Red Moscow

Bobrikov was a commander with strong execution ability. As soon as the order was issued, he arranged his subordinates to set up checkpoints and build simple fortifications in the designated area.

Sokov's temporary command post was set up in the forest a few hundred meters away from the checkpoint, which made it convenient for him to understand the situation of the three checkpoints in a timely manner.

Just as the tent of the temporary command post was set up, a soldier came over to report: "Comrade Commander, several comrades from the friendly army are here and want to see you."

Hearing the soldier say this, Sokov thought it was a soldier who escaped from the encirclement, so he asked casually: "Are you the comrades who jumped out of the enemy's encirclement?"

But the soldier shook his head and said, "No, Comrade Commander. They are friendly troops from Volokolamsk. They said they are from the 1073rd Infantry Regiment."

Sokov was stunned. He wondered why Panfilov's men came to see him. In order to find out what was going on, he ordered them to "invite the friendly comrades in."

Soon after the soldier left, he walked into the tent with two officers.

"Comrade commanders," the soldier pointed at Sokov and introduced him to the newcomers, "this is our regiment commander."

The two officers quickly raised their hands and saluted Sokov: "Hello, Comrade Major!"

Sokov saw clearly the two officers standing in front of him, one was a captain and the other was a second lieutenant. He raised his hand to return the greeting and asked politely, "My subordinates told me that you are from the 1073rd Regiment and are General Panfilov's subordinates?"

"Yes, Comrade Major," the captain replied. "We are from the 1st Battalion of the 1073rd Infantry Regiment, and we are General Panfilov's men. Do you know our divisional commander?"

"Yes, I have met you once." Sokov nodded. "Just two days ago, when you were transferring from Mozhaysk to Volokolamsk, I met your division commander. By the way, Political Commissar Yegorov was also there."

"Comrade Major, which unit are you from?"

Since he had confirmed the other party's identity, Sokov did not hide it, but answered truthfully: "We are an independent infantry regiment directly under the 16th Army."

"Independent Infantry Regiment?" The captain frowned slightly, turned his head and looked at his subordinates, then continued to ask Sokov: "What are you doing here? You know, this is the defense zone of our first battalion."

The captain's words surprised Sokov. He didn't expect that this was the defense zone of the 1073rd Regiment. He was stunned: "Is this your battalion's defense zone? As far as I know, the defense zone of the 316th Infantry Division is in the Volokolamsk area, which is dozens of kilometers away from the city. How could it be your defense zone?"

"Comrade Major, our division's headquarters is in Volokolamsk, but the troops under it are scattered around the city, and our 1073rd Regiment is deployed in the southwest of the city." The captain explained to Sokov: "Our battalion's defense zone is at the forefront of the division, so it is naturally far away from the city."

"So that's how it is." After Sokov figured out what was going on, he said to the two officers, "We are here to take in the troops that have escaped from the German encirclement. Once we have completed the work of taking them in, we will immediately evacuate this place."

"So, you are here to take in those scattered troops?"

After seeing off his comrades, Sokov immediately summoned Bobrikov and asked directly, "Bobrikov, in addition to the outposts and fortifications, have you sent any scouts to the vicinity?"

"No," Bobrikov answered without hesitation, "Comrade Commander, we didn't have enough men, so I didn't send out any scouts."

Sokov knew very well that what Bobrikov said was true. There were 115 people in the company, and hundreds of them were used just to set up the checkpoints and arrange defenses. There were only a dozen people left by his side. There was indeed no extra manpower to carry out the reconnaissance mission, otherwise he would not have waited for the comrades of the 107th Regiment to arrive nearby before discovering them. Fortunately, the people who appeared nearby were his own people. If they were Germans, the consequences would be very serious.

"Comrade Captain," Sokov said to Bobrikov, "you should immediately dispatch some personnel to conduct reconnaissance in the vicinity. If you encounter our own people who have retreated, tell them where we are; if they are enemies, report back in time so that we can prepare for battle in advance."

"Okay, Comrade Commander," Bobrikov replied, "I will immediately send out scouts to scout the surrounding environment."

"Remember," Sokov specifically reminded him, "Once we find a large number of German troops approaching our area, we must be prepared to move. Our forces are limited, and if we fight the enemy head-on, we won't be able to hold out for long."

But after listening to Sokov's words, Bobrikov said hesitantly: "Comrade, if we immediately retreat when we find a large German force coming, won't they be able to march straight in?"

"Do you think we can stop the Germans from advancing straight ahead by blocking them?" Sokov snorted coldly. "You know, we only have one company of troops now, and they are all lightly armed. Even if the Germans don't have tanks or armored vehicles, they can easily wipe us out with their numerical advantage. So, facing an enemy with superior numbers and equipment, we can only choose to retreat. But don't worry, we have the 1073rd Regiment of the 316th Infantry Division nearby, and they are capable of stopping the enemy."

"What? There are friendly troops nearby?" Bobrikov asked in surprise, "Comrade, who told you that?"

Bobrikov had been busy setting up checkpoints and deploying defenses, so he naturally didn't know what was happening at the command post. Sokov explained to him, "Not long ago, two officers from the 1073rd Regiment came here and said that their 1st Battalion's defense zone was nearby. So when they saw a small force of unknown origin appearing here, they came here to check it out."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Bobrikov nodded and said, "The 316th Infantry Division has been on the defensive for some time. I believe they have built a lot of fortifications and should be more capable of blocking the German attack than us. Then I will arrange for people to conduct reconnaissance nearby."

After an hour or so, a few officers and soldiers were brought to the command post. They had all escaped from the German encirclement and were basically exhausted. Once they arrived, they each found a place to sit down and rest.

When Sokov was thinking about how to organize these people, a lieutenant walked in from outside the tent. After seeing Sokov, he smiled and asked, "Comrade Major, can you provide us with some food?"

"Are you out of food?" Sokov asked.

"Yes." The lieutenant said a little embarrassedly, "My men and I haven't eaten for three or four days. Just now at the checkpoint, I heard from the soldiers on duty that we can get food supplements if we gather here."

When Sokov led the team here, he had considered this problem, so he specially pulled a cart of food to distribute to the officers and soldiers who had just escaped the encirclement. Hearing what the lieutenant said, Sokov hurriedly walked out of the tent, looked outside, and then shouted: "Comrades, come to me!"

Following Sokov's shout, five or six commanders wearing wide-brimmed hats slowly came over and stood in a row in the open space in front of the tent. They looked at Sokov with cold eyes, wanting to hear what he was going to say.

Sokov's eyes swept over several commanders. The highest-ranking one here was a captain, and the lowest-ranking one was a second lieutenant.

"Comrade Captain," Sokov came up to the captain and asked kindly, "What's your name, where did you come from, and what's your position?"

"My name is Ivan Popov," the captain replied respectfully, "I am the quartermaster of the 38th Infantry Division of the 16th Army."

"38th Infantry Division?" Sokov immediately asked when he heard the number: "Who is your division commander?"

"Colonel Kirillov."

"Where is he now?"

In response to Sokov's question, Ivan Popov shook his head and replied: "I'm sorry, Comrade Major, our division was dispersed during the breakout, and I don't even know where the division commander and the division headquarters are now."

"Captain Popov!" Sokov extended his hand to Ivan Popov: "I am Major Sokov, the commander of the 16th Army's independent infantry regiment. Welcome!"

"The 16th Army's Independent Infantry Regiment?" Ivan Popov repeated the unit number and asked cautiously, "Comrade Major, can you tell me who is the current commander of the army?"

After Rokossovsky led the 16th Army to participate in the battle to defend Smolensk, he received an order from General Konev, the commander of the Western Front at the time, to hand over his troops to friendly forces and lead the army's headquarters to Vyazma to receive new troops. After Rokossovsky left, the troops of the original 16th Army were assigned to the 19th and 20th Armies respectively, while Colonel Kirillov's 38th Infantry Division was assigned to the 19th Army.

"Who else could it be? Of course it's General Rokossovsky." Sokov knew that Ivan Popov had been trapped in the German encirclement and had no idea about the outside world, so he explained to him, "The 16th Army is newly formed, but the army leaders are still the same. The place where you are now is the army's defense zone."

When Ivan Popov heard this, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face: "So, Rokossovsky has become our commander again."

Sokov nodded, acknowledging the other party's statement, and continued: "Captain Popov, from now on, I appoint you as the quartermaster of the independent infantry regiment. Do you have any objections to my appointment?"

"No." Ivan Popov had finally escaped from the encirclement of the German army and wanted to join the new unit as soon as possible. Therefore, he accepted Sokov's appointment without hesitation: "I will resolutely obey your orders."

"Okay, since you have no objection, from now on, you are my quartermaster." Sokov looked around and found that there were at least two or three hundred officers and soldiers gathered nearby, so he said to Ivan Popov: "Then I will give you the first order!"

When Ivan Popov heard Sokov say that he would give him the first order, he immediately straightened his back and waited for Sokov's order.

"Captain Popov, the soldiers around here have just escaped from the enemy's encirclement. Many of them are not only exhausted, but also hungry for several days." Sokov pointed to a truck with a tarpaulin parked not far away and said to Ivan Popov: "Your task is to arrange personnel to distribute the food in the truck to the soldiers here."

"No problem, Comrade Commander." Ivan Popov grinned and said, "This is what I do best. I will definitely not let you down."

Sokov called over several soldiers from the guard company and asked them to assist Ivan Popov and distribute food to the sleepy and tired officers and soldiers.

But before officially distributing the food, Sokov reminded Ivan Popov: "Captain Popov, my people are still taking in officers and soldiers who have escaped from the enemy's encirclement. It is still unknown how many people they can take in. Therefore, the distribution of supplies must be properly arranged to prevent the new officers and soldiers from starving."

After hearing what Sokov said, Ivan Popov scratched the back of his head and said with some embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, based on my experience, if there are only two or three hundred people, the food on the train should be enough to distribute. But if more people come, there won't be enough. Do you have any way to get more food?"

Sokov thought for a moment, called the lieutenant who had come to his tent to ask for food, and said to him, "Comrade Lieutenant, take a few people back to the headquarters and ask Chief of Staff Malinin for another batch of food."

"But, Comrade Commander," the lieutenant said somewhat awkwardly, "I don't know where the headquarters is. And even if I find the headquarters, will Chief of Staff Malinin agree to provide me with food?"

"Don't worry about that." Sokov said to the lieutenant, "The drivers are all sent by the headquarters. After you and your people get on the car, they will take you directly to the headquarters. As for the chief of staff, I will write him a note and he should be able to provide us with the necessary food."