Soviet transport planes landed at Okinche Airport one after another, bringing large quantities of weapons, ammunition and military supplies to the troops in Warsaw. Seeing the mountains of supplies piled up next to the airport, Zakharkin said with emotion: "With so many supplies, our troops can gain a foothold in the city of Warsaw." ”

With sufficient supplies, the situation became more and more favorable for the Soviet troops in Warsaw. General Pankov's 88th Guards Division, after entering the Ohota district, received an order from Zakharkin to concentrate its forces on the capture of the stadium and the National Library north of the airport and, if possible, to recapture the Warsaw West Railway Station, which was occupied by the Germans.

Unexpectedly, the battle of the 88th Guards Division had not officially begun, but something unexpected happened. When the division commander Pankov was meeting with Glebov at the Okenche airfield, suddenly a regimental commander sent a letter saying that the German troops holding the stadium had sent representatives to negotiate.

Hearing this, both Pankov and Glebov were taken aback. Glebov said in a strange tone: "General Pankov, this is really strange. General Vajin and his men had been in Warsaw for almost ten days, and they had not met any negotiators sent by the Germans; It was also the second day since my troops entered Warsaw, and they did not meet the Germans who surrendered on their own initiative. And as soon as your troops entered the Ohota district, the Germans came to negotiate with you, could it be a conspiracy? ”

Hearing what Glebov said, Pankov felt that negotiations with the Germans should be cautious, so before leaving the airport, he first called Zakharkin, who was returning to the Vlanov Palace, and asked him for instructions: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I would like to ask, what should we do, do we accept the surrender of the German army?" ”

Zakharkin was silent on the phone for a while, and then said: "General Pankov, since the Germans have taken the initiative to send people to negotiate with you, then it proves that their officers and soldiers are no longer willing to work for Hitler, and if they can surrender on their own initiative, they can also greatly reduce the casualties of our army, and I authorize you to accept their surrender." ”

Having received authorization from Zakharkin, Pankov immediately rushed back to his division headquarters, because after the regimental commander reported to him, he had already sent representatives of the German army to the division headquarters. Who knew that when he returned to the headquarters, he saw his chief of staff with an angry face, and he didn't bother to ask why the chief of staff was angry, but anxiously asked: "Where are the negotiators sent by the Germans?" ”

The chief of staff nodded into a nearby room and said, "I locked him up there." ”

"Get him out of here." Pankov ordered: "I received authorization from the deputy commander, General Zakharkin, to negotiate with representatives of the German army. ”

"Comrade division commander, the situation has changed. Perhaps this negotiation will be in vain. After the chief of staff finished speaking, he ordered the soldiers standing at the door of the room, "Bring that representative here!" ”

The warrior turned and opened the door behind him and stepped inside. Pankov looked left and right, in addition to the two staff officers, there were himself and the chief of staff, and he asked with a smile: "Why is there no German translator, how can we negotiate with the representatives of the Germans later." ”

"You don't need an interpreter to negotiate with a representative." The chief of staff gritted his back molars and said: "The Russian language they speak must not be bad compared to ours." ”

Hearing this from the chief of staff, Pankov wishfully assumed that the German representative had spent a long time in the USSR so that he could speak Russian fluently. So he didn't speak, just sat quietly at the table, waiting for the fighters to bring the German representatives.

After a while, the fighter walked out of that room with a serviceman in the uniform of a German lieutenant. He came to Pankov, raised his hand and saluted a military salute, and then said in fluent Russian: "Comrade General, I am Lieutenant Zhurba, deputy commander of the 1st Battalion of the Mixed Regiment of the Russian Liberation Army!" ”

Pankov was originally smiling, but after hearing the other party's self-report, the smile froze on his face. It was a long time before he asked, "Lieutenant Zhurba, I didn't hear what you just said, can you say it again?" ”

After Zhurba had finished telling himself who he was and what his troops were called, Pankov slammed the table, stood up, pointed his finger at the other party and said angrily: "You shameful traitors, you actually put on the uniform of the Germans, turn your guns and turn your guns against the great Soviet Red Army. ”

"Comrade General, Comrade General." Seeing that Pankov was suddenly angry, Zhurba was also frightened, and he hurriedly said: "Please believe me, I am also forced, if I don't do something for them, they will kill me." That's how so many of my warriors were killed. ”

"Phew, you shameful traitor." Pankov continued to scold: "If you die at the hands of the Germans, you are still a hero, and our descendants will always remember you and sing your praises." But now you have betrayed the Motherland and become a shameful traitor. As he spoke, he pulled out his pistol, opened the safe, slammed it on the table, and said sharply, "Believe it or not, I will shoot you on behalf of the motherland and the people now." ”

Zhurpa was so frightened that he knelt on the ground with a pout, and begged for mercy again and again: "Comrade General, please, spare me." I was also forced to be helpless. ”

"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff saw that Pankov grabbed the pistol on the table, and really planned to kill the traitor in front of him with one shot, and hurriedly dissuaded him, saying, "Let's ask him where he came here." ”

After being reminded by the chief of staff, Pankov remembered that he had made a special trip back to negotiate with this representative, and if he had beaten him to death without saying a word, it would have been difficult to explain in front of Zakharkin. So he put the gun back into his holster, sat down in his seat, and asked angrily: "Tell me, what did your German master send you for?" ”

"Comrade General," seeing that Pankov would not shoot himself for the time being, Zhurba raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and said tremblingly: "It was not the Germans who sent me, but our regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bushin. ”

"What did he send you for?" Pankov asked, holding back the anger in his heart.

"Lieutenant Colonel Bushin said that he was not willing to work for the Germans anymore, and planned to lead our whole regiment anyway." Zhurba looked at Pankov and said cautiously: "He doesn't know if you will accept us, so he sent me over to find out the situation." ”

"That's right, our army will not accept those traitors to the motherland." Pankov stared at the other and gritted his teeth, "If I catch you, I will immediately shoot them all mercilessly." ”

Zhurba, who had just stood up, heard Pankov say this, and was so frightened that he sat on the ground and trembled. He regretted in his heart that he could take such an unlucky errand.

At this moment, the political commissar of the division walked in from outside, and seeing this situation, he asked Pankov curiously: "Comrade division commander, what is going on?" ”

Pankov pointed to Zhurba, who was sitting on the ground, and said to the commissar: "This comrade, he is a representative of the mixed regiment of the Russian Liberation Army, said that they are not ready to continue to work for the Germans and are ready to surrender to us. ”

The commissar glanced at the frightened Zhurba and asked, "Then what are you going to do?" ”

"What else can I do?!" Pankov stared at Zhurba on the opposite side and said viciously: "The most effective and direct way to deal with such a traitor to the motherland is, of course, to shoot him directly." ”

"Comrade division commander," hearing Pankov say this, the political commissar hurriedly pulled him aside and said in a low voice: "This matter is very important, and we have no right to make our own decisions, so I think it is better to report to the superiors, and the superiors will feel how to deal with them." ”

For the commissar's proposal, Pankov thought about it and felt that it was very reasonable. He went into the communication room inside, called Zakharkin in the Vlanov Palace, and reported the situation here to him.

Hearing Pankov's report, Zakharkin also felt extremely embarrassed, he thought for a moment, and said into the microphone: "General Pankov, leave this negotiator behind first, and wait for me to ask the front command for instructions to see how they are going to deal with it." ”

Rokossovsky, having seen the telegram from Zakharkin, could not help but jump up from his seat. He did not expect that he would actually meet Vlasov's "Russian Liberation Army" in this place, and for such a puppet army, if it was in other places, he would definitely give the order to kill it all without hesitation. But now that this force is in Warsaw, it is necessary to be cautious.

He rested his chin on one hand, tapped lightly on the table with the other, and his mind spun rapidly as he began to think about what to do with the matter. If the other side refuses to surrender, then the other side will definitely engage in a death struggle in order to prevent being wiped out, causing huge casualties to its own troops; Accepting their surrender would weaken the enemy's strength in Warsaw, but in this way, it is estimated that Stalin will not be able to pass that hurdle.

"Comrade General, Comrade General." Seeing that Pankov was suddenly angry, Zhurba was also frightened, and he hurriedly said: "Please believe me, I am also forced, if I don't do something for them, they will kill me." That's how so many of my warriors were killed. ”

"Phew, you shameful traitor." Pankov continued to scold: "If you die at the hands of the Germans, you are still a hero, and our descendants will always remember you and sing your praises." But now you have betrayed the Motherland and become a shameful traitor. As he spoke, he pulled out his pistol, opened the safe, slammed it on the table, and said sharply, "Believe it or not, I will shoot you on behalf of the motherland and the people now." ”

Zhurpa was so frightened that he knelt on the ground with a pout, and begged for mercy again and again: "Comrade General, please, spare me." I was also forced to be helpless. ”

"Comrade division commander," the chief of staff saw that Pankov grabbed the pistol on the table, and really planned to kill the traitor in front of him with one shot, and hurriedly dissuaded him, saying, "Let's ask him where he came here." ”

After being reminded by the chief of staff, Pankov remembered that he had made a special trip back to negotiate with this representative, and if he had beaten him to death without saying a word, it would have been difficult to explain in front of Zakharkin. So he put the gun back into his holster, sat down in his seat, and asked angrily: "Tell me, what did your German master send you for?" ”

"Comrade General," seeing that Pankov would not shoot himself for the time being, Zhurba raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and said tremblingly: "It was not the Germans who sent me, but our regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bushin. ”

"What did he send you for?" Pankov asked, holding back the anger in his heart.

"Lieutenant Colonel Bushin said that he was not willing to work for the Germans anymore, and planned to lead our whole regiment anyway." Zhurba looked at Pankov and said cautiously: "He doesn't know if you will accept us, so he sent me over to find out the situation." ”

"That's right, our army will not accept those traitors to the motherland." Pankov stared at the other and gritted his teeth, "If I catch you, I will immediately shoot them all mercilessly." ”

Zhurba, who had just stood up, heard Pankov say this, and was so frightened that he sat on the ground and trembled. He regretted in his heart that he could take such an unlucky errand.

At this moment, the political commissar of the division walked in from outside, and seeing this situation, he asked Pankov curiously: "Comrade division commander, what is going on?" ”

Pankov pointed to Zhurba, who was sitting on the ground, and said to the commissar: "This comrade, he is a representative of the mixed regiment of the Russian Liberation Army, said that they are not ready to continue to work for the Germans and are ready to surrender to us. ”

The commissar glanced at the frightened Zhurba and asked, "Then what are you going to do?" ”

"What else can I do?!" Pankov stared at Zhurba on the opposite side and said viciously: "The most effective and direct way to deal with such a traitor to the motherland is, of course, to shoot him directly." ”

"Comrade division commander," hearing Pankov say this, the political commissar hurriedly pulled him aside and said in a low voice: "This matter is very important, and we have no right to make our own decisions, so I think it is better to report to the superiors, and the superiors will feel how to deal with them." ”

For the commissar's proposal, Pankov thought about it and felt that it was very reasonable. He went into the communication room inside, called Zakharkin in the Vlanov Palace, and reported the situation here to him.

Hearing Pankov's report, Zakharkin also felt extremely embarrassed, he thought for a moment, and said into the microphone: "General Pankov, leave this negotiator behind first, and wait for me to ask the front command for instructions to see how they are going to deal with it." ”

Rokossovsky, having seen the telegram from Zakharkin, could not help but jump up from his seat. He did not expect that he would actually meet Vlasov's "Russian Liberation Army" in this place, and for such a puppet army, if it was in other places, he would definitely give the order to kill it all without hesitation. But now that this force is in Warsaw, it is necessary to be cautious.

He rested his chin on one hand, tapped lightly on the table with the other, and his mind spun rapidly as he began to think about what to do with the matter. If the other side refuses to surrender, then the other side will definitely engage in a death struggle in order to prevent being wiped out, causing huge casualties to its own troops; Accepting their surrender would weaken the enemy's strength in Warsaw, but in this way, it is estimated that Stalin will not be able to pass that hurdle.