Red Moscow

  Chapter 76 New Deputy Battalion Commander

  The detachment sent to **** Adelina returned after two days. Returning with them was a thin, middle-aged military officer. From the military rank of a political worker on his collar badge, Sokov, who was presiding over the meeting, could tell at a glance that the other party was a first-level political instructor. I couldn't help but secretly surprised: Is the superior planning to let this person be his political deputy battalion commander?

  The middle-aged officer walked up to Sokov and asked politely, "Is this Captain Sokov?"

   "Yes, I'm Sokov." Sokov quickly stood up from his seat, looked at the other party and asked in surprise, "I don't know who you are?"

"I am Belkin, the first-level political instructor, from the Political Department of the 16th Army." Belkin raised his hand and saluted Sokov, "I was ordered to serve as the political deputy battalion commander of the Istria Battalion. This is me letter of introduction." He put his hand down from his forehead, took out an envelope from the bag he was carrying, and handed it to Sokov.

  After confirming Belkin's identity through the letter of introduction, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart, wondering why his superiors sent him such a person? If the other party is a political cadre who doesn't understand military affairs but likes to intervene everywhere, how can he command troops to fight in the future?

Belkin sensed what he was worried about from Sokov's face, and said with a smile: "Comrade battalion commander, before I came here, the commander and the military commissar had talked to me and asked me to fully cooperate. Your job in the Istria camp. All military affairs are up to you..."

   What Belkin said later, Sokov didn't hear clearly. He only knew that even if there was a political deputy battalion commander, in the Istria camp, how to fight the battle in the future is still up to him. He turned around and said to the company commanders standing aside: "Comrades, the superior has sent us a deputy political battalion commander. Everyone applauds and welcomes us!"

   After the applause stopped, Sokov asked someone to bring Belkin a chair, and let him sit beside him. After Belkin sat down, Sokov continued to assign tasks to the company commanders: "...In short, the task of each company is to use guerrilla tactics to harass the German army's communication lines, blow up roads and bridges, and burn the enemy. The logistics warehouse, so that the enemy in the city of Volokramsk gradually lost their combat effectiveness because they could not get enough supplies..."

  After explaining the task, Sokov paused for a moment, then asked casually, "Do you have any disagreements?"

   "No." The commanders who attended the meeting replied in unison.

   Seeing that no one had any opinion on his deployment, Sokov waved at them and announced the end of the meeting: "Since there is no problem, everyone should return to their respective troops immediately. The meeting is over!"

  When the commanders left the headquarters in a file, Sokov asked Belgin a little embarrassedly: "Comrade deputy battalion commander, I don't know if you saw the girl I accompanied back to the headquarters?"

   "I see." Belkin said very simply: "I also talked to her on behalf of the organization and learned about her detailed experience during her underground work."

   Knowing that Belkin participated in the review of Adelina, Sokov's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. He asked in a steady tone, "Comrade Belgin, do you know how the superiors will arrange her?"

"After our review, we concluded that this is a comrade who is extremely loyal to the motherland." Belkin said in a serious tone: "Because she was temporarily recruited during the war, she lacks the common sense of working underground. , so as soon as the review is over, she will be sent back to Moscow. In the next few days, she will stay in the relevant department and learn everything necessary to work underground."

  Belkin's words filled Sokov with a sense of loss. Once Adelina really continued to work underground, he probably would never see her again in this life.

   "Comrade Captain," Belgin asked seeing Sokov's absent-minded look, "Can I ask you a question?"

  Sokov looked at the other party with some surprise, and said instinctively: "Excuse me, Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander."

"According to the information I have, the Istria Battalion now has thousands of people, which is about the same as an infantry regiment." Belgin looked at Sukov and asked in puzzlement: "In addition, you have captured the German army. The logistics supply warehouse can fully arm the commanders and fighters. I want to ask, why do you want the troops to carry out guerrilla warfare with such troops and equipment?"

"Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander," Sokov said with a smile after waiting for Belkin to finish speaking, "The order given to me by my superiors is to carry out operations in the Karmanovo area and severely strike the enemy. As long as I can Destroying the enemy's effective forces and supporting our army's offensive operations in the direction of Volokramsk, I think it is not important what kind of tactics are used."

   "But, Comrade Sokov." Regarding Sokov's statement, Belkin said in a questioning tone: "I doubt the results that your tactics can achieve."

Seeing that Belkin expressed doubts about his tactics, Sokov didn't know him either, but explained to him: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, although they are all guerrilla warfare, the guerrilla warfare we carry out is not the same as the one you know. The guerrilla warfare carried out by the guerrillas is two completely different concepts. Since we are a regular army, well-equipped, and capable of attacking tough situations, we can achieve several times or even ten times the results of the guerrillas in the case of equal numbers. "

Although Sokov's explanation did not convince Belkin, the latter considered that before he came here to take office, Rokossovsky and Lobachev had repeatedly told him to cooperate with Sokov. Do a good job. After weighing the strengths in his heart, Belgin nodded and said, "Comrade Battalion Commander, since you are so confident, then act according to your deployment."

  ...

  The 16th Army that attacked Volokramsk, after more than 20 days of fighting, finally successfully liberated the city that once made the Eighth Guards Division famous in history in early January 1942.

During this period of time, the Istria Battalion under the command of Sokov fought more than 40 times, attacked more than a dozen German transport convoys, destroyed more than 200 trucks, and burned There were more than 30 temporary warehouses; in the battle, more than 1,300 German soldiers were killed or wounded. So much so that when the German commanders heard the designation of the "Istria Battalion" or the name of Captain Sokov, they would fight without chills.

  (end of this chapter)