Chapter 1068 The Spy in the City (Part 1)

  When Zhukov explained the task to Sokov, Witkov who was next to him became more and more surprised. He didn't expect that Sokov's judgment was actually in line with the actual situation.

  After assigning the task of defending the city, Zhukov sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of hot tea, took a sip, and said to Sokov, "Misha, how many residents are there in the city today?"

If Zhukov asked how many troops were stationed in each defense zone, Sokov would definitely answer without hesitation, but he was confused about the number of residents in the city, and he quickly turned his eyes to Vitkov for help. , hoping to get a satisfactory answer from him.

  Unexpectedly, when Witkov saw his gaze, he shook his head with a wry smile, and spread his hands, indicating that he did not know the exact number of residents.

"Why, don't you all know the answer?" Seeing that neither Sokov nor Witkov could answer the question he asked, Zhukov showed an expression of displeasure on his face: "You are now the supreme commander in charge of the defense of Luhansk , don’t you even know how many residents there are in the city?”

Since Zhukov came to the headquarters, Anisimov, the division political commissar who had never spoken, took a step forward and said cautiously: "Comrade general, please allow me to report to you." After getting permission, he continued : "Now the total number of residents in the city is 47,365, including 13,927 workers. They are all sent by the superiors to resume production."

   "Very good." Regarding Anisimov's answer, Zhukov nodded in satisfaction. He glanced at the old-fashioned military rank worn by the other party, and asked casually, "What rank are you? What position do you hold now?"

"Reporting to Comrade General," Anisimov replied respectfully to Zhukov's series of questions, "According to the adjusted military rank, I should be a lieutenant colonel. Now I am serving as the political commissar of the 41st Guards Division ''"

Sokov, who was standing next to him, heard the two talking about their military ranks, and suddenly remembered an important question: Zhukov was awarded the rank of Marshal on January 8, 1943, but Zhukov, who is standing in front of him now, still carries With the rank of general, what is going on? Could it be because of my own reasons that there is a deviation somewhere?

  Zhukov asked with great interest: "Since he is the division political commissar of the 41st Guards Division, how can he know so much about the situation in the city?"

"Reporting to Comrade General, our division was the first to enter Lugansk." Anisimov replied, "From the day I entered Luhansk, I have often counted the number of people in the city so that we can distribute them according to the number of people." Ration certificate."

   "Who is in charge of public security in the city?" Zhukov asked, "Is it you or the police?"

"Shortly after we came to Luhansk, the superior sent a police detachment of more than 80 people to form a 27th branch in the city. Because of their limited number, we specially equipped them with two companies of troops , in order to deal with possible unforeseen events.”

"The communication team that came with me to Lugansk heard a strange radio signal last night." Zhukov said to Anisimov: "Since you have been in charge of the situation in the city, then it is up to you Send someone to catch the German agents lurking in the city."

"Comrade General, I'm afraid it's not easy to handle." Regarding Zhukov's order, Anisimov said with some embarrassment: "The troops currently stationed in the city are Colonel Gorishny's 75th Guards Division. It would be inconvenient if we were hunting down the spies hiding in the city."

"No inconvenience." Zhukov waved his hand to Anisimov, and then said to Sokov: "Misha, you immediately give an order to Colonel Gorishny, saying that there may be Germans lurking in the city. He was ordered to fully cooperate with the work of Lieutenant Colonel Anisimov and the civilian police station.”

   "Understood, Comrade General." Sokov agreed verbally very readily, but he knew very well in his heart how difficult it was to find hidden German spies in a city that was almost in ruins. In order to narrow down the search area, he still took the initiative to ask Zhukov: "I want to ask, can you determine the approximate location of the enemy's radio station?"

If Zhukov said that the enemy's radio signal appeared in other directions, Sokov might still be a little careless, but he couldn't help frowning when he heard the enemy's radio signal appeared in the west of the city. If the enemy's radio station cannot be dug out as soon as possible in the division's defense area, I am afraid that it will suffer a big loss in the future.

  Thinking of this, he hurriedly said to Zhukov: "Comrade General, I feel that the elimination of German spies in the city is of great importance. I must go to the headquarters of the 75th Guards Division in person. Please allow me to leave."

   "Go." Zhukov readily agreed, "I and Colonel Witkov are working here, so you don't have to worry about it."

   "Also, Lieutenant Colonel Anisimov, the political commissar, is familiar with the situation in the city. I need him to go with me."

   "Go, go." Zhukov said: "You must pay attention to safety."

   Sokov brought Anisimov out of the headquarters and immediately asked, "Comrade Political Commissar, what do the residents in the west of the city do?"

   "The factories that have resumed work are all in the west of the city." Anisimov replied: "The workers and their families live in the west of the city, and the total number of people accounts for three-fifths of the city's population."

  Sokov calculated silently in his heart, and the number of people living in the west of the city was actually around 30,000. Finding one or several latent German spies among so many people is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. But no matter how difficult it is, we must find a way to find out these spies hidden among the residents, otherwise, they can transmit the reality of the city to the German army in the distance through radio waves.

   "Where is the police station?"

   "Near the square in the west of the city, only one street away from the headquarters of the 75th Guards Division."

"Then let's go to Colonel Gorishny's headquarters first to see how many mobile troops he can mobilize." Sokov said, and then got into the jeep parked on the side of the road. After Anisimov got into the car, He ordered the driver to drive.

   On the way, Anisimov tentatively asked: "Comrade Commander, what are we going to Colonel Gorishny's headquarters for? Is it possible to mobilize troops from him and conduct a search on the western defense line of the city?"

"Organizing troops to conduct a search in the west of the city is of little significance. After all, most of the residents in the city have just returned and are not familiar with each other. They don't even know who is suspicious." Sokov told Anisimov Explained: "If we organize a large-scale search, it will not only mobilize the army, but also cause panic among the residents. In my opinion, there is no need for this at all."

  (end of this chapter)