The captured Reynoldi was taken back to the front headquarters by Terekin, and when he saw his chief of staff bring back a German lieutenant general, Rokossovsky knew that this must be an important person, and hurriedly beckoned the other party to sit down, poured a cup of coffee with his own hands, put it in front of the other party, and asked politely: "Your Excellency, Lieutenant General Military Doctor, I don't know what to call you?" ”

"Comrade commander," Terekin hurriedly introduced to Rokossovsky, "this is the General Medical Officer of the 6th Army, Lieutenant General Reynoldi, who said that he wanted to talk to you. After a pause, he added, "He can understand Russian." ”

In fact, Rokossovsky had already guessed the identity of the other party, and he asked just now, but he was just looking for a topic to resolve the embarrassment between them. Since Terekin had already started first, he continued: "Please speak, Mr. Lieutenant General of the Military Doctor. ”

Reynoldi hurriedly got up from his seat and said respectfully: "Your Excellency, although I have made my request a long time ago, at this time, I need to be confirmed. The hundreds of wounded in our military hospital, who are in a terrible situation because of the lack of medical care, I hope that you will keep your promise and give them the necessary treatment. ”

"Don't worry, Mr. Lieutenant General." When Rokossovsky heard that this was the case, he waved his hand and said: "Our army will keep its promise and give preferential treatment to the captured personnel." We will treat the wounded, the sick, and the frostbite. Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at Malinin, who was standing not far away, and said, "Chief of Staff, you must remember that during the defense of Moscow, we captured a military doctor named Bazel, and he also made such a request. ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander, you remember quite right." Malinin nodded and said, "After Bazel was captured, he and his paramedics worked in our military hospital for a while. It's a pity that later our command was ordered to break away from the troops, and Bazel and they were not missing. ”

Reynoldi's eyes widened when he heard Bazel's name. As soon as Malinin finished speaking, he asked tentatively: "You are talking about Bazel, the military rank is military doctor major, right?" ”

"Yes," Malinin heard Reynoldi say this, guessed that the other party must know Bazel, and couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Mr. Lieutenant General, do you know Bazel?" ”

Reynoldi nodded and said in affirmation: "Yes, Bazel and I are old friends. He was captured by your troops near Moscow last year, and he will not be rescued until our troops have surrounded and annihilated the Russian troops in the Vyazma area. ”

Hearing that Reynoldi actually knew Bazel, Rokossovsky's interest was immediately aroused, and he picked up the cigarette case on the table, handed it to Renaldi, and asked him to smoke, but the latter waved his hand and signaled that he would not smoke. Rokossovsky did not force it, took out a cigarette from the cigarette case and lit it, and then asked curiously: "Mr. Lieutenant General Military Doctor, I don't know where Major Bazel is now?" ”

"After he was rescued, he was interrogated by the Gestapo for more than a month." Reynoldi said with some regret: "If it weren't for the good words of several generals he treated, it is estimated that he would have been sent to a concentration camp." Now he was demoted to a sergeant medic and sent to Smolensk to look after the medicine warehouse. ”

Rokossovsky and Reynoldi chatted a few words with Bazel, and gradually became acquainted. Chatting and chatting, they talked about the German units that were still in the encirclement.

Reynoldi took the initiative to say to Rokossovsky: "Your Excellency, after our troops were divided into north and south by you, Paulus handed over the command of the southern cluster to Major General Roshke, and the command of the northern cluster to Army General Shtrikhel. It seems that he intends to continue to resist to the end. If the fight continues, I don't know how many people will die. After saying that, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"If you want to end this war as soon as possible, you can't do it unless Paulus himself is taken prisoner." When Rokossovsky said this, he pretended to be very casual and asked: "The headquarters of your 6th Army is still located in the basement of the Central Department Store south of Stalingrad, right?" ”

"Paulus's headquarters has been located in the ...... since the mass retreat of our troops to Stalingrad," Reynoldi was halfway through his words, when he suddenly realized that he had slipped his words, and he looked at Rokossovsky in surprise and asked: "How do you know where our headquarters are?" Could it be the representative who came to negotiate last time...... No, no, your negotiator was brought in blindfolded, and he absolutely couldn't figure out where our headquarters were. ”

The reason why Rokossovsky asked Reynoldi this was to prevent history from shifting here, Paulus's headquarters that should have been located in the basement of the Central Department Store was transferred to another place, so he deliberately tried it, but he didn't expect to really get the words out from Renaldi.

After sending Reynoldi away, Rokossovsky personally called Shumilov, the commander of the 64th Army, and he ordered on the phone: "General Shumilov, according to the latest information we have, the commander of the German 6th Army, Paulus, is in the basement of the Central Department Store, just a few blocks from you, and you immediately organize forces to launch a surprise attack on the area. ”

Although Rokossovsky said it conclusively, Shumilov still couldn't believe his ears, because according to the habit of German commanders who were always afraid of death, they would definitely hide the headquarters in places that were not easy to find, how could it be so easy to find. He asked in a hesitant manner: "Comrade commander, the German command is really... Really, in... Where are you talking about? ”

Seeing that Shumilov was still skeptical of his words, Rokossovsky said with some displeasure: "General Shumilov, I consider that you once held Stalingrad together with Chuikov's troops under the strong attack of the 6th Army, so I intend to give you the honor of capturing Paulus. If you are not willing to accept this honor, I can ask the troops of the 21st or 57th Army to get the opportunity to capture Paulus. ”

"Comrade Commander," Shumilov was anxious when he heard Rokossovsky say this, where can such a once-in-a-lifetime good thing be given to others, and he hurriedly assured Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, I will immediately organize troops to launch an attack on that area, and strive to send Paulus to you in the shortest possible time." ”

……

Hitler, in order to keep Paulus working for himself and encouraging him to resist until the last moment, awarded him the rank of marshal that evening, and wrote after the telegram promoting the rank: "There has never been a record in the history of Germany in which a marshal was captured." ”

After reading the telegram, Paulus sat in his place in a daze. And the chief of staff Schmidt, who knew the contents of the telegram, also respectfully thanked Paulus: "Mr. Paulus, I sincerely congratulate you on your promotion to field marshal. ”

After hearing this, Paulus just glanced at the two of them coldly, and then gritted his back molars and said, "This intention must be trying to order me to commit suicide, and I will not satisfy him." With that, he tore the message in his hand to shreds.

No sooner had Paulus torn up the telegram than a staff officer came running in from outside and reported in a panic: "Your Excellency, Commander, the big thing is not good, the Russians have concentrated their forces and launched a fierce attack on our side. ”

"Resist, hold on!" Paulus threw the fragment of the telegram in his hand at the staff officer, and shouted hysterically: "Order them to resist me, even if there is only one person left, I am absolutely not allowed to take a step back." ”

Although Paulus gave the order to die, the 7th Infantry Corps under Shumilov was well advanced. After symbolic resistance, the Germans in many areas surrendered under white flags. The commanders and fighters of the Seventh Army advanced all the way to a block from the Central Department Store before they met stubborn resistance.

There were many solid stone buildings here, and the Germans placed anti-tank guns, mortars and many machine-gun fire points in the buildings, causing considerable losses to the attacking Soviet troops. In just half an hour of fighting, more than ten tanks were destroyed and more than two hundred fighters were killed.

Seeing that his troops were met with stubborn resistance in this area, Shumilov, who was still skeptical, immediately decided that Paulus's headquarters must be in the position that Rokossovsky said, otherwise the German resistance would not have been so stubborn.

When the commander of the front asked Shumilov: it was getting late, could the troops stop the offensive for a while. Shumilov decisively replied: "No, the offensive cannot be stopped." The resistance of the Germans is already getting weaker and weaker, and if we add a little more force, we can break through their defenses. The offensive continued without stopping for a moment, and it was necessary to advance to the vicinity of the Central Department Store before dawn. ”

In this way, the Soviet troops, repulsed by the Germans, launched a new offensive along the wide streets to the fortified German positions, preparing to reach the vicinity of the Central Department Store before dawn, following Shumilov's orders.

In order for the troops to smoothly take the Central Department Store, Shumilov also specially called his chief of staff, Major General Raskin, in front of him and instructed: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to the information provided by the commander of the Front, the headquarters of the German 6th Army is located in the basement of the Central Department Store. Remember, be sure to capture Paulus, and don't let him escape. ”

Chief of Staff Ruskin, who had just been promoted to the rank of major general, replied with emotion: "Comrade commander, please rest assured that I will occupy the headquarters of Paulus before dawn." After saying that, after raising his hand to salute Shumilov, he left the command with several staff officers.

Fierce fighting lasted for most of the night, and at 3 o'clock in the morning, the 38th Motorized Infantry Brigade and the 329th Assault Engineer Battalion, which had made great sacrifices, finally surrounded the Central Department Store. Just as the troops were about to launch a final assault on the department store, they saw a white flag waving from the window on the second floor of the mall.

Major General Raskin, who was commanding at the front, immediately ordered the troops to temporarily stop the attack. Not long after, two German officers with white flags came out of the building and, led by Soviet soldiers, came to Raskin.

Ruskin looked at the two German officers in front of him who were smelling from their bodies, and asked in a stern tone, "Are you here for anything?" ”

A German colonel took a step forward and said respectfully: "Mr. General, I am Colonel Adam, the adjutant of Field Marshal Paulus, and I have come to negotiate a ceasefire with your army on the orders of the chief of staff, General Schmidt. ”

Ruskin said coldly: "Our condition is that you immediately stop resisting, lay down your arms, and surrender unconditionally to our army. Otherwise, you will be completely wiped out by our army! ”

Colonel Adam turned his head and looked around, and saw a number of Soviet tanks moving in the direction of the department store, and a long line of artillery was placed farther away. It seems that as long as the negotiations are unsuccessful, the Soviets will carry out heavy shelling of department store buildings.

Seeing this, Adam smiled bitterly, and then said to Raskin: "Your Excellency, General, I have not been authorized to negotiate surrender. Would you like to ask for a two-hour ceasefire, and then we will send a special representative to negotiate with your army about surrendering? ”

Chief of Staff Ruskin, who had just been promoted to the rank of major general, replied with emotion: "Comrade commander, please rest assured that I will occupy the headquarters of Paulus before dawn." After saying that, after raising his hand to salute Shumilov, he left the command with several staff officers.

Fierce fighting lasted for most of the night, and at 3 o'clock in the morning, the 38th Motorized Infantry Brigade and the 329th Assault Engineer Battalion, which had made great sacrifices, finally surrounded the Central Department Store. Just as the troops were about to launch a final assault on the department store, they saw a white flag waving from the window on the second floor of the mall.

Major General Raskin, who was commanding at the front, immediately ordered the troops to temporarily stop the attack. Not long after, two German officers with white flags came out of the building and, led by Soviet soldiers, came to Raskin.

Ruskin looked at the two German officers in front of him who were smelling from their bodies, and asked in a stern tone, "Are you here for anything?" ”

A German colonel took a step forward and said respectfully: "Mr. General, I am Colonel Adam, the adjutant of Field Marshal Paulus, and I have come to negotiate a ceasefire with your army on the orders of the chief of staff, General Schmidt. ”

Ruskin said coldly: "Our condition is that you immediately stop resisting, lay down your arms, and surrender unconditionally to our army. Otherwise, you will be completely wiped out by our army! ”

Colonel Adam turned his head and looked around, and saw a number of Soviet tanks moving in the direction of the department store, and a long line of artillery was placed farther away. It seems that as long as the negotiations are unsuccessful, the Soviets will carry out heavy shelling of department store buildings.