Red Moscow

  Chapter 1573 Action failed

  The 1st Battalion and 1st Company of the 73rd Infantry Brigade have been stationed near the Dnieper River Bridge since they were withdrawn from the front for rest. Although the company commander, Captain Narva, did not receive an order to form a patrol, he still set up a sentry post by the river to prevent possible German infiltration.

  A recruit named Komarov was on duty that night. He was on duty alone for the first time. Standing beside the dark Dnieper River, listening to the rushing water, he felt very scared. When I was scared, I felt a little uncomfortable in my stomach and wanted to go to the toilet.

  He looked around, and with the help of the light of the moon, he found that there was no one everywhere, so he left his post and found a secluded place to solve the problem. After he released his hands, he didn't return to the sentry post immediately, but leaned against a rock, took out the cigarettes in his pocket, and took one out to his mouth.

  He groped all over his body, but couldn't find a match. Then he remembered that before he took up his post, a veteran asked him to borrow a match. Just when he was annoyed, he suddenly saw a small team of ten or twenty people coming towards his position along the river in the distance.

   Seeing someone approaching him, Komarov was overjoyed, thinking that he could ask the other party for help. Just when he was about to come out from behind the rock, he accidentally discovered that these people, although they were wearing Soviet uniforms, were all carrying a big box in their hands without exception. Komarov felt strange: "These people What do people do, why does everyone carry a box in their hands?"

Komarov was more thoughtful, and did not come out from behind the rock immediately, but silently said the number of the other party: "One, two... seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty." After counting the number of opponents, he began to murmur in his heart, "Patrol teams usually only have 12 people. How could there be 20 people in this small team? It's really strange."

   Just thinking about it, the small team had already reached a place not far from him. When Komarov was hesitating as if he should go out and question the other party's background, he suddenly heard someone in the team say a word. But it was not Russian, but a language that he did not understand.

   is German! Komarov's heart suddenly rose to his throat, and he held the assault rifle tightly in his hand, thinking that if the Germans found out, he would shoot without hesitation, to save the comrades in the station. Warning.

"Shut up!" Another voice came from the team, and he said sharply in Russian: "We are now in the Russian defense zone, and we are wearing their uniforms, so we can only speak their language, understand Yet?"

   "Understood." The soldier who accidentally spoke German quickly apologized and said, "Mr. Captain, I was wrong, please forgive me. I will not make similar mistakes next time."

"I'll emphasize it again." The German, known as the captain, said to his subordinates in Russian in a low voice: "We are behind the Russian defense zone, and we must not make any mistakes, otherwise we will lose our lives. Understand?"

   "Understood." The surrounding soldiers agreed in unison, but they all lowered their voices in unison.

The German captain looked up at the sky, and then said: "The rain has stopped and the moon has come out. Our actions may be exposed. When we march later, we must be more vigilant. If we find anything wrong, we will start immediately." Gun shooting."

   Soon, the German squad disguised as the Soviet army continued to move forward.

  When the team walked out of their field of vision, Komarov jumped out of his hiding place like a wind-up toy, and ran towards the company headquarters recklessly.

  He rushed straight into the house and reported to the company commander Narva who was awakened: "Comrade company commander, it's not good, we found the enemy in our defense zone."

Hearing that the enemy was spotted, not only Narva got up from the camp bed, but even the soldiers and communications soldiers lying on the ground nearby sat up straight and looked at Komarov, trying to figure out where the enemy came from .

  Narva rubbed his eyes and recognized that the soldier standing in front of him was Komarov, the sentry post on duty tonight. He frowned slightly and asked, "Where did you find the Germans?"

   "It's at my post." From Narva's expression, Komarov saw that the other party didn't seem to believe him, so he quickly told Narva everything that happened just now.

   After listening to Narva, he stared at Komarov for a while, and then asked: "How many troops does the German have? How is the equipment?"

"I counted them carefully, and there are 20 people in total." After answering this question, Komarov carefully recalled the details before continuing: "Each of them carried a big box in their hands, and they seemed to be carrying submachine guns on their chests." .”

  After figuring out what he wanted to know, Narva picked up the phone on the table and got in touch with the battalion headquarters. When Battalion Commander Mikhaiev's voice came out of the receiver, he quickly reported: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I have important information to report to you. We found traces of Germans in our company's defense zone."

When Mikhaiev heard this information, he was very surprised: "We found traces of the Germans. Where did they infiltrate?" Communicate and find out where the enemy came in from.

"According to the sentinel's report." Narva turned his head and glanced at Komarov, and continued: "The Germans came along the river, it may have been raining just now, and the visibility was limited, so they could pass by so easily. The defense zone of the mechanized army."

   "How many enemies are there? What kind of equipment?" Mikhaiev waited for Narva to finish speaking, and asked a series of questions: "Where do you think their destination is?"

Narva replied with confidence: "There are 20 enemies in total, and they are all wearing uniforms of our army. Each of them is carrying a big box in his hand, which looks like explosives. According to my analysis, the enemy's target must be Dnieper." bridge over the Beth."

"Comrade Captain, your analysis is correct." Mikhaiev nodded and said, "Once the Germans blow up the bridge, our connection with the left bank will be cut off. What measures are you going to take to deal with this enemy?" ?”

"I plan to concentrate my forces, follow the Germans, and choose the right time to attack them." After Narva said his plan, he reminded Mikhaiev: "Comrade battalion commander, I think you should attack them." Report this matter to your superiors as soon as possible, so that the troops guarding the bridge can prepare for battle."

"I will report this matter to my superiors." Mikhaiev said to Narva: "Comrade Captain, in the battle some time ago, your company was reduced too much. You have to deal with 20 Germans, so the strength of your company may be reduced." Insufficient. Let’s do this, I will immediately send Yegor’s second company to help you.”

   "With the assistance of the second company, we will be more confident in eliminating this enemy."

   After Mikhaiev ended the call with Narva, he immediately reported what happened here to Guchakov. In the end, he specifically emphasized: "Comrade Brigadier, I think it is necessary to strengthen the guard of the bridge guards and not allow anyone to approach the bridge, otherwise the enemy's sabotage plot may succeed."

Guchakov agreed with Mikhaiev's statement very much. He nodded and said: "Comrade Captain, you are right. Since our army established the landing field, the battle has been far away from the bridge. Proceed, the bridge guards may feel that the enemy cannot approach the bridge at all, so they will not be too vigilant and will suffer losses under the German sneak attack. This matter is of great importance, and I will report it to the army headquarters immediately."

  Guchakov knew very well that once the Dnieper River Bridge was destroyed by the German army, the materials transported from the left bank would definitely be interrupted for a period of time, and his troops might be short of supplies by then. Therefore, as soon as the call with Mikhaiev was over, he immediately asked the communications soldier to connect him to the headquarters.

  The phone was connected, and a strange voice came from inside: "This is the headquarters of the group army. Where are you?"

Guchakov guessed that the person who answered the phone should be the staff officer on duty. In order to prevent the other party from ignoring his report, he quickly revealed his identity: "I am Major Guchakov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. I have an important situation. Report to Comrade Commander."

   "Comrade Major," the watchman said politely: "The commander and the chief of staff have rested. If you have anything, you can tell me. I will tell them after dawn."

"No." Knowing that the duty officer had to wait until dawn before reporting to Sokov and Sameko, Guchakov was anxious at the time: "The situation I want to report is extremely urgent, so I called the commander and chief of staff immediately. Otherwise, once you miss the opportunity to fight, you can wait to go to the military court."

   Hearing Guchakov's tone so harsh, the duty officer realized that the problem might be more serious than he thought. He didn't dare to disturb Sokov, so he could only wake Sameko up, and said cautiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Major Guchakov called, saying that there is something urgent, and he needs to report to you or the commander immediately." .”

Sameko, who was woken up from his sleep by the duty officer, was suffocating, but when he was about to have an attack, he heard the call from Guchakov, and he suddenly woke up: "Have you hung up the phone?" ?”

"not yet."

Sameko bent down to put on his boots, rushed to the table where the phone was placed, grabbed the microphone on the table, and whispered to his ear, "Major Guchakov? I'm Guchakov, you Is there anything important to report?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff." Guchakov heard that it was Sameko who answered the phone, and reported to him truthfully: "I received a report that an enemy disguised as our army passed through the mechanized army along the Dnieper River. The defense zone has entered our defense zone."

   Knowing that a group of enemies disguised as Soviet troops penetrated into the defense zone of the infantry brigade, Sameko couldn't help frowning. While looking down at the map in front of him, he asked with a serious expression, "How many troops does the enemy have, and what are their intentions?"

"There are 20 enemies, and everyone is carrying a large box in their hands." Guchakov reported to Sameko: "Based on what they are carrying and the direction they are going, I guess they are going to destroy the Dnieper River." Bridge."

  Sameko carefully looked at the map in front of him and agreed with Guchakov's analysis. He then asked, "What measures have you taken?"

"Mikhaiev's first battalion has dispatched the first company and the second company respectively; I have also transferred a company from the fourth battalion to go for reinforcements." Guchakov said: "I am worried that there are too few defenders on the bridge. Encountering a sneak attack by the German army, I am afraid that the bridge will soon fall into the hands of the enemy."

"I see, Major Guchakov." After thinking about the countermeasures in his mind, Sameko said to Guchakov: "Leave the rest to me, thank you for the timely information. "

After putting down the phone, Sameko stared at the map and thought for a while. He felt that the Germans appeared in the defense zone of the infantry brigade at the moment. Reduced, because the two newly built pontoon bridges can only be used by infantry, and materials can only be transported by manpower.

   Seeing Sameko standing in front of the table in a daze, the duty officer asked tentatively, "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you need to wake up the commander?"

   "It's not necessary." Sameko shook his head, rejecting the watchman's proposal. In his opinion, the German army's attempt to destroy the bridge was indeed a major event, but it was a bit of a fuss to wake up Sokov. He picked up the phone on the table and said into the receiver: "This is Sameko, connect me to the special connection."

  The phone was connected, and a lazy voice came out of the receiver: "Who is it?"

   "I'm Sameko." Sameko said sternly, "Call Lieutenant Samoilov to answer the phone immediately."

  The person who answered the phone learned that the caller was Sameko, and immediately changed his expression: "It turns out that it is Comrade Chief of Staff, please wait a moment, I will call the lieutenant to answer the phone immediately."

   Soon, Samoilov's solemn voice came from the receiver: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, I am Samoilov. What instructions do you have?"

"Comrade Lieutenant, according to reliable information, a small German army disguised as our army has passed through the defense zone of the mechanized army along the bank of the Dnieper River, and is heading for the bridge across the river." Sameko said bluntly. Said: "You immediately send capable people to reinforce the defenders on the bridge and prevent the Germans from destroying the bridge."

   "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." Samoilov learned that the German army tried to blow up the Dnieper River Bridge, and quickly said seriously: "I will immediately send reinforcements to the bridge defenders."

"Comrade Lieutenant, let me remind you." Sameko worried that Samoilov would suffer, and specifically reminded him: "The German army pretended to be our army. Maybe when you arrived at the bridge, they had already occupied the bridge. Go on the bridge Be vigilant at all times, so as not to be caught off guard by the enemy."

   "Thank you for the reminder, Chief of Staff." Sameko's words were enlightening, and Samoilov realized that the task tonight would not be completed, and quickly stated: "We will be more vigilant when we get on the bridge."

  (end of this chapter)