Red Moscow

The first thing that appeared in Koida's field of vision was actually a group of civilians. Driven by German soldiers, they stumbled out of the bastion full of gunpowder smoke and flames. As soon as they left the bastion, some civilians ran wildly, trying to rush to the side of the Soviet army in the shortest possible time, so that they could be safe.

However, the fleeing civilians in panic were shot down by German soldiers hiding in the crowd within a short distance, turning them into corpses. Among these corpses, there are not only young people, but also old people, women and children.

Seeing the civilians being knocked down by the Germans in front of them, the Soviet commanders and fighters who were about to launch an attack were filled with righteous indignation. They became a little restless. With civilians on the battlefield, they could not concentrate all their energy on dealing with the densely packed German army. . Some restless soldiers aimed at the German soldiers who were out of their heads and shot. But the cunning enemy immediately squatted down and hid in the crowd when he heard the gunshot, so that the bullets fired by the soldiers fell into the air.

Political commissar Mashkov came to Koida and said to him: "Comrade commander, the enemy has engulfed so many civilians. We must find a good way to deal with it, otherwise the enemy will rush over."

Why didn't Keida want to destroy the enemy as soon as possible and rescue those trapped civilians, but this was the first time he encountered such a situation, how could he come up with a good solution in a hurry. After a fierce ideological struggle, he decided to report the matter to his superiors, and Sokov would make a decision.

After answering the call from the Army Group Command, he heard Sameko's voice: "I'm Sameko, where are you?"

"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Koyda said very quickly, "Is Comrade Commander here?"

"He's not there," Sameko replied curtly. "He's gone to the front. He's probably in the division headquarters of the 182nd or 84th."

Knowing that Sokov was not in the headquarters, Koyda was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. He kept saying: "What can I do, what can I do?"

"Colonel Koyda!" Hearing what Koyda said, Sameko immediately realized what had happened, and quickly asked, "What happened?"

"When our division was about to launch an attack on the bastion, a large number of civilians surrounded by the enemy appeared. The cunning enemy walked behind them and was advancing towards our position!"

"These shameless Germans did such a despicable thing." Sameko said angrily, "Did you take any measures?"

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." Coyda replied awkwardly: "We have never encountered such a situation, and have not taken any measures yet."

Koida has never encountered such a situation, so how could Sameko have encountered it again. He frowned and thought for a while, and said to Koida: "Colonel Koida, order your troops to prepare for battle. Once the Germans use civilians as cover to attack you, they will fight back decisively."

"What should we do if civilians are accidentally injured?"

Sameko didn't know what to do, so he could only say vaguely: "You can figure it out yourself."

After finishing the call with Koida, Sameko realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly ordered someone to ask the division headquarters of the 182nd Division and the 84th Division to find out about Sokov's whereabouts.

Seeing that the battle was going well, Sokov wanted to leave the 84th Division and go to a new destination, but he received a call from Sameko. After listening to Sameko's report, he asked in surprise, "Comrade Chief of Staff, is what you said true?"

"Yes, it's true, Comrade Commander." Sameko asked Sokov in embarrassment: "I just couldn't think of a solution, so I called you for help. You should hurry up and think of a good solution. I am worried that if this continues, the 188th Division may be driven out of the fortress by the Germans."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, don't worry." After hearing Sameko's words, Sokov also felt flustered. He said repeatedly, "Let me think, let me think."

Fomenko, who was sitting not far away, saw Sokov answering a phone call, his expression suddenly became very solemn, and he asked with concern, "Comrade Commander, what happened?"

Hearing Fomenko ask himself, Sokov thought that the situation of the German army coercing civilians would definitely not only happen in the combat area of ​​the 188th Division, and other areas are also possible. He hurriedly covered the microphone with his hands, and said to Fomenko: "The chief of staff just told me that there were a large number of civilians surrounded by the Germans in the combat area of ​​the 188th Division. The enemy drove the civilians towards our army positions. Just call and ask Frontier if something similar happened."

After saying this, Sokov let go of the hand covering the microphone and said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please contact other divisions to see if there is a similar situation in their lot. Yes. As a result, report to me immediately."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sameko couldn't find a solution from Sokov, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but he could only say helplessly: "I will immediately contact the division commanders to see how the situation is there. .”

"Comrade Commander," Fomenko said when Sokov put down the phone, "my subordinate has encountered a similar situation, and his experience may be useful to you."

"Okay, call him here, and I'll ask him personally, what can I do to deal with this kind of conspiracy by the Germans."

A few minutes later, a sergeant named Lyushka came in from outside. After he entered the door, he saw not only the division commander, Major General Fomenko, but also an unfamiliar general, and he didn't know who to report to.

"Sergeant Lyushka," Fomenko introduced him, "the commander of the army, General Sokov, report to him."

"Comrade Commander," Lyushka turned to Sokov, raised his hand and saluted, and then reported according to the order: "Sergeant Lyushka is here to report to you, please give instructions!"

"Hello, Comrade Sergeant." Sokov stepped forward to shake hands with him, and then asked, "I heard that you have seen Germans attacking our army positions with civilians in their arms?"

"Yes, I did."

Knowing that the other party had indeed encountered a similar situation, Sokov asked curiously: "Then can you tell me, where did you encounter this situation?"

"The first week of the war, at the Brest Fortress!"

"Brest Fortress?!" Hearing this familiar ground, Sokov became agitated: "Then can you tell me, are you a subordinate of Commissar Fumin or Major Gavrilov? "

This time it was Lyushka's turn with a look of astonishment on his face: "Comrade Commander, you also know Commissar Fumin?"

"That's right, I've heard of it." Sokov was eager to know how to deal with the Germans who coerced the civilians, so he just casually said something, and then asked: "It seems that in the battle to defend the fortress, you followed Fumin The political commissar fought. Then under what circumstances did you encounter the situation where the German army coerced civilians?"

"Comrade Commander, the situation is like this." Lyushka explained to Sokov: "After the war broke out, I followed Commissar Fomin and stood near the Holm Gate. The enemy launched more than a dozen attacks on the area we were holding. Charged twice, but was repulsed by us every time without exception.

Seeing that they could not capture the Holm Gate that we were defending for a long time, the enemy came up with a poisonous plan, which was to drive away the captured wounded, medical personnel and civilians, and open a way in front of them so that we would not dare to shoot casually, so that they would be killed. You will be able to successfully capture Holm Gate. "

"Then how did you repel them?" Sokov asked curiously.

"Commander Fumin saw the wounded, medical staff and civilians walking in front, blocking our vision and preventing us from shooting at the enemy. After some thought, he decided to go out alone to deal with the enemy, and told another commander , as soon as he saw the kidnapped people lying down, he would shoot immediately. I heard him say that, and I thought it was strange, what ability could he have to make all the kidnapped people lie down?

Political Commissar Fumin walked out from the Holm Gate and walked towards the Germans. When he was still more than 20 meters away from the trapped people, he suddenly yelled at them: "Lie down, lie down quickly!" ’ He shouted in Russian, and our personnel could understand his words, and immediately got down on the spot; while the Germans couldn’t understand Russian, and stood there stupidly, so they became our targets. "

"It's really beautiful!" Fomenko slapped his leg excitedly after hearing Lyushka's words: "Why can't I come up with such a good idea?"

"Well, this is a good way." Although Sokov felt that this method was a bit old-fashioned, but now he can only use a dead horse as a living horse doctor. After he called Sameko, he suddenly remembered a key question : "Comrade Sergeant, I have another question. After the fall of the fortress, did you successfully break through, or were you captured?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Lyushka's face turned red: "I... I was captured."

Although in Sokov's army, no one discriminated against the commanders and fighters who had been captured, but this kind of thing has always made people look down. Fomenko got up, patted Lyushka on the shoulder, and said to him encouragingly: "Comrade sergeant, tell the commander how you got into our division."

Sokov saw that the other party was not scrawny, and he didn't look like he had just been rescued from a prison camp, so he asked curiously: "Comrade Sergeant, tell me, how did you come to the 84th Division?"

"Comrade Commander," Lyushka looked up at Sokov and said, "Although I was captured by the Germans, during the process of escorting me and a few comrades who were still in relatively good health, we took advantage of the Germans. Note that they fled into the nearby forest. Two of them were killed by the German search team while fleeing; I and the remaining three comrades spent more than a month fleeing to Kiev and joining the Southwest Front Army.”

After hearing that the other party escaped danger, he actually came to Kiev. Thinking of the Southwest Front Army, which was almost wiped out by the Germans in this area, Sokov couldn't help but shook his head with a wry smile. I thought Lyushka was a bit of a loser. I just escaped from the Brest Fortress and came to Kiev, which is about to fall. I wonder if he will be a prisoner again this time. "Then what did you experience after you arrived in Kiev?"

"Not long after I arrived in Kiev, I was wounded in an air raid by the German army. Because of the serious injuries and the bad situation in Kiev at the time, I was sent to Moscow with a group of seriously wounded people. After recovering from my injuries, I was sent to Moscow. The reorganized Southwestern Front participated in the attack on Kharkov. Unfortunately, it was captured by the Germans in the later stages of the campaign."

Sokov thought that this person really didn't know whether to say he was lucky or bad luck. If he stays in Kiev, there are only two endings waiting for him, one is to be captured, and the other is to die in battle. There is no third way to choose. After recovering from his injuries, he was incorporated into the Southwest Front Army and participated in the attack on Kharkov, but was unfortunately captured again. However, this did him no harm. If his troops were withdrawn to Stalingrad, it was still unknown whether he could survive the bloody battlefield.

"Then did you escape later, or were you liberated by our army?"

"I escaped." Lyushka said to Sokov: "After I was imprisoned in a prisoner-of-war camp, I have been looking for an opportunity to escape. After waiting for more than two months, I finally waited for such an opportunity. They would send a carriage to pull wood for the fire nearby. It happened that the original driver fell ill that day, so I temporarily took his place.

Since there was only one German soldier escorting the carriage, I felt that the opportunity of escape had come, so I drove the carriage to a hidden place and pretended that the axle was broken. While the German soldier was looking down at the axle, he finished him off with an ax on the seat. Then I fled towards the position of our army on horseback. After half a day, I found my unit. After some review, I was incorporated into the Voronezh Front Army. "

Sokov couldn't help being happy when he heard this: "Comrade Sergeant, won't you tell me that you were captured by the Germans again during the Battle of Kharkov at the beginning of this year?"

Unexpectedly, after Sokov finished speaking, Lyushka nodded unexpectedly, and replied truthfully: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I was indeed captured again in battle. But I, who have rich experience in escaping, took advantage of the When the Germans escorted us through a forest, they sneaked into the forest and hid. When the enemy was far away, I went back the same way to find my troops.”

"I really didn't expect that you were captured three times." Sokov shook his head and said, "It is estimated that there is no one in our army who has been captured more times than you."

"Comrade Commander, there are actually more than three times." Hearing what Sokov said, Lyushka replied with some embarrassment: "During the Battle of Kursk in early July, I was captured again by the Germans in Oboyan and imprisoned." Entered the prisoner-of-war camp. Fortunately, our army liberated the prisoner-of-war camp within a short period of time, and I was incorporated into the 84th Division as one of the rescued officers and fighters.”

After listening to Lyushka's narration, Sokov was really speechless. He never dreamed that there was a soldier in his army who had been captured four times. He waved at the other party and said, "Comrade Sergeant, there is nothing for you here, you can go."

As soon as Lyushka left, Fomenko said to Sokov nervously: "Comrade Commander, although Sergeant Lyushka has been captured by the Germans four times, I assure you that his loyalty is absolutely worthless." question."

"General Fomenko, don't be nervous." Seeing Fomenko's nervous look, Sokov quickly comforted him and said, "Although he has been captured four times, he has never surrendered to the enemy. If in today's ensuing battle, our commanders and fighters can solve the enemy's problem of driving out the trapped civilians according to the method he described, I will give him credit."