"Hey, Leda, tell me now, based on your observations, will Paulus surrender?"

After I left the German position, I had Second Lieutenant Gretka take the defective Captain Dangela and his men back to the headquarters of my corps, and I myself went with Captain Sania to Rokossovsky's Front Headquarters. Rokossovsky asked me what I thought while pouring tea for me himself.

I shrugged my shoulders and spread my hands, and said helplessly: "Unfortunately, Comrade General, according to my observations, although Paulus's generals are not averse to surrender, Paulus himself cannot make up his mind, and I guess he will ask Hitler for advice on whether to surrender or not." ”

"If you really ask Hitler for instructions, then the matter will be completely out of the way." Ma Lining, the chief of staff who heard me speak, said with a look of loss: "I originally thought that the German army, which was hungry and cold, would seize the olive branch that we took the initiative to extend in such a desperate situation, but I didn't expect them to be so stubborn, and it seems that they are planning to resist us to the end." ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the Germans would not have surrendered so lightly." Major General Teregin, the military commissar of the Front Army, whom I just met, said: "According to my analysis, the Germans did not surrender, except that some officers and men still had a fluke mentality about the friendly rescue of the troops, some were afraid of retaliation after being captured, and many more did not dare to disobey their oath. They are bound by their own oath, and they are deeply afraid that if they break it, they will betray their motherland, and if they are sentenced to death, even their families in China will be implicated and sent to concentration camps. And for a general like Paulus, he has even more concerns. In addition to thinking about your own life and death and the safety of your family. You also have to think about whether you will surrender because of the order. And the director was ruined. So he would certainly have asked Hitler for instructions, so that, having received permission, he could declare his surrender to us with dignity without damaging his own reputation. ”

"He's pretty good." After listening to Terekin's words, Rokossovsky snorted heavily, "In the ultimatum I gave him, I gave him only 24 hours. If this deadline had passed, he had not yet made the German troops lay down their arms and surrender to us. Then I will order the troops and launch a final assault on the besieged German army. ”

As I listened to Rokossovsky's opinion, I suddenly thought of what Captain Dangela had said to me, so as soon as he finished speaking, I immediately stood up and said: "Comrade Commander of the Front, there is another situation that I have not had time to report to you, and if I report to you now, it may be of some help in the next battle." ”

"What's the matter?" Rokossovsky asked in surprise.

"That's right, Comrade Commander." I told him exactly what had happened to Captain Danguera, and finally I concluded: "As a result of the recent war, Walter . . . Comrade Ulbricht and his anti-fascist League, the National Committee for Free Germany. In the city of Stalingrad, constantly facing the encircled German officers and soldiers. Telling the truth about what was happening at the front and in Germany had a certain effect on shaking the morale of the enemy. If the Germans had not been a disciplined army, and the officers and men were bound by their own oaths, I think thousands of soldiers would have surrendered to us on their own volition. ”

After listening to me, Rokossovsky sat down in his seat and did not speak, frowning and began to ponder. Major General Terekin, however, said with joy: "Great, Comrade Oshanina, this information you have given us is so important. I think that as long as we launch a political offensive against the Germans at the same time as the military offensive after the final general offensive begins, their so-called strong defenses will soon crumble. ”

"That's right, Comrade Military Commissar." Regarding Terekin's statement, Chief of Staff Malinin expressed great agreement: "In the past, we fought wars only by relying on the bravery of the soldiers and the correct command of the commanders, and we never thought that a military offensive would be accompanied by a political offensive, and as a result, we would have to pay a huge price every time to achieve the final victory." Now, with the aid of this kind of political work, the commanders below generally responded that the attack was easier than before, and the casualties of the troops were greatly reduced. ”

"My comrade chief of staff, the political offensive is very important, but it is not a panacea." At this time, the pensive Rokossovsky raised his head again, took Malinin's words and said: "Without the last shield of strong military strength, we will not be able to achieve the final victory." Speaking of this, he stood up and said in a firm tone: "Chief of Staff, immediately give orders to all units and let them prepare for battle. As soon as the 24-hour deadline passed, we launched a final offensive against the besieged German army. ”

When I saw Malinin given the order to go to the communications room next door to give an order, I hesitated for a moment, and finally mustered up the courage to say to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I have a request. As soon as I said this, I regretted it in my heart, and secretly said that if this matter got out, I would offend the commander of the friendly army, so I only said one word, and I kept my mouth shut.

Rokossovsky was a little anxious when he saw that I was about to stop talking, and he urged me to say: "Lida, if you have any requests, just ask." As long as it's within my power, I'll definitely agree. ”

With Rokossovsky's encouragement, I finally blushed and said what I thought: "Comrade commander, I wonder if we can entrust the task of seizing the Central Department Store to our 79th Infantry Corps?" ”

After listening to my request, Rokossovsky was stunned for a moment, then stared at me for a long time, and then looked at Terekin, the military commissar next to him, and then nodded and said: "Lida, I can't find a reason to refuse this request you have made. After all, you led a division of troops to carry four German divisions at Mamayev Hill in turn, and for such a brilliant achievement of your division, the reward I can give you now is to hand over the honor of capturing Paulus to you. ”

Originally, I just had the mentality of giving it a try and made this request to Rokossovsky, but I didn't expect him to agree so readily. I hurriedly raised my hand to salute him and said gratefully: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Commander!" Thank you for your trust in our army and for entrusting us with such a glorious task. I assure you that we, the 79th Infantry Corps, will live up to your expectations of us. ”

When Rokossovsky waited for me to finish, he pushed the map on the table a little in front of us, pointed his finger at it, and said to me with a stern expression: "Leda, you see, the location of your army is still eleven blocks from the location of the German headquarters, and the vanguard of General Shumilov's 64th Army is only five streets from here. Although I have entrusted your army with the task of capturing the German headquarters and capturing Paulus, if you cannot get ahead of the friendly forces and approach the central department store, I will leave this task to the friendly forces. Got it? ”

"Understood!" I have carefully studied why the last unit to capture Paulus was Shumilov's 64th Army, and not Chuikov's 62nd Army, because the latter was so badly wounded throughout the campaign that it was incapable of launching an active attack on the Germans except to hold their positions and contain the German forces. And now that history has deviated a little here because of my appearance, I will naturally not let go of this God-given opportunity, so I confidently replied to Rokossovsky: "Please rest assured, Comrade Commander, I promise to complete the task." ”

Seeing that I answered so crisply, Rokossovsky's face showed a smile of relief, and he took the initiative to reach out to me, and at the same time said: "Lida, since you are so confident, then I am here waiting for the news of your victory." (To be continued......)

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