Red Moscow

Unexpectedly, after listening to Sokov's words, Belkin said firmly: "Comrade Brigadier, this matter is not trivial. If it is not handled properly, the consequences will be disastrous, so I must go back with you." Said When he got here, he glanced at Bely and Yakov, and added, "As for the work here, it can be handed over to Colonel Bely and Major Yakov."

Sokov was eager to return to Mamayev Post, so he did not object to Belkin's suggestion. Instead, he nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Commissar, let's go back to Mamayev Post together as you said." post."

On the way, Sokov thought angrily: "What the hell is this Guchakov doing? We only rescued him from a prisoner-of-war camp when we captured Kursk. It has only been a few months since he actually Being a prisoner again is simply too shameful."

Back at the brigade headquarters, after Sokov and Witkov greeted each other, they couldn't wait to ask Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, where is that Guchakov? Bring him here immediately. "

Sidolin quickly picked up the phone on the table, and ordered into the receiver: "Bring Guchakov here, the brigade commander wants to see him."

While waiting for Guchakov's arrival, Sokov decided to get a general idea of ​​the situation, and asked Witkov, "Comrade deputy brigade commander, what happened to Lieutenant Guchakov's capture?"

"I don't know the exact situation." Witkov replied: "The commander of the third battalion sent him here, saying that soldiers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs saw him captured by the German soldiers, but quickly sent him to the hospital. He was released, and it is suspected that he may have betrayed..." At this point, Vitkov paused for a moment, and then continued, "Comrade Brigadier, this is an extraordinary period. It stands to reason that Lieutenant Guchakov's situation , should be shot immediately, or sent to a punishment camp. But considering that he is a commander you value highly, I called the political commissar and hoped that you would personally dispose of him.”

"You are right, Comrade Deputy Brigadier Commander." Sokov waited for Vitkov to finish speaking, and said in a low voice, "We must be cautious about matters involving human life. If he really rebelled, he deserved to be shot. ; But if there are other secrets and wrongly killed a good person, it will be too late to regret."

When Guchakov was escorted into the headquarters by two soldiers, he was surprised to find that Sokov was also here, and a surprised expression suddenly appeared on his face. He knew that with Sukov's character, he would not deal with him hastily, but would carefully question the cause and effect. In this way, his chances of surviving would be greatly increased.

"Lieutenant Guchakov." Sokov asked someone to move a stool for Guchakov. After the other party sat down, he asked, "Tell me, how did you get captured by the German army, and why did the other party Will you release you on your own initiative?" In order to avoid arousing Guchakov's resistance, he deliberately did not mention the word "betrayal".

"Report to Comrade Brigadier Commander," Guchakov stood up and replied respectfully, "My company was ordered to stand firm on Sun Street. Our task is to resolutely prevent the enemy from occupying this street..."

"Okay, Lieutenant Guchakov, we all know what your mission is." Sokov was eager to know the truth of the matter, and was not interested in these trivial things, so he interrupted Guchakov If you don't want to, ask directly: "I want to know how you were captured?"

"It's like this, Comrade Brigadier." Seeing that Sokov wanted to know the truth, Guchakov explained to him: "I will take a row to stand in a building on the south side of Sun Street and block the attack along the way." The German army rushing into the street. The enemy launched two consecutive attacks. After being repelled by us, the enemy used two 75mm anti-tank guns. They used direct-point shooting and bombarded our exposed firepower points with high-explosive grenades. , and while we were suppressed by artillery fire and unable to observe, we rushed to the building and threw grenades through the window, causing us great casualties..."

Hearing this, Sokov couldn't help thinking secretly: "It seems that the Germans have also learned the tactic of bayoneting cannons. We must come up with a countermeasure as soon as possible, otherwise it will cause serious damage to the defenders in the direction of the city." Great loss."

"...As soon as the explosion of the grenade stopped, the German infantry broke into the building through the gate or the window, and started a battle with us floor by floor." Guchakov continued: "Although we resisted tenaciously, due to The disparity in the strength of the two sides, we fought less and less. When I retreated to the door of the basement, I found that there were no soldiers around me. They must have all died. There is a ton of explosives stored in the basement. The Germans are all buried in the ruins. Who knows..."

"Comrade Lieutenant, what's going on in the basement?" Seeing Guchakov's words, Sokov suddenly stopped and urged, "Why didn't you detonate these explosives?"

"Because I found out..." When Guchakov said this, his breathing suddenly became heavy: "At some point in the basement, a group of residents entered the basement, including old people, women and children, and even a A young woman with a baby. In the dim candlelight, I found that they were all staring at me with terrified eyes. At that moment, I realized that I had no right to decide the life and death of these people, so I gave up my plan to detonate the explosives and walked out again. basement.

As soon as I entered, I was held to my chest by a German corporal with a gun. I was worried that my actions would cause a bloody killing, so I took the initiative to put down the gun in my hand. Seeing that I gave up my resistance so easily, the German soldier was curious to know what was in the basement, so he pointed his gun at me and came to the door of the basement, looking inside. After seeing the situation inside clearly, he put down the gun, turned around and left without saying anything..."

After hearing Guchakov's narration, Sokov waved at the two soldiers and ordered: "You take Lieutenant Guchakov down first, and we will discuss how to deal with him. Remember, don't make things difficult He, do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Brigadier Commander!" The two soldiers agreed, and escorted Guchakov out again.

"Commanders, commanders," after Guchakov left, Sokov glanced at his three deputies one by one, and asked, "After listening to Lieutenant Guchakov's narration, what do you think? How should we deal with him?"

Sukov's words caused a silence, and no one was the first to speak out.

"Comrade Brigadier, I'm very curious." After a long time, Sidolin asked, "Why didn't the German soldier shoot at him, and even let him go?"

"I think the German soldier, maybe a member of the KPD, and at worst an anti-fascist, didn't shoot Guchakov after seeing the women and children in the basement." After expressing his point of view, in order to enhance his persuasiveness, Erkin gave an example: "The enemy started attacking Stalingrad, and some of the bombs dropped by their air force would always fail to explode. The anti-fascist fighters in the arsenal wrecked."

"Regardless of the reason why the soldier didn't shoot, tell me, how should we deal with Lieutenant Guchakov?" Sokov raised the question again, and first expressed his attitude, "I think he is a traitor. It is too much to surrender to the enemy, after all, he was captured by the German army to protect the residents in the basement, so there is no need to take any severe disciplinary measures against him."

Now that Sokov had set the tone, Belkin quickly echoed: "I agree with Comrade Brigadier Commander that Guchakov was captured by the German army to protect the residents. But we must note that his capture The prisoner did not bring any loss to our army, so I suggest that he be dealt with lightly."

"Actually, if Lieutenant Guchakov's capture hadn't happened to be seen by someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, no one would have mentioned it." After pondering for a long time, Witkov proposed his own solution: "Although Guchakov Lieutenant Kefu's intentions are good, but no matter what, he must be punished for putting down his weapon to the enemy. If he is let off so easily, other commanders and fighters will follow his example, isn't that a mess? "

"That's right, Comrade Deputy Brigadier Commander is right." Regarding Witkov's proposal, Sidolin expressed his support: "This time Guchakov was lucky to meet a German soldier who was not hostile to us. Only then can he and those residents escape unscathed. But not everyone has such good luck, if our soldiers put down their weapons on their own initiative, wouldn’t they become lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of the enemy?”

Seeing that all three had expressed their opinions, Sokov stood up and made a final concluding speech: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think he is suitable to continue to be the commander of the Ninth Company. I will call the commander of the Third Battalion later and choose A suitable comrade will take over the post of company commander. As for Guchakov himself, I think he will be sent to the guard company as a soldier, and his rank will be reduced to corporal. How about it, do you have any disagreements?"

Seeing that Sokov almost pushed Guchakov to the end, how could everyone have any different opinions, so he quickly replied: "No opinion!"

Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch. There were still four or five hours before dawn, and he said to Belgin, "Comrade Commissar, I plan to go back to the factory area, so don't go, stay here to assist the deputy brigade commander Go about your day-to-day work with the Chief of Staff."

Belkin heard Sokov's proposal and knew that no matter what he said, the other party would not let him go to the factory again, so he didn't insist anymore, but said with concern: "Comrade Brigadier, when you return to the factory this time , Take a platoon away from the guard company. With soldiers from the guard company by your side, at least your safety is guaranteed."

When Sokov came back this time, he really wanted to transfer some commanders and soldiers from the guard company to go to the factory with him, so that they could be used as a reserve team in case of an emergency. So hearing what Belkin said, he quickly told Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, call Sergesha and ask him to send the third platoon of Second Lieutenant Samoilov to follow me to the factory. Remember, send Guchako The corporal husband also took it with him."

"Understood." Sidolin nodded vigorously, and replied, "I will call Seryozha immediately and get the soldiers in the third platoon ready to go."