"What, what did you say?" I was afraid that I had misheard the current from the headphones, so I doubled it out loud: "You said you found a new prisoner of war camp built by the Germans?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Savchenko affirmed: "According to the confessions of the prisoners, more than 1,700 of our commanders and fighters were held in this prisoner of war camp. ”

"Are there any wounded in the prisoner of war camp?" Thinking of the current shortage of medicines in the divisional clinic, and in order to determine whether it will be able to receive the wounded among the prisoners of war in the future, I can't help but ask: "Or do you know the exact number of wounded?" ”

"There were more than 600 wounded, all lightly injured, not seriously injured. According to the prisoners' confessions, when the prisoner of war camp was transferred, the Germans shot all the seriously wounded who had difficulty moving. ”

"Bastards, these damn German brutes!" When I heard Savchenko say that the Germans had shot and killed the seriously wounded of our captured soldiers, I was so angry that I slammed my fist on the table and scolded angrily: "Sooner or later, one day, we will go to them to pay this blood debt." ”

"And what about these captives?" Savchenko asked me for instructions.

Hearing Savchenko's question, I immediately said viciously: "What else can I do, of course, I will kill them all without leaving a living mouth." "I thought to myself, the Germans are powerful, and I can't do anything about you, but it's still okay to kill a few traitors who are aiding and abetting the abuse.

Unexpectedly, Savchenko hurriedly dissuaded me from this impulsive decision: "Comrade division commander, you can't kill them, but you can't kill these prisoners?" ”

"Why can't you kill?" I asked sullenly, and I was puzzled by Savchenko's intercession for a few captives I didn't know. "You can't take a few captives with you. Crossing the enemy's blockade and returning to our defense zone, shall we? ”

Savchenko may have heard the displeasure in my tone. He quickly explained to me: "Among the three prisoners we captured, there was a sergeant, who said that he was from Kharkov and had been forced to surrender to the Germans. If we don't kill him, he is willing to take the blame for the merits. ”

"Guilty of meritorious service?!" When I heard this word, I couldn't help but sneer, and then asked rhetorically, "What kind of meritorious service is he going to do?" ”

"Comrade division commander, that's it." Savchenko said respectfully: "This sergeant said that the commander of their battalion, Captain Nikolai. And he is a fellow countryman. I heard that there was a Karpov battalion that had received our forgiveness and preferential treatment after being done anyway, so their battalion commander was also tempted to get in touch with us to see if there was a chance for the same anyway. ”

Savchenko's words shocked me even more than when I heard about the prisoner of war camp just now, could it be that Karpov's anyway really brought about a chain reaction, and the rest of the Eastern battalion also wanted to break away from the control of the Germans and return to our army? Come to think of it. I pondered for a moment, then said to Savchenko: "Comrade Savchenko. Although the captive said this, you still ask this Captain Nikolai when and on what occasion this sentence is, and how credible is it? ”

Before I could finish speaking, Savchenko had already preemptively asked: "Comrade division commander, if the prisoner's account is completely true, can I contact the commander of this Eastern battalion, Captain Nikolai?" ”

"Don't be in a hurry, Comrade Savchenko." Although I heard that Dongfang Ying wanted to do it anyway, I didn't feel happy at all, but said vigilantly: "Although what that prisoner said seems to be true, after all, his level is too low, and he can't do some things at all, so he still needs to be cautious." At this point, I paused and thought about it, and then instructed Savchenko: "You go and interrogate the prisoner again, and report back to me when you have confirmed information." ”

I put down my headphones and microphone and found Kirillov and all three of them standing nearby. Kirillov preemptively steadied with concern: "Comrade Oshanina, what the hell is going on, I just saw you angry. ”

I glanced at him and said with a bitter face: "Comrade political commissar, I can't help but get angry. The village that was shelled by the night raiders led by the political commissar of Oberstein was completely evacuated by the Germans inside. After the withdrawal, they set up a prisoner of war camp there, and at the same time sent an eastern battalion to guard it. When the Germans transferred the prisoner of war camp, they shot all the seriously wounded who could not move. ”

Kirillov and the three of them were stunned by my information, and after a while, Kirillov took the lead in speaking: "The Germans are so cunning, they actually took advantage of the fact that our troops could not penetrate deep into their rear to reconnoitre, quietly transferred their troops, and at the same time set up a prisoner of war camp for our prisoners of war in that village, just to make our air force think that the village was full of Germans, and let our air force bombs kill all their own people." ”

"What are we going to do next?" Bandereev then asked.

I then remembered Savchenko's last words, and said to them: "By the way, there is something that I almost forgot to tell you. Comrade Savchenko said that the commander of the Vostok Battalion, who was in charge of the prisoner-of-war camp, also wanted to follow the example of Captain Karpov and lead his troops to surrender to our army. What do you think about this? ”

"It can't be so coincidental," Akhromeyev said tentatively in a skeptical tone: "Captain Karpov didn't have long anyway, and immediately there were troops of the Eastern Battalion thinking about it anyway, where in the world is there such a coincidence." It can't be an enemy conspiracy, right? ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you have been overly concerned." Pantai Leev said unexpectedly: "Just like Comrade Division Commander said some time ago, the Karpov battalion is not only that we have won a unit, but also that the political significance of its leadership is immeasurable. Perhaps the officers and men of these Eastern Battalions were moved anyway when they saw that Karpov had not been liquidated after he had returned to us. ”

Seeing that Akhromeyev wanted to open his mouth to argue with Bandereev, I quickly raised my hand to stop them, and said to myself: "I will ask Savchenko to interrogate the prisoners again, and after the specific situation is clarified, we will discuss the next step." Speaking of which, I asked Akhromeyev bluntly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, are the other two reconnaissance groups back?" ”

Akhromeyev shook his head and looked at his watch. He replied to me, "It's not long before dawn." It doesn't take long for them to return. ”

He was talking. Basmanov's voice came from the door: "Report to the division commander, the squad that went to the enemy's position to reconnoiter is back, let them in?" ”

"Let the comrades who lead the team in." Akhromeyev commanded briefly.

In a few moments, two soldiers wearing steel helmets, military raincoats, and submachine guns walked in. Akhromeyev came out of the middle of us, met the two of them, and at the same time asked loudly: "Is the situation of the enemy all figured out?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Major." The two scouts replied in unison.

"Now that the situation is clear. Then come down and start debriefing. Akhromeyev casually pointed to one of the fighters and said, "It's up to you to report first." ”

"Yes!" The scout agreed, and began to report on their reconnaissance: "Report to Comrade Commander, my squad has been ordered to reconnoiter near the 107.5 heights. I quietly climbed up the eastern slope of the high ground with two fighters, and when I carefully observed the enemy camp, I found that the German troops on the high ground were not very numerous, less than a company in strength. ”

"What? Less than a company? Without waiting for him to speak, Akhromeyev interrupted him in surprise, and after looking at the rank on his collar badge, he asked solemnly: "Comrade sergeant, are you sure you are not mistaken?" ”

The scout sergeant shook his head like a rattle and replied, "Comrade Major." That's right, I'm absolutely not mistaken. In order to determine the accuracy of the intelligence. I also went into the trenches myself, and quietly touched the outside of several hidden areas to eavesdrop on the movements inside. After repeated verification, it was determined that there would be no more than one company of Germans currently stationed on the heights. ”

After hearing this, Akhromeyev turned his head to look at us, and seeing that we were all silent, he turned to the other scout and asked: "What about you, comrade corporal?!" You and your squad are going to reconnoiter the intelligence of the German forward positions, what do you see? Just now the sergeant said that there is less than one company of troops left on the 107.5 heights, so what is the situation there, can't there be only one company of Germans left? ”

The scout corporal shook his head and dismissed Akhromeyev's speculation. Just when I thought the corporal would be able to tell us something acceptable, he said in a shocking way: "The enemy in that position has not a company at all, at best only a platoon, and it is not German, it is a bunch of Italians. ”

Luckily, none of us wore glasses, otherwise we would have had a pile of broken glass under our feet after hearing his news. Akhromeyev did not seem to be able to accept the results of such a reconnaissance, and was about to continue asking, but was interrupted by the deputy division commander Bandereev: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, don't ask, I believe that the scouts are telling the truth." After speaking, he waved his hand at the two scouts and commanded them: "There is nothing to do with you here, go down and rest." "When the scout heard his order, he raised his hand and saluted us, and then turned and left.

After the scouts left, Bandereev asked me thoughtfully: "Comrade division commander, tell me that no Germans have been found on the defensive line near us, so where did they go?" ”

"Maybe they were secretly transferred to the west to reinforce their friendly forces." Kirillov said with some uncertainty: "But the Germans are too bold, and they only leave so many troops to contain us, aren't they afraid that we will copy their back road?" ”

Summarizing the reports of the scouts, I finally understood why the Germans had not moved in the Mamayev area recently, it turned out that it was not that they did not want to fight, but that there were no soldiers to attack us at all. Now that I've seen through the Germans' empty plans, it's time to do something. Since they want to get an axe, I don't mind teaching them a good lesson, you know, the Chinese are their ancestors. Thinking of this, I hurriedly called Kirillov and Pantaireev: "Political commissar and deputy division commander, let's discuss how to take advantage of the good opportunity of the German defense line to carry out a bold adventure, teach the enemy a hard lesson, and make them have to transfer their troops back from the factory area or other areas." ”

When we sat back down at the table and were about to start discussing the details of the operation, Razumeyeva, who was sitting on the wall, suddenly stood up and shouted loudly: "Comrade division commander, it's Comrade Savchenko who called. ”

I was about to stand up, but Kirillov raised his hand to stop me, and he shook his head at Akhromeyev and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you can answer this call." ”

Akhromeyev nodded, got up and walked towards Razumeyeva. Seeing Kirillov sitting next to me smiling at me, I knew in my heart that the reason why he asked Akhromeyev to answer the call was to protect me. You must know that the last time they instigated Karpov, they almost got into trouble anyway, and if this time without asking for instructions, they might really bring me unnecessary trouble. (To be continued......)