After the Istrian battalion entered Susinich, they found that the entire city was deserted. No one, whether German or local resident, could be seen. Seeing this situation, Sokov quickly ordered the company commanders of each company to line up
As a unit, we launched a search operation in the city.
Sokov led the security platoon to search along the street. When he saw that the streets were littered with trucks, sleds, weapons and ammunition, and various supplies abandoned by the German troops when they fled, he couldn't help but wonder to himself: What happened in the city?
The Germans didn't even have the courage to hold on, so they abandoned so many supplies and fled in a hurry?
Several gunshots not far away immediately alerted the soldiers. They hid nearby and looked around with their guns, vigilantly observing whether there were any enemies nearby. Sokov hid under the carriage of a truck, sideways.
He listened to the sparse shooting sound, but soon discovered that the gunfire did not become more and more intensive, but soon stopped. He judged that it must be other search troops, encountering the lone enemy, and what happened
Small-scale firefight.
Hearing that the gunfire had stopped, Sokov stood up, looked around, and then said loudly: "Comrades, it's okay. It should be the lone German soldier who has been eliminated by our soldiers. We continue to move forward.
!" Following Sokov's order, the soldiers stood up from their hiding places and continued to advance along the street with their weapons in hand.
During the search, Sokov suddenly saw a magnificent three-story building in front of him, with a black car parked at the door. Not only Sokov saw it, but also the soldiers in the guard platoon.
Seryosha quickly came to Sokov and said with some excitement: "Misha, it seems that this is the German army's headquarters."
When Sokov saw the beautiful car at the door, he first thought that this must be the location of an important institution of the German army. At this moment, when he heard what Seryosha said, he quickly ordered loudly: "Pavel, take a squad with you."
Be on guard outside, and the rest of you will follow me inside!"
There was still no one in the building. There were wine bottles, half-used first aid kits, bloody bandages, empty bullet clips, and cigarette butts scattered everywhere in the corridors and rooms. Sokov looked carefully.
After searching for a long time, no maps or documents left by the Germans were found. It seems that even if the Germans evacuated in a hurry, they carefully took away or destroyed these things to avoid being obtained by the Soviet army and revealing their troop deployment.
and direction of action.
Seryosha came to Sokov's side, took out half a pack of German cigarettes that he found somewhere, took out one and handed it to Sokov, and said angrily: "Misha, I just went to the communications room to see,
I wanted to see if I could get a code book or something like that, but the Germans had already blown it up."
Seryosha lit a match and helped Sokov light a cigarette. Just as he was about to light a cigarette for himself, he accidentally saw a portrait of Hitler hanging on the wall and threw the match on the ground.
, walked over with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He took off the portrait, threw it on the ground and stepped on it twice. Probably still unsatisfied, he took out a dagger from his boot and drew a swastika on Hitler's face.
After doing all this, he put the dagger back into his boot, struck a match and lit the cigarette in his mouth, puffing on the smoke while admiring his masterpiece.
After finishing his cigarette, Sokov threw the cigarette butt on the ground, crushed it with his toes, and said to Seryosha: "Let's go, comrade platoon leader, we have to continue the search."
The two men led the soldiers out of the headquarters. Seryosha suddenly turned towards the building, pointed to the roof and said to Sokov: "Misha, since it is the German headquarters that our battalion occupied first, we should go find an interview."
The red flag is planted on the roof."
Sokov once heard someone say that according to the tradition of the Russian army, whoever is the first to plant the flag on the roof of the most important building in the city during a siege counts as this, even if the fighting in the city continues.
A detachment of troops took the lead in occupying the city. Therefore, after Seryosa reminded him, he quickly said: "Seryosa, you go now. I don't care what you think of, but you must find a flag and put it on the roof of the building.
."
Not long after Seryosha left, a soldier from the Second Company ran over panting and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Battalion Commander, we found a covered truck in the central square containing important supplies.
Something, the company commander ordered me to come over and ask you to take a look."
Hearing that there was something important, Sokov replied unambiguously: "Let's go!" After walking a few steps, he suddenly remembered the red flag on the roof of the building, so he quickly stopped and called two
A relatively clever soldier asked them to wait here for Seryosha to come back. Then he led the guard platoon and followed the soldiers who came to report, and walked quickly along the street towards the city center.
When he arrived at the central square, still following him far away, Sokov saw Andre leading a dozen soldiers to surround a truck parked next to the black marble statue of Peter the Great. Seeing Sokov
Bringing people over, Andre quickly stepped forward to greet him.
"Comrade Second Lieutenant," Sokov nodded to Andrei and asked directly: "What is loaded in the car?"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Andrei said excitedly, "You'd better come and see for yourself." After that, he acted as a guide from the front and led Sokov to the back of the truck.
Sokov looked at the carriage with the tarpaulin open and saw a dozen large wooden boxes neatly placed inside. When he was about to ask what was in the box, he saw Andrei had climbed into the carriage on his hands and knees, and
He leaned down and extended his hand to Sokov, preparing to help him get into the car.
After Sokov climbed into the carriage, Andre opened the lid of a wooden box, took out a huge picture frame from inside, and said in an excited voice: "Comrade Battalion Commander, look at what this is?"
p>
Sokov saw what Andre was holding in his hand, which was a portrait: an old man with a long white beard and dressed in black, sitting in an armchair with his legs crossed and a chair on his knees.
An open book. Sokov's eyes moved to the lower right corner of the portrait and saw a scrawled signature there.
Before he could recognize whose signature it was, Andre said in a voice slightly changed due to excitement: "Comrade Battalion Commander, do you recognize it? The person in the painting is Leo Tolstoy.
One of the many portraits of Tolstoy created by Repin, it is also the most famous one."
"Oh my god," after listening to Andrei's explanation, Sokov couldn't help exclaiming in a low voice: "It's actually a painting by Repin." He pointed to the other boxes with his hand, "Can it be said that these boxes
Are they also filled with famous Russian paintings?"
"Yes, that's the case." Andrei carefully put Repin's oil paintings into the wooden box and continued: "In addition to Repin's paintings, there are also Ivan Kramskoy, Victor
?The works of Vasheletsov and others..."
Regarding the great Russian painters, Sokov only knew Repin. Even if he had heard the names of the rest, he had forgotten them in the blink of an eye. After he waited patiently for Andrei to finish speaking, he ordered him to say: "Comrade Second Lieutenant
, you personally lead people to take good care of these oil paintings. No one is allowed to come near this place without my order. These are Russia's precious treasures, and there must be no mistakes. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Comrade Battalion Commander." Andre straightened his back in the carriage and replied, "I will protect these precious cultural relics just like I protect my own eyes."
Sokov got down from the carriage and saw a large group of soldiers coming from the other end of the square. He thought it was the follow-up troops of the 11th Guards Division who had arrived, so he went to meet them.
There was a colonel in the crowd. He saw Sokov approaching and quickly stopped him: "Comrade Captain, which unit are you from?"
"Hello, comrade colonel." Sokov stood at attention and saluted the colonel, and replied: "We are the Istria Battalion, currently under the command of the 11th Guards Division. We have just completed the search for the city."<
/p>
After listening to Sokov's report, the colonel nodded slightly, and then said: "I am Colonel Sergei Ichi, commander of the 972nd Regiment of the 324th Infantry Division. Do you know where the Germans have gone?"
Although the colonel's tone was a bit aggressive, Sokov still replied politely: "Comrade colonel, after our battalion entered the city, we found no trace of the enemy. Although there were sporadic exchanges of fire in individual areas, we have not captured them yet.
Captive."
As soon as the colonel and his men left, a soldier Sokov left at the entrance of the German command post hurried over and reported to him: "Comrade battalion commander, the division commander has entered the city, please go and see him."<
/p>
As Sokov followed the soldiers toward the German headquarters, he casually asked: "Has the red flag been put on the roof?"
"Yes, Comrade Battalion Commander, it has been inserted." The soldier replied in a panic.
Sokov thought that the soldier was so excited when he answered his own questions that he was so flustered, so he didn't think much about it. When he arrived at the gate of the German headquarters, many commanders and fighters had gathered outside the gate, including Chel, commander of the 11th Guards Division.
Everyone, including General Neshov, looked up at the red flag flying on the roof.
Seeing that the red flag was already flying on the roof, Sokov quickly ran behind Chernyshev, raised his hand in salute and said loudly: "Comrade division commander, Captain Sokov of the Istrian Battalion has been ordered to come, please
Your instructions!"
Chernyshev turned around, without any smile on his face, but asked with a straight face: "Captain Sokov, what on earth is going on? Since your battalion was the first unit to rush into Sushinich
, why not put the red flag on the roof of the building?"
Sokov looked up at the roof. A red flag with Lenin's face embroidered in the middle was fluttering in the wind. He pointed at the flag with his hand and said in confusion: "Comrade division commander, isn't that a red flag?"<
/p>
"That's the flag of the 324th Infantry Division." Chernyshov said in a tone that hates iron but not steel: "Now it's the flag of the friendly forces flying on the roof. In other words, the honor of being the first to occupy the city belongs to the infantry.
From the 324th Division. Do you understand?"
After Sokov waited for Chernyshev to finish speaking, he looked around the crowd on the left and right, trying to find any trace of Seryosha. But there were so many people that he didn't see anyone for a while, so he shouted at the top of his lungs
:"Seryozha, where are you?"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Seryosha, holding a piece of red cloth in his hand, struggled to squeeze in front of Sokov and said with a depressed expression: "When I came back from looking for the flag, I found that the friendly flag was already flying on the roof of the building.
”
"What on earth is going on?" Sokov turned his attention to the soldiers leading the way and asked angrily: "Didn't I ask you to guard the door? Why do you want the people of the 324th Infantry Division to put their military flags?
On the roof?"
The soldier replied with a blushing face: "It was a colonel who led people in at that time. I... couldn't stop him!"
This chapter has been completed!