I set up my temporary headquarters in the middle of a pile of rubble adjacent to the trenches, where I could observe the German positions in the distance, and I could use the trenches to quickly evacuate to safety if any danger occurred.

Just as the commander of the artillery battalion, Major Kolomin, reported to me that the artillery was all in place and ready to fire, I caught a glimpse of a soldier in body armor next to him quickly walking up to Yushchenko's side and whispering something to him.

Seeing that Yushchenko had an embarrassed expression on his face after listening to the soldier's report, I was worried that something was wrong, and hurriedly asked him: "Captain Yushchenko, what happened?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Yushchenko walked up to me and reported to me: "The fighters of the guard company have come to report that comrades from the Anti-Fascist League and the 150th Division want to see you, and it is said that they intend to persuade you not to fire at the German positions for the time being. ”

"Of the Anti-Fascist League and the 150th Division?" Hearing such a combination, I couldn't help frowning, and wondered how Bandereev's subordinates got mixed up with the Germans of the anti-fascist alliance. In order to find out what was going on, I instructed Yushchenko: "Captain, go and bring them!" ”

But when the person brought back by Yushchenko appeared in front of me, I couldn't help but be happy, because I knew all the people who were following him, one was Ulbrich, whom I had met some time ago, and the other was Ensign Grettka, ∞ ■, whom I was familiar with.

When the two of them came to me, I took the initiative to extend my hand to Ulbrich, and at the same time asked with a smile: "Hello, Comrade Ulbrich. It's nice to see you here again. Would you like to see me? What's the matter? ”

Ulbricht shook my hand. While excitedly said: "Comrade Oshanina, it's a pleasure to see you again. I heard that you were going to order artillery to bombard the German positions on the opposite side, so I came to stop you. ”

Hearing him say this, I restrained the smile on my face, withdrew my hand, and asked sternly, "Comrade Ulbricht, can I ask why?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Oshanina." Ulbricht did not notice the change in the expression on my face. He said to himself: "We have carried out anti-war propaganda against the German troops in front for almost three days, and judging from the results, if we do not fight them, in two or three days, someone should surrender to us." If you're lucky, you might even be able to surrender in an organized way. ”

Seeing Ulbricht's confident expression, I asked coldly: "Comrade Ulbrich, I would like to ask, on what basis do you judge that the enemy will surrender to you in two or three days?" ”

Ulbricht finally noticed the abnormality on my face. I guess he didn't understand what I was going to do to change his face so quickly, and he was speechless for a while. And Greitka next to him saw Ulbrich's embarrassed expression. hurriedly came out to relieve him from the siege: "Report to Comrade Army Commander, it's like this." In the first two days, when we shouted at the opposite position, the soldiers there also opened fire on our position. Since yesterday, they have not fired at us again, but have patiently listened to our shouts, and it seems that our propaganda has achieved some results. If we shell their positions now, then our efforts these days will be wasted. ”

Gretka's words made me understand one thing, maybe the German troops who attacked Vasilyev were lurking here, originally trying to kill Ulbricht's anti-war propaganda team, but Vasiliev and they accidentally broke into the German ambush circle and sacrificed their lives in vain. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but snort heavily.

Seeing my cold expression, Ulbricht seemed to sense something, and he raised his hand to stop Gretka, who was about to continue, and asked with concern: "Comrade Oshanina, what is wrong?" ”

I raised my chin in the direction where the remains of Vasilyev and the soldiers of the guard platoon were placed, and said with a heavy heart: "Comrade Ulbrich, you can look there. The remains of my commissar Comrade Vasilyev and dozens of fighters, all of whom were killed here more than an hour ago, were killed by the Germans on the opposite position. ”

Taken aback by my words, and not caring whether his actions were rude, Ulbricht rushed to Vasilyev's body in a few steps, turned his back to me and lifted the old military uniform over the commissar's head. After watching for a while, I heard him let out a long sigh, put the commissar back on his military uniform, slowly stood up, turned around and walked back in front of me. Perhaps stimulated, his face was pale and bloodless. After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and said: "Comrade Oshanina, your decision is right. Blood debts must be repaid with blood, and since these German soldiers do not know what to do, let's teach them a hard lesson. ”

I was pleased with the change in Ulbricht's attitude, and I instructed Kolomin, who was standing by and waiting: "Comrade Major, use your cannons to teach these Germans a hard lesson, and let them taste the shells." ”

After Major Kolomin had left, I said to Bere and Gorokhov, respectively: "Colonel Bere, when the shelling is over, immediately order the tank detachment to attack the enemy's positions." And you, Colonel Gorokhov, sent infantry to follow our tanks on the offensive. After seizing the position, it was necessary to seize the time to repair the fortifications to consolidate the position and prevent the German counter-charge. ”

"What about the captives?" Gorokhov glanced at Ulbrich, who was standing not far away, and asked in a low voice.

To such an idiotic question that he asked, I said impatiently: "Comrade Colonel, look at the commissar Comrade Vasilyev, who is still lying over there, don't you still know what to do?" ”

"I see, Comrade Commander." Gorokhov said with understanding: "I will convey your instructions to every commander and fighter who participated in the battle. ”

After 10 minutes of shelling of the German position, the infantry of the 171st Division swooped down on the enemy like tigers in the mountains before the surviving officers and soldiers who had been dizzy by the bombing could recover their senses, and under the cover of the tank detachments. The battle for the position ended after only a few minutes, and the more than 100 German officers and men who held this small position were all wiped out, and none of them survived.

Originally, I scheduled Vasilyev's funeral for the next morning. As a result, the funeral did not wait for the funeral to begin. I received a call from Rokossovsky personally. He said in a commanding tone on the phone, "Leda." I have an important task for you. You immediately go to a commander who is fluent in German, and when the car arrives, you will set off together. ”

I didn't know what task Rokossovsky was going to give me, so as soon as he finished speaking, I immediately and carefully asked: "Comrade Commander of the Front, I wonder what important tasks you have to give me?" ”

"Leda, that's right." Judging by the voice of Rokossovsky's voice, he seems to be a little hesitant. But in the end they said what I wanted to know: "Before the Battle of the Rings begins, I intend to make one last effort to persuade Paulus to surrender." I thought about it for a long time and felt that you were the most suitable for the task. So I'll leave the task of delivering the letter of surrender to Paulus. Comments? ”

Oh my God, when I heard Rokossovsky's arrangement, I really had a feeling of wanting to cry without tears, just send a second lieutenant for this kind of thing, can you send me, the commander of the infantry corps, out of the horse? It's really anti-aircraft guns to fight mosquitoes - overkill. But now that Rokossovsky has given the order, I can only say yes: "I obey your orders." ”

When I put down the phone. Vitkov, who was next to him, came over and asked with concern: "Comrade Army Commander, I don't know what order Comrade Commander of the Front Army gave you?" ”

I smiled wryly and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff. The commander of the Front intended to make another effort to persuade Paulus to surrender before launching the campaign. And the task of delivering the letter of surrender, he handed it over to me. ”

Vitkov was frightened by my words, and he said nervously: "Comrade commander, you are the commander of an army, how can you let you do such a messenger thing?" No, no, this is absolutely not possible, I will call the commander of the front army and ask him to take back this ridiculous order. As he spoke, he reached for the phone on the table.

I pressed my palm on the hand where he grabbed the phone, shook my head at him and said, "Chief of Staff, you haven't been in the army for a day or two, don't you know that according to the regulations, the orders of your superiors are not allowed to be discussed, but can only be carried out?" Since the commander of the front army has given such an order, even if there is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire in front of me, I will walk over without hesitation. Speaking of which, in order to ease the tension in the room, I smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, Paulus will not kill me, I will definitely come back safely." ”

"Do you need me to send a company of special guards to accompany you?" Since Vasilyev died yesterday, Vitkov was particularly worried about my safety, and if anything happened to me, the 79th Infantry Corps would be left leaderless.

I shook my head again and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am going to send Paulus a letter of persuasion to surrender, and I am not going to attack his position, so I don't need to bring a guard company. Even if I have to fight, what role can these more than 100 people play, can they protect me from the hundreds of thousands of German troops? ”

Hearing me say this, Vitkov knew that it was useless to persuade again, but he still asked unwillingly: "Comrade commander, this time you went to the enemy, didn't you take anyone with you?" ”

When Vitkov said this, he reminded me that I had to go to Paulus to submit a letter of surrender, that I did not have a good command of German, and that I had to take a commander who knew German with me. Who will you take with you? The first thing that came to my mind was the commander of the engineer battalion, Captain Mihayev, but the thought that he was leading his troops on the Volga at the moment to maintain the ice transport line dispelled it. After going through all the commanders and fighters of the original independent division, he found that the most suitable candidate was only Second Lieutenant Gretka, whom he met yesterday, so he ordered Vitkov: "Comrade Colonel, please call the commander of the 150th Division, Bandeleyev, and ask him to send Second Lieutenant Grettka of the guard battalion to the corps headquarters immediately. ”

As soon as Grettka, who had been notified, arrived at the command, the officer sent by Rokossovsky to pick me up for the mission. The person who came, a captain, walked into the command headquarters and saw me, immediately raised his hand to salute me, and reported loudly: "Comrade General, I am Captain Sania of the Staff of the Front Command, and on the orders of the Commander, I will go with you to the German Headquarters to submit a letter of surrender. ”

We came to the door and saw a jeep parked on the street outside, with only one driver in the car. I turned my head and ordered Gretka: "Second Lieutenant, you sit in the co-pilot's seat." "After that, I have to open the car door and get in the car. Unexpectedly, Captain Sagna stopped Greitka, "Ensign." You should sit in the back row with the general. I'm going to be in front to show the driver the way. ”

Captain Sagna was a taciturn man. He didn't take the initiative to talk to me along the way, it was only when I asked what he asked that he would answer briefly.

As we approached the German position, Sania asked the driver to stop the car, and he extended a white flag that had been prepared through the window, swinging back and forth in a regular manner.

Seeing the white flag waving incessantly, I knew that this was done to prevent German officers and soldiers who did not know the truth from firing at us. But I still feel very uncomfortable.

After a while, a German three-wheeled motorcycle drove out of their position and drove towards us. After the motorcycle stopped in front of us, a German officer jumped out of the sidecar, walked quickly to the jeep, bent down to look inside, and said a few words in German.

I was about to get Gretka to respond, but Sagna pushed the door open and walked down, and spoke to him in fluent German. Grettka whispered to me and said, "Comrade Commander, Captain Sania is revealing to the other side who we are and what we are here for. The German commander said he could not call the shots on this matter. Send someone back for instructions. ”

As Gretka was translating here, the German officer turned and walked over to the three-wheeled motorcycle. A few words to the motorcyclist. The other party nodded, then turned around on the motorcycle and drove towards the place where it came.

After the German officer left on the motorcycle, he returned to Sania and continued to talk to him. Perhaps seeing the hope of survival, the officer kept a flattering smile on his face throughout the conversation.

I looked at the officer who was talking to Sania outside the car, and asked Gretka: "Second Lieutenant, we will go to the headquarters of the German army later, are you nervous?" ”

After hesitating for a moment, Gretka shook his head and said insincerely: "Don't be nervous, Comrade Commander, I'm not nervous at all. He said he wasn't nervous, but his voice was hoarse from nervousness.

Instead of demolishing him, I smiled and said, "The thought of meeting this long-known General Paulus makes me very nervous. Second Lieutenant, it doesn't matter if you're nervous now, as long as you don't get nervous when you see Paulus later. ”

We waited about ten minutes before four three-wheeled motorcycles, each with two soldiers, came out of the German position. Seeing the motorcycles coming towards us, the officer who was talking to Sania stopped and walked towards the motorcycles. After a brief exchange with his men, he walked back to Sania's side and whispered a few words.

When Sania heard this, she nodded at him, then walked back to the car, pulled the door and leaned in halfway to report to me: "Comrade General, the German officer said that we can only go to three people, on their motorcycles, and we all have to be blindfolded, I don't know what you mean?" ”

I knew in my heart that the Germans might be afraid that we would peek at their defensive positions, so they would blindfold us all. It was precisely because I understood this that I said to Sania in a very cooperative manner: "Yes, Comrade Captain, just do as they say." With that, I pushed open the door next to me and walked down.

The officer was stunned for a moment when he saw a female general suddenly come out of the jeep, then walked up to my side, raised his hand and saluted, and asked tentatively, "Are you General Oshanina?" ”

Hearing the officer ask this, I couldn't help but be stunned again, and said in my heart, could it be that I am so famous now, as long as the German soldiers I deal with know me? But out of politeness, I replied in broken German: "Yes, I'm Oshanina." ”

After confirming my identity, the officer said a lot of things to me with a smile on his face. When he had finished speaking, he tilted his head at Gretka beside me and motioned for him to translate for me. Gretka immediately translated the officer's words to me: "Hello, General Oshanina! It's a pleasure to meet you here, I've admired you for a long time, and it's my pleasure to serve you. However, according to the rules, to go to our headquarters, you must blindfold you and your subordinates, and I hope you don't mind. ”

Sania and Gretka and I were covered in black by the Germans and got into the sidecar of a three-wheeled motorcycle. I heard the officer shout, and the motorcycle turned around and sped forward.

After more than ten minutes, I felt the motorcycle I was riding stop. Then a hand reached over and helped me out of the sidecar. After hearing a series of German commands, the black cloth that blindfolded me was unraveled. So that I can see the qiē in front of me.

appeared in front of me. It is a tall marble building. This is probably the famous Central Department Store. On the platform of the doorway, there is a sandbag bunker on the left and right of the door, on which machine guns are mounted. A German officer of higher rank stood on the platform, and when he saw that our blindfolds were unfastened, he walked down the marble steps, came to me, raised his hand in front of me, saluted, and said politely: "I am Colonel Adam, the adjutant of General Paulus, on the orders of the commander. I came out to greet you. ”

I put my hands behind my back and said to the German adjutant in front of me without humility or arrogance: "Hello, Mr. Colonel, please take me to General Paulus, I have important business and need to see him immediately." ”

Colonel Adam said with a smile on his face, "The commander is waiting for you in the headquarters, please come with me." With that, he turned and walked up the steps first.

Once we entered the building, we walked up a long staircase into the basement led by Colonel Adam. After passing through the huge iron gate. A sour smell rushed to my face, and I saw the German soldiers sitting or lying on both sides of the wide corridor. I suspect that there may be too many people here and the air circulation is not good, so there is such a strange smell.

As our group headed inside, most of the German soldiers on either side, except for a few whose eyes moved with our movements, sat in a daze, their eyes staring ahead without focus.

As we walked into Paulus's headquarters, I saw at a glance in the dim candlelight a German officer in a military overcoat sitting in a leather chair across from a long conference table.

In addition to Paulus, there were a number of officers sitting on the left and right sides of the table, and when they saw us enter the door, their eyes moved to us. But since Paulus did not speak, the officers did not speak, but looked at us silently.

I walked over to the table and stood still, and said loudly to Paulus on the other side: "General Paulus, I have come today to present you a letter of surrender on the orders of General Rokossovsky, commander of the Don Front. After saying that, I turned my head to Sania, who was standing behind, and whispered, "Captain, give them the letter of persuasion." ”

Sania took out a bag of papers from the briefcase she was carrying and handed it to Colonel Adam, who was standing beside us. Adam took the bag and walked briskly towards the other end of the table. Walking up to Paulus's side, he respectfully handed the bag into Paulus's hands.

And Paulus took the bag of Wen Jiàn, and without even opening it, he threw it directly on the table, and said to me in a disdainful tone: "This lady, please identify yourself, so that I can know who is the person who sent me Wen Jiàn?" As soon as Paulus's words fell, he immediately drew laughter from the officers around him.

I remained calm about the ridicule of the officers. After they laughed, they looked away from me and began to whisper. My gaze swept over the officers at the table, and I said in my heart: Don't be complacent, the officers present will be counted one by one, or it won't be long before all of them will be our prisoners. After retracting my gaze, I said calmly: "Your Excellency Paulus, I am the new commander of the 62nd Infantry Corps of the 79th Army of the Don Front, Major General Oshanina. You don't know me, but I know you well, for my troops have been fighting with yours since the Don Valley. ”

As soon as I finished speaking of my identity, the original whispering stopped, and the officers turned their eyes back to me. After a brief silence, one of the officers stood up and asked in a trembling voice: "Is it Oshanina, the commander of the separate division of the Soviet Army, who is holding the Mamayev post?" ”

"Yes, it's me." I saw his rank clearly, it turned out to be a major general, so I politely said: "Mr. General, I was originally the commander of the independent division, and now I am the commander of the 79th Infantry Corps. ”

After hearing this, the major general quickly straightened up, raised his hand to salute me, and said, "Hello, General Oshanina, it's a pleasure to meet you here. I am your defeated general, the commander of the 295th Infantry Division, Otto. Major General Kofes. (To be continued......)