Red Moscow

  Chapter 59 Long-distance raid

  Seeing that Lin Hua's Istrian company had successfully occupied the German position, Andryushenko couldn't help being overjoyed, and personally led people to take stock of the results. After doing all this, he called to report the good news to Remizov.

Rokossovsky, who came to inspect the work of the right-wing group headquarters, walked into the headquarters and saw Remizov holding a phone in one hand and a pen in the other, taking notes, so he repeated loudly: "...our army wiped out a total of 163 enemies and captured 29 people alive...how about our casualties?...what? 159 people were sacrificed and 82 people were injured...heck, how did you pay such a high price?"

   Rokossovsky was quite happy when he first heard that the Istra Company had seized the enemy's position. But he frowned when he heard that they had suffered so many casualties. He walked quickly to the table, grabbed the microphone in Remizov's hand, and tried to take it away. Remizov, who was on the phone, felt that someone was trying to take his microphone away, and was about to go into a fit, but when he looked up, he saw that the person standing in front of him was actually Commander Rokossovsky, and quickly and very cooperatively turned the microphone away. Handed over.

   Rokossovsky said loudly into the microphone: "I am Army Commander Rokossovsky, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you give the phone to Lieutenant Sokov, I want to speak to him."

Andryushenko heard Rokossovsky's voice suddenly coming from the receiver, he couldn't help but froze for a moment, then handed the phone to Lin Hua next to him, and at the same time said in a low voice: "Lieutenant Sokov, Army Group Comrade Commander wants to speak to you."

  Lin Hua took the microphone and said respectfully to the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Sokov!"

   "Hello, Misha." Rokossovsky called Lin Hua by his nickname affectionately, and asked politely, "I heard that you have captured the enemy's position?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Although Lin Hua successfully captured the position by the Lama River, when Lin Hua thought of the 159 soldiers who died, he didn't feel the slightest joy in his heart. He replied with a heavy tone: "But we Even the casualties were too great."

"In order to defend our great motherland, no matter how much we pay, it is worth it for us." After finishing this cliché, Rokossovsky then asked: "Tell me, why do you Will there be so many casualties?"

"Comrade Commander," Lin Hua seriously considered the reasons for the heavy casualties of the troops when he counted the results of the battle. It is mainly the original guerrillas who have not fought regular warfare and lack the necessary battlefield experience, so they will pay a lot of casualties in this kind of tough battle."

   "The guerrillas should have become more mature after this battle." After Rokossovsky said with emotion, he suddenly asked, "How many bayonets do you still have?"

  Lin Hua knew that the number of bayonets Rokossovsky asked was a popular way of asking in the army today, which meant how many people could still participate in the battle. He silently calculated in his mind for a moment, and replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, we add the lightly wounded, and there are still 210 people who can fight."

"210 people, almost twice as many people as the normal establishment." After repeating the number, Rokossovsky continued: "I have a difficult task that I am going to entrust to you to complete. I wonder if you have confidence?"

  Before he figured out what the mission was, Lin Hua didn't dare to make a guarantee easily. He could only ask cautiously: "Comrade Commander, can you tell me what mission we are going to perform?"

"Lieutenant Sokov," perhaps because of the task assigned to Lin Hua, Rokossovsky no longer called him by his nickname, but by his surname and official position: "In Volokram There is a small city called Karmanovo, more than 200 kilometers southwest of Skorg, surrounded by forests and lakes. According to the report of the scouts, the Germans established a prisoner-of-war camp there, in which more than 4,000 people were detained. The captured commanders and fighters of our army. The mission of your company is to rush to the area immediately and rescue the commanders and fighters detained in the prisoner-of-war camp!"

  Understanding the mission that Rokossovsky wanted him to perform, Lin Hua couldn't help but secretly smiled bitterly in his heart: I didn't expect that the superior would really use his unit as a special force or death squad. Volokramsk is more than 200 kilometers away from Karmanovo. If the road conditions are good, it only takes about four or five hours to get there by car. But if you march on foot in an area full of snow, there is not a week where you can't reach your destination at all. Thinking of this, he quickly said to Rokossovsky: "It is more than two hundred kilometers to Karmanovo. Even if we march by force, it will take five or six days to reach the destination."

   "Don't worry, Lieutenant Sokov." Rokossovsky said on the phone: "I will arrange snow transportation for you so that you can reach your destination as soon as possible."

When it comes to snow vehicles, the first thing Lin Hua thinks of is automatic sleds, but after thinking about it, it is unrealistic for Rokossovsky to equip himself with automatic sleds. Big. Let the soldiers stand on the pry board to hitch a ride. The short distance is fine. If they walk one or two hundred kilometers, at least half of the soldiers will be frostbitten. Therefore, he asked cautiously: "Comrade commander, what kind of snow vehicles does the superior plan to equip us with?"

   "Sledge," Rokossovsky said after mentioning the means of transport he was going to allocate, fearing that Lin Hua might misunderstand, he emphasized, "It's not an automatic sledge, but a horse-drawn sledge."

  Hearing that the sled was drawn by horses, Lin Hua felt more at ease. Although this kind of sled was slower, soldiers could huddle together on the sled to keep warm while marching, and they could also take a nap when they had time. Lin Hua then asked: "Comrade commander, what is the next task after we rescue these commanders?"

   "Find a way to arm them," Rokossovsky said slowly: "You can fight guerrillas nearby, and after our army captures Volokramsk, rush over to join your army."

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." Lin Hua couldn't help feeling a headache when he learned that after rescuing these commanders and fighters, he had to find a way to arm them. I intended to shirk it, but then I thought about it, since Rokossovsky entrusted you with such an important matter, it shows that he trusts you. If he pushes three obstacles and four obstacles, it will definitely reduce his impression points in his mind, so Lin Hua thought for a moment, and then decisively agreed: "Our company promises to complete the task assigned to us by the superior."

  (end of this chapter)