Chapter 1281 The Germans have confessed (Part 2)

  Schmidt heard that Rebin, a small second lieutenant, dared to speak to himself in a threatening tone, and the muscles on his face immediately twitched violently. He waved his fist and said through gritted teeth: "Second Lieutenant, do you know that you are threatening a German general, aren't you afraid that I will have you dragged out and shot?"

Regarding Schmidt's threat, Second Lieutenant Rebin did not have the slightest fear. Facing Schmidt's gaze, he said frankly: "General Schmidt, I am just stating the facts. If you want to shoot me, then just do it." Bar."

   "Come on!" Schmidt yelled towards the door.

  Following the shouts, four or five German soldiers with submachine guns rushed in from outside. As soon as he saw the soldiers entering the door, Schmidt pointed at Second Lieutenant Rebin and another soldier, and sternly ordered his subordinates: "Drag them out immediately and shoot them."

  The soldiers agreed, and in groups of two, they grabbed the arms of Second Lieutenant Leibin and the soldier respectively, and were about to drag them outside. At this moment, the division chief of staff shouted: "Wait a minute!"

  Seeing that the chief of staff actually stopped the soldiers, Schmidt couldn't help becoming a little annoyed: "Chief of staff, what are you doing?"

   "Master Commander," the chief of staff approached Schmidt's ear and whispered to him, "This Russian is a negotiator sent by General Sokov. If you kill him like this, I'm afraid..."

I'm afraid it will happen, the chief of staff didn't say anything, but Schmidt knew very well in his heart that if he killed the negotiator sent by Sokov indiscriminately, then he would have to bear Sokov's wrath . After a few days of fierce fighting, his own troops have been consumed by more than half, but they are unable to fight against an army of Sokov. If there is a real fight, in the end, I will either die in battle like General von Hornadorf, the commander of the 6th Armored Division, or be a prisoner of the Russians like Simon, the commander of the Skeleton Division.

  These two endings are what Schmidt does not want to see. Therefore, he gave up the idea of ​​shooting Lei Bin, stared at him fiercely for a while, and then told the soldiers: "Take them out first and imprison them, and deal with them after a while."

  After the two Rebins were dragged out of the division headquarters by the German soldiers, Schmidt turned around and asked the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, tell me, what should we do next?"

"Your Excellency, Commander," the chief of staff quickly replied: "Although the Russian second lieutenant said that among the six prisoners we captured was the wife of General Sokov, we must first find out whether the matter is true or not before making a decision. step by step."

"Chief of Staff, you are right. What we have to do now is to find out whether there is really Sokov's wife among the six prisoners." Schmidt said here, turned to the instigator and said: "Major, Since you brought the captives back from the Russian positions, I will leave the screening to you."

"Don't worry, Master Commander." The major felt that he led the troops to sneak attack on the 182nd Division's defense area this time. It seemed that he had caused a catastrophe. He even captured Sukov's wife. No matter how you look at it, this matter is not good. ending. Upon receiving Schmidt's order at this moment, he could only bite the bullet and reply, "I will find out the identities of these six captives as soon as possible."

  Actually, before Second Lieutenant Rebin appeared, the major’s idea was very simple. What’s so great about a few captives? But after learning that one of them was actually Sokov's wife, she was frightened out of her wits.

  After accepting Schmidt's specific order, he immediately returned to his camp and personally screened the six captured medical staff to determine whether Sokov's wife was really among them.

   Schmidt’s perspective on the matter was different from that of the major. He wanted to figure out what actions the other party would take after his men captured Sokov’s wife. He waited for the major to leave, and immediately asked the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, are there any unusual movements from the Russians?"

"Master Commander," the chief of staff heard Schmidt asking about the situation in the defensive zone, and quickly pointed to the map on the table to report to him: "According to the latest intelligence, the 81st Russian Guards Division on our right wing, and a An armored unit is still standing still. On the left, Sokov has two infantry divisions advancing one to two kilometers forward, seriously threatening our defense zone."

   "Chief of Staff," Schmidt asked with a frown after listening to the Chief of Staff's report, "Tell me, if we kill Sokov's wife, how will he react?"

"Excuse me, sir, you still don't want to make such an attempt." Hearing that Schmidt said that he wanted to kill Assia, although the chief of staff knew that the other party was just an idea, he still reminded the other party sternly: "So Cove ordered two infantry divisions to move towards our army's position while sending people to negotiate with us. It seems that he has made two-handed preparations. If the negotiations go well and his wife returns safely, maybe the two infantry divisions will not Any action will be taken. But if the negotiations break down, or even if something happens to his wife, then these two infantry divisions will attack our army positions."

  But Schmidt disagreed with the chief of staff's statement: "Chief of staff, we are an armored division. Do you think Sokov can succeed in attacking with two infantry divisions?"

"Your Excellency, as far as I know, although Sokov's troops don't have established artillery, they do have a long-range attack weapon that is designed to deal with tanks, which is the nemesis of our armored forces. What's more," the chief of staff waved his hand I clicked on the Pushol River and reminded Schmidt: "There is also a tank army of Sokov here. If they also enter the battle, we will not be able to stop them at all."

"One tank army and two infantry divisions," Schmidt began to mutter in his heart: "If it is an ordinary Russian army, even if our troops have suffered a serious reduction in personnel, they are fully capable of blocking them. But now we have to deal with them." The enemy is Sokov, who has caused headaches for the German generals, can my troops really stop his attack?"

Seeing Schmidt staring at the map in silence, the chief of staff guessed what was on his mind, and cautiously expressed his thoughts: "Your Excellency, I think it's better to let that second lieutenant take away the captured medical personnel." ...If Sokov sees his wife returning safely, I think he will definitely remember your friendship and will not launch a devastating blow to us in the short term."

"Sokov's wife, should I let go or not?" Schmidt's mind was at war between heaven and man, let him go, he felt that it would hurt his face; don't let go, Sokov's troops are not vegetarian Yes, they may attack themselves at any time, and the current strength of their own troops cannot withstand the attack of a group army.

  After repeated thinking, Schmidt decided to use the word-dragging tactic. He raised his head and said to the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, after the major finishes the screening work, first lock them up with the two Russians who came to negotiate."

The chief of staff originally thought that Schmidt would have a detailed deployment, but after hearing him say that they were locked together, there was no more to say, and he couldn't help asking curiously: "Mr. What should I do?"

   "Wait." Schmidt said briefly: "Wait until the situation becomes clear before considering how to deal with them."

The chief of staff never dreamed that Schmidt would actually use the tactic of procrastinating. He quickly reminded the other party: "Your Excellency, the Russian troops have moved to our army's position. If they don't get our reply for a long time, I fear they will attack soon."

"Chief of Staff, you think too much." After Schmidt made a decision in his mind, he said stubbornly: "I thought about it, the troops outside Prokhorovka are still seriously threatening Soko He didn't dare to mobilize heavy troops to attack our position. Now the two infantry divisions are moving forward, just to deter us and make us release his wife unconditionally according to his wishes..."

   "Master Commander, Sokov did not ask us to release his wife unconditionally." The chief of staff was a little anxious: "He is willing to exchange dozens of dead German soldiers."

"Okay, chief of staff, don't say any more, I know it." Schmidt didn't want to have a dispute with his chief of staff on this matter, so he quickly changed the topic: "You should contact the military department immediately, Ask them when they can replace our lost men and equipment."

"Yes, sir." Seeing that Schmidt was so stubborn, the chief of staff knew that there was no point in persuading him, so he bit the bullet and replied, "I will immediately contact the military department to inquire about the replenishment of soldiers and equipment. .”

Forty minutes later, the German major called Schmidt: "Your Excellency, I have repeatedly verified that what the Russian second lieutenant said is true. Among the six medical staff we captured, there were indeed One is Sokov's wife. What do we do next, do we let them go or keep them in custody?"

   "Major, does this need to be said?" Schmidt replied without hesitation: "Of course they will continue to be detained. You must ensure their safety. Without my order, no one can take them away."

   "Understood, sir." The German major replied respectfully: "I will take good care of them, and I will never let anyone take them away casually."

  As soon as Schmidt put down the phone, the chief of staff came over with a phone record and reported to him: "Your Excellency, something happened."

"Chief of staff, calm down. As a commander, you must learn to control your emotions so that you can set an example in front of your subordinates." After speaking, he asked slowly: "What happened?" gone?"

"According to the scout's report, not long ago, at least two divisions of Russian artillery crossed the Pushol River and entered the defense zone of Sokov's troops." The chief of staff put the phone records in front of Schmidt. , Reporting to him: "Sokov has a well-organized artillery, so he can bombard our positions at any time."

   "Damn it, where did the Russian artillery come from?" Schmidt slammed it on the table after reading the phone records, and said angrily, "Did it fall from the sky?"

"It should be the reinforcements sent by the Russian headquarters." The chief of staff analyzed: "I guess it was Sokov who saw his wife was captured by us. In order to retaliate against us, he intentionally applied to his superiors and left the established artillery It is in its own defense zone, which can pose a greater threat to us."

  If there were no artillery, Schmidt would not care at all about whether to release Asia. But now that he heard that there were at least two artillery divisions, he couldn't help feeling a little panicked. If Sokov bombarded his defense area, and then let the tanks cover the infantry division to attack, his defense line would be breached. It would only be a matter of time. .

  After trying to understand the problem, he turned to the chief of staff and said, "Chief of staff, let someone bring that Russian second lieutenant back immediately. I have something to talk to him about."

Hearing Schmidt's order to bring Second Lieutenant Rebin here, the chief of staff couldn't help but secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Since Schmidt was willing to see Rebin, it proved that the matter could be resolved peacefully and he could win more for his troops. time. He picked up the phone on the table and called the major: "Major, the division commander ordered that Second Lieutenant Lei Bin, who was negotiating, be brought to the division headquarters immediately."

   Soon, Second Lieutenant Rebin and his companions appeared in front of Schmidt again.

   Seeing the two people appear, Schmidt's face was full of smiles. Knowing that Rebin knew German, he didn't call for an interpreter, but said bluntly, "Second Lieutenant, I couldn't control my emotions just now and got angry at you. Please forgive my recklessness."

Seeing that Schmidt apologized to himself, Second Lieutenant Rebin was taken aback for a moment, and then he realized that it must be the latest deployment of his side, which has threatened the safety of the German army, so this German general talked to himself in such an amiable manner . After a sneer, he asked, "Mr. General, are you not going to shoot me?"

"How is this possible?" Schmidt wanted to get angry at first, but when he thought of the two artillery divisions in the Sokov defense area, he could only suppress the anger in his heart, and tried his best to say in a calm tone: "We just need Time to verify whether what you said is true."

   Lei Bin sneered again, and asked in a contemptuous tone: "Mr. General, have you figured it out now?"

"I figured it out, I have completely figured it out." People had to bow their heads under the eaves, and now under the muzzle of the Soviet army, Schmidt could only choose to bow his head: "After careful investigation, I found out that it was A misunderstanding. In order to make up for the bad consequences of this misunderstanding, I will send someone to send you back to your defense zone safely."

  (end of this chapter)