Red Moscow

Sokov noticed a detail from Captain Meglin's report. The other party was the deputy battalion commander of the airborne barracks, indicating that he might be the battalion commander leading the team this time. He quickly asked: "Comrade Captain, where is your battalion commander?" ?”

Meglin quickly explained to Sokov: "Comrade General, the situation is like this. After the battalion commander received your telegram and learned that the bandits' defense was weakest at the front of the car, he asked me to bring the first company to join you. The remaining With two companies, he will attack from the rear and the flanks of the vehicle."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was intensive gunfire from the rear of the car, which was also mixed with the explosion of some grenades.

Hearing this voice, Meglin's face showed joy: "Comrade General, these are the troops commanded by the battalion commander, launching an attack on the enemy."

"How many people did you bring over?" Sokov had just finished asking this question, and he remembered that the other party had told him that he had brought over the first company of the airborne barracks, and he quickly continued: "By the way, you said you had brought over one company. There must be dozens or hundreds of people. Now, I give you a difficult task, which is to rush to the back of the car and cooperate with other troops to annihilate the gangsters."

"Yes!" Meglin agreed, leading dozens of soldiers and rushing towards the rear of the carriage.

Although gangsters appeared from time to time, they were no match for the well-trained airborne troops. After a brief exchange of fire, they fell into a pool of blood.

The gangsters who attacked the train were a ragtag group of people. They can also take control of situations when faced with defenseless passengers. Encountering several guards under Sokov, they made no progress at all except leaving a pile of corpses. Now facing the newly arrived airborne troops, the battle only lasted for more than ten minutes before the battle was over. The gangsters who occupied the train were either killed or captured.

After the battle, the airborne battalion commander came over and reported to Sokov: "Hello, comrade general, I am Major Felix, the airborne battalion commander, and I came here specifically to rescue you." He looked at Sokov carefully. Finally, he asked cautiously: "You are not injured, are you?"

"No, I'm not injured." What Sokov is most concerned about at the moment is how many survivors are left on the train: "When you liberated the carriage at the back, how many survivors were left?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Felix lowered his head and said with a heavy heart: "We only rescued less than thirty people, and the rest were killed by the gangsters who seized the train."

"Major!" Seryosha, standing next to Sokov, asked, "Do you know where these gangsters come from?"

"I don't know." Felix answered simply: "My troops are not stationed nearby, so I don't know the origin of the gangsters."

"Where did you come from?" Sokov asked.

After Felix mentioned a place name, he continued: "Our battalion is practicing airborne operations. Suddenly we received a telegram from the army headquarters, saying that the train you were riding on was attacked by bandits at the border of Hungary and Austria. Let's We rushed to the rescue immediately. I asked the pilot to change direction and airborne nearby."

After hearing this, Sokov finally understood why Malinen could confidently say that reinforcements would arrive within a quarter of an hour. That's because the airborne battalion happened to be conducting parachuting training nearby. After flying for a few more minutes, they arrived at the location where the train was hijacked.

"Major Felix, what section does your battalion belong to?"

"Comrade General, 7th Guards Airborne Division."

"I wonder which army this division belongs to?" Sokov continued to ask.

"It belongs to the 4th Guards Army, Comrade General."

"Major Felix, let's get acquainted again." Sokov stretched out his hand to Felix and said in a friendly tone: "I am General Sokov, the new commander of the Guards Army. I really didn't expect that, I encountered danger on the road, and the person who saved me in the end was actually my subordinate.”

"You are the new commander!" After confirming Sokov's identity, Felix quickly took a step back, straightened his back and raised his hand to salute Sokov: "Hello, comrade commander, I can serve you. It’s our honor.”

After chatting for a while, Sokov asked the real question: "Can we rush to Vienna immediately?"

Felix shook his head: "No, Comrade Commander. The railway ahead has been damaged, and the locomotive cannot continue to work. In addition, various parts of the carriage are seriously damaged. Without maintenance, I am afraid it will not be able to continue running."

When Seryosha heard this, he said unconvinced: "Then what should we do? Just stop here?"

"There's no way." Felix looked at Seryosha standing in front of him and muttered to himself, who is this man with an assault rifle, wearing military uniforms, and no military rank? Although Seryosha’s identity was unclear, seeing him standing next to Sokov, I guessed that he and Sokov must have a very close relationship, so he answered truthfully: “We are all airborne troops and we do not carry any equipment to repair the railway. And the tools of the locomotive can only be determined by whether the troops arriving later have the corresponding tools. "

After Felix finished explaining to Seryosha, he turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, I am going to arrange for manpower to clean up the train. Do you allow me to leave?"

Sokov knew very well that by cleaning the train, he meant removing all the corpses from the train and cleaning the blood stains at the same time. He nodded quickly and said, "Allow it, you can go about your work."

After Felix left, Kopalova returned to Sokov.

Seeing her face turned pale, Sokov knew that she had seen something she shouldn't have seen, so he asked tentatively: "Kopalova, were Maxim and the others killed?"

"Yes, Misha, they are all dead." Kopalova wiped her tears and said: "I really didn't expect that those gangsters were so cruel and actually killed almost everyone in the car. If I hadn't been with you If we live together, we may die like them at the gunpoint of the gangsters.”

Sokov put his hand on Kopalova's shoulder and comforted her and said: "Kopalova, when we arrive in Vienna, you will call the newspaper office and tell them about the murder of the other reporters and ask them to Send someone over to set up a press station as soon as possible.”

"Misha, until new reporters arrive, I can only stay at your place temporarily. You won't drive me away, right?"

"How could that be possible?" Sokov said with a smile: "You are willing to live with me. I wish you could live there, so why would I drive you away?"

"That's good." Kopalova nodded and said happily, "Then I'll feel relieved."

When Felix was taking his airborne barracks to clear the train, Vaserigov came over and reported: "Comrade Commander, another support force has arrived. This force is also equipped with two tanks and five armored vehicles. If If you want to get to Vienna as soon as possible, I suggest you take an armored vehicle or tank there so that you don’t have to worry about being attacked by the enemy again on the road.”

"I think it's better not to use it." Sokov shook his head and rejected Vaserigov's proposal: "If the superiors knew our current situation, they would definitely send someone to repair the railway and the locomotive. I believe it won't take long for us to You can start again.”

Seeing that Sokov was unwilling to leave in a tank or armored vehicle, Vaserigov could not say anything more and could only leave in silence.

The new troop commander brought with him a radio operator, who carried a high-power radio on his back.

The commander came to Sokov, raised his hand in salute and asked: "Are you the new commander of the 4th Guards Army, General Sokov?"

"Yes, I am Sokov." Sokov asked, "What's the matter?"

"Commander General Malinin wants to speak to you, Comrade General!"

Sokov took the earphone handed over by the operator, put it on, and said into the microphone: "Hello, General Malinin, I am Sokov."

"Misha, I'm so happy to hear your voice." Malinen asked with concern: "Were you not injured in the attack just now?"

"No, General Malinin." Sokov replied: "I came to Vienna to take office this time, accompanied by five guards. When the gangsters began to loot the train, it was they who successfully blocked the gangsters' attack and used flexible tactics. Tactics, many gangsters were eliminated. It is precisely because of their existence that I was able to see the reinforcements you sent alive."

"Misha, after I learned that you were in danger, I was very anxious. I quickly contacted the subordinate units to see who could rush to join you as soon as possible." Ma Lining said: "Later, my deputy told me that according to the daily training arrangements, An airborne battalion will conduct airborne training today. If this unit is not far away, you can order them to come to support you. "

When Malinen said this, he paused for a moment and then continued: "Misha, do you need my help now?"

"The gangsters bloodbathed the train, and there were only more than 30 survivors of the entire train, including me and my men." Sokov said: "Now the railway in front has been destroyed, and the locomotive is also unable to move due to damage. We We can only stay where we are for the time being.”

"Oh, the railway and the locomotive were damaged?" Ma Lining asked in surprise: "Are there any railway employees among the people who rushed to the rescue?"

"No, Comrade General." Sokov replied simply: "Neither the airborne barracks nor the newly arrived troops carry the tools to repair the locomotive and lay the rails. Before the arrival of the railway workers, I am afraid we will not be able to Get out of here."

"Misha, do you think this is okay?" Malinin asked Sokov in a negotiating tone: "I will send you a group of professional railway workers immediately, but you don't have to sit idle. There should be people near where you park. The railway workers' track team. Send someone to contact them to see if they can provide you with some help."

Sokov felt that what Malinin said was very reasonable, and nodded quickly: "Okay, General Malinin, I will send someone to check as soon as possible."

After ending the call with Malinin, Sokov returned the earphone and microphone to the operator, and then said to the commander: "Comrade commander, General Malinin just said that there should be a railway workers' line nearby, so let's We sent people to find railway workers and asked them to help us repair the locomotive and lay the tracks first, so that we can leave here soon."

But after listening to Sokov's words, the commander said with a serious face: "Comrade General, on the way we came, we did see a railway track team, but unfortunately, the railway workers in the track room were all killed by bandits. All killed."

Hearing what the commander said, the muscles on Sokov's face twitched twice: "What, all the railway workers in the road class were killed by bandits?"

"Well, that's right." The commander nodded and continued, "According to my guess, even if the gangsters can't stop your train here, as long as all the workers in the road maintenance team die, once a train is coming, there will be no one to move the rails, and then there may be a collision between the two trains."

Sokof walked to the window and saw Felix busy under the car, and hurriedly called him: "Major Felix!"

Hearing Sokov's shout, Felix hurriedly stood at attention, looked up at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, do you have any instructions?"

"Major, please send a few soldiers to go back in the direction of the train. I remember there is a road maintenance room a few kilometers away from here, and there are many railway workers in it." Sokov ordered the other party: "Please ask them to come over to help us repair the locomotive and lay the tracks."

"Okay, comrade commander, I'll send someone over right away." After that, Felix called an officer and began to give orders to the other party.

Watching the officers and soldiers sent by Felix walking away along the railroad tracks, Seryosha asked worriedly, "Misha, are the workers in the road crew we saw on the way here still alive?"

Hearing Seryosha's guess, Sokov felt heavy-hearted. Since the bandits could kill the railway workers of one road crew, it seemed natural to massacre another. Fortunately, with or without the assistance of the road crew workers, the impact was not too great. At most, they would arrive in Vienna a few hours later.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Felix, who received a report from his subordinates, ran onto the train and reported to Sokov with a heavy heart: "Comrade Commander, my subordinates reported to me that all the workers in the squad were dead. He checked the bodies and found that they were killed by submachine gun fire. I guess it was done by the gang of bandits who were annihilated."

"Major, your guess is correct." Sokov said to Felix: "The commander of another unit told me that they passed a track team on the way here. All the railway workers inside were dead. It should be the bandits who did it."

"Damn bandits, so cruel." Felix gritted his teeth and said: "I will interrogate the captured bandits later and find out where their bandit nest is. I will take people to wipe them out."

Felix reminded Sokov that although many bandits were eliminated today, if the roots are not removed, they will grow again in the spring breeze. Today, we eliminated this group of bandits, but we didn't take down their lair. It won't be long before they come back and harm more innocent people.

After realizing this, Sokov said to Felix: "Major, this group of bandits is always a nuisance. No matter what method you use, you must find out where their lair is from the captured bandits."

"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Felix assured Sokov: "No matter how tight-lipped those bandits are, I will make them tell me the information I want."