After the platoon commander left, Zakharkin faced the two American pilots and said a welcome message with a smile, and the Polish translator behind him immediately translated this sentence into English: "Two Allied friends, please take a seat!" ”

When the two US pilots heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other. After a while, the tall, thin man on the left asked tentatively, "May I ask, are you German or Polish?" ”

After listening to the translation, Zakharkin and the others couldn't help but laugh out loud, making the two American pilots laugh and bewilder. After the laughter stopped, Zakharkin looked at the two and said: "Two gentlemen, you should have been in the army for a long time, why can't you even tell the difference between the German army and the Soviet army?" ”

After the thin and tall man finished speaking, he immediately asked in surprise: "What, you are Russians?" ”

Zakharkin nodded with a smile and replied: "That's right, we are units of the 1st Belorussian Front of the Soviet Army." I am the deputy commander of the Front, General Zakharkin, who is the commander of the Guards Division, General Vakin. Then he pointed to Galitsky, who was standing aside, "This is Colonel Galitsky, the commander of the Polish division." ”

After figuring out the identity of the other party, the tall and thin man finally understood why those so-called "German soldiers" were so polite to him after he and his companions were captured, it turned out that they were not Germans at all, but his allies the Russians. He hurriedly stood upright and raised his hand to salute Zakharkin: "Hello, Mr. General. I'm Captain James, a U.S. Air Force pilot. Then he shook his head at his companion next to him, "The navigator, Lieutenant Brown." ”

"Welcome!" Zakharkin stepped forward and shook hands with the two US pilots one by one to welcome them.

After a brief pleasantry, Zakhalkin beckoned the two to sit down and had some food and coffee brought to them. While the two were eating, Zakharkin did not ask them about the purpose of the airdrop in Warsaw, but said to the two: "Captain James, Lieutenant Brown, you eat something first, rest for a while, and I will trouble you to do a little favor later." ”

Hearing Zakharkin say this, James immediately put down the bread in his hand and asked vigilantly in a polite and distant tone: "Mr. General, I wonder if we have any place to serve you?" ”

The Polish translator hadn't had time to translate this passage to Zakharkin, but he had already guessed from the tone of James' voice that the other party had misunderstood what he meant. He laughed and said, "Mr. James, don't be so nervous. By help, I was looking for other Allied pilots who had landed in Warsaw. You know, the language barrier may cause misunderstandings, and other pilots may not be as lucky as the two of you when they meet our fighters. ”

After figuring out what Zakharkin was going to do if he was going to help, James couldn't help but blush, and he hurriedly said to Zakharkin: "General, please rest assured, Brown and I will follow your team and go to the city to find our comrades-in-arms later." ”

"Captain James," Zakharkin reminded, "in order to speed up the search, I suggest that you two separate and each follow a search team. I wonder what you think? ”

Seeing the Soviet general's tone of discussion, discussing with himself about the search for his comrades, James was particularly moved, and he quickly stood up and said to Zakharkin: "General, without further ado, let's go now." ”

"But, Captain James." Zakharkin saw the food on the table, and James and the two of them hadn't eaten much, so he couldn't help but say with some embarrassment: "You haven't finished eating yet." ”

James grabbed two pieces of bread and continued, "Without further ado, we need to act immediately, knowing that every minute we delay here, the pilots who land in the city will be in more danger, and we need to get them out as soon as possible." Later facts proved that it was because of James's quick decision that he succeeded in saving the lives of many Soviet soldiers and Allied pilots, so that they would not have unnecessary clashes without understanding the language.

Zakharkin took out a map of Warsaw, handed it to James, and told him: "Captain James, according to our observations, several pilots have landed in the area of Lake Cherny-Kuv in the north, although it is under the control of our troops, but it is often under machine-gun fire from the Germans on the other side, you should be careful about your own safety." ”

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. General." James took the map from Zakharkin's hand, folded it, put it in the pocket of his flight jacket, and said with a smile: "I know very well that this is a battlefield, and whether I can survive depends on God's will." ”

Accompanying James in the search for the pilot was a guard platoon in the division. In order to facilitate communication, Zakharkin also arranged Simon, a Polish translator who knew both Russian and English, into this small unit.

The fighters of the guard platoon, with James and the interpreter, drove to Lake Czerny-Kuv, hoping to find the Allied pilots who had parachuted there. No sooner had they left Povsinska Street than they heard a dense burst of gunfire in the woods ahead. The guard platoon commander, Second Lieutenant Alexander, hurriedly ordered to stop, he sat in the car and listened for a while, then turned to James and said: "Captain James, judging by the gunshots, it is the sound of Mosin Lagan rifles, Bobosha submachine guns and pistols. It may be that there was a misunderstanding between your pilots and our fighters. ”

Hearing that there was a misunderstanding between the pilot and the Soviet army, James could still sit still, and hurriedly urged Alexander: "Ensign, we must rush over as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late." ”

When Alexander saw that it was getting late, he said to James, "Captain James, it is getting late, and we can only get out of the car and walk, so as not to be injured by mistake." With that, he jumped out of the jeep and shouted at the soldiers in the truck behind him: "Get out of the car!" ”

As soon as the fighters got out of the car, they formed a straggler formation and rushed towards the place where the gunfire was most intense. When they had reached the lake to join their allies, Alexander asked in a loud voice: "Who of you is in charge here?" ”

A sergeant bent over, looked Alexander up and down, and asked vigilantly: "Comrade Ensign, which part of you are from?" ”

"We are from the division guard platoon." After identifying himself, Alexander asked rhetorically: "What's going on here, and with whom are you fighting?" ”

The sergeant grinned wryly and said, "It was an Allied pilot who, when he spotted us, shot and killed one of our soldiers, and then fled to hide under a ridge by the lake. You know, we received orders from our superiors not to harm these pilots, so after almost half an hour, we still couldn't get close to him. On the contrary, two more fighters were shot and wounded by him. ”

"I see." Alexander nodded, and then ordered the sergeant: "Let your fighters stop firing, lest you accidentally injure the Allied pilots." ”

As the order was given, the gunfire on the Soviet positions stopped, and the lake became quiet again. Alexander nodded at James, signaling that he could get started. James picked up a tin horn and shouted loudly at the lake: "I'm Captain James, an American pilot, which part of you are from?" ”

After shouting for the first time, there was no movement at all by the lake. James didn't know if the other party didn't hear clearly, or left, so he turned his head and asked the sergeant on the side, "Did he leave?" ”

"Nope!" After listening to Simon's interpretation, the sergeant shook his head and said, "He must still be hiding by the lake, and he was shooting at us a few minutes ago." ”

After confirming that a pilot was hiding near the lake, James raised his horn and raised his voice to identify himself. This time there was finally a response, and a hoarse voice sounded on the other side: "I'm Lieutenant Martin of the Royal Air Force. Captain James, were you captured by the Germans? ”

"I didn't take it prisoner, Lieutenant Martin." After briefly explaining his situation to the other party, James continued: "It is the Russians who are with me now, not the Germans. They are our allies, not our enemies, understand? ”

The other party was silent for a while, and then asked, "Captain James, is what you said true?" ”

"Yes, Lieutenant Martin, what I said is true." As a sign of sincerity, James got up from where he was hiding and shouted at the other man, "Don't shoot at your friends again, come from the lake." I assure you, you will never be harmed. ”

When Lieutenant Martin saw James standing up, he was not afraid to shoot at him at all, and then he understood that what the other party said was not a lie, but the truth, and hurriedly shouted: "Tell the Russians not to shoot, I'll come out now." ”

Martin came to James and looked at the American comrade-in-arms, and he had a feeling in his heart that he would be left behind. He gave each other a warm hug and said excitedly, "Thank you, thank you, Captain James, for saving my life." ”

Second Lieutenant Alexander, who was standing on the sidelines, saw the British pilot who had killed and wounded several comrades, his finger couldn't help but put his finger on the trigger of the pistol, and he wanted to shoot and kill the pilot to avenge the dead and wounded comrades. After a fierce battle of thoughts, reason still prevailed over impulse, he removed his hand from the trigger, closed the safe, and said to James lightly: "Captain James, let's go find other pilots!" ”

Just as everyone was about to leave the area, a strange sound suddenly came from the air. Hearing this voice, Alexander's face suddenly changed greatly, and he shouted: "Shelling, lie down, lie down!" As soon as he finished speaking, a mortar shell landed not far away and exploded, and after a flash of dazzling fire, a puff of black smoke rose into the sky.

The battle on the shore of the lake had long alarmed the German troops stationed on Zeshinsky Street on the opposite bank, and they found a small Soviet unit besieging a lone man. The German commander had a preconceived belief that their soldiers were besieged by the Soviets, and hurriedly brought in mortars, ready to cover their soldiers with artillery fire. The shell just now, which was only a test shot, would accurately hit the area where the Soviet troops were gathering, and he decisively ordered the remaining mortars to open fire as well.

Alexander jumped up and shouted loudly around him: "It's a mortar, move quickly!" After shouting, he grabbed James and Simon, who had just gotten up from the ground, one by one, and ran towards the parking position. The soldiers also got up one after another, and ran wildly with all their might, trying to get out of this dangerous shelling area as soon as possible.

The German shells fell in the ranks of the fleeing Soviet troops, and from time to time they emitted dazzling fires, and streams of black smoke mixed with dirt rose into the sky, and the flying shrapnel slashed several unlucky fighters to the ground.

By the time Alexander they rushed to the car and finally escaped from the German shelling area. After a brief count, the guard platoon was five men less, and the sergeant's unit was half less.

James looked at these Soviet commanders and fighters who had suffered heavy casualties in order to rescue the pilots, and felt extremely guilty in his heart. He looked at Alexander and asked, "Second Lieutenant, shall we go back to the division?" ”

Alexander, on the other hand, shook his head and said resolutely: "No, we must also look for the missing pilots, and we must not let them fall into the hands of the Germans." According to the information we have, there are several pilots who have successfully parachuted in the vicinity, and we must find them. ”

The search and rescue of the pilot did not end until the early morning of the next day. After Zakharkin finished counting, he instructed Vakin: "Comrade division commander, immediately order someone to report this information to the front headquarters so that Marshal Rokossovsky can understand the situation in the city." ”

After receiving the telegram, Rokossovsky said to Malinin and Terekin: "General Zakharkin has sent a telegram saying that after last night's search and rescue, seven pilots have been successfully rescued, and except for two British pilots, the rest are American pilots. ”

I heard that of the twenty missing pilots, only seven were rescued. Hearing this data, Terekin couldn't help frowning: "Comrade commander, why did only so many people be rescued, and where did the rest of the pilots go?" ”

"Obviously," Rokossovsky said with a shrug of his shoulders, "these missing pilots either fell into the German defense zone, or fell into the Vistula River and were washed away by the rushing waters." We have done our best, after all, our troops occupy only a small part of the city of Warsaw, and we hope that these pilots have been captured by the Germans, so that they may still survive. ”

After saying this, he paused for a moment, and then instructed Malinin: "Chief of Staff, call General Zakharkin back and order him to find a way to send these rescued pilots out of Warsaw, and we must return these pilots to the Allies as soon as possible." ”