Faced with Chuikov and Shumilov, who were frowning, I didn't dare to answer their questions right away. Although I have a more comprehensive understanding of the Gulag from later generations of books and networks, at this time, under the strict secrecy mechanism of the Soviet Union, it was still a secrecy institution unknown to the public. If I had answered their questions casually, it would have aroused their suspicions, and in that case, some things would have been difficult to explain.

Seeing that I was slow to speak, Shumilov urged: "What's the matter, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina. Why don't you answer our questions, what are you thinking? ”

At this point, it is obviously impossible not to answer the questions of the two. I took off my helmet, combed my hair with my hands, and pretended to know nothing and asked, "Comrade commanders, what is the Gulag?" Could it be that the Germans held prisoners of war for our army? ”

When the two of them heard me say this, they couldn't help but smile bitterly at each other. Shumilov made a gesture at Chuikov and said with some caution: "Comrade Chuikov, you should answer Oshanina's question." ”

Chuikov smiled helplessly and said to me: "Oshanina, what do you say, the Gulag is the branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in charge of the labor camps and supervising the serving and transportation of detainees. The Gulag concentration camp was a labor camp under the jurisdiction of the NKVD. ”

Although Chuikov only briefly introduced the Gulag and did not mention the composition of the people engaged in forced labor, I knew very well in my heart that most of the people imprisoned in the concentration camps, except for a few political prisoners, were absent from work and stealing without reason. or those who were arrested and imprisoned for making anti-government jokes.

I hurriedly pretended to have a sudden realization. Picking up the subject, he said, "Oh. I understand. In other words, those who came out of the Gulag were all dangerous elements who were mainly criminals. ”

Shumilov nodded lightly and said, "That's pretty much what you mean." The higher-ups' considerations are still reasonable, and if they are scattered and integrated into various companies, they may become a factor of instability in the troops. ”

I sometimes couldn't understand Lao Maozi's contradictory way of thinking, so I asked in confusion: "Since they are not a stabilizing factor, why did you send them to our troops?" ”

Shumilov straightened up. Waving his fists, he said solemnly: "At a time when our motherland is facing the death and death, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, out of humanitarian considerations, has decided to give them a chance to make meritorious contributions. Let them atone for their sins with their lives and wash away their sins with their blood. ”

Shumilov's words seemed to me to understand, and at the moment his image in my eyes was not like the commander of the army group, but more like those impersonal political workers in the early days of the war.

When Shumilov finished speaking, Chuikov brought up the old story again and asked, "Oshanina." You already know what the Gulag Camp is all about, but you haven't answered my question. How are we going to house this group of people from the concentration camps? "He was very careful in his words, and when he heard the prisoners from the Gulag, he used the word "personnel, not criminals," and I knew in my heart that he had compassion for them.

For this group of people from the Gulag concentration camp, it is really a headache to have to guard against them and use them in the most dangerous areas. I took off my helmet again, ran my hair through my hands, and said to myself, "What should I do?" You can't give each of them a rifle and let them charge at the enemy's position......"

"What a brilliant idea," I had not finished speaking, when Shumilov was already amazed, and said in a loud voice: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina's idea is really wonderful. Organize these prisoners, give each of them a gun, and let them charge towards the enemy's positions. ”

"However, most of these people have no military training, and once they encounter the enemy's blocking and shooting, I dare say that most of them will drop their weapons and turn around and run." Chuikov immediately pointed out to Shumilov the shortcomings of this plan.

Shumilov walked back and forth in the house with his hands behind his back, and suddenly said excitedly: "There is, add machine guns to the back of the attacking queue and put the overseers on the team." As soon as they retreated, the Warlords fired at them mercilessly with machine guns. We just want to let them know that attacking is death, and retreating is also death. Instead of dying in shame at the guns of your own people, it is better to bravely rush forward in the face of the enemy's bullets, so that there is still a glimmer of life, and there is still the possibility of becoming a hero. ”

I didn't hear what Chuikov was saying, I remembered the attack near Lyuban that was organized by the Japanese death squads with heavy losses, and although the last victory was achieved, the death squads also suffered casualties. Then I thought of the scene in "Soldiers in the City", the group of recruits who had just put on their military uniforms, holding rifles without bullets, rushed to the enemy's position without hesitation, and when the attack was frustrated and retreated, they all died tragically under their own guns.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but raise my hand and slap myself, scolding myself: I didn't mention the suggestion, but I came up with such a bad idea. If this style of play were to be spread among the troops of the Front, tens of thousands of people would have died in vain because of my suggestion.

My movement here alarmed Chuikov and Shumilov, who asked me strangely: "Oshanina, what are you doing with slapping yourself?" ”

I hurriedly put on my steel helmet, rubbed my beaten cheek with my hand, and tried to squeeze out a smile and replied, "I was fighting mosquitoes, and a mosquito stopped on my face just now." ”

Shumilov sighed, and asked Chuikov with interest: "Comrade Chuikov, what did you say, what about my proposal just now?" Shouldn't we sort out what we have discussed and report it to the Front Command? ”

Chuikov lowered his head and thought for a moment, and also nodded in agreement with Shumilov's opinion: "Comrade commander, I agree with your proposal, so report it to the headquarters of the Front." ”

My heart bleed to hear that they had decided such an important matter in a few words, and I just said that, but I did not expect to arouse Shumilov's interest at once. But the two commanders have already decided on something. It's not something I can stop. So I could only stand by the side. Watch them submit new plans.

When Shumilov heard the deep voice of General Yeremenko coming from the microphone, he said with some excitement: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front, I am Shumilov, the commander of the 64th Army. ”

When Yeremenko heard him report to his home, he just said lightly: "Oh, it's Comrade Shumilov." Is there anything important to call me so late? ”

"That's right, Andrey. Ivanovich. Comrade Chuikov and I have just come up with a way to house the prisoners from the Gulag. ”

"What's the solution, let's hear it." Yeremenko still said lukewarmly.

"Give each of them a rifle and then order them to charge at the enemy's positions. Of course, we also took into account that these people have not undergone special military training, and when they really get to the battlefield, there is a high probability that they will turn around and run back in the first fight, so we plan to set up machine guns and deploy the supervision team in the rear of the attacking team, if they turn around and run back. Just use machine gun fire to wipe out all the cowards. Forcing them to continue charging at the positions of the Germans. ”

"Nonsense, it's nonsense." When Yeremenko heard this, he said angrily: "Do you think that by putting machine guns behind them, they will attack the Germans without hesitation?" What should we do if they surrender en masse to the Germans on the battlefield? Don't think that the machine guns you have in place will make the difference between victory and defeat, if the Germans accept their surrender, they can send armored troops to protect them. ”

Yeremenko's words, like a thunderbolt from the blue, made Shumilov stupid. He obviously thought of this at the moment, and after a moment of gaffe, he forcibly suppressed the shock, slowly regained his composure, and tried his best to maintain a calm posture, smiled reluctantly, and wanted to say something, but he still swallowed it back.

Hearing that there was no sound from him, Yeremenko said loudly again: "Comrade Shumilov, why don't you speak, am I not right?" ”

"You are right, Comrade Commander of the Front." Shumilov finished saying this with difficulty, and put down the phone. Then he said to Chuikov, who was standing next to him: "Comrade Chuikov, our proposal has been rejected again by the commander of the Front. ”

Chuikov waved his hand and said indifferently: "If you veto it, you will veto it, have they rejected less of the various plans that our group army has recently reported?" Let's move on to how to accommodate these people. ”

Hearing that the plan to exterminate humanity had been rejected, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and hurriedly stepped forward and reported: "Comrade two commanders, I have a suggestion, I don't know whether I should say it or not. ”

Shumilov sat weakly in his place and said weakly: "Comrade Oshanina, if you have any ideas, just say it." ”

"Comrade commander, you just said that the front army command does not allow these people from the Gulag concentration camp to be directly assigned to the existing troops, and can only organize another team, is that true?" I finally took this opportunity to ask a question that was on my mind.

As soon as my question came out, Shumilov and Chuikov looked at each other, then nodded at the same time, and said in unison: "Yes, the command of the Front Army asked for it." ”

When Chuikov heard me ask, he asked with interest: "Oshanina, do you have any ideas when you ask this?" ”

I smiled and replied, "I have an idea, and I don't know if it's good or not." Since the higher authorities asked us to assign these 20,000 men to the existing troops, we organized them into convoys. ”

After hearing this, Chuikov chuckled lightly and asked rhetorically: "20,000 people have become a transport team, so is the scale of this transport team too big?" ”

"Yes, a transport fleet of 20,000 people is not easy to manage." Shumilov immediately chimed in.

After the two of them finished speaking, I continued: "I mean, this convoy is only nominal. After we assigned them to the divisions, we let them transport supplies when there was no fighting; As soon as there is a fight, they are given weapons and they are involved in the battle. In this way, we did not disobey the orders of our superiors, but also replenished the divisions. I wonder what the two commanders think of this matter? ”

"That's a good idea, I agree." The first to agree was again Chuikov.

And Shumilov thought about it for a long time, and then said hesitantly: "Comrade Chuikov, look. Is it necessary to report this plan to the command of the Front? ”

When I heard him say that. My heart hung in the air. If you have to report it to the front army headquarters, maybe just like the proposal just now, you will be directly vetoed. Fortunately, Chuikov stopped him in time: "Before Oshanina's proposal is implemented, we don't know how effective it will be, and we can't casually report it to the front army headquarters, lest it be rejected again." At this point, Chuikov changed the subject. "When will those recruits arrive?" he asked. ”

Shumilov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and replied: "Their vanguard should have arrived, and I asked the commanders who led the team to go to the division headquarters of the 208th Division first, and I will send someone to meet them." ”

"Then I'll see for myself." Chuikov was a resolute character, and as soon as he said to go, he shook his head at me and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina." Come with me. ”

Although it was the units of the 208th Division that were responsible for the security of the army group headquarters, their divisional headquarters. But in another village five or six kilometers away from the headquarters.

This time, we were in a car with four people, and before getting into the car, I specially reminded Chuikov: "Comrade commander, it's getting dark, I'm afraid that the road will not be safe, you see, should we bring more people with us?" "I'm not worried about the Germans, but about the 20,000 prisoners who are coming, and if they mutinied, they could kill us all with their bare hands.

Unexpectedly, Cui Kefu waved his hand again, and said confidently: "No, it's not safe to have a large number of people and a big goal." Besides, we went to the division headquarters of the 208th Division, and there would be no danger on our own turf. ”

When we arrived at the village where the headquarters of the 208th Division was located, the sentry on duty at the entrance of the village stopped our car.

Seeing the soldiers standing in front of the car waiting for the obstacle that was already blocking the middle of the road, the driver poked his head out impatiently and said impatiently: "Hey, I said comrade soldiers, the car is General Chuikov from the headquarters of the army group, he has an urgent matter to see Colonel Vosley Boynikov, hurry up and give way to us." ”

Unexpectedly, after the driver's words, the sentry blocking the road did not react at all, and even a corporal walked to the side of the car and said officially: "I'm sorry, comrade driver." The village was under martial law, and no one was allowed to enter or leave without an order from the division commander. ”

"What do you say, Comrade Corporal." I pushed the car door and jumped out of the car, walked around the front of the car, walked in front of the corporal, and asked loudly: "No one is allowed to enter or exit, referring to idle people, etc., the commander of the group army is not in this range, hurry up and order your people to get out of the way, we still have important things to go to your division commander." ”

"I'm sorry, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." The corporal glanced at my rank and said with great character: "No one is allowed to enter the village without an order from the division commander." Even when the commander of the army group came, it was no exception. ”

"What do you say, I have to say it again," I pointed to the corporal in a rage, and said loudly, "If you talk nonsense, I'll whip you if it's okay." ”

"No one can enter the village without an order from the division commander."

"Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina," just as I was about to raise my hand to whip him at this corporal with a little brain, Chuikov pushed the car door and got out of the car, and he walked up to us and said, "Don't get angry, Comrade Corporal did the right thing." Then he turned around and said to the corporal: "Comrade corporal, I am the deputy commander of the group army, Chuikov, and I have something important to ask your division commander, Colonel Vosley Boynikov, please help us inform us." ”

When the corporal saw that there was a general standing in front of him, he hurriedly stood up and saluted, and replied respectfully: "Hello, Comrade General. Please wait a minute, I'll call. Seeing that Chuikov waved at him, he quickly turned around and trotted all the way into a small sentry box at the entrance of the village, presumably calling his superiors.

In less than two minutes, the corporal ran out of the sentry box, beckoning the soldiers on duty to remove the obstacles in the middle of the road. After coming to us, he raised his hand again and saluted, and reported: "Comrade Deputy Commander, Comrade Division Commander is waiting for you in the division headquarters. At this point, he turned sideways, pointed to the road in the village, and said, "Please drive along this road, turn right after the second road condition, and see a big wooden house, which is the division headquarters." ”

Of course, the division commander Vosli Boynikov could not stay in the division headquarters and wait for us, and when our car was still a few dozen meters away from the headquarters, the colonel came up with a large group of people. Seeing that our car stopped, and without waiting for Chuikov to get out of the car, he came to the window on the side of Chuikov and reported loudly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, Colonel Vosley Boynikov, commander of the 208th Infantry Division, has come to report to you and listen to your instructions!" ”

Chuikov pushed the door open and got out of the car and held out his hand to him. While shaking hands, I heard Chuikov ask him in a low voice: "Comrade Colonel, are those people coming?" ”

Vosli Boynikov also replied in a low voice: "More than 200 people have come, and I have placed them in a barn north of the village, and a dozen commanders leading the team are waiting for you in the headquarters." ”

"Let's go, let's see."

When I walked into the division headquarters and saw the dozen or so commanders inside, I immediately saw that only two of them were political workers sent by their superiors, and the rest were prisoners from the Gulag concentration camp.

Sure enough, I heard Vosley Boynikov call the two political workers over and introduce them to Chuikov: "These two comrades belong to the Political Department of the Front, and they brought the team here. (To be continued......)