Red Moscow

  Chapter 474 Aftermath

   After the room returned to calm, Sokov felt extremely tired, so he closed his eyes and wanted to rest for a while, but the burning pain from the wound made him feel extraordinarily awake.

  Anyway, he couldn't sleep, so he began to think about how to deal with this crisis: No matter what the reason was, hundreds of commanders and fighters surrounded the new brigade commander. The nature of this matter was too bad. If the internal affairs personnel of the Group Army's Special Service Section knew about this and wanted to investigate, it would be difficult to save the lives of those battalion commanders even if they pleaded with Cuikov himself.

   Seeing that Sokov closed his eyes, Asya said softly to Yakov who was sitting by the bed: "Comrade Major, I'm going to take care of the wounded. Please take care of me here."

Yakov got up quickly, and said politely to Asiya, "Asiya, go and do your work, I'm here." Hearing Yakov's reply, Asiya smiled and nodded at him, He walked out of the ward lightly.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Asiya walked out of the ward, Sokov opened his eyes and asked Yakov who was sitting beside him in a low voice: "Yakov, you know everything, tell me, how will the superior deal with it?" ?” Sukov was very clear in his heart, even though he was in charge of thousands of people now, he really didn’t know how to deal with such a crime. Yakov next to his bed.

Although Sokov asked this question without end, Yakov knew what he was asking. He stared at Sokov lying on the bed, and then said slowly: "If a few years ago When something like this happens, no matter whether it is the battalion commander or the soldiers below, they will all be sent to military courts."

"Yakov, I'm not asking about the past few years." When Sokov heard Yakov say this, he murmured to himself: the purges of the past few years even the future marshal Rokossovsky Unnecessary charges, and almost lost their lives, let alone ordinary cadres and soldiers. He was eager to come up with a solution before Belkin arrived, so he urged the other party, "I'm asking about this matter. After the superiors know about it, how will they deal with it?"

Yakov was silent for a long time before he said: "The situation in Stalingrad is not optimistic. Once the Germans occupy Mamayev Hill, they may cut off the connection between the city and the other side. At that time, the city will be destroyed." It may not be possible. In this case, as long as the city can be defended, even if some bad things happen, I think the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs will turn a blind eye to such things."

After listening to Yakov's words, Sokov's heart hung in his throat, and he finally returned to his stomach. He couldn't help but think to himself: As long as the superiors don't pursue this matter, there is still room for change. After Belkin came, I would discuss with him how to deal with the aftermath.

   After a few minutes, Belkin came in from the outside, but he was not alone, and a colonel was with him. Sokov had been to the army headquarters many times, so he naturally knew someone close to Belkin, Colonel Witkov, the deputy chief of staff of the army. He couldn't help but secretly surprised: "What's going on, how long did it take for the commanders to surround the new brigade commander, why did the commander send the deputy chief of staff to deal with it?"

   "Comrade Brigadier," Belkin saw Sokov lying on the bed with a surprised expression on his face: "Your complexion looks good. I believe it won't take long for your injury to heal."

  After a few polite words from Sokov and Belkin, he turned his gaze to Vitkov who was on the side, and asked with some guilt: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, why did you come to us? Do you have any new instructions from your superiors?"

"Comrade Brigadier, I forgot to introduce you." Belkin heard Sokov's question, and hurriedly replied in front of Vitkov: "Colonel Witkov is the newly appointed acting brigade commander. Take over your command while you recuperate."

"I'm sorry, Colonel Witkov." When he learned that the deputy chief of staff of the group army in front of him was actually the new brigade commander who had come to take over his position and was besieged by soldiers, Sokov couldn't help but be surprised. He said in embarrassment : "I heard that when you first took office, you were surrounded by some commanders and fighters. I apologize to you for their impolite behavior."

Unexpectedly, Vitkov waved his hand and said generously: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, this matter has been clarified. It was a complete misunderstanding. They thought that the superior sent me as brigade commander to get rid of you. Only then did he bring people around the brigade headquarters and come to me for an explanation."

Although Vitkov was so grandiose in this matter, Sokov couldn't help but express it. He turned his head to Belgin and said to him: "Comrade political commissar, call me all the battalion commanders who are making trouble." Come here and make them apologize to Colonel Witkoff in my presence."

"Comrade Brigadier, those battalion commanders are here and they're outside." Belkin seemed to have guessed what Sokov would say, and as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately replied, "I'm going to send They all called in." After finishing speaking, without waiting for Sokov's order, he walked to the door and said to the outside, "Don't stand in the corridor in a daze, come in."

  Following the sound of hurried footsteps, several officers walked into the ward, which crowded Sokov's ward, which was only about ten square meters. Sokov counted the officers who just came in, and there were six of them. He couldn't help frowning slightly, thinking that there were only five battalion commanders in the brigade, why did six of them come out? His eyes swept over the faces of the six new officers, and found that besides the five battalion commanders, the remaining one was the political deputy battalion commander of the fourth battalion.

   "Let's talk about it," Sokov stared at the battalion commanders, and asked with a straight face: "What happened today? Who gave you the right to besiege the superior commander?"

"Comrade Brigadier, it's all my fault." As soon as Sokov's words fell, the deputy battalion commander of the Fourth Battalion took a step forward and took the initiative to admit his mistake to Sokov: "It was my mistake. I saw that the superior sent another A new brigade commander came and thought they were going to dismiss you, so I contacted the battalion commanders and went to the new brigade commander for an explanation."

The words of the political deputy battalion commander made Sokov look surprised. He thought to himself: As expected of someone who is engaged in political work, he was able to summon the battalion commanders in such a short period of time and take measures. Take joint action to seek justice for yourself. Thinking of this, he turned his head and asked Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, didn't you remind me a while ago that the political department of the brigade should be established as soon as possible?"

"Yes, I did." Belkin didn't know why Sokov suddenly mentioned this matter, so he nodded and said, "There are enough political workers, but there is no suitable person to be the director. If you want to For the Political Department of the Urban Brigade, I can temporarily serve as the director.”

"No need, I already have a suitable candidate." Sokov turned his head to look at the political deputy battalion commander after saying this, and asked, "I'm sorry, comrade deputy battalion commander, what's your name? "

   "My name is Dmitry." The political deputy battalion commander quickly replied.

"Our superiors have repeatedly ordered us to form the political department of the brigade. Since we have not found a suitable director for a long time, the establishment of the political department has been delayed again and again." Sokov looked at the other party and said: "From now on, you will represent The director of the political department of the brigade will be formally appointed after being approved by the superior. As for the personnel of the political department, you will be equipped by comrades of the political commissar."

  Dmitry never imagined in his dreams that he would be suddenly appointed as the acting director of the Political Department. It wasn't until the battalion commanders standing nearby reached out to him and shook hands to express their congratulations that he said gratefully to Sokov: "Thank you, Comrade Brigadier Commander, I will definitely work hard to live up to your trust in me. "

After the special appointment was over, Sokov looked at the battalion commanders standing by the hospital bed and said: "Commanders, when I heard that you brought your soldiers to seek justice for me, go to When the new brigade commander asked for the explanation, I was really moved, and I would like to express my gratitude to you!" After speaking, he raised his right hand to his forehead and saluted everyone with a solemn military salute. The battalion commanders didn't expect Sokov to salute themselves, and hurriedly raised their hands to return the salute.

After removing his hand from his forehead, Sokov turned his face straight and continued: "I am very grateful for your actions, but I still want to criticize you here. The 73rd Infantry Brigade is The army of the Soviet motherland is not the army of Sokov alone. Whoever is appointed by the superior to serve as the brigade commander must have their reasons. As a subordinate, the order issued by the superior can only be carried out unconditionally. Vitkov The colonel doesn’t want to argue with you, let’s forget about this time. If a similar incident happens again next time, or if anyone dares to disobey the order given by Colonel Vitkov, I will definitely send him to a court-martial. You guys Do you understand?"

   "Understood!" Several battalion commanders replied in unison.

  Sokov waved his hand at them and said, "Now that you understand, let's go to our respective troops. Explain the matter clearly to the soldiers to avoid similar excesses in the future."

  After sending the battalion commanders away, Sokov apologized to Witkov again: "Colonel Witkov, I assure you that similar things will never happen again."

Witkov saw that the battalion commanders were like docile little sheep in front of Sokov, which was completely different from the attitude of questioning himself loudly, and he understood Sokov's position in the hearts of the battalion commanders. How high is it. At this moment, seeing Sokov repeatedly apologized to himself, he didn't understand what the other party was worried about, so he smiled and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I really didn't expect that you have such a high prestige in the army, and those battalion commanders You don't even dare to show your face. Don't worry, since you have figured out that this is just a misunderstanding, this matter will stop here, and I will not report it to my superiors. "

   Having received this guarantee from Witkov, not only Sokov but also Belkin breathed a sigh of relief. Although this matter is a bit excessive, as long as the person concerned does not pursue it, the superiors will not have the energy to intervene.

  Vitkov may be trying to improve the relationship with Sokov. After asking about his injury with concern, he continued: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, is there anything I can do for you?"

   Before Sokov could answer, Asiya, who was worried about Sokov's injury, returned to the ward again. Seeing the political commissar standing in the room, she hurriedly greeted, "Comrade political commissar, you are here!"

   "I'm here." Belkin nodded, and then asked Assia curiously: "Where have you been? Why don't you stay in the ward to take care of Comrade Brigadier Commander?"

   "I just went to take care of the patient." After Assia finished speaking, she suddenly found a colonel standing in the room. She quickly stood at attention and raised her hand to salute him: "Hello, Comrade Colonel."

  Seeing Asiya standing there in a daze, Sokov quickly explained to her: "This is Colonel Witkov, the deputy chief of staff of the army group. He will temporarily replace me to command the troops while I am recovering from my injuries."

"Hello, Comrade Assia." On the way to the ward, Vitkov heard Belkin talk about the relationship between Sokov and Assia. While shaking hands with Assia, he habitually said Ask: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

  If Witkov hadn't asked this question, maybe Assia would have a chat with him, check on Sokov's injuries, and then turn around and leave. But since he asked this question, Assia thought for a moment, and really made her request: "Comrade Colonel, can you provide us with a batch of gas lamps for lighting?"

   "Gas lamp?!" Hearing Assia's request, Witkov asked in surprise, "What do you want a gas lamp for?"

Assia pointed to the gas lamp hanging on the wall, and then said: "What else can I do, of course it is used for lighting. In addition to the gas lamp used for lighting in the ward, it is also used in the operating room. At this point, Assia turned her head and looked at Belkin and continued, "Comrade Commissar, there are only four gas lamps in the operating room, and the light cannot reach the brightness required for the operation. For example, Misha is undergoing surgery today. Under normal circumstances, the operation can be completed in an hour at most, but due to insufficient lighting, it took almost an extra hour for the military doctor Pavlov to find the location of the bullet..."

  Assia's words made everyone in the ward understand why today's operation took so long. The feeling is that the light is too dark and the military doctor can't see the position of the bullet, which leads to the prolonged operation time. Fortunately, Sokov's injury was not too serious. If he encountered a seriously injured person, he might lose his life due to the delay in the operation time.

After Vitkov figured out what was going on, without waiting for Sokov or Belkin to speak, he took the initiative to say: "Comrade Assia, don't worry, I will ask someone to replenish your gas lamps as soon as possible. Even if there is no one in the brigade , I will also ask the Army Group Command to supplement it for us."

Perhaps because he was worried that Sokov and Belkin had other ideas, he explained to them specifically: "Under the current situation, no one can guarantee that they will not be injured, because it is still necessary to improve the environment of the health team." Yes. I don’t want to see wounded people die on the operating table due to insufficient lighting in the operating room. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, Commissar Belgin, do you think I’m right?”

  (end of this chapter)