Chapter 1155 Conditions for Surrender

   "Where are the Russians going to negotiate?" Major General Val asked.

  The officer replied: "It is said to be at the headquarters of their 67th Guards Division."

   "Send someone to contact the Russians immediately," Major General Val ordered: "Just say that we are going to negotiate with them, and ask them to ensure the safety of our negotiators."

   "Your Excellency, Commander," the chief of staff at the side heard what Major General Val said, and quickly reminded him: "Are you really planning to negotiate with the Russians?"

   "Chief of Staff, can't we still negotiate with the Russians in today's situation?"

"Mr. Commander, please forgive me." The chief of staff said to Major General Val: "The Russians may treat captured Wehrmacht officers and soldiers as prisoners of war, but they basically treat our SS officers and soldiers directly. Shoot. That is to say, whether we continue to fight or lay down our arms and surrender to the Russians, we will not escape the fate of death."

   "But if there is no negotiation, the Russians will use their rockets to attack us." Major General Val said, "Do you think our officers and soldiers can withstand the Russian rockets?"

  The chief of staff has also seen the power of rockets with his own eyes. After the attacking team of thousands of people was attacked by Soviet rockets, they suffered heavy casualties. If they fired into the forest again and caused a forest fire, then the surviving officers and soldiers would be burned to death even if they were not killed by the bombing.

Seeing that the chief of staff was silent, Major General Wahl continued: "We send people to negotiate, we can understand the bottom line of the Russians, if it is beneficial to us, it is not a big deal even if they put down their arms and surrender. But if it is found that they just want to eliminate We, then it is not too late to continue to resist."

  After listening to Major General Val's words, the chief of staff nodded silently, and then asked, "Master, do you know who you plan to send to negotiate with the Russians?"

  Major General Val sighed softly, and said: "I think in order to find out the true intentions of the Russians, I should be the negotiator myself."

   "Ah, sir, do you want to negotiate in person?" Hearing what Major General Val said, the chief of staff was taken aback: "No, it's too dangerous, you can't go."

"Chief of Staff, I don't want to go either." Major General Val said with a wry smile, "But if I just send ordinary officers there, if the Russians put forward some excessive conditions, he doesn't know how to bargain. Once the Russians are angered, They could attack early, and then we'd be in a bad position."

Seeing that Major General Val had made up his mind, and knowing that it would be useless to persuade him, the chief of staff said tactfully: "I think it's better to have someone inform the Russians that you are going to negotiate in person. I think the middle and senior officers of the Russians , it may not be against you, I am afraid that the soldiers below will shoot you coldly."

Regarding the chief of staff's proposal, Major General Val agreed, and he quickly called another officer and told him, "Go and tell the officer just now that you must tell the other party when you are in contact with the Russians. I will personally go to negotiate with their supreme commander, hoping that the other party can ensure my safety."

  Besides, Merkulov just learned that the German army planned to send people to negotiate, and suddenly heard that Major General Val was going to be a representative to negotiate in person, so he couldn't help being surprised. He quickly picked up the phone, called the headquarters, and asked, "I'm Merkulov. I want to ask, has Comrade Commander set off?"

  The person who answered the phone was Chief of Staff Vitkov. He quickly asked, "Comrade General, what happened?"

   "It's like this, Comrade Chief of Staff." Merkulov said: "We have just received a notification from the German army that their division commander, Major General Val, is going to come to negotiate in person and ask us to send someone to protect their safety."

   "Comrade General, the enemy's request can be granted to them." Witkov said: "The division commander and the military commissar will arrive at your place soon, and then you can report the matter to them in person."

  Sokov and Lunev came to Merkulov's division headquarters under the protection of the guard platoon.

  Seeing two people entering the door, someone shouted loudly: "Stand at attention!"

   Following the shout, everyone stopped their work, stood up straight and paid attention to Sokov and Lunev who walked in. Merkulov even stepped forward, raised his hand and reported to the two of them: "Comrade Commander, Comrade Military Commissioner, on behalf of the commanders and fighters of the entire division, I welcome you."

   After raising his hand in return, Sokov asked Merkulov: "Comrade General, have the Germans sent someone out to negotiate?"

   "They have sent someone to contact us, saying that the commander of the division, Major General Val, will come to negotiate in person." Merkulov reported to Sokov: "He hopes that we can keep him safe."

   "No problem." Sokov replied without hesitation: "Comrade General, please inform the other party that anyone who comes to negotiate with a white flag, we will ensure the safety of the other party. Remember, we must let them fly the white flag."

  Hearing what Sokov said, Merkulov was taken aback for a moment, and then replied loudly: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I will definitely let the enemy come over with a white flag."

   After waiting for more than half an hour, a soldier came in and reported to Merkulov: "Comrade Commander, Major General Val of the Imperial Division has arrived at the door. Do you want him to come in?"

   Merkulov quickly turned to look at Sokov, and after seeing Sokov nodding, he ordered the soldiers: "Let him in!"

   A moment later, Sokov saw a German general wearing a big-brimmed hat and a German captain walking in behind the soldier.

  The general passed over the soldiers leading the way, took two steps forward and stopped, and said a lot in German arrogantly. After he finished speaking, he turned his head and shook his head at the German captain behind him, motioning for him to translate for him. The captain nodded, and translated what the general said to everyone: "This is Major General Wahl of the Imperial Division. As a representative of the German army, he came to negotiate with you. I hope we can negotiate in a peaceful way. to end this fight so that no one on either side will get hurt from it."

"What does he mean?" Merkulov turned his head to Sokov and Lunev and said angrily after listening to the interpreter: "I heard the Germans' tone, it seems that they have the upper hand, come here As if trying to persuade us to surrender. What a bastard."

  Sokov did not get angry, but asked lightly: "Where is our translator?"

   Upon hearing what Sokov said, Merkulov quickly called a sergeant and introduced to Sokov, "This is the translator in our division."

"Comrade Sergeant," Sokov said to the interpreter: "You tell the other party that they have fallen into our encirclement, and reinforcements will definitely not be able to come. If you don't want to be completely annihilated by us, the only way is to Put down your arms and surrender to us."

  The high-spirited German general is Major General Wahl. After he saw a young Russian general say a few words to the translator, the other party faithfully translated the original words. Major General Val looked at Sokov and then at Merkulov. No matter how you looked at it, Merkulov was much older. It stands to reason that on such an occasion, the first person to speak, Shouldn't it be an older general? Why would a young general be there to dictate?

  He looked at Sokov and asked tentatively: "I want to ask, who am I having the honor of talking to?"

After listening to the translation, Sokov sneered and said, "I am Major General Sokov, Commander of the Sixth Army, Major General Val. I have known you for a long time. You used to be the commander of the police division, because the troops you commanded On the outskirts of Leningrad, he achieved good results, so he was transferred to the commander of the Imperial Division. Am I right?"

   When he learned that the person standing in front of him was Sokov, who made many German generals fearful, Major General Wahl couldn't help being dumbfounded. After he was stunned for a long time, he asked tentatively, "Are you the Russian colonel Sokov who stood by the Mamayev Post?"

   "That's right, it's me."

  Major General Val, who was originally arrogant, immediately changed his attitude 180 degrees when he learned that the young Russian general in front of him was Sokov, who had made the German army fearful. He stepped forward, stretched out his hand to Sokov, and said politely: "Hi, General Sokov, nice to meet you."

   "Hello, General Val." Sokov held the opponent's hand and said in a polite and distant tone: "I think it is a gratifying thing to see you here."

  As soon as Sokov said that, not only Major General Val was confused, but even the other commanders and fighters didn't understand why Sokov said that. In the end, it was Major General Val who asked the question in his heart: "General Sukov, I don't quite understand what you mean, can you explain in more detail?"

"General Val, now your troops have fallen into our encirclement, and judging from all indications, Hausser may not be able to send you reinforcements. The destruction of your entire army is inevitable." Sokov said calmly: "Originally, I wanted to order the troops to launch rockets directly into the forest and use artillery fire to completely wipe out you. But with your appearance, we have an additional way to end this battle."

   "What method?" Major General Val asked tentatively, "Should we put down our weapons and surrender?"

   "That's right," Sokov nodded and replied, "This is the only way you don't want to be wiped out by our artillery fire."

   "General Sokov," Major General Wahl said bitterly, "It stands to reason that we are under heavy siege, and ammunition and supplies are extremely scarce. Surrendering is our only way. But..."

   "But what?" Merkulov asked first.

"I heard that the officers and soldiers of the Wehrmacht who surrendered to you are usually treated as prisoners of war." Major General Wahl said: "But the SS officers and soldiers caught by you, whether they voluntarily put down their weapons or were captured after fighting, They were all shot by you. I am afraid that if my troops surrender to you, I am afraid that they will all be shot. If this is the case, we would rather choose to fight to the last man and shoot the last bullet."

   Don't look at Sokov's constant talk about using rockets to wipe out the remnants of the Imperial Division in the forest, but he knows in his heart that all the rockets are now exhausted, and he can only use conventional methods to attack. If the officers and soldiers of the imperial division in the forest fight against trapped beasts, even if they can wipe out this group of enemies by then, the casualties will probably not be small.

   In order to prevent the troops from paying unnecessary casualties, Sokov decided to make his own claim. He said to Major General Wahl: "That's right, all the SS officers and soldiers captured by our army were shot because they committed numerous heinous crimes on our land. They can only do it for themselves by dying." Forgive me for the matter."

After hearing what Sokov said, Major General Val silently recalled what the Imperial Division did after they entered the territory of the Soviet Union. They had indeed done many inhumane things. Even if they were shot ten or eight times, it would be unforgivable. One percent of the guilt.

Seeing that Major General Val was silent, Sokov knew in his heart that he had hit on the other party's mind, and continued: "Of course, we can also adapt to the specific situation on the battlefield. If you are willing to take the initiative to put down your weapons and surrender, it will reduce the number of people on both sides. Unnecessary losses, I can assure you that I will ensure the safety of the surrendered officers and soldiers."

   "General Sokov," Hearing what Sokov said, Major General Val seemed to grab a life-saving straw, and quickly asked, "Can you really ensure the safety of our remaining officers and soldiers?"

   "Yes, General Val." Sokov nodded and replied in a positive tone: "I can assure you."

  Major General Val thought for a long time, and said to Sokov: "General Sokov, I have a request, I hope you can agree."

"Made, they are all desperate, and they still want to make demands on us." The chief of staff of the division gritted his teeth beside Merkulov and said, "I think it's better to hit them with rockets and blow them all to death or burn them to death. There will be peace in the world.”

   "Don't talk." Merkulov turned his head and glanced at him, staring at him: "Listen to what Comrade Commander has to say."

   "General Val," Sokov heard Major General Val said that he had a request, and thought that as long as it was not too much, he could agree to him, so he nodded and asked, "If you have any requests, just say it."

"I hope that when you announce the results of the battle to the outside world, you must emphasize that all the officers and soldiers of our division were captured one after another after fighting tenaciously, exhausting all the ammunition, and engaging in fierce hand-to-hand combat with you." Val After the major general finished his request, he asked nervously, "General Sokov, can you agree to my request?"

   "Why do you want us to conduct propaganda like this?" Merkulov asked inexplicably, "What conspiracy do you have in doing this?"

"General Merkulov, he asked us to conduct propaganda like this, there is no conspiracy." Seeing Merkulov staring at Major General Val with vigilance, Sokov quickly explained: "He was worried that Hitler knew that he ordered If the troops voluntarily put down their weapons and surrender, it will definitely affect his family in China."

   "That's right." Seeing that Sokov had guessed what was on his mind, Major General Val had a bitter expression on his face: "If the news of my voluntary surrender gets out, my family will definitely be hurt, and I don't want to hurt them."

"No problem, General Val, I agree to your request. In the future propaganda, we will promote it according to what you said." After Sukov finished speaking, he asked: "Since I have agreed Your request, when can your troops surrender?"

  (end of this chapter)