In addition to Captain Grams, Captain Beckman, and Second Lieutenant Grettka, who spoke Russian almost as well as his native language, the former German officers and men who came to the headquarters included Lieutenant Braun who covered the entry of our sneak attack troops into the city of Kongpyi on the last time we went north.

When I saw this former German lieutenant, I couldn't help but be stunned, and I thought to myself, who notified him to come? Thinking of this, I turned my head to look at Akhromeyev next to me, trying to figure out if he had taken it upon himself to call this officer, who had not yet formally pledged his allegiance to us. Who knew that after Akhromeyev's eyes met me, he spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders and made a "I don't know" expression.

But now that Braun is here, it doesn't seem appropriate to kick him out again. Akhromeyev coughed, and then told them that we were going to persuade them to surrender the Germans on the battlefield. Because Braun, a German officer who did not know the details, was present, he did not say the specific time of the attack, only that our army would attack the German army in the near future. After saying this, he also habitually asked, "Do you have any ideas?" ”

As soon as the words fell, Lieutenant Braun took the lead in speaking, and the three former German officers standing beside him, the more Braun spoke, the more ugly the expressions on their faces became. Because I couldn't understand Braun's German, I shouted at Gretka's ≤: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, what is Lieutenant Braun talking about?" ”

Gretka glanced at Braun next to him, an embarrassed expression on his face. From his reaction, I knew that Braun was probably what I didn't want to hear, which is why I was so at a loss.

"Comrade Ensign," Kirillov, who was sitting next to me, grimaced. He said in a stern tone: "Didn't you hear the order of the division commander?" Immediately what this lieutenant gentleman said. All of them were translated to the division commander. ”

Although Kirillov used an unusually stern tone. However, Second Lieutenant Grettka hesitated and did not translate for me. In order to find out what Braun had said, I smiled and said to Gretka: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, whatever the former German lieutenant says, I hope you will truthfully translate for me. You only need to be in charge of the translation, and I won't blame you if Braun says anything excessive. ”

With my encouragement, Gretka had the courage to translate to me: "Comrade Division Commander. Lieutenant Braun said: We are not Manstein's opponents, and the marshal will definitely break through the encirclement of the Soviet troops and rescue the besieged Paulus troops. ……”

Braun, perhaps hearing Manstein's name from Gretka's mouth, immediately blood poured into his face, and he shouted loudly: "Marshal Manstein! The conqueror of Sevastopol, he is the invincible god of war of Germany, he is invincible! ”

Kirillov could understand German, and he was so angry that he slapped the case at Braun, who was making a lot of nonsense, and loudly ordered Yushchenko, who was standing aside: "Captain Yushchenko." What are you still doing in a daze, don't you drag this guy out quickly. ”

Yushchenko agreed. Beckoning the warriors outside the door to come in and arrest Braun. I hurriedly raised my hand to stop him, looked at Braun who was in a state of excitement, and asked calmly: "Lieutenant Braun, tell me your reasons, I want to hear why Manstein is invincible?" ”

After listening to Gretka's translation, Braun felt much more steady, but when it came to Manstein, he still said with reverence: "After the end of the Polish war, Field Marshal Manstein personally formulated the 'Manstein Plan' and eliminated France, the first military power in Europe, in two months; after the outbreak of the Soviet-German battle, he led his troops to be invincible and rushed directly to the city of St. Petersburg; and a few months ago, he took the title in only two months." Impenetrable's Sevastopol, capturing hundreds of thousands of defenders surrounded by us. ”

I didn't laugh angrily when I heard him say it, and then commented on Manstein in front of everyone: "Speaking from the heart, Manstein can be regarded as an excellent commander, he is good at coordinating the overall situation, especially good at attacking fortifications and outflanking in a large area. It is precisely because of these characteristics that he has been able to achieve a series of good results, which have defeated us in the past and even have the opportunity to beat us in the future. But what I want to tell you is that he has now been defeated by us. In today's battle, our troops on the outside of the encirclement not only blocked his attack, but also pushed his troops back dozens of kilometers. ”

Seeing that not only Braun, but also Grams, and several others had expressions of disbelief on their faces, I struck while the iron was hot and said, "We have intercepted a telegram from the 'Earl of Lightning' to Paulus, which reads: Don't give up, I will come to your rescue, Manstein. It was this telegram that gave Paulus illusory hope that the German troops in the city would continue to resist stubbornly. But I can now tell you very responsibly that Field Marshal Manstein will never be able to save Paulus's troops from our encirclement, and that the end of the 6th Army, which is depleted of ammunition and wounded, is near. If you can take the initiative to cooperate with us to persuade the German officers and soldiers who are in a desperate situation to surrender, you can save them from the brink of destruction. I have said what I have to say, whether you are willing to come out and assist us in persuading the besieged German army to surrender, I respect the choice of all of you! ”

After I finished speaking, I quietly looked at a few people to see how they reacted. In any case, Manstein was as godlike in the minds of the German officers and soldiers as Zhukov was in the minds of the Soviet troops, and it was very difficult to convince them in a few words.

After a long time, they were still slow to speak, and just as I was about to lose patience, Grahms took a step forward and said loudly in broken Russian: "Comrade division commander, I follow your instructions!" ”

Seeing that Grams, who took the lead in standing up and setting an example, Gretka and Beckman also stepped forward one after another and expressed their attitude to me: "Comrade General, we resolutely obey your orders. ”

Seeing that the three of them cooperated so well, I nodded with satisfaction and said to them: "I believe that you will be proud of your choice today in the future, not only those officers and soldiers who were rescued by you will thank you, but even their relatives and friends in China will also be grateful to you." When you return to your homeland. I am sure that people will welcome you like heroes in triumph. ”

I cast my eyes on Lieutenant Braun, who was standing still. He was about to tell Captain Yushchenko to take him down and lock him up. Unexpectedly, he suddenly stepped forward, but Grahms stood side by side, raised his hand and saluted me solemnly, and then said in a whisper, and Gretka translated for me in time: "General, German Lieutenant Braun is willing to serve you!" ”

A few days passed in a flash, and on Christmas afternoon, Captain Gurov sent us a dozen apples and a batch of chocolates in stock. There were also a few bottles of vodka, which were said to be Christmas gifts for Grams, the soldiers who had surrendered to the city.

When Grams, Beckman, and their former officers and men were gathered by me to distribute the gifts, they were stunned for a moment, and then they cheered in unison, some shouting "Hurrah" in German, others "Ulla" in Russian!

In the face of this unexpected holiday gift, not to mention the ordinary soldiers, even Grams seemed extremely happy. Beckman, who had always kept his distance from me, thanked me on behalf of his subordinates for the first time.

In the evening, I took Yushchenko, Grahms, Gretka and others with me. Along the criss-crossed traffic trenches, we came to a building at the forefront of a mass. As soon as I walked into the building. The soldiers on duty at the entrance of the building led us to the observation post on the second floor.

As soon as we entered the observation post, Pandelyev and Sederikov, who were observing the movement of the enemy in the distance, heard the movement, and they left the window, walked up to me, and raised their hands to salute me. After returning the salute, I casually asked as I walked towards the window, "Is there any movement of the enemy?" ”

"Nope!" Shederikov replied clearly: "Since the Manstein troops on the outer side of the encirclement were repulsed, these Germans have remained in their fortifications and have not attacked us again. Nowadays, apart from the sporadic sentry posts, there are hardly any more people to be seen on their positions. ”

Although I listened to the contents of Sederikov's report several times a day, I did not show the slightest impatience when I listened to his report again. I went to the window and raised my binoculars to look into the distance, not hiding my form at all, because I believed that at such a time the Germans would probably not be able to find any better snipers.

Due to the bright moonlight at night, I could see very clearly through the telescope that there was a long collapsed wall two hundred meters away, which was supposed to be the wreckage of the wall of the "Red October" factory. In front of the wall, there was a newly built German trench, and apart from a few swaying figures, no other German officers and soldiers could be seen in the trench. About seventy or eighty meters away from the inside of the wall, dozens of German tanks, armored vehicles, and trucks were neatly parked, but from the fact that they had not launched another attack, it is estimated that these vehicles had run out of ammunition and fuel.

Pantai Leev walked up to me and asked in a low voice: "Comrade division commander, what are you bringing these Germans here?" The words are full of distrust of Grams.

"If we can persuade some German officers and men to surrender, the resistance we will encounter when we attack will be much weaker." After I finished saying this, I turned my head and asked Sederikov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, have you done everything that the chief of staff ordered you?" ”

"It's all ready, Comrade Divisional Commander." When Shederikov heard my question, he hurriedly stepped forward and replied: "The loudspeaker and the letter of surrender are in the next room. ”

I pointed my hand at Grams, and said to Sederikov: "Now that they are all ready, then, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you take Captain Grams and them next door, and immediately persuade the Germans to surrender through a loudspeaker." ”

Not long after Shederikov led Grams and them away, I suddenly heard a loud voice not far from the window, and Pandereev, who knew a little German, translated for me: "Officers and men of the Sixth Army of the Wehrmacht, are you still waiting for Manstein's rescue, and are you encouraged by his promise, 'Don't give up, I will come to your rescue'?" I regret to tell you that you have all been deceived. Manstein's troops suffered another defeat in yesterday's battle, and under the heavy blows of the Red Army, they retreated a full 200 kilometers and moved further and further away from you. ……”

As the radio sounded, a lot of steel helmets appeared in the trenches in the distance, and the German officers and soldiers who should have been hidden in the trenches heard the radio and probed out to hear it.

Seeing more and more German officers and soldiers coming forward, Bandereev stopped translating and said with emotion: "The Germans have come out of their hiding place, and if there is an artillery bombardment at this time, most of their troops will definitely be wiped out." ”

I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and said disapprovingly to Pantai Leev: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, don't be in a hurry, in another hour our shelling will begin." If these German officers and men do not know the times and lay down their arms and surrender to us, let the artillery on the east bank send them to hell later. ”

"With this broadcast alone, will they surrender?" Bandereev asked in a skeptical tone.

I shook my head and replied with a wry smile, "No, they will never surrender until they are bombarded by our army." ”

Our surrender radio attracted the attention of not only the German soldiers, but also the German commanders. I saw several officers in large-brimmed hats appear in the trenches, their hands in black leather gloves holding pistols high above their heads, desperately waving and running back and forth in the trenches, as if to soothe the wavering soldiers.

The time of the shelling was eight o'clock in the evening, and the time came. A series of sighs and groans were heard in the air, followed by arrow-like fires that pierced the sky, swept over our heads, and disappeared into the German positions, where a terrible rumble rang out.

The explosion hit my face, and I took a few steps back from the window in unison, and only then did we avoid the strong wind that hurt my face. The light of the explosion burst through the window, illuminating our dimly lit observation site in an instant. There were explosions on the ceiling and walls, and from time to time dust fell and fell on me. My eardrums were buzzing with the sound of a loud explosion, and I couldn't hear anything at once.

I didn't expect the rocket artillery on the east bank to be so powerful, so I couldn't help but curse in a low voice, strode to the window, raised the binoculars and looked, where I could still see the trenches just now, had turned into a sea of fire at the moment, and the flames rose high, forming an insurmountable wall of fire. (To be continued......)