Red Moscow

Knowing that the troops of the 122nd regiment had occupied the second line of defense, Sokov immediately reported the good news to the headquarters. After the report, he was afraid that Krylov would involuntarily order his troops to attack the enemy station, so he took the initiative to say: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to what we learned from the prisoners, the ones who stick to the enemy station are The German army. They have an infantry company and an artillery platoon. If we do not get support from tank fire in our new offensive, I am afraid it will be difficult to succeed."

"Colonel Sokov, don't complain to me." Krylov easily saw through Sokov's intentions. He was afraid that the other party would have any bad thoughts, so he quickly comforted the other party and said, "Don't worry, this Second, if there is no support from tank fire, I will not let you take risks easily."

After receiving Krylov's promise, Sokov immediately became more at ease. In fact, he also understood in his heart that the reason why Krylov acted so reasonable was entirely because the troops on the right wing were progressing too slowly. There is a possibility of being encircled by the enemy. And this situation is something that no one wants to see.

After putting down the phone, Sokov looked at Ivanov and asked, "Comrade deputy division commander, I want to take a look at the front position. Will you stay and take over my command, or will you go to the front with me?"

Regarding Sokov's question, Ivanov made a choice without hesitation: "Comrade Commander, Mamayev Gang can be handed over to the Chief of Staff to command. I want to go with you to the front to see our Warriors."

Seeing that Ivanov was willing to go to the front position with himself, Sokov called Sidolin and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the deputy division commander and I are going to the 122nd Regiment ahead to see Look, Mamayev Hill is here for you. Remember, order the observation post on the top of the mountain to closely guard the two wings of the high ground, and if you find anything wrong, contact me immediately. Understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Sidolin assured Sokov: "I will definitely monitor the enemy's movements closely, and if they make any changes, I will report to you immediately."

It was several kilometers from Mamayev Post to the front position, so Sokov naturally wouldn't spend an hour or so walking there, so he ordered Guchakov to drive out the armored vehicle hidden in the underground garage and prepare to drive there.

After a few minutes, the armored vehicle drove to the foot of the mountain west of Nangang. Seeing Guchakov waving at himself in the carriage, Sokov said to Ivanov: "Comrade deputy division commander, the armored vehicles are here, let's go."

Ivanov followed Sokov to the armored vehicle, saw clearly that it was a German armored vehicle with a white cross painted on it, and couldn't help asking worriedly: "Comrade commander, this is a German armored vehicle, don't you know?" Worried about being attacked by soldiers who mistake them for enemy vehicles?"

"You don't have to worry about this, the commanders and fighters of Mamayev Gang know this car." Sokov pointed to the side of the armored car: "In addition, Guchakov also planted a red flag next to the car, I think as long as If there is no problem with the eyes of the commanders and fighters, there will be absolutely no misfire incidents."

When the two came forward, Guchakov, who was sitting in front, patted the top of the cab twice with his palm, and then shouted: "Let's go!"

On the way to the 122nd Regiment's position, Ivanov couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Commander, there is one thing I don't understand. If my troops were going so smoothly, the superiors would definitely order me to continue to develop in depth against the enemy. However, why did General Krylov agree with us to temporarily stop and wait for the support of tanks before launching an attack on the enemy?"

Sokov raised his hand and pointed to the north, and said to Ivanov: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, haven't you noticed that the troops on the right wing are progressing too slowly? There has already been a gap between them and us. If the enemy takes advantage of this The gaps are interspersed, and both of our troops may be encircled. The superior may have considered this and ordered us to stop temporarily to wait for the friendly forces on the right."

Looking to the north, Ivanov remembered that the 124th regiment disguised as the Romanian army surrendered to the enemy's position, so he tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade commander, can we help the friendly army again like we did just now?"

"It's impossible." Sokov shook his head and replied, "The Romanians are not fools. How could the same trick be used against them twice? Believe it or not, after the Romanians suffered this loss, even Seeing their own people running towards their position, it is possible to shoot directly to block the other party at a position far away from the position, and after careful interrogation and confirmation, our own people will let them in."

"Also," Sokov paused for a moment after he finished speaking, and continued, "The reason why I'm going to the 122nd Regiment's position is something more important."

"What's more important?" Sokov's words confused Ivanov, and he asked puzzledly, "What's more important, is it the task of deploying the offensive to make the station?"

"I guess our army has no chance, and we are attacking the enemy's base station." Sokov sighed softly, and said: "After the Germans know about our army's counterattack, it will not be long before they dispatch A large force is coming to support the Romanian Army, I am afraid that we will soon be attacked from several directions. When I went to the position of the 122nd Regiment, I did not just visit the commanders and fighters, but deployed defensive tasks to them.”

The armored vehicle drove into the position of the 122nd regiment, and Papchenko immediately brought people to meet him. After Sokov stepped forward to shake hands with him, he found that the other party's face was not only not a little bit happy, but rather dejected, and he couldn't help asking curiously: "Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko, what happened, how do I see your satisfaction?" Unhappy face. Am I not welcome here? If so, I'll turn around and leave."

"Comrade commander, you have misunderstood." Papchenko saw Sokov turned to leave, quickly stopped him, and explained with a blushing face: "I made a mistake, and I have no face to face you."

Although Sukov knew why the other party said that, he asked knowingly, "What mistake did you make?"

"I shot and killed a prisoner in front of the soldiers." Papchenko lowered his head and said, "Comrade Commander, I was wrong, and I will definitely review it."

Sokov didn't answer his words, but asked instead: "Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko, tell me, why did you kill that prisoner in front of the soldiers?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Papchenko raised his head and replied emotionally: "Because the prisoner was a sniper, he intentionally killed the female health worker of our regiment who was rescuing the wounded during the battle. Wu Liya, I want to avenge my fallen comrades."

"Since it is to avenge your comrades and kill a prisoner, what is it?" Sokov knew that this matter had put Papchenko on a heavy heart, so he explained to him: "Comrade Stalin died at the beginning of this year. , once issued an order to all the commanders and fighters of the Western Front: All officers and soldiers who capture the 332nd Regiment of the 197th Infantry Division of the German Army will be shot on the spot, and we will not accept their surrender.”

When Sokov said this, he deliberately paused for a moment to observe the reaction on the other party's face. Seeing Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko's expression of sudden realization, he went on to say: "The reason why Comrade Stalin issued such an order is because the enemy brutally killed our scout Comrade Zoya. And you shot the prisoners of war today. In order to avenge our comrades-in-arms, we can accept and understand this approach. Are you right, Comrade Deputy Commander?" He asked Ivanov the last sentence.

"That's right, that's right." Seeing that Sokov casually ignored Papchenko's impulsive mistakes, Ivanov nodded repeatedly and said, "In order to avenge the sacrificed comrades, I killed a prisoner. I think it's still possible."

When Papchenko learned that Sokov and Ivanov had arrived, he was extremely nervous. He was afraid that the two division commanders would punish him for this matter. Unexpectedly, Sokov's reaction was far beyond his expectation. He stared in surprise, looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade commander, are you really not going to punish me?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko," Sukov couldn't help laughing when he heard the stupid question asked by Papchenko: "Why should I punish an excellent commander who has just made military exploits? Okay, this matter For now, stop thinking about it."

Seeing that he passed the test so easily, Papchenko couldn't help being overjoyed, and said excitedly, "Thank you, sir!"

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Sokov saw the smile on Papchenko's face again, and said to him, "show me your newly occupied position."

Half an hour later, Sokov, who had traveled all over the position, came to Papchenko's command post. He came to the table and sat down, took out a pen and paper from his satchel, and began to say to Papchenko: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I just looked at your positions. It is in the direction of Mamayev Hill. But there are very few fortifications facing the west, why didn't you let the soldiers hurry up and build them?"

"Comrade Commander," Papchenko had a confused expression when he heard Sokov say this: "Aren't we going to launch an attack on the crossing station soon? Then is there still a need to build the fortifications here? "

Sokov was worried that the German counterattack would start at any time, so he quickly drew a sketch in his notebook, looked up and said to Papchenko: "If the enemy attacks from west to east before your offensive begins, do you think you will Can the current fortification block the enemy's attack?"

Papchenko hesitated for a while, before blushing and replied: "If the attacking enemy is covered by tanks, I don't think we can stop it."

"Even without the cover of tanks, you can't defend." Sokov tapped the notebook a few times, and said unceremoniously: "The enemy piled up the soil dug out from the trenches on the horses and horses. The direction of Yevgang; as a result, the height of the trenches in the direction of the camp is much shorter, and the soldiers can't hide in it..."

After listening to the question pointed out by Sokov, Papchenko quickly replied: "Comrade commander, I will organize my manpower and strengthen the fortifications to prevent the enemy from launching a counterattack."

"You have to move quickly." Although Sokov didn't know when the Germans would launch an attack, he knew in his heart that there was not much time left for him. He specifically emphasized to Papchenko: "The Germans may Counterattacks will be launched soon, and if you don't have proper fortifications, you won't be able to stop them."

When Papchenko heard that Sokov said German, he quickly reminded him in a low voice, "It's not German, it's Romanian."

"I said it's a German, it's a German." Sokov said in an unquestionable tone: "They see that the Romanian army can't stop our attack, and they will do it themselves soon. You must not take it lightly. .”

"Understood." Papchenko said he understood, but he didn't think so in his heart. He thought to himself that the battle had been going on for such a long time, and he didn't see the shadow of the Germans. Could it be that they would fall from the sky?

"Alert, air raid siren!" Just as Papchenko was thinking wildly, there was a chaotic shout outside: "Air raid siren, hide, hide quickly!"

Hearing the air raid siren shouting outside, everyone in the command post changed their expressions. What Sokov worried about was that there were no air-raid shelters on the position. If they were really bombed by enemy planes, the casualties of the troops would definitely be serious. And what Papchenko thought in his heart was, can't it be such a coincidence, the division commander just said that the Germans might make a move, and their bombers appeared?

Before they could rush out of the command post, there were explosions outside one after another, and it seemed that the position was being bombed by enemy planes. Sokov rushed to the door quickly, looked up into the sky, and saw one after another Stuka dive bombers screaming and swooping down from the sky, dropping bombs on the position. In the rising flames and gunpowder smoke, soldiers who couldn't dodge could be seen from time to time, being blown up into the air.

Although it was just a quick glance, Sokov realized the seriousness of the problem, and quickly turned his head to Papchenko, who was still standing in a daze, and shouted: "What are you still doing, let the soldiers take cover. "

"Ah!...Okay, I will give the order immediately." Papchenko threw himself down on the table, grabbed the phone, and called the battalion commanders: "...I am Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko, and I ordered the soldiers not to run around , hide in place; repeat, don't run around, hide in place..."

While Papchenko was hoarsely roaring into the microphone, Sokov thought to himself: "The enemy's air strikes came so fast that the soldiers didn't have much time to react. I just hope that the enemy's air strikes can end sooner. , can save us from losing a little bit of troops.”