Red Moscow

Before the tanks that were transporting heavy artillery and tanks came back, Sokov received a call from Colonel Zahar, the commander of the 1073rd Regiment: "Hello, Major Sokov! I heard from my subordinates that you found a hidden arsenal in the forest not far from our regiment's position. Is this true?"

"It's true, Comrade Colonel." Sokov thought that most of the weapons and ammunition in the arsenal would be handed over to the 1073rd Regiment anyway, so he did not hide it, but answered truthfully: "My men did find an arsenal not far from your regiment's position."

"How do you plan to distribute the weapons and ammunition in the armory?"

Although Sokov was worried that the enemy coveted the heavy artillery and tanks in the arsenal, he also understood that since the enemy had called to ask about this matter, perhaps soldiers from the 1073rd Regiment had already arrived at the arsenal. Even if he wanted to conceal it, he couldn't. So he simply told the enemy directly: "Colonel Zahar, there are more than a dozen 122mm howitzers and two T03 tanks in the arsenal. I only want the heavy artillery, tanks, and the accompanying ammunition and fuel. The rest of the weapons, equipment and supplies are yours. What do you think?"

Zahar heard from his subordinates that they had found a hidden arsenal, which contained a large amount of weapons and ammunition, but he had no idea what weapons and equipment were there. When he heard Sokov say that there were heavy artillery and tanks inside, he was naturally tempted. But then he thought, not to mention that the arsenal was discovered by the friendly forces first, they had the priority to choose; even if he was allowed to choose first, no one would use the heavy artillery and tanks, they would be like scrap metal, so it would be better to give them to the friendly forces, which would also enhance the friendship between the two sides.

After figuring this out, Zahar said carelessly: "Major Sokov, you discovered this arsenal, so of course you have the right to choose first. Since you want heavy artillery and tanks, just take them away."

Sokov thought he would have to use a lot of words to convince Zahar to give up the heavy artillery and tanks, but he didn't expect the other party to be so reasonable and directly let him take these technical equipment away. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty: "Comrade Colonel, we have heavy artillery and tanks, and we can provide support for you in the battle. If you need anything, just call me."

"I will, Major Sokov." Zahar said with a smile, "If there is anything I need, I will call you. Similarly, if you think there is anything you need my assistance with, you can also call me."

After the friendly conversation ended, Sokov hung up the phone with a heavy burden on his shoulders, and then said to Belkin and Karsokov: "Deputy Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, Colonel Zakhar, the commander of the 1073rd Regiment, has agreed to hand over the heavy artillery and tanks to our brigade. Now, you should immediately arrange for suitable candidates to serve as the commanders of the two artillery battalions."

Belkin and Karsokov naturally did not dare to neglect Sokov's arrangement. Just a few minutes later, the candidates for the commanders of the two artillery battalions were decided.

Sokov looked at the names and found that the rank of the two battalion commanders was the same as his, that of major.

He nodded to show his approval, and then said, "From now on, for the convenience of command, the artillery reinforcement battalion will be reorganized into the First Artillery Battalion, and the heavy artillery battalion will be reorganized into the Second Artillery Battalion."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Karsokov asked tentatively, "Would you like to meet the two new artillery battalion commanders?"

"Of course, of course we have to meet them." Sokov said to Karsokov, "Chief of Staff, please call them over."

Karsokov agreed and walked out of the tent.

After Karsokov left, Belkin said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, where do you plan to deploy the heavy artillery battalion, no, the second artillery battalion?"

"The First Artillery Battalion is located between the brigade headquarters and the front-line positions." Sokov said briefly, "The Second Artillery Battalion cannot be placed here. Otherwise, the Germans could send out aircraft bombing or concentrated artillery bombardment to destroy the two artillery battalions we have built with great difficulty. Therefore, I plan to place the Second Artillery Battalion's artillery position behind the brigade headquarters."

"Put the Second Artillery Battalion behind the brigade headquarters?" Belkin asked hesitantly, "Wouldn't it be too far from the front line?"

"Not far at all." Sokov shook his head and said, "The range of the 122mm howitzer is 11,800 meters. If it weren't for the lack of suitable artillery observers, I would have planned to deploy the Second Artillery Battalion seven or eight kilometers away."

Belkin's eyes widened in surprise. "Comrade Brigade Commander, I thought you formed an artillery battalion to use it to intercept the enemy when they attack our brigade's position. But from the tone of your words just now, it seems that you are not satisfied with this."

"You are right, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander." Sokov looked at Belkin and said, "If we let the artillery fire on the enemy, it will not only consume a lot of shells, but also achieve very limited results. Moreover, long-term bombardment will expose the location of our artillery positions. You know, now the Germans not only have air superiority on the battlefield, but also have far more artillery and tanks than our army. If they find our artillery positions here, what do you think they will do?"

It was not Belkin's first day on the battlefield. Not long ago, he had led his troops to break out of the German encirclement. He was naturally very familiar with the German tactics. When he heard Sokov's question, he immediately answered without hesitation: "Of course, once they find that our artillery positions pose a threat to them, they will definitely concentrate their superior artillery fire to counter our artillery positions; or simply send out a group of bombers to bombard the location of the artillery positions."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, two artillery battalion commanders are here!" Karsokov's voice came from the entrance of the tent.

The next moment, Karsokov walked into the tent with two majors.

After the two majors entered the tent, they immediately raised their hands to salute Sokov and Belkin.

Sokov had sharp eyes and could see the artillery emblems on the collars of the two men at a glance. He nodded slightly and asked, "Who is the commander of the First Artillery Battalion and who is the commander of the Second Artillery Battalion?"

On the way to the brigade headquarters, Karsokov briefly introduced the two to the situation. They naturally knew what position they were in. When they heard Sokov's question, they answered, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I am Major Alten, the commander of the first battalion!"

"Reporting to the brigade commander, I am Major Lewand, the commander of the Second Artillery Battalion!"

After shaking hands with the two battalion commanders one by one, Sokov called them to the table and pointed to the map to arrange the positions for the artillery battalions to set up their artillery positions.

Looking at the position of Sokov's finger, Levan frowned slightly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, isn't our battalion a little far from the front line?"

"Major Levan, your battalion is equipped with heavy artillery." Sokov said with a straight face, "If you are too close to the front line, once the Germans break through the infantry defense line and rush to your battalion's artillery position, you will have no time to move. In this way, not only will you be in danger of being annihilated by the Germans, but the heavy artillery we have worked so hard to obtain will also fall into the hands of the enemy."

After hearing what Sokov said, Levan kept silent. He knew in his heart that what Sokov said was right. A 122mm howitzer was a heavy artillery, which could not be towed by manpower and could only be towed by trucks. If the artillery position was too far forward, once the infantry position in front was breached, there would be no time to move the artillery.

Alten, who was standing next to him, had no objection to Sokov's arrangement. Although he commanded 26 artillery pieces, and they were placed less than a kilometer away from the front line, the 76.2mm cannon was light, so he could drag it away in time even if he encountered danger.

"Major Levan," Sokov continued when no one spoke. "Your battalion's mission is to attack the enemy's artillery positions or the assembly points of personnel and armored vehicles. Therefore, you need several artillery observers to observe closely and provide firing parameters for the heavy artillery in the rear in a timely manner. Does your battalion have such artillery observers?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Levan thought for a while, then slowly shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Comrade Brigade Commander, our battalion really doesn't have any artillery observers."

Sokov turned his gaze to Alten beside him: "Major Alten, what about your battalion?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander, I'm so sorry, there's no such person in my battalion." Perhaps seeing Sokov's expression change, he quickly added: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you may not know that in every battle, artillery observers are in order to better observe the enemy's movements and provide firing parameters for the artillery in the rear. Therefore, their positions are very forward, so the casualties are the greatest."

After Alten's explanation, Sokov immediately understood why the two battalion commanders said that they had no artillery observers under their command.

Seeing Sokov's melancholy expression, Karsokov leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Comrade Brigade Commander, now we can only report the discovery of the artillery to the army headquarters and see if they can send us a few artillery observers."

Sokov could not help but worry about Karsokov's proposal. Who could guarantee that Rokossovsky would not order him to hand over these artillery pieces to the artillery units of the army group after learning that he had obtained dozens of artillery pieces, including more than a dozen 122mm heavy artillery pieces?

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Belkin saw what was on Sokov's mind, and hurried over, whispering, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I understand your concerns. But if we want to make better use of artillery units in battle, artillery observers are indispensable. Therefore, we think we should try our luck and report this to the army headquarters. If we are lucky, the superiors may not intend to take this batch of artillery away."

"Okay." After hearing what Belkin said, Sokov also made up his mind. If Rokossovsky really ordered people to take away the artillery after reporting the truth, there would be nothing he could do: "I will report to the army headquarters now."

After reading the contents above, he threw the telegram on the table, looked at Malinin, Kazakov and others and said: "I never thought that Misha could find a hidden arsenal in the forest and obtain so many artillery pieces."

"Comrade Commander," Kazakov asked impatiently as soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking: "What are you going to do with these artillery pieces?"

Rokossovsky did not express his opinion, but asked: "What do you think, Comrade Chief of Artillery?"

"I have limited artillery units. If we can obtain this batch of artillery, our strength will be improved." Kazakov answered without hesitation: "Comrade Commander, I strongly suggest that you let the infantry brigade hand over this batch of artillery to strengthen the army's artillery."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky smiled, then turned to Malinin and asked, "What do you think?"

"Comrade Commander," Malinin replied cautiously, "The infantry brigade was formed not long ago and is seriously lacking in heavy weapons. Without artillery, they will pay a heavy price when facing the German tanks..."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said is wrong." Before Malinin could finish, Kazakov interrupted him and said, "Even if they have this batch of artillery, can they stop the German attack? You know, artillery is a technical branch of the army. It takes a long time of training to master the skills of using artillery. And the infantry brigade, as the name suggests, is a unit composed of infantry. It is impossible to use this batch of artillery reasonably. Therefore, I strongly suggest again that they hand over this batch of artillery."

Rokossovsky said nothing, but kept tapping the table with his fingers, thinking quickly in his mind what to do with the batch of artillery found by Sokov.

Seeing that Rokossovsky was slow to speak, Romanov was worried that he would ask Sokov to hand over the artillery that he had finally found, so he quickly persuaded him, "Comrade Commander, I think we should leave this batch of artillery to Major Sokov's infantry brigade."

Rokossovsky looked up at Romanov and asked, "Comrade Deputy Commander, tell me what you think. What do you think?"

Romanov glanced at Kazakov, then turned his gaze to Rokossovsky and said, "Comrade Commander, Major Sokov's unit is nominally an infantry brigade, but the officers and soldiers he has recruited are not just infantrymen, but also artillerymen, tank soldiers, signalmen, and medical soldiers. Therefore, I personally believe that even if these artillery pieces are left in the infantry brigade, he is capable of making them play their due role."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you are right. Major Sokov used the artillerymen among the officers and soldiers he had taken in to form two artillery battalions." Rokossovsky said, "The only thing we lack now is experienced artillery observers, so we sent a telegram to the headquarters for help."

At this point, Rokossovsky turned his gaze to Kazakov and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, I think when Major Sokov sent us this telegram, he must have gone through repeated ideological struggles, worried that we would take away the artillery in his hands. In my opinion, these artillery should be left in the infantry brigade, and then a few artillery observers should be sent to them. Comrade Chief of Artillery, what do you think?"