Red Moscow

In this small-scale battle, Sokov was very satisfied with Captain Yefim's ability to make decisions on the spot.

Yefim accurately judged that the enemy was 50 meters away based on the sounds coming from the forest, and threw a grenade decisively. The throwing distance of a grenade is generally 20 to 30 meters, and even if it explodes, it will not hurt the people in the forest. The fire produced by the grenade exposed the hiding place of the people in the forest and pointed out the direction for the officers and soldiers on the position to shoot.

Regardless of whether they are enemies or friends in the forest, they will instinctively fight back after hearing the explosion. Then the people on the battlefield can accurately judge whether it is friends or enemies based on the gunshots coming from the opposite side.

In comparison, Belkin's reaction was much slower. He appeared at the position of the first battalion after the battle was over. Looking at the fire in the distant forest that had not yet been extinguished, he asked Sokov in confusion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what's going on? What happened here?"

Sokov sighed inwardly, thinking that the deputy brigade commander's performance was too disappointing. The battle was over, but he still hadn't figured out what had happened. If he were in charge of the troops, he might not be able to take any countermeasures when the Germans got in front of him.

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, a small group of enemies just tried to attack the first battalion's position." Sokov looked at Belkin and said casually, "Fortunately, the commander of the first battalion, Captain Yefim, noticed it in time and successfully repelled the enemy's attack."

Belkin glanced toward the fire again and asked a series of questions: "Have you sent anyone to check? What are the casualties of our army?"

"We are still counting our losses," Sokov said briefly. "It's too dark, and we don't know what's going on in the forest, so I didn't send anyone to check."

"Why not check?" Belkin said anxiously, "Then how do we know how many enemies we have killed?"

"We are not sure whether the sneak attacking enemy has been eliminated. If we rashly send people to check, there is a high possibility that they will be shot by the enemy hiding in the dark, causing unnecessary casualties." Sokov said, "So I plan to wait until daybreak before sending people to check."

After hearing what Sokov said, Belkin looked towards the forest for the third time and found that except for the area on fire, the rest of the area was in darkness. If there were any escaped Germans hiding nearby, sending people to check rashly might cause unnecessary casualties.

After understanding this, he did not insist on his own opinion, but nodded and agreed with Sokov's approach: "Comrade Brigade Commander, your decision is correct."

"Report!" Yefim came up to the two men and reported, "According to statistics, in the battle that ended not long ago, our battalion lost 2 people and injured 6 people. As for the enemy's casualties, we haven't sent anyone to check yet, so we don't know yet. Report completed!"

After learning about the casualties of the troops, Belkin nodded and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, when faced with an enemy surprise attack, you were able to organize a counterattack in time, and the casualties were so small, which shows that the First Battalion is combat-ready."

Sokov waited for Belkin to finish speaking, then turned to Yefim and asked, "Comrade Captain, what percentage of the soldiers in your battalion are veterans?"

Yefim knew that the "veterans" Sokov was asking about were the officers and soldiers left in the battalion before they were replenished, so he quickly replied, "Reporting to the brigade commander, my battalion now has more than 500 people, including more than 100 veterans, accounting for a quarter of the total battalion strength."

"If, I mean if." Sokov looked at Yefim and asked, "If the enemy launches a fierce attack on you instead of a sneak attack, can your battalion stop them?"

Sokov also felt a headache. In his previous life, with the help of Yakov, he was able to make assault rifles, rocket launchers or 107 rocket launchers available ahead of time. In this life, although Yakov was rescued, it was still unknown whether he would be assigned to the weapons and equipment department to continue to provide assistance to him. If he did not have acquaintances in the weapons and equipment department to help him, it would be impossible to imagine that he had made weapons that surpassed this era in advance in his previous life.

Without advanced anti-tank weapons, the Soviet Army could only rely on the various anti-tank weapons it had to deal with the German tanks, and the casualties of the troops would probably be beyond their imagination.

Sokov and Belkin returned to the tent of the brigade headquarters. Morozova immediately stood up and reported to them: "Comrades, I received a telegram from the 316th Infantry Division, asking what the gunfire here is about?"

Hearing Morozova's question, Sokov thought that the sound of gunfire would travel farther at night, and that the officers and soldiers of the nearby 1073rd Regiment must have heard the gunfire here, but they couldn't figure out what was going on, so they reported to Panfilov. That's why they sent such a telegram to ask what happened.

"Call back the 316th Division." Sokov took the telegram from Morozova, read the contents, and then dictated the contents to the other party: "Our defense zone suffered a surprise attack by the German army, but the attacking enemy has been repelled."

Morozova had just sent a reply to the 316th Division when she received another telegram from the headquarters, also asking what exactly had happened there.

After hearing this, Sokov couldn't help but smile bitterly. He really didn't expect that such a small matter as the German surprise attack would even alarm the army headquarters. However, since the other party had sent a telegram specifically to inquire about this matter, he naturally had to give an explanation to the headquarters: "Operator, forward the telegram just now to the army headquarters, and add a sentence at the end: 'Our army suffered only minor casualties.'"

A few minutes later, Malinin received a telegram from the Infantry Brigade.

After reading the above, he reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, according to Major Sokov's report, their defense zone was attacked by the Germans. Fortunately, they discovered it in time and the Germans who launched the attack have been repelled by them."

"Well done." After listening, Rokossovsky nodded slightly and said in an approving tone: "The infantry brigade was formed not long ago. I didn't expect that it could respond in time when attacked by the enemy. This is really beyond my expectation."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Romanov heard what Rokossovsky said and quickly agreed: "From this incident, we can see that Major Sokov is a very competent commander. If it were someone else, even if we could repel the enemy's attack, I'm afraid we would suffer considerable casualties."

"Since the enemy has launched a surprise attack on Sokov's defense zone, it means that their main force is not far from here." Rokossovsky said to Malinin: "After daybreak, let the transport team deliver a batch of weapons, ammunition and supplies to Sokov and his men to strengthen their strength."

"Comrade Commander, do you mean to let them build defenses in the existing area?" Malinin asked.

"Of course not." Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "That is just the area where he will gather his troops. Once he has gathered enough troops, he will withdraw them to the headquarters as the army's reserve. When the critical moment comes, he will send them to the battlefield."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," a communications staff officer came to Malinin hurriedly with a telegram he had just received and reported to him, "The latest order just received."

"Is it a telegram from the front headquarters?" asked Malinin.

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." The communications staff shook his head and said, "It was an order issued by the Supreme Command!"

"What, it's an order from the Supreme Command?" Malinin couldn't help but be shocked after hearing this. He never dreamed that the Supreme Command would bypass the front headquarters and directly issue combat orders to the army group headquarters.

Rokossovsky heard the conversation between Malinin and the communications staff, and quickly stretched out his hand and said seriously: "Give me the telegram!"

Malinin had just received the telegram and had not had time to read its contents when he heard what Rokossovsky said and quickly handed the telegram over.

Rokossovsky took the telegram and quickly read its contents. When he saw the contents of the telegram clearly, his brows twisted into a knot.

Seeing Rokossovsky's expression, Malinin, the chief of staff, naturally understood that the content of the telegram was definitely not good news, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I wonder what order the Supreme Command gave us?"

Rokossovsky sighed softly, handed the telegram to Malinin, and said helplessly: "The Supreme Command ordered us to take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the German army is pinned down by the 5th Army and launch a counterattack against the enemy in front of us within 24 hours."

Malinin, who was about to read the telegram, was frightened and shuddered: "What? Let us launch a counterattack?"

"Yes, let's fight back."

Malinin brought the telegram to his eyes and quickly read the contents. He was immediately filled with despair: "Comrade Commander, we only have so few troops. It's barely enough for defense, but if we use it for attack, wouldn't that be courting death?"

Rokossovsky did not say anything, and Romanov spoke up first: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since this is an order from the Supreme Command, we should execute it instead of discussing whether this order is appropriate?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander," Rokossovsky turned to Romanov and said, "The enemy's forces are far stronger than we imagined. If we rashly launch a counterattack against the enemy and suffer too many casualties, where will we find new troops to stop the enemy from advancing towards Moscow?"

"Comrade Commander, what should we do?" Malinin, who was somewhat at a loss, asked Rokossovsky: "Do we really want to carry out this order from the Supreme Command and waste our precious manpower in a counterattack that has no chance of success?"

Hearing Malinin's words, Lobachev could no longer remain calm, and he also came over to ask Rokossovsky: "Yes, Comrade Commander, what should we do? Should we execute this order or not? It's up to you to make a decision."

As a soldier, Rokossovsky wanted to obey the order and launch a counterattack against the enemy in front of him; but as a commander on the front line, he felt that such a hasty counterattack would have no chance of winning due to the lack of sufficient troops, air cover, tanks and artillery, and the lack of ammunition and supplies to support the counterattack. If this order was forcibly executed, it would be tantamount to sending the officers and soldiers to their deaths.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, waiting for him to make the final decision, Rokossovsky said after careful consideration: "I think we should report this matter to General Zhukov. After all, he is the commander of the Western Front and has the right to know the orders given to us by our superiors."

After Rokossovsky's proposal was approved by everyone, he picked up the phone on the table and said to the topic: "Signalman, this is Rokossovsky, connect me to the front headquarters immediately, and ask for General Zhukov."

After a short wait, Zhukov's call was connected.

"Rokossovsky!" Zhukov called Rokossovsky's name and asked directly: "Why are you calling me in the middle of the night? Is there something important?"

"Yes, something very important."

"What's the important thing? Have the Germans attacked your lines?"

"Not yet," Rokossovsky said. "We just received a telegram from the Supreme Command."

"The Supreme Command sent you a telegram?" Zhukov was also very surprised when he heard Rokossovsky say this: "What did the telegram say?"

"The Supreme Command has ordered us to launch a full-scale counterattack against the enemy in front of us within 24 hours."

"What? Launch a full-scale counterattack against the enemy in front of us in two hours." After hearing what Rokossovsky said, Zhukov slapped his hand hard on the table and said repeatedly, "Nonsense, it's just nonsense. Your army group has just been rebuilt and its troops are seriously insufficient. It is barely enough for defense. How can you have extra troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy? I will call Comrade Stalin immediately to ask what is going on."