Red Moscow

  Chapter 500 Arming the Factory Area (Part 1)

  When Sokov set off with the commanders and fighters of the Fourth Battalion, it was already completely dark, and the German attack on the city had temporarily stopped. Four to five hundred meters away from the site of the Red October Tractor Factory, one of the pioneers who opened the way ahead ran back and reported to Sokov, "Comrade Brigadier, the Germans have been found ahead."

   Germans found ahead? ! Hearing the report of the vanguard, Sokov couldn't help but thumped in his heart, wondering how could there be Germans here? Could it be that they have already occupied this area and cut off the connection between the factory area and Mamayev Gang? Thinking of this, he quickly asked: "Have you seen how many enemies there are?"

   "No!" The vanguard shook his head and replied, "Because it was too dark, we only heard faint voices and the light clunking of soldiers' helmets."

   "Comrade Brigadier," Briski leaned over and said in a low voice with affirmation: "The Germans must have known that we were going to reinforce the Red October Tractor Factory, so they set up an ambush in front of us."

  However, Sokov expressed doubts about Briski's guess: "This is impossible. It was also my temporary decision to bring troops to support the Red October Tractor Factory. How could the Germans know?"

"Perhaps, the enemy tapped the phone call between you and the Army Group Command." Briski said quickly: "So they sent people here to ambush. Well, Comrade Brigadier, you stay here , I’ll take someone up to have a look.”

   "No," Sokov shook his head and said, "Let's go up and have a look together. If it is true that the German army is ambushing ahead, we may have to change the marching route."

  Bliski knew that Sokov was still injured, and he was unwilling to let him take the risk, so he tried his best to dissuade him: "Comrade Brigadier, the front is too dangerous, you should stay here!"

   "Comrade Captain, I am the brigade commander, and I have the final say here." Sokov said firmly: "Bring a few people, and come with me first to see what's going on."

  As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden rush of footsteps ahead, and then a surprised voice asked loudly: "Comrades, do you know where the brigade commander and battalion commander are?"

"Damn, who is this talking guy?" Hearing the unscrupulous voice from ahead, Briski asked angrily, "Don't he know that this will expose the target? Besides, there may be Germans ambushing ahead. .”

   "Comrade Battalion Commander," the vanguard who reported the news first said embarrassingly after Briski finished speaking, "It seems to be Corporal Binichuk. He is the leader of our vanguard team."

From what the sharp soldier said, Sokov keenly felt that things might be different from what he guessed, and quickly stopped Briski who was about to get angry: "Comrade Captain, let Binichuk come here, I want to ask What is going on."

   "What are you still doing here?" Briski glared at the vanguard standing in front of him, and said, "Hurry up and call Corporal Binichuk over and ask what happened."

   Not long after, the vanguard brought Binichuk to Sokov and Briski. "Comrade Corporal," Briski asked with some displeasure, "What are you yelling at the front? Are you trying to alert the Germans in ambush ahead?"

"It's a mistake, Comrade Battalion Commander, we all made a mistake." Binichuk replied with a smile: "It turns out that the front is not the Germans, but an ambush post of the 39th Guards Division. Our own people fought. Fortunately, when we approached their hiding place, a comrade shouted: "Stop, no one is allowed to come over." Only then did we know that the movement we heard just now was made by our own people. "

   "Where are the comrades of the Guards Division?" Sokov heard this, and interrupted and asked, "Where are they?"

   "Comrade Sergeant," Binichuk turned his head and shouted to the back: "Please come here."

  Following Binichuk's shout, a soldier wearing a hooded raincoat came to Sokov, straightened his body and said, "Hello, Comrade Commander, may I ask which part you belong to?"

Sokov guessed that Binichuk must have told the other party his serial number. The sergeant asked this question just to verify it again, so he said without any concealment: "We belong to the fourth battalion of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and I am the brigade commander. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I want to see your division commander, Comrade Sergeant, can you show me the way?"

   "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." The guard sergeant said respectfully: "I am very happy to be your guide. Please come with me. I will take you and your troops to the division headquarters."

  Under the leadership of the guard sergeant, Sokov and Briski led the troops through the latent posts and defense lines of the Guards Division and arrived at the headquarters of the division. However, they were still far away from the division building, and Sokov and the others were stopped by the soldiers of the Guards Division. The sergeant stepped forward and whispered to the soldiers on duty, and then came back and politely said to Sokov: "Commander Comrade Yuan, the division is located ahead, do you think it is possible to let your troops stay here?"

   Regarding the cautiousness shown by the Guards Sergeant, Sokov expressed his understanding. He nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Sergeant, I will take a guard there, is that okay?"

  Hearing that Sokov only brought one guard, the guard sergeant nodded quickly: "Yes. Please come with me, Comrade Commander, I will take you to see the division commander."

  Sokov let Briski stay in control of the troops, and followed the Guards Sergeant to the building where the division headquarters was located. On the way, the sergeant said to Sokov apologetically: "Comrade commander, I just asked about the tactics on duty. He said that the division commander had visited the 112th Guards Regiment half an hour ago. Only political commissar Cherny Schoff is at command."

  Chernyshov! When he heard this name, Sokov immediately thought of the commander of the 11th Guards Division he knew during the Moscow Defense War. He couldn't help but think to himself: It's really strange that military chiefs and political cadres are two different things. How did General Chernyshov become a political commissar?

  With such doubts, Sokov came to the division headquarters of the Guards Division. The sergeant leading the team asked Sokov to wait at the door for a while before going in to report. Not long after, the sergeant came out, made a gesture of invitation to Sokov, and said with a smile: "Comrade commander, please come in, comrade political commissar is waiting for you inside."

   After thanking the guard sergeant, Sokov walked into the headquarters. As soon as he walked into the headquarters, a burly political worker greeted him and said with a smile on his face, "It's Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, right? Let me introduce myself. I am Chernyshau, political commissar of the 39th Guards Division." Husband, on behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Guards Division, I welcome you!"

   Knowing that the person in front of him was the division political commissar Chernyshov, Sokov knew that he had made a mistake. This commander was not the Chernyshov he knew at all, but just had the same surname. He shook hands with the other party, and asked casually: "Comrade political commissar, I would like to ask, where is the teacher?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, it's really a coincidence that you came here." Chernyshov replied: "The division commander went to inspect the defense of the 112th Guards Regiment and may not be back until tomorrow morning. If you are willing to wait, you can to see him."

  The purpose of Sokov coming here is to assist the factory workers to strengthen the defense of the factory area. Coming here to see Guriyev is just a formality, and it is not necessary to meet him. Since Guriyev was not there at the moment, he was unwilling to waste any more time, so he said to Chernyshov tactfully: "Comrade Political Commissar, the order I received was to help the workers in the factory strengthen their defenses. Since Comrade Division Commander is not here, Then I won't bother."

Seeing Sokov leave so simply, Chernyshov couldn't help being stunned for a moment, but he soon came back to his senses, caught up with Sokov, and walked outside with him, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel , It’s about three kilometers from our place to the factory building. In the past, there were factory cars that could drive directly there. But now,” he bent down and patted his legs with both hands before continuing, “ You can only walk with your own feet."

  Seeing Sokov coming out of the building, Briski hurried up to meet him and asked with concern: "Comrade brigade commander, how is the situation? What did the division political commissar say?"

Sokov smiled wryly, and replied: "The division commander is not here, and the political commissar is not in charge of the military. What else can he say? Okay, don't talk about it anymore. There are still three kilometers away from the factory building where we are going. Let the soldiers Let's go there as soon as possible to defend, before the Germans start to attack, we don't even have a decent fortification."

  After resting for less than a quarter of an hour, Sokov was worried that the soldiers would complain when he had to start again. But as the order was issued, the soldiers sitting on the ground stood up one after another and quickly formed a four-way column. Under the leadership of commanders at all levels, they strode towards the factory building in the distance. .

   After walking about halfway, we met a workers patrol. It may be because the Germans once broke into the factory area during the day, so that the leader of the team was nervous. As soon as he saw an army in front of him, he immediately ordered the patrol to disperse on the spot and find a place to hide, ready to fire at any time .

Seeing that the patrol team in front was hidden, Sokov worried that if he continued to lead the troops forward, it would cause unnecessary misunderstanding, so he ordered the troops to stop, and walked forward alone, at a distance from the hiding place of the workers patrol team. Stopping at a distance of more than ten meters, he said loudly: "Comrades workers, don't be nervous. I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. I was ordered to bring people here to strengthen defense."

Hearing what Sokov said, the captain slowly stood up from his hiding place, walked towards Sokov, and asked cautiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are you really here to help us strengthen our defenses?" ?"

  (end of this chapter)