Red Moscow

How could Sokov run away in front of his subordinates? He emptied the bullets in the magazine in one go, squatted down, and when changing magazines with his back against the low wall, he yelled at Samoilov. : "Leave me alone, let's eliminate this group of enemies first." After changing the magazine, he stood up abruptly, put the assault rifle on the wall, and fired in bursts without haste.

Due to the occlusion of the corner, neither the Soviet army nor the German army could see each other, so they could only pour bullets desperately towards the corner. Seeing this situation, Sokov couldn't help but secretly worry. If the two sides continue to fight like this, whoever runs out of ammunition first may be wiped out by the other side. So he quickly shouted: "Stop shooting!"

Immediately after hearing Rokossovsky's shout, Samoilov loudly conveyed his order to every soldier in the guard platoon. After the gunfire stopped completely, he asked Sokov inexplicably, "Comrade Brigadier, why did we stop shooting?"

"Second Lieutenant, the building at that corner is between us and the enemy, blocking the sight of both sides." Sokov explained to Samoilov: "Not only can we not see the enemy, but the enemy can't see us either. If we continue to fight like this, we can only waste bullets in vain. Tell the soldiers that no one is allowed to shoot until they see the enemy."

While Sokov was giving orders to Samoilov, he suddenly heard the sound of a tank engine. He listened for a while, and found that the sound was not coming from the other end of the corner, but from behind. He couldn't help but broke out in a cold sweat: Could it be that the enemy came from behind us?

Sokov quickly turned his head and looked in the direction of the roaring sound of the engine, and saw that it was a Soviet T-34 tank, leading a group of infantry to rush towards his position along the street.

Seeing the tank appeared, Sokov couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. As long as the tank drove to the corner, he could use tank guns and machine guns to destroy the German troops on the other side.

As soon as the tank passed the corner, it was shot by the German army in a storm. The bullets fired by machine guns, submachine guns, rifles and even pistols jingled on the armor plate, splashing countless sparks. The Soviet tank stopped in place, slowly turned the hemispherical turret, and aimed the barrel at the enemy who was shooting. A few seconds later, with a loud bang, flames more than half a meter long spewed out from the gun barrel, blasting a firing machine gun to pieces.

Seeing that there are tanks to assist in the battle, Sokov's heart suddenly feels more at ease. Seeing the group of infantrymen following the tank and charging towards the enemy, he jumped out from behind the broken wall not to be outdone, waved the assault rifle in his hand, and shouted loudly: "Comrades, charge with me!" !"

With the help of tanks, the battle lasted only ten minutes before it was over. Samoilov rushed to report to Sokov and said: "Comrade Brigadier, the results of the battle have been counted. We have eliminated a total of 41 enemies and captured 22 people, including two lieutenant officers."

After listening to the results of the battle, Sokov just nodded slightly, and then asked: "What about the casualties of our army?"

"Our platoon had 31 casualties, 19 of whom were killed in battle." Sokov's question made Samoilov a little embarrassed, and he replied mutteringly, "There are still 40 fighters left in my platoon."

"Comrade Second Lieutenant, our guard platoon has more than 70 soldiers, and we have an advantage in numbers." Sokov looked at Samoilov and asked, "If there are no tanks to help in the battle, do you think we can eliminate this force?" Enemy?"

"No." Samoilov replied very simply: "In my opinion, we will inevitably continue to stalemate with the enemy here until one side can't hold on and takes the lead in attacking."

When the two were finishing their conversation, a lieutenant wearing a large hat ran over. He raised his hand to salute Sokov and asked, "Is this Lieutenant Colonel Sokov?"

"Yes, I'm Sokov." Sokov looked at the unfamiliar lieutenant and asked, "Comrade lieutenant, what department do you belong to?"

"I'm from the guard battalion of the Army Group Headquarters." The lieutenant replied, "When Comrade Commander received your warning, we rushed to support immediately."

"Thank you, Comrade Lieutenant." Sokov stretched out his hand to the lieutenant and said politely: "You came in time, and we were able to win this battle so easily."

The captured German officers and soldiers walked over with their hands held high and escorted by several soldiers. Sokov couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant, where are you planning to take these prisoners?"

"Go to the headquarters of the army group," replied the lieutenant. "We have special personnel who will interrogate them."

Sokov was eager to know where the enemy came from. Was it a small force or a large force that rushed into the city? So he said to the lieutenant: "Comrade lieutenant, I will go with you to the headquarters of the army group."

Hearing that Sokov was going back to the army headquarters with him, the lieutenant couldn't help hesitating. But he thought about it again, if Sokov and his men hadn't blocked the German army here, the battle might have already started near the headquarters. So he nodded and said, "Okay, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please follow me."

When Sokov followed the lieutenant back to the army headquarters, he happened to meet Klimov who came out of the tunnel. Seeing Sokov going back and forth, Kerimov couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, why are you back again?"

"Comrade Captain," the lieutenant who came back with Sokov hurriedly reported to Klimov: "It was Lieutenant Colonel Sokov who led their men to resist the Germans on the street, and the Germans did not rush to the headquarters. Come here."

Klimov led Sokov into the tunnel and arrived at Chuikov's headquarters. When Chuikov saw Sokov coming again, he didn't show any surprise on his face. Instead, he asked with concern: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, did you meet the Germans on the way?"

"That's right." Sokov nodded, "We encountered the Germans on the street. The number of the two sides was roughly equal, and the fight was indistinguishable. If the tank you sent didn't show up in time, we don't know who will end up in this battle." Who will win?"

"Comrade Commander," Krylov, who had just put down the phone, looked up at Chuikov and said, "I have asked all the troops in the city that I can contact, and no enemy has been found in their defense zone. It seems that entering the city The only enemy is this small army that Lieutenant Colonel Sokov and the others encountered."

"Klimov," Chuikov asked bluntly, remembering that he had asked Klimov to go outside to inquire about the situation, "have the enemies been wiped out?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, they are all wiped out." Klimov quickly replied: "The Germans have no anti-tank weapons. When they saw our tanks appearing, they knew they couldn't beat them, so they obediently raised their hands and surrendered." gone."

"Are there any officers among the prisoners?"

"Yes, there are two lieutenant officers." Klimov replied: "They have been taken to the interrogation room, and the comrades of the Secret Service will interrogate them."

"Adjutant," Krylov immediately ordered after hearing Klimov's words, "Go and tell the comrades in Secret Service, and you must find out where this enemy came from."

After Klimov left, Chuikov immediately asked Sokov to sit down: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you must also be eager to know the origin of this enemy. The interrogation will take some time, please sit down and rest first."

When Sokov sat down, Krylov brought him a cup of hot tea and said with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if your troops hadn't stopped the small German troops in time, maybe the current battle is under command." It's unfolding outside the Ministry." When he was speaking, he accidentally saw blood stains on Sokov's shoulder, and asked in surprise, "Lieutenant Colonel, are you injured?"

"No, no," Sokov said quickly, waving his hands, "It was someone else's blood that splashed on my body."

After learning that Sokov was fine, Chuikov and Krylov both heaved a sigh of relief. Chuikov also specially told Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are now a brigade commander commanding thousands of people, not a small company commander, so you can easily lead the charge. Your post is in the headquarters, understand? "

Sokov is still very afraid of death in his heart. If he can charge without leading the team, he will never appear on the battlefield. For example, today's battlefield is purely an encounter, and no one can predict it in advance. So when he heard Chuikov's reminder, he quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander."

The interrogation by Secret Service lasted half an hour, and a captain from the Ministry of Internal Affairs followed Klimov in. He put a statement on the table in front of Chuikov, and said: "Commander, Chief of Staff, I have figured it out. It is a company from the 76th Infantry Division of the German Army. They were originally ordered to rush to their station. Unexpectedly, he lost his way and broke into the city by mistake, so there was an exchange of fire with our army."

Hearing the captain's report from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Chuikov smiled slightly, and said to the captain, "Thank you, Comrade Captain, everything is fine here, you can go back first."

As soon as the captain left, Chuikov said to Krylov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, did you hear that? The Germans entered the city by mistake because they lost their way. They didn't intend to attack our headquarters at all. It seems You are worrying too much."

Krylov laughed dryly, and argued: "Comrade Commander, it is always good to be cautious. Now that we have figured out that the Germans went the wrong way, they entered the city. Then we can take actions according to the combat plan." Acted..."

Hearing what the two were talking about about military operations, Sokov stood up quickly and said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, since you want to discuss important matters, I won't bother you."

Unexpectedly, Chuikov stopped him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't worry. Since you are here, I happen to have a task for you."

Sokov couldn't help being taken aback when he heard what Cuikov said, and asked, "Mission, what mission?"

"According to the order of the superior," Chuikov pointed to the map and introduced to Sokov: "In the early morning of the day after tomorrow, we will carry out a powerful counterattack against the German army on the left flank of Mamayev Hill. There are three units participating in the counterattack. Division, before the offensive campaign begins, they will be lurking on Mamayev Kurgan. Look, is there any problem?"

Before answering the question, Sokov first asked: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, will our brigade participate in this offensive?" He thought to himself that Zhukov organized an offensive launched by three armies north of the city , all ended in failure. Cuikov put together three divisions that were not fully organized and launched a counterattack against the enemy, which was like hitting a stone with a pebble. He was already prepared in his heart, if Chuikov wanted to send his troops to die, he must find a way to shirk it.

Unexpectedly, Chuikov saw his thoughts and said to him with a smile: "Don't worry, the task of your brigade is to stick to the Mamayev Post and prevent it from being occupied by the Germans. Your brigade will not attack you this time." Involved."

"Great, this is really great..." Sokov couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard that he didn't have to participate in such a suicidal counter-assault. But when he saw the discord between Chuikov and Krylov, he quickly put on a straight face, pretending to be regretful and said: "Commander, chief of staff, I mean my troops can't participate in such an event." It's such a pity to fight."

Fortunately, Chuikov did not argue with him, but pointed to the west of Mamayev Hill and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I remember that you have laid minefields in front of the north and south hills, right?"

"Yes, there used to be minefields, but they don't exist any more now." After Sokov said this, seeing Chuikov and Krylov looking at a loss, he quickly explained to them: "After the first two There are only a handful of unexploded mines in the minefield due to the violent bombing of the day. Even if large troops pass through the minefield, there will be no danger."

"No, we can't take risks." Chuikov said firmly: "After you return to Mamayev Post, immediately arrange for engineers to open a few passages in the minefield. You know, even if the bombing makes the mines in the minefield explode But who can guarantee that one or two of them will not slip through the net? If our offensive troops hit mines in our defense zone, it will have a negative impact on the morale and morale of our troops."

Seeing that Cuikov had made his point clear, it was useless for Sokov to say anything else. He could only assure the other party: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, as soon as I return to Mamayev Post, I will immediately order the engineers to open a road in the minefield so that our offensive troops can pass there smoothly."

Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, raised his hand and looked at him, and said to him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, it's getting late, you should hurry back to Mamayev Post as soon as possible. Although we just wiped out a bug There are small German troops entering the city, but it is not clear whether there are still scattered Germans in the city. Be careful on your way back."