Burning Moscow

Chapter 143: Deputy Commander Lin (Part 2) I sat down at the table first, followed by Commander Lin, who took a seat across from me, with the interpreter Shi Zhe standing behind him. Colonel Gryaznov stood to my right, his hands resting on the table. He glanced at the map spread out on the table, then looked at me and said, “Comrade Oshanina, please brief us on the situation in Voloklamsk.” I looked at the map in front of me—a map of Volokolamsk, one of the few I could actually read. Pointing to the eastern part of the city, I said, “The headquarters of our 8th Guards Division is located here.” I then drew an imaginary line with my finger between my headquarters and the center of the city, “I have positioned Lieutenant Colonel Serebryavko’s 1073rd Regiment here, establishing a new defensive line to block the German forces emerging from Volokolamsk; the 1075th Regiment, led by Colonel Chistyakov, serves as the division’s reserve and is resting near the division headquarters.” At this point, I paused for a moment. Seeing that everyone was listening intently, I continued: “ The 1077th Regiment, led by General Levyakhin and myself, remains in the city to engage the Germans, doing our utmost to slow their advance toward Moscow. During yesterday’s daytime fighting, we employed surprise attacks and the ‘encircle the stronghold to intercept reinforcements’ tactic to eliminate a small German unit within the city and capture their commander.” When I mentioned the phrase “encircle the stronghold to cut off reinforcements,” I paid special attention to General Lin’s reaction—after all, this tactic was his own invention! Sure enough, General Lin, who had been looking down at the map, heard Shi Zhe’s translation, his eyebrows twitched, and he suddenly looked up at me, his eyes filled with question. I could guess what was on his mind. “Encircle the stronghold and strike the reinforcements”—it was clearly his original creation, and since the tactic hadn’t yet fully taken shape at that time, how could foreigners possibly know about it and understand how to use it? “Where is the 1077th Regiment now?” Just as I was struggling with how to face his questioning, Colonel Gryaznov’s inquiry saved me. I shook my head and replied with a look of distress: “ “I don’t know. Last night, I received a withdrawal order from Army Commander General Rokossovsky. While I was making arrangements for the troops’ retreat, the Germans suddenly launched a fierce artillery barrage on the area where the 1077th Regiment was stationed. Given the urgency of the situation, General Levyakhin ordered me to withdraw under cover of darkness, while he voluntarily stayed behind to command the troops, intending to break through the German encirclement from the east and link up with the forces outside the city.” “What happened next?” The question came from General Lin. Although I understood the implication the moment he spoke, I waited until Shi Zhe had translated General Lin’s exact words into Russian before replying: “ “I led a few dozen soldiers through the darkness, wandering aimlessly until just before dawn, when we found ourselves near the train station. We could have slipped right through a gap in the enemy’s defenses, but when I saw them hanging the bodies of our fallen comrades from the flagpole, I couldn’t control my emotions. I ordered my men to take out the few German soldiers guarding the flagpole. As a result, we gave away our position, and the Germans who spotted us pursued us all the way into the forest.” At this point, I glanced gratefully at General Lin once more, then said softly, “Thank goodness we encountered your armored units; otherwise, we would never have escaped total annihilation.” “Heh heh heh,” the colonel said with a laugh. “You have Deputy Commander Lin to thank for that. Last night, the Supreme Command had just transferred my army group from the reserves to the Western Front, and General Zhukov immediately issued an operational order. He stated that the defensive line was retreating under intense German pressure and ordered us to reach our designated positions as quickly as possible, at all costs, to hold back the Germans’ fierce offensive.” Upon receiving the order, the entire army group sprang into action. Deputy Commander Lin rushed directly from the army group headquarters to our division to take direct command of the operation. He said we had to catch the enemy off guard, so he pulled all the tanks and motorcycles from the division to form a vanguard battalion to clear the way ahead, with the infantry following closely behind, boldly penetrating deep into the German rear. To avoid detection by German reconnaissance aircraft, we marched through the forest the entire time.” As he spoke, he looked at General Lin. “If it weren’t for Deputy Commander Lin’s ingenious command, following standard procedures, our forces would still be in the process of redeployment. Let alone breaking your encirclement—it would have been questionable whether we could even have reached our current position.” ” After hearing the colonel’s blunt flattery, General Lin merely replied coldly, “Situations on the battlefield change in the blink of an eye, and opportunities are fleeting. Therefore, mobilizing and redeploying forces must be swift; combined with long-range infiltration and rapid strikes, this is the only way to achieve the element of surprise.” ” He then turned to me and asked, “I hear your commander, Rokossovsky, once proposed to Zhukov that his forces withdraw. Do you know where he intended to withdraw them?” “I do,” I replied almost without hesitation. “The commander intends to withdraw the troops to the vicinity of the Istra River and organize a new defensive line there.” As soon as I finished speaking, the colonel quickly moved his finger to the location of the Istra River and said in a low voice, “Here.” General Lin gazed at that spot for a long time before saying slowly, “ “The new defensive position has been chosen well. General Rokossovsky’s decision was correct. There are no troops behind the 16th Army; if the defending forces are overrun, the road to Moscow will be opened—something the enemy has long dreamed of. I believe the reservoir itself, the Istra River, and the adjacent areas constitute the best defensive zone. Once this area is secured, a strong defense can be organized with relatively few troops. This would allow us to place some units in the second echelon to establish a defense in depth, while committing the bulk of our forces to other sectors.” “Quite right,” I agreed. “That is my view as well.” General Lin kept his eyes on the map and said without looking up, “However, knowing General Zhukov as I do, he will certainly stop Rokossovsky. He bears the responsibility of defending Moscow; even if there is only a sliver of hope to hold the position, he will order the troops to continue holding firm and will never allow them to retreat a single step on their own initiative.” I silently praised him in my heart; General Lin truly had a uncanny ability to foresee events. Although they might not yet be aware of Zhukov’s sternly worded telegram, the situation was indeed exactly as he described. Even the withdrawal plan that had been tacitly approved by the Supreme Commander had been ruthlessly vetoed by Zhukov.