Chapter 707

When I congratulated mikheiev on his promotion to the rank of captain, he did not recover from the news. It was only when kirilov and akhromeyev, with a smile on their faces, extended their hands to him to express congratulations that he suddenly realized that he was not dreaming, but was really promoted.

After Mikhail accepted all our congratulations, I urged him to rush to the first and third regiment's defense areas as soon as possible to supervise and guide them to build new fortifications. As I still have something to tell him in private, I personally sent him out of the headquarters.

When I came to the gate of the headquarters and walked a little far away from the Sentinels, I thought the Sentinels could not hear us, so I told him with a straight face: "Captain Mikhail, the contents you just translated are top secret and must not be leaked out. Once the leak leads to adverse consequences, don't say your future is not guaranteed, or even your life will be lost. "

Mikhail yev held his round glasses with his hand and nodded to show that he knew. Then he asked me in a low voice: "Sir, I don't understand. Our newspapers all say that these people are traitors to our motherland. Why should we spend so much effort to plot against them? "

I can't answer mikheiv's question like Zhukov and trakov, because he can't think about it from a strategic point of view. What he saw in his eyes was just to meet these hundreds of people. We may have to pay thousands of people's price and feel it's not worth it, so he would ask me such a question face to face.

After pondering for a moment, I explained to him, "Comrade Mikhail, we can't simply use the method of addition and subtraction to consider whether this action is cost-effective. If we don't plot against the East camp, once we meet them on the battlefield, we will belong to the two hostile sides, and we are bound to fight to death. A gun will kill people, even if our troops can fight again, there will be casualties. Once this force can be turned to us, this unnecessary sacrifice will be reduced. In addition, like the soldiers in the eastern battalion in other places, they are all from the POW camp, and they are inextricably linked with each other. In this way, more and more Eastern battalions will turn around and join our camp. These people are veterans who have participated in many battles. If their political work is done well and they join our team, they will be able to fight immediately. They are much better than new recruits, and the army can form a strong combat effectiveness in a very short time. Moreover, because they are in any case, there are no prisoners to be handed over to the follow-up forces, which not only reduces the workload, but also does not cost our valuable forces to escort. "

After listening to what I said, mihayev was silent for a long time. Then he said thoughtfully: "I understand, sir. May I leave now? "

"Go, Captain mihayev." The reason why I patiently explained this matter to him is to change the fixed pattern formed in his mind, and understand that even if he is in the enemy's camp, as long as the superior is willing to give them the opportunity, he still has the opportunity to return to our same front.

As I walked towards the headquarters, I suddenly remembered a series of data I had just reported to kirilov and akhromeyev when they talked about the East camp. They did not even ask me how these data were calculated. When I walked into the headquarters with my doubts in my arms, they all knew that I had a good relationship with group commanders such as trakov and shumilov, and even deputy commander General Zhukov. The reason why I didn't ask where my data came from was that I guessed that I knew it through these big people.

When I returned to the table and sat down, I asked akhromeyev, "chief of staff, did the German army attack our position today?"

Akhromeyev shook his head and said in a strange tone: "recently, the enemy did not know what to do. They launched fewer attacks on the positions of the fourth regiment, not to mention, and even the number of shelling was decreasing."

"Is there something wrong with the enemy's logistics, so that weapons and ammunition can't help?" Kirilov couldn't help interrupting when he heard our conversation“ After all, they have hundreds of thousands of troops, and the daily consumption of ammunition and materials is a terrible astronomical number. "

When I heard kirilov say this, I said to myself: the German army consumes a lot, and our consumption is not small. If the transport line of the Volga River is cut off, our troops will face a tragic situation in a few days.

During the chat, I thought of the company that still stuck on the Soviet street. Because of the heavy losses of all the troops, as soon as new reinforcements arrived, everyone tried to make their troops more replenished. Not to mention the veterans who have participated in the battle, even the recruits are also in hot demand. If we do not seize the time to take back this company, it may be cheaper for others. Thinking of this, I quickly told akhromeyev: "by the way, comrade chief of staff, I suddenly remembered that there was a company of our second regiment on the Soviet street. At that time, they stayed there because of the shortage of troops in the 42nd regiment of the guards, which I lent to them on a temporary basis. Now that there are new troops to take over, let's transfer them back. "

Akhromeyev had no doubt about my order, and he readily agreed to it. One more person would have more strength, not to mention more than 100 people. He immediately called Oleg and asked him to arrange for the company on Soviet street to withdraw.

When I heard that akhromeyev's call was about to end, I hastened to give another order: "chief of staff, tell Comrade Oleg to come to the division headquarters when lieutenant shereblenne, the company commander, comes back."

Although akhromeyev didn't understand why I gave this order, he carried it out to the letter. Kirilov asked curiously, "Comrade o'xanina, what did you call this company commander to the division headquarters for?"

"Well, comrade political commissar. I have contacted the company commander and feel that he has a lot of fighting experience, and we need such talents at present

"Where are you going to send him?" Kirilov asked.

"Commander of the regiment of Sergeant Sergeant kirikov, who has just added a large number of personnel, is extremely short. Yesterday, he also hoped that I would send a commander to his regiment to take the post of battalion commander. I think this shereblenny company commander is very suitable for this position. By the way, when his company entered the Soviet street, I promised them that as long as they could stick to the fifth, everyone in the company would be promoted to the first level. "

"Are you going to make this company commander a battalion commander in a regiment?" Kirilov asked tentatively. Without waiting for my answer, his face suddenly showed an expression of sudden enlightenment. He lowered his voice and asked me carefully, "do you want a regiment to take charge of this dangerous task?"

"Yes, comrade political commissar." Now that he has guessed my mind, I have not concealed my point of view: "at present, the regiment has the largest number of troops in the whole division. Judging from their fighting yesterday, their combat effectiveness is not weak, so I think it is very appropriate for the shejerikov regiment to take charge of the East battalion."

"I don't mind." Kirilov made his point directly: "at present, if the second and fourth regiments want to stick to the mamayev post, they will certainly not be able to deploy enough troops; When the third regiment withdrew from the northern highland, its staff was reduced by two-thirds, and it was not suitable for them to complete this task until they were supplemented. There's only one ball left. Based on my understanding of lieutenant colonel shejerikov, their regiment will be able to successfully complete the tasks assigned to them by the division headquarters. "

An hour later, Lieutenant shereblenne, returning from the Soviet street, arrived at the headquarters in a dusty way. After he saluted the three of us, I solemnly announced to him: "Comrade shereblenny, because of your bravery and tenacity in the battle of defending the Soviet street, now you are officially promoted to the rank of Captain and promoted to the commander of the second battalion of the first regiment. After going out from here, I will take your company to the residential area to report to lieutenant colonel sherekov."

He blushed with excitement, saluted us at attention again, and said aloud, "serve the Soviet motherland!"

After captain shereblenne left, kirilov reported to me on the progress of oberstein, the political commissar of the regiment. I waved my hand casually, interrupted what he said later and said with disapproval: "Comrade political commissar, I believe that under your leadership, comrade oberstein will be able to set up the necessary contingent of political work cadres before the new regiment joins our division. You will be fully responsible for this matter in the future. You can make up your own mind if you have anything to do. You don't have to ask me for instructions. "

"Since you say so, I'll arrange this work directly in the future."

In the evening, safchenko and Grimes led the fake German detachment and set out quietly in the dark, ready to sneak into the enemy's rear to contact captain Karpov.

Akhromeyev put down the phone and told kirilov and me: "division commander, political commissar, according to the forward observation report of the fourth regiment, the detachment has passed their defense area and moved along the river bank towards the enemy camp."

Although judging from the current feedback, kirilov still asked me nervously: "Comrade division, do you think the team can successfully enter the camp of Karpov camp tonight?"

"No problem," I said lightly, "when they reconnoitred the night before yesterday, they successfully crossed the enemy's defense zone; Last night, comrade safchenko not only passed through the enemy's defensive area, but also entered captain Karpov's command post cleanly and established contact with him. In this case, the enemy didn't find our team. What else do you have to worry about? "

"Yes, comrade political commissar, the teacher is right." Akhromeyev said: "besides, Captain grams, who is leading the team to cover Comrade safchenko tonight, used to be a real officer of the German defense forces. Once he put on that uniform, he is a fake German officer. It's not a piece of cake to fool those Germans."

Kirilov was relieved to hear both of us say so easily. He said with relief, "that's good. I hope they can come back safely, so that I can feel at ease."

At daybreak, safchenko in German uniform appeared in front of us. As soon as he appeared, kirilov, who had been sitting at the table dozing, immediately jumped up and rushed to him with a dart. He asked with concern, "Comrade safchenko, are you back?"

"Yes, comrade political commissar, we are all back." Maybe it was too cold outside, and safchenko's voice was a little hoarse. "We also brought back a message from captain Karpov."

When I heard that Karpov had given us an answer, I said in my heart that it seemed that there was hope for the success of the rebellion. He said with a smile, "Comrade safchenko, I don't know what message Karpov asked you to take back."

Safchenko wanted to stand up and answer, but kirilov, who was standing next to him, put his hand on his shoulder, pressed him down and said, "don't stand up, just sit and talk."

Safchenko looked up at kirilov and laughed. Instead of standing up, he sat down and reported to us: "Sir, political commissar, after I saw captain Karpov last night and told him the reason why we could not agree to the third condition, he looked disappointed. After thinking about it for a long time, he made a request." At this point, safchenko stopped and just looked at me.

"What request, comrade safchenko?" Kirilov saw that safchenko's words were half finished, and suddenly stopped. He couldn't help but feel worried and urged him: "go on, what kind of request did captain Karpov make?"

I saw that safchenko's eyes had been fixed on me. It was estimated that nine out of ten of kalpov's requests had something to do with me, so I encouraged safchenko to say, "come on, comrade safchenko, what requests does kalpov make?"

Although safchenko was encouraged by me, he seemed hesitant when he spoke, perhaps because of the importance of this matter: "Captain Karpov said that the level of the people we negotiated with him is too low, and we hope to send them to higher level commanders. It's better for the teacher himself to go. "

"What?" Akhromeyev, with his eyes wide open, asked angrily, "what kind of Karpov is that he wants our teachers to negotiate with him in person?"

Kirilov's face also showed anger, but he was much calmer than akhromeyev. He asked faintly, "Comrade safchenko, is that what Karpov asked for?"

Safchenko nodded his head vigorously and replied positively: "yes, he said that only when the division commander went to negotiate with him in person can he believe the sincerity of our army."

After his words, all the people turned their eyes on me. Instead of speaking, I walked back and forth in the room with my hands behind my back, thinking to myself: Although face-to-face negotiations with Karpov can show the sincerity of our army to the greatest extent, what worries me is the danger I may face when I pass through the enemy's defensive area.

After thinking about it, I feel that since the rebellion has been reported to the headquarters of the group army and Zhukov, if I change my mind temporarily at this time, it is tantamount to breaking my future in disguise. After weighing the interests between the future and my own life, I made up my mind decisively. So I stopped, turned to them and said, "I've decided to go with safchenko and meet Karpov tonight."

As soon as my words were uttered, kirilov and akhromeyev were scared out of their wits. They both told me with one voice, "no, sir, it's too dangerous."

I waved my hand and said calmly, "commissar and chief of staff, in order to dispel Karpov's scruples and gain his further trust in us, I have to go this trip myself." At this point, seeing that there was still a panic expression on their faces, they quickly comforted them, "don't worry, there won't be any danger. I still have captain gramus's troops to protect me along the way."

Although I have already said this, kirilov still refused to let go. He said firmly, "Comrade commander, you are going deep into the enemy's rear. It's too dangerous. Why don't you go to another person?"

"No way!" I have calmed down at the moment. As for kirilov's suggestion, I denied it without thinking. "Since Karpov has called for a meeting with my teacher, I don't want to change who I want to go, and it doesn't work."

"Need to report to group command?" Asked akhromeyev, who was worried about my personal safety.

"Not for the time being." I was deeply afraid that akhromeyev would report my meeting with Karpov on the spur of the moment, so that the situation would get out of control and quickly stopped him. "If this matter is reported to the headquarters now, the commanders will definitely stop me from meeting with Karpov. In this way, our plan may be wasted. "

With my insistence, kirilov and akhromeyev reluctantly agreed that I would follow safchenko and gramus after dark, disguised as Germans, and sneak into the rear of the German army to meet Karpov.

At this time, safchenko put forward another suggestion: "Comrade division, if there is a female soldier in the German March, it is easy to arouse suspicion, so I think we should get a German covered truck. If we go by car, we can not only reduce the time spent on the way back, but also reduce the risk of exposure. "

"Comrade safchenko, your suggestion is good." Kirilov attached great importance to his opinions and asked, "can you get the enemy's truck?"

Safchenko thought for a moment, then replied decisively, "Comrade political commissar, please rest assured that I will be able to get the enemy's truck before dark."

Kirilov nodded with satisfaction: "OK, then, it's up to you to find the truck."

When it was dark, I followed safchenko to the foot of the mountain and found a German truck with a canopy. I couldn't help but admire safchenko's ability.

Grimes and a dozen of his subordinates were standing around the truck. When they saw me coming, they came to salute me and said in broken Russian, "Comrade teacher, you are here. Please get on the bus." With that, he turned and opened the door on the side of the copilot.

I quickly waved to him and said, "no, Captain Grimes, you'd better sit here. Comrade safchenko and I will sit in the carriage." With that, he raised his legs to go.

Grimes stopped me and said a few words. I couldn't understand what he was saying. I turned to look at safchenko and asked instinctively, "do you know what he was saying?"

Safchenko approached gramus and whispered a few words in German, and gramus responded. Savchenko, who understood what gramus said, then translated it to me and said, "Comrade division, Captain gramus said that it's uncomfortable to sit in the carriage, so you'd better be the bridge. It's spacious here. It's OK to sit for three people."

Through safchenko's translation, I understood what gramus meant, but I refused his kindness. I introduced to him with a smile: "Captain Grimes, we may encounter with the enemy patrol later, or pass through the enemy checkpoint. If they find a female soldier sitting in the bridge, it will arouse their vigilance and bring us a lot of inconvenience, so I'd better take the carriage."

After listening to safchenko's translation, Grimes shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly, "well, in that case, I'll do as you say."

Our journey is much smoother than we thought. It took the truck more than half an hour before we were stopped by a patrol. Listening to the chatter of German soldiers coming from under the car, I could not help holding the submachine gun in my hand. I planned to stand up and fire at the German soldiers under the car once the enemy found a flaw.

Fortunately, gramus dealt with it properly. It didn't take long to send the German patrol away, and the car went on. Safchenko, who was sitting next to me, said easily, "Sir, the enemy patrol has gone. Don't worry, it's OK. We've been fighting back and forth behind the enemy. Every time we meet the enemy's patrols or checkpoints, they, the original Germans, will be able to deal with them and pass the border easily. " When I heard him finish, I just let out a gentle hum.

"What are you thinking?" Safchenko asked respectfully.

I answered anxiously, "Comrade safchenko, I think we should strengthen our reconnaissance work in the enemy's rear. If you think about it, the enemy now holds the air supremacy over Stalingrad. They can understand our defense situation through reconnaissance planes, but our reconnaissance forces can't go deep into their rear areas for reconnaissance. What do you think is the probability of victory for the battle plan drawn up in such a situation

Before safchenko could express his opinion, the truck suddenly stopped again. I couldn't help but murmur: "hell, what's the matter? Have you met the enemy's patrol or checkpoint again?"

Safchenko stood up, carefully lifted a corner of the tarpaulin, looked out, and then replied, "Sir, we are at the camp of the East camp. It's the soldiers in the camp who stop us. It won't be long before we see captain Karpov When I heard that I would meet Karpov soon, my heart beat faster.

After the truck restarted, it staggered forward for tens of meters and finally stopped. Safchenko stood up again, bent over and said to me, "Comrade teacher, we are here. We can get off."

"I see." With that, I stood up with my hand on the baffle of the carriage, stumbled to the rear of the car, and got off with the help of the soldiers under the car.

As soon as I got out of the car, gramus came around from the front of the car, came up to me, looked at a lighted tent not far away, and said briefly, "over there!"

I nodded. When safchenko got out of the car, the three of us walked towards the tent with the light on.

I opened the curtain of the tent and went in. I saw a young man in a German uniform without a hat. He was sitting in front of us at a wooden table, looking down at a map. Hearing the footsteps, he instinctively raised his head and looked at us.

Safchenko took the initiative to greet him: "Hello, Captain Karpov, here we are again."

With a smile on his face, the young soldier, known as Karpov, got up and walked around the table to us. When he came up to us, he found me a stranger by accident. His smile froze on his face immediately. He asked warily, "Comrade safchenko, who is this?"

Safchenko just wanted to make an introduction, but I raised my hand to stop him. I took the initiative to reach out to Karpov and said with a friendly smile, "Hello, Captain Karpov. I'd like to introduce myself. I'm the commander of the independent division, Colonel oshanina. I'm here to negotiate with you. Are you not welcome? "

When he heard that I had made myself known, Karpov got flustered. He reached for my hand and shook it vigorously. He said, "Hello, Hello, comrade Colonel, I've heard about it for a long time, but I didn't expect you to come to me in person." Then he released one hand and swung it back, and let me in. "Don't stand at the door, come in and sit down." After I sat down with him, safchenko took the initiative to say to me, "Comrade division commander, you can talk. Captain gramus and I are waiting for you outside. We can watch the German soldiers in the inspection team." I nodded and said in a low voice, "let captain Grimes take a few soldiers with him, take surveillance action on them, and deal with them decisively once we find something abnormal." After safchenko and gramus left, I said to Karpov with a smile, "Captain Karpov, I've come here as you asked. Can we talk about the army now?" Karpov said with a wry smile: "Colonel oshanina, as far as I know, Stalin himself once declared that all Soviet prisoners of war were traitors of the motherland. Even if they fled the enemy's prison camp and returned to their own troops, they were also faced with censorship and even exile and execution. Those of us who participated in the German army were even more heinous. I'm afraid that even if we go back there, we will have a more miserable fate waiting for us. " Seeing that Karpov was full of worries, I could only comfort him as much as possible: "Captain Karpov, don't worry. Since I can meet you and discuss with you about the military affairs, it must be with the permission of the high level of the army. Otherwise, as a small division commander, do you dare to advocate? I can assure you with my personality that as long as your troops are in my independent division, they will never be settled in the future. " After listening to me, Karpov was silent for a long time. I knew that he was weighing the pros and cons, so I didn't disturb him and sat quietly looking at him. After a while, he finally sighed and said, "Colonel oshanina, you can come to my camp in person today to prove your sincerity. I believe you. I am willing to lead the whole battalion to join your independent division." After hearing his statement, the stone hanging in my heart fell to the ground. The next thing to discuss is how to pull out the troops. However, before discussing this plan, I first need to know the strength and equipment of his troops. Therefore, I asked, "Captain Karpov, I want to know the strength and equipment of your battalion, so that we can make a targeted plan."“ There are 578 soldiers in the whole battalion, including an artillery company with four 150 mm howitzers, and the remaining three companies are infantry companies, each with four light machine guns and one heavy machine gun. Because of the recent supply difficulties, all the shells of the howitzer have been used up. If we want to highlight them, the artillery will not be of any help. "“ If so, are you sure you want to take everyone away? " After hearing about the strength and equipment of the Dongfang battalion, I was somewhat disappointed that I could not make use of the artillery company. But I still asked a question of my own concern, "what are you going to do with those officers and soldiers who are not willing to follow us?" Karpov gave a wry smile and replied, "Colonel, if you kill the German soldiers from the soldiers' monitoring group in the camp, you should be able to take all the troops away. But what I'm worried about now is, how can we leave smoothly in the bag of three German divisions? " I looked down at the map in front of me, and then pointed to it to explain to him: "if I want to leave smoothly, I have two plans: first, your whole battalion will quietly move eastward in the dark, pass through the defense area of the 113th German division, and come to the Volga River, where I will arrange troops to meet you. When you meet with the receiving troops, go up the river along the embankment and enter our defense area from the northern highland. Second, when the German army launched an attack on our front in the daytime, you quietly approached the battlefield. When the German army's attack was frustrated, you decisively launched an attack, converged with our troops who were coming forward, and then returned to our positions together. " Although I was confident in what I said, after listening to it, Karpov asked cautiously, "Colonel, can you really get out of the German encirclement with these two plans? You know, in the event of failure, it's the end of the whole army that awaits us. " In order to dispel his worries, I said to him straightforwardly: "Captain Karpov, you can rest assured that even if all our troops are exhausted, you should ensure that your troops will not suffer losses or minimize the losses."