"Mom, how long are we going to go?" A boy asked his mother. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"Work harder and we'll be there soon. When you get to a safe place, you can eat a lot of bread. “

The little boy's heart was filled with courage, and he did not know that if he had not fled with his mother, a tragic fate would await him. Now he only knows that if he follows the army, he will definitely be able to eat, let alone spend the night in this heavy snow.

He was part of a force of more than 1,000 men, consisting mainly of Jews, and more than 200 lost Soviet troops were armed to defend them.

Soviet battalion commander Alexander Bogdanov, his unit participated in the Ukrainian campaign, his battalion was reduced by more than half in the war, and in the case of isolation, he did not choose to surrender, but retreated eastward with hundreds of thousands of friendly and neighboring troops, everyone tried to break through the resistance of the German Guderian department, but the plan failed. Because the retreating crowd abandoned almost all heavy weapons and was demoralized and simply could not compete with the German blocking forces.

Therefore, Alexander did not continue to march east to die, he led the last 200 or so men to simply retreat north, trying to withdraw into Belarus, or the Bryansk region, as long as they entered the forest area, even if they fought guerrilla attacks were better than stupid surrender.

On the way to retreat, the armed forces came across a German transit camp, where they found a large number of ordinary Soviet citizens.

Raid battles ensued! A company of German troops guarded a large number of Jews, of all ages, waiting to be loaded onto trucks and transported to distant lands.

These Jews and civilians were powerless to resist because of the German intimidation, and the sudden arrival of the Soviet army completely saved them.

Alexander saved more than 1,000 people, including teenagers and white-bearded old men, and more than 400 people could afford to hold guns.

Alexander ordered to take everything that could be used, and the soldiers ransacked this transit station. Here he discovered the German radio station, which was adjusted to the band used by the Soviet army, and immediately transmitted a signal to the surrounding area.

When the cold snap was raging, this ragged team relied on limited food and the cover of the forest to advance.

They tried to get to Gomel and then head east along the side of the road.

Alexander felt that when he went to Gomel, the indomitable local people would definitely send some food to solve their urgent needs, but they did not expect them to refuse directly.

But the situation took a major turn for the worse.

The mayor of the Gomel underground ordered: "All of you immediately move to the southwest, along the west bank of the frozen Dnieper, into the Plipet marshes, where the 284th Guards Division is stationed. The mayor knew that the actual leader of this unit belonged to the Southwestern Front, and immediately emphasized: "The 284th Division is also under the Southwestern Front, and they want you to immediately change the course and join the division." What awaits you is bread and salt! “

The temptation of food is hard to resist, not to mention the fact that it is a real friendly army.

Alexander immediately mobilized for action, hoping that everyone would continue to be patient and help the old and young to move the whole army to the southwest.

This ragged and hungry army marched through the bitter cold, and every night someone could not sleep.

Early in the morning, Alexander inspected the camp, and in the middle of that time the soldiers had begun to put together the frozen corpses for counting.

An elderly couple hugging and freezing to death, and a woman carrying her baby to death. The corpses were frozen like ice, and the soldiers carried them away in a reasonable manner.

"It's so miserable! It goes on like this, and people freeze to death every night. Sir, how long do we have to get there? One soldier asked anxiously.

"It's coming! We will soon cross the frozen Dnieper, and on the other side of the river we will head straight south. “

The soldier sighed, all around was white, only the forest was black, where was the road ahead? Perhaps only the intelligence to continue southward is completely correct, because this is the only hope for all.

The soldiers were still carrying the corpses, and an elderly man crouched beside the pile of corpses and did the rabbin's work. There were no candlesticks, no ritual utensils, and the elders prayed for the dead by reciting Jewish scriptures.

The frenzied persecution of theists in the Soviet Union came to an abrupt end after the end of the self-purge. Alexander saw many Jews half-kneeling, and he did not stop them.

"For us, the camp of the 284th Division is like Canaan, a land of wine and honey. And you are like Moses, guiding people through tribulation to their destination. It's the only thing we can trust, so we're all trying to stay alive now. A Jewish militiaman said to Alexander.

"Alright! At this time, it is better for people to have faith. I believe in communism and believe that the human mind can overcome extreme weather. And you Jews believe in the blessing of your Jehovah. So we have no choice but to leave these dead people behind and move on. “

The elderly are the most vulnerable to freezing to death, and children are the future of everything. The only food had to ensure the children's rations, and the soldiers had to go hungry.

The cold wind blows the frozen Dnieper, which has been cold for many days, and the river is frozen enough for people and animals to advance.

Clusters of black shadows marched in front of the ice, like penguins.

On the other hand, having received information about the presence of such a unit, the perimeter sentinels on the periphery of the 284th Division, which served as a guard, were ordered to keep their eyes open.

Alexander led his troops through the Dnieper, where he immediately ordered the fighters who had mastered the radio station to send a signal at once.

In the telegraph room located at the headquarters of the 284th Division, the red light of the radio suddenly sounded.

The dozing radio player immediately woke up, and this was the first time that the 284th Division made contact with this predominantly Jewish force.

Yang Mingzhi and Yevlov immediately broke into the telegraph room. "Let them report the approximate location of the river crossing at once! Tell them we'll send in a quick response! “

Alexander received such a response, but he did not know where he was. He reported the location of his crossing, and the river was a series of swiggles.

Based on this alone, Yang Mingzhi and the others immediately learned their location.

"It's noon, and they're thirty kilometers away. It's still too late for us to send our troops to meet them. Yevlov said.

"But we got there as fast as we could, and the sun had set. And then what to do? Yang Mingzhi was even terrible at night, they lacked food and warm clothes, and people froze to death every night. Now that they are about to arrive at the base area, how can they let people freeze to death again?!

Yang Mingzhi thought for a moment, "This time, we dispatched more horse-drawn sleds to prepare a large number of stalls and food. We took some canned food from stock, as well as milk powder made in Heitu Village. “

"Well, that's a great thing to do. I now ordered them to continue south, and the pilot, Podovich, took to the air with a radio and told us where they were, and gave them a powerful shot in the arm. "Yevlov has full authority to deal with this matter, so Yang Mingzhi does not have to worry." In the afternoon, you don't have to worry about receiving these refugees and routs, and let Fumin, who is also a Jew, deal with it. You can continue to instruct the militia in their training. (To be continued.) )