Red Moscow

  Chapter 547 Poking a Hornet's Nest

   Raisa, who was chasing the enemy plane, suddenly heard Maria, who was piloting the wingman, exclaim in surprise. Thinking that something happened, she quickly asked, "Maria, what happened?"

"Enemy plane, Comrade Lieutenant." Maria who followed Raisa saw the enemy plane appearing in the distance, and said in a panic: "At least 20 enemy planes are flying towards us, and I see at least half of them It's a fighter jet."

"Maria, they are still far away, don't worry about it for the time being." Raisa was also very nervous when she learned that the large German fleet had arrived, but in order not to affect morale, she insisted on saying: "Let's put Get rid of this bomber in front of you, don't let it have a chance to bomb the factory again."

"Raisa," Lilia saw the enemy plane flying in the distance, and then glanced at Raisa who was chasing the enemy plane, and said through the radio: "You and Maria deal with this enemy plane, Katya and I will go Fight the flying fleet."

"No, Lilia, I won't allow it." Raisa knew that the German army was powerful. If Lilia really used two planes to meet others, it would be like hitting a stone with an egg, so she decisively ordered: "When we shoot down this enemy plane Machine, let’s meet the enemy together.”

Sokov couldn't help feeling anxious when he saw the fleet of aircraft flying in the distance. He knew in his heart that even if the four pilots of the women's squadron were all ace pilots, they were not the opponents of the German army, so he quickly asked the operator to connect with Raisa. The communication channel said in a stern tone: "Lieutenant Raisa, I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I order you to withdraw from the battle immediately! Repeat, withdraw from the battle immediately!"

   "I'm sorry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Raisa said through gritted teeth, "We will never run away from an enemy plane."

"You only have four fighter jets, while the enemy has more than 20 fighter jets. You are not their opponent." Seeing that Raisa refused to obey his order, Sokov was very anxious, and he couldn't bear to watch The planes of the four female pilots were shot down by enemy planes one by one in front of him, and he said again in a strong tone: "Lieutenant Raisa, this is my order, you must carry it out! You must carry it out!"

   Raisa ignored Sokov's ultimatum, but continued to chase the fleeing enemy plane ahead. However, Lilia, who was more skilled, caught up with the enemy plane first, and beat the enemy plane down with a machine gun. Seeing that the enemy plane was shot down, the four planes immediately re-formed in the air, ready to meet the incoming German fleet.

   "Misha, hurry up and look over there." Yakov suddenly exclaimed: "There are also planes appearing there."

  How many planes did the Germans dispatch? Hearing what Yakov said, Sokov's heart suddenly fell into an ice cellar. He thought to himself, Raisa and the others had no chance of winning against more than 20 enemy planes. If there was another team of German planes, even if only After a dozen fights, Raisa and the others had no hope of surviving. He quickly raised the binoculars and looked in the direction of the plane, praying secretly in his heart, hoping that it was a bomber, so that Raisa and the others still had a chance.

   After seeing the incoming planes clearly, the corners of his mouth could not help but slightly upturned. It was not German planes, but all LaGG-3 fighter jets. It was obviously another fighter squadron that arrived late. He grabbed the microphone and said loudly, "Lieutenant Raisa, reinforcements have arrived, now you can go and beat the Germans hard."

   Raisa replied loudly, and with her own squadron, she bravely rushed forward, and together with the 2nd Fighter Squadron led by Aleksey, flanked the oncoming German fleet.

  Fierce air battles unfolded over the factory area. Dozens of Soviet and German fighter jets and bombers flew up and down and chased at different altitudes. From time to time, some planes fell from the sky dragging black smoke trails. Sokov, who was watching the battle below, wished that all the planes shot down were German planes. However, many of the planes shot down were still fighter planes belonging to the Soviet Air Force. Some of the Soviet fighter planes that were hit lost control and crashed directly, and the pilots didn't even have the chance to parachute; some planes bravely crashed into the enemy plane and died together with the enemy.

Seeing Briski approaching him, Sokov didn't bother to ask him about the casualties of his troops, so he directly ordered him: "Comrade Captain, send someone to meet our pilots immediately. As for the German pilots who parachuted, they will be captured if they can." If you can't capture them, kill them all."

   "Understood," Briski nodded, turned around and was about to leave.

   "Wait a minute, Comrade Captain," just as Briski was about to leave, but Yakov stopped him: "You can't rescue the parachuted pilot yet."

  Yakov's words stunned both Sokov and Briski. After a while, Sokov frowned and asked, "Yakov, why can't we rescue our pilot now?"

"Misha, look over there first." Yakov pointed to the northwest direction and said to Sokov, "There are a large number of enemies appearing there. If you don't send people into the position immediately, I'm worried that the Germans will It will rush to the factory soon."

"Damn, where did these enemies come from?" Sokov observed with a telescope for a while, and said with some surprise: "At least one battalion, led by nine tanks, is heading towards us come."

"Comrade Brigadier, that's the defense zone of the 39th Guards Division over there." Briski stayed here for a long time, and he immediately judged where the enemy came from: "I think it may be that the defense zone of the friendly army has been breached, so the Germans People will rush to us."

"Comrade Captain, order your people to enter the position immediately." Sokov squatted down after ordering Briski, grabbed the phone on the driving track, and shouted into the microphone: "Comrade workshop director, don't be in the Drowsing in the basement, the Germans are attacking us, get your men into the field immediately."

As there were only about 200 militiamen with weak combat effectiveness in the assembly workshop, Sokov decided to use the number of people to make up for the gap. Before the battle, he specially asked Cousteau to draw some more workers from the workers to arm them and participate in the battle. The battle to defend the factory.

Cousteau stayed in the basement and didn't come out. He didn't know the situation outside. He thought that Sokov's tank battalion was attacking the German headquarters at the moment. When he heard Sokov's call, he asked in surprise. : "Why, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, haven't you taken down the German Army Command yet?"

"The German command was taken away by our troops more than an hour ago." Hearing what Cousteau said, Sokov said with some tears and laughter: "This enemy has just emerged, and they have at least A battalion, it is difficult to stop them with our strength, so we need your assistance."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I will give the workers an order immediately." Cousteau paused for a moment, probably thinking about how long it would take, and he quickly replied: "Ten minutes at most, just armed of workers can enter combat positions.”

   Seeing Sokov put his head down, Yakov said jokingly: "Misha, you really poked a hornet's nest today and killed a German regiment headquarters, only to be attacked by the German army frantically."

  If Yakov didn't say it, Sokov really didn't think so. Thinking about it now, it seems that this is really the case. After killing the regiment headquarters of the German army, the enemy who attacked the factory building first rushed towards him; just after killing them, the German bombers appeared over the factory again. Before the Women's Flying Squadron could kill them, the large German fleet rushed over. Now there is even a German army rushing over from General Guriyev's defense zone. It seems that his own scorpion is big enough.

   "Yakov, it's dangerous here." Sokov realized that there must be a fierce battle ahead, so he said to Yakov, "You should go back to the basement first."

   "Misha, you are not afraid, I have nothing to be afraid of." Yakov rejected Sokov's kindness, and said righteously: "I will stay and fight with you."

  Regarding Yakov's statement, Sokov patted Yakov's shoulder lightly twice, then smiled at him and thanked him. He knew that it would be very difficult to hold the position based on his current strength, so he ordered the radio operator: "Send a report to Vitkov and Sidolin, saying that the situation here is critical, and ask them to send a battalion immediately to catch up." Come and support."

   It is very risky for Sokov to mobilize this force. Once the 1st Battalion leaves Mamayev Hill, the defensive strength of South Hill will become weak. If the German army launches an attack on the high ground at this moment, it is unknown whether it can be held. Yakov has been to Mamayev's post many times, so he is naturally familiar with the deployment of troops there. Hearing Sokov's order, he quickly reminded the other party in a low voice: "Misha, you have to think about it carefully. , Once the first battalion is transferred from Mamayev Post, the defense there will become weak, and if the enemy attacks, it will be difficult for the defenders on the high ground to stop them."

"Yakov, if I don't transfer the 1st Battalion here," Sokov said helplessly, "then the factory won't be able to defend here. Once the Germans gain a firm foothold at the Red October Tractor Factory, our flanks will would be threatened."

After listening to Sokov's words, Yakov was silent for a long time, until Briski led the commanders and fighters of the fourth battalion into the position one after another, then he nodded and said to Sokov: "Misha, you are right. In the current situation, we can only take risks, otherwise the factory area will not be kept."

  Bely came out of the underground tank depot and saw Sokov and Yakov hiding on the driving track, observing the battle in the distance, so he walked over and asked, "Comrade Brigadier, what are you doing here?"

   "Colonel Bely," Sokov turned his head to see Bely, did not answer his question, but asked instead: "How about the casualties of the troops?"

"Three tanks were blown up by the Germans, and one fell into the bomb crater. We have to wait until night to find a way to get it out." Bely said while looking outside: "Why don't you know the basement? Do you know how to get out of the basement?" Is something wrong?"

   "Yes, Colonel Bely, you are right." Sokov replied with some embarrassment: "We killed the regiment headquarters of the German army. It may be a hornet's nest. The enemy launched an attack on us from several places."

   Knowing that the German army had launched an offensive again, Bely asked instinctively: "Do you need the assistance of our tank unit?"

Sokov looked up at the ongoing battle in the sky, shook his head and said, "Colonel Bely, the enemy planes are still competing with our planes for air supremacy. If the tanks are brought out at this time, they will only become enemies." The target of the machine. I think you should stay in the underground tank depot and wait for my further orders."

Bely grabbed Sokov's arm and said sincerely: "Comrade brigade commander, please let my subordinates come to help you. Although we are all tank soldiers, when the tank losses in the brigade were similar, we I also used to be an infantryman for a while, I want to help you block the German attack, there is no problem."

Hearing what Bely said, Sokov almost agreed to his request, but after thinking about it, he still shook his head: "Thank you for your kindness, Colonel Bely. Tank soldiers are professional arms. They use rifles, pistols to fight against the enemy. Combat is something you are not good at, and I have no right to let you sacrifice for nothing. You should go back to the underground tank depot, and I will send someone to notify you if necessary."

Seeing that Sokov repeatedly refused to join the battle, Bely was not angry. On the contrary, he gave Sokov advice: "Comrade Brigadier, since this enemy is coming from the defense area of ​​the 39th Guards Division, why don't we go to Guli?" General Yev asked for help, maybe he can help us."

"Colonel Bely, your idea is really good. I will call General Guriyev and ask him to send reinforcements to support us." Sokov asked the operator to connect to Guriyev's headquarters, and he said to He shouted loudly into the microphone: "Hello, Comrade General! I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Now a wave of enemies has broken through your defense zone and is rushing towards us. Our strength is limited, and I am afraid it will be difficult to stop it." They. I beg you, give us some necessary support."

"You have Germans attacking there, don't I have Germans here?" Guriyev said angrily when he heard Sokov say this: "The enemy dispatched two tank battalions and launched an attack on the defensive positions of our division." Onslaught, the troops on the defensive mission have suffered heavy losses, and my troops here are not enough, how can I support you?"

  Sokov's heart sank, and he said secretly: It's over, Guriyev refused to send troops for reinforcements, how could he stop the German attack with his current strength? If it doesn't work, Colonel Bely's tank battalion can only be put into battle again, and let them fight the German army to the death.

Just when Sokov was on the verge of despair, he suddenly heard Guriyev's voice coming from the earphone, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't worry, I won't ignore you, I will try my best to call out Part of the troops will rush over to support you. Before our reinforcements arrive, you must resolutely block the enemy."

"Don't worry, Comrade General." Hearing that Guriyev was willing to provide him with support, Sokov became happy again, and he quickly replied: "Unless we all die, we will never let the enemy occupy the assembly workshop." factory building."

  (end of this chapter)