Red Moscow

"I heard that before he surrendered to our army, he once hid in a bomb crater and sang "The Internationale." Gurdiyev had just finished speaking, and before Sokov could express his opinion, Bely interrupted and asked: "No Do you know if it's true?"

"Yes, there is such a thing." When Bauer sang the "Internationale", Sokov heard it with his own ears, so he said in a positive tone: "When he sang, Colonel Gurdiev and I All present."

"Since he can sing "The Internationale", even if he is not a member of the KPD, he should be a person who sympathizes with the KPD." Bely said clearly after learning what he knew from Sokov: "I I think we can let him go back. Let him tell the enemy that this position is still in their own hands, so as to buy us more time."

Seeing that Bely had agreed to let Bauer go, Gurdiyev became a little hesitant. He could only turn his attention to Sokov, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Brigadier, what do you think, whether to let go or not?" put?"

"I think what Colonel Bely said makes sense. Regardless of whether he is a member of the German Communist Party or not, he cannot be a die-hard communist just because he knows the Internationale." Sokov made his own decision. , turned around and asked Gurdiyev: "Comrade Colonel, are the weapons and ammunition in your division in a state of serious shortage?"

"That's right, after repeated battles, our division's ammunition is almost exhausted. After capturing this position, even though we have captured some German equipment, it still cannot meet the needs of high-intensity combat." After answering Sokov's question, the husband suddenly thought, he was discussing whether to release Bauer, why did he suddenly talk about his lack of ammunition? What does that have to do with releasing Ball?"

When Sokov and the others were discussing how to deal with Bauer, Bauer standing opposite was very anxious. Although he heard the three officers in front of him keep mentioning his name, he couldn't understand Russian at all. , I have no idea what the other party is talking about. He cast a begging look at Askel who was on the side, hoping to get some inside information from him. Unexpectedly, Askel met his eyes, and turned his head to look elsewhere, without any thought of interpreting for Bauer.

"Didn't Colonel Bely just say that after we released Bauer, we asked him to bring false news back to the Germans, so that the German commanders thought that the position here was still in their hands." Seeing Gurdiyev's puzzled expression Sokov explained to him: "In order to make everything more real, I also plan to ask Bauer to report to the German commander that the ammunition on the position is seriously insufficient, and I hope he can supplement it. At the same time, in order to facilitate Get in touch, and it would be best to provide us with two more radio stations."

After hearing Sokov's words, Bely and Gurdiyev both showed shocked expressions on their faces. In order not to embarrass Sokov, Gurdiyev said tactfully: "Comrade Brigadier, I don't think the Germans will agree to these conditions you put forward."

"If you don't try it, how will you know if it will work?" Sokov finished speaking, looked up at Askell who was standing beside Ball, and told him, "Comrade Captain, please tell Corporal Ball to Said we were going to let him go back."

When Ball heard that Sokov planned to let him go back, he was overjoyed and chattered non-stop. Although Sokov couldn't understand what he said, he could understand that he was expressing his gratitude to himself. After Bauer calmed down, Sokov continued: "Corporal Bauer, we let you go back without conditions. I hope you can do something for us."

Bauer, who was eager to get away, couldn't wait to ask after listening to Askell's translation: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, what conditions do you have? Feel free to ask, as long as I can do it, I will definitely do it."

"I want you to go back and tell your division commander that this position is still in your own hands." Sokov looked at Bauer and said expressionlessly: "But the troops are running out of ammunition, I hope he can Send someone to replenish us as soon as possible. At the same time, the radio station in the battalion is broken, and it is impossible to get in touch with the division and regiment headquarters. It is best to give us two more radio stations.”

Bauer never dreamed that the quid pro quo Sokov offered him was to let him go back and deceive his chief. He only felt that his legs were weak, and he squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, and a fierce ideological struggle unfolded in his mind.

Seeing that Ball had fallen into a battle between heaven and man after listening to his own words, Sokov said while the iron was hot: "Corporal Ball, I understand your psychology at the moment. If you really follow what I said, go back Report to your commander, if you are found out, you may be shot immediately. But I remind you at the same time, if you do not agree to our conditions, I can order someone to shoot you immediately; but if you are willing to cooperate with us, go to deceive your Commander, get the weapons and ammunition we need, and you can return here with the vehicle that delivers the ammunition. Where to go, you can think about it yourself?"

Sokov gave Bauer two choices: one is to shoot him immediately if he refuses to cooperate; the other is to actively cooperate and then return with the ammunition delivery car, so that he can escape safely. He didn't know how the other party would choose. While staring at the other party, his hand unconsciously rested on the holster around his waist. Once Ball chose to refuse, he would draw his gun and shoot without hesitation.

Seeing Sokov's little trick, Bauer murmured to himself: If he refused, he would be shot immediately; but if he really wanted to go back and deceive the officer, once he was found out, he would not escape death either. His eyeballs rolled, and a new idea suddenly popped up in his mind: I can pretend to agree to them, and when I get back to the division headquarters, I will report the real situation to the commander, so that I can escape danger and escape from danger. One dies.

However, his idea was seen by Sokov. Sokov snorted coldly, and said: "Corporal Ball, I warn you, don't use your brains. You think you pretend to agree to cooperate with us, and report to your chief after you escape safely. Don't forget, we have many The person who watched you singing "The Internationale" came out and surrendered to us. Think about it, if your chief knew about this, would he avoid your life?"

Bauer didn't expect Sukov to see so clearly what was in his heart. He hurriedly replied, "Don't dare, dare not! Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, if you let me go back, I will definitely follow what you said My officer reports."

Seeing Bauer's promise, Sokov decided to trust him, and said to Gurdiyev, "Comrade Colonel, since Corporal Bauer is willing to cooperate with us, let him go."

"Okay, Comrade Brigadier." Gurdiyev knew that letting go of Bauer was already a certainty. No matter how much he objected, Sokov would not change his mind, so he nodded and said cooperatively: " I immediately arranged for someone to send him out of our area and send him back to the Germans."

"By the way, is his motorcycle still usable?" Sokov thought of the motorcycle that fell on the ground, and asked again: "If he doesn't have a motorcycle, it may affect our life." plan."

"Comrade Brigadier, don't worry about this, I have plenty of soldiers who can repair vehicles." Bely saw that Gurdiyev seemed a little hesitant, and quickly interjected: "Even if it is broken, my men can still repair vehicles in the shortest possible time." Get the car fixed in time."

When Bauer was shot by the Soviet army, the wheel of the motorcycle was damaged. Fortunately, there were spare motorcycle tires on the position, and Bely's men immediately replaced them. Ten minutes later, Ball left the position on a motorcycle and galloped towards the division headquarters dozens of kilometers away.

Looking at the back of Bauer going away, Sokov immediately told Gurdiyev: "Comrade Colonel, immediately order someone to collect the uniforms of the German soldiers, and let your people change them. In this way, even if a small German army appears, It’s not easy for them to see the flaws.”

Hearing Sokov's order, Gurdiyev said with some embarrassment: "But, Comrade Brigadier Commander, the friendly troops will come to take over the defense soon. Once they see that there are all German uniforms on the ground, will they There was a misunderstanding?"

"Colonel Gurdiyev, you don't have to worry about this. The commanders and fighters on the south side of the hillside have all changed into German uniforms; while the comrades on the north side of the hillside still wear the current military uniforms, so that there will be no misunderstandings with friendly troops. .” In order to reassure Gurdiyev, Sokov also pointed to Askel who was standing not far away: “Besides, we have liaison officers from friendly forces here, even if all of us are wearing German uniforms, When friendly forces appear, as long as Captain Askell communicates, unnecessary misunderstandings can be avoided."

Gurdiyev felt that what Sokov said was very reasonable, and hurriedly greeted his subordinates, took off the relatively complete military uniforms from the German corpses, and handed them to the soldiers who were busy in the position on the south side of the hillside.

Taking advantage of Gurdiyev's busy time, Bely handed Sokov a cigarette and asked curiously, "Comrade Brigadier, do you think the Germans will send us ammunition?"

"If Corporal Bauer cooperates fully, I think the enemy will still send us some ammunition." Sokov struck a match, first lit it for Bely, then lit the cigarette in his mouth, and said after taking a puff. : "We are fishing in troubled waters. Whether we can catch big fish depends on our luck."

Hearing what Sokov said, Bely couldn't help grinning, "Comrade Brigadier, as far as I know, your luck seems to have been very good all the time, otherwise it would be impossible for you to go from one year to the next in less than a year. A corporal became a lieutenant colonel. If General Rokossovsky's troops can use this as a starting point for an offensive, rush into the encirclement and clear Stalingrad, maybe you will get medals and promotions."