Red Moscow

  Chapter 2084

  When Pornedelin criticized Ismailov for not paying attention, he also instinctively glanced at his watch. Eight minutes had passed since the staff officer left. He was very worried that the staff officer would not be able to come back and report to him what happened within the stipulated time.

Fortunately, what he was worried about did not happen in the end. The door was pushed open from the outside, and the staff officer hurried in, came to Ponejielin, straightened his back and reported to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, Got it all figured out!"

   "What's going on." Ponegerin said to the staff officer, "Speak up, don't be like a young couple whispering."

Hearing what Ponegerin said, the staff officer raised his voice and said: "A soldier reported to the company commander that he saw two German soldiers with rucksacks in the nearby forest. what sabotage..."

   "Okay, I understand the situation." Pornegerin then asked the staff officer: "Have you asked the company commander to take any measures?"

   "I asked him to send a platoon of troops to search the vicinity, and we must find the whereabouts of the two German soldiers."

  Pornegelin nodded after hearing this, and said to the staff officer: "I see. You continue to watch, wait for the company commander to eliminate the enemy, and then report to me."

After the staff officer left, Bonegelin smiled and said to everyone: "Everyone heard it, but two enemies rushed into our defense area. Even a company commander can handle such a small matter. There is no need to report to the division at all."

  When he said this, Pornejelin couldn't help but think of his former self. If he had been in a meeting before and heard someone report to him that a German was found nearby, he would definitely end the meeting immediately and rush over with a group of people to find out what was going on.

   Now that I have been with Sokov for a long time, I have gradually learned a lot of the other party's style of handling affairs. For example, today, after encountering this incident, I did not end the meeting hastily, but arranged for someone to deal with it, and I still stayed here to assign tasks to the commanders who participated in the meeting.

   "Comrades, today's meeting is over." Pornegerin said to everyone: "Everyone go back to their respective troops. Everyone has a good rest today, so that we will have enough energy to fight tomorrow."

  The place where Ponedelin is located is Ismailov's division headquarters. The other commanders who participated in the meeting left, but Ismailov will stay here to continue commanding operations.

   "Comrade Colonel, I think it is necessary to talk to you." Pornedelin called Ismailov to sit down, and said to him: "Do you really feel that the German army has increased its troops?"

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander." Ismailov nodded vigorously to Ponedelin's question and gave him an affirmative answer: "According to the number of German troops on the battlefield, there is definitely more than one division's strength. .”

   "With our current strength, do you think we can deal with them?"

  Ismailov thought for a while, and replied: "If we are only defending, we should be able to withstand their attack. But if we are attacking, our strength will be a little weak."

"Comrade Colonel, I want to remind you of one thing. The combat mission of your two divisions is to relieve the cavalry army trapped in the fortified area." People attack. Didn't you notice that the tasks I assigned to everyone at the meeting were all to attack in such and such a field, not to defend?"

  Although Ismailov was somewhat absent-minded during the meeting, he still heard most of what Ponedelin said, so he nodded and said, "Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, I heard everything."

Seeing Ismailov's disturbed expression, Ponedelin comforted him and said, "Comrade Colonel, don't worry. You are not fighting alone. If necessary, you will receive support. Nearby, there are people stationed in Buenos Aires. Three infantry brigades in Leicester; far away, there are units of the 65th and 70th armies."

"What, the troops of the 65th and 70th armies?" Ismailov asked with some surprise: "When are they going to go into battle? If they do go into battle, if the Germans don't want to be annihilated by our army, they can only choose retreat."

   "I don't know the specific time to join the battle." Ponejielin said to Ismailov: "The reason why I didn't mention this in the meeting just now is that I don't know when they will be able to participate in the battle."

"It's better to get better and better." Ismailov said: "Now that the cavalry army is trapped in the fortified area, even if it can get supplies through airdrops, it will still be detrimental to the combat effectiveness of the troops over time." Impact."

   Hearing what Ismailov said, Ponejielin suddenly remembered something, and asked quickly: "By the way, can you get in touch with the fortified area?"

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, you can get in touch." Ismailov nodded and said, "My communications soldier found a telephone line that can connect to the fortified area, so I can directly communicate with General Pliyev. call."

   "That's really great." Ponedelin told Ismailov: "Immediately connect the phone to the fortified area, and I want to talk to General Pliyev."

  After the call was connected, Ponegerin first identified himself to the other party, and then said bluntly: "General Pliyev, you have obviously seen our army's attack during the day."

   "Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, I did see it."

   "The relief operation we implemented was not very successful, so you may have to wait two more days to get rid of the siege of the German army."

   "I understand, Comrade Deputy Commander." Pliyev tentatively asked on the phone: "Look, when you attack the enemy tomorrow, do we need to dispatch troops to cooperate?"

   Regarding Pliyev's proposal, Ponedelin thought for a while, and finally rejected it: "I don't think it is necessary. You want to preserve your strength, so you should hold back for the time being."

Not long after calling Pliyev here, the staff officer hurried in, raised his hand to salute Ponyedelin Ismailov, and reported: "Comrade Deputy Commander, that The company commander called and said that their search force found two German soldiers two or three kilometers away from the position. After some fighting, one of them was killed, while the other was wounded and captured."

   "Has the prisoner been interrogated?"

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, I have already been interrogated." The staff officer nodded and replied: "According to the confession of the prisoners, they sent six sabotage teams tonight to go deep into the city of Brest to sabotage them. The plane I was on was hit by our army’s anti-aircraft artillery fire. Except for the two of them who parachuted in time, the whole team was reimbursed along with the plane.”

  Knowing that the German army dispatched six sabotage teams to prepare to parachute to Brest to carry out sabotage, Pornejelin couldn't help but look livid: "How many people are there in a sabotage team?"

   "Eight people." The staff officer repeated what he had just said: "However, according to the captives, except for the two of them who successfully parachuted, the rest of them crashed together with the plane."

"Six sabotage teams," Ponegerin said solemnly, "that is to say, there are 48 paratroopers. Even if one of the sabotage teams is eliminated by us, the enemy still has five sabotage teams and 40 people left." , the threat is not small."

   Soon, Ponegerin ordered the communications corps to connect to the group army headquarters. He planned to tell Sokov directly about the matter, so that he could take precautions earlier.

  Sokov heard Ponegerin's voice on the phone, and asked him with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Commander, is the military meeting over?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander, the military meeting has ended, and the people who should be arranged have been arranged."

  Sokov heard that there was something wrong with Ponegerin's voice, so he tentatively asked: "Comrade Deputy Commander, is there something wrong, I think your tone of voice seems a little bit wrong."

"Comrade Commander, not long ago, a company of the 284th Division captured a German paratrooper." Ponegerin said: "According to his confession, the German army dispatched six sabotage teams tonight, preparing to fly in the air tonight." Airborne near Brest, then entered the city to wreak havoc.

   One of the airborne team’s plane was intercepted by our army’s anti-aircraft artillery during the flight. Except for two people who parachuted, the rest of them were reimbursed with the crashed plane. Each of their sabotage teams has eight people. Even if one of the sabotage teams is lost, that is to say, they still have five teams of 40 people who will enter Brest tonight to wreak havoc.

  Comrade Commander, for the sake of your safety, I think you should take precautions so as not to be taken advantage of by the Germans. "

Knowing that there was a German sabotage team preparing to airborne near the city, Sokov's expression also became serious. After thanking Ponejielin, he hung up the phone directly, and then called Koshkin. Said to him: "Captain Koshkin, I just received a call from Comrade Deputy Commander."

   "What did Comrade Deputy Commander say on the phone?"

"He said that the German army dispatched six sabotage teams tonight, preparing to airborne near Brest, and then enter the city to sabotage." Sokov said to Koshkin: "Although one of the sabotage team's plane was on the way, It was shot down by our army's anti-aircraft artillery fire, but there are still five sabotage teams that may sneak into the city under the cover of night to wreak havoc."

   "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, how many people are there in a German sabotage team?"

   "A sabotage team has eight people, and five is forty people." Sokov said with emotion: "Their strength is not weak. You must not take it lightly, so as not to suffer a big loss."

Knowing that forty members of the German sabotage team were about to sneak into the city, Koshkin immediately became vigilant: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask for instructions. Can we draw manpower from the three infantry brigades to assist us?" Our night patrol work?"

Perhaps because he was worried that Sokov would disagree, he added specifically: "You must know that there is only one guard regiment for the troops defending the Army Group Command. If I take away too many people, it will affect the security work of the headquarters; But if there are fewer people, it won’t be able to play the necessary role.”

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin interjected before Sokov could speak, "how about I call the three brigade commanders right now and ask them to draw a company of troops from each brigade to participate in the night battle?" search work."

  Sokov thought that although Brest is not a big city, if only one or two battalions are dispatched to search, it may not be effective. If you encounter the enemy's stubborn resistance, this little force may not be able to help them. So after a little thought, I agreed with Sidolin's proposal: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, I will do as you said, let each of the three infantry brigades have a company, and give it to Captain Koshkin to command. To eliminate the sabotage team that sneaked into the city."

However, after Koshkin left, Sokov finally told him two words: "Koshkin, because of this night operation, several units are operating at the same time, and they are not familiar with each other. It is very likely that the enemy will fish in troubled waters." .In order to avoid this kind of situation, you must take measures to identify at night in advance, understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." Koshkin nodded and said, "As long as the Germans enter the city, I will never let them leave alive."

After Koshkin left, Sokov told Sidolin again: "Chief of staff, inform the chief of the security department that there may be Germans sneaking into the city at night to cause sabotage, and ask him to strengthen the defense of the headquarters. Let the Germans take our lair away."

  Hearing what Sokov said, Sidolin couldn't help but smile: "Comrade Commander, I believe that no matter how powerful the German sabotage team is, there is no way to deal with my headquarters. I think you are worrying too much."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, that's not what he said." Sokov reminded Sidolin: "If we are not afraid of 10,000, we are afraid of the eventuality. If we relax the security work of the headquarters and let the Germans come in, I'm afraid We will pay no small price. Once the headquarters is destroyed by the Germans, the entire army will be thrown into chaos because of the loss of unified command.

  You must know that we are now fighting in two directions at the same time. If there is a problem with the headquarters, it will also have a negative impact on the troops on the front line. Maybe at that time, both combat directions will end in failure. "

Seeing what Sokov said so seriously, Sidolin did not dare to take it lightly, and quickly said: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will immediately call the chief of the security department and ask him to send someone to strengthen the arrangements near the headquarters." , to prevent the Germans from infiltrating."

  Sukov suddenly remembered a scene from a movie: a group of German soldiers robbed a truck and rushed to the local headquarters at full speed. While the vehicle was driving, although defenders rushed out to intercept it, they were all robbed by soldiers in the vehicle and turned into a hornet's nest.

  In order to avoid such tragedies, Sokov also specially emphasized: "It is better to arrange more machine gun fortifications inside and outside the building, so that even if the German army launches a strong attack on the headquarters, our soldiers can block them."

  Sidorin felt that Sokov's arrangement was obviously a little neurotic. Now outside the headquarters, there are at least fifty officers and soldiers on duty. Even if the German sabotage team gathers and launches a strong attack on the headquarters, the commanders and fighters outside are fully capable of blocking them.

  However, since Sokov had already explained this, Sidolin still conveyed his meaning to the chief of the security department, and told the other party to add a few more machine gun fortifications inside and outside the building to prevent the enemy from jumping over the wall in a hurry and attacking the headquarters.

  (end of this chapter)