We had followed the direction of the captive procession towards the factory gate of the "Red October", and after walking a short distance, suddenly a ragged soldier rushed in front of me, stretched out his dirty hands in front of me, and at the same time kept babbling and babbling. Before I could react, Captain Yushchenko, who was next to me, rushed up, kicked the captive to the ground, and then aimed his assault rifle at the head.

I was deeply afraid that Yushchenko would shoot the captive to death, so I quickly raised my hand to stop him. Although I didn't understand what the captive was saying, I could guess that he must have been starving so much that he risked being killed. The captive, who had survived, struggled to get up from the ground and looked at Yushchenko, who was pointing his gun at him, with a look of horror, and his body trembled like chaff.

"Captain, do you have anything to eat?" Seeing the unbearable captives in front of me, I couldn't bear it, so I turned my head and said politely to Yushchenko in a consultative tone: "Give him a little." ”

Yushchenko, who had always carried out my orders unconditionally, slung his assault rifle over his shoulder, then took out a small paper bag from his briefcase, opened it, took out two biscuits from it, and handed them to the terrified captive. The captive took the biscuit from his hand, stuffed it into his mouth, and devoured it.

Yushchenko stepped forward and grabbed the captive by the shoulders and pushed him into the line of captives. Although he didn't say a word, the captive understood and walked honestly to the line. Yushchenko, perhaps because he had given the captive his precious food, felt extremely upset and raised his foot and kicked the captive in the ass.

Saw the captives return to the ranks. The footsteps staggered along with the flow of people. I returned to Gurov, who was standing next to me. He was a little embarrassed and said to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, let's go back." ”

Gurov looked at me, nodded, and didn't say anything, just walked forward.

As we entered the building and walked up the masonry staircase, Gurov suddenly said, "Oshanina, you probably don't know it. Due to the cold and freezing difficulties in transportation, we will not be able to provide these captives with the necessary food, medicine, and winter clothing for a long time. Even if supplies arrive, we must first ensure that our commanders and fighters are fed, and secondly, the remaining residents of the city. If there is a surplus of food, we will give priority to the wounded and sick who have been captured. ”

Gurov's words made me gasp, if the situation was really as he said, thousands of captives would have died of hunger and cold. In addition, I also knew that the German prisoners were often confronted by Soviet commanders and fighters passing by on their way to the prisoner of war camps, who ignored the prohibitions of the order. Shoot at the captives with impunity. Once these things get out, in the battles that follow. It would have been much more difficult to get German officers and soldiers to surrender willingly.

Gurov was good at observing words and feelings, and when he noticed the strange expression on my face, he said earnestly: "Oshanina, do you think that we do not want to fulfill the promise made to the German officers and soldiers in the letter of persuasion to surrender? But there is no way, if it wasn't for our luck, an iceberg happened to float down from the upstream and stopped at the ferry terminal, so that we could build an ice transportation line overnight, we now estimate that we would not even be able to guarantee the basic weapons, ammunition, food and medicine of the troops. ”

Hearing him talk about the iceberg floating downstream, I pursed my mouth disapprovingly, and said secretly in my heart: "What kind of luck, obviously there are too many ships sunk by the Germans near the pier, so the iceberg will just be stuck in that position when it floats down, otherwise I don't know where it will drift to." ”

When we returned to the Interim Headquarters, the commanders inside were walking out one after another. Seeing the two of us standing outside, everyone took the initiative to raise their hands and salute as they passed by us. When I saw Vitkov and Bandereev walking out talking and laughing, I hurriedly stopped them: "Chief of Staff, and Colonel Bandereev, please wait for me in the car downstairs, I have something to say to you later." ”

As Gurov and I walked into the conference room, Chuikov glanced at us, and then asked faintly, "Sent General Seydlitz away?" ”

"Sent away." Gurov replied with relief: "Send the trouble away too." ”

Hearing Gurov say this, I couldn't help but stare at him with wide eyes, and I couldn't understand why he would say such a thing.

After listening to his words, Chuikov also nodded unexpectedly, and said approvingly: "If we really cooperate with General Seydlitz, we will draw people from those invaders who have plundered their homeland to form a new army. To be honest, I was mentally hard to accept. ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I completely agree with you." Gurov also expressed his opinion without reservation: "If General Rokossovsky had not flown to Moscow today and temporarily put on hold his cooperation with Seydlitz, I really don't know whether I should accompany him to the prisoner of war camp to choose the right person." ”

Listening to the two of you talk non-stop, I finally figured out what was going on. Although Chuikov and his wife were very polite to Seydlitz, the German general who offered to cooperate with us, in their hearts, they were very resistant to this kind of cooperation.

"Comrade Oshanina, look at this." I was listening to Chuikov and Gurov when Krylov, who was sitting next to me, suddenly handed me two pieces of paper.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, what is this?" I asked as I took what he was holding.

"It's a letter from one of our captured German mail, I've had it translated, so take a good look at it." After Krylov finished these two sentences, he also deliberately added: "The commander and the military commissar have also read this letter. ”

I put aside the original letter in German and looked intently at the translation. In the first half of the letter, an ordinary German soldier addressed his family back home, he confided in his family the pain of lovesickness, and then talked about his experience in Stalingrad, in which he wrote: "...... People were in rags. Clothes do not cover the body. You can see that the women have begun to cut the flesh on the rotting dead horses to eat. The smell was unbearable. Wounded women and children die slowly, without medical treatment, and they fend for themselves like animals until they finally die. I saw a woman with a piece of shampnel on her face, her nose and mouth full of craters, her eyes bulging outward, and all her qiē festering. Just waiting for death. ……”

When I saw the date of the last fall of the letter, I couldn't help but ask Krylov in surprise: "Chief of Staff, this letter was captured in October?" As I said this, I could not help but feel sad for the inhabitants of the German-occupied areas at that time, who were deprived of any food, medicine, not even warm clothing, and finally died helplessly and helplessly in the cold and hunger for months.

"Not bad! The letter was seized in October, "after Krylov gave me an affirmative reply. Qing said with some excitement: "If it weren't for the Germans attacking Stalingrad, these civilians would not have died. Let us cooperate with these murderous enemies. Even if we could agree, I guess the fighters below wouldn't agree. ”

Hearing what Krylov said, Gurov stopped talking to Chuikov and said: "Comrade Oshanina, I know that you are soft-hearted and do not want to see the German prisoners starving and cold, but you have forgotten how they treated those civilians. In the face of our own food shortage, the superiors were probably unwilling to provide food for the German prisoners of war, and now many Red Army soldiers are not enough to eat, let alone the surviving civilians. Therefore, any idea of feeding the invaders who once plundered their homeland is counterintuitive. ”

Before I could speak, Chuikov also interjected: "According to the order, these prisoners will be sent to the Dubovica concentration camp north of Stalingrad. The 20,000 captives captured by your army are still according to what has just been said, and they will not be sent to the concentration camp for the time being, the ruins in the city must be cleaned up, and tens of thousands of corpses must be collected and buried. ”

When Chuikov had finished giving his order, I stood up and said in embarrassment: "Comrade commander, the captives have so much work to do, and if you don't give them a little food and medicine, you won't be able to do it for long, and there will be no more than a few captives left. ”

After my request was made, Chuikov shook his head again and again, and said in an unquestionable tone: "Comrade Oshanina, the political commissar has just said that it is impossible for us to provide the prisoners with food and medicine. Whether the captives will die of hunger, cold, and fatigue in the course of their labor is not something you should worry about, and since they are invaders, they should be aware of such punishment. ”

I took the task given to me by Chuikov and left the headquarters dejectedly. When I came to the building, I saw Vitkov and Bantaireev, who were standing next to the jeep and chatting with Yushchenko, and I remembered that I had just asked the two of them to wait for me, saying that I had something to discuss with them.

I walked over to the jeep I was sitting in and said briefly to the three of them: "Captain Yushchenko is driving, and Colonel Pantai Reev is in the front seat." And you, Comrade Chief of Staff, sit in the back row with me, I have something to explain to you. With that, I pulled the door open and got into the car.

By the time the jeep drove outside the factory gate, the long line of captives had not yet passed. Yushchenko slowed down a little and slammed his horn through the middle of the group.

The car drove in the direction of our army station, and after driving for some distance, Bantai Leev, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned around and took the lead in breaking the silence in the car: "Comrade commander, I don't know if you left me behind, do you have any instructions?" ”

"Which regiment is guarding the prisoners?" I left Bandereev behind because the more than 20,000 prisoners captured yesterday were all guarded in the area under the jurisdiction of the 150th Division, and I called him to go to the scene to arrange how to use the prisoners, "The prisoners are honest, right?" ”

"Please rest assured, Commander." "The guards were the three regiments of Kosga, and at the beginning, there were also captives who instigated trouble, and when I ordered the leaders to be executed on the spot, the prisoners were honest. ”

Vitkov, who was sitting next to me, waited for Pantai Leev to finish speaking, and then asked curiously: "Colonel, what are these prisoners making trouble for?" ”

Pandereev shrugged his shoulders and said in a mocking tone: "What else, of course, you want us to provide them with enough food and water." It is even hoped that the necessary medicines will be provided to the wounded and sick. ”

I was closing my eyes and recuperating. Hear Bandereev say that. He opened his eyes abruptly and asked, "Colonel, what did you just say?" You haven't provided them with any food and water for a whole day, from yesterday until now? ”

Although he didn't know why I asked, he nodded and replied truthfully: "The commanders and fighters in the division only have three days' rations each, so how can there be any surplus food for these Germans." As for water, it's even less so. Anyway, there was snow everywhere, and they could quench their thirst with these. ”

Vitkov not only did not refute Bandereev's words, but nodded approvingly. From the attitude of the two towards the German prisoners, I understood that I had become an alternative again, and the preferential treatment of prisoners was probably only available in the East, and here, the prisoners were a bunch of insignificant consumables.

I didn't want to argue with my subordinates about this kind of thing, so I endured the effort in my heart. Explain to the two the tasks assigned by Chuikov: "Colonel Bandereev, according to the order. The German prisoners under the care of your division were not sent to concentration camps for the time being, but were left in the city to work, responsible for clearing the ruins of buildings and burying the remains of the dead. Do you understand? ”

"Got it!" Bantai Reev replied loudly.

At that moment, the jeep suddenly jolted so violently that my head almost hit the roof. As a result of this incident, the anger that I had suppressed for a long time finally exploded, and I yelled at Yushchenko: "Captain, what are you doing, why don't you drive well?" ”

Yushchenko turned his head and said to me with an innocent expression: "I'm sorry, Comrade Division Commander, because the snow was too deep, I didn't see the dead horse buried in the snow, so I accidentally turned it up." ”

I looked out the car window, saw that there was a white expanse everywhere, and knew in my heart that what Yushchenko said was right, and he really didn't mean it, so I shook my head at him and pretended to be generous: "Okay, Comrade Captain, you can drive well, forget it this time." ”

Under the guidance of Bandereev, we came to the place where the prisoners were held in the 150th Division. But when I got out of the car and saw the environment in which the prisoners were living, I immediately understood why the mortality rate of German officers and soldiers captured by the Soviets was so high. More than 20,000 German prisoners of war were held in a dilapidated building without a roof, and almost all of them had a thick layer of snow on their bodies, and if the night cooled down, I don't know how many would freeze to death.

Seeing our arrival, two commanders ran out of a relatively intact building next to us. I looked at them and saw that they were all acquaintances, and at the front was the battalion commander of the 3rd Regiment and 1st Battalion, Captain Dubrovsky, and the company commander, Captain Rosenberg.

After the two of them saluted me, I returned the salute and asked rhetorically: "Captain Dubrovsky, how do you keep the prisoners in such a place?" ”

Dubrovsky, after glancing at where the prisoners were, replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, keep the Germans in roofless buildings so that our fighters deployed in nearby buildings can observe, and if anyone is found to be dishonest, our snipers can kill them." ”

Although I knew that Captain Dubrovsky would not be able to provide any help to the prisoners, I asked with a hint of luck: "Captain, have you provided them with food?" ”

Captain Dubrovsky immediately shook his head like a rattle and replied: "No, Comrade Commander." We don't have enough food for ourselves, and where there is a surplus to provide them. You see," he said, turning to point into the distance, "those are the corpses we cleaned out of the captives today. ”

I looked in the direction of his finger and saw in the distance a row of buildings, the corpses of the German soldiers, unclothed and frozen, neatly arranged in a wall with no end in sight. Seeing this scene, my heart was extremely heavy, although it was our enemies who died, but after all, these enemies laid down their weapons, but they still did not escape the fate of death. I gritted my back molars and asked, "Captain, how many people died in one night?" ”

"Almost two thousand." Captain Dubrovsky excitedly replied: "If we had been able to destroy so many enemies every day some time ago, Paulus's army would have been doomed." ”

"Captain," I was so angry at the sight of his jubilation that I raised my voice and commanded him, "these captives are very important to us, and we have a lot of work to do with them, and if they are all dead, who will do them?" ”

After hearing this, Captain Dubrovsky scratched the back of his head and said in embarrassment: "Comrade commander, you must know that with the more than 4,000 prisoners who surrendered today, there are more than 20,000 people in total, and I am afraid it will be difficult for us to provide them with enough food. ”

In response to Dubrovsky's question, I looked down and thought for a moment, and then said to him: "Comrade Captain, you immediately take a group of strong prisoners and form a special detachment to gather food in the vicinity under the leadership of our fighters. By the way, when we first came, we saw a few dead horses on the road, and you take them to get them back, so that they can at least fill the stomachs of many people. ”

"Comrade commander, even if you get all the dead horses back, you won't be able to eat them." Dubrovsky stood still and continued to tell me about the difficulties of survival: "If there is not enough to make a fire, you must not let the captives eat raw meat." ”

I looked at the captain in front of me, who was obviously missing a string in my head, and I wanted to kick it over, but I finally managed to control my feelings very well, I pointed to the building in the distance, and said to him, "Captain, have you seen those bombed-out buildings?" You can have the captives go there to collect furniture, doors, and window frames to make a fire, not only to keep warm, but also to cook food. Got it? ”

"Got it!" As soon as Captain Dubrovsky had answered this, he turned around and left with Captain Rosenberg to carry out my orders. (To be continued......)

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