Red Moscow

The sound of the cannon alarmed Sokov who was drawing in the division headquarters. He put down the pen in his hand and looked up at Lyudnikov who was sitting opposite him: "Comrade Colonel, what's going on outside? Why did the artillery fire?"

Lyudnikov also didn't know what was going on outside, so he quickly picked up the phone, called the artillery regiment commander Savage, and asked straight to the point: "Comrade Major, what happened, why did you fire?"

"Report to Comrade Division Commander," Savage said on the phone: "We are providing artillery support to the troops who attacked the No. 6 production workshop. They were attacked by the Germans."

Lyudnikov covered the receiver with his hand when he heard this, and asked Sokov with a frown: "Colonel Sokov, you gave the artillery regiment the order to cover the night attack troops, right?"

"Let the artillery cover the night attack troops?!" Sukov said in a daze, "I have never issued such an order!" In order to find out what was going on, he took the Passed the microphone and said, "I'm Sokov, Major Savage, please tell me, who ordered you to use artillery fire to cover the attacking troops?"

"No one ordered me," Savage replied. "It was Briski's suggestion to me, and I thought it was all right, so I took it."

Knowing that this matter was related to the Second Battalion Commander Briski, Sokov quickly told Savage: "Comrade Major, is Captain Briski by your side? If he is, ask him to answer the phone."

When the slightly excited voice of Captain Briski came out of the receiver, Sokov said to the microphone with a straight face: "Comrade Captain, please explain to me, what is going on?"

"Comrade Commander, please listen to my explanation." Briski heard the dissatisfaction in Sokov's tone, and explained anxiously: "After we destroyed the enemy's attack with artillery fire during the day, we never saw the enemy again. Appeared, I realized in my heart that although the enemy did not take the initiative to attack, with your character, you will definitely not let them have a good time, and you will definitely organize troops to attack at night. Although we are temporarily assigned to the artillery command, we The battalion is still infantry, even if you can't personally participate in the night attack, you should use your status to do something for the comrades in the friendly army..."

In the middle of speaking, Briski suddenly found that there was no movement on Sokov's side, so he stopped and asked guiltily into the microphone: "Comrade commander, are you still listening?"

"I'm listening." Sokov was surprised that his subordinates could guess his combat intentions. When he heard the other party's inquiry, he quickly said into the microphone: "Go on."

"I guess you may order the commander tonight to send troops to attack the enemy in the factory area." Briski continued: "I am worried that the night attack troops will not go well, after all, the enemy will not occupy the factory area for a long time." Short, they have careful deployment in many areas, which will add trouble to our night attack. Therefore, I divided the artillery positions into artillery positions and told them that if there is fire in the area they are in charge of, it must be our army They are exchanging fire with the enemy, and they can carry out shelling in that direction according to the actual situation, and use artillery fire to support friendly troops in their operations.

Not long ago, I saw flames in the direction of the No. 6 production workshop, and I could hear gunshots and explosions. After careful observation, I found that it was my night attack troops who were discovered by the enemy and started an exchange of fire, so I decisively ordered No. 2 The artillery position fires to destroy those enemies who threaten our army. "

Sokov couldn't help being surprised and delighted when he heard this. I was surprised that the night attack of the Belkin Regiment was detected by the enemy, and the casualties of the troops were unknown; the happy thing was that Briski let the artillery fire to provide artillery support for the exposed night attack troops, which could minimize the troops' casualties. of casualties.

"You did a good job, Lieutenant Briski." Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking, then praised the other party with a smile, and then said: "Keep monitoring the enemy's movements to ensure that my night attack troops can successfully escape."

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Sokov not only did not blame himself, but praised himself, Briski couldn't help being overjoyed, and he quickly replied: "We will definitely ensure that the night attack troops withdraw safely."

Sokov ended his call with Briski and called the Belkin command post. As soon as he heard Belkin's voice, Sokov said straight to the point: "Comrade Commissar, do you know that your night raid was discovered by the enemy."

Belkin also heard the sound of artillery from outside, and he was arranging for people to find out why the artillery on his side fired at the enemy's position. Before the dispatched personnel came back, Sokov's call came first. Hearing Sokov talking about his night raid and being noticed by the enemy, he said with some shame: "Misha, something unexpected happened to the troops after the attack."

Sokov sensed something was wrong from Belkin's tone of voice, and quickly asked, "Comrade political commissar, tell me quickly, what happened?"

"That's right, Misha." Belkin originally planned to report to Sokov that the sewer was blocked by the enemy after the troops returned from their mission, but at this moment he felt that if he continued to conceal it, it might have serious consequences for the current situation. Misjudgment: "The first company commander, Captain Borkoski, reported to me that during their movement to the No. 6 production workshop occupied by the enemy through the sewer, they found that the sewer leading to the plant was blocked by gravel. It is estimated that the enemy It will be done intentionally to prevent our army from using the sewers to sneak attack."

"Comrade Commissar, why didn't you report this matter to me earlier?" Sokov was angry that Belkin had concealed something from himself on such an important matter, but he tried hard to control his emotions and tried his best to speak with a steady voice. The tone said: "The troops who just attacked the No. 6 factory building were exposed and exchanged fire with the enemy. Fortunately, Captain Briski was smart and guessed that you would definitely have a night attack at night, so he ordered the artillery to prepare to support you."

"It turns out that the artillery sound from outside is our artillery firing." After figuring out where the artillery sound came from, Belkin breathed a sigh of relief: "The artillery position is far away from our sneak attack. Only seven or eight hundred meters, at such a short distance, the artillery can shoot directly and use high-explosive bombs to destroy more enemies."

Sokov heard the lively sound of guns and guns outside. He didn't care about Belkin's concealment of the impassability of the sewer, but was eager to inquire about the results of the night attack troops: "Comrade political commissar, the night attack troops you sent , is there any result to report back?"

"No," Belkin replied hastily, "so far, I have not received any reports."

The two were talking on the phone, when Vanya, the chief of staff of the regiment on the side, suddenly said to Belkin in surprise: "Comrade commander, Captain Bolkowski is back."

"Misha, Captain Bolkowski, the company commander, is back." Seeing Bolkowski walk in from the door, Belkin quickly said into the microphone: "Don't hang up, I'll ask him first. What the hell happened."

Belkin put the microphone on the table, looked at Bolkowski and asked, "Comrade Captain, how is your company's sneak attack mission going?"

"Reporting Comrade Commander, our company's mission has failed." Paul Koski replied with a bitter face: "The enemy has blocked all the sewers leading to the factory building. We tried to approach the enemy's garrison from the ground, but the combat team we sent , but not far from the factory building, a landmine was stepped on, and three people were sacrificed and two were seriously injured. If we hadn't received a sudden burst of artillery support during the retreat, I am afraid that the casualties of the troops would have been even greater. "

"It is the artillery regiment of Lieutenant Briski who provides artillery support for you." Belkin said with a straight face: "You go down and rest first, and after the night attack troops of the other two companies come back, we will summarize this time. Lessons learned from night raids.”

After Bolkowski left, Belkin picked up the microphone again, and said to Sokov, "Misha, you heard it all. Bolkowski and the others accidentally stepped on it when they were approaching the factory. It was because of the landmines that the operation failed. It seems that the enemies in the factory are more cunning than the enemies we have come into contact with before..."

"Comrade Commander," Belkin hadn't finished speaking when he suddenly heard someone yelling outside. He covered the microphone with his hand and asked dissatisfiedly, "What happened? Who was yelling outside?" Excuse me, are you interrupting my call with the teacher?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a soldier rushed in from outside. Belkin took a closer look and found that it was the soldier he sent out to find out the situation, so he slowed down and asked, "What happened?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, something happened, a big thing happened." The soldier reported to Belkin with a panicked expression: "The enemy has increased its troops. The enemy has increased its troops to the defenders of the No. 4 assembly workshop building to the south of the factory."

"What, the enemy has increased their troops?" Belkin frowned and asked, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The soldier nodded vigorously, and replied: "I was on a nearby building just now, and through a telescope, I saw a large number of German soldiers entering the No. 4 assembly workshop in various vehicles... ..."

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Belkin quickly let go of his hand covering the microphone, and said to Sokov: "Misha, the situation in the factory has changed unexpectedly, and the enemy has added troops to the No. 4 assembly workshop. "

"The enemy has increased its troops?" Hearing this news, Sokov couldn't help being taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Comrade Political Commissar, do you know the strength and equipment of the newly arrived Germans?"

Belkin did not answer immediately, but looked at the soldier who reported the news. The soldier quickly shook his head, indicating that he could not provide accurate data. Belkin sighed softly, and said to Sokov: "Misha, we don't know enough about the enemy's situation at present, I will immediately send people to reconnaissance in the direction of No. 4 factory building. I will report to you in the shortest possible time. "