Red Moscow

As the battle progressed into the afternoon, Afnin called again to report to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, most of the 107th Division has been annihilated by us. In another two or three hours, we will be able to completely annihilate this unit."

"Well done, General Afunin." Knowing that Abe Koichi's 107th Division has now become a candle in the wind, and it is only a matter of time before it is annihilated, Sokov is in a good mood: "Please tell the commanders of the army I would like to convey my gratitude to them for their bravery and tenacity and for their great results in the battle to eliminate the Kwantung Army."

"Comrade Commander, I'm calling you. I have one more thing to report."

"whats the matter?"

"A unit appeared near the Wangye Temple. The number is 'Unit 53'. It is a cavalry unit. It is carrying out a sneak attack on the flank of the 4th Guards Airborne Division." Afuning said cautiously: "According to the capture The prisoners confessed that the total strength of the unit was about 800 people, and except for 100 of them were Japs, the rest were Mongolians. I would like to ask for instructions on how to deal with this unit?"

"Needless to say, General Afnin." Sokov said without hesitation: "Since they are vassal troops of the Kwantung Army, as long as they have not laid down their weapons, they are our enemies. There is only one way to deal with the enemy, to They wiped it out cleanly and completely.”

After hearing what Sokov said, Afunin immediately understood how to deal with this force, and quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander. Don't worry, I will never let an enemy leave the battlefield alive."

"Very good." Sokov said happily: "I'm waiting for your good news."

In the evening, Sokov took the initiative to get through to Afunin's headquarters and asked him about the progress of the battle: "General Afunin, I don't know how the battle is going in your place. How long will it take to completely defeat the enemy?" To destroy the enemy?"

"Report to Comrade Commander." Afuning replied: "The 53rd unit has been completely wiped out, and not a single one has slipped through the net."

Hearing Afunin mention the 53rd unit again, Sokov sneered and said: "I didn't expect that the designation used by this vassal unit is the same as our group army. By the way, what happened to Abe Koichi's 107th Division? When can we completely eliminate them?”

"According to the confessions of the prisoners, the 107th Division was formerly the 'Arshan' garrison, with three infantry regiments and one artillery regiment under its jurisdiction. They are considered to be relatively well-equipped troops in the Kwantung Army, and the artillery regiment has some counterattack Tank guns and 150mm heavy howitzers." Afnin said: "After a day of fierce fighting, we have annihilated his artillery regiment and an infantry regiment, and the remaining two infantry regiments also suffered great losses. .”

From Afunin's words, Sokov realized that the attacking troops would have suffered a lot from the heavy artillery of the Japanese. Otherwise, with the strength of a Guards force, it would be impossible for them not to have eaten one of the opponent's troops until now. division. He was silent for a moment and asked tentatively: "When will you be able to completely annihilate this army?"

"Comrade Commander, I have something to ask you."

"what's up?"

"Koichi Abe sent a messenger," Afuning said hesitantly, "He said he hoped that the hostilities between the two sides would cease."

"Cease hostilities?" Sokov said stiffly: "So, Koichi Abe couldn't hold it anymore and sent a messenger to discuss surrender with you. Am I right?"

"Absolutely correct, Comrade Commander." Afuning said: "I found that the little Jaap was desperate to save face. He obviously couldn't hold on any longer, but he still insisted on saying that he didn't want both sides to continue to make unnecessary sacrifices, so he requested to end the hostility with us. state."

"Misha." Just when Sokov was about to order the complete annihilation of the 107th Division, Lukin said: "Since the little devil is willing to stop resisting and surrender to our army, I think it is better to order the 18th Guards Army to stop attacking the 107th Division. The 107th Division's attack is just asking them to put down their weapons."

"Yes, Misha." Yakov also agreed: "We didn't expect that the enemy actually had heavy artillery, which must have caused a lot of casualties to our army. Since they want to surrender, we can completely accept it, thus reducing the insecurity necessary casualties.”

Sokov did not expect that Lukin and Yakov actually wanted to accept the surrender of the Japs. He originally wanted to refuse, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back. In any case, he is now the commander of the group army, and his every move is watched by countless people. If he insists on killing all the little devils, he may attract criticism from others. Maybe after the war is over, this matter will be used by others to attack us.

Thinking of this, Sokov smiled bitterly, and then said into the microphone: "General Afnin, since the little devils want to surrender, then you can agree to them, but it must be an unconditional surrender. We will not accept any additional conditions from them. Understood. Yet?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Afuning heard Sokov say this with a sense of relief in his tone, "I will convey your thoughts to Koichi Abe."

After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Lukin and Yakov: "I have agreed to accept the surrender of the 107th Division. This will greatly reduce the casualties of our army's commanders and soldiers."

"Misha, you are right to do this." Lu Jin said: "Although our goal is to completely defeat the Kwantung Army, if the enemy is willing to surrender, we are completely acceptable. After all, this can save more lives."

"If the Japs really surrender, there will be at least a thousand of them." Sokov looked at Lukin and asked, "We haven't set up any prisoner of war camps at all. Where should we keep so many people?"

"This is easy to handle." Lu Jin said: "There should be a school or something like that in Solon City. We can definitely keep the prisoners there, so that we don't have to spend extra energy to build a prisoner of war camp."

"This is a good idea." Yakov's eyes suddenly brightened after hearing this: "The school not only has a wide space and numerous classrooms, but also has walls. It is undoubtedly the most suitable place to hold prisoners. I immediately started to make arrangements. This matter."

After Yakov finished speaking, he picked up the phone on the table and called Konev, the commander of the 3rd Guards Airborne Division that occupied Solon, to arrange for the school to be converted into a temporary prisoner of war camp.

When darkness fell, the battle between the 18th Guards Army and the 107th Division came to an end. The remaining more than 1,200 officers and soldiers of the Kwantung Army laid down their weapons and surrendered to General Afuning's troops. According to Sokov's arrangement, the surrendered soldiers and some island expatriates captured in Solon were detained in a middle school in the city. As for high-ranking commanders like Abe Koichi, they are locked up in other places.

After Yakov learned that Afunin had detained the prisoners of war, he asked Sokov for instructions: "Misha, how do you plan to deal with senior officers like Koichi Abe?"

"Just lock them up in Solon City first." Sokov thought that more senior officers would be captured in the next few days, so he said disapprovingly: "When more senior officers are captured, they will be sent to the commander of the front army." It’s not too late either.”

"Okay then." Yakov asked: "It's already dark today. Do we need to temporarily stop our attack on the Kwantung Army?"

"We can't stop." Sokov shook his head and said: "Our group army launched its attack later than other troops. If we paused again at night, we might be left far behind by friendly forces. Just ask me. General Funin, can his troops still attack overnight? If not, I will ask Chumakov’s 57th Army to replace him."

When Yakov followed Sokov's order and called Afunin to ask whether his troops were capable of continuing to fight, the Guards commander replied without hesitation: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Please tell the commander that all the officers and men of our 18th Guards Corps are of high morale, let alone fight overnight, even if we fight for three days and three nights, there will be no problem."

"Since there is no problem, let's continue the attack." Yakov said into the microphone: "General Afnin, our attack time is originally later than the friendly forces. If we stop fighting as soon as it gets dark, we will be attacked by other forces. Friendly forces are far behind. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff." Afnin assured Yakov: "As long as the command does not order us to stop, then we will never stop fighting."

After Yakov ended the call, Sokov said to everyone: "Comrade commanders, our troops have penetrated nearly a hundred kilometers into the enemy's depth. Should our headquarters consider moving forward?"

"I think it's okay." Lukin was the first to agree with Sokov's proposal: "As a commander, we should be as close to the frontline command as possible, so that we can understand the progress of the battle at the first time. Stay. Relying on the battle reports from each unit to direct operations from the rear is a method of commanding operations at the front army headquarters level. I think our headquarters should be as close to the front line as possible."

"In previous battles, the group army headquarters was only a few hundred meters away from the front, even within the range of enemy machine gun bullets." Sokov said solemnly: "In order to better command the operation, the headquarters should be moved as far forward as possible. It is completely necessary. Now that our army is taking the initiative on the battlefield, it is not necessary to set up the headquarters three hundred meters away from the front line. It must be at least three kilometers..."

Before Sokov finished speaking, Yakov interrupted and said: "Misha, three kilometers is still too close. I think thirty kilometers is more suitable."

"No, I think three kilometers is more appropriate." Sokov shook his head and said resolutely: "Fighting the Kwantung Army today is different from fighting the Germans. At that time, advancing five or six kilometers a day was an amazing victory. The Kwantung Army is vulnerable to us, advancing fifty or sixty kilometers a day, or even further. The headquarters is thirty kilometers away from the front line today, and it may become hundreds of kilometers tomorrow. Even if it is three kilometers away from the front line, No matter how fast the troops advance, we can change the location of the headquarters only every two or three days. But for a distance of thirty kilometers, the location of the headquarters must be changed every day."

After listening to Sokov's words, Yakov was silent for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "Okay, Misha, since you insist, then we will do what you want and we will move the headquarters forward. But Where do you plan to move the headquarters tonight?”

"Didn't the 18th Guards Army occupy Solon?" Sokov said: "I think we will move to Solon overnight. When daybreak, our new headquarters will be put into use."

Following Sokov's order, the headquarters began to move forward an hour later. A convoy full of staff, communications personnel, and various equipment drove along the road in the direction of Solon. Although it was a night operation, no one in the headquarters complained, because they knew that the troops were advancing too fast and had left the headquarters far behind. If they did not move forward in time, they would be out of touch with the combat troops. .

Don't forget that we are marching at night, and the road is not easy to walk. But after all, this is an area controlled by the Soviet army, so there is no need to worry about any attacks on the road. Two hours later, the outline of Sauron City appeared in Sokov's field of vision.

At this moment, intensive gunshots and explosions suddenly came from the direction of Sauron, and red reflections appeared in the sky east of the city.

Seeing this, Sokov quickly ordered the convoy to stop advancing.

After the convoy came to a stop, Bezikov took the Guards company commander Captain Alt to Sokov's car and asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, what should we do next?"

Sokov pointed his hand in the direction of Solon and said: "Major Bezikov, you immediately send personnel to Solon to conduct reconnaissance and find out what is happening in the city."

Bezikov agreed, turned around and left. When Captain Alt saw that Bezikov was about to leave, he turned around and prepared to leave with him, but was stopped by the other party who raised his hand: "Captain Alt, you stay and are responsible for covering the safety of the headquarters. As for those who enter the city for reconnaissance, I will be responsible for the matter."

Art did not dare to refute the order given by Bezikov and could only agree. Then he summoned his subordinates and set up a warning circle near the vehicle of Sokov and others to prevent them from being attacked by the enemy.

"Misha, it looks like there's a battle going on in that direction." Lujin asked someone to take him out of the car, and sat in the wheelchair parked next to the car. He looked at Solon City in the distance and asked Sokov : "What do you think is happening in the city?"

"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said, "Logically speaking, Solon was occupied by our army as early as the afternoon, and all the enemies inside were eliminated. How could there still be fighting?"

"Could it be that the prisoners of war rioted?" Lu Jin cautiously expressed his judgment: "Didn't we let the 18th Guards Army continue to advance south? Maybe the prisoners of war who were detained in the city saw our army's When the troops became weak, what evil thoughts arose and took the opportunity to launch a riot?"

"What, the prisoners of war started a riot?" Sokov frowned and said through gritted teeth: "If it is really the prisoners of war who started a riot, then I will never let them go lightly. If they cause huge harm to the commanders and soldiers responsible for guarding them, casualties, I don’t mind killing all these damn prisoners one by one.”

"Comrade Commander." The director of the Communications Corps ran over and reported to Sokov: "I just received a telegram from General Afnin. He said that he heard gunshots and explosions coming from the direction of Solon, possibly from the city. If something goes wrong, he will send someone to find out as soon as possible and then report to us."