Paul, who was helped by two soldiers to sit up, originally looked like he was dying. When he saw the Order of the Red Banner that Samoilov put on him, his face suddenly lit up and he became energetic.
After Samoilov put the medal on Paul, he immediately took two steps back and made way for Sokov. Sokov stepped forward and held Paul's hand, smiled and said to him: "Paul
Comrade, congratulations on winning the Order of the Red Banner. In addition, I want to tell you the good news that you have been officially promoted to the rank of captain. You can go to the rear to recuperate in peace and quiet. When you return to the army, I plan to let you do battalion duty.
long."
"Serve the Soviet Motherland!" Paul said with red eyes what he should say after receiving the medal. Then he held Sokov's hand tightly and said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, thank you. If you hadn't arranged it,
If I advance to the military brigade, I probably won’t have the chance to get medals or be promoted.”
Sokov understands Paul's mood very well. No matter how outstanding your performance was in the past, as long as you become a prisoner of the German army, you will be put into another book and it will be difficult for you to stand up again. But Paul
In his own army, he can enjoy equal treatment and be promoted and decorated like other commanders and soldiers. This is something that is simply unimaginable in other armies.
Sokov knew that talking too much would lead to mistakes, so he didn't say much. He just encouraged Paul a few words and then let go of Paul's hand. After Sokov stepped back, Lunev and Samyko also started talking.
He stepped forward to shake hands with Paul and said a few words of comfort to him.
After the short and crude investiture ceremony, Sokov and others walked out of the tent.
Seeing a military doctor standing not far away, Sokov walked over and said to him: "Comrade military doctor, I see that Captain Paul's injury is not serious. It may be difficult to get ideal treatment here. It is better to send him as soon as possible."
Go to the military hospital in Moscow."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." The military doctor nodded and said to Sokov: "Tonight, a group of seriously wounded people will be sent back to Moscow. I can arrange for Captain Paul to leave with these wounded people."
Sokov thought that this place was almost 600 kilometers away from Moscow, and then thought about the bad road conditions in Russia. He couldn't help but asked worriedly: "It will take more than ten hours to drive from here to Moscow at the fastest. The injured are on such a bumpy road.
Go on, can you hold on for that long?”
"Comrade Commander, you don't have to worry." The military doctor explained to Sokov: "We only need to use ambulances to transport the wounded to the train station in Oboyan, and then transport the wounded to Moscow by train, so that the wounded can be spared."
The pain of bumps along the way will reduce unnecessary casualties along the way."
"I really didn't expect that the Oboyan train station would be put back into use so soon." Lunev said with emotion: "But it's good, the wounded can return to Moscow by train. You know, many of the wounded did not die.
On the battlefield, they all died unfortunately because they could not withstand the bumps in transit, resulting in aggravated injuries."
The three returned to the headquarters.
Luniev asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, are we still going to continue the screening and review of rescued commanders and combatants?"
"Of course, Comrade Military Commissar, this is a task assigned to us by our superiors, and it must be completed to the letter." After Sokov said this righteously, he lowered his tone and said to Lunev: "But these
The commanders and soldiers have not been captured for a long time, so there should not be much of a problem. You can relax some standards appropriately during the screening and review. Do you understand?"
"Understood." Lunev knew that the current war situation was tense and there was an urgent need for a large number of commanders and fighters to supplement the severely attrited troops. If the original standards were still followed, it would take at least one or two months to complete the screening and review of more than 30,000 commanders and fighters. "I
This work will be completed as soon as possible.”
Sokov nodded and turned to Samek: "Chief of Staff, how is the battle on the front line? How much time does it take to completely annihilate the besieged 255th Infantry Division?"
"Our troops have rushed into the residential area from different directions and are fighting for the building with the enemies who are holding on to the building." Sameko replied: "I estimate that the battle can be resolved in two hours at most.
"
"I don't need your estimate, I want to hear a definite answer."
Sameko straightened up quickly and replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, our army can completely eliminate the 255th Infantry Division that is besieged by us within two hours."
The entrance to the basement where the German Chief of Staff was guarding was blocked with firepower, preventing the Soviet troops from rushing into the basement. Instead, fifty or sixty people were killed or injured.
After Shamrih learned the news, he came to the building in person. He stood not far from the entrance and took a look, and then told the soldiers: "No need to rush in anymore, just throw the grenade in. Since
If they don't surrender, we will completely destroy them."
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Yakuda heard Shamrih giving such an order and quickly reminded him: "According to the intelligence we have, the German division commander and chief of staff are below. If you throw a grenade directly,
I'm afraid none of them will survive."
"Deputy Battalion Commander, not long ago, I had the idea of capturing them alive so that when I see the commander, I can have a bright face." Shamrih shook his head and said: "But look at us now.
We sacrificed dozens of soldiers, and we didn’t even rush through the basement door. If we had to capture the enemy commander alive, we don’t know how many casualties we would have to pay.”
"Execute the order, Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander." After Shamrih finished speaking, seeing Yakov still standing there in a daze, he raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "Finally, use cluster grenades to blow up the basement.
Collapse and bury all these damn German bandits alive in it."
As the order was given, the Yakuda fighters tied the grenades together to make cluster grenades, pulled the strings and threw them inside.
After bursts of earth-shaking explosions, thick smoke billowed out of the basement door. Shamrih felt that the whole building was shaking, and immediately realized that something was wrong, and quickly shouted: "Everyone, listen
My order is to evacuate the building quickly, the building will collapse soon."
As Shamrih shouted, the commanders and soldiers who had thrown grenades into the basement ran out of the building in panic. There were also individual soldiers who ran upstairs along the stairs to call their comrades upstairs to retreat together.
After most of the commanders and fighters escaped from the building, the already overwhelmed building swayed a few times before collapsing, and huge clouds of dust rose into the sky.
After the disgraced Shamrih and others withdrew from the dust range, Yakuda said with lingering fear: "Comrade Battalion Commander, fortunately you decisively issued the retreat order, otherwise at least more than half of us would have been crushed under the collapsed
In the building.”
Shamrih looked at the looming buildings in the dust and felt that even if the people from the German command headquarters were still alive, it would be absolutely impossible to climb out of the ruins. He turned to his men and said: "Comrades, let's go to other places."
Go to the building."
At this moment, a soldier not far away shouted loudly: "Comrade Battalion Commander, come quickly and take a look!"
"What's the matter?" Shamrih walked up to the soldier and asked somewhat unhappily: "It's worth your shouting."
"Comrade Battalion Commander, come and take a look." The soldier pulled Shamrih to a pile of corpses scattered around and said to him: "Here is an unexpected harvest for you."
"Unexpected harvest?" Shamrih looked at the corpses underground and remembered that when they tried to run through the open space to another building, they were shot by machine guns and mortars he set up on the roof not far away.
Dead. After staring at the corpse for a while, he squatted down next to a corpse and asked, "What did you find?"
"Here, this is the corpse," the soldier pointed to a corpse and said to Shamrih: "You can't see that he is just wearing the uniform of an ordinary soldier, but he is an important person."
Shamrih stared at the face of the corpse and found that it was an older man, which looked a little out of place with the soldier uniform he was wearing. He felt that this must be an important person, so he continued to ask the soldier:
"Did you find anything useful on him?"
"Comrade Battalion Commander, this was found from his body." The soldier handed a document to Shamrih: "Although I can't understand the words on it, but looking at the big-brimmed hat he is wearing, it must be
He’s a big guy!”
Fortunately, Shamrih knew a few Germans. After he carefully checked the corpse's ID, he excitedly patted the soldier on the shoulder and said to him excitedly: "Comrade soldier, you have done a good job. This corpse
The corpse is indeed not simple, he is not an ordinary soldier, but the commander of the 255th Infantry Division."
"What, the commander of the German 255th Division was killed by us?" Upon hearing what Shamrih said, the surrounding commanders and soldiers all rushed over to see what the German division commander looked like.
After confirming the identity of the German division commander, Shamrich became excited. He quickly handed over the operator and ordered him: "Get through to the brigade headquarters immediately. I want to report to the brigade commander in person that we are fighting.
We killed the German division commander, and other members of the division headquarters were also buried by us in the ruins of the building."
After receiving Shamrich's report, Chuvashov was stunned for a moment, and then asked in an unbelievable tone: "Major Shamrich, are you really sure that the commander of the German 255th Infantry Division has been killed by you?
"
"Yes, Comrade Brigadier." Shamrih replied in a positive tone: "His ID is in my hand. I have studied German for a period of time with the translator in the army. I can use the ID to
Recognize the other party’s identity and position.”
Although Shamrich had already said this, Chuvashov still felt that the matter was like a dream, so he immediately ordered him: "Then you immediately arrange for the manpower to send the body of the German division commander over and hand it over to someone you know."
His people come to identify it.”
In response to Chuvashov's order, Shamrih readily agreed: "Understood, comrade brigade commander, I will immediately send two trustworthy soldiers to deliver the division commander's body to you."
"Move quickly," Chuvasov urged: "Once I confirm that the person killed by you is the commander of the 255th Infantry Division, I need to report to the army headquarters immediately."
"Don't worry, comrade brigade commander." Shamrih assured Chuvashov on the phone: "The corpse I gave you must be that of the German division commander."
After ending the call with Chuvashov, Shamrih ordered Yakuda: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, I think you should lead a few people to carry the body of the German soldier to the brigade headquarters. I guess if the brigade commander
If you're in a good mood, I might be able to award you a medal when the battle is over."
For honor-loving Russians, being able to win a medal is something worth showing off. Yakuda has been fighting non-stop since the outbreak of the Soviet-German war. However, except when defending Stalingrad
, except for winning one medal once, I have missed out on all the medals in the rest of my life. I would miss them every time due to various accidents.
At this time, I heard Shamrih say that if he sent the body of the German division commander to the brigade headquarters, he would have a chance to get a medal. No fool would seize such an opportunity, so he quickly agreed, called a few soldiers over, and said
He carried a simple stretcher and rushed to where the brigade headquarters was.
When Chuvashov saw the corpse of the German division commander, he was a little unsure. After all, German commanders were afraid of death and often set up their headquarters dozens of kilometers away from the battlefield. He had never seen the other party at all.
Naturally, we don’t know whether the owner of this corpse is the German division commander.
"Comrade division commander," when Chuvasov was in a dilemma, the chief of staff said close to his ear: "Although none of us know what a German division commander looks like, the German officers and soldiers do. We can call two prisoners
Come here and let them identify him personally to confirm whether he is their division commander."
"This is a good idea." Chuvasov quickly shouted outside: "Here comes someone!"
After hearing the shouting, a captain came in from outside. He stopped in front of Chuvashov and asked respectfully: "Comrade Brigadier, what are your instructions?"
Chuvashov pointed at the other party and ordered: "Comrade Captain, you immediately go find the two captured German officers and ask them to come over and identify who this body is."
When the captain went out to take the prisoners, the impatient chief of staff asked tentatively: "Comrade brigade commander, do you think we need to report this news to comrade commander immediately?"
"Wait a moment," Chuvashov waved his hands and said, "Although we have obtained the certificate of the German division commander and the body of a suspected German division commander. However, these alone are not enough. We must also let the German officers and soldiers verify it.
Please confirm whether this body is that of the German division commander. Once we have a thorough understanding, it will not be too late to report it to Comrade Commander."
Soon, the captain walked in with two German officers. Yakuda looked at the ranks of the two men. The younger one was a second lieutenant and the older one was a lieutenant. Based on their ranks, they must know their division commander.