"But, comrade commander, what the hell is going on?" When Chistyakov heard me say this, he asked with some bewilderment: "You must know that the Germans have almost completely lost their ability to resist, and as soon as our men rush over, they may obediently raise their hands and surrender." ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, have you forgotten about the 1243rd Regiment?" I sighed softly and said leisurely, "Even if Lieutenant Colonel Lukin didn't give any orders to the troops, I estimate that the commanders and fighters below will be red-eyed after seeing the casualties in their robes. Not to mention that the Germans are still stubbornly resisting in many areas, even if they don't resist, they obediently stand on the side of the road and raise their hands to surrender, as long as the commanders and fighters of the 375th Infantry Division see the people in front of them, wearing a uniform different from their own, they will immediately sweep over. ”

After listening to my explanation, Chistyakov's brows tightened, he looked at me and said with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, this is not good, although the Germans have a blood feud with us, but since they have laid down their arms, we should give them the prisoner treatment they deserve." ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander," said Kirillov, who had always been taciturn, without waiting for me to speak, "you say that we should give the Germans the treatment of prisoners they deserve, but how do the Germans treat our captured soldiers?" The enemy's prisoner of war camps were located far from the battle line, and they had no extra trucks and trains to transport the prisoners of war, so they let our soldiers walk hundreds of kilometers. In addition to many exhausted fighters dying on the road from starvation and disease, they also shot and killed those who had straggled. At this point, he slammed his fist on the table and raised his voice, "The blood debt must be paid with blood, and now is the time for us to repay the blood debt from them." ”

Chistyakov didn't expect that his very casual words would actually anger Kirillov, who was like a good old man, and even made him say these words with righteous indignation, and the whole person was stunned.

When I saw this, I hurriedly came out to play the round. I first said to Kirillov: "Okay, Comrade Military Commissar, we all know what you said. Then he turned to Chistyakov and said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, we, as senior commanders of the group army, only need to draw up an operational plan and issue it to the divisional commander. As long as we can achieve the final victory, how the battle should be fought, we should not interfere too much. ”

"Yes, yes, Comrade Commander is right." As soon as my words fell, Bezikov echoed in order to ease the tension in the headquarters. "As long as we can eliminate this enemy who has broken into our defense zone, even if Lieutenant Colonel Lukin's troops can't capture a single prisoner, it will be a great victory." Then he flashed a friendly smile at Chistyakov, "Besides, General Nekrasov's 52nd Guards Division should not have taken thousands of prisoners, and handing over these prisoners to his superiors would be the result of our entire army group." ”

With the steps given by me and Bezkov, Chistyakov, after a moment of hesitation, raised his hand and saluted Kirillov, and then said respectfully: "Comrade Military Commissar, you are right. Fascist bandits have committed so many heinous crimes on our soil, and we really can't be too merciful to them. ”

"Alright, alright," Seeing the two shaking hands and making peace, I quickly diverted the topic and said: "Deputy commander, military commissar, let's discuss the direction of our group army's actions after capturing Smilla. ”

My words immediately attracted Chistyakov's attention, and he stared at me and said in confusion: "Comrade commander, didn't it be said a long time ago that after the capture of Smilla, we will consolidate the existing defensive positions and use this as the starting point for the future offensive to seize Kyiv?" ”

"Although judging from all indications, our army group may become the main force attacking Kyiv, but if you are not afraid of 10,000, you are afraid of what if," I said this, seeing that everyone's faces showed nervous expressions, I quickly coughed and said: "I just said in case, it may not be true." What will we do by that time in case the command of the First Army has other plans and does not allow us to enter the war, but is simply placed here as a reserve, responsible for cutting off the German forces between Kiev and Zaporosh? ”

Chistyakov stared at the map for a while, then looked up at me and asked tentatively: "Commander, do you mean to send troops to occupy some cities further west?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Deputy Commander, that's how I thought about it." Pointing to the cities to the west and south of Smilla, I said, "You see, these cities were all recaptured by us a few months ago, and here our troops have a certain mass base that we believe can be replenished with soldiers. ”

After listening to my words, Chistyakov said with some disapproval: "The inhabitants of the cities of Kanivo and Cherkasy have been relocated by the Germans, so won't the Germans also relocate the inhabitants of these cities?" ”

"Probably not." Although I don't know where Manstein moved the inhabitants of so many cities, I know very well that hundreds of thousands of people cannot all be moved back to Germany, but can only be arranged in areas that are temporarily beyond the reach of our army. They could not transport all of the population back to Germany in a short period of time, so they had to settle in these cities far from the Dnieper. ”

"I think we should send out scouts and seize the time to scout these cities." When Bezikov heard that after the capture of these cities, he could be replenished with troops, and he immediately became excited: "Once we determine which city has enough population, we can recover it all, so as to achieve the goal of replenishing the army." ”

After glancing at him with strange eyes, Chistyakov said slowly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, although we can obtain reinforcements from populous cities, we also have to face the clothing, food, shelter and transportation of hundreds of thousands of people, and it is far from enough to rely on the strength of one of our group armies. ”

After being silent for a while, Bezkov heard Chistyakov say this, and then said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, among us here, it is estimated that only Comrade Military Commissar knows how to manage the city, and the rest only know how to fight, which is really a troublesome matter. ”

"What's the trouble?" In response to Bezikov's concerns, I said lightly: "After the liberation of the city, we only need to report to the higher authorities and ask them to send someone who knows how to govern the city to take over the management of the city." The first thing we need to consider is how to destroy the enemy's living forces, and we must not put the cart before the horse. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Nekrasov called from the front. When I heard his voice, I smiled and asked, "Comrade division commander, what is the situation, have the Germans been wiped out by you?" ”

Nekrasov respectfully reported to me: "Comrade commander, after a rough count, we killed a total of 1149 German soldiers and captured 1364 people. Seven tanks, 19 armored vehicles, and a number of trucks were destroyed. ”

"Well done, Comrade Divisional Commander." I am very pleased with his results: "Have you started cleaning up the battlefield?" ”

Hearing my question, Nekrasov hesitated for a while before replying: "Comrade commander, we are in a little trouble and need artillery support. ”

"What, artillery support is needed?" Nekrasov's words came as a great surprise to me, and I asked in surprise: "Have you encountered a counterattack by the heavy German forces?" ”

"Comrade Commander, this is the case." Nekrasov hurriedly explained to me: "We besieged a small German army on a small hillside, and the enemy resisted stubbornly by relying on the woods and terrain on the hillside. Although we launched several charges under the cover of tanks, they all ended in failure, not only did we lose nearly 100 soldiers, but also two tanks were blown up by the Germans. ”

As soon as Nekrasov finished speaking, I hurriedly asked: "Where are the Germans trapped?" After listening to him explain the specific location, I said coldly, "I asked General Povsky to send a Guards rocket artillery battalion over to support you." ”

Immediately after hanging up, I instructed Akhromeyev: "Major, immediately call General Povsky and ask him to immediately send a battalion of Guards rocket artillery to support General Nekrasov." The specific address is in ......," I said, and then announced to everyone, "I want to go to the battlefield and see it for myself." ”

The people in the headquarters have long turned a blind eye to my bad habit of running to the front, and everyone knows that they can't persuade me, so they just let it be. Bezikov immediately called the head of the guard, Major Yushchenko, and asked him to arrange for me to be escorted to the lot of the Nekrasov division to see if the besieged Germans were to be resolved.

It took less than half an hour for the jeep to reach the position that Nekrasov was talking about. Unexpectedly, in such a short period of time, he actually built a semi-underground shelter seven or eight hundred meters away from the hillside, and from the lookout here, he could clearly see the situation on the distant hillside.

I raised my binoculars and looked up the hillside, but it was so dense with trees that I couldn't see where the enemy was hiding, and if I tried to force an attack, I would have to pay a terrible price. I turned my telescope to the foot of the hill and saw more than a dozen of our tanks, parked about two hundred meters from the hillside, behind which was a half-man-deep trench with commanders and fighters several hundred meters hidden. I put down my binoculars, turned my head and asked, "Comrade division commander, how are you going to attack next?" ”

Nekrasov walked up to me, pointed to the distance and said: "Comrade commander, you see, the enemy is hiding in the woods on the hillside, and we can't see where they are at all. Once we attack, we are in the open and the enemy is in the dark, which is very disadvantageous to us. Unless the rocket artillery battalion arrives and covers the woods on the hillside twice, as long as the trees start to burn, then the enemy on the hillside has no place to hide. Then they had only two choices, to stay in the mountains and be burned to death, or to lay down their arms and surrender to us. ”

I looked at Nekrasov and asked with a straight face: "Comrade division commander, have you not considered any other methods besides using rocket artillery to clean up the enemy?" ”

"Something else?" When Nekrasov heard me say this, he was stunned for a long time, and then asked in confusion: "Is there any other way to destroy the enemy?" ”

"Comrade division commander, we must not only be able to fight military battles, but also political battles." I looked at the hillside in the distance, sneered and said, "You should send a warrior to shout and persuade the enemy on the hillside to lay down his arms and surrender." ”

After listening to me, Nekrasov looked at me stupidly and asked: "Comrade commander, is this method effective?" ”

"Whether it has an effect or not, can't you try it?" I saw an armored car parked outside the shelter, so I pointed to the car and asked, "Comrade division commander, is there a radio in that armored car?" ”

Nekrasov didn't look that way, so he replied decisively: "Yes, Comrade Commander, there are radios and loudspeakers on armored vehicles that can shout at the enemy. ”

"Since that's the case, Comrade Division Commander, then let's go." I shook my head at Nekrasov and said, "We personally went to the front in armored vehicles and shouted to the Germans. ”

"W-is this too dangerous?" Nekrasov was taken aback by what I said, and he tried to persuade me to change his opinion: "Although the enemy has no heavy weapons, it will be too dangerous for you to rush down the hillside with a cluster grenade if any German, who is not afraid of death." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Division." I confidently said: "The armored car we were riding in did not go to the foot of the mountain, but only stopped next to the tanks. I think that even if the Germans strafed with machine guns, they would not be able to penetrate the armor of armored vehicles from a distance of several hundred meters! ”

At my insistence, the armored car in which the two of us were riding came to a distance of two hundred meters from the hillside and stopped next to a tank. I picked up the megaphone, turned my head and asked Nekrasov: "Comrade division commander, is it you or I who shout to the Germans?" ”

When Nekrasov heard my question, he immediately smiled and said: "You are the commander, of course you shouted." ”

I nodded, then brought the megaphone to my lips and said loudly: "German officers and soldiers on the hillside, you are already surrounded by us, and there is no point in continuing to resist. I command you to lay down your arms and surrender to us at once, or you will be completely wiped out by us. ”

As soon as I finished shouting this, I heard Nekrasov next to me muttering in a low voice: "Comrade commander, can the Germans understand your words in Russian?" ”

If Nekrasov hadn't said it, I really didn't think of the language barrier, and when he said this, I couldn't help but hesitate, and secretly thought to myself whether I should find a soldier who knew German to come and translate my words to the Germans.

But before I could make up my mind, I heard a clanging sound from the armored body, as if hail had suddenly fallen in the sky. "Hell," Nekrasov said through gritted teeth, "the Germans are shooting us with machine guns." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of a tank gun being ejected outside, and after a few moments, a muffled explosion was heard in the distance, and then the sound of hitting the body armor suddenly disappeared. Although I didn't look outside, I guessed what was happening, it must have been the tank next to me that opened fire and destroyed the enemy's machine-gun fire point.

Now that I had our tanks by my side, I became more and more confident, so I proudly repeated what I had just shouted twice, of course, in Russian, and as for the Germans, no one understood, so they could only be considered unlucky. As soon as the Guards Rocket Artillery Battalion arrives, I will order them to blow up the woods on the mountain into a sea of fire.

"Commander, division commander," the driver of the armored car, who was sitting in front, suddenly turned to us and said, "there are Germans coming down the hillside with white flags. ”

I heard him say this, and I hurriedly squeezed to the front row and looked out through the observation hole. I saw a German officer wearing a large-brimmed hat, holding a white shirt from a tree branch, trembling and walking down the hillside. Seeing this, Nekrasov pushed open the car door and shouted outside: "Two people in the past, bring him here!" (To be continued.) )