Everyone came to a coffee shop by the lake. Maybe it was because of the festival, but it was packed with people. Sokov looked around for a long time, but he didn't see any vacancies. Just when he was about to leave, a middle-aged man
When he came to him, he said with a smile: "Hello, Comrade General! I am the manager of this coffee shop. I wonder if there is anything I can do for you."
"Hello, Comrade Manager." Sokov nodded to the other party, and then said: "I will sit here to drink coffee and eat something, but it seems that there is no room for you!"
"Comrade General, if it were someone else, there might not be a seat, but since you are the one looking for a seat, I will definitely arrange it for you." The manager said to Sokov respectfully: "Please come with me, Comrade General, I will give you a seat."
Please arrange a quiet room."
Soon, Sokov and others sat in the room specially arranged for them by the manager. Not long after they sat down, two waitresses came in with trays and put down the coffee, sugar cubes and some pastries on the trays.
Then he left.
The manager said to Sokov: "Comrade General, I'm right next door. If you need anything, just call me."
After the manager left, Asiya asked in surprise: "Misha, do you know this manager?"
"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and replied: "It's the first time we met today." When he said this, he was also wondering in his heart, could it be that this manager had met him before, otherwise it would be impossible for him to meet him.
I am so enthusiastic. As for the fact that this person is not in my memory, it may be because I have met too many people and forgot about it for a while.
Sokov took a sip of coffee and began to recall information about Gavrilov.
In real history, after Gavrilov was rescued, he was indeed appointed as the head of a prisoner of war camp in Siberia. But soon after, due to large-scale disarmament, disabled soldiers like him could no longer stay in the army.
After returning to his hometown, he worked in a farm and a pottery factory, but he was dismissed because of his experience as a prisoner. As a result, this man who graduated from a prestigious school and had rich experience and was nearly fifty years old was forced to
Looking for jobs everywhere and making ends meet by doing odd jobs.
Later, Gavrilov, who was lonely and poor, met a woman with the same miserable fate. The two formed a new family to support each other. They lived in a remote and broken adobe house without any children. This was how they lived.
A few years later, when Gavrilov learned that his ex-wife was still alive, he immediately rushed to the home for the disabled in Berest Oblast, took his ex-wife back, and together with his current wife, took care of him.
, until her death.
What really changed Gavrilov's fate was a writer named Sergei Smirnov. This person liked to study the history of the Patriotic War. When looking through historical archives, he noticed some survivors, among whom was Gavrilov.
Frilov. Since there was too little information about Brest Fortress, Smirnov wanted to dig out as many of these stories as possible, so after a lot of searching and interviews, he wrote the book "Brest Fortress".
This book caused a huge sensation as soon as it came out. The stories of the soldiers in the Brest Fortress who tenaciously resisted the enemy are touching. Many data prove that the vast majority of Soviet soldiers in the fortress are tenacious, and some
They did not surrender to the enemy until their death, and many of the captured commanders and fighters were incapacitated due to long-term poverty and had no choice but to become prisoners...
In 1955, Soviet Radio broadcast a program called "Searching for the Heroes of Brest Fortress" and called on people from all over the country to actively provide clues, thus launching a nationwide search for heroes. Gavrilov was in this situation
Next, he called the radio station and told the other party: "I am Major Gavrilov, the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment who was captured during the war."
When the news spread through the radio, the entire public opinion was boiling, and Gavrilov suddenly became the focus. His life changed as a result. He had a new residence, various interviews, and speaking invitations came one after another.
Frilov also began writing a memoir telling the story of his past.
In 1957 he was awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" and received the Gold Star Medal and the Order of Lenin.
Although Gavrilov finally received his honor after waiting for more than ten years, the waiting process was too long. If he had not lived long enough, I am afraid that he would have died the day he died.
He couldn't get people's recognition. But since Sokov had an intersection with him, he decided to let Gavrilov get his share of honors in advance in his own way.
"Misha, Misha!" Asia saw Sokov holding the cup in a daze, guessing that he must be thinking about something again, and quickly pushed him with her hand. Waiting for his eyes to return to hers
After putting it on his body, he asked with concern: "Are you okay? You have been in a daze holding the cup for several minutes. Did you think of something?"
"Yes, I did think of something important." Sokov put down the cup in his hand, looked at Gavrilov opposite and said, "Comrade Major, I may have to tell you some bad news."
"Bad news?" Hearing what Sokov said, Gavrilov couldn't help but become nervous: "Comrade General, didn't you just say that my wife and children might still be alive? Are you lying to me?
Were they actually killed by the Germans?"
Sokov was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the other party had misunderstood what he meant. He quickly waved his hand and said: "Comrade Major, you have misunderstood. What I am going to say next has nothing to do with your wife and children, but with you."
A direct relationship.”
"So that's it." After learning that what Sokov was about to say had nothing to do with his wife and children, Gavrilov breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "As long as it has nothing to do with my wife and adopted son.
, then I feel much more at ease.”
"That's it." After Sokov waited for Gavrilov to calm down, he told him his analysis: "With the end of the war, our huge army will definitely have some outstanding military achievements due to large-scale disarmament.
The troops are also within the scope of disbandment. As a result, I am afraid that a considerable number of personnel will be disbanded in the prisoner of war camp where you are located. You are now a disabled soldier, and the possibility of being disbanded is very high. If it is really disbanded,
what's your plan?"
"What other plans can there be?" Gavrilov did not expect that what Sokov was going to say to him was actually such a thing. He smiled bitterly and said: "I resolutely obey the arrangements of my superiors and let me manage.
I will manage the prisoner-of-war camp; I will have no problem if I am demobilized and returned home. Whether it is a factory or a rural area, I will work wherever my superiors arrange for me to work.”…
"Comrade Major, I'm afraid things are not as simple as you think." Thinking of Gavrilov's tragic experience in the next ten years, Sokov felt a little unbearable: "You will definitely be in your file.
Records of being captured. Once the person who arranges the work knows that you have been captured, they will deliberately make things difficult for you." Sokov said with a wry smile, "If I have certain authority, I will definitely find a way to take care of you.
.But now I am also unemployed at home, and I am afraid that it will be a matter of time before I retire from the army."
"Comrade General, I understand what you mean." From Sokov's words, Gavrilov realized that the fate he would face next would be more difficult than he imagined. If his superiors ordered him to retire,
But the record of being captured in the file bag will become a stain in his life, and he may encounter various difficulties when looking for a job. However, he still said confidently: "If I can't stay in the factory, I will go
The collective farm, maybe I can find a suitable job there."
"Comrade Major, I just had a new idea, which is to write a story about the Brest Fortress." Sokov looked at Gavrilov and said: "The protagonists in the book are you, the defenders of the fortress.
Or, let more people know how they fought against the enemy after the war broke out. I wonder if you are willing to help me? "
When he learned that Sokov was going to write a novel about the Brest Fortress, Gavrilov couldn't help but get excited. He breathed a little and asked: "Comrade General, is there anything I can do for you?"
"You only need to share your own experience and the performance of the soldiers in the battle to defend the fortress, and I can transform your story into words, so that more people can understand that after the battle breaks out, no matter how fast the enemy advances,
Very quickly, but behind them, there are still our army’s commanders and fighters fighting tenaciously.”
"That's great, Comrade General, that's great." Gavrilov said movedly: "Whatever you want to know, just ask me. I will definitely tell you everything I know.
you."
"In my book, you will be an important character." Sokov continued: "I want to tell all readers through words that you are a soldier who has defended the country with your life, even though you were once captured by the German army.
, but he is neither a coward nor a traitor, but a true hero."
Hearing that Sokov planned to write a book for Gavrilov, Asya put her hand on the back of Sokov's hand and said softly: "Misha, I support you in writing such a book, like Gavrilov
Heroes like Major Love should not be forgotten by everyone."
"You're flattering me." Gavrilov heard Sokov and Asiya's praise for him, and said with some embarrassment: "I just fulfilled the duties of a soldier."
Then, Sokov took out a pen and paper and began to ask Gavrilov about some details of the defensive operations. He couldn't remember whether Commissar Fomin was with Gavrilov after the fortress defense battle began. As for what happened next,
Since Ming was captured and sacrificed, there is no way to ask further questions.
"Comrade Major," Sokov, after recording four or five pages of what Gavrilov said, looked up at him and asked, "I heard that the enemy used a flamethrower in the underground bunker, causing the walls to be destroyed.
It was burned to the point of crystallization. Is this possible?”…..
Faced with the question raised by Sokov, Gavrilov thought carefully and then replied: "Whether the Germans used flamethrowers in underground bunkers, I did not see it with my own eyes and I don't know.
But in order to quickly break through our army's defense, they used fire-breathing tanks to spray fire into the buildings defended by our army's officers and men. When the flames sprayed past, many officers and men covered in fire would run out of the building.
, some of them were shot to death by the German soldiers following the fire-breathing tanks, and some were burned alive."
When Gavrilov recalled this experience, he seemed to see his subordinates dying tragically under the enemy's fire-breathing tanks. He unconsciously clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. If he were in front of him at this moment,
If several Germans appeared, Sokov had no doubt that he would rush forward and deal with them with fists and teeth.
"Calm down, calm down, Comrade Major." Seeing that Gavrilov was a little excited, Sokov quickly comforted him and said, "These are things in the past. You have to maintain a normal mentality."
After hearing what Sokov said, Gavrilov quickly took a few deep breaths, stabilized his emotions, and said apologetically to Sokov: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, I think of those comrades who died in front of me.
I can't hold back my hatred for the Germans in my heart, please forgive me for my gaffe."
"This is normal, Comrade Major." Sokov said reasonably: "After the Battle of Stalingrad, when groups of German prisoners were escorted by our army and walked out of the city,
Occasionally, soldiers who lost their temper because of the sacrifice of their comrades would appear on the roadside and shoot at the prisoners' team, killing the prisoners."
"Misha, I was in Stalingrad at that time, why haven't I seen this?" Asya asked curiously.
"The reason is very simple." Sokov said to Asiya with a smile: "In the later stages of the Battle of Stalingrad, you basically stayed in the operating room to treat the wounded. It is normal for you not to know what is happening outside.
"
"Oh, so that's it. I'm just wondering why I've never seen this happen before."
"Comrade General, I heard that the battle to defend Stalingrad was very difficult." Gavrilov asked cautiously: "It is said that the 62nd Army commanded by General Chuikov had more than 100,000 people before the battle began.
, by the end of the battle, there were only more than 300 people left. I don’t know whether this rumor is true or false.”
Regarding Gavrilov's question, Sokov organized the vocabulary in his mind, and then said: "Comrade Major, it's really difficult for me to answer your question. You know, although the 62nd Army's troops suffered unusual casualties,
It was tragic, but troops entered the city from the left bank of the Volga River every day to replenish the troops that had been severely damaged in the battle. Therefore, how many troops did the 62nd Group Army have? Not to mention that I was just a small division commander at the time. I am afraid even the commander of the group army Chuikov
General, there is no accurate file. You just need to remember one thing. In order to defend this city named after the leader, our officers and soldiers paid an unprecedented price."
"You are right, Comrade General." Gavrilov nodded and said in a positive tone: "In order to defend this heroic city, our army paid huge casualties. But in order to completely defeat the German aggression
Or, no matter how high the price is, it is still something we can accept. Don’t you think so, Comrade General?!"