Red Moscow

Sameko's jeep followed Sokov's car. After leaving the station, he ordered the driver to return to the headquarters of the Army Group, intending to bring some people over to assist Sokov.

When the convoy arrived at the Lviv train station, Sokov found that there were more commanders and fighters on the square than at the Kiev train station, but there were fewer soldiers guarding them around.

Seeing Sokov's convoy stop at the gate of the train station, a captain immediately greeted him and asked politely, "Excuse me, is this General Sokov?"

Sokov opened the door and got out of the car, nodded and replied, "Yes, I'm Sokov."

"Hello, Comrade General!" After saluting Sokov, the captain introduced himself, "I am the staff officer of the Front Army Command, and I am ordered to wait for you here."

"Ordered to wait for me here?!" Sokov asked in surprise, "Who ordered it?"

"Major General Kryniukov, Military Commissar of the Front Army." The captain said, "He is waiting for you in the station master's office at the moment. Please come with me."

Sokov followed the captain to the station master's room and met Kryniukov who was waiting here.

Seeing Sokov coming in, Kryniukov immediately greeted him, shook hands with Sokov, and said with a smile: "Comrade Sokov, you are late, I have been waiting for you here for a full hour. "

Sokov said with some embarrassment: "I just went to the Kiev train station and was delayed for a while..."

"Kiev Railway Station?!" Hearing what Sokov said, Kryniukov showed a shocked expression on his face: "The headquarters ordered you to receive troops at Lviv Railway Station, why did you go to Kiev Railway Station? "

"Maybe I misheard. I thought that the place the commander of the Front Army told me was the Kiev train station." Sokov dared not speak ill of Konev, so he could only take the responsibility on himself: "Comrade General, due to I am so sorry for keeping you waiting for so long."

Unexpectedly, Kryniukov waved his hand after hearing this: "General Sokov, although we met for the first time, I have heard of you a long time ago, and I know that you are a very cautious person who misunderstood the order. I am afraid that such a thing will not happen to you. I think Commander Konev may have made a slip of the tongue and said that the place to receive soldiers was Kiev Railway Station."

"How many people did you bring?"

"I originally brought a security battalion, plus more than 50 political workers." Sokov replied: "But now they are all carrying out screening and security work in the square of Kiev Railway Station. I only brought a security platoon."

"The Kiev Railway Station is not the territory of the Voronezh Front Army. How could you carry out the screening work there?"

"It was I who made a request to Marshal Zhukov, hoping to receive the commanders and fighters waiting to be transferred there." Sokov explained to Kryniukov: "After obtaining his consent, I left my military commissar, guard battalion and political workers, screening and vigilance work there."

"You only brought a platoon of guards," Kryniukov shook his head after Sokov finished speaking, and said, "This number of people is a bit too small. Screening work?"

When he heard that there were more than 20,000 people, Sokov couldn't help but smile. With the addition of those commanders and fighters at the Kiev train station, he had an additional 40,000 troops. With so many soldiers, it can completely make up for the loss of the troops in this battle, and it can also improve the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Kryniukov took the initiative to explain to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, because our army has fought the German army four times in the Kharkov area, hundreds of thousands of people have been captured... "

When Sokov heard the number of hundreds of thousands, he began to ponder in his heart: In the first Battle of Kharkov, 52 divisions of the Soviet Army were annihilated by the Germans. According to human calculations, 150,000 people were captured; in the second battle of Kharkov, the number of Soviet prisoners was 240,000; in the third time, that is, at the beginning of the year, the number of captured people was the smallest, reaching 9,000 people. It seems that the number of hundreds of thousands is still reliable.

Seeing Sokov looking down and counting his fingers, Kryniukov immediately guessed what was going on in his mind, and continued: "Comrade Sokov, although the number of prisoners in our army is There are as many as hundreds of thousands, but due to various reasons, the total number of commanders and fighters rescued by our army from prisoner-of-war camps does not exceed 70,000, and most of them are in dire health."

Sokov knew that what Kreinyukov said was true. The captured Soviet commanders were either sent to the gas chambers of concentration camps or tortured to death by the Germans. It was not easy for so many people to survive. .

He was silent for a moment, and then said to Kryniukov: "Comrade General, I think these commanders and fighters who survived are all reliable. Do you think it is possible to omit the screening process and let me directly bring them back to the army?"

"No, Comrade Sokov, this is absolutely not possible." Unexpectedly, as soon as his voice fell, he was opposed by Kryniukov: "Even if you and I know that these surviving commanders and fighters are absolutely loyal and reliable. , but the necessary procedures cannot be omitted. Commander Konev sent me here to supervise your screening work, so as not to leave any excuses for others in the future."

Kryniukov's words reminded Sokov that he was probably the only one who dared to recruit rescued commanders and fighters in such a large scale. Even big bosses like Rokossovsky dared not fight like him when recruiting the rescued commanders and fighters.

"Okay, Comrade Military Commissar." Since Kryniukov was sent by Konev to supervise him, Sokov didn't intend to embarrass him, so he took the initiative to say: "But it may take a while."

"Why?"

"My chief of staff has gone back to the headquarters." Sokov explained: "But he will bring people to help me soon. As soon as the new manpower arrives, we can start the screening work."

Kryniukov nodded and said, "Comrade Sokov, in addition to these more than 20,000 commanders and fighters, your superiors also plan to equip you with a training company for second lieutenants and a teaching company for junior commanders."

Hearing these two unfamiliar words, Sokov had an unexpected expression on his face, and he asked in puzzlement, "Comrade Military Commissioner, what do these two troops do?"

"Don't you understand what it means on paper?" Kryniukov said with a smile: "Obviously, these are two companies composed entirely of officers. Your troops have replenished so many soldiers, I'm afraid there is no How many qualified grassroots commanders? Members of these two companies can serve as grassroots commanders in your army."

"I don't know where these two companies come from?"

"Have you heard of the Podolsk Infantry School?"

If Kryniukov was talking about other military schools, Sokov might not have known about it, but the Podolsk Infantry School is too famous. Even in blockbuster films like "The Battle of Moscow", there is a special plot related to the school. Sokov nodded vigorously, and replied: "Of course I know, Comrade Military Commissar. During the Moscow Defense War, the German armored forces broke through our army's defense line and advanced rapidly along the road to Moscow. There is no defense line of our army. It is the cadets of the Podolsk Infantry School who used their flesh and blood to delay the enemy's advance and bought precious time for the main force of our army to arrive."

Kryniukov nodded with a smile, and said: "You are right. If they hadn't blocked the German army's advance in time, the Germans might have reached the city of Moscow long ago. At that time, our army was not well prepared. Prepare for a counterattack, once the enemy rushes out of the city, there will be serious consequences."

"At that time there were two military schools in Podolsk, one called the Podolsk Infantry School and the other the Podolsk Artillery School. Because of the needs of the war, they were merged into one unit, led by Principal Ivan Semyonovich, Go to the Mozhaisk Line to stop the Germans.

The equipment of the cadets was very backward. Most of them used old-fashioned teaching aids. Later, their superiors added some miscellaneous rifles and Mosin Nagant rifles to them. Things were better with the artillery, who still had a few machine guns and old artillery.

According to Marshal Zhukov's order, they must persist in the Mozhaisk area for at least five days, and it would be best if they could defend for seven or eight days. Because behind them, there is no reserve team. Once the defense line was breached by the Germans, it only took a few hours for enemy tanks to appear on the outskirts of Moscow.

The cadets of the mixed regiments of the two military schools sacrificed more than 2,500 people in just a few days of fighting. However, with their tenacious fighting spirit and simple weapons, they resolutely blocked the way of the German army and wiped out the enemy. More than 500 tanks, armored vehicles and trucks, and more than 5,000 officers and soldiers. "

"It's really amazing." Although Sokov had watched a movie about the Podolsk Infantry School, it didn't mention the school's achievements. Hearing what Kryniukov said at this time, he was still quite shocked. . He even asked himself in his heart, if he led such a unit with outdated equipment to stop the German armored unit, would he be able to complete the task assigned to him by his superiors?

"Yes, it's very remarkable." Kryniukov said with emotion: "You must know that these cadets are only seventeen or eighteen years old and have only received three months of military training. In addition to the lack of weapons, there is also a lack of Command staff. But even so, they taught the Germans a lesson."

"Does the Podolsk Infantry School still exist today?"

"Of course it exists." Kryniukov nodded and said, "The remaining more than a thousand students were sent to Shuya City, Ivanovo Region, where a new school was established and renamed Shusky Infantry school. The cadets of these two companies are the first batch of cadets to graduate after the reconstruction of the school. Zhukov thinks that incorporating these cadets into your troops can play a greater role."

Sokov suddenly remembered a scene in the movie: the cadets were ordered to march and sang a song on the street, which was called "Battle Hymn of Podolsk Infantry School". So he asked Kryniukov curiously: "Comrade Military Commissar, I wonder if these new trainees can sing "Battle Hymn of Podolsk Infantry School"?"

""Battle Hymn of the Podolsk Infantry School"?!" Kryniukov asked in a daze, "Is there such a song? Why have I never heard of it?"

Fortunately, Sokov still remembered a few simple lyrics, so he sang in front of Kryniukov:

"I remember a small town in another province,

Quiet, remote and melancholy,

churches and markets,

A tree-lined road in the city.

Once in twinkling shadows,

I saw a familiar and dear figure,

blue beanie,

blue jacket,

The black dress and the figure of a girl..."

Before Sokov could finish singing, Kryniukov interrupted him by raising his hand, and said with a smile: "Comrade Sokov, aren't you a person of our time?"

Kryniukov's words made Sokov break out in a cold sweat, and he muttered to himself, "What's the matter, did he notice my identity as a time traveler?"

But the next words reassured him: "What you sang is not "Battle Hymn of Podolsk Infantry School", but a popular youth song called "Tanya Tanyusha" in the past two years. You don’t even know such a famous song, that’s why I say you are not from our time.”

After figuring out what was going on, Sokov laughed dryly and defended himself: "Comrade Military Commissar, I don't like listening to music very much, so it's not surprising that I haven't heard this song before. By the way, the second lieutenant training camp When will the company and the junior commander teach the company to arrive?"

Sokov's words successfully diverted Kryniukov's attention. After thinking for a while, he replied: "If there are no accidents, they will arrive here around two o'clock in the afternoon."

"Then how should I use them?" Sokov continued to ask: "Should I use them according to the current organization, or dismantle them and assign them to various companies as grassroots commanders?"

"Comrade Sokov, since these two companies are assigned to you, how you use them is your own problem." Kryniukov paused for a moment after finishing his irresponsible words, and couldn't help but Added: "In the troops of General Meretskov, there are also two such companies. They always appear in dangerous places and carry out the most difficult tasks."

Sokov originally planned to use these two companies as independent organizations in the most dangerous areas, but after hearing what Kryniukov said, he inevitably changed his mind. He felt that it was a waste to use hundreds of junior officers as ordinary soldiers. On the battlefield, bullets are treated equally regardless of whether you are an officer or an ordinary soldier. After a battle, hundreds of officers may be wiped out, but if they are assigned to various units as grassroots commanders, as long as the army units are not wiped out by the enemy, there will always be officers who will survive.

The two were talking when a car horn sounded outside, and then the captain who led Sokov walked in again and reported to Kryniukov: "Comrade Military Commissar, Chief of Staff of the 27th Army Same General Coe is outside."

Kryniukov glanced at Sokov, and told the captain: "Hurry up and ask him to come in!"

Not long after the captain left, he brought Sameko in.

"Hello, General Sameko." Seeing Sameko enter the door, Kryniukov took the initiative to shake hands with him, and asked with a smile, "I heard that you went back to the headquarters to recruit people. I don't know how many people you brought with you." Someone come over?"

"Hello, Comrade General." Sameko did not know Kryniukov, and the other party did not introduce himself. He could only address the other party's military rank, and politely responded: "I brought a battalion, plus twenty Political workers. At the moment they are making preparations outside and plan to start the screening work as soon as possible."