Red Moscow

"Comrade Brigade Commander, please forgive me for being blunt." Alexa, the commander of the second battalion who had been silent the whole time, said, "The place you are talking about is a dense forest. It is not easy for only one or two hundred people to find the secret arsenal hidden in it."

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander." As soon as Alexa finished speaking, Chief of Staff Cherkasov echoed: "I think what the Second Battalion Commander said makes sense. It is not an easy task for one or two hundred people to find our army's hidden arsenal in the dense forest."

Facing his subordinates' doubts, Sokov did not show any dissatisfaction. He knew very well that if he didn't know the exact location, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find a hidden arsenal in a forest.

"Don't worry, everyone." Sokov said calmly, "If we search aimlessly in the forest, it will definitely not be easy to find the armory. But if we look for it according to some signs, the chances of finding the armory are still very high."

"What sign?" Belkin asked curiously.

"Since it is an arsenal, it must contain a large amount of weapons, ammunition and other supplies." Sokov explained to everyone, "To carry so many things into the forest, it is definitely not possible to rely on manpower alone. We must rely on vehicles. For vehicles to enter the forest, there must be a road. In other words, as long as you find the road in the forest, and then search along the road, you may be able to find the arsenal hidden in the forest."

After Sokov's explanation, everyone suddenly understood.

Yefim was the first to speak: "Comrade Commander, what you said means we can be sure of finding the arsenal hidden in the forest." After a pause, he asked tentatively: "Will you allow me to leave?"

"Of course, of course it's allowed." Sokov nodded to Yefim and said to everyone, "Comrade battalion commanders, I don't know when the Germans will launch their next attack, so you should hurry up and find the arsenal and try to make the equipment of each battalion better before the new battle starts."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Alexa asked cautiously, "Since it's an armory, there must be artillery inside. If we can really get artillery, can we form an artillery unit?"

"Second Battalion Commander, your suggestion is good. If we want to crush the enemy's attacks again and again, it is absolutely necessary to form an artillery unit." Sokov took advantage of the fact that several battalion commanders had not left and emphasized: "After you go back, ask the officers and soldiers if there are any artillerymen. If there are, transfer them out. After we get the artillery, we will immediately form an artillery unit."

After several battalion commanders left, Belkin asked Sokov anxiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you really think we can find an arsenal in the forest?"

"I think we should be able to find it." Although Sokov knew that there was a secret arsenal in the defense zone, he only knew the approximate location. Whether it could be found was still an unknown, so he did not dare to speak too confidently: "I once heard a general say that in order to better resist the enemy's attack, several secret arsenals were built in the forests near Moscow, which stored a large amount of weapons, ammunition and supplies."

Belkin was skeptical about Sokov's statement, but considering Sokov's identity, he pretended to believe it: "If we can really find the arsenal, then our brigade's weapons, ammunition and supplies will not be a problem. You know, although the army headquarters keeps sending us supplies, it's still a little short for us."

Sokov quite agreed with Belkin's statement. He had taken in more than 4,000 people at once, and the weapons provided by the army headquarters were based on the standard of 2,000 people. Therefore, up to now, many soldiers in the brigade were still unarmed, and their weapons had been lost long ago during the breakout.

Before there was any news about the search for the arsenal, Bobrikov came running over and reported the good news to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, Comrade Brigade Commander, good news, good news!"

Hearing what Bobrikov said, Sokov couldn't help but feel happy, and then asked: "Did you find the arsenal?"

When Sokov convened an emergency military meeting, he did not invite Bobrikov to attend. The latter naturally did not know what the arsenal Sokov was talking about was. He asked in confusion: "What arsenal?"

"I'm asking you, what's the good news?" Sokov asked directly without explaining.

"There is an artillery unit heading towards us." Bobrikov said excitedly, "It won't be long before they reach us."

"Is this the artillery assigned to us by our superiors?" asked Belkin.

"I think so," Bobrikov replied. "They are coming towards us now."

Sokov was naturally happy to learn that an artillery unit had arrived, but he was more concerned about the size of the artillery unit: "Captain Bobrikov, how many guns are there?"

Bobrikov held up four fingers and replied, "Four guns. I looked carefully and saw that they were four 76.2-millimeter cannons."

The smile on Belkin's face froze and gradually disappeared. He said with some regret: "Why are there only four guns? You know, once the Germans launch a large-scale attack, they will deploy at least dozens of tanks. Can four guns stop them?"

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, although four artillery pieces are a little less, it's better than nothing." After saying this to Belkin, Sokov instructed Bobrikov: "Comrade Captain, when the artillery arrives, bring their commander to see me."

"Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander." Bobrikov agreed, turned around and ran out of the tent.

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander," Karsokov said, "I think the Brigade Commander is right. Although four artillery pieces are a little less, it is better than nothing. With artillery, we can destroy enemy tanks at a long distance, without the need for our officers and soldiers to risk their lives and throw anti-tank grenades at tanks, thus reducing unnecessary casualties."

After Karsokov finished speaking, Belkin said bitterly, "Commander-in-Chief, I understand what you mean. I just want to say that the number of artillery pieces given to us by our superiors is too small. What use can these few pieces have? They should give us more."

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I think the army headquarters doesn't have many artillery pieces at their disposal, so they can't provide us with more artillery." Sokov looked at Belkin and said, "It's better to rely on ourselves than on others. We have sent people to look for the arsenal in the forest. If we are lucky enough to find the hidden arsenal, we may be able to find a lot of artillery, so that we can strengthen our own strength."

After a while, Bobrikov came in with an artillery lieutenant.

Bobrikov introduced Sokov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is the new artillery commander. Comrade Lieutenant," he continued to the lieutenant, "this is our brigade commander, Major Sokov, you can report to him!"

The artillery lieutenant glanced at the collar badges of Sokov and the others, and was surprised to find that Sokov was the lowest-ranking officer among the three. But he quickly regained his composure, saluted Sokov, and reported respectfully: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the artillery company commander Maxim reports to you. From now on, my artillery company will obey your orders. Please give your instructions!"

Sokov saluted and extended his hand to the other party: "Lieutenant Maxim, on behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the infantry brigade, I welcome you!"

Although everyone had already known from Bobrikov's report that the Maxim Artillery Company had only four guns, Karsokov still smiled and asked, "Hello, Lieutenant Maxim, I am Lieutenant Colonel Karsokov, the Chief of Staff. I wonder how many guns your company has?"

"There are four 76.2mm cannons, Comrade Chief of Staff."

Karsokov nodded and continued, "How many shells are equipped for each gun?"

"Each gun is equipped with 20 rounds of ammunition."

Hearing Maxim's answer, Karsokov's expression became serious: "The number is a bit small!"

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, the number of shells is indeed a little short." Maxim said, "But our superiors should be able to replenish them for us."

Sokov listened to Maxim's words without saying anything. He thought that waiting for his superiors to replenish the troops was probably not realistic. You know, the troops under Rokossovsky's command were not just his own infantry brigade, which would provide all the resources to him. In addition, there were so many troops that also needed supplies. Rokossovsky must be fair, and when he provided himself with weapons, ammunition and supplies, he also had to provide them to other troops. In this way, the amount of supplies he received was not much.

"Lieutenant Maxim," Sokov asked Maxim tentatively, "Since you don't have many shells, how do you plan to participate in the battle?"

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Maxim did not raise any objections to Sokov's arrangement, but agreed decisively: "Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander, I will obey your arrangement!"

"Captain Bobrikov," Sokov called Bobrikov over and ordered him when he saw that Maxim was willing to obey his orders, "Send a soldier to act as a guide to take Lieutenant Maxim and the artillery company to the first battalion's position, and have the first battalion commander arrange personnel to assist the artillery company in setting up the artillery position."

"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander." Bobrikov answered loudly, turned to face Maxim, and said politely: "Comrade Artillery Lieutenant, please follow me, I will take you to the position of the first battalion."

As he watched Bobrikov and Maxim disappear from the door, Sokov couldn't help but smile faintly.

Belkin saw this and asked curiously, "Comrade Brigade Commander, what are you laughing at?"

Sokov was originally thinking, Yakov was also an artillery lieutenant before he was captured. If he were to return to the artillery unit, would he continue to be an artillery lieutenant, or would he be promoted one or two levels to a higher position? At this moment, hearing Belkin's question, Sokov quickly sorted out his words in his mind, and then perfunctorily said: "I was thinking that Napoleon was also an artillery lieutenant at first, and then he became the Emperor of France step by step."

Belkin smiled and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I think there won't be another Napoleon even if there are more artillery lieutenants now."

Sokov said "hmm" casually, then asked Karsokov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there any report from the forward observation post?"

"No." Karsokov shook his head and said, "So far, there has been no movement in front of the three battalions' positions. It seems that the Germans do not intend to focus on our attack position anymore."

"Before the enemy attacks, we need to hurry up and organize the officers and soldiers who have just been received."

Hearing Sokov's words, Belkin hurriedly asked, "Are we still going to follow our plan yesterday and organize them into the fourth, fifth, and sixth battalions?"

"I don't think it's necessary." Sokov shook his head and said, "From yesterday evening to today, the first battalion lost nearly half of its troops. If we organize the remaining officers and soldiers, where can we find new soldiers to replenish the first battalion that has suffered heavy losses? So I think the best way is to organize these officers and soldiers into a reserve team. Once a battalion suffers too many casualties, we can immediately draw personnel from the reserve team to replenish it."

"I agree with the brigade commander's opinion." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Karsokov supported him and added: "In addition to forming a reserve, we can also draw soldiers who have served as tankmen and artillerymen. Once we have tanks and artillery, we can quickly form a tank company or a new artillery company."

"Chief of Staff, your suggestion is a good one." Karsokov's suggestion made Sokov's eyes light up. "Among the 4,000 officers and soldiers we have taken in, there must be many who have served in tanks and artillery. We should select them as soon as possible. Once we have the corresponding technical equipment, we can form a tank brigade or artillery company in the shortest time, thereby increasing the combat effectiveness of our brigade."

"If that's the case, then don't hesitate." Belkin was also very concerned about the formation of the tank and artillery companies. He said eagerly, "Comrade Brigade Commander, if you trust me, how about letting me be responsible for selecting tankers and artillerymen?"

Seeing that Belkin had volunteered to take the lead, Sokov naturally would not discourage him, so he nodded and agreed to his request: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, no problem, I will leave this matter to you."