Burning Moscow - Chapter 1687

I was worried that Cui Kefu would give orders that would be detrimental to the wounded, and hurriedly said: “General Cui Kefu, immediately arrange for someone to take them to a safe place, and give them enough medicine to treat the wounded as necessary.”

Hearing what I said, Cui Kefu gave me a surprised look and then told Pronin: “Comrade Military Commissioner, have you heard the order given by Lida? Immediately arrange manpower to remove the enemy’s medical staff and injuries. The workers were removed from the underground fortifications and sent to a safe place for resettlement, and provided them with necessary food, water and medicine!”

After Cui Kefu put down the phone, he smiled and said to me: “Lida, did you worry that I ordered all these prisoners to be shot, or that only the medical staff should be taken away, and the wounded and sick would be left behind and let them fend for themselves? “

Seeing that Cui Kefu guessed what was on my mind, I did not hide it. Instead, I nodded and said affirmatively: “Yes, General Cui Kefu, I was worried about this. In previous battles, unless the whole battle is over. , Otherwise the military hospital captured by our army will deal with the two situations you just mentioned.”

“What you are talking about is the past. The fascist bandits have committed heinous crimes against our motherland and people. It is understandable that our officers and fighters have done some excessive things in order to avenge their revenge.” Cui Kefu waved his hand and said: ” However, as we advance step by step to the German mainland, this kind of arbitrary harm to prisoners of war has been ordered to prohibit, and even issued an order to impose severe punishment on this kind of behavior. Therefore, the prisoners of war caught now can generally be He was sent to a prisoner of war camp alive.”

While I was blaming myself for my ignorance, General Guttmann, the deputy commander of the group army commanding the front line, called and reported to Cui Koff: “Comrade Commander, the soldiers of the assault engineer brigade, have used homemade explosive barrels. , Successfully blasted the bottom of the secret police building. The explosion damaged the top of the basement and all the walls of the ground floor. Only dozens of reinforced concrete pillars remained, which were still supporting the rest of the building.”

“How is the enemy in the building?” Cui Kefu heard that the ground floor of the building had been destroyed by explosives, and asked quickly: “Did they surrender their weapons to our army?”

“No, Comrade Commander.” Guttman said with regret: “Although the ground floor of the building has been destroyed by our explosives, the enemies hiding in the basement and the upper floors are still fighting desperately. .”

“General Guttmann, if the enemy does not surrender, we will destroy him!” Cui Koff said categorically: “Since our first blasting failed to destroy the building, then we will come again for the second and third time. We must resist these stubbornly. The fascist bandits in the end are sent to hell.”

But when General Guttmann organized his forces to destroy the German secret police building, our army made progress in other areas. The commanders of the 83rd Regiment of Guards used the tactics I described, blasted through the walls of the building occupied by the Germans, rushed into the building from unexpected positions by the enemy, and engaged in close and hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

After half an hour of fierce fighting, the entire German army holding a company in the building was destroyed. In addition to those killed, 41 officers and soldiers were captured by our army.

Since the troops broke into the German fortress defense area, we prohibited the troops from attacking the German defense center, the core fort, because there was not only a strong defense, but also a mass of heavy German troops. If you attack directly there, it will inevitably put the war in a stalemate.

The tactics adopted by Cui Kefu and I was to besiege the enemy in the core fort instead of attacking, and concentrate our forces to eliminate the enemy in the rest of the fortress area. As long as we clear the periphery, the enemies of the core fort will become a lone army, and it will be easy for us to eliminate them at that time.

However, Zhukov raised objections to our tactics. He called me directly to question me: “Leda, what did you do? Why did you use your main force to sweep the periphery of the fortress area instead of attacking the enemy’s core fort? You know, next to the core fort is a railway. The hub station. This hub station is very important for the supply and transportation of all the troops of the front army. As long as this core fort is not taken for a day, the transportation between us and the front line will not be kept unimpeded. Do you understand?”

“Understood, Comrade Marshal, I understand what you said.” Hearing Zhukov’s reproach, I quickly defended myself: “The reason why we did not use our main force to attack the German core fort , Because considering that the fortifications here are strong, and there are also heavy forces. Even if you attack here, you may not be able to take it down in a short time, and at the same time, it may be attacked by yourself.

Therefore, I made my own claim to let General Cuikov use the main force to sweep the enemy out of the fortress area. After the enemy is eliminated, we can safely attack the enemy boldly. “

After listening to my defense, Zhukov said impatiently: “Well, since you said that, then you should seize the time to clean up the periphery and concentrate your forces on the core fort. I remind you that the time left for you is not enough. Too much, the German army is currently mobilizing troops to the Oder River and launching a counter-assault on the 1st Guards Army that has established a landing field there.”

After the conversation with Zhukov was over, I put down the phone and asked, “General Cuikov, how long will it take for our troops to clear the perimeter of the fortress?”

Cui Kefu frowned and thought for a while, and replied: “I guess it will take three to five days at the earliest.” After saying this, he asked me with concern, “Comrade Marshal is calling again to urge us to speed up the attack. Yet?”

“Yes,” I nodded and said affirmatively: “He said that there is an important railway transportation hub next to the core fort. As long as the core fort is taken, the supply transportation between us and the front line will become unimpeded. .”

“Just take down the core fort without sweeping away the surrounding enemies.” Chief of Staff Vladimirov said: “As long as there are enemies near the transportation line, then we can’t ensure normal transportation. .”

“Today’s General Pronin’s persuasion to surrender is not bad.” Cui Koff concluded: “It seems that we must strengthen political propaganda against the Germans while we are offensive, so that they can wake up as soon as possible and stop unnecessary resistance.”

After hearing what Trikov said, Deputy Commander Dukhanov shook his head and said with a wry smile: “Comrade Commander, according to our interrogation of the prisoners, we learned that the commander of the fortress is a Gorner. The major general of the SS is Himmler’s favorite general, but also a die-hard Nazi. I think it is impossible for him to lay down his arms and surrender to us.”

He paused for a moment and said: “I heard a captured major say that in order to strengthen everyone’s determination to stick to the fortress, Gonell has killed many vacillated officers and soldiers, even civilians who are unwilling to join the’People’s Stormtrooper’. , They will be shot directly without trial, and their bodies will be hung on street lights or on the balcony to warn those who are not determined.”

“If this is really the case, then things will be difficult.” Cui Kefu said with a complicated expression: “After fighting for so long, it seems that no SS officer has voluntarily surrendered to our army. It seems this Gone Major General You is ready to fight to the end.”

“I think so.” Dukhanov nodded and said: “As long as he does not die for a day, I think it is simply impossible for the defenders of the fortress to surrender formally.”

Vladimirov continued: “Comrade Deputy Commander, I think you are too pessimistic. Even if Goner wants to resist to the end, it does not mean that all German officers and soldiers have the same mindset as him. As long as our persuasion work is done. Well, I believe that more and more German soldiers will lay down their weapons and surrender to us.”

After listening to his subordinates’ speeches, Cui Kefu did not immediately express his views, but looked at me and asked: “Lida, what do you think?”

“General Dukhanov has just said that the commander of the fortress Gorner is a diehard Nazi. He guessed that he knew very well that even if he surrendered to our army, he would not end well, so he planned to resist. In the end. At the same time, I also agree with the Chief of Staff’s point that not all German officers and soldiers are die-hards like them.” I looked at the generals in front of me and talked: “We continue to sweep the perimeter of the fortress area. The position, while concentrating heavy artillery in the direction of the core fort, using artillery fire to suppress and deter the enemies here, so that they dare not leave the fortress easily, so they can only stay in there with fear and fear. When their mental breakdown is about to be dispatched People who try to persuade them to surrender will surely achieve a multiplier effect with half the effort.”

“This method is not bad. It will take a few days for us to clean up the enemies on the periphery. If we continue to use heavy artillery shelling at the German core fort during these few days, when we attack there, the German fortress will be a strong fortress. It should be almost destroyed by us.” Cui Koff made a decisive decision, “Relocate the 29th Guards Corps troops to besiege the core fort, and the rest of the troops will continue to be responsible for sweeping away the enemies outside.”

The next day, in order to observe the effect of our army’s shelling of the core fort, I, Trikov, and Deputy Commander Dukhanov came to the National Theater in the fortress area. Here, we met Shemenkov, commander of the 29th Army of the Guards, whose army command is located in the manager’s office of the theater.

Seeing a group of us come here, he couldn’t help asking in a little panic: “Comrades, why are you here? You must know that it is not safe here. It may be bombarded by the enemy’s artillery deployed at the core fort at any time.”

“It doesn’t matter, Comrade Shemenkov, since you are not afraid of staying here, what is terrible about us.” Cui Koff said disapprovingly: “We are here today to see the effects of the shelling.”

At this moment, our heavy artillery is bombarding the outer wall of the core fort. Hearing Trikov’s words, Shemenkov had no choice but to say: “Well, Comrade Commander, since you are here to check the effects of the shelling. Then once the shelling is over, I’ll take you to the top of the building to have a look. But please promise me that you must leave after reading, and I must be responsible for your safety.”

“Okay, okay,” Cui Kefu didn’t want to conflict with his subordinates who care about him, and nodded his head and promised: “I assure you, as long as I check the results of the shelling, I will leave immediately.”

When the rumbling of cannons stopped outside, Shemenkov was still worried and called the observation post on the top of the building. After confirming that the shelling had ended, she reluctantly led us to the top floor of the theater.

I stood on the top of the building and raised my binoculars to look at the fortress in the distance, and found that the core fort was a fortification group also surrounded by trenches. If the German shooting holes on the wall were not destroyed, our tank would have been driven to the side of the trench. It will also be destroyed by German anti-tank fighters hiding behind.

While I was watching, I suddenly heard Shemenkov shout in surprise: “Look at it, the Hitler bandits played the white flag and began to surrender to our army!”

“Where, where?” Although the commanders standing on the top of the building have a telescope in their hands, after listening to Shemenkov’s words, they still asked in unison: “Why didn’t I see it?”

“At the shooting hole on the right side of the fortress entrance!” Shemenkov excitedly pointed out the direction to everyone: “One, two, three, four… There are seven shooting holes with white flags sticking out. It seems that they were scared by our shelling. broken,”

Although I also saw the white flag protruding from the shooting hole, I was full of doubts: Did the Germans surrender? We must know that the commander of the fortress is a major general of the SS. Can he watch his men surrender to us? My heart was full of doubts, but I didn’t express my opinion casually, just holding up the binoculars, quietly observing the development of the situation.

The gate of the fortress was opened, and more than forty German officers and soldiers wearing steel helmets and no weapons walked out of the gate with their hands raised, preparing to pass the stone bridge on the trench and walk towards our army position.

But when they walked to the middle of the stone bridge ~www.mtlnovel.com~ a cloud of smoke suddenly rose up among the crowd, and then there was a faint explosion. Seven or eight German soldiers who were walking forward planted upright. Into the trench. The rest of the German soldiers stopped quickly and stood in a daze.

“What’s going on?” Trikov put down his binoculars, turned his head and looked at Shemenkov and asked sternly: “Did you not see that the enemy came out to surrender to us? Why did you shoot them?”

“Comrade Commander, I didn’t order the troops to fire.” Shemenkov replied aggrievedly: “Moreover, our soldiers are not blind. You can tell at a glance that the enemy is ready to surrender to us. How could it be possible to attack them? How about firing?”

As soon as his words fell, I saw the shooting hole in the fortress wall began to shoot. The dense bullets hit the mud on the bridge floor and jumped up like a pot. The German soldiers standing on the bridge exploded with a cloud of blood mist. The body twitched violently like an electric shock. In the end, it was not planted. When he entered the trench, he fell on the bridge.

Seeing dozens of soldiers, in just one or two minutes, they all crossed the corpses of the bridge, and I immediately understood what was going on. So he put down his telescope and said to Cui Kefu, “General Cui Kefu was done by the Germans. Their commanders did not surrender to us like their subordinates, so they killed them all.”