After receiving Sokov's reply, Kahn immediately returned to his own position and reported to the colonel's adjutant who was waiting there: "Mr. Colonel, General Sokov said, let us use three hundred prisoners of war to fight in front of their position. Two hundred meters away, an exchange ceremony will be held.”
"I can't make the decision on this matter." After hearing this, the adjutant said coldly: "I need to ask Marshal Manstein for his permission."
The adjutant went to General Knobelsdorf's command cabin and reported Sokov's terms of exchange to Manstein via his telephone line. After hearing this, Manstein said without hesitation: "Promise him. Give the microphone to General Knobelsdorf. I have something to say to him."
Hearing Knobelsdorf's voice coming from the receiver, Manstein immediately said: "General Knobelsdorf, select five hundred people from the prisoners of war you have captured."
"What, pick out five hundred people?" Knobelsdorff couldn't believe his ears. Sokov only proposed to exchange 300 prisoners of war for Hornadorff's body, and Manstein agreed in one breath. Giving five hundred to others must mean that he heard it wrong: "Marshal, are you talking about giving five hundred prisoners of war in exchange for the body of General Hornerdorf?"
"Yes, that's what I mean." The reason why Manstein offered to exchange 500 prisoners of war for Hornadorff's body was not out of good intentions: "As far as I know, the Russians captured by you Among the prisoners, a considerable proportion of the sick and wounded account for it. We don’t have that much medicine now to treat our enemies. Since Sokov wants their people, then give them to him, preferably as many as possible. The better.”
"I understand, Your Majesty Marshal." After understanding Manstein's wishful thinking, Knobelsdorf said happily: "The Russian prisoners of war used for exchange are definitely sick and wounded."
"And." Manstein continued before the other party put down the phone: "When the exchange ceremony is over and our people return to the position with the body of General Hornedorff, focus all your artillery on them. Bombard the Russian positions and destroy them with our steel and fire."
After listening to Manstein's order, Knobelsdorff couldn't help but feel stunned. He knew that this decision was very cruel. If the Russian prisoners of war released were all wounded, then everyone would not wait until they returned to the opposite position. , a sudden artillery fire can wipe them out.
In order to effectively implement Manstein's order, General Knobelsdorf immediately called his chief of staff and said to him: "You immediately took care of the commander of the Russian prisoners of war and selected five hundred of them. No, eight hundred sick and wounded, preferably seriously wounded, to be exchanged with the Russians."
The chief of staff heard the call between Knobelsdorf and Manstein and knew that this was a plan by Manstein, intending to use the two parties to conduct an exchange ceremony to catch the other party off guard. Seriously wounded people cannot move and must be carried on stretchers, and the more people there are, the slower they move. After General Hornadorf's body returned to his own position, he immediately opened fire on the Russian position. It is estimated that these injured prisoners of war will be wiped out by the intensive artillery fire.
In order for Manstein's vicious plan to succeed, when the army chief of staff arranged for personnel to select prisoners of war for exchange, he specifically told the commander who was in charge of the prisoners of war: "Remember, the more seriously injured the wounded for exchange, the better, and the greater the number." The more the merrier.”
Although the commander did not understand what the military chief of staff meant, he still faithfully carried out his order. He selected 813 sick and wounded patients from the place where prisoners of war were held, and escorted them with the colonel under the escort of more than a hundred soldiers. Behind the adjutant and Lieutenant Kahn, they advanced hard towards the exchange location.
The Soviet commander in charge of the exchange was the commander of the 564th Regiment. Since what he wanted to hand over to the Germans was only a coffin, he only brought a translator and a squad of soldiers and waited at the exchange location early. However, in order to conveniently report the situation to the rear, he also had a telephone next to him.
Sokov and Koida stood in front of the lookout of the observation post, raising their telescopes and observing the exchange ceremony that was about to begin. After waiting for a while and still seeing no trace of the German troops, Koida lost his composure. He picked up the phone and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are the enemies coming?"
"Report to Comrade Division Commander," the regiment commander thought, your observation post has a wide field of vision. Can you not see whether the enemy has appeared? But since it was Koida who asked about this, he still answered patiently: "No trace of the enemy has been found yet..."
Before he finished speaking, the translator standing beside him exclaimed: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, look quickly, the enemy is coming."
The regiment leader holding the microphone looked into the distance and saw hundreds of people emerging from a trench. After they emerged from the trenches, they moved sluggishly in their own direction. Judging from the clothes of those people, the regiment leader knew that these must be the prisoners of war used by the Germans in exchange for Hornerdorf's body.
Sokov, who was staying at the observation post, also saw this scene through a telescope. Seeing that the number of people wearing Soviet uniforms far exceeded the number he requested, he couldn't help but be stunned. He felt that with his own prestige, he might not be able to make Manstein so willing to exchange so many prisoners of war for a corpse. , there must be something wrong with it.
But Koida didn't think so much. He saw so many prisoners of war coming out of the German defense area and counted them with great interest. After counting for a while, he turned his face and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the number of prisoners of war that the enemy wants to exchange with us is at least six to seven hundred."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov frowned and said to Koida: "Tell me, what is going on? I asked Manstein to exchange 300 prisoners of war with us, but he took out There were six to seven hundred people in attendance, and I always felt like something was wrong."
"Comrade Commander, you are so humble." Koida said flatteringly: "You have a great reputation in the German army. After the second lieutenant heard your name, he became respectful, as if you were his superior. Average. I think you taught Manstein a lot of lessons in previous battles. He was afraid of you, so he took so many prisoners to please you."
"Manstein needs to please me?" Sokov knew very well in his heart that trying to intimidate Manstein with his own prestige was simply a fool's errand. But now the Germans have exchanged six to seven hundred people. What's going on? In order to figure out what was going on, Sokov raised the telescope again and continued to observe.
Koida did not notice anything strange about Sokov. After raising the telescope, he continued: "Comrade Commander, I saw the open bucket truck that Second Lieutenant Kahn was riding in. The German soldier wearing a colonel's uniform next to him The military officer should be the highest commander in charge of this exchange."
Koida looked at it for a while, shook his head and said, "It's a pity that we are exchanging with the enemy. Otherwise, if such an important target appears in front of me, I will definitely call a sniper to kill him."
When he heard Koida say that he wanted to order snipers to kill the German colonel who was in charge of the exchange, Sokov seemed to have thought of something, and felt that it had something to do with the German army exchanging more prisoners of war than he required. But in a hurry, his mind was like a mess, and he couldn't figure out what was going on.
"Damn it," just as Sokov was thinking hard, he suddenly heard Koida shouting beside him: "Why are the prisoners of war that the Germans used to exchange with us all wounded?"
"Are they all wounded?" After hearing what Koida said, Sokov quickly observed carefully with a telescope and found that not only were there more than twenty stretchers in his field of vision, but there were also seriously injured people lying on them who could not move. Even the people carrying them were still wounded with bandages on their heads or arms.
"Damn it, we were fooled." Seeing this, Sokov slammed his fist on the wall and said angrily: "What a cunning Manstein, he actually came up with such a vicious plan."
Koida asked Sokov in confusion: "Comrade Commander, what do you mean, why can't I understand you at all?"
"Comrade Colonel, have you seen the prisoners that the Germans used to exchange with us?" Sokov raised his voice and said to him: "They are all wounded, and there are many seriously wounded who cannot move."
"I saw it." Koida had been carefully observing the group of prisoners of war that appeared. Naturally, he could clearly see that the hundreds of people who came were all wounded. Hearing Sokov say that this was Manstein's poison timing, he also echoed: "Damn Manstein, throwing so many wounded people to us will make the medicine we are originally nervous about become even more nervous."
After receiving Sokov's reply, Kahn immediately returned to his own position and reported to the colonel's adjutant who was waiting there: "Mr. Colonel, General Sokov said, let us use three hundred prisoners of war to fight in front of their position. Two hundred meters away, an exchange ceremony will be held.”
"I can't make the decision on this matter." After hearing this, the adjutant said coldly: "I need to ask Marshal Manstein for his permission."
The adjutant went to General Knobelsdorf's command cabin and reported Sokov's terms of exchange to Manstein via his telephone line. After hearing this, Manstein said without hesitation: "Promise him. Give the microphone to General Knobelsdorf. I have something to say to him."
Hearing Knobelsdorf's voice coming from the receiver, Manstein immediately said: "General Knobelsdorf, select five hundred people from the prisoners of war you have captured."
"What, pick out five hundred people?" Knobelsdorff couldn't believe his ears. Sokov only proposed to exchange 300 prisoners of war for Hornadorff's body, and Manstein agreed in one breath. Giving five hundred to others must mean that he heard it wrong: "Marshal, are you talking about giving five hundred prisoners of war in exchange for the body of General Hornerdorf?"
"Yes, that's what I mean." The reason why Manstein offered to exchange 500 prisoners of war for Hornadorff's body was not out of good intentions: "As far as I know, the Russians captured by you Among the prisoners, a considerable proportion of the sick and wounded account for it. We don’t have that much medicine now to treat our enemies. Since Sokov wants their people, then give them to him, preferably as many as possible. The better.”
"I understand, Your Majesty Marshal." After understanding Manstein's wishful thinking, Knobelsdorf said happily: "The Russian prisoners of war used for exchange are definitely sick and wounded."
"And." Manstein continued before the other party put down the phone: "When the exchange ceremony is over and our people return to the position with the body of General Hornedorff, focus all your artillery on them. Bombard the Russian positions and destroy them with our steel and fire."
After listening to Manstein's order, Knobelsdorff couldn't help but feel stunned. He knew that this decision was very cruel. If the Russian prisoners of war released were all wounded, then everyone would not wait until they returned to the opposite position. , a sudden artillery fire can wipe them out.
In order to effectively implement Manstein's order, General Knobelsdorf immediately called his chief of staff and said to him: "You immediately took care of the commander of the Russian prisoners of war and selected five hundred of them. No, eight hundred sick and wounded, preferably seriously wounded, to be exchanged with the Russians."
The chief of staff heard the call between Knobelsdorf and Manstein and knew that this was a plan by Manstein, intending to use the two parties to conduct an exchange ceremony to catch the other party off guard. Seriously wounded people cannot move and must be carried on stretchers, and the more people there are, the slower they move. After General Hornadorf's body returned to his own position, he immediately opened fire on the Russian position. It is estimated that these injured prisoners of war will be wiped out by the intensive artillery fire.
In order for Manstein's vicious plan to succeed, when the army chief of staff arranged for personnel to select prisoners of war for exchange, he specifically told the commander who was in charge of the prisoners of war: "Remember, the more seriously injured the wounded for exchange, the better, and the greater the number." The more the merrier.”
Although the commander did not understand what the military chief of staff meant, he still faithfully carried out his order. He selected 813 sick and wounded patients from the place where prisoners of war were held, and escorted them with the colonel under the escort of more than a hundred soldiers. Behind the adjutant and Lieutenant Kahn, they advanced hard towards the exchange location.
The Soviet commander in charge of the exchange was the commander of the 564th Regiment. Since what he wanted to hand over to the Germans was only a coffin, he only brought a translator and a squad of soldiers and waited at the exchange location early. However, in order to conveniently report the situation to the rear, he also had a telephone next to him.
Sokov and Koida stood in front of the lookout of the observation post, raising their telescopes and observing the exchange ceremony that was about to begin. After waiting for a while and still seeing no trace of the German troops, Koida lost his composure. He picked up the phone and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are the enemies coming?"
"Report to Comrade Division Commander," the regiment commander thought, your observation post has a wide field of vision. Can you not see whether the enemy has appeared? But since it was Koida who asked about this, he still answered patiently: "No trace of the enemy has been found yet..."
Before he finished speaking, the translator standing beside him exclaimed: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, look quickly, the enemy is coming."
