Rokossovsky received a telegram in clear code, sent by Commissar Fomin, who was holding the Brest fortress at the Holm Gate, and at this moment he was commanding the surviving commanders and fighters of the 84th Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division, engaged in a fierce battle with the Germans attacking the central fortress.

In the first two days of the war, in the face of the fierce attack of the German army, the commanders and fighters who held on to the central fortress fought very tenaciously and repelled the German attacks again and again. However, two things happened yesterday afternoon that dealt a great blow to morale.

First, it was the troops who carried out a counterattack and captured a German soldier. The captives said that the main forces of the German army had occupied Minsk and were advancing deep into the territory of the Soviet Union. After hearing the confessions of the German prisoners, many commanders and fighters immediately felt hopeless about their future, and some mentally fragile soldiers even broke down and wept bitterly.

Not long after, a Soviet plane was shot down by German fighters over the Brest fortress, and the parachuted pilot was rescued by the fighters into the fortress. The air lieutenant, Karelin, reported to Fomin that the airfields on the border had been destroyed by the Germans, so it was impossible to provide the necessary air support to the troops at the front, and that the cities of Brest and Kobrin, behind the Brest fortress, had been lost, and the main forces were retreating towards Minsk.

Although the commanders and fighters heard from the mouths of the German prisoners that their troops had lost the battle and many cities had been lost. But the overwhelming majority of the people were skeptical, believing that the rumors were deliberately spread by the German prisoners, so as soon as the interrogation was over, the prisoners were executed. Hearing the same news from the mouths of his own people at this moment immediately shattered the last hope in the hearts of many people. That night, deserters appeared in the troops, but they did not escape far before they were shot dead by the German guard posts outside the fortress.

Seeing that the morale of the troops was shaken, coupled with the lack of water and food in the fortress, Fuming moved the idea of leading the troops to break through. In order to find out the real situation outside, he had to send a distress telegram in clear code when he repeatedly contacted the Fourth Infantry Corps without a response, but was received by Rokossovsky's telegraph operator in a misguided situation.

Another wave of German attacks was repulsed, and Fuming had just taken off his hat to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and was saying a few words to the fighters beside him, when he suddenly heard the operator shouting to him: "Comrade political commissar, someone is calling us back!" ”

The commanders and fighters, who had been exhausted by hunger and thirst and the endless attacks of the German army, heard the voice of the telegrapher, and everyone seemed to have inexhaustible strength in their bodies, and they all surrounded behind Fuming.

Fuming happily took the telegram from the telegrapher's hand, and when he read it clearly, his heart sank as if the ground was sinking. He didn't say anything, but he knew very well in his heart that the fortress could not be held, and if he continued to fight, it would only delay the time of the fall for a few more days.

"Comrade Political Commissar, what did the telegram say?" The battalion commander next to him, Captain Zubachev, poked his head over and asked excitedly: "Are reinforcements coming?" ”

Fu Ming looked at the commanders and fighters who were surrounded by expectation, and knew in his heart that if he told them the truth, maybe the troops would be discouraged. Once the morale of the troops is weakened and demoralized, no matter how strong the will of the commanders and fighters is, they will not be able to avoid the fate of defeat.

Thinking of this, he shoved the telegram into Zubachev's hand, and then said loudly to the commanders and fighters gathered around: "Comrades, we have just received a telegram from friendly troops saying that they will soon come to our rescue. Let us hold out for another day by our own strength, and they will be able to reach the fortress by tomorrow morning at the latest, and then we will be able to destroy all the Germans attacking the fortress by attacking them from inside and outside. ”

"Ulla!" I don't know which soldier shouted first, and then a neat shout rang out. Almost all of them were shouting hoarsely: "Ula! Ulla!! Ulla!!! ”

Everyone is excited, everyone is ecstatic in their hearts, the fatigue caused by the hard fighting during the day, the sadness caused by the death of comrades, all disappeared at this time, whether it is an officer or an ordinary soldier, everyone feels full of strength, knowing the news that reinforcements will arrive soon, everyone feels that they have a backbone.

When the cheers were over, Zubachev shouted at the fighters: "Comrades, everyone hurry up and rest, so that when the reinforcements arrive, we will have the strength to fight the Germans with them." Spread out, spread out! ”

With his order, the warriors scattered around him. The news announced by Fuming immediately changed the atmosphere in the fortress, although there was still a shortage of food and no water, but the voice of anxiety and complaining was gone. Some of the fighters wiped their weapons, some leaned against the wall and closed their eyes to recuperate, while others crouched next to the shooting holes, vigilantly watching the enemy outside. An unseen force began to coalesce in the fortress......

Captain Zubachev called Fomin to the radio and asked him in a low voice: "Comrade commissar, why are you doing this?" Why not tell the fighters the real situation? ”

Fumin looked left and right, and found that except for the operator sitting next to the radio, the rest of the commanders and fighters were quite far apart, so he replied to Zubachev in a low voice: "Comrade Captain, what do you think I should tell the soldiers?" Say that our troops will not come? Speaking of this, he sneered, "In that case, if you can't wait for dark, it is estimated that there will be many cowards like last night, throw down their weapons and run away, or simply surrender to the Germans!" ”

After listening to Fumin's words, Zubachev took a deep breath and asked: "Then what should we do?" ”

"We should get in touch with the person who sent us the telegram as soon as possible to find out what part he is." Fuming said cautiously: "If we can get their response when we break through, then the hope of success can be greater." After saying that, he bowed his head and asked the operator, "Can you get in touch with the radio station that called us back?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commissar." The operator looked at Fuming and replied affirmatively, "I have searched their bands, and I can send them a report at any time." ”

"In that case, Comrade Operator." Fu Ming said to the operator with a serious expression: "You tell him the number of our unit, and by the way, ask who they are." ”

"Understood, Comrade Commissar." The operator said yes and began to send the newspaper in his hand.

And far away in the army headquarters in Lublin, Rokossovsky was in a meeting with the division commanders. The telegraph operator walked up to him with a telegram in his hand, straightened up and reported to him: "Comrade Commander, the radio station just now has sent another report. ”

"What does the message say?" Rokossovsky asked without looking back.

The telegram said that they were the defenders of the central fortress of the Brest Fortress, numbered the 84th Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division of the 4th Infantry Corps, and commanded by the regimental commissar Fuming. At the same time, they asked us what part we were from. ”

The corners of Rokossovsky's mouth twitched violently twice, and his mind silently recalled Fomin's resume: Fomin Yefim Moiseevich, regimental commissar, wounded and captured and shot by the Germans. On the eve of the outbreak of war, the commander of the 44th Regiment, Major Zavrilov, warned him that the Germans might launch an offensive to prepare the troops for battle, but he reprimanded him.

"Comrade Commander." The sudden sound of the voice brought him back to reality from his memories. He looked in the direction from which the voice came, and saw that it was Novikov who spoke, so he casually asked: "Comrade division commander, do you have anything to do?" ”

Novikov nodded at the newspaper operator standing at the table and reminded: "Comrade commander, comrade newspaper operator is still waiting for your reply. ”

"Operator, call back to Commissar Fuming." Rokossovsky said with a blank face: "Say that we are the Ninth Mechanized Army, because we are on a special combat mission, so we cannot provide support to your department." Go post! ”

When Fomin saw Rokossovsky's callback, his whole body seemed to be drained of strength at once, and he sat on the ground with his back against the table where the radio was played, staring ahead in a daze with his eyes unfocused. Zubachev squatted down, approached him and asked in a low voice: "Comrade commissar, we have no food and water, we don't have much ammunition left, and now we don't even have reinforcements, what should we do?" ”

"Breakout!" Fu Ming pondered for a long time, and finally made a final decision: "Under the current situation, we can't continue to hold on at all, so we can only break through to the east overnight to find the main force. As he spoke, he looked left and right and asked, "Where is Lieutenant Filagradov?" ”

"And the pilot who was rescued yesterday, Lieutenant Karelin, in the basement." After answering this question, Zubachev also took the initiative to ask him: "There are only four of us commanders left in the fortress, do you need to call both of them over and discuss the next move together?" ”

"Call him here." Fuming, who had not entered the water for more than a day, said weakly: "After all, he has been flying in the sky for so long, and he is more familiar with the terrain to the east than us. ”

After Zubachev left, the newspaper operator sitting next to him lowered his head and cautiously asked Fomin: "Comrade commissar, have we really been abandoned?" ”

Fu Ming glanced at the telegraph operator who knew the inside story, then nodded and said with difficulty: "Yes, comrade telegrapher, judging from the current situation, this is indeed the case. ”

"So what are we going to do?" The operator asked with a crying voice and a panicked expression.

"Calm down, comrade operator, please remain calm." Fu Ming was afraid that the operator's emotions would be out of control and would affect the morale of the defenders in the fortress, so he hurriedly warned him in a low voice: "Don't cry and lose your face, if the soldiers know that there are no reinforcements at all, they will be demoralized and the army will be demoralized, and the next battle will not be able to be fought." ”

Hearing Fuming say this, the operator nodded vigorously, and then a smile appeared on his face that was more ugly than crying. With his help, after Fuming got up from the ground, he waved his hand and said in a low voice: "Okay, comrade operator, don't laugh, laughing is worse than crying." Attention, now only a few of us know the real situation, if the news leaks out, causing panic among the soldiers, what will be the consequences, I just don't say, you should also understand in your heart? ”

The newspaper operator's head nodded like a chicken pecking rice, and he said again and again: "Don't worry, Comrade Political Commissar, I promise not to say anything to anyone." ”

At this time, Zubachev came over with two other commanders in the central fortress, and Fumin quickly straightened up, pulled the hem of his uniform, and greeted several people. Seeing that the two of them were about to raise their hands to salute themselves, they hurriedly raised their hands to stop their actions, and said in a low voice, "Let's find a place to have a meeting." ”

The four of them came to a no-man's corner, sat down on the bricks scattered on the ground, and began an impromptu military meeting. After explaining the current predicament of the troops, Fomin turned to Filagradov and said: "Comrade lieutenant, record my orders!" ”

Lieutenant Filagradov hurriedly took out a notebook and a pencil from his satchel and prepared to take notes. Just listen to Fuming say: "Order No. 1: June 24, 41, according to the current situation in the fortress, it is necessary to organize combat operations. In order to continue the fight with the enemy, the regimental political commissar Fu Ming decided to gather the remaining combat units and carry out mixed formations. Tonight, June 24, the reorganized troops broke through. After the breakout, there will be a convergence with the regular units of the Red Army. After joining up with the main forces, we will continue to fight the fascist invaders......"

Before he could finish his sentence, an explosion suddenly came from outside the fortress. Then the soldiers on guard shouted: "Germans! The Germans wanted to rush across the bridge! As soon as the shouts fell, a dense burst of gunfire rang out, and machine guns, submachine guns, and rifles mounted on the firing holes began to fire at the same time.

While the battle was still going on, Fomin called two fighters to his side and said loudly to them: "Judging by the sound of shooting from the direction of the fortresses of Terespil and Volyn, there must be our men fighting there, and you two must find a way to get to them and inform them that we will break through to the east tonight." Remember, the breakout begins after dark, and both of you must get to them to deliver my orders before the breakout begins, and come back alive. Do you understand? ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commissar." The two soldiers, whose faces were blackened by the smoke of gunpowder, assured Fuming: "We will definitely complete the mission." ”

Fu Ming raised his hand and slapped the two of them on the shoulder, and shouted loudly: "Since the task is clear, let's hurry up and carry it out!" ”

"Yes!" The two warriors said yes in unison, and ran away quickly with their rifles in hand.

"Comrade Commissar," Karelin, who did not know when he was standing beside Fumin, asked worriedly, "will they be able to complete the task?" ”

"They had better succeed." Amid the deafening sound of gunfire and explosions, Fumin shouted at the top of his voice: "If the people in the other forts are not informed and fail to break through with us, they will be wiped out by the Germans in the end." ”