Red Moscow

Obviously seeing the enemy is right in front of you, if you block them, it will be a great achievement. However, due to the rough and difficult road, there was only one platoon with only two machine guns. To suppress the firepower of the German machine guns from the bell tower of the church, the firepower formed by more than 20 rifles and submachine guns remained. Unable to stop the fleeing German army, Vanya was so angry that his eyes would burst into flames.

Sokov, who led the troops through the village and town, saw a company of soldiers arriving one after another from a distance, all of which were suppressed by the machine guns set up by the German army on the bell tower of the church, unable to move in the cemetery, so he quickly ran to a car parked Next to the T-34 tank on the side of the road, he knocked hard on the body with the butt of his gun a few times.

The tank soldiers inside heard someone knocking on the tank outside, and quickly lifted the top cover of the turret and leaned out. Seeing a tank soldier emerge from the tank, Sokov hurriedly pointed to the German firepower point on the top of the church, and shouted at him: "Tank man, knock out the machine gun on the church bell tower."

The tank soldier nodded, and then retreated into the tank. The tank slowly turned the turret and aimed at the church in the distance. After a loud bang, the shell hit the clock tower accurately. In the rising black gunpowder smoke, shattered machine gun parts, human body stumps and broken legs were mixed in the flying gravel and scattered around.

Seeing that the machine gun on the church was killed, Vanya stood up from behind the tombstone where he was hiding, and shouted at the surrounding soldiers: "Comrades, follow me and kill every **** bandit you see. Go forward ~~!" After shouting, he took the lead and rushed out of the cemetery with a submachine gun in his hand.

Although Vanya decisively led a company of soldiers to launch an attack, it was too late. Most of the enemy had already fled along the trail, and they only killed a dozen or so German soldiers in the rear.

After more than four hours of fighting, the Istria Battalion, with the cooperation of the 146th Tank Brigade, successfully captured Popkovo. In this battle, more than 300 German soldiers were eliminated, and fifteen heavy artillery pieces, five tanks, two assault artillery pieces, a dozen anti-tank guns and mortars, and a large number of weapons and ammunition discarded by the enemy were seized. .

However, the losses of the Soviet army were also very heavy. The Istria Battalion suffered more than 200 casualties, and the 146th Tank Brigade, which cooperated in the battle, also lost nine tanks of various types. Coupled with the loss of two infantry battalions in the previous day's battle, the battle to capture Popkovo can only be regarded as a tragic victory.

Upon learning that Popkovo had been occupied, Rokossovsky immediately drove to the headquarters of the 11th Guards Division. As soon as he saw Chernyshov, he said enthusiastically: "General Chernyshov, I congratulate you! Congratulations to you for taking down Popkovo, an important stronghold. By the way, which one is the main attacker?" group?"

"It's Major Sokov's Istria Battalion." Chernyshov replied, "With the cooperation of the 146th Tank Brigade, they captured this important German stronghold in just over four hours. .”

"This Sokov is not easy." Rokossovsky said with a gratified smile when he learned that Sokov's troops had made contributions again, and said with appreciation: "No matter how difficult the battle is, as long as he The Germans can be crushed as soon as the troops are launched."

"Comrade Commander, there is another situation that I want to report to you." Chernyshov said to Rokossovsky with a serious expression: "According to Major Sokov's report, the enemies in the villages and towns, at most, More than 600 people, far from the 2,000 we knew beforehand."

"What, there are no more than six hundred enemies in the village?" Rokossovsky frowned and asked, "Is the information reliable?"

Chernyshev nodded vigorously, and said with certainty: "Major Sokov personally reported this to me."

"Report!" The two were talking, when suddenly a loud voice came from the door, before Chernyshov could speak, Sokov had already walked in from the door, and asked with a smile on his face: "Mr. , can I come in?"

Chernyshev and Rokossovsky looked at each other, and both saw smiles in each other's eyes. Chernyshov smiled and scolded Sokov: "Major Sokov, you are already in, can I still drive you out?" He paused for a moment, then continued, "Comrade Commander also Now, say hello to him."

Sokov, who had adapted to the light in the room, found that Rokossovsky was here, and hurriedly took two steps forward, stopped his waist and raised his hands to salute, and said loudly: "Comrade Commander, Istria Battalion Commander Major Sokov reports to you, I was ordered to accept a new combat mission from the front division, please instruct!"

Rokossovsky nodded and said with a smile: "Major Sokov, please express my gratitude to your soldiers for their bravery, tenacity and fearlessness in the war to defend the motherland. Spirit, and the great results achieved."

Although Rokossovsky said some clichés, Sokov waited for him to finish, and replied loudly: "I am willing to serve the Soviet motherland!"

"You have served well." Rokossovsky praised again, and turned the topic to his own interests: "It is said that there are less than 600 enemies in the village of Popkovo?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Sokov quickly replied affirmatively: "After the battle, I ordered someone to count the dead bodies of the German army and the number of escaped soldiers, and it was less than 600."

After getting a definite answer from Sokov, Rokossovsky leaned on the edge of the table with both hands, and leaned over to look at the map spread out on it. After looking at it for a while, he pointed to a location and said to Chernyshov: "Comrade commander, come and see. A village and town located 15 kilometers southwest of Popkovo - Mark Laki, is another German army. Important stronghold. If this stronghold is also occupied by us, then the entire defense of the Germans in the direction of Zizdra will be smashed. Our remaining task is to clear the garrison in the village of Bren and the vast, woodless area. Enemies in the small villages on the plains of the country, so that they do not retreat to Zizdra..."

When Rokossovsky assigned the task to Chernyshov, Sokov, who was standing aside, thought to himself: It seems that the superior wants my troops to continue to participate in the battle, but they don’t know how to send us to attack Maklaki. , or let us wipe out the enemies occupying the surrounding villages?

The answer was soon revealed. Chernyshev waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, and immediately continued: "Comrade Commander, I intend to leave a regiment to stick to Popkovo and consolidate the defense of the surrounding areas. So that the enemy could no longer bombard Susinich from this direction. The other two regiments and Sokov's Istria battalion rushed southwest overnight to capture Maklaki and smash the German army in the direction of Zizdra. overall defense."

Regarding the plan proposed by Chernyshev, Rokossovsky replied very readily: "Okay, just follow the plan you said. The four divisions currently fighting on the right wing will wait to repel the German attack. After that, I will immediately transfer them to support you."

After receiving Rokossovsky's reply, Chernyshev immediately ordered Sokov: "Major, gather up your battalion immediately, and rush to the southwest as soon as possible, and establish an offensive starting position near Marklaki. .”