Chapter 2274

  As soon as the cheers in the headquarters stopped, the phone on the table rang.

  Sokov thought it was a call from the Front Army Command, asking the troops to accept the surrender of the German army. Unexpectedly, when he put the microphone to his ear, he realized that the caller was Colonel Ivanov, commander of the 6th Guards Division: "Comrade Commander, I am Ivanov, and I have something important to tell you. You report."

   "Report important things to me?" Sokov asked back: "Wouldn't it be the Germans who voluntarily surrendered to you?"

  The other end of the phone was silent for a moment, and then Ivanov's surprised voice came: "Comrade Commander, how do you know?"

"The positions of the five German divisions in front of the 120th Guards Division have already hung white flags, indicating that they have begun to surrender on a large scale." Sokov briefly explained the situation, and then asked: "Comrade Colonel, where are you?" What is the situation, how many German troops surrendered to you?"

"Several SS officers came." Ivanov replied: "One of them was a major of the SS. He said that he was the head of some prisoner-of-war camp nearby. hostilities with the Allies and surrender to our forces by laying down their arms."

   Hearing that a prisoner-of-war camp had been discovered, Sokov couldn't help but feel secretly happy. In this way, a lot of soldiers could be added. Thinking of this, he quickly asked: "How big is the prisoner-of-war camp, and how many commanders and fighters of our army are detained in it?"

  Ivanov hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "The other party said that there are 3,517 prisoners of war in the prisoner-of-war camp, and there is not a single prisoner of war in our army."

   "What, there are no prisoners of war in our army?" Sokov couldn't help frowning when he heard this: "Then where did the prisoners of war they detain come from?"

"He said that the prisoners of war were soldiers and officers from France, England, the United States, Belgium and the Netherlands." Ivanov explained: "Among these prisoners were a large group of generals and officers from the Belgian army, including the chief of the general staff. officer."

"Damn it, we don't even have one of our own." Knowing that in a prisoner-of-war camp that held more than 3,000 prisoners of war, there was not a single commander of the Soviet army. Sokov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Said: "Comrade Colonel, now that the war is over, you immediately send someone to take over the prisoner-of-war camp and rescue all the officers and soldiers imprisoned in it."

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." Ivanov replied loudly: "I will immediately liberate the officers and soldiers who are detained in the prisoner-of-war camp."

In a prisoner-of-war camp that was about to be liberated, so many friendly prisoners of war were found. Sokov felt that the matter was of great importance, so he called Rokossovsky himself and reported to him what happened here: "Comrade Commander, a German prisoner-of-war camp commander surrendered to Colonel Ivanov, commander of the 6th Guards Division. According to his confession, there were 3,517 prisoners of war in the camp, from France, Britain, and the United States. , Belgian and Dutch officers and soldiers, and even a group of officers and generals including the Chief of the Belgian Army General Staff. I am calling you to ask how you plan to house these friendly prisoners of war."

"Misha, you threw me a problem." Rokossovsky smiled wryly and shook his head when he heard Sokov say this: "There are so many friendly prisoners of war, I can't make the decision, I can only ask the highest Ask the high command to see what they mean."

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov continued: "Not only the German officers in charge of the prisoner-of-war camp surrendered to us, but even the five German divisions on the attack route of the 120th Guards Division stopped resisting and threw down their weapons to our army. surrender."

The surrender of the German army in Berlin has not yet reached Rokossovsky, so he has deep doubts about what Sokov said: "What's going on? Why did the Germans Will mass capitulation begin?"

From Rokossovsky's tone of voice, Sokov guessed that the other party must not know the news of the surrender of the German army in Berlin, so he quickly reminded him: "Comrade Marshal, I suggest that you contact the Supreme Command immediately, maybe there will be an attack from the Berlin side." What good news is coming."

Hearing what Sokov said, Rokossovsky responded casually: "Can there be any good news from Berlin?!" But as soon as the words came out, he immediately thought of a possibility, and suddenly his whole body was shocked, and then the voice He said tremblingly, "Misha, you mean that Zhukov's troops have captured Berlin and completely defeated the Germans?"

   "Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov nodded, and replied in an affirmative tone, "I can't think of any other reason besides this."

   "How is this possible?" Although it is a matter of time before the Germans are defeated and Berlin is occupied, Rokossovsky still feels a bit fanciful when he hears the news. Eager to know the real answer, he hurriedly said: "Misha, I will call the Supreme Command to find out what happened in Berlin. Once there is the latest news, I will inform you as soon as possible Yes." After speaking, he hung up the phone without giving Sokov a chance to speak.

  After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Sidolin and Lunev: "Chief of Staff, Comrade Military Commissar, the Marshal said that he will contact Moscow immediately. If there is any latest situation, he will inform us in time."

"Well, it should have been so long ago." Lunev nodded and said, "Although we know that it will be a matter of time to defeat the Germans and occupy Berlin, we are still just guessing and have not received definite information about the current situation. .Now we can only wait and see what kind of good news Marshal Rokossovsky will bring us."

   Half an hour later, Rokossovsky himself called Sokov.

As soon as the phone call was made, Rokossovsky said emotionally: "Misha, you are right. The defenders of Berlin have laid down their weapons and surrendered to Chuikov's troops. And the commander of Berlin's city defense, Admiral Weidling, and Minister of Propaganda Fritsch has announced unconditional surrender negotiations to the military and civilians in Germany."

   Speaking of this, Rokossovsky paused for a moment, and Sokov clearly heard the sound of the other party drinking water.

After drinking the water, Rokossovsky continued: "Also, Mustache committed suicide in the bunker on the afternoon of April 30th. His body was doused with gasoline by his gang and thrown at the bunker door The infamous Goebbels committed suicide on May 1st; Holman, another right-hand man of Mustache, detonated a grenade in his home, and the whole family died. Although Mustache was in Before the interim, Admiral Dönitz was appointed as the new head of state, but this person has no prestige, although he called on the Germans on the radio to fight us to the end, but no one responded to him at all. It seems that the Germans are also tired After this **** war, now that they have a chance to survive, they will naturally not give up."

   "Comrade Marshal," Sokov waited for Rokossovsky to finish, and immediately added: "I have transferred the 211th and 284th Infantry Divisions to the front line to assist the 120th Guards Division in accepting the surrender of the German army."

"Misha, you are doing the right thing." Rokossovsky agreed with Sokov's approach, and at the same time reminded him: "Your troops will continue to move forward and will soon reach Yi. The edge of the North River. The opposite bank is the defense zone of the British army, and you can join forces with them as soon as possible."

   A few days ago, the troops commanded by Konev joined forces with the U.S. Army on the Elbe River west of Berlin. This incident has been recorded in history. And even if Sokov's troops speed up their advance, meeting the British army on the Elbe River north of Berlin does not seem to have much historical significance, so Sokov is not very interested in this matter. However, since Rokossovsky personally issued the order, he couldn't refuse it, so he could only say vaguely: "Understood, Comrade Marshal. I will send troops to the Elbe River as soon as possible to fight with the British troops on the other side." Join us."

  After putting down the phone, Sokov stared down at the map in front of him to check the deployment of his troops.

After looking at it for a while, he raised his head and said to Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you call Lieutenant Colonel Victor, commander of the 122nd Infantry Brigade, and order the brigade to advance towards the Elbe River immediately, and find a way to get rid of it in a short time." Join forces with the British army on the other side."

Hearing what Sokov said, Lunev, who was sitting upright next to him, said with a wry smile: "It was also the Elbe River, but Marshal Konev's troops joined forces with the US military a few days earlier than us, and completed the siege of Berlin. Joining forces is destined to be recorded in the annals of history. But as for us, even if we rush to join forces with the British army at this time, I am afraid that it will be an understatement in the history books of later generations."

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissioner, you are right." Although Sokov agreed with Lunev's statement, since Rokossovsky personally issued the order, he had to carry it out, so he Ask Sidolin to order the 122nd Infantry Brigade to advance quickly to the Elbe River and rush to join the British army. If the friendly troops on the left and right flanks were allowed to take the lead, I am afraid that this honor, which is better than nothing, will also fall on the friendly troops: "I think that the matter of our meeting with the British army at the Elbe River may not be mentioned in the history books of later generations. In the future, when our descendants talk about joining forces on the Elbe River, all they can think of is the content of the First Ukrainian Front Army commanded by Marshal Konev and the Allied Army joining forces on the Elbe River, but our actions will be covered by their dazzling light .”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Rokossovsky urged Sidolin, although the significance of this meeting on the Elbe River cannot be compared with that of the previous few days: "Call Lieutenant Colonel Victor quickly, Tell him to move quickly, and don't let other friendly troops get ahead of us."

"Yes, yes, Comrade Commander, you are right." Sidolin also agreed with Sokov's statement: "Although we are about to carry out an operation to join forces, we will not be able to join forces with Marshal Konev's troops and the US military. The scene is comparable, but at least it is an honor, and it must not be taken away by comrades in the friendly army." After finishing speaking, he grabbed the phone and started calling the headquarters of the infantry brigade.

   Lieutenant Colonel Victor received a call from Sidolin and knew that this was a good opportunity for himself and the troops to make contributions. As soon as he put down the phone, he ordered several battalion commanders to gather all the troops, take all the means of transportation they could find, buses, private cars, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles, and then hurried to the defense line of the Elbe River to prepare and station The British troops on the opposite bank joined forces.

   An hour later, the vanguard battalion of the 122nd Infantry Brigade came to the river.

When the soldiers saw the tents of the British camp on the opposite bank, they couldn't help asking their battalion commander: "Comrade battalion commander, aren't the British our allies? Why do they stay on the other side of the Elbe River and don't ask the Germans?" How about launching an attack from the rear to alleviate the resistance our army has suffered?"

   Regarding the questions raised by the soldiers, the battalion commander smiled and said: "I am just an ordinary battalion commander. I think only the commander of the group army or the commander of the front army can answer your questions."

  The battalion commander then called a soldier with a loud voice and told him: "Go to the river and call the British on the opposite side, and say that we are here to join forces with them."

  The soldiers sent by the battalion commander were indeed quite loud. He had just yelled a few times when two British sentries on the other side came to the river and looked across the wide river to where the Soviet army was. After looking at it for a while, one of the British sergeants said to the senior soldier beside him: "Sergeant, you go back and report to the major, and say that a group of unidentified people are coming from the opposite side, and ask him to show us what to do."

  The upper class soldier squinted his eyes and looked at the Soviet commanders and fighters on the opposite bank. After looking at it for a while, he turned his head and said to the sergeant, "Sergeant, these people on the opposite side are not wearing German military uniforms. Could they be our allies, the Russians?"

   Hearing what the corporal said, the sergeant felt that it seemed reasonable. If the Germans appeared on the other side, they might have shot at where they were. However, he still ordered the first class to go back to report the news, saying that an unidentified army had arrived from the other side, and asked the major to come here to check it out in person.

   "Yes, Sergeant." The corporal agreed, and ran towards the camp with his gun in hand. He wanted to report the discovery of the army on the other side to the major in the camp as soon as possible.

  But after the British major got the report from his subordinates, he said disapprovingly: "Maybe it's not the Russians who came, but the Germans."

   Hearing what the major said, the first class quickly explained: "But after they saw us by the river, they didn't shoot at us, and they seemed to be very friendly."

"Soldier, you may not know that the Germans have already announced their surrender." The major said smartly: "I think the troops on the other side may be some Germans who don't want to surrender to the Russians, so as not to suffer unfair treatment. They are preparing to enter our defense zone, lay down their weapons and surrender to our army."

  (end of this chapter)