Red Moscow

Although Sokov had entered the basement many times, he only knew that bullets, grenades and guns were piled near the stairs because he had no lighting tools. He had no idea what was in the other corners. Since the captain had a flashlight and was going to come down to check, he followed him down.

"Sokof," the captain saw Sokov follow him into the basement and turned his head to ask, "How did you know there was an arsenal here?"

"I also heard it from a neighbor." Sokov continued to use his perfunctory words to Andrei to prevaricate the captain: "He has participated in the construction of many such national defense fortifications. He said that in order to ensure the supply of ammunition supplies, there are usually hidden ammunition depots not far from the permanent fortifications, which store supplies that can last for a period of time."

"Well, Sokov, you come here many times, do you know what is in it?"

"Except for the piles of supplies near the stairs, I can be sure that they are bullets, grenades and guns. The rest of the place was not checked because the light was too bad."

"Don't worry, I have a flashlight here, and we can find out what is there right away."

After a check, the captain found food and medicine in the corner.

Probably for easy preservation, all stored here are biscuits and some canned fruits. The medicines are morphine, iodine, alcohol and some medical equipment.

After finding food, Sokov hurried to the stairs and looked up and shouted outside: "Hey, is anyone there?"

Hearing Sokov's shout, Andrei immediately came over, "Sov, what can I do for you?"

"We found food and medicine downstairs." Sokov said, "Hurry up and bring a few people down to move them."

Knowing that food and medicine were found in the basement, the soldiers outside cheered and followed Andrei.

Sov led a few people to the captain's position, and the captain gave them orders: "Andrei, this box contains medicine, you take it out and give it to the medical staff first. Comrades, the boxes next to it are all filled with biscuits, you all move them out."

While Andrei and others were carrying food and medicine, the captain continued to use a flashlight to check the supplies piled in the basement. Sokov followed him closely, trying to find out what weapons were available as soon as possible.

The captain used a flashlight to illuminate a pile of things covered by canvas in the corner, and said to Sokov beside him: "Sokov, go and open the canvas quickly, I think there may be good things underneath."

Sokov stepped forward quickly and opened the canvases one by one.

With the help of the flashlight, Sokov saw the weapons clearly, and his face showed an ecstatic expression. It turned out to be four Maxim heavy machine guns, two 82mm mortars, and a 45mm anti-tank gun.

The captain came over and said in surprise: "I didn't expect that there are so many good things. With these equipment, even if the same number of German troops attack, I am sure I can stop them."

Sokov couldn't help shaking his head when he heard the captain say this. You know, although the company was reorganized and the quality of the personnel was uneven, it was too cowardly for a force of more than 70 people to have so much equipment and could only stop the attack of the same number of German troops. If I were to take command, I would be able to destroy the enemy even if the number of people was equal, not to mention twice as many.

"Since there are heavy machine guns, there must be light machine guns nearby." The captain shone his flashlight to other locations: "For our company, light machine guns may be more suitable."

Sokov agreed with the captain's statement. Half of the soldiers in this company are recruits, who can't even use rifles, let alone machine guns. Moreover, the operation of the Maxim heavy machine gun is more complicated than that of the rotary light machine gun. If a recruit is asked to act as a machine gunner, maybe the ammunition belt will be used up and no target will be hit. Sokov once killed dozens of enemies with the Maxim heavy machine gun, but since he became the brigade commander, he has no chance to use this weapon again. Sokov secretly calculated that he would ask the captain to arrange for someone to carry a Maxim heavy machine gun out later, and he could act as a shooter and suppress the enemy with firepower in the battle.

There were indeed quite a few rotary machine guns next to them. Sokov counted them and found that there were twelve.

The captain said to Sokov, "Sokov, go out and see if the people who moved things have returned. If they have, ask them to drag these light and heavy machine guns and anti-tank guns out and place them on the battlefield."

"Wait a minute, Captain." Sokov stopped the captain after hearing what he said: "The anti-tank guns can be pulled out. After all, the Germans may send out tanks or armored vehicles to attack the group of bunkers we occupy. As for the light and heavy machine guns, only two rotary machine guns and one Maxim heavy machine gun are needed."

"Why?" The captain frowned and asked, "So many weapons are not used to fight the enemy, but are thrown here for decoration?"

"Captain," Sokov looked at the captain and said, "Most of the soldiers in the company are recruits like me who can't even shoot. Machine guns are much more difficult to operate than rifles. Even if they are equipped with these weapons, I'm afraid they will not be able to play any role on the battlefield. So I suggest taking out two rotary machine guns and one Maxim heavy machine gun, which is enough."

"Sokov, you said that you have never been a soldier and have no military training, but your behavior today is not like it." The captain said: "I heard Andre said that when you encountered those two German soldiers , you killed them all with two shots. I'm afraid even I can't compare to this kind of shooting."

Sokov blushed. Fortunately, the light in the basement was too dark and the captain could not see the change in the expression on his face, so he continued to lie shamelessly: "My marksmanship was all practiced on the shooting range. The two men at that time The German soldier was standing next to the motorcycle dozens of meters away, smoking. It was a perfect target. It would be strange if he missed it. "

After listening to Sokov's explanation, the captain did not speak, but continued to look at the weapons in the basement.

After just checking the weapons in the basement, Andre and others returned to the basement and asked the captain for instructions: "Comrade Captain, what else should be moved out?"

"Did all the medicines go to the health workers?"

"Yes." Andre nodded and said, "Captain, didn't you see the hygienist's expression when he saw the batch of medicines? He almost shed tears. He said that if we could find this batch of medicines yesterday, maybe we Two less wounded people will be sacrificed." As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously glanced at Sokov who was standing next to him.

Because the light was too dark, Sokov did not notice Andre's eyes on him, but took the initiative to introduce to the captain: "Captain, the light and heavy machine guns can be pulled out after a while, but the anti-tank guns must be pulled out first. You know, the Germans are opening the way with armored troops. If we don't have anti-tank guns, we can't stop their attack. "

"Sokov, what you said makes sense." After the captain waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he ordered Andrei: "You guys take that anti-tank gun out first, maybe it will be put to use soon."

Andre was also someone who had been on the battlefield, so he naturally understood the consequences of infantry facing enemy tanks without anti-tank weapons. He quickly agreed and called a few soldiers to move the anti-tank guns out of the basement first.

After several hours of work, the entire company of soldiers had been equipped with weapons and ammunition moved from the basement. The veterans who got the bullets and the recruits who got the weapons were all smiling.

Sokov asked people to move the heavy machine gun into the westernmost bunker, preparing to block the entire road with firepower from here. As for the anti-tank guns, the captain handed them over to Andre and two other veterans, who were responsible for dealing with the German armored forces.

After the equipment was distributed and they had eaten and drank enough, someone suggested to the captain: "Captain, look, the bunkers are overgrown with weeds because no one has been stationed there for a long time. Looking from a distance, I thought they were abandoned. How about we clean up the area and at least clear up the weeds nearby?”

When the man spoke, Sokov happened to be standing next to him. When he heard what he said, he was frightened. The bunkers are overgrown with weeds, and German troops passing by on the road will mistakenly think that no one is stationed here. After all, in the early days of the war, in the area occupied by the German army, there were a large number of such half-built defense fortifications with no one stationed there. But if you clean up the weeds nearby, doesn't it mean telling the Germans that Soviet troops are stationed here and you should be vigilant when passing by.

"Comrade Captain, I think the status quo of the bunker group should be maintained." Sokov rushed to say: "This way when enemies appear nearby, they will not have doubts about this place. When they pass by the road next to them with confidence and boldness, Only then can we catch them off guard and cause them greater casualties.”

After hearing what the two said, the captain looked at Sokov and then at the old subordinate. After thinking for a long time, he asked Andrei beside him: "Andrei, what do you think?"

Facing the question raised by the captain, Andrei pondered for a moment, and then answered decisively: "I think Sokov is right. We are stationed here to block the Germans rushing towards Kiev. If it is exposed prematurely, Once the target is reached, a single shelling by the German tanks is enough for us to drink a pot. If we don't clean up the weeds in the bunker group, the Germans passing by will think that this is another abandoned defense fortification. Thus entering our fire range unsuspectingly."

"Andre, what you said makes sense." The captain nodded and said, "You have the same idea as me. In order to avoid exposing our target, the weeds around the bunker group will not be cleared."

Sokov was quite happy to see that the captain had adopted his opinion. He was just worried that the other party would have a whim, so he organized everyone to do a general cleaning, clean up the weeds around the bunker group, and then re-strengthen the fortifications. At that time, not to mention the German scouts appearing nearby, even the reconnaissance planes flying over the sky can easily discover that Soviet troops are stationed in this group of bunkers on the roadside, and they will find a way to send them The troops came to pull out the nail and clear the road to Kiev.

"Sokov," even though Sokov had only joined the company for less than a day, the captain still had trust in him: "Tell me, what should we do next?"

"Of course it's training." Sokov said: "The company is basically made up of new recruits. Now that everyone has weapons and enough ammunition, we can let the veterans teach them how to use the weapons in their hands. In this way, when you see an enemy appear, you can calmly fight the enemy instead of running away in panic. "

The captain raised his hand to check the time, then said: "It's getting late today, let's take a rest. It won't be too late to train again tomorrow."

After everyone dispersed, they returned to their assigned bunkers.

Sokov returned to the bunker, and the deputy shooter assigned to him by the captain asked curiously: "Comrade Sokov, when do you think the Germans will appear?"

"It's hard to say." Although Sokov knew the time when the Battle of Kiev began, he couldn't know when the battles in some small places took place. Therefore, he could only shrug his shoulders and spread his hands in response to the other party's questions: "I'm not a senior commander, how can I know the movements of the Germans? So what we can do now is to wait here, wait for the superiors to give us orders, and wait for the Germans to appear."

The deputy shooter was called Alexei, a new recruit who had just joined the army yesterday. He looked at the gradually darkening sky outside the shooting hole and said gloomily: "I hope the Germans will never appear on the road outside, otherwise we can't stop them at all."

"Alexei, why do you say that?" Sokov looked at the other party and asked in surprise: "Have you seen Germans?"

"That's right." Alexei nodded and said in a positive tone: "I am from Zhitomir. I fled with my family before the Germans broke into the city. On the way to escape, we met the Germans. I was smart at the time and hid in a ditch on the side of the road, so I was not discovered by the Germans. The refugees who fled together were driven to a grassland by the Germans and then shot at them with machine guns."

Sokof raised his hand and patted the gun on the Maxim heavy machine gun, and said to Alexei: "Alexei, we have this. If the Germans don't come, it's fine. Once they come, I will definitely make them pay a heavy price."

But Alexei was obviously not as optimistic as Sokov. After listening, he just said lightly: "I hope so."

There were three other soldiers in the bunker, all of whom were ammunition handlers assigned to Sokov by the captain, but they were all leaning against the wall with their eyes closed at the moment, and they seemed to have no interest in the conversation between Sokov and Alexei.

Sokov chatted with Alexei for a few more words and found that this was a young man full of pessimism about the future. He knew that no matter what he said, the other party might not listen. In this case, why waste his breath. He found a place where no one was, and lay down to sleep in a more comfortable position.

After sleeping for an unknown period of time, Sokov was suddenly awakened by a strange sound. He sat up straight and listened carefully, and his face suddenly changed. According to his experience, it should be an armored unit advancing towards the location of the bunker group.

After listening for a while, he noticed that the sound was getting louder and louder. Sokov thought he should remind the captain and let the soldiers prepare for battle, so as not to be caught off guard by the Germans. He got up and walked out of the bunker and headed towards the captain's temporary command post.