Chapter 1276 Letter of Persuasion to Surrender (Part 2)
"Comrade Marshal," Vasilevsky did not refute Zhukov's statement, but said with emotion: "If Sokov's troops could have entered the battle earlier, maybe the German troops outside Prokhorovka would have been defeated.
Defeated."
"Yes," Vatutin agreed with Vasilevskiy's statement. The Skeleton Division, which his own troops could not stop, became vulnerable in front of Sokov. He hurriedly said: "
Judging from the speed with which they defeated the Skeleton Division tonight, if they could have been mobilized earlier, the enemy might have been driven away from the outside of Prokhorovka."
"That's not necessarily true." But Zhukov shook his head and said: "A few days ago, the enemy who broke into the city of Prokhorovka had powerful artillery and armored forces, and also received air support. Even if the rope was
Cove's troops may not be of much use if they are transferred over. On the contrary, if they fight the enemy without artillery and air cover, they will inevitably pay heavy sacrifices."
"But I heard that the officers and soldiers of Sokov's troops are using assault rifles newly developed by our country. They have the shooting speed of submachine guns and the accuracy of rifles. With such equipment, they can be used on the battlefield.
Suppress the enemy with firepower." Vatutin said with some dissatisfaction: "In addition, there are new rockets that are easy to carry and special anti-tank rocket launchers. With these equipment, it will be much easier for them to defeat the enemy."
Zhukov knew that Vatutin was telling the truth, but these weapons were all designed by Sokov, and since he had a good relationship with Yakov and Ustinov, the advanced equipment produced was naturally given priority to him.
"Comrade Vatutin, you can't say that. Misha is indeed very good at commanding operations. Only when these newly developed weapons are equipped with his troops can they play a real role. Moreover,
He is the designer, and he has personally tested the performance of these weapons on the battlefield and obtained first-hand information. He is undoubtedly the best candidate."
Vatutin thought about it and felt that what Zhukov said made sense. In the end, he could only sigh. He felt that even if his troops were equipped with these weapons, it would be a problem whether they could block elite troops like the Skeleton Division, let alone succeed.
The organized area was annihilated.
"Wait, comrades." Zhukov finally said: "I think Misha may give us a bigger surprise at dawn."
Zhukov was just talking in a hurry, but what he didn't expect was that not long after, what he said became reality.
The propaganda vehicle Colonel Billing was riding in was parked behind a ruined wall. It was only a hundred meters away from the German position. Unless the Germans used mortars to bombard him, it would be difficult to threaten his life. Although he knew that his position was safe.
, but the soldiers still forced him to hide in a basement and shout to the German troops in the distance through the loudspeaker on the car.
There are more than 300 German troops trapped in the siege, with five Panzer III tanks and a dozen 88mm anti-aircraft guns. Although this force is very small compared to the Soviet troops besieging them, if the Soviet troops
If the German army launches a strong attack on them, the German commander Major Fitman is still confident that the other party will pay an extremely heavy price.
When he heard the shouting from outside, Fetterman didn't pay attention at all. It was not the first time he heard such shouting, and there was nothing new at all. Just when he was drowsy, an elderly second lieutenant
He ran in from outside and woke him up: "Mr. Major, the Russians are shouting outside, asking us to put down our weapons and surrender to them, saying that they can ensure the safety of all of us."
"Second Lieutenant." Fetterman opened his eyes and looked at the other party and said: "Don't you know that the Russians hate our SS the most. As long as they capture our people, whether they surrender voluntarily or are killed on the battlefield,
Those who were captured would end up being shot on the spot. Think about it, how could they accept our surrender?"
"Mr. Major," who knew that the second lieutenant still said reluctantly after listening to Fetterman's words: "I think it is necessary for you to go out and listen to what the Russians are saying. I think if you follow what the Russians say, put down your weapons and go out
Surrender, maybe the rest of us can survive."
"Propaganda! This is all Russian false propaganda." Fetterman said in an unquestionable tone: "They just want to trick us into putting down our weapons and surrendering. Second Lieutenant, I can tell you with certainty that once we put down our weapons,
You will become a lamb to be slaughtered and be slaughtered completely by them."
"Mr. Major, if other troops are trying to persuade us to surrender, my men and I will definitely shoot the last bullet and fight to the last man." The old second lieutenant said to Fetterman: "The surrender letter being played outside is
Written by General Sokov. Although he is our enemy, I believe that his promises will be fulfilled."
"How can we trust the Russians? Even if this is a promise made by the Russian general, he may still not keep his promise..." When Fetterman said this, he suddenly realized that the second lieutenant heard a familiar name.
After a pause, he asked tentatively: "Second Lieutenant, who did you just say wrote the letter of persuasion to surrender?"
"It's the Russian General Sokov."
"General Sokov?!" Fetterman asked cautiously: "Is it the General Sokov who captured Paulus in Stalingrad?"
"Of course it's him!"
"Are you sure?"
The second lieutenant pursed his lips toward the outside and said: "Major, as long as you listen carefully to the content of the surrender, you will know that this is the surrender letter written by General Sokov."
When Fitterman heard what the second lieutenant said, he quickly came to the door of the command post and listened carefully to the broadcast room in the distance. After hearing the unique content of persuading him to surrender, Fitterman couldn't help but trembled all over, as if he felt that Soko
Her husband was standing in front of her, pointing her finger at him and giving him an ultimatum.
"Mr. Major," the second lieutenant saw that Fetterman was silent and asked him quickly: "What should we do? Should we continue to resist, or should we put down our weapons and surrender?"
If the loudspeaker not far away was playing the same words of persuasion to surrender, Fitterman would definitely choose to continue to resist without hesitation. After all, as an SS soldier, he was destined to choose to die in battle instead of surrendering to the Russians.
Surrender. But what is being played at this moment is the surrender letter written by Sokov himself. Even if they lay down their weapons and surrender, they can survive. It seems that there is no need to continue to resist?
"Second Lieutenant," Fetterman did not make an immediate decision, but asked the second lieutenant a question: "What was the reaction of the soldiers after hearing General Sokov's letter of surrender?"
"What other reaction can there be?" the second lieutenant shrugged and said, "Since there is a chance of survival, why die in vain? Besides, everyone wants to live until the end of the war and go home to reunite with their relatives."
After listening to the second lieutenant's story, Fetterman made a decisive decision. Since Sokov was persuading the surrender, it would not be a shame to order the participating troops to lay down their weapons and surrender. If it were a different Russian commander,
Even if his subordinates want to surrender, the other party still won't accept it.
Fetterman said to the second lieutenant: "Lieutenant, judging from the current situation, it is meaningless to continue to resist. In order to save the living people, I decided to order all officers and soldiers to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Russian General Sokov."
As soon as Fetterman gave the order for the officers and soldiers to lay down their weapons and surrender, many guns tied with white shirts or white handkerchiefs were immediately stretched out from the trenches, shaking desperately, announcing their intention to surrender to the Soviet troops in the distance.
Colonel Billing did not expect that the German troops on the opposite side would surrender after only reciting the surrender letter a dozen times. He could not believe it was true until he saw many German soldiers coming out of their hiding places without weapons.
Only when everyone's hands were raised high, and some people were still holding a white handkerchief in their hands, did Billing become convinced that the Germans had really surrendered.
Billing quickly ordered the telegraph operator who followed him: "Immediately send a telegram to the division headquarters, saying that the German troops surrounded by our troops outside the farm have laid down their weapons and surrendered to our troops after listening to the commander's letter of persuasion."
"
"The Germans have surrendered?" After Sokov learned the news, although he felt ecstatic in his heart, he pretended to be nonchalant on the surface. He tried his best to use a calm tone and said to Colonel Shechtman: "Colonel
Comrade, since the enemies on the left wing have surrendered, let Colonel Billing send some of his troops to escort these enemies to the army headquarters. The remaining troops will immediately move closer to us and strive to break through the Guards Division's defense zone before dawn."
"Comrade Commander, what about the 18th Tank Corps that is cooperating with us?" Shechtman asked Sokov for instructions: "Let them stay where they are, or let them move here with our troops?"
"I have no right to command the troops of the 18th Tank Corps." Sokov felt that the next attack on the defense area of the Color Guard Division should be a hard battle. If he could get the support of the 18th Tank Corps, the chance of breaking through the enemy's defense would be greatly improved.
In order to effectively break through the German defense, he decided to ask General Rotmistrov for help: "But I will immediately report the situation here to General Rotmistrov and ask him to let the tanks
The 18th Army moved with us to destroy the Flag Guard Division."
Sokov personally drafted a telegram and ordered the telegraph operator to send it to the headquarters of the 5th Guards Tank Army. Then he said to Shechtman: "Comrade Colonel, regardless of General Baharov's 18th Tank Army,
Whether you want to cooperate with us or not, you must tell Colonel Billing and ask him to lead the two regiments to come here to join our army in the shortest possible time."
In response to Sokov's order, Shechtman nodded desperately. Although the battle on the right wing was going smoothly, after all, it was a small attack with a large number. The main attacking troops suffered heavy casualties. Some companies only had the remaining
There were more than ten or twenty men. If we wanted to break through the defense line of the Flag Guard Division, we would need more troops.
Sokov felt a little uncomfortable when he thought that Simon had escaped during the assault on the German division headquarters. He thought about it and said to Shechtman: "Comrade Colonel, although there is a melee ahead, you still
We need to send manpower to search for the whereabouts of Commander Simon of the Skeleton Division. It would be best if he can be captured alive. Even if he cannot be captured alive, he must be killed. We must not let him slip away from our hands again."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Shechtman knew that catching Simon would be a great achievement, and he would never let go of such an opportunity. He patted his chest and assured Sokov: "Don't look at the melee between the enemy and us.
However, I have already sent two small teams deep into the enemy's defense area to find the whereabouts of Simon and his division. I believe in my soldiers, they will not let me down..."
Unexpectedly, before Shechtman finished speaking, a communications staff officer walked over quickly, handed a telegram to Sokov, and said: "Comrade Commander, this is the commander of the 182nd Division, Khokhlov."
Urgent telegram from the Colonel."
"An urgent telegram from Colonel Khokhlov?" When Sokov received the telegram, he was still muttering to himself: "If the focus of the battle shifts to outside Prokhorovka, what will happen to his defense area?"
After Sokov clearly read the contents of the telegram, he couldn't help but be shocked and his breathing became rapid. Seeing Sokov's reaction aroused Shechtman's curiosity: "Comrade Commander,
What did the telegram say? Did something happen to the defense area of the 182nd Division?"
"The Germans sent a force deep into the defense depth of the 182nd Division and besieged the field hospital." Sokov handed the telegram in his hand to Shechtman and said with a serious expression: "The battle is now taking place in the field hospital.
spread out nearby.”
Shechtman was shocked when he learned that the German army was attacking the field hospital of the 182nd Division, because many people knew that Sokov's wife, assistant military doctor Asya, now works in the field hospital of the 182nd Division.
Now that there is an enemy attack there, it means that Asiya is in danger. No wonder Sokov behaves so rudely.
"Comrade Commander," Shechtman asked Sokov with a serious expression, "do you need us to dispatch troops to rush over to support you?"
"No need." Sokov waved his hand to Shechtman and said, "Colonel Khokhlov's troops are enough to destroy the enemies who sneak attack the hospital. You stay here and continue to command the battle. I will go over and take a look at the situation there."
After Sokov finished speaking, he turned around and shouted loudly outside the command post: "Lieutenant Samoilov!"
"Here!" Following Sokov's shout, Samoylov rushed in from outside, straightened his body and looked at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, what are your instructions?"
After Sokov knew that he had arrived at Shechtman's unit, Samoilov had already transferred the members of the guard platoon over one after another. Since he was rushing to the defense area of the 182nd Division at this moment, he had to bring the guard platoon with him.
On the road, even if you encounter a small enemy force on the road, it is enough to deal with it: "I have an urgent need to go to the defense area of the 182nd Division. You must gather the guard platoon immediately. We will set off in five minutes."