Red Moscow

When the two Sokovs pushed the last cart of documents out, Runev also left the room and locked the door.

Arriving at the parking lot, Sokov was about to unload the car when he was stopped by Lunev: "Misha, your mission has been completed. Leave the rest to my people."

"Comrade Lunev, let's go back first." Sokov raised his hand and saluted Lunev: "I wish you a safe journey!"

After Luniev returned the courtesy, he held Sokov's hand and said in a friendly manner: "Misha, I hope we can meet again in the near future."

"Yes, Comrade Lunev." Sokov secretly thought to himself that he and you were partners in the last time he traveled through time. I wonder if we can be partners again this time.

When Sokov and the guards returned to the entrance of the combat department, Vlasov was already standing at the door.

Seeing the two people rushing over, Vlasov asked with a frosty face: "Where did you two go? Didn't I tell you to wait for me here?"

Seeing that Vlasov was angry, the guard hurriedly defended himself and said: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, there was a commander just now..."

Before the guard could finish speaking, Sokov interrupted him and took the initiative to admit his mistake to Vlasov: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, we were wrong. I apologize to you."

Vlasov actually knew in his heart that his two subordinates who were staying outside the door must have been captured by someone and sent to some department to help. If the guard really told the whole story, he might get scolded by himself; but now Sokov took the initiative to admit his mistake and gave himself a step up in public, so he just said: "Follow me back to the army headquarters. I want to take over command of the troops as soon as possible."

Since Vlasov serves as the commander of the 37th Group Army, he also serves as the commander of the Kiev garrison, so his headquarters is not far from the front army headquarters building.

The three of them came out of the building, passed through the various fortifications outside the building, and walked towards the building where the garrison headquarters is located. Vlasov, who was walking at the front, suddenly slowed down and turned to ask Sokov : "Captain Sokov, tell me, can these defenses outside the building be effective in the face of a German attack?"

Sokov hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously: "Comrade General, do you want to hear the truth?"

"Nonsense, since I'm asking you this, I definitely want to hear the truth." Vlasov said in an encouraging tone: "Just tell me, even if you are wrong, I won't blame you."

Since Vlasov said this, Sokov naturally had no scruples: "Can't stop it!"

"Why?"

"Although there are many fortifications built on the road leading to the front army headquarters building, according to my observation, they are all sandbag fortifications, plus some wooden fences with barbed wire; in terms of weapon configuration, except for a few Maxim heavy machine gun and a dozen rotary machine guns In addition, they all have rifles or submachine guns. With such fortifications and equipment, if the attacking enemy is just ordinary infantry, they may be able to withstand it for a while. But when the Germans attack, tanks are used to cover the infantry charge. I don't think this kind of fortifications and equipment are used. , can stop German tanks."

After listening to Sokov's story, Vlasov nodded slightly, and then said: "The garrison headquarters is not far from here. Since you know the weaknesses of the fortifications, you will be responsible for strengthening the peripheral defense of our headquarters."

The war was about to begin, and Sokov did not think that his level could compare with those professional engineers. He wanted to refuse, but when he saw Vlasov staring at him intently, he seemed not to want to refuse his proposal, and also I could only reluctantly say: "Comrade General, I will do my best."

Arriving at the gate of the garrison headquarters, the three Vlasovs were stopped by the sentry at the door. A second lieutenant wearing a red armband came over and said politely: "Comrade General, this is the garrison headquarters. If you want to enter, Please show your ID."

Seeing that the sentry on duty at the door actually asked Vlasov to show his ID, the guard immediately became anxious: "Do you know who he is?"

But as soon as his words left his mouth, he was stopped by Vlasov: "The sentry did the right thing. You need to show your ID to enter these departments." After saying that, he took out his ID and handed it over.

The second lieutenant took the certificate and did not check it immediately. Instead, he looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Captain, where is your certificate?"

Sokov had only been in the army for a few days, and he basically stayed in the wilderness. He lost contact with his superiors. Where could he get a military card? So I could only reply: "I'm sorry, Comrade Second Lieutenant, I don't have any documents."

Hearing what Sokov said, not only the second lieutenant was stunned, but also Vlasov was stunned for a moment. But he quickly figured out what was going on, and then explained to the second lieutenant: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, my subordinate is in a special situation. It is normal not to have a military ID. You should see my ID first."

The second lieutenant opened Vlasov's military ID card and was dumbfounded after seeing the name on it clearly. He had been informed that the newly appointed commander of the 37th Group Army and garrison commander General Vlasov would take office today and asked him to do a good job in reception. Unexpectedly, he stopped the other party at the door and even asked to check his ID.

The second lieutenant quickly returned Vlasov's military ID card to the other party, and at the same time said with sincerity: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I didn't know that you were the new commander, so I blocked you from the door. Please forgive me for my recklessness." ”

Vlasov took the certificate, raised his hand and patted the second lieutenant on the shoulder, and said kindly: "Comrade second lieutenant, you are doing the right thing, and you are also performing your duties. There is a conscientious person like you at the gate of the headquarters. Sentinel, I’m very satisfied.”

When Vlasov praised him, the second lieutenant flushed with excitement and said excitedly: "Thank you, Comrade Commander, for the compliment!"

Although Vlasov was the garrison commander of Kiev, he was first the commander of the 37th Army. Therefore, he asked the second lieutenant about the location of the army headquarters before taking Sokov into the building in front of him.

Arriving at the Army Group Headquarters, the place was bustling with people and chaos. The communication soldiers kept calling one code after another, and the operators were desperately sending and receiving telegrams. Some of the staff stood in front of the map beside the wall, with arrows representing the strength of the Soviet and German sides; some gathered around the long table and looked at the battle report in front of them.

A staff officer spotted the three Vlasovs and immediately came over and asked politely: "Comrade General, who are you looking for?"

"Comrade Staff Officer," Sokov glanced at the other party's military rank, which was only a lieutenant, and then stepped forward and said: "This is the newly appointed commander of the 37th Group Army and commander of the Kiev Garrison, Major General Vlasov."

"Hello, Comrade Commander!" After learning Vlasov's identity, the staff officer quickly stood at attention, raised his hand to salute him, and said respectfully: "Comrade Chief of Staff has been waiting for you, I will take you there. ,plz follow me."

The staff officer led several people to a long table in another room and said to a colonel sitting at the table: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the new commander is here!"

"What, the new commander has arrived?" When the colonel heard what the staff said, he immediately jumped up from his seat: "Where is he?"

"I'm here," Vlasov said, standing behind the colonel.

The colonel turned his head and saw Vlasov standing behind him. He quickly raised his hand and saluted: "Hello, comrade commander, I am Colonel Del, chief of staff."

"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Vlasov shook hands with the other party and asked politely: "Do I need to check the appointment letter given to me by my superiors?"

"No need, Comrade Commander." Colonel Del shook his head and said, "The fact that you can enter this building means that the officer on duty at the door must have checked your identity."

"What's the situation like now?"

"It's terrible, Comrade Commander." Colonel Del said with a serious expression: "Our defense line is being attacked by the German army..."

Vlasov interrupted his nonsense: "Be specific."

"Comrade Commander, please allow me to introduce you to the situation of the group army first." Colonel Del said: "Our group army was established in the first ten days of this month on the basis of the Kiev fortification area and the reserve team of the headquarters of the Supreme Command. In charge of the 147th, 171st, 175th, 206th, and 17th infantry After the formation of the 284th and 295th divisions, as well as the Kiev fortification area, artillery and other regiments and units, Sviatilinona, Svaromiye, west of Kiev, along the left bank of the Dnieper River. Extend to the north and deploy defenses along the Meridian line to resist the German attack. "

"What areas are being attacked now?" Vlasov continued to ask.

Colonel Del pointed to the area on the left bank of the Dnieper River and said to Vlasov: "Our 295th Infantry Division deployed in the left bank area has been under crazy attack by the German army since yesterday. Their front-line positions were once occupied this morning. Fortunately, the division chief of staff personally led a battalion to counterattack, blocked the gap, and wiped out all the enemies who broke in. "

"Good job." Vlasov nodded, and then asked: "What about other areas?"

"Fightings are also going on in other areas..."

But before Colonel Del finished speaking, Vlasov stopped him.

Vlasov stood up straight and said to the staff officer standing aside: "Comrade staff officer, this is Captain Sokov. Since he has not been in the army for a long time, he has not had time to apply for a military card. Please take him to the relevant department to apply for it. "

When the staff left with Sokov and the guards, Colonel Del asked with some confusion: "Comrade Commander, you just said that the captain had not been in the army for a long time, so how did he get the Lenin Medal on his chest? You know, although many people in our entire army have received medals, not a single Lenin medal can be found."

Seeing that Colonel Del was so interested in Sokov, Vlasov told him about Sokov's achievements.

After hearing this, Del's face was full of shock: "Oh my God, he captured 12 German tanks alone. If we had a hundred such soldiers, I'm afraid the Germans would have no tanks available."

Vlasov grinned and said: "On the way here just now, he told me that our defenses are too crude and will not last long if we encounter an assault by German armored forces."

Unexpectedly, Del seemed to disapprove of Vlasov's words: "Comrade Commander, I think he is too worried. Our army has nearly 800,000 troops in the Kiev area. How can it not stop the enemy?" Attack?"

Fortunately, when Colonel Del said this, Sokov was not standing nearby, otherwise a picture would have appeared in his mind: a big bald man standing in front of a battle map hanging on the wall, saying in a thick dialect: Eight hundred thousand versus six hundred thousand, the advantage is mine!

At this time, Sokov, led by his staff, went to the Personnel Office to apply for a military certificate.

On the way, the staff officer asked curiously: "Comrade Captain, I don't understand, how come you don't have a military ID?"

Facing the staff officer's question, Sokov scratched the back of his head and said with some embarrassment: "Comrade staff officer, I'm not afraid of your laughter. I have only been in the army for less than a week, and my unit was broken up and I lost contact with my superiors. The small unit we contacted had no place to apply for military certificates.”

"What, what?" The staff officer couldn't believe his ears when he heard what Sokov said: "Comrade Captain, you said you have been in the army for less than a week?"

"Yes, in less than a week?"

"How is this possible?" The staff officer pointed to the military rank on Sokov's collar and the Order of Lenin on his chest, and asked with disbelief: "If you have been in the army for less than a week, how can you obtain the rank of captain and represent the highest rank?" Where is the honorary Order of Lenin?”

Facing the staff's doubts, before Sokov could finish speaking, the guard next to him excitedly told about Sokov's amazing achievements.

After listening to this, the staff officer gave Sokov a thumbs up: "Comrade Captain, you are great. I believe you will be able to achieve greater feats in the next battle."

When I came to the personnel department, there was a captain sitting behind the desk in the room. When he saw the staff member coming in, he quickly stood up and greeted: "Why do you have time to come over today to visit? How is the situation outside?"

"Not good." The staff officer shook his head, then pulled Sokov to the captain and said to him: "This is Captain Sokov, who came here with the new commander, General Vlasov. Since he has no soldiers It will be inconvenient for him to go anywhere in the future. Please help him get a new military ID."

The captain stretched out his hand to Sokov: "Comrade Captain, where is your original military ID?"

"I'm sorry, Comrade Captain, I don't have a military ID."

The captain frowned slightly, returned to his seat, took out the registration book, and began to ask: "Your name and rank!"

"Mikhail Mikhailovich Sokov. Rank of Captain!"

After the captain recorded these data, he continued to ask: "When did you join the army?"

When the captain asked Sokov this question, the staff officer next to him had a half-smile expression on his face. He wanted to see how his friend would react after knowing the exact date of Sokov's enlistment.

"August 19th!"

"What year?" The captain didn't notice anything unusual and continued to ask.

"1941!"

When the captain was about to write this date in the register, he suddenly realized something. He couldn't help but trembled, and then raised his voice and asked: "What, Comrade Captain, you said that you enlisted in the army on August 19, 1941?"

"That's right." Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "That's the date."

"How is this possible?" The captain was about to collapse: "How is it possible that you have been in the army for less than a week?"