"Boom", with an earth-shattering explosion, Sokov, who was hiding behind the ruins 20 meters away, felt that his internal organs were shaken out of place, and his ears were also shaken to the point of pain. But the soldiers hiding around them came out of their hiding places one after another before the smoke cleared to check the effects of the blast.
Sokov stood up straight, calmed down on the spot, and then walked slowly and leisurely towards the explosion point. The first thing he said after seeing Andre was to ask directly, "Comrade Captain, how many grenades are attached to your cluster grenade?"
"Twelve, comrade brigade commander," Andrei heard Sokov's question and immediately replied with some excitement, "If the gap between the iron railings was not too small, I would have tied a few more grenades."
Hearing Andrei say this, Sokov almost kicked him. He said to himself that we used six bombs to blow up fortifications, but only eight bombs to blow up tanks. To blow a hole in you, you actually used ten. Two grenades made my blood boil, my throat felt sweet, and it almost killed me.
Sokov originally wanted to teach Andrei a few words, but when he saw that a hole had been blown through the ventilation window that could be bent through, he decided to find Rodimtsev's whereabouts first, and then settle the score with Andrei later. , and ordered him: "Captain, since the entrance of the cave has been blown up, immediately send two soldiers in to take a look."
After Andrei waited for his soldiers to get into the hole, he asked a little unceremoniously, "Comrade Brigadier, do you think General Rodimtsev will be in the basement?"
"I don't know." Sokov stared at the dark hole and said angrily, "Wouldn't you know if the general is inside or not when your soldiers come out?" He was worried that the grenade explosion just now was too powerful. If someone is really in the basement, will they be injured?
After waiting for about three or four minutes, a soldier who went to explore the path came out of the hole and excitedly reported to Sokov, "Comrade Brigadier, we have found General Rodimtsev!"
"What, have you found General Rodimtsev?" Even though Sokov looked confident when he ordered people to blow up the hole, he was not sure at all. Especially after two soldiers were ordered to go into the cave to understand the situation, he became even more uneasy. At this moment, when I heard the soldier's report that Rodimtsev had been found, I felt particularly excited and quickly asked, "Where is he? I want to go in and see him."
"Comrade Brigadier, please wait a moment, the general will come out soon." When the soldier said this, he suddenly pointed towards the hole with his hand and said excitedly, "Look, isn't that the general?"
Sokov looked in the direction of his finger, and sure enough he saw Rodimtsev bending down and coming out of the hole. Andre quickly stepped forward and tried to help the other person, but was pulled aside by Sokov. Sokov grabbed one of Rodimtsev's hands and helped him out of the hole. At the same time, he asked with concern, "Comrade General, are you okay?"
Rodimtsev looked a little haggard. After he got out, he took a few deep breaths and then said to Sokov, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you don't know, I have been in the basement for a long time and I want to take a breath of fresh air." It is such a luxury thing. I thought I would never make it out alive, but who knew I would see the light of day again one day."
Sokov grinned and was about to echo a few words when Rodimtsev suddenly opened his arms and gave him a bear hug. He came close to his ear and said with some choking, "Listen, Misha, It was you who saved my life and that of my men, and we will always remember your friendship.”
In response to Rodimtsev's gratitude, Sokov politely replied: "Comrade General, what are you talking about? You are my superior. If you are in danger, I will definitely come to rescue you. This is my duty." "
After Rodimtsev let go of Sokov, he took a step back. He sniffed, turned his gaze to the entrance of the cave, and pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Including me, there are 37 people in the basement. In addition to the staff officers, communications corpsmen, and health workers, there are also my chief of staff, political commissar, and the commander of the 39th Guards Regiment.”
Learning that the commander of the 39th Guards Regiment was also trapped in the basement, Sokov was a little surprised and said, "No wonder your division's troops are missing. It turns out that the main mid-level and senior commanders are all trapped here."
Sokov's words made Rodimtsev shocked and moved. "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what did you just say, my troops are missing?"
"Yes, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and replied affirmatively, "According to the information I have, you have lost contact with the commander of the 39th Guards Regiment, and the regiment command post of the 34th Guards Regiment has been destroyed. German artillery fire hit, and the regiment commander has been killed. As for your troops, unfortunately, I don’t know where they are?"
"My troops are missing?" Rodimtsev asked in surprise, "So which troops are responsible for the defense of our division's defense area now?"
"It's the 92nd Infantry Brigade of Colonel Tanasolov. This brigade is mainly sailors from the Baltic Fleet and the North Sea Fleet." Sokov replied expressionlessly, "They are responsible for defending your original combat area."
"What the hell, what the hell, how could a force of several thousand people just say it's gone?" After Rodimtsev said this, he happened to see his chief of staff and political commissar coming from behind one after another. The hole was drilled out, and he quickly stepped forward to inform the two of them of the shocking news they had just heard.
Seeing that Rodimtsev and his deputies were doing research, Sokov was not idle either. He immediately called the radio operator over and ordered the other party to "immediately send a report to the army headquarters saying that we have successfully recovered from the collapsed building." They rescued General Rodimtsev who was trapped in the basement and 36 other commanders and combatants. Among them were the division chief of staff, the political commissar and the commander of the 39th Guards Regiment."
While the radio operator was sending the report, Andrei walked up to Sokov and asked curiously, "Comrade Brigadier, I don't understand why no one knows about the fact that the general and the others were buried in the basement?"
"Comrade Captain, the reason is very simple." Sokov explained to Andrei, "When the German army bombarded this area, most of the commanders and fighters hid themselves. When the building where the division headquarters is located was destroyed by artillery fire, they had no idea that General Have they been transferred? And the soldiers who were responsible for guarding the division headquarters were killed in the shelling, and they are the remains of those soldiers you found."
After Sokov's explanation, Andre suddenly realized that "the soldiers who knew the inside story were all sacrificed in the shelling; while other soldiers were either not in this area at all during the shelling, or they did not know that there was a headquarters here, so They had no idea that anyone was trapped in the basement. In addition, there was no radio signal in the basement, so the general could not get in touch with the army headquarters, which gave people the illusion of missing."
"Yes, that's it." When Sokov said this, he thought that fortunately Stalin didn't know about this, and he might regard Rodimtsev as a traitor or a deserter. What awaits him will be extremely miserable. ending.
Guchakov, who led his soldiers to eliminate the enemy, came back. He reported to Sokov, "Comrade Brigadier, we have eliminated the enemies hidden in the building. We killed five people in total. We sacrificed two people and wounded eight." people."
"Well done, Lieutenant Guchakov." Sokov raised his hand and patted the opponent's shoulder gently twice, and then said, "I will keep your achievements in mind."
…………
The German army's attack on the factory area was extremely fierce. Chuikov continued to receive telegrams or phone calls from commanders of divisions and brigades asking for help. Since he had no reserves at all, he could only say to his subordinates in vain, "I have no reserves. You must make full use of your existing strength to resolutely block the German attack."
When he saw the communications staff hurriedly arriving with a telegram, he asked impatiently, "Which army is requesting reinforcements?"
"No, Comrade Commander, it's not a telegram requesting reinforcements." The staff officer waved the telegram in his hand and reported excitedly, "It's a telegram from Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. They have successfully captured Rodimtsev and 36 others. Soldiers were rescued from the basement beneath the collapsed building."
"This is really great news." When Chuikov heard the news, his frown suddenly relaxed. He smiled and said to Krylov who was answering the phone at the side, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I really didn't expect Soko Husband is so awesome, just a few hours later, they actually successfully completed the task we assigned them."
"Sokov is really amazing." Krylov became happy when he learned that Rodimtsev had been found. "We have been looking for so long without any clues, but as soon as Sokov came forward, he actually That solves the problem.”
"In two days, we will launch a counterattack against the German army and coordinate General Rokossovsky's offensive operations." Chuikov said to Krylov, "Now that Rodimtsev has been found, urge him to find him as soon as possible." The troops gathered together and continued to fight the enemy in the city center to attract the enemy's attention and reduce the pressure on our troops during the counterattack."
Just when Krylov was about to order the operator to send the report, Chuikov changed his mind again, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I thought about it and think I should let him call me. I want to have a good talk with him."
"But, Comrade Commander." Regarding Chuikov's instructions, Krylov said with some embarrassment, "If we could contact him by phone, I think we wouldn't have lost contact with Rodimtsev for so long. If you want Whatever you want to talk to him about, it’s best to let him come to the headquarters in person.”
