Red Moscow

  Chapter 589 Where to go

  Although the performance of the ball tank killing all directions is indeed very exciting, but Sokov is still not happy. After Yakov noticed his abnormality, he asked curiously: "Misha, what's wrong with you, we just won a battle, but I think you seem very unhappy?"

Sokov frowned slightly, pointed to the ball tank that was driving towards the small village in the distance, and said, "That's right, the ball tank performed very well in today's battle. But if there is no ammunition and fuel, they're just a pile of scrap metal."

  Hearing what Sokov said, Yakov couldn't help being surprised: he also realized the seriousness of the problem, and asked in a panic, "Misha, what should we do then?"

"We have fallen into the encirclement of the German army. It is impossible for the tanks to get fuel and ammunition supplies." Sokov looked in the direction of the small village and said very sadly: "If it is really There is no way, we can only choose to blow up this ball tank in the end."

"What, blowing up the ball tank?" Yakov couldn't help taking a breath when he heard this. Although he knew that what Sokov said was correct, he still asked unwillingly: "Misha, could it be Is there no other way? You know, even if the ball tank’s ammunition and fuel are exhausted, we don’t necessarily have to blow it up, we can use other methods to hide it.”

"Hiding it?" To be honest, Sokov was unwilling to blow up this rare tank. Judging from Yakov's tone at the moment, it seemed that there was a way to solve this problem, so he asked curiously: "Yakov, what are you doing?" How are you going to hide it?"

"Bury it." Yakov replied briefly: "Isn't there a forest near the small village? We can completely bury the ball tanks in the village, and when our army recaptures Orlovka, we can send People dug up this tank. Doing this is better than simply blowing up the tank. Besides, even if you blow up the tank, the Germans can use the wreckage to repair the ball tank.”

"That's right, that's right." The words awakened the dreamer, and Yakov's words made Sokov realize that even if he wanted to throw away all the heavy equipment to break through, he didn't necessarily have to blow up the ball tank, he could completely blow it up. Bury it first. When the army counterattacks, send someone to dig out the ball tanks from the woods. "I can then contact Colonel Bely and let him prepare to hide the ball tank in advance."

  After contacting Bely, Sokov couldn't wait to say: "Colonel Bely, you immediately send someone to dig a big hole in the woods, and when you have to, bury the ball tank in it."

  Sokov's nonsense words confused Bely, and he asked in puzzlement: "Comrade Brigadier, what's going on, why did you bury the ball tank?"

"That's right, Colonel Bely." Hearing Bely's question, Sokov immediately realized that he was so excited that he was a little incoherent, and quickly explained to the other party: "This is how I thought about it. After the battle, all the tanks of the tank battalion were faced with insufficient ammunition and fuel. If we wanted to break out, we had to discard these heavy equipment. In order not to let these equipment fall into the hands of the Germans, we had to choose to put them Blow them all up."

"Yes, Comrade Brigadier, in order to prevent the equipment from falling into the hands of the Germans, the measures we have taken are to blow up these equipment." Bely may also be reluctant to part with this ball tank, so he said hesitantly: "But judging from the current situation, we shouldn't have to think about blowing up the equipment."

"Colonel Bely, although we have won two consecutive victories, it cannot change the fact that we are already surrounded by the German army." Sokov said solemnly: "Because we are in the enemy's encirclement, it is completely important to get supplies." Impossible. In order to prevent the ball tank from falling into the hands of the enemy, it should be resolutely blown up. But I consider that this kind of tank is a rare prototype, and it would be a pity to blow it up, so I plan to hide it. When our army returns to Orlovka, we will dig it out."

  After Sokov's explanation, Bely finally understood what was going on. He was silent for a long time before replying: "Comrade Brigadier, if we simply dig a hole in the woods and bury the ball tank, after the German army occupies the village, based on many clues, it is still possible to find that the tank was hidden by us." ball tanks…”

   Knowing that even if the ball tank is buried, there is still a danger of being discovered by the Germans, Sokov couldn't help becoming flustered: "Then what should we do?"

   As a senior tank commander, Bely is obviously more experienced than Sokov in hiding tanks. He smiled and replied: "Comrade Brigadier, don't worry, I will immediately arrange manpower to hide the ball tanks. Even if the Germans occupy the village, they will not be able to find the ball tanks. By the way, I want to ask , what is our next task?"

  Although Sokov has found that his troops are surrounded by the German army, he cannot lead the troops to leave here without receiving orders from his superiors. Therefore, when he heard this question from Bely, he could only say vaguely: "Comrade Colonel, we will stay here for a while, waiting for possible reinforcements..."

Bely heard the helplessness in Sokov's tone, sighed lightly, and said, "Comrade Brigadier Commander, if you have anything to do, just give orders. If you want to break through, my tank battalion is willing to rush to the forefront. "

  Yakov saw that Sokov ended the call with Bely, and immediately asked impatiently: "How about it, Misha. Does Colonel Bely have any way to hide the ball tank?"

"Yes," Sokov nodded, and said in an affirmative tone: "Colonel Bely said he has a way to hide the ball tank and prevent the enemy from discovering it." In order to prevent Yakov from continuing to ask, he He quickly added, "However, he didn't tell me how to do it."

   Just as Sokov spoke, he suddenly heard a loud noise, and the ground under his feet trembled slightly, and then a huge fireball rose in the distance. Seeing the mushroom cloud in the sky, he said in surprise: "Damn, what's going on here, where did the explosion happen?"

   "Comrade Brigadier," Guchakov said in a low voice standing aside, "it seems to be the fourth line of defense."

   "The fourth line of defense?" Sokov frowned and said, "Strange, how could there be an explosion there for no reason?"

"Misha, have you forgotten?" Yakov reminded Sokov, "You ordered people to plant explosives on the third and fourth lines of defense, ready to detonate when they failed to defend, and destroy the fortifications there." Blow up all of them so they won't be used by the Germans."

After being reminded by Yakov, Sokov remembered that there was indeed such a thing. The soldiers he sent to plant the explosives were once detained by soldiers from the 120th Guards Regiment. The work on explosives was able to continue. At this moment, there was a huge explosion in that direction. Could it be that the enemy has occupied the fourth line of defense?

Just as Sokov was thinking wildly, the phone not far away rang. Sokov picked up the receiver and put it to his ear, and heard Colonel Gurdiyev's panicked voice from inside: "Brigade Comrade Chang, my observation post reported to me that not long ago, a violent explosion suddenly occurred on the fourth defense line defended by the 120th Guards Regiment. It seems that the defenders detonated the bombs buried in the ground before the enemy occupied the position. Explosives on the ground."

Although Gurdiyev confirmed his guess, but just to be on the safe side, Sokov told the other party: "Comrade Colonel, you should immediately send someone to that direction to investigate and find out what happened. Understood ?"

   "Understood, Comrade Brigadier." Colonel Gurdiyev replied respectfully: "I will immediately send someone to find out what happened."

Just when Sokov was about to put down the phone, he remembered another thing, and asked quickly: "By the way, Colonel Gurdiyev, I want to ask you about your counterattack on the eastern position. , how is the situation?" Sokov knew very well that since the eastern position had been occupied by the Germans, with the strength of the 308th Infantry Division, it would be almost impossible to regain it, he asked. , but to learn more about the situation on the battlefield.

  Gurdiyev's answer was as expected: "I'm sorry, Comrade Brigadier Commander, but our counterattack did not achieve any success, and the position is still in the hands of the enemy."

"Comrade Colonel." Knowing that Colonel Gurdiyev's counterattack did not achieve the desired results, Sokov did not blame him, but said magnanimously: "Since we cannot take the position back from the enemy's hands, Then there is no need to continue to counterattack, gather all the troops, maybe we will face a fierce battle soon."

"Analyzing the situation in front of us, the southern position has completely fallen into the hands of the enemy." Sokov put down the phone, pointed to the map in front of him, and said to Yakov: "Now the enemy in the east and south , may attack us at any time, so we have to prepare for the worst."

   "Worst plan?" As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Guchakov couldn't help interjecting and asked, "Comrade Brigadier, may I ask, what is the worst plan?"

"Comrade Corporal," before Sokov could speak, Yakov scolded Guchakov with a stern face: "Your task is to protect the safety of your brigade commander, and the rest is beyond the capabilities of a person of your level. I know. Do you understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Major." Guchakov, who had been reprimanded by Yakov, blushed and agreed, then turned and walked aside.

   After Guchakov walked away, Yakov asked in a low voice: "Misha, tell me, how many Germans could be killed in the explosion just now?"

  Sokov pondered the scale of the explosion in his mind. More than a dozen tons of explosives were buried there, and there were probably no survivors within a radius of 500 meters of the blast site. He said in an uncertain tone: "There should be no survivors within 500 meters of the bombing point. If I guessed correctly, the Germans attacked this position and invested a battalion of troops. Then after the explosion, This battalion can be withdrawn from the German military system."

   "More than a dozen tons of explosives, in exchange for a battalion of the German army." Yakov said thoughtfully: "This deal is a good deal."

  Yakov was thinking about how many Germans were killed, but Sokov was thinking about the soldiers of the Guards who stood firm on the ground, how many people left the land of death alive.

Fortunately, the answer was soon revealed. When Gurdiyev called again, he excitedly reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, a group of fighters withdrawn from the fourth line of defense vehicles are heading towards Our division's defense zone is coming."

  Hearing that some soldiers had withdrawn from the fourth line of defense, Sokov quickly felt his eyes light up, and quickly asked: "Comrade Colonel, how many people have withdrawn?"

  Gurdiyev was silent for a moment, and replied: "There are about seventy or eighty people. According to my observation, there are still many wounded."

"Comrade Colonel," although 70 or 80 people are a bit too small, but for Sokov who is in urgent need of troops at this moment, mosquitoes are meat no matter how small they are, and he quickly ordered Gurdiyev: "Send someone to bring them to you immediately." Let them take a good rest on the ground."

  Gurdiyev waited for Sokov to finish, and immediately replied: "I have sent people to meet them, and I have also sent health workers to treat the wounded."

"Misha, what are your plans now?" Yakov asked: "I guess the Germans have suffered such a big loss in the south, they will definitely not let it go, and they may launch an attack soon. We are sticking to Orlov Ka, choose decisively to break through, you have to make a decision early!"

  According to Sokov's idea, he wished to give orders to all the troops immediately, and when it got dark, he would move to the north without hesitation. Although the road was difficult to walk, it was the shortest distance from the friendly army. The reason why Sokov did not issue the order to break out of the encirclement was because the situation on the battlefield was not clear enough, maybe the reinforcements could arrive; the second was Order No. 227, which was like a Damoc The Sword of Reese prevented him from making hasty decisions.

  Hearing Yakov asking where he should go at this moment, Sokov immediately made up his mind to lead the troops to break through to the north after dark. In order to make the division famous, he ordered the radio operator: "Radio operator, send a telegram to the headquarters of the group army, report our situation here to them, and at the same time ask for instructions on the next task."

  Ten minutes later, Chuikov's call back arrived. The content on it was very simple, with only one sentence: "According to circumstances!"

  (end of this chapter)