On January 22, after adjusting the deployment of our troops outside the city, under the cover of aviation troops, they relaunched a full-line attack on the second German position. On the second day that the descending route east of Gumenrak was cut off by our army, that is, on January 23, Gumenrak Airport was also successfully occupied by our army. At this point, all the German retreat roads were completely blocked.

That evening, Cui Kefu called me. He said excitedly on the phone: "Comrade Oshanina, I’m telling you good news. Due to the continuous defeat of the German army, the main force of the Don Front has approached the outskirts of Stalingrad, and the task of containing the German forces in our group has basically been completed. Commander Rokosovsky ordered our department to seize the time to rest and prepare to relaunch the attack on the Germans on the 25th."

"It's great, Comrade Commander, this is really pleasing." I was overjoyed to hear the news that we could re-attack again. Thinking that the current army's ability to attack toughness is not enough, I asked Cui Kefu about what I was concerned about: "No. Knowing that the two assault engineer battalions assigned to our army, when will they arrive?"

Hearing this question from me, Cui Kefu was silent for a moment, and then said: "I asked Commander Rokosovsky about this matter. He said that the engineering unit assigned to our group army might arrive on the 26th. "

"What, can I arrive on the 26th?" I heard Cui Kefu say that it would take three days for the engineers to feel it. I couldn't help but disappointed and said: "It's too late. When they arrive, the battle is almost over."

As soon as I uttered my words, I knew that I had missed it. The main force of the Don Front has not yet entered Stalingrad. Who can tell when the war is over? Perhaps in the minds of Rokosovsky and the others, they all thought that the battle would not end until March or even April. But Cui Kefu didn't notice my gaffe. Instead, he said to himself: "I think even if the engineering battalion comes, you can't rely on them too much. After all, when they first came, they are not familiar with the topography of the city. The area occupied by the German army is bright or dark. There are both. There are also high-rise fortifications and bunkers. The barricades are like a fire support point. Once the fire is fired, cross fire can be formed. Engineers who are unfamiliar with the terrain rush up and die in vain, so I still consider using Ulbricht's anti-fascism. Alliance. Launch a political offensive against the German forces in the city. If we can eliminate most of the enemies without blood, we can greatly reduce the casualties of our army."

A few days ago, our ministry relied on the anti-war propaganda of the anti-fascist coalition to successfully persuade a lot of defenders to surrender, and occupied two streets without a single shot. I was planning to continue doing this next, and I heard that Cui Kefu's thoughts coincided with me. I hurriedly followed his words and said: "Comrade Commander, as far as I know, Comrade Ulbricht is still in our group army. I wonder if you can send him to our army's defense zone to help for a few days?"

After hesitating for a moment, Cui Koff resolutely agreed: "Well, I will send someone to contact Comrade Ulbricht so that they can rush to your headquarters as soon as possible."

Less than half an hour after finishing the call with Cui Kefu, Sergeant Song Jike, who was on duty outside, came in to report. Said Ulbricht and several comrades from the anti-fascist alliance are here.

Upon hearing Song Jike’s report, I felt that since others had already arrived at the door, they were still sitting in the room waiting for others to come in. It was not very polite, so he called the Chief of Staff Vitkov to go out together to greet him.

Following Ulbricht, there were two other anti-fascist alliance members, all wearing brand-new Soviet uniforms and steel helmets. They were calm, and lightly followed Ulbricht towards our headquarters.

I hurried forward a few steps. We met Ulbricht who came over, and took the initiative to shake hands with him. At the same time, he said politely: "Hello, Comrade Ulbricht. I'm glad to see you again."

Ulbricht held my hand tightly and smiled and said, "Hello, General Oshanina, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon. I came to assist you on the order of General Trikov."

When Ulbricht was shaking hands with Vitkov, I went over to shake hands with the second person. This is a young man of medium build, looking only in his early twenties. When shook hands with me, Ulbricht introduced to me: "Comrade General, this is Private Hainel. He was captured in the Battle of Kharkov. After our education, he joined our Anti-Fascist League. This After we came to Stalingrad this time, he successfully persuaded more than 20 officers and soldiers to lay down their weapons and surrender to us."

After listening to Ulbricht's introduction to Heinel, I smiled and said to the young man in front of me: "Hello, Comrade Heinel, welcome to us."

When Ulbricht introduced me to his last companion, he showed hesitation on his face, and finally said to me very simply: "General Oshanina, this is Enrique Enrique, two days ago. Just surrendered to us."

After listening to Ulbricht’s introduction, I immediately understood why he had a hesitant expression on his face. It turned out that this member of the anti-fascist alliance was a surrender officer who had just joined. Seeing the embarrassed expression on Enrique Enrique's face, I hurriedly stepped forward and held his hand tightly, shook hands warmly with him, and said: "Hello, Lieutenant, welcome to our guest."

After they entered the headquarters, I quickly ordered Song Jike to pour tea for them. In order to dispel the doubts of Heinel and Enrique, I deliberately talked with Ulbricht for a while, and after the two became less vigilant, I brought the topic to them.

Because Ulbricht was the translator, the two of them gradually let go, and they talked about their feelings and experiences one after another, which seemed very relaxed and happy. Especially the young Hainel, once he let go of his scruples, he was simply a talk.

"Comrade General, I think I should tell you one thing." Heinel said lightly to me: "I entered the enemy's defense line with makeup last week, just in time for a colonel sitting in his car and arrived. Frontline. He saw that all the officers and soldiers on the front line were listless and demoralized, and he said loudly to the soldiers:'Brothers, what is going on right now, everyone knows well in their hearts, so I won't say more. But I want to make it clear that although we are besieged by the Russians in Stalingrad, as long as we resist for one more day, the Russians will not be able to draw out their troops to besiege the friendly forces in the North Caucasus, and our comrades will be more safe. I hope. We can exchange our efforts and sacrifices for a complete victory! Remember, we are all members of the German Wehrmacht. After our sacrifices, our bodies will become the cornerstone of the motherland!'

After listening to the colonel’s encouragement, the originally downcast officers and soldiers shouted in unison, ‘Long live Germany! ’"

After Heinel finished speaking, I couldn't help but frown and think. It was thought that after the besieged German troops had run out of food, their morale would drop to the bottom, and they would be vulnerable to our attack. Unexpectedly, they only heard a few words from their chief, and their desire for victory overcame hunger. It seems that in the next battle, we can't take it lightly, otherwise we will suffer a big loss.

"Comrade General, I just surrendered two days ago." Enrique next to me interrupted and said: "As our army's line of defense was compressed by the Soviets, we could even get less and less supplies. Later, the superiors killed Romania. All the horses of the cavalry division were given to us as food. We were hungry for several days, and the atmosphere in the company was a little more lively as we tasted this delicious meal.

Just as we were eating happily, somebody murmured: ‘Just this bit of horse meat, how many days can I eat? ’

Hearing this sentence, everyone fell down again. When I reprimanded my subordinate, I found that I could not find a valid reason to reprimand him, because what he said was the truth.

The horse meat was eaten up quickly, and even the mice, cats and dogs that were occasionally seen in the rubble were gone. The lack of nutrition of the soldiers became weaker and weaker, and they even lost the strength to build fortifications. Injury means death. Because of the severe cold and lack of medicine, there are endless suicides of the wounded and sick.

At this time, the superiors issued a ridiculous order, saying that suicide is a shame for the soldiers~lightnovelpub.net~ We must resolutely stop it.

It happened that on the day the order was issued, one of my soldiers was dying due to worsening injuries. Although it was very cold, his forehead was terribly hot. He lay in the snow and kept his lips together. I leaned in to listen, only to hear him keep saying: "I'm hungry...hungry...give...give me something to eat..."My nose is sour. , Took out the few crumbs from his pocket and put it into his mouth.

After eating the breadcrumbs, he felt a little better. Just as I was able to survive later, but at night, he began to moan loudly in pain: "Kill me... please... I can't take it anymore..." The soldiers around looked at me. Waiting for my decision. After hesitating for a long time, I took out the pistol and looked around. Everyone nodded. A few others couldn't bear to look at it. After nodding, they turned their heads aside. The wounded soldier looked at me with grateful eyes. I stood up and saluted him, held the pistol with a trembling hand, and aimed at the wounded soldier’s heart. Said, ‘I’m sorry! ’Even if I pulled the trigger, a puff of smoke came out of the muzzle, and the wounded soldier’s head tilted to the side, and I sat weakly on the ground. "

Seeing that Enrique’s eyes were red when he said this, and the tears in his eyes might fall again at any time, I quickly pushed the tea cup toward him and asked in a pleasant manner: "Second lieutenant, fight What happened after the dead and wounded soldiers, how did you come to our side?" (to be continued)