Red Moscow

Since Rotmistrov's position was higher than his own, after discussing with the other party about the division of troops and defense, Sokov gave up his headquarters and planned to move the new headquarters to the west of the city.

Halfway through the journey, the convoy suddenly slowed down, and after a while, it actually drove to the side of the road and stopped. Seeing the car stopped, Sokov frowned and asked the driver, "Comrade driver, why did you stop?"

"Comrade Brigadier!" The driver holding the steering wheel turned his head and said, "There are troops coming ahead, blocking the road."

Sokov looked out the car window and saw a large group of people rushing towards him. Soldiers lined up in queues or groups of three or four on the streets and sidewalks, and there were quite a few motorcycles and armored vehicles in the queue.

"Comrade Brigadier," Belkin said, "it must be General Rotmistrov's troops coming from the opposite side."

Looking at the mud-covered soldiers and the three-wheeled motorcycles and armored vehicles covered in mud, Sokov could imagine how difficult their long-distance march was. Hearing Belkin's question, he nodded slowly and said, "That's right, it should be the Mechanized Brigade under the Tank Army."

"Look, Comrade Brigadier, the soldiers look very tired." Belkin said with some concern: "After taking over the defense of the third battalion, will they be able to stop the enemy's attack?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Commissar, General Rotmistrov's troops in Kursk will definitely deal a devastating blow to the Germans, crushing the enemy and driving them far from the city."

He watched the long queue pass by his convoy, then dispersed into alleys and headed towards the east of the city. Sokov said to Belkin: "When General Rotmistrov's troops take over the defense of the east of the city, bring Andrei's troops back. Their battalion suffered a lot of casualties during the two-day battle. Little one, let them rest for a few days before participating in the next battle."

The new headquarters was set up in a school in the west of the city. While the communications troops were laying telephone lines indoors and outdoors, Sokov called the guard company commander Sergei Sha over and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant, from now on, this is the Our headquarters is here. Since it is only two kilometers away from the position outside the city, you need to strengthen the defense here. In addition to building sandbag fortifications equipped with machine guns at the school gate and the entrance of the teaching building, machine guns should also be set up on the roof of the building. position, when the enemy rushes to the vicinity of the school, they can condescend to fire."

"Understood, Comrade Brigadier Commander." Seryozha replied respectfully: "I will immediately arrange for the construction of fortifications."

As soon as Seryozha left, the second battalion commander Vasily brought his company commander Grisa to find him. Seeing the two people coming, Sokov asked curiously: "Captain Vasily, what's the matter?"

"Comrade Brigadier, it looks like this. There is something wrong with the defensive section that Lieutenant Grisa is in charge of, and I'm here to report to you." When Vasily spoke, he turned his gaze to Grisa standing behind him: "The specific situation, let him report to you."

Sokov remembered Grisa Company's defensive position, which was in the south of the city. Hearing that something went wrong at this moment, he couldn't help asking in surprise, "Lieutenant Grisa, what's the problem?"

"This morning, some of the trenches in our position were flooded." Grisa replied: "When I heard the news, I immediately organized people to start draining. Unexpectedly, after a few hours, the water level not only did not drop, but instead Up, and so far I've flooded all the trenches in my position."

"What, all the trenches are flooded?" Grisa's words confused Sokov: "It hasn't rained these days, where did the water come from? Could it be that when you reinforced the fortifications, there were soldiers who didn't know?" Carefully dug into the underground river, which caused the fortifications to be flooded?"

"No, Comrade Brigadier, it's not an underground river." Grisa shook his head quickly and said, "I took someone to check carefully, and found that someone opened the gate on the Tenebra River, which caused water to pour into the river. out of our trenches."

"So, there are saboteurs wreaking havoc!" Sokov frowned and asked, "Have you closed the gate?"

"No, the gate has been damaged, and it may take two or three days to fully repair it." Griza replied with a blushing face, "I have sent people to search nearby to see if I can find any suspicious people."

Sokov knew very well that this so-called search had no effect at all. After several hours, would those saboteurs still stand there stupidly, waiting for you to catch them? Instead of entangled in this matter, he continued to ask: "How high is the water level in the trench now?"

"The water level in most trenches is just below the ankles. In some low-lying places, the water level reaches the waist." Griza continued: "I have organized the soldiers to drain water, and the water level will drop soon. go down."

After waiting for Griza to finish speaking, Sokov asked indifferently, "What tools do you use to drain water?"

"Buckets, washbasins, lunch boxes, and even all the utensils including the marching pots have been used." When Griza said this, a embarrassed expression suddenly appeared on his face: "Comrade Brigadier, you know, although now It’s summer, but the water in the Tenebra River is still bitter, and I worry that the soldiers’ health may be affected if they soak in the water for a long time.”

If Sokov arrived in Russia for the first time, he would definitely think Griesa's statement is ridiculous. After all, it is summer, and no matter how cold the river is, it will turn into water vapor when it is exposed to the sun. The soldiers staying in the trenches should It's right to feel stuffy, why do you feel cold? But Sokov, who has lived in Russia for so many years, naturally has common sense of life in this area. He knows that even in summer, the temperature of the river is still biting. It may be better during the day, but when the temperature drops at night, those soldiers soaked in the water may suffer from frostbite.

In order to solve the problem of water accumulation in the trench as soon as possible, Sokov looked at Vasily and asked, "Captain Vasily, if I'm not mistaken, you should be able to find a water pump in the warehouse you occupied, right?"

"That's right, Comrade Brigadier Commander, there are indeed a lot of water pumps in the warehouse." Vasily said with some embarrassment: "But without power supply, these water pumps can't be used."

Sokov resisted the urge to beat someone, and said to Vasily: "Captain Vasily, there is a machinery factory in the west of the city, and there should be a lot of electricians in the factory. Let them lead two power lines to the battlefield, I think it should be There's nothing wrong with that."

Hearing what Sokov said, Vasily was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and slapped himself hard on the forehead, and said angrily, "Damn, why didn't I think of finding an electrician!" After finishing speaking, he Standing at attention on the spot, he stopped his waist and said to Sokov, "Comrade Brigadier, are you allowed to leave? I need to return to the warehouse immediately to prepare the water pump for the company."

"Allowed to leave." Sokov nodded to Vasily, and then said to Grisa: "Comrade lieutenant, since saboteurs have appeared in your defense zone, you need to provide vigilance to prevent similar incidents from happening again, understand? ?”

"Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier Commander." Griza assured Sokov, "I will send more people to strengthen patrols to avoid similar incidents."