Schmidt heard that a young second lieutenant in Leibin dared to speak to him in a threatening tone, and the muscles on his face immediately twitched violently. He waved his fists and gritted his teeth and said: "Second lieutenant, do you know?
You are threatening a German general, aren't you afraid that I will have you dragged out and shot?"
Second Lieutenant Leibin was not afraid of Schmidt's threat. He faced Schmidt's gaze and said calmly: "General Schmidt, I am only stating the facts. If you want to shoot me, then go ahead and do it."
Bar."
"Here comes someone!" Schmidt shouted toward the door.
Following the shouting, four or five German soldiers rushed in from outside carrying submachine guns. As soon as he saw the soldiers entering the door, Schmidt pointed his finger at Lieutenant Leibin and another soldier, and sternly ordered his men: "
Drag them out immediately and shoot them."
The soldiers agreed, working in pairs, and grabbed the arms of Second Lieutenant Lei Bin and the soldier respectively, and were about to drag them outside. At this moment, the division chief of staff shouted: "Wait a minute!"
Seeing that the chief of staff actually stopped the soldiers, Schmidt couldn't help but became a little angry: "Chief of staff, what are you doing?"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the Chief of Staff leaned close to Schmidt's ear and whispered to him: "This Russian is the negotiator sent by General Sokov. If you kill him like this, I'm afraid..."
I'm afraid what will happen, the chief of staff did not say, but Schmidt knew very well in his heart that if he killed the negotiator sent by Sokov indiscriminately, then he would have to bear Sokov's wrath.
After several days of fierce fighting, more than half of his troops have been consumed, and they are unable to fight against Sokov's army group. If a fight really breaks out, the final outcome will not be like that of von Horner, the commander of the 6th Armored Division.
General Dorff died in battle, just like Simon, the commander of the Skeleton Division, became a prisoner of the Russians.
Both of these endings were what Schmidt did not want to see. Therefore, he gave up the idea of shooting Rebin. After staring at the opponent with vicious eyes for a while, he then ordered to the soldiers: "First kill them."
Take them out and imprison them, and deal with them after a while."
After the two Leibins were dragged out of the division headquarters by German soldiers, Schmidt turned around and asked the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, tell me, what should we do next?"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the Chief of Staff quickly replied: "Although the Russian second lieutenant said that among the six prisoners we captured, there was General Sokov's wife, but we must first find out whether the matter is true or not, and then make a decision.
What should I do next?”
"Chief of Staff, you are right. What we have to do now is to find out whether Sokov's wife is really among the six prisoners." Schmidt said this, turned to the instigator and said: "Major,
Since you brought the prisoners back from the Russian positions, I will leave it to you to take care of the screening."
"Don't worry, Your Excellency, Division Commander." The major felt that he had caused a big disaster this time when he led his troops to sneak attack the defense area of the 182nd Division. He even arrested Sokov's wife. No matter how you look at it, it's not good.
Ending. After receiving Schmidt's order at this moment, he could only bite the bullet and reply: "I will find out the identities of these six prisoners as soon as possible."
In fact, before Second Lieutenant Leibin appeared, the major's idea was very simple. What's so great about a few prisoners? When he returned to the army, he could just drag them to the woods and shoot them. They couldn't return them to the Russians anyway. But we know
One of them turned out to be Sokov's wife, and she was immediately frightened to death.
After accepting Schmidt's order, he immediately returned to his camp and personally screened the six captured medical staff to determine whether Sokov's wife was really among them.
Schmidt's perspective on the problem was different from that of the major. He wanted to find out what action the other party would take after his men captured Sokov's wife. As soon as the major left, he immediately asked the chief of staff: "
Chief of Staff, are there any unusual movements from the Russians?"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the Chief of Staff heard Schmidt asking about the situation in the defensive zone, and quickly pointed to the map on the table to report to him: "According to the latest intelligence, the 81st Russian Guards Division on our right wing, and a group of
An armored force is still on hold. On Sokov's left wing, two infantry divisions have advanced one to two kilometers, posing a serious threat to our defense area."
"Chief of Staff," Schmidt frowned and asked after listening to the Chief of Staff's report: "Tell me, if we kill Sokov's wife, how will he react?"
"With all due respect, Mr. Division Commander, you should not make such an attempt." After hearing Schmidt saying that he wanted to kill Asiya, the chief of staff knew in his heart that the other party was just an idea, but he still reminded him sternly: "Just ask him."
While sending people to negotiate with us, Kokov ordered two infantry divisions to move towards our army's positions. It seems that he has made both preparations. If the negotiations go well and his wife returns safely, maybe these two infantry divisions will not
Any action will be taken. But if the negotiations break down, or even if something happens to his wife, then these two infantry divisions will launch an attack on our positions."
But Schmidt disagreed with the Chief of Staff's statement: "Chief of Staff, we are an armored division. Do you think Sokov can succeed in attacking with two infantry divisions?"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, as far as I know, although Sokov's troops do not have organic artillery, they do have a long-range attack weapon specifically designed to deal with tanks, which is the nemesis of our armored forces. What's more," the chief of staff said with his hand
Pointing at the location of the Pushor River, he reminded Schmidt: "There is also Sokov's tank corps here. If they also join the battle, we will not be able to stop them at all."
"One tank corps and two infantry divisions," Schmidt began to mutter in his mind: "If it were an ordinary Russian unit, even if his own unit has suffered serious attrition, it would still be able to stop them. But now we have to deal with them
The enemy is Sokov, who is giving the German generals a headache. Can my troops really block his attack?"
Seeing Schmidt staring at the map in silence, the chief of staff guessed what was on his mind and cautiously expressed his thoughts: "Your Excellency, division commander, I think it's better to let the second lieutenant take away the captured medical staff.
.If Sokov sees his wife returning safely, I think he will definitely remember your kindness and will not launch a devastating blow to us in the short term."
"Sokov's wife, should I let her go or not?" Schmidt's mind was in a battle between heaven and man. Let him go, as he feels it would be detrimental to his own dignity; let him go, as Sokov's troops are not vegetarians.
Yes, they may launch an attack on themselves at any time, and the current strength of their own troops cannot withstand the attack of a group army.
After repeated thinking, Schmidt decided to use the dragging tactic. He raised his head and said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, after the major completes the screening work, we will first lock them up with the two Russians who came to negotiate."
Together."
The chief of staff originally thought that Schmidt would have detailed arrangements, but after hearing him say that he would lock them together, there was nothing more to say. He couldn't help but asked curiously: "Your Excellency, division commander, after locking them together, what will we do?"
What should we do?”
"Wait." Schmidt said briefly: "Wait until the situation becomes clear, and then consider how to deal with them."
The chief of staff never dreamed that Schmidt would actually use the dragging tactic. He quickly reminded the other party: "Your Excellency, division commander, the Russian troops have moved towards our positions. If they don't get a reply from us for a long time,
I'm worried they will attack soon."
"Chief of Staff, you are thinking too much." After Schmidt made a decision in his mind, he said stubbornly: "I thought about it for a while. The troops outside Prokhorovka also seriously threatened Soko.
He did not dare to mobilize heavy troops to attack our position. Now the two infantry divisions are moving forward, just to intimidate us and make us release his wife unconditionally according to his wishes..."
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, Sokov is not asking us to release his wife unconditionally." The Chief of Staff became a little anxious: "He is willing to use the corpses of dozens of German soldiers in exchange."
"Okay, Chief of Staff, please stop talking. I know what I know." Schmidt was unwilling to have a dispute with his Chief of Staff on this matter, so he quickly changed the subject: "You should contact the military department immediately.
Ask them when they can replenish our lost soldiers and equipment."
"Yes, Your Excellency, Division Commander." Seeing that Schmidt was so stubborn, the Chief of Staff knew that his persuasion would not make much sense, so he bit the bullet and replied: "I immediately contacted the military headquarters to inquire about the replenishment of soldiers and equipment.
.”
Forty minutes later, the German major called Schmidt: "Your Excellency, division commander, I have repeatedly verified that what the Russian second lieutenant said is true. Among the six medical staff we captured, there are indeed
One is Sokov’s wife. What should we do next, let them go or continue to imprison them?”
"Major, do you need to say this?" Schmidt replied without hesitation: "Of course they will continue to be detained. You have to ensure their safety. No one can take them away without my order."
"Understood, Your Excellency, Division Commander." The German Major replied respectfully: "I will take good care of them and will never let anyone take them away casually."
As soon as Schmidt put down the phone, the chief of staff came over with a phone record and reported to him: "Your Excellency, division commander, something happened."
"Chief of Staff, calm down. As a commander, you must learn to control your emotions so that you can set an example in front of your subordinates." After saying this, he asked slowly: "What happened?
Already?"
"According to the scout's report, not long ago, at least two divisions of Russian artillery crossed the Pushor River and entered the defense area of Sokov's troops." The chief of staff placed the phone record in front of Schmidt.
, reported to him: "With Sokov's established artillery, he can carry out artillery bombardment on our positions at any time."
"What the hell, where did the Russian artillery appear from?" After reading the phone record, Schmidt slammed the phone on the table and said angrily: "Did it just fall from the sky?"
"It should be the reinforcements sent by the Russian base camp." The chief of staff analyzed: "I guess it was Sokov who saw his wife captured by us. In order to severely retaliate against us, he deliberately applied to his superiors to keep the artillery as an organic soldier.
In its own defense zone, it can pose a greater threat to us."
If there had been no artillery, Schmidt would not have cared at all about whether to release Asiya. But now that he heard that at least two artillery divisions had appeared, he couldn't help but panic. If Sokov bombarded his defense area
, and then the tanks will cover the infantry division to launch the attack. It is only a matter of time before one's own defense line is broken through.
After thinking about the problem, he turned to the chief of staff and said: "Chief of Staff, please have the Russian second lieutenant brought back immediately. I have something to talk to him about."
Hearing Schmidt's order to bring Second Lieutenant Leibin over, the chief of staff couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Since Schmidt was willing to see Leibin, it proved that it was possible to resolve the matter peacefully and win more for his troops.
time. He picked up the phone on the table and called the major: "Major, the division commander ordered that the negotiator, Second Lieutenant Leibin, be brought to the division headquarters immediately."
Soon, Lieutenant Leibin and his companions appeared in front of Schmidt again.
Seeing the two people appear, Schmidt's face was full of smiles. He knew that Rebin knew German, so he did not call a translator, but said bluntly: "Second Lieutenant, I couldn't control my emotions just now, and I rushed to you.
I lost my temper, please forgive me for my recklessness."
Seeing Schmidt actually apologizing to him, Second Lieutenant Leibin was stunned for a moment, and then he understood that his latest deployment must have threatened the safety of the German army, which is why the German general spoke to him in such an amiable manner.
.After he sneered, he asked: "Mr. General, are you not going to shoot me?"
"How is this possible?" Schmidt originally wanted to get angry, but when he thought of the two artillery divisions in the Sokov defense area, he could only suppress the anger in his heart and tried his best to say in a calm tone: "We just need
It will take time to verify whether what you said is true."
Lei Bin sneered again and asked in a contemptuous tone: "Mr. General, have you figured it out now?"
"It's clear, it's completely clear." People had to bow their heads under the eaves. Now under the muzzle of the Soviet army, Schmidt had no choice but to lower his head: "After careful interrogation, I found out that it was
A misunderstanding. In order to make up for the negative consequences of this misunderstanding, I will send people to safely return you to your defense zone."