"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov said after reading the telegram, he handed it directly to Lunev: "This is the telegram sent by the Chief of Staff. Take a look at it. Major General Gritsenko's troops have successfully moved east of the Ude River. We landed on the shore and established a small landing site; at the same time, the headquarters’ communications unit also intercepted the German telegrams and is currently deciphering them urgently.”
Lunev took the telegram and after reading its contents, he raised his head and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, since Major General Gritsenko's troops have successfully crossed the river, should you return to the headquarters immediately, so that it is more convenient for you? Command the troops?"
"Chief of Staff Samyko is at the headquarters. He can handle any matters." Sokov waved his hands and said: "This is the top priority now. If we cannot eliminate the German troops in the western highlands, I will not feel at ease." .”
"Yes, yes," Luniev recalled Sokov's analysis just now, and quickly echoed: "Comrade Commander, you are very right. This German army poses a great threat to our army, and they must be eliminated as soon as possible."
Sokov could not remember any German troops performing brilliantly on the battlefield during the Battle of Kharkov, so he did not take seriously the enemy who was building fortifications on the western highlands. He felt that as long as he launched an attack, at most half The battle can be resolved in an hour, so he said to Lunev: "Comrade Military Commissar, we use 3,000 people to attack several hundred German soldiers. I believe it will not take long to resolve the battle. After the battle here is over, It’s not too late for us to return to the headquarters.”
As Sokov and Lunev chatted, they were anxiously waiting for the latest information.
However, Sameko's side was like a stone sinking into the sea, without any movement. Just when he was secretly disappointed, a soldier came in and reported to Mikhailev sitting in the corner: "Comrade Battalion Commander, Captain Narva, the commander of the first company, has sent someone back."
"The first company commander sent people back?" Mikhailev asked with some surprise: "How many people came back?"
"Four people came back, and they brought a German with them."
Hearing that a company of soldiers had brought back a German prisoner, Sokov suddenly stood up from his seat and told the soldier: "Let them in quickly."
A moment later, four heavily armed soldiers walked in from the outside. In the middle of them was a German SS sergeant who was blindfolded with a cloth and his hands were tied behind his back.
The leading soldier was a sergeant. After he entered the room, he looked around. After recognizing Sokov, he quickly came to Sokov and raised his hand to salute: "Comrade Commander, I am serving the company. Captain Narva has ordered us to send you a prisoner."
"Take the strips off his eyes." After instructing the soldiers standing next to the prisoner, Sokov asked the sergeant curiously: "How did you capture this prisoner?"
"Reporting to Comrade Commander, my men and I were ordered to go to the high ground to contact the scouts there. We happened to see this German guy coming out of the position and looking for a place to relieve himself. Our soldiers stepped forward, knocked him unconscious and captured him. he."
The captured German sergeant blinked vigorously several times after the blindfold was removed. When he saw two Soviet generals in front of him, he immediately shouted excitedly.
"Comrade Captain," Sokov asked Mikhailev: "Are there any soldiers in your battalion who understand German?"
Mikhailov thought for a while and then replied: "There is a soldier in the Second Company who used to teach German at the university. I will ask him to translate for you."
Sokov was eager to know the origin of the German army, so he told Mikhailev: "Call him quickly."
Mikhailev quickly ordered the soldiers who had just reported the news to go to the second company to call the soldiers who knew German.
After two or three minutes, Sokov saw a middle-aged soldier wearing glasses and followed the soldier into the headquarters. He quickly stepped forward and said to the middle-aged soldier: "Comrade soldier, do you understand German?"
The middle-aged soldier was a little overwhelmed by Sokov's question. But he quickly returned to normal and replied quite confidently: "Yes, Comrade General, I understand all the major languages used in Europe, whether they are French, English, or German. I can even understand Italian." Newspapers and periodicals with articles!”
"Comrade soldier, Italian is not needed for the time being," Sokov said with a smile. "Since you understand German, please temporarily act as a German translator for me to interrogate this prisoner."
"It is my honor to serve you, Comrade General."
"Kuzma," Mikhailev saw Kuzma's attitude when talking to Sokov, and realized that the other party might not know Sokov, so he quickly reminded him: "This is General Sokov, the commander of the group army. Wait. You must cooperate with him now and interrogate the German prisoners."
"Hello, Comrade Commander." When he learned that the person in front of him was Sokov, Kuzma looked particularly nervous: "Please forgive me for not recognizing you. Please rest assured that I will fully cooperate with you."
At this time, the German prisoners had already been untied and sat on a high-backed chair opposite Sokov. Four heavily armed soldiers stood next to him, staring at him eagerly.
"Mr. German Sergeant, we are now officially starting." Sokov sat at the table, looked at the German Sergeant opposite, and asked straight to the point: "Your name and unit number?"
"My name is Tedder, rank of sergeant."
Seeing that the other party only mentioned his name and military rank, and did not mention his unit number, Sokov quickly asked: "What is your unit number?"
But Tedder looked at Sokov with a contemptuous look and did not answer the question, but just snorted softly.
Seeing how stubborn the German prisoners were, Mikhailev, who was standing by the table, lost his temper. He slapped the table with his palms and said sternly: "Tell me honestly what your unit number is, otherwise you will be Drag him out and shoot him."
But Mikhailev's threats had no effect on the German prisoners. Tedder sneered and said: "It's just a dream for you to get useful information from me. Now, you can drag me out and shoot me."
Seeing that Tedder was so unafraid of death, Sokov was also a little surprised. He turned to Luniev and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, I really didn't expect that among the Germans, there are people who are so unafraid of death."
"It's not that he's not afraid of death, it's that he's stubborn." Lunev said with a wry smile: "Since he is so stubborn, I think if I continue to ask questions, I'm afraid I won't be able to get any useful information, so I'd better drag him out and shoot him."
Although Tedder couldn't understand what Sokov said, he also knew that the two were talking about him, so he stood up from his chair and said sternly: "Hurry up and shoot me. If you delay any longer, I won't do it." Let me tell you any useful information." Before he could finish his words, two soldiers reached out and pressed his shoulders, forcing him to sit down again.
"Comrade Commander, this German guy is too arrogant." Tadel's arrogance made Mikhailev filled with indignation. He turned to Sokov and said: "Anyway, I can't get any useful information from him. I think it's better." Let’s shoot him.”
"It's easy to shoot him. As long as any soldier shoots him in the head, he will be completely finished." Sokov said to Mikhailev sideways: "But after killing him, we How do we know which part he belongs to? In order to find out the details of the enemy, we have to send people to capture the prisoners again. The disappearance of one soldier may not attract the attention of the enemy, but the disappearance of two soldiers in a row may alert the enemy. , if we alert the enemy, our next battle will become extremely difficult."
"Then what should we do?" Mikhailev asked impatiently: "Are we just going to watch him be so arrogant and we can't do anything?"
"Comrade Captain, don't be anxious yet." Sokov saw that Mikhailev was a little embarrassed and quickly comforted him and said: "Let me give it a try. If it doesn't work, you can deal with him as you please."
After saying this, Sokov stood up and walked to Tedder, sneered and said: "Sergeant Tedder, I forgot to introduce myself to you. My surname is Sokov, and I am the commander of the 27th Army of the Soviet Union."
"What, you are General Sokov?!" After listening to Kuzma's translation, Tedder jumped up from his chair and asked in surprise: "You are the Russian general who commanded the troops to annihilate the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division. ?”
"That's right, the person who commanded the troops to annihilate the Totenkopf and Imperial divisions, as well as several German armored divisions in the Battle of Kursk, was me, Sokov."
"General Sokov!" After confirming Sokov's identity, Tedder's attitude became more respectful: "It is an honor for me to meet you in person."
"Sergeant Tedder," seeing the 180-degree turn in Tedder's attitude, Sokov realized that things had turned around, and then asked: "Can you tell me, what is your unit number? ?”
"General Sokov!" Hearing Sokov ask this question again, Tedder straightened his body and answered: "I am Sergeant Tedel of the 2nd Company of the 5th Armored Light Infantry Battalion of the Viking Division."
"Viking Division?" Although Sokov knew that Tedder was a soldier of a certain SS division when he first saw the military uniform he was wearing, he thought that the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division had been annihilated by him, and the Flag Guard Division It has also suffered heavy losses. Even if there are any new SS divisions, their combat effectiveness may not be too strong.
But when he learned that the troops building fortifications on the high ground to the west of the farm were actually the German 5th SS Division - the Viking Division, he still couldn't help but gasp. However, in front of the prisoners, he still forced himself to calmly ask: "Have your entire division arrived near the high ground?"
"No." Tedder shook his head, and then replied truthfully: "The only ones who have reached the highlands now are the 5th Armored Light Infantry Battalion and a battalion of the 9th Armored Grenadier Regiment..." "Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov After reading the telegram, he handed it directly to Lunev: "This is the telegram from the Chief of Staff. Take a look. Major General Gritsenko's troops have successfully landed on the east bank of the Ude River and established a large-scale A large landing site; at the same time, the communications unit of the headquarters also intercepted the German telegram and is currently deciphering it urgently."
Lunev took the telegram and after reading its contents, he raised his head and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, since Major General Gritsenko's troops have successfully crossed the river, should you return to the headquarters immediately, so that it is more convenient for you? Command the troops?"
"Chief of Staff Samyko is at the headquarters. He can handle any matters." Sokov waved his hands and said: "This is the top priority now. If we cannot eliminate the German troops in the western highlands, I will not feel at ease." .”
"Yes, yes," Luniev recalled Sokov's analysis just now, and quickly echoed: "Comrade Commander, you are very right. This German army poses a great threat to our army, and they must be eliminated as soon as possible."
Sokov could not remember any German troops performing brilliantly on the battlefield during the Battle of Kharkov, so he did not take seriously the enemy who was building fortifications on the western highlands. He felt that as long as he launched an attack, at most half The battle can be resolved in an hour, so he said to Lunev: "Comrade Military Commissar, we use 3,000 people to attack several hundred German soldiers. I believe it will not take long to resolve the battle. After the battle here is over, It’s not too late for us to return to the headquarters.”
As Sokov and Lunev chatted, they were anxiously waiting for the latest information.
However, Sameko's side was like a stone sinking into the sea, without any movement. Just when he was secretly disappointed, a soldier came in and reported to Mikhailev sitting in the corner: "Comrade Battalion Commander, Captain Narva, the commander of the first company, has sent someone back."
"The first company commander sent people back?" Mikhailev asked with some surprise: "How many people came back?"
"Four people came back, and they brought a German with them."
Hearing that a company of soldiers had brought back a German prisoner, Sokov suddenly stood up from his seat and told the soldier: "Let them in quickly."
A moment later, four heavily armed soldiers walked in from the outside. In the middle of them was a German SS sergeant who was blindfolded with a cloth and his hands were tied behind his back.
The leading soldier was a sergeant. After he entered the room, he looked around. After recognizing Sokov, he quickly came to Sokov and raised his hand to salute: "Comrade Commander, I am serving the company. Captain Narva has ordered us to send you a prisoner."
"Take the strips off his eyes." After instructing the soldiers standing next to the prisoner, Sokov asked the sergeant curiously: "How did you capture this prisoner?"
"Reporting to Comrade Commander, my men and I were ordered to go to the high ground to contact the scouts there. We happened to see this German guy coming out of the position and looking for a place to relieve himself. Our soldiers stepped forward, knocked him unconscious and captured him. he."
The captured German sergeant blinked vigorously several times after the blindfold was removed. When he saw two Soviet generals in front of him, he immediately shouted excitedly.
"Comrade Captain," Sokov asked Mikhailev: "Are there any soldiers in your battalion who understand German?"
Mikhailov thought for a while and then replied: "There is a soldier in the Second Company who used to teach German at the university. I will ask him to translate for you."
Sokov was eager to know the origin of the German army, so he told Mikhailev: "Call him quickly."
Mikhailev quickly ordered the soldiers who had just reported the news to go to the second company to call the soldiers who knew German.
After two or three minutes, Sokov saw a middle-aged soldier wearing glasses and followed the soldier into the headquarters. He quickly stepped forward and said to the middle-aged soldier: "Comrade soldier, do you understand German?"
