Red Moscow

Sokov's idea was simple. Before the Yagotin area was completely lost, he would take in as many scattered defeated soldiers as possible to strengthen his own strength and prepare for the next breakout. But plans could not keep up with changes. Due to the fierce offensive of the German army, many areas were lost one after another. The small troops that escaped from Kiev had to bypass Yagotin and retreat to a safe area. At the same time, as the losses of the front-line troops increased, Colonel Del transferred a large number of personnel from Sokov's special company to strengthen the front line to strengthen the defense there.

Seeing that the special company, which had originally increased by 500 to 600 people, shrank to 40 or 50 people in an instant, Major Mira's face turned livid. After returning to the tent at the edge of the forest, he said to Sokov with a stern face: "Comrade Captain, we have worked hard for so many days and finally expanded the troops to 500 to 600 people. As a result, an order from the superiors took away our people."

Although Sokov was unwilling, considering that the front line needed more people to fight, no matter how emotional he was, he could only choose to obey the orders of his superiors. Seeing Major Mira complaining at this moment, he could only comfort him and said, "Major, since it is an order from the superiors, we can only obey it. Besides, the front line does need manpower now. If there are no soldiers, we can recruit more."

"Comrade Captain, if things were as simple as you imagined, it would be great." Mira said with a bitter face, "Our defense zone has been reduced little by little under the continuous attack of the enemy. Now even if there are officers and soldiers who escaped from Kiev, I am afraid they will not be able to pass through the German defense line and withdraw to us safely. Even if we want to take in more defeated soldiers, it is not easy."

Sokov did not speak, but he was thinking in his heart that the Yagotin area would be completely lost in two days. With the little force in his hands, it is simply a foolish dream to want to break out.

Just when he was worrying, the curtain was opened from outside, and then Lieutenant Zhukov rushed in: "Comrade Captain, Comrade Captain."

Sokov turned to face Zhukov, and seeing his happy face, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Lieutenant, what's the matter?"

"Comrade Captain, guess who's here?"

"Who's here?" Sokov muttered to himself. Since the small city of Yagotin where he was yesterday was subjected to crazy bombing and heavy artillery fire from the enemy, the headquarters withdrew from the city and set up camp in the forest outside the city. The only people who could come to him at this moment were Vlasov and the other three army group leaders. Colonel Del had just left not long ago and would definitely not come again. The only people who came could be Vlasov or Military Commissar Nikolsky: "Who is it? Commander or Military Commissar?"

Zhu Kewen shook his head and said, "It's not them, but someone else."

Sokov said impatiently, "Comrade Lieutenant, tell me directly who is here. I'm in a bad mood now and don't want to play any guessing games with you."

"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant." Major Mira also said beside him, "Tell us quickly who is here."

Zhu Kewen turned to face the outside of the tent and said, "Come in, Comrade Lieutenant."

The next moment, a second lieutenant officer without a military cap, with a bandage on his head and his face blackened by gunpowder smoke, walked in quickly from outside.

"Lieutenant," Mira looked at the person who came in and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

"Lieutenant Konstantin," before the other party answered, Sokov beside Mira had stepped forward a few steps, grabbed the second lieutenant's arm, and said excitedly, "It's you, Lieutenant Konstantin, are you still alive?"

"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant, I'm still alive."

The person who spoke was Lieutenant Konstantin who led people to block the German army outside the headquarters a few days ago. After Sokov led Vlasov and others to move, he thought he had died, but he didn't expect that he was standing in front of him alive now. Seeing the dead standing in front of him alive, Sokov couldn't help but lose his composure: "Weren't you surrounded by the Germans? How did you break out in the end?"

"Comrade Captain, not long after you left, the Germans bombarded our position. Unfortunately, I was knocked unconscious by the shells. When I woke up, I found myself lying in a pile of corpses." Constantine said: "I secretly crawled out of the pile of dead bodies and hid in a nearby building where there were no Germans. I guessed that you must have crossed the Dnieper River, so I also tried to get as close to the Dnieper River as possible to see if I could find a boat to cross the river.

During the time I stayed in the city, I joined other combat teams. Because we were too few in number and didn't have much advantage in street fighting, these combat teams were either dispersed or wiped out by the Germans. Fortunately, I was lucky and escaped every time..."

Although Constantine was standing in front of him, Sokov was still sweating for him when he heard him talk about the battles he had experienced in Kiev.

After waiting for the other party to finish his story, Mira asked, "How is the city now?"

Konstantin did not speak, but turned to look at Sokov, wanting to find out the identity of Major Mira first: "This is Major Mira, the commander we met in Berezan, and now the deputy commander of our special company."

Konstantin could not help showing a surprised expression on his face when he learned that the major, who was two ranks higher than Sokov, was actually Sokov's deputy. But he soon regained his composure and reported to the other party: "Report to Comrade Major, the surviving combat teams in the city are still fighting tenaciously. Yesterday, some soldiers of the Internal Affairs Force blew up several buildings on Khreshchatyk Street, where German officials from the Occupied Area Affairs Bureau were killed in the attack."

Hearing this, Sokov's eyebrows could not help but rise. He remembered that the attack Constantine mentioned took place on September 24, 1941. After the Internal Affairs Force completed the attack here, it continued to carry out sabotage operations nearby, causing explosions and fire accidents in the next few days. Kiev citizens kept pouring water on their roofs to avoid being affected by the fire. No one went to put out the fire, and it lasted for four days and four nights.

The German army used these incidents as an excuse to begin a brutal cleansing of the Jews in Kiev. On September 28, 1941, 2,000 notices were posted in the city of Kiev, requiring local Jews to gather at the intersection of Melnikov Street and Degtyarevskaya Street on September 29, 1941, so that the German army could implement the "migration plan". The next day, tens of thousands of people arrived at the designated location for gathering. They were required to walk from Melnikov Street all the way to the Babi Yar Gorge guarded by the German army on the outskirts of Kiev.

When approaching the gorge, all men, women and children were required to take off their clothes and fold them, and sort out their valuables. Then, they were divided into several teams to enter the gorge. The German army massacred them with machine guns. On September 29 and 30, 1941 alone, 33,771 Jews were killed.

Although Sokov knew about these tragedies that were about to happen, he was powerless. After all, the fall of Yagotin was imminent, and whether he could escape the German encirclement was an unknown. How could he have the strength to save others?

"Comrade Captain," Mira waited for Constantine to finish speaking, then turned to look at Sokov and asked, "Do you think we need to report this to the commander?"

"There is no need." Sokov shook his head and said, "Even if the commander knew about this, what's the use? It's difficult for us to defend Yagotin with our current strength, so where can we find extra strength to support the combat teams in the city?"

"Comrade Captain, can we defend this place?" Constantine asked.

Sokov did not speak, but walked out of the tent directly, walked around the tent, and saw that no one was outside, so he returned to the tent and said to the three people, "According to my analysis, the Germans will be able to completely occupy this area in a day or two at most. The problem we need to consider now is not whether we can defend Yagotin, but whether we can escape the German encirclement."

"Comrade Captain, do you mean that we will soon implement a breakout operation?" Major Mira asked cautiously.

"That's right." Sokov nodded and continued, "Although we only have 40 or 50 people left, it may not be a bad thing. With fewer people, the target is smaller. If we want to break out, the chance of escaping the German encirclement may be higher."

Zhukov's expression became complicated when he heard Sokov say this. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Comrade Captain, I will check the soldiers' ammunition and supplies now and prepare for the breakout in advance."

Suokov nodded and told him, "Second Lieutenant Zhukov, don't tell everyone that we are about to break out, so as not to cause unnecessary panic. If someone asks, just say that we must be ready for battle at any time."

"I understand, Comrade Captain." Zhukov nodded, "I will convey your meaning to everyone."

At the same time, Vlasov in the headquarters received a telegram from the Supreme Command.

The telegram said: Since the main members of the Southwestern Front Command were killed, the 40th, 21st and 38th Armies of the unit were placed under the command of Timoshenko from September 27, and withdrew from the Desna River and Dnieper River line to Belopoliye and Krasnograd to reorganize defense and cover the Kharkov Industrial Zone. The 6th Army of the Southwestern Front and the 12th, 18th and 9th Armies of the Southern Front established defenses from Krasnograd to the Sea of ​​Azov to cover the Donbass direction.

After reading the telegram, Colonel Del frowned and asked Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, why is our army not mentioned in the telegram from the Supreme Command?"

Vlasov stared at the telegram, sighed and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, perhaps in the mind of the Supreme Command, our army has been annihilated by the Germans."

"How is this possible?" Colonel Del pointed to the telegram and said: "If the Supreme Command believes that we have been annihilated by the Germans, why did they send us this telegram?"

Vlasov pinched his chin and thought for a while, then asked back: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how many combat troops do we have so far?"

"Although we have more than a dozen regimental-level unit numbers, the actual total force is less than 2,000." Colonel Del also specifically reminded Vlasov: "Five hundred of the officers and soldiers are the defeated soldiers that Captain Sokov has taken in these two days."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, this is what I think about it." After weighing the interests, Vlasov said to Colonel Del: "We will stay in the Yagotin area for one more day, and then we will start to move towards Belopoli in an orderly manner tomorrow. "Yes, retreat and join the friendly forces there before establishing new defenses."

After hearing what Vlasov said, Colonel Del quickly reminded: "Comrade Commander, we abandoned the Yagotin area without authorization without receiving the withdrawal order from the Supreme Command. If the superiors hold us accountable, you and I will both be punished. Sent to military court."

Faced with Colonel Del's reminder, Vlasov shook his head and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think that if we continue to hold on to this area, we can block the German attack? If we continue to fight, what awaits us will be The fate of the entire army."

Vlasov's words made Colonel Del take a breath. As the chief of staff of the group army, he knew that the other party was not alarmist. The area controlled by the Yagotin area is now only two kilometers long and one kilometer wide, and the troops' Ammunition is scarce and there are no heavy weapons. If we continue to fight, it will be annihilated by the Germans sooner or later.

Although he knew that if he continued to fight, he would either die in battle or be taken prisoner, but he still did not dare to agree to Vlasov's proposal casually. He could only bite the bullet and ask: "What should we do if our superiors hold us accountable?"

"Chief of Staff, don't worry." Vlasov said carelessly: "If the superiors want to investigate this matter, I will bear all the responsibilities."

"Okay." Since Vlasov was willing to endorse, Colonel Del naturally wanted it, so he nodded and said, "I will immediately convene a meeting with the commanders to convey your order to them."

"Tell them that today and tomorrow will be the last battle of our 37th Group Army. We must fight bravely and tenaciously to prevent the Germans from discovering our intention to retreat."

Colonel Del nodded, and then called a few communications soldiers and asked them to notify the officer in charge of the operation to come to the headquarters to attend an impromptu military meeting.

Vlasov tapped his fingers lightly and pondered, thinking in his mind where he should choose as the direction for the troops to break out.

"Comrade Commander," after Colonel Del sent out the communications troops, he turned around and saw Vlasov staring at the map in a daze. He quickly came over and asked, "It's almost two hundred kilometers from here to Belopoliye. If there is no transportation, Tools, even if we use forced march, it will probably take us four to five days to reach our destination. "

"Chief of Staff," Vlasov looked up at Colonel Del and asked cautiously: "Whose hands is the train station on the eastern outskirts of the city now?"

"Of course it's in our hands. The enemy has launched seven attacks on the station, but they were all repelled by the troops who stood there." After Colonel Del answered Vlasov's question, he suddenly realized that the other party was asking this question. The purpose of the question was to ask in surprise: "Comrade Commander, do you plan to let our soldiers evacuate to Belopoliye by train?"