"Comrade Brigade Commander," after listening to Askel's translation, Bely quickly leaned into Sokov's ear and whispered: "Tell me, do the Germans not know that we have occupied this position?"
"No way?" Sokov said with some surprise when he heard what Bely said: "There is a lot of movement in our attack here. It is impossible for the enemy not to notice it. Maybe the German commander who stood here has just started our attack. , I have already reported it to their superiors through the radio.”
"Corporal Ball," in order to find out what was going on, Sokov cheered up again and asked the prisoner standing in front of him: "According to what you just explained, you are just an engineer. Why are you on the top? How about you serve as a communications soldier?"
"That's right, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel." Seeing that Sokov finally got to the point of his question, Bauer quickly and respectfully replied: "In the long battle, our communications troops suffered relatively large losses, and they were unable to obtain them in the short term. Supplement, therefore, the commander transferred manpower from other arms to perform the mission of the communications corps."
"I think such an order can be conveyed through the radio." Sokov saw a radio station damaged by a grenade piled up in a corner of the command headquarters, and asked thoughtfully: "Why does your superior want to Let you take a trip?"
"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel!" After hearing the translation, Bauer quickly replied: "Because the radio is broken, the division headquarters cannot get in touch with the defenders here, so I was sent here to convey the order."
"Where are the orders?"
"Here!" Bauer quickly took out a square piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Askel who was standing next to him. After Askel took it, he walked over and handed it to Sokov without looking at it.
Sokov unfolded the paper and saw a few lines of letters scrawled on it, but unfortunately he couldn't understand them at all. After looking at it pretentiously for a while, he handed it to Gurdiev who was aside and said with a smile: "Comrade Colonel, take a look."
Gurdiev Bisokov was self-aware. After looking at the other party with contempt, he laughed and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I don't understand German and I can't understand what is written on it."
Sokov smiled awkwardly, handed the order back to Askel, and said to him with a red face: "Comrade Captain, do you know the words on it? Can you read it to us?"
Askel took the order, read it carefully, nodded, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, Ball did not lie. The content of this order is basically consistent with what he said. Just let them hold on to their position, and we must not let our troops outside the encirclement break through the defenses and rush to Orlovka to join forces with the troops in the city."
"Comrade Brigadier, I can now fully confirm it." Belly suddenly said in shock: "The Germans still don't know that their position is lost!"
"Is this really the case?" Sokov said dubiously, and then ordered Askel: "Comrade Captain, ask him when he set off from the German division headquarters?"
After Askel asked Bauer, he faced Sokov and replied: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, he set off from the German division headquarters an hour ago. Before setting off, he did not know that this place had been occupied by our army. , otherwise I wouldn’t have barged in so rashly just now.”
After listening to Askel's translation, Sokov looked at Bely and Gurdiev sitting on his left and right, and then asked: "Two comrades, colonels, do you think what he said is true? "
"Comrade Brigadier," Bely was the first to express his stance: "I can't think of any need for Corporal Bauer to lie? Whether he is a real member of the German Communist Party or not, we don't care, but the orders he carries are indeed As he said, he ordered the enemies standing here to strengthen their defenses, resolutely block the attack of the friendly forces, and prevent them from rushing to Orlovka to join us."
"I think what Colonel Bely said makes sense." Gurdiev nodded and said: "If the Germans really knew that we had captured this important position, they would have sent out a large army to attack us long ago. But now there is no movement, which proves that they are not aware of it at all.”
After the two colonels finished speaking, Sokov did not immediately express his opinion. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table and began to think rapidly in his mind. From the moment he occupied the position to the present, the series of deployments he made were all in response to the enemy's attack. But they just received news that the German army still knew nothing about the loss of this important position. Maybe they could make good use of this matter to buy more time.
"Corporal Power." After Sokov's fingers stopped, he looked up at Power and asked, "After you send the order, what will you do next?"
Facing Sokov's question, Ball was at a loss, and he didn't know how to answer. Seeing that Bauer was still silent, Sokov guessed that the other party must not understand what he meant, and quickly added: "I am asking, after you send the order here, will you return to the division headquarters immediately, or will you continue to stay here. "
After figuring out what question Sokov wanted to ask, Bauer breathed a sigh of relief and then replied: "After I send the order, I will return to the division headquarters immediately and report the situation here to the commander."
Sokov thought to himself: If he leaves Bauer here, the German commander may think that something happened to him on the way when he sees that he has not returned, so he will send new communications troops to deliver the message, and then he will occupy the position. things may be exposed. But before figuring out Bauer's true identity, it would be too risky to send him back like this. Maybe everything he is doing now is to numb himself, to give himself the illusion that he is a reliable person, and then Let him go. As soon as he returns to the German division headquarters, he will truthfully report the situation here to the German commander without reservation. By then, the Germans will still know that the position here is occupied by them.
"What should I do with this Bauer?" Sokov asked himself silently in his mind: "Should I let him go or not?"
After thinking for a long time, Sokov could not come up with a good solution, so he decided to hand over this conflict to Bely and Gurdiev: "Two comrades, colonels, Corporal Ball who surrendered to us, no matter what we are Keeping him or letting him go may lead to the leakage of intelligence about our army's occupation of this place. Tell me, how should I deal with it?"
"I think it's better to let it go." Bely said cautiously: "It's just a matter of time before the Germans know that we have captured this position. If he answers the German division headquarters and helps us hide the matter, we can gain more Some time for fortifications.”
"What do you mean, Colonel Gurdiev?" After Sokov waited for Bely to finish speaking, he turned to look at Gurdiev and asked politely: "Should you let him go, or continue to detain him?"
"In my opinion, it is not impossible to let him go." Gurdiev said solemnly: "But I think we must first find out his identity. Only if he is worthy of our trust can we let him go."
