and let all the soldiers drink to their heart's content, how could they fall to where they are today.

After Mikhaiev answered the call, he immediately reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the call was made by the scouts I sent to the west. He said that they were on the high ground to the west and found a large number of German troops on the ground. Assemble."

"A large number of German troops are gathering?" Sokov was shocked by Mikhaiev's words. Although there are tens of thousands of troops in the farm today, if the German army really launches an attack and can take up arms to fight troops, it will be great. Only Mikhaiev's battalion. He hurriedly asked: "What's going on, what is the number of the German troops assembled on the high ground, and how many troops are there?"

"Comrade Commander, I can't tell you the specifics at the moment." Mikhaiev replied: "The scouts will arrive in a few minutes, and you can ask him in detail then."

A few minutes later, a warrior wearing a hooded raincoat with branches on his body and hat hurried back from outside. Seeing this person appear, Mikhaiev hurriedly stepped forward and asked him a few words in a low voice, then brought him to Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, he is one of the scouts I sent to the west. .”

Sokov looked the opponent up and down, and found that the opponent was a soldier in his thirties, who looked very reliable, so he said to him: "Comrade soldier, tell us about your discovery."

The scout agreed and began to tell Sokov about his experience: "Our scouting team was ordered by the battalion commander to go to the west of the farm for scouting... everything was normal at first, no matter whether it was in the woods or on the grass, we found nothing. Traces of the enemy. The leader of the team said: If we have crossed the high ground in front and found no traces of the enemy, we can return to the farm.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I came to the bottom of the high ground, I heard the collision sound of picks and shovels digging out of the ground. When the team leader heard this voice, he quickly ordered us to stop and find a place to hide. We lay down in a ravine on the high ground and stayed there for about five minutes. The sound of digging the ground above did not stop, but became more and more intensive, as if hundreds of people were digging the ground at the same time.

In order to find out what happened, the team leader took me personally and sneaked up to the high ground by crawling forward. Halfway through the climb, we were blocked by piles of freshly dug dirt. The team leader raised his body halfway cautiously, carefully observed the movement ahead, and found that there were actually hundreds of German soldiers digging fortifications in front of us. Looking at the top of the mountain, there are still the same number of enemies on the top of the mountain, and they are also rushing to repair fortifications..."

After listening to the scout's report, Sokov asked blankly, "After you finish the scouting, the leader of the scouting team will order you to report back, right?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The scout nodded and replied, "The team leader ordered me to come back and report. He took the rest of the soldiers and remained hidden under the high ground to monitor the enemy's movements."

"Then where are you and you called us?"

"It's at the sentry post at the entrance of the farm." The scout replied, "I saw that there was a telephone right there, and I thought it would be right to report such important information to the battalion commander even a minute earlier, so I used that Called here."

"Comrade Commander," Weissbach learned that a large number of German troops had appeared on the nearby high ground, and hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "What is the combat mission of our division?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel." Sokov waved his hand at Weissbach and said, "I still haven't finished asking questions, you go and wake up the commanders and fighters first, and we will talk about the offensive when we have enough troops .”

As soon as Weissbach and Atakuz left, Sokov asked Chukliko again: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can your tank brigade fight at night?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Chukliko didn't answer immediately, but looked at Major Bunch at the side.

"What do you think he is doing?" Sokov said: "Major Bunch has just taken over the tank brigade, and he doesn't know anything about it. You know the situation of the tank brigade like the back of your hand, so you can answer this question."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Sokov's words gave Chukliko confidence: "Most of the commanders and fighters of our tank brigade are veterans who have experienced many battles and have rich combat experience. Night combat is very important for them. , not a problem at all.”

"How about this, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Considering that the tanks are moving at night and making too much noise, which might alarm the enemies who are digging fortifications, Sokov said to Chukliko: "You still have to find a way to let the soldiers Wake up first, and when the forward attack goes wrong, it will not be too late for you to join the battle."

"Comrade commander, I wonder how far we are from the high ground?" Chukliko naturally entered the role of tank brigade commander: "Knowing the exact distance, I can calculate when to dispatch the tank and how long it will take to the battlefield."

Sokov didn't know how far the farm was from the high ground, so he turned his head to look at the scout, hoping that he would answer this question. Seeing this, the understanding scout quickly replied: "The straight-line distance from the farm to the highland is about three kilometers, and there is a forest in the middle."

"Oh, it's covered by woods." Sokov was worried at first that the distance is so close, and the troops assembled in the farm will definitely alarm the enemies on the high ground. The chances of a successful attack by troops are greatly improved. But just to be on the safe side, he still asked the scout: "So, you can't see the movement in the collective farm at all from the hill?"

The scout thought for a while, then nodded and replied: "Yes, Comrade Commander. When the team leader and I went to the high ground for reconnaissance, I once looked back in the direction of the farm. There is no movement here."

"How far is the forest from the highland?"

"No more than five hundred meters."

"No more than 500 meters?!" Sokov began to secretly calculate in his heart. If the distance between the woods and the high ground was really no more than 500 meters, then he could definitely let the troops gather in the woods and then attack the enemy. With such a short impact distance, troops carrying out night raids can approach the enemy's position quietly and catch them by surprise.

"Lieutenant Mikhaiev," Sokov turned to Mikhaiev and said, "Immediately send a company to the woods with this scout comrade, and set up a security position there to prevent the Germans from hiding in the woods and attacking us .”

Ever since he learned that the German army was building fortifications on the high ground to the west of the farm, Mikhaiev considered sending troops to the woods close to the high ground to serve as guards, lest the German army use the night to sneak attack on the farm. But now Army Commander Sokov is here, and before he gives any order, Mikhaiev can only choose to wait.

Seeing that Sokov's order coincided with his own assumption at this moment, Mikhaiev quickly and loudly agreed, then walked to the door and told a soldier outside: "Go and call the company commander over."

After a while, Captain Narva, Sokov's acquaintance, appeared at the door. Narva looked at Sokov and Mikhaiev standing in the room, not knowing who he should report to first.

Fortunately, Sokov saw his embarrassment, so he shook his head at Mikhaiev and said, "Comrade Captain, report to your battalion commander, and he will give you the task."

After listening to Sokov, Narva raised his hand to salute Mikhaiev and reported to him according to the regulations.

"Comrade Captain," Mikhaiev said to Narva after he lowered his arms, "immediately take the first battalion and follow this comrade scout to the woods west of the farm, and set up guards there. Let the Germans grope into the woods."

"What, there are enemies to the west of the farm?" Narva asked in surprise.

"Why, Comrade Captain, are you afraid?" Seeing Narva's expression, Mikhaiev couldn't help showing a contemptuous expression: "If you are afraid, just say it, and I will send other people to carry out this task." task."

"Captain Mikhaiev, you misunderstood. Captain Narva was not afraid, but surprised." Sokov saw Narva's face flushed because of Mikhaiev's words, and quickly interrupted Said: "You know, not long ago, the troops commanded by Captain Narva were surrounded by enemies ten times larger than themselves in the compass town of Kazakia. They were still fighting tenaciously and persisted until our reinforcements arrived. arrive."

Hearing Sokov mention his battle in Kazakia Compass Town, Narva couldn't help raising his chin proudly. When the army was surrounded by more than ten times the number of German troops, he thought that he would not escape the fate of sacrifice, but he never dreamed that he not only survived, but also followed Guchakov to a new army.

Mikhaiev raised his hand and patted Narva's arm twice, and said with a smile: "Good job, Comrade Captain. Since you have a good record in the Kazakhya Compass, I hope you will perform well tonight. , and don’t let me down.”

"Captain Narva," just as Narva was about to leave with the scouts, Sokov stopped him again and said, "So far, we don't know that the German army building fortifications on the high ground Number. After your company arrives at the designated location, you must find a way to find out the enemy's number in the shortest possible time. If possible, it is best to capture a few more prisoners, which may be more helpful for our next battle."

At ten o'clock in the evening, Weisbach and Atakuz walked in from the outside and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, through our efforts, so far, about 3,000 commanders and fighters have recovered from drunkenness. The rest of the commanders and fighters will also be fully awake tomorrow morning."

"More than 3,000 people have woken up?!" Hearing this data, Sokov felt more confident. Even if these three thousand commanders attacked, they could all be trampled to death. So he told Weisbach: "Then organize these three thousand people as soon as possible, and go out to the woods near the high ground to hide, and wait for the right time to attack the enemy on the high ground."

"Comrade Commander," Weissbach, who had just taken office, was eager to show himself in front of Sokov: "Why don't we take advantage of the enemy's fortifications and launch a fierce attack on them, maybe in the shortest possible time. Destroy all enemies on the high ground."

"Colonel Weissbach," Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking, and said, "You must know that our commanders and fighters have just woke up from intoxication, and the various skills of the body have not fully returned to normal, whether it is reaction or action. The speed is greatly reduced compared to usual. In this case, ordering them to attack the enemy, isn't it to let them die?"

"So when should we attack?" Weissbach asked.

"The best time to attack should be three o'clock in the morning. People are the most tired at that time." Sokov said: "Even if the enemy is awakened by us, they will be in a state of confusion for a short time and cannot attack in time." Responding, we may be able to break into the enemy's position without a hitch."

Now that Sokov had already said that, Weisbach couldn't say anything more, so he asked Sokov, "Comrade Commander, when shall we set off?"

"Colonel Atakuz," Sokov turned his head and asked Atakuz, "How long will it take for these 3,000 people to fully assemble?"

Atakuz thought for a while and replied, "It will take an hour at the earliest, Comrade Commander."

"Then I'll give you two hours." Sukov knew that it would not be easy to gather these 3,000 people within one hour, so he deliberately gave the other party double the time, "Zero Afterwards, you will take this army and quietly go to the woods near the high ground to hide, waiting for the attack time to come!"

Just as Weissbach and Atakuz agreed neatly, Sokov added: "Fortunately, there is this forest between the highland and the farm, so that the situation in the farm cannot be seen from the highland. But even so, you must maintain absolute silence when marching, so as not to be noticed by the enemy, causing our army's night attack to become a storm."

"Comrade Commander, I have a suggestion." Weissbach said, "Anyway, we have to wait until three o'clock in the morning before launching an attack on the enemy. Can we delay the departure time by an hour?"

"Why?"

"Departing an hour late, maybe more commanders and fighters will wake up, and then we will have more troops to fight. Comrade commander, don't you think so?"