Red Moscow

Come to Zhukov's office.

At this time, there was no waiting crowd in the office outside, and only the lieutenant colonel sat alone behind his desk.

Seeing Sokov and Vaserigov entering the door, he quickly stood up, walked around the desk and greeted them: "General Sokov, you are back!"

"Yes, I'm back." Sokov pointed towards the office inside and asked tentatively: "Is Comrade Marshal still in there?"

"Yes, General Sokov, Marshal Zhukov is still inside." The lieutenant colonel said to Sokov: "He is talking to the chief of staff, General Malinin."

Knowing that Zhukov was discussing work with Malinin in the office inside, Sokov felt that he could not go in and disturb them, so he said to the lieutenant colonel: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, then I will sit here for a while and wait for Chief of Staff Malinin to leave." It’s not too late to see the marshal.”

Unexpectedly, the Lieutenant Colonel said unexpectedly: "General Sokov, Comrade Marshal once told me that as soon as you come back, you need to report to him immediately no matter what time. Since you have come back, I will report to him immediately. "

Since it was something Zhukov had said hello to, Sokov would naturally not object. He nodded and allowed the lieutenant colonel to open the closed door and go in to report to Zhukov.

Not long after, the lieutenant colonel walked out of the office inside and said to Sokov with a smile: "General Sokov, Marshal, please come in."

After thanking the lieutenant colonel, Sokov stepped into the office.

The moment he entered the office, the lieutenant colonel gently closed the door behind him.

Seeing Zhukov sitting behind his desk, Sokov raised his hand in salute. When he was about to report in accordance with the regulations, Zhukov waved his hand and said: "Okay, we are not outsiders, so let's avoid these formalities. . This is Chief of Staff Ma Lining. You all know him, so I won’t introduce him to you."

The short and fat Malinin stretched out his hand to Sokov and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, Misha!"

"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov held Malinin's hand and said with a smile, "Nice to see you here."

"Misha, I think today is the last time we see each other."

Sokov was stunned, and then asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I wonder what you mean by this?"

"That's right, Misha." Zhukov said with a smile behind the desk: "We are about to establish a cluster in Austria, and Comrade Malinin will be transferred to serve as commander."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov knew that Malinin was about to be promoted and quickly congratulated him: "Please accept my congratulations to you on obtaining a higher position."

Ma Lining laughed twice and said modestly: "I have been a staff officer for more than 20 years. I have never served as a military officer, and I don't know if I am qualified for this position."

"You will definitely be qualified for this position." Sokov asked cautiously: "I wonder who will take up this position after you leave?" When he asked this question, he felt particularly uneasy, worried that Zhukov would tell him that he would take over. The person who holds Malinen's position is himself.

Fortunately, what he was worried about did not happen. Zhukov said slowly: "The person who took over Malinin's post is Kurasov, Vladimir Vasilyevich Kurasov."

Perhaps because he was worried that Sokov did not know Krasov, he also made a point of popularizing science: "After the outbreak of the Patriotic War, he first served as the Chief of Staff of the Northwestern Front. In October, he was promoted to major general. In December, he was appointed as the 4th Assault Army of the Kalinin Front. Chief of Staff, Assistant General Yereomenko and Lieutenant General Golikov took over the position of commander of the army in March 1942. In May, he was promoted to lieutenant general and commanded the troops to participate in the Toropets-Holm and Great Battles. Battle of Luki.

In May 1943, when Yereomenko became the commander of the Kalinin Front, he was appointed chief of staff of the front. The front was renamed the 1st Baltic Front and after Yereomenko resigned, he continued to serve as chief of staff to the new commander, General Bagramyan, until the end of the war, and was promoted to general in June 1944. "

After listening to Zhukov's introduction, Sokov was thinking to himself. If his superiors really wanted him to serve as deputy chief of staff and be responsible for military matters, they must have a good relationship with Krasov to ensure that he can work in the future. carried out smoothly.

While he was thinking wildly, he heard Zhukov say again: "Misha, I repeatedly applied to the Supreme Command, hoping to transfer you to Berlin, because after Malinin was transferred, the position of chief of staff became vacant. , you are the best candidate.”

"Comrade Marshal," after hearing Zhukov say that he had planned to take over Malinin's position, Sokov quickly waved his hands and said in a panic: "If you ask me to command the war, I can do it. But when it comes to managing a city, I don't know how to do it. There is no such ability."

"How will you know if you don't try." After Zhukov said this, he turned the topic to the issue of prisoner-of-war camps: "By the way, you went to the US military prisoner-of-war camp today. What was the situation there? Are there any torturers? Condition?"

"Comrade Marshal, what should I say?" Sokov replied with a wry smile: "The prisoner-of-war camps that the US military arranged for us to inspect have been arranged in advance. We can only see what they want us to see, and the prisoner-of-war camps The real situation inside is impossible to know.”

Before Sokov came, Malinin learned about Sokov's visit to the US military prisoner of war camp from Zhukov. Now after listening to his story, he asked cautiously: "Misha, so what do you think about the US military's prisoner of war camp?" Is there indeed prisoner abuse in prisoner-of-war camps?”

"It's not just the abuse of prisoners." Sokov said: "And I suspect that a large number of prisoners of war died in these prison camps, but this news was deliberately concealed by the Americans."

"Is it true?" Ma Lining asked in a skeptical tone: "If a large number of prisoners of war died in the prisoner of war camp, I think we would have known about it long ago."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the death of prisoners of war absolutely exists." Faced with Malinin's doubts, Sokov said in a positive tone: "I went to the prisoner of war camp to inspect this time, and met a German major who asked me for help. He even Willing to give me two kilograms of gold in exchange for his freedom."

"What, two kilograms of gold?" When Zhukov heard this, his eyes widened in surprise: "He is really rich." After a pause, he continued: "Misha, tell me the details. what is going on."

Sokov quickly told Zhukov and Malinin how he met Major Peterson and how the other party conducted private transactions with him. Finally, he said: "I have made a request to Colonel Jones, the person in charge of the prisoner of war camp. , I hope he can release Major Peterson. The other party also promised me that he would release Major Peterson in a few days.”

"What plans does Major Peterson have after he is released by the Americans?"

"He said he was ready to return to his home in eastern Berlin to reunite with his family. I have already spoken to him. If he can leave the US military prisoner of war camp, he must come to the Adlon Hotel to find me." Sokov briefly After talking about Peterson's situation, he specifically added: "But if he wants to leave the US military prisoner of war camp smoothly, he will definitely reach some kind of agreement with the US in private, and it is an agreement that is very unfavorable to us."

"It's very possible." Ma Lining nodded and said: "Although we are allies with the US military now. But with the disappearance of the common enemy, the contradictions between us will be exposed bit by bit, and we may break up one day. , or even fight each other." Perhaps because he was worried that Zhukov and Sokov would not believe his statement, he also emphasized: "In September 1939, we and the Germans divided Poland, less than two years later. In a short period of time, our two countries have become enemies and fought a war that caused tens of millions of casualties. If there were a war with the US military, I think the number of casualties would be far greater than that of the Great Patriotic War. "

"Misha, since you can see this, why do you let him find you?" Zhukov asked.

"Whether he compromises with the Americans or not, as long as he returns to our side, I think he is still valuable."

"Usage value?" Ma Lining asked with interest: "Misha, tell me, what is his use value?"

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov felt that what he was about to say needed to be approved by Zhukov, so he faced Zhukov and said: "I think we should set up an army composed mainly of Germans to help us manage the city and Ideas to speed up urban reconstruction.”

Zhukov frowned: "Why?"

Malinin didn't wait for Sokov to speak, and said first: "Misha, as early as after the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, a captured German general proposed to us that he would come forward to form an army to attack our country. Friendly German troops, but they were rejected by us. The reason is that once such an army is formed, how to completely control them will be an insurmountable problem. "

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I understand what you mean." Sokov looked at Malinin and said: "Under the circumstances at that time, it was indeed inappropriate to form an army composed of Germans. No one can guarantee that this army will When troops encounter their compatriots on the battlefield, they will not defect on the battlefield, but the situation today is different. It is imperative to form an army composed of Germans.”

Sokov did not know whether Zhukov would adopt his proposal. According to his memory, East Germany was established on October 7, 1949, and the regular East German army was formed on March 1, 1956. In other words, it would have to wait until ten years before German troops appeared in the Soviet-occupied areas.

"Comrade Malinin," Zhukov turned the pencil in his hand with one hand and looked at Malinin and asked, "What do you think of this matter?"

"Comrade Marshal," Malinin guessed that since Sokov made this suggestion, he must have carefully considered it. If he expressed his opinion rashly, it might affect Zhukov's decision. "I think we should listen to Misha's opinion first. Let's see. How did he think about it?"

Zhukov nodded and asked Sokov: "Misha, tell me why you suddenly thought of forming an army belonging to the Germans?"

"Comrade Marshal." Since Zhukov gave him a chance to speak, Sokov naturally wanted to make it clear to him what he was thinking: "During the war, it is inappropriate to form an army composed entirely of Germans. , mainly because when these people face their compatriots, do they have the courage to take up arms and fight with them; secondly, once the German high command discovers that there is actually an army composed entirely of Germans in the organization of our army, Then they will definitely find ways to carry out sabotage, instigate officers and soldiers in the army to rebel, encourage them to defect on the battlefield, and cause trouble to our army. "

"Well, that makes sense." Zhukov nodded slightly and said in an encouraging tone: "Misha, keep talking."

"Now that the war is over, the focus of our work should be to help the people in Berlin return to normal life as soon as possible." Sokov, who was encouraged by Zhukov, continued: "Although we have already started these tasks. Due to the language barrier, there are huge obstacles in the communication between our commanders and the people in the city. When we carry out our work, they not only do not help, but unexpectedly they are also holding us back.

I think about it this way, we can select good-performing prisoners of war from the prison camps and recruit a group of volunteers in the city to form a new army. "Sokov said cautiously: "In order to facilitate management, the size of this unit should not be too large. The highest organizational structure should be the regiment level. The regiment leader and political commissar are all our people, and the Germans serve as deputies, but he has no military command. It can only help us carry out our daily work. "

Then Sokov told Zhukov in detail some of the details of the organization he envisioned, and finally said: "Comrade Marshal, I have finished my words. As for whether an army belonging to the Germans should be formed, it is up to you. The final say.”

Zhukov said nothing, stood up and walked out from behind his desk, pacing back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. From his frown, Sokov could guess that the other party must be carefully considering his proposal. He did not speak, but quietly watched Zhukov walking back and forth, waiting for him to make his final decision.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Zhukov finally stopped, looked at Ma Lining and asked, "Ma Lining, I wonder what you think of Misha's proposal?"

"Comrade Marshal, I think we can give it a try." Ma Lining said: "What Misha said is true. Although we have a lot of troops in the city, due to the language barrier, there are huge obstacles in communicating with the local people. This is very difficult for us. It’s very detrimental to our work.”

Although Malinen did not clearly say whether he supported or opposed it, anyone with a discerning eye could tell from what he said that he agreed with Sokov's proposal. Zhukov obviously guessed Malinin's thoughts. He nodded slowly and then said: "But this matter is of great importance. I need to call the Supreme Commander himself to hear his opinion."

He raised his hand and looked at the time. Although it was just dark in Berlin, it was already early morning in Moscow. It was obviously inappropriate to call Stalin at this time. He returned to his desk and sat down, looked up at Sokov and said, "Misha, go back and write your proposal in writing and give it to me for review tomorrow."