Red Moscow

"Comrade battalion commander, I obey your orders." Seeing Sokov's resolute attitude, Vanya could only say helplessly, "But I still reserve my personal opinion. The risk of doing so is too great."

After hearing what Vanya said, Sokov glanced at the commanders present one by one, and said: "I see that many of the commanders present have followed me from the town of Khimki. Then I want to ask you, do you remember the village of Kryukovo?"

"Kryukovo village?" Belkin joined relatively late and didn't know what happened in Kryukovo village. He asked in a daze, "What do you mean?"

When Captain Vasily heard Sokov mentioning this place name, he couldn't help blushing. He thought that when the troops stationed in the barn in the village were attacked, although he called his superiors for help in time, due to his timidity, he heard the sound of gunfire outside. When they were together, he and the landlady hid in the house and did not dare to go out, but it always made him feel ashamed.

Vanya also knew nothing about what happened in Kryukovo village, and he echoed Belkin and asked: "Comrade battalion commander, can you tell us what happened in Kryukovo village? "

"I think this matter, let me talk about it." Andre stood up and said: "We were originally a special guard platoon stationed in the town of Khimki on the northern outskirts of Moscow. We received orders from our superiors to participate in the liberation The battle in Kryukovo city. When we arrived at Kryukovo village, it was already dark, so we camped in the village. The commander who received us in the village at that time was Captain Vasily, the commander of the second company. I remember correctly, right? ?” His last words were to Vasily.

"That's right, that's right." Vasily nodded quickly, and said, "I was indeed the one who received you at that time."

"Everyone knows that since the outbreak of the war, many young and middle-aged people in the village have either joined the army or moved to other places to work or give birth. Only the elderly and women are left in the village." When he said this, Andre's face Showing a bit of embarrassment: "Seeing so many soldiers suddenly coming to the village, it will naturally attract the women in the village to watch, and they even propose to have a party with our soldiers. To be honest, I am very happy to see this After all, the daily life of our soldiers is very boring. However, Comrade Battalion Commander did not hesitate to refuse any party activities, and drove away all the women who came to visit the soldiers..."

"Captain Andre," Vanya couldn't help interjecting after hearing this, "I don't understand the connection between what you said and the fact that we are about to penetrate the depths of the German army's defense. ?”

"I don't know either." Andrei looked at Sokov and said in a daze, "It was Comrade Battalion Commander who mentioned the village of Kryukovo. I'm just recounting what happened at that time."

"Two company commanders," Second Lieutenant Grisa, who seldom spoke in various meetings, stood up and said to them, "I think I understand why the battalion commander mentioned Kryukovo village."

Vanya quickly glanced at Sokov, who was looking at Griza with interest, and urged, "Comrade Second Lieutenant, what's the reason? Tell us quickly."

"At that time, our army surrounded the city of Kryukovo with water, and the village where our platoon was stationed was considered to be in the depth of our army's defense. Therefore, when arranging guard posts at night, the then deputy platoon leader and now the third company commander Captain Andrei , just arranged a sentry post at the entrance of the village." Griza said clearly: "But Comrade Battalion Commander not only arranged a secret post at the entrance of the village, but also arranged an on-duty machine gun outside the barn where the troops rested. If it weren't for his arrangement, when our platoon was attacked by the German army, even if the entire army was not wiped out, it would have suffered heavy losses."

After Griza finished introducing the situation, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "I guess the battalion commander wants to say that in the depth of the enemy's defense, their vigilance is often the worst. Great results will be achieved.”

"Second Lieutenant Grisa is right." Seeing that Grisa had guessed his own thoughts, Sokov couldn't help but nodded, and said: "At present, the attention of the German army is concentrated on the places where the enemy and our troops are strong. And In cities where their defenses are deep, the defenses will appear relatively weak."

In order to prevent everyone from underestimating the enemy, he specially emphasized: "Remember, what I said is relatively weak, not without any defense. Otherwise, there is no need for us to take action, and the guerrillas operating in this area will be able to teach them a lesson. them."

After Sokov's explanation, the commanders present all understood in their hearts that although they had to operate behind the enemy's rear in the next few days, the dangers they encountered were not necessarily more dangerous than fighting on the frontal battlefield. However, Belkin still asked with some concerns: "Major Sokov, if the Germans arrive in the Tim area and cannot find us, will they continue to search for our whereabouts?"

"You don't have to worry about this." Sokov said to Belkin: "The various actions we have taken during the period in the Tim area have given the Germans the illusion that they are just a relatively small army. The big guerrillas never thought that we were a regular army. Once they couldn't find our whereabouts, they would think that we had moved to other areas and stop their search operations. But your words reminded me that if we suddenly disappeared out of thin air, It will certainly arouse the suspicion of the Germans, and we must leave a small force here to continue to deal with the Germans."

"Which army do you intend to keep?" Belkin asked curtly.

Sokov's eyes swept over the commanders present one by one, and finally stopped on Briski's body. He said, "Let Briski's fourth platoon stay, after all, they are active here. For a long time, I have been familiar with everything here and know how to use forests and swamps to attack the enemies who encircle and suppress them."

As soon as Sokov's words fell, Briski stood up with a swipe of the ground, straightened his body and assured Sokov: "Comrade Major, please rest assured that I will lead the troops here to deal with the enemy and make them The troops who thought they were harassing their lines of communication are still staying in this forest."

"Comrade Captain," Seeing that Briski readily agreed to stay and carry out this arduous task, Sokov walked up to Briski, raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder twice, and then said: " Since you are so confident, then I will entrust you with this arduous and glorious task. If you can firmly attract the enemies who came to encircle and suppress us in this area, then I will definitely apply for you Awarded."