Red Moscow

After two hours of march, Sokov and Vlasov took the remaining defeated soldiers to a small city called Berezhan.

Before the outbreak of the war, this city had more than 6,000 permanent residents, because the residents in the city basically worked in Kiev. They took a small train to work in the city every morning and took the bus home in the evening. Therefore, there are only some restaurants, clothing stores, a hospital, and a cinema in the city, and there are no pillar industries at all.

After the war broke out, some young adults joined the army as soldiers, while others stayed in the factories where they worked and joined the militia. The old, weak, women and children who stayed in the city were all evacuated to other places. When the Battle of Kiev broke out, this place had become an empty city with no human habitation.

When Sokov and the others entered the city, they saw that the buildings on both sides of the street were filled with commanders and fighters whose faces were filled with smoke. They must have fled from Kiev. Their appearance in the face of Sokov did not cause any sensation. The officers and soldiers with numb expressions gathered together in small groups, chatting and smoking, and no one glanced at this unit.

When Sokov and the others were approaching the church in the city center, an officer sitting on the roadside smoking suddenly saw Vlasov and Colonel Del in the crowd. He quickly threw away the cigarette in his hand and stood up and shouted. : "Everyone stand up!"

Following his shout, a group of commanders and fighters sitting on the roadside stood up and stood at attention.

The officer quickly ran to Sokov and others, raised his hand and saluted Vlasov: "Hello, Comrade General!"

After Vlasov raised his hand to return the salute, he asked expressionlessly: "Comrade Major, which department are you in?"

"Comrade General," the officer replied respectfully, "I am Major Mira, the regimental chief of staff of the 851st Regiment of the 284th Infantry Division."

"Where is your regiment commander?" Colonel Del asked first.

Major Mira's expression darkened: "Sacrificed!"

"Where are the deputy commander and political commissar of the regiment?"

Major Mira lowered his head and replied in a serious tone: "He also died."

"Major Mira," Vlasov asked, "how many men are left in your regiment?"

Mira raised her head and glanced at Vlasov, then pointed with her hand at the soldiers standing on the roadside: "All the living members of our regiment are here."

Vlasov's throat squirmed, and then he asked with difficulty: "Are there only so many people left?"

"Yes, Comrade General." Major Mira nodded and said, "Including me, there are a total of 67 people in the whole regiment."

"Major, do you know where the headquarters is in the city?" Colonel Del asked again.

"No, there is no headquarters." Mira replied: "At least I didn't find the headquarters after I entered the city."

"I see there are many troops in the city. Isn't there a unified command?" Vlasov asked with a frown.

"That's right, Comrade General." Mira replied in a positive tone: "As far as I know, these troops all retreated from different places, with many numbers, some like us, sixty or seventy people; Very few, just two or three people.”

"Comrade Commander," Colonel Del waited for Mira to finish speaking, then turned to Vlasov and said: "We will immediately take in the troops, restore their organization, and establish new defenses."

Regarding Colonel Del's proposal, Vlasov did not immediately express his position. Instead, he folded his hands on his chest and stared at the church in front of him in a daze, seeming to consider whether he should follow the advice of the chief of staff to form a new defense here.

Seeing that Vlasov didn't speak, Colonel Del turned his eyes to Sokov: "Captain Sokov, what do you think?"

Major Mira next to him saw an expression of astonishment on his face when he saw that Colonel Del actually asked the captain Sokov for his opinion.

From the moment he entered this small city, Sokov noticed that the commanders and fighters on the roadside were dejected and had no fighting spirit at all. Troops that have lost their morale, even if they are pieced together, they may not have much combat effectiveness at all. Establishing a new defense here is tantamount to concentrating personnel and allowing the Germans to come directly to capture prisoners.

Sokov shook his head and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think it is necessary to build defenses here. It is better to contain the troops and move them to the Yagotin area to strengthen the defenses there."

"Captain Sokov, it is a crime to abandon this city without a fight." Colonel Del waited for Sokov to finish and then said with a straight face: "You will be sent to a military court."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't scare Captain Sokov." Unexpectedly, Vlasov supported Sokov and expressed his attitude: "The number of troops that can be accommodated in the city now is only 300 at most. There are many people, plus the personnel we brought over, the total strength does not exceed 500. Not only are we small in number, but we also lack sufficient ammunition. Our troops are disorganized and their morale is low. I don’t think the defense established under such circumstances can. Block the fierce German offensive."

"Then what should we do?" Colonel Del heard what Vlasov said and realized the seriousness of the problem: "Abandon this city?"

Vlasov looked around, was silent for a long time, nodded slowly and said, "Yes, under the current circumstances, we can only give up on this city."

"Comrade Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov lost no time in saying: "Can I tell you my opinion?"

"Go ahead, Sokov." Vlasov said sensibly: "I think you must have your own ideas."

"As the commander comrade just said, there are less than 500 troops in the city now. Not only are they demoralized and morale is low, but they also lack sufficient ammunition. Even if they are deployed in the city, they may not be able to hold out for long in the face of the German attack." Sokov said: "It is better to abandon this city and take these troops to Yagotin, where new defenses will be arranged. I think they can play a greater role."

"But it is more than 20 kilometers away from Yagotin." Colonel Del glanced at the surrounding troops and said to Vlasov in a low voice: "Our soldiers have traveled such a long way and have not eaten. They are already tired and hungry. If they continue to march, I am worried that the troops will collapse halfway."

"Major Mira," Vlasov felt that what Colonel Del said made sense. If the troops continued to march, they might collapse. But staying here was not a solution. The residents of the city had already evacuated and there was no way to get supplies. Instead of waiting for death, he might as well try his luck. He turned and asked Mira: "Do you know where the train station is?"

"Yes, Comrade General."

"Take us there." Before Vlasov left with Major Mira, he told Colonel Del and Sokov: "I'll go see if there are any locomotives and carriages in the train station. After you have received the troops, bring them to the station."

Sokov didn't trust Major Mira very much. Who knew if the Germans broke into the city at this moment, would he abandon Vlasov and run away with his men? So he called Lieutenant Zhukov and told him: "Comrade Lieutenant, take a few people to protect the safety of Comrade Commander." After that, he assigned Yegor, Romanov, Dyubro and Chulsin to him.

Seeing that the people assigned to him by Sokov were all comrades who escaped from Kiev together, Zhukov felt Sokov's trust in him, nodded vigorously, and assured him: "Don't worry, Comrade Captain, I will definitely protect the commander's safety."

The work of taking in stragglers is not easy. The successive defeats of the Soviet army have made many soldiers lose confidence. Therefore, in the face of the persuasion of Colonel Del and Sokov, they all remained silent, standing still with their feet rooted, unwilling to move at all.

Sokov knew that a forced melon is not sweet. Many soldiers have no intention of continuing to fight. Even if they are forcibly incorporated into the team, they can't play a big role. If the battle situation is unfavorable, these people may take the lead in escaping, disrupting the morale of the army, and thus causing the collapse of the defense line.

It was for this reason that Sokov said on his own initiative: "Officers and soldiers who are willing to go with us, stand behind me. Those who don't want to go, put down your weapons, take off your uniforms, and then you can leave freely."

"Captain Sokov, do you know what you are saying?" Colonel Del heard what Sokov said and was immediately angry: "You are destroying my military morale!"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov knew that his approach was difficult for Colonel Del to accept, but in order to complete the task of receiving the troops, Sokov still patiently explained to him: "These people have become panicked under the attack of the Germans. Letting them continue to stay in our troops will not only fail to strengthen our strength, but will become an unstable factor. If one day on the battlefield, they see the fierce enemy offensive, and because of cowardice, they take the lead in fleeing, which will lead more people to flee, thus causing our army's defense line to collapse. Do you want to see this happen?"

Colonel Del stopped talking, just waved his hand at Sokov, indicating that he should receive these fleeing soldiers according to his wishes.

Seeing that Colonel Del did not object, Sokov spoke to the soldiers again: "I will give you one last chance. Those who are willing to go with us, stand behind me. Those who are unwilling to go, leave your weapons and uniforms, and go wherever you want. I will give you three minutes to think about it. If you have not made a decision, I will assume that you are willing to go with us. Whoever dares to leave the team will be treated as a deserter, and I will enforce battlefield discipline without mercy."

After a short silence, many soldiers walked behind Sokov, saying that they were willing to leave with Sokov. But most of the soldiers still stayed where they were and hesitated.

"There is one last minute."

Hearing Sokov's shout, a soldier took off his uniform and put it on the ground with his rifle and backpack. As he walked to the side, he looked back from time to time, fearing that Sokov would shoot him from behind. After finally moving to an intersection, he saw Sokov still standing there without moving, so he ran away and soon disappeared without a trace.

With a leader, more people will follow suit. After a while, the uniforms, backpacks and weapons in front of Sokov were piled up like a mountain.

Colonel Del's heart was bleeding at the moment. In just a few minutes, more than a hundred soldiers had fled.

Although Sokov felt a little disappointed when he saw so many soldiers leaving, he felt more at ease when he saw more people staying. He turned around and said loudly to the soldiers behind him: "Comrades, let these cowards leave. The more they leave, the better. Now, pick up the weapons and backpacks they left behind, re-arm yourselves, and prepare for a new battle with the enemy."

Sokov and Colonel Del led people to the train station and found Vlasov in the stationmaster's office. They reported to him: "Comrade Commander, the troops in the city have been accommodated. I wonder when we can set off?"

Vlasov walked out of the stationmaster's office and saw the troops lined up on the platform. After roughly counting the number of people, he couldn't help but frowned: "Chief of Staff, Captain Sokov, this number seems a little small?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, the number is indeed a little small." After saying this, Colonel Del turned his head to look at Sokov on the side, indicating that he should explain to Vlasov the reason for the small number of people.

"Comrade Commander, please allow me to explain to you." After getting Vlasov's permission, Sokov told him his thoughts in detail, and finally said: "The factors that determine victory or defeat on the battlefield are not only the number of people, but also the morale and spirit of the army. If those who have completely lost their will and courage to fight are allowed to go to the battlefield, it will be a very dangerous thing for the entire army."

After listening to Sokov's story, Vlasov was silent for a long time, and finally nodded slowly and said: "Captain Sokov, you make sense. If those panicked elements are allowed to stay in the army, it will affect the morale of the army. Your approach is completely correct."

In fact, when Sokov stated the facts to Vlasov, Colonel Del next to him was sweating in his palms, worried that he would be scolded by Vlasov, and was thinking about how to come out to make peace. But he didn't expect Vlasov to be so reasonable and agreed with Sokov's approach.

After a pause, Colonel Del asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I wonder if you have found the carriage that transported the troops?"

"Yes." Vlasov nodded and said: "Although the residents in the city have been evacuated, many railway employees are still left. Before you came, I talked to the stationmaster, and he said that there is a locomotive and five freight cars in the station that can take us to the Yagotin area."

"What about the stationmaster?" Colonel Del looked into the stationmaster's room and saw that there was no one inside. He couldn't help but ask curiously: "He is not in the stationmaster's room. Where did he go?"

"He went to find the train driver." Vlasov said: "Without the train driver, the train can't move."

As he was talking, a middle-aged man in a railway uniform ran over from a distance. He shouted to Vlasov from a distance: "Comrade General, the train driver has been found. The freight car is parked at platform 5. After the train is filled with coal and water, it can set off. Have your people arrived? If so, I will take you to platform 5."

"Comrade Stationmaster, our people are all here and can go over at any time." Vlasov turned to Sokov and said: "Captain Sokov, take the soldiers to platform 5 to board the train!"

"Yes, Comrade Commander!" Sokov answered loudly.