"I heard that before he surrendered to our army, he hid in a bomb crater and sang the Internationale." As soon as Gurdiev finished speaking, before Sokov could express his position, Bely interjected and asked: "No. Do you know if this is true?"
"Yes, there is indeed such a thing." When Ball 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 German Communist Party, he should be a person who sympathizes with the German Communist Party." After Bely learned what he knew from Sokov, he said with a clear attitude: "I I think we can let him go back. Let him tell the enemy that this position is still in their own hands, thereby buying us more time."
Seeing that Bely had agreed to let Bauer go, Gurdiev became a little hesitant. He could only turn his attention to Sokov and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what do you think about whether to let him 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, just because he knows "The Internationale", he cannot be a die-hard communist." After Sokov made his decision , turned to ask Gurdiev: "Comrade Colonel, are the weapons and ammunition in your division currently in a state of serious shortage?"
"Yes, after successive battles, our division's ammunition has been almost exhausted. After seizing this position, although some German equipment was seized, it still cannot meet the needs of high-intensity operations." Gurtier After the husband answered Sokov's question, he suddenly thought that while we were discussing whether to release Bauer, why did he suddenly talk about his lack of ammunition? He asked in confusion: "Comrade Brigadier, I don't understand. What does it have to do with whether to release Ball?"
When Sokov and others were discussing how to deal with Bauer, Bauer standing opposite was extremely anxious. Although he heard the three officers in front of him constantly mentioning his name, he could not understand Russian at all. , have no idea what the other person is talking about. He cast a pleading look at Askel who was standing aside, hoping to learn the inside story from him. Unexpectedly, Askel met his eyes and turned to look elsewhere, with no intention of translating 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 would think that the position here is still in their hands." Seeing Gurdiev's confused look, With a look of explanation, 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, hoping that he can replenish it. At the same time, in order to facilitate Contact us, it would be best to provide us with two more radio stations.”
After listening to Sokov's words, Bely and Gurdiev had shocked expressions on their faces. In order not to embarrass Sokov, Gurdiev said tactfully: "Comrade Brigadier, I don't think the Germans will agree to the conditions you have proposed."
"How will you know if it works if you don't try it?" After Sokov said this, he looked up at Askel, who was standing next to Ball, and ordered him: "Comrade Captain, please tell Corporal Ball that this is the case. Said we were ready to let him go."
When Ball heard that Sokov planned to let him go, he was overjoyed and kept talking. Although Sokov couldn't understand what he said, he could understand that he was expressing his gratitude to himself. After Ball calmed down, Sokov continued: "Corporal Ball, we are not letting you go back without conditions. We hope you can do something for us."
Bauer, who was eager to escape, immediately asked impatiently after listening to Askel's translation: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, if you have any conditions, just put them forward. As long as I can do it, I will definitely comply with it."
"I want you to go back and tell your division commander that this position is still in the hands of your own people." Sokov looked at Bauer and said expressionlessly: "But the army's ammunition is running low. I hope he can Send someone to replenish us as soon as possible. At the same time, the radio station in the camp is broken and we cannot contact the division headquarters and regiment headquarters. It is best to replenish two radio stations for us."
Bauer never dreamed that the exchange condition Sokov proposed to him was to let him go back and deceive his superiors. He only felt that his legs were weak. He squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, and a fierce ideological struggle started in his mind.
Seeing that Ball was caught in a war between heaven and man after listening to his words, Sokov struck again while the iron was hot and said: "Corporal Ball, I understand your mentality at the moment. If you really follow what I said, go back Report to your superiors. If you are found out, you will probably be shot immediately. But I also remind you that 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, we will deceive you. Sir, get us the weapons and ammunition we need, and then you can return here with the ammunition delivery vehicle. Where to go, you can think about it yourself?"
Sokov gave Ball two choices: one was to shoot him immediately if he refused to cooperate; the other was to actively cooperate and then return with the ammunition delivery vehicle, so that he could escape safely. He didn't know what the other party would choose. While his eyes were fixed on the other party, his hand unconsciously rested on the holster on his waist. Once Bauer chose to refuse, he would draw the gun and shoot without hesitation.
Bauer saw Sokov's little move and muttered to himself: If he refused, he would be shot immediately; but if he really wanted to go back and deceive the commander, he would not be able to escape death once he was discovered. His eyes rolled, and a new idea suddenly came to his mind: I can pretend to agree to them, and when I return to the division headquarters, I will report the real situation to the commander, so that I can escape and escape. One death.
However, his idea was seen by Sokov. Sokov snorted coldly and said: "Corporal Ball, I warn you, don't use any crooked ideas. You think you pretended to agree to cooperate with us and snitched to your superiors after you escaped safely. Don't forget, there are many of us. They watched you singing "The Internationale" and came out to surrender to us. Think about it, if your commander knew about this, would he spare your life?"
Bauer didn't expect that Xiao Jiujiu in his heart would be seen so clearly by Sokov, and he hurriedly replied: "Don't dare, don't dare! Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, if you let me go back, I will do what you said." Report from my commander."
Seeing that Bauer had made a promise, Sokov decided to believe him and said to Gurdiev: "Comrade Colonel, since Corporal Bauer is willing to cooperate with us, let him go."
"Okay, Comrade Brigadier." Gurdiev knew that letting go of Bauer was a certainty. No matter how much he objected, Sokov would not change his mind, so he nodded and said cooperatively: " I immediately arranged for people to send him out of our defense area and let him return to the German side."
"By the way, can his motorcycle still be used?" Sokov thought of the motorcycle that fell on the ground and quickly asked: "If he doesn't have a motorcycle, it may affect our safety." plan."
"Comrade Brigadier, don't worry about this. I have many soldiers who can repair vehicles." Seeing Gurdiev's hesitation, Bely quickly interjected: "Even if it is damaged, my people can repair it in the shortest time." Have the car repaired within the time limit.”
When Bauer was shot by the Soviet army, the wheel of his motorcycle was damaged. Fortunately, there was a spare motorcycle tire on the position, and Bely's men immediately replaced it. Ten minutes later, Bauer left the position on his motorcycle and sped towards the division headquarters dozens of kilometers away.
Looking at Bauer's retreating back, Sokov immediately ordered Gurdiev: "Comrade Colonel, immediately order someone to collect the uniforms of German soldiers and have all your people put them on. In this way, even if a small German army appears, It’s also not easy for them to see the flaws.”
Hearing Sokov's order, Gurdiev said with some embarrassment: "But, Comrade Brigadier, the friendly forces are coming to defend soon. Once they see that all the German troops are wearing German uniforms on the position, will they? Is there a misunderstanding?”
"Colonel Gurdiev, you don't have to worry about this. The commanders and fighters in the positions 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 forces. ." In order to reassure Gurdiev, Sokov also pointed at Askel, who was standing not far away: "Besides, we also have friendly liaison officers here. Even if all of us are wearing German uniforms, When friendly forces appear, as long as Captain Askell is the one to make contact, unnecessary misunderstandings can be avoided."
Gurdiev felt that what Sokov said made sense, and quickly called to his subordinates to remove the still intact military uniforms from the German corpses and hand them to the soldiers who were busy in the positions on the south side of the hillside.
While Gurdiev was busy, Bely handed a cigarette to Sokov and asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, do you think the Germans will send us ammunition?"
"If Corporal Ball cooperates fully, I think the enemy will still send us some ammunition." Sokov struck a match, lit it for Bely first, then lit the cigarette in his mouth, took a puff and said : "We are just fishing in troubled waters. Whether we can catch big fish depends on our luck."
When Bely heard what Sokov said, he couldn't help but grinned, "Comrade Brigade Commander, as far as I know, your luck seems to have always been very good, otherwise it would not be possible for you to go from one to another in less than a year." A corporal became a lieutenant colonel. If General Rokossovsky's troops can use this place as a starting point for attack and rush into the encirclement to relieve Stalingrad, you might even get a medal and a promotion."
