Red Moscow

Facts soon proved that Kirillov's judgment was correct.

Not long after, bullets were fired from the entrance of the basement that was billowing with thick smoke, and there were still no Soviet soldiers standing near the entrance of the cave, so the enemy's bullets all hit other places.

Seeing this scene, Victor couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat. If he rashly ordered the troops to launch an attack, the commanders and fighters who rushed in would probably fall under the enemy's guns.

After the gunshots in the gunpowder smoke became sparse, Kirillov said to Victor: "Victor, order the anti-tank fighters to fire another rocket into it, and be sure to pay attention to your own safety."

Soon, the anti-tank fighter aimed at the hole and fired another rocket. When another explosion came from the hole, both Kirillov and Victor felt the ground tremble.

Victor originally wanted the anti-tank fighter to fire another round, but the vibration on the ground made him change his mind. If the bombing was too strong and the basement collapsed, they would suffer as well.

Just when Victor wanted to remind Kirillov not to fire rockets into the basement, Kirillov turned to him and said, "Victor, ask your people to shout to the people below, saying that as long as you put down your weapons , we can ensure their personal safety."

"Okay, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Victor nodded and said, "I will immediately find a comrade who understands German and let him speak to the people below."

German-speaking fighters were quickly found, but to Kirillov's surprise, it was none other than himself who brought him here to Lokima. While shaking hands with the other party, he asked in surprise: "Lokima, I really didn't expect that you actually understand German?"

"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I spent a year in the Brest Fortress, where I learned German."

"Brest Fortress?" Kirillov repeated the name of the place, and said with emotion: "I have an old subordinate who was the regiment leader there before the war, but on the day the war broke out, I never got his appointment again." information."

"His name is Gavrilov."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Kirillov's words fell, Lokima exclaimed: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are talking about Major Gavrilov, the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment. Right?"

"That's right, that's right." Seeing that Lokima actually mentioned Gavrilov's military rank and position, Kirillov showed a surprised expression on his face: "Comrade Lokima, do you know Gavrilov?" he?"

"That's right, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Lokima nodded, and said in an affirmative tone: "I am a soldier in his regiment, and I have been under his leadership for almost two years."

Hearing what Lokima said, Kirillov couldn't help frowning: "Comrade Lokima, as far as I know, the Brest Fortress was occupied by the Germans shortly after the war broke out. I would like to ask Let me ask you, how did you escape from the encirclement of the German army?"

"The reason is very simple." Lokima shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly, "I was not at the Brest Fortress at all on the day the war broke out."

"Then where did you go?"

"Visiting relatives." Lokima said, "I am Mrs. Kuibyshev. At that time, Major Gavrilov gave me a month's vacation so that I could spend a little longer with my family. Who knows that I just arrived in Kuibyshev. The next day, the bloody war broke out. I sometimes wonder if I had stayed in the Brest Fortress instead of going home to visit my family, how could I have survived to this day?”

Regarding the fate of the defenders of the Brest Fortress, when Kirillov was in Moscow, he had learned something from relevant personnel, knowing that most of the defenders of the fortress died in the battle with the German army. The captured personnel are basically the wounded. As for Major Gavrilov's exit, no one knows now, and it is not clear whether he died or became a captive of the Germans.

Although he knew that Lokima could not ask about Gavrilov's situation, Kirillov still asked unwillingly: "Then what do you think?"

"I think unless Major Gavrilov is wounded, he will definitely fight the enemy to the last man and shoot out the last bullet." Lokima said solemnly: "Based on what I know about him , even if he ran out of ammunition and food, even if he chose to commit suicide with the last bullet, he would definitely not be a prisoner of the Germans."

For Kirillov, Gavrilov is a very good commander. If he is still alive, he will definitely find a way to transfer him to his side and make him his right-hand man.

The conversation between the two caught the attention of Victor next to him. He leaned over and asked curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what are you talking about?"

"Victor, it's like this." Kirillov pointed at Lokima with his hand and said, "One of my former subordinates was this soldier's superior, and we are talking about that commander. "

"People you know together?" Victor asked, "Can you tell me the name of that commander, I'll see if I know him too."

"Victor, you probably don't know him." Kirillov replied: "My subordinate is called Gavrilov. He first served as a battalion commander under me and was later transferred to the Minsk Military District. The war began. Before that, he was the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment stationed at the Brest Fortress."

"Gavrilov, Gavrilov?" Victor frowned, and began to think hard: "This name is very familiar, I seem to have heard it somewhere."

"Victor, I think you may have made a mistake." Kirillov shook his head and said, "Since the war broke out, the Brest Fortress where he was located fell into the hands of the German army, and his whereabouts have been unknown since then." .”

"Oh, I remembered, you're talking about Major Gavrilov who stood up for the Brest Fortress, right?" Victor finally remembered about Gavrilov, and said with a relaxed expression: "China Comrade school, your subordinate should have been seriously injured and captured by the German army, but don't worry, he is still alive."

"What, Gavrilov is still alive?" Kirillov grabbed Victor's arm and asked anxiously, "Victor, who told you that Gavrilov is still alive?"

"Who else, of course, is Comrade Commander." Victor explained to Kirillov: "When we were chatting once, he suddenly mentioned that even if our army was attacked by the enemy suddenly He will fight tenaciously. Then he gave an example that Major Gavrilov, the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment of the Brest Fortress, fought in the fortress with no food, no water, and no ammunition supplies. The Germans fought for a month. It was not until he passed out because of his injuries that he was unfortunately captured by the Germans."

"Is this true, Victor?" Hearing Victor mention his former subordinate, Kirillov became agitated: "How did Comrade Commander know about Gavrilov?"

"I don't know much about that," Victor said, shaking his head. "When he mentioned Major Gavrilov, I thought it was an unfamiliar commander, so naturally I didn't care."

Seeing Kirilov's disappointed face, he quickly added: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if you want to know more details, you can ask the commander yourself when you get back."

"It seems that this is the only way to go." Seeing that the smoke from the cave had faded, Kirillov turned to Lokima and said, "Comrade Warrior, it's your turn to play."

Lokima agreed, and quickly ran to the entrance of the cave. For the sake of safety, he did not lie on the entrance of the cave, but squatted in the blind spot next to the entrance of the cave, and shouted in German: "German officers and soldiers, you have been surrounded, and there is no way to retreat now, I order you Come out immediately and surrender your guns to us. As long as you lay down your weapons, we can ensure your personal safety."

But after he finished shouting, there was no movement inside. He thought the other party hadn't heard, so he called again. But still nothing happened. He raised his head and looked at Victor who was hiding behind the shrine: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, will all the people below die?"

Victor is well aware of the power of the rocket, especially when it explodes in a closed space like the basement, the power will increase exponentially, but he obviously doesn't believe that it will kill all the Germans inside.

To find out what was going on down there, he called a machine gunner and ordered him to shoot into the hole. The machine gunner quickly emptied a disc clip, but there was still no response.

Seeing this, Victor gestured to the soldiers next to him. The soldiers who understood it immediately threw the stringed grenade into the basement through the hole.

Kirillov, who felt the soles of his feet trembling, asked Victor with a wry smile: "Victor, if the bombing continues like this, will the floor under our feet collapse?"

"It's hard to say." Victor suggested to Kirillov: "How about you exit the church first, and I will leave a few soldiers to continue throwing grenades down there."

As soon as his words fell, a voice came from the direction of the cave entrance, and the other party said in broken Russian: "Stop shooting and bombing, we surrender, surrender!"

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Lokima, who was squatting near the entrance of the cave, shouted excitedly at Victor: "Did you hear that? The Germans surrendered, surrendered!"

"Comrade fighters, let them throw out their weapons first." Although he knew that there were people on the other side who could speak Russian, Victor still ordered Lokima: "Then come out one by one."

Lokima agreed and repeated Victor's words in German. After a while, more than two dozen guns, mostly pistols, were thrown from the hole. Seeing a pile of guns on the ground, Kirillov smiled and said to Victor: "Victor, it seems that there are big Germans hiding in the basement."

More than 20 German officers and soldiers walked out of the basement, most of them were officers, and most of them wore the rank of major, and one of them was even a lieutenant colonel. In addition, two female radio operators from the headquarters also came out with their hands raised.

After a brief interrogation, the lieutenant colonel was the commander of the town's defenders. He was trapped in the basement, and the German troops in the town must try to rescue him.

Kirillov heard gunshots and explosions coming from the south of the town from time to time, and knew that the 233rd Division's offensive hadn't worked, otherwise he would have rushed over to join his troops. He said to Lokima: "Comrade soldier, tell this German officer to tell the defenders in the town to stop resisting, put down their weapons and surrender to our army."

After listening to Lokima's translation, the German lieutenant colonel shook his head and babbled a lot, hearing Lokima frown constantly. After the German lieutenant colonel finished speaking, he translated to Victor: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, he said that the radio station in the basement was blown up by the grenade we threw down, and they have lost contact with the outside world."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Victor turned to ask Kirillov for instructions: "This German lieutenant colonel said that the radio station was broken by us and he could not get in touch with his troops. What do you think we should do?"

"It seems that it is unrealistic for the German commander to order the troops to surrender." Kirillov thought for a moment, and then came to a conclusion, "I think we should contact the comrade commander and send the friendly troops to If you cannot break through the enemy's defenses, report to the commander."

After Sokov established contact with Kirillov, he was a little annoyed when he learned that the 233rd Division had not broken through the German defensive position south of the town. He originally wanted to wait for the end of the battle before removing Yesenin from his position, but he didn't expect that the other party seemed to take his words as a deaf ear. The battle continued for so long, but it still hadn't broken through the German defense. If Kirillov's troops hadn't rushed into the town from the east in time, Victor's troops might have been completely wiped out.

Thinking of this, Sokov decisively issued an order: "Comrade Chief of Staff, tell General Chumakov that the slow progress of the 233rd Division has seriously affected our army's combat plan. Therefore, he can no longer Continue to serve as division commander, and from now on, the 233rd division will be given command by Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko."

From Sokov's words, Smirnov smelled the aura of running away, and quickly picked up the phone, called Chumakov, and explained to him the latest personnel appointment made by Sokov.

Knowing that Sokov was going to drop Yesenin and dismiss him on the spot, Chumakov couldn't help feeling anxious. He quickly explained to Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please tell the commander that the war is critical now. Changing commanders will have a negative impact on the morale and morale of the troops."

"Okay, General Chumakov." Smirnov said bluntly: "After Yesenin's troops failed to attack the town for the first time, Comrade Commander did not hold you accountable, and even when your attack was not going well, An assault battalion was sent in, rushed into the town from the other direction, and attracted most of the enemy. If Yesenin had moved faster, they might have joined forces in the city by now. But what did Colonel Yesenin's troops do?"

Chumakov murmured: "Now is the time when the war is critical. I am afraid that it will cause the soldiers to change rashly."

Sokov heard angrily say: "The assault battalion I sent was originally just to attract the attention of the enemy to ensure that the 233rd Division can successfully break through the German defense line. But what is the actual situation? It was originally used as a feint mission. Our troops were encircled by the enemy for a while, and if Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov hadn't personally led the troops to rush for reinforcements, the entire army might have been wiped out."

Now that Sokov has already said this, it is obviously not wise to refute. Chumakov decided to agree to Sukov's proposal first and remove Yesenin on the spot. After a while, Sukov calmed down, and then went to him to discuss the reinstatement of Officer Yesenin.