As the friendly forces captured Poltava and moved towards the Dnieper River, all the commanders and fighters of the 27th and 53rd Group Armies originally stationed on both sides of the Dnieper River began to take active action, racing against time to stock up on ammunition, preparing to wait until the time came. , launched a full-scale attack on the enemy.
That day, while Sokov was busy, he suddenly heard the phone ringing on the table next door. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Derevyanko picked up the phone and listened for a moment, with a surprised expression on his face. When he was hesitating whether he should ask the other party what happened, he saw Derevyanko walking up to Managarov, leaning over and whispering a few words in his ear.
After Managarov listened, he also whispered something to Derevyanko. Because his voice was too low, Sokov could not hear clearly. After finishing speaking, Managarov stood up, called his two military commissars, and left the church.
Looking at Managarov's leaving figure, Sokov not only frowned, but also wondered what could have happened that could alert the senior commander of the 53rd Army?
He coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and was about to ask Derevyanko why, but he saw the friendly army's chief of staff quickly walked out without even saying hello to him after making a phone call. church hall.
"Comrade Commander," Sameko, who also saw this situation, asked Sokov with some surprise: "What happened? Why did the senior commanders of the 53rd Army leave after receiving a phone call?"
"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "When they come back, we will know what happened."
About half an hour later, Lunev, who had not been seen for most of the day, appeared in the headquarters. He quickly came to Sokov and asked with some surprise: "Comrade Commander, why are you still here?"
Sokov was stunned, and then asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, what happened?"
"I got information that an hour ago, a German Dornier Do217 twin-engine heavy bomber flew over the Dnieper River and flew in the direction of Kremenchug." Lunev said to Sokov: "Due to being intercepted by anti-aircraft fire from our army, the aircraft changed its course and finally made an emergency landing in the defense area of the 116th Infantry Division."
"Don't Dornier Do217 heavy bombers always attack in groups of twenty or thirty every time?" Samek asked with some confusion: "Why is there only one this time?"
"This is what's strange." Lunev continued: "The observation post that reported to me said that I don't know if there was a mechanical failure or the pilot was in poor condition. The bomber was flying in the air as if it was drunk. . Moreover, when it was intercepted by our army’s anti-aircraft fire, it did not take any decent evasive action, but directly changed its course and flew in a direction where there was no anti-aircraft fire.”
Sokov recalled the parameters of the Dornier Do217 twin-engine heavy bomber in his mind, and then asked Lunev: "Comrade Military Commissar, the crew of this aircraft should be four people. Even if the pilot is in poor health, someone will take over. He will definitely not be in poor flight condition when driving. I think there must be something fishy in it."
"Yes," Lunev nodded and replied: "After the enemy plane made an emergency landing, the commanders and fighters of the 116th Division immediately surrounded the plane and captured all the crew members inside."
When Sameko heard this, a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Comrade Commander, I understand. Why did the people from the 53rd Army just answer a phone call and all left. They must have gone to the 116th Division. Check out this enemy plane that crash-landed."
"Comrade Commander, I think there is something wrong with this." Lunev waited for Samyko to finish speaking, and immediately said to Sokov: "How about we go over and take a look?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, you should go over and take a look." Sameko also echoed: "Find out what is going on."
Sokov was very curious. Logically speaking, a German bomber made an emergency landing in the defense zone. After receiving the news, Managarov should have told himself immediately how he could have quietly left with his deputy. Woolen cloth? Trying to figure out what was going on, Sokov readily replied: "Okay, let's go take a look now."
On the way to the defense area of the 116th Division, Lunev said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I think there is a problem. Why didn't General Managarov and others report to you immediately after receiving the following report? You know, they are now under your command."
Hearing Lunev's question, Sokov smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, you should know that our army has liberated Poltava, and the main force of the front army is moving towards Kremenchug. Maybe in the near future In the future, the 53rd Army will no longer accept my command. It may be based on this consideration that General Managarov did not communicate with me after receiving the report about today's incident."
…
Besides, Managarov went out with his two military commissars, got into the jeep parked outside, and asked the driver to go to the defense area of the 116th Division.
Military Commissioner Gorokhov asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, what happened? Why did you leave in a hurry without even saying hello to General Sokov?"
"A strange thing happened in the 116th Division. We need to go there and deal with it immediately." Managarov replied: "After we figure out what is going on, it will not be too late to report to General Sokov when we come back. .”
Military Commissar Tsarev, who was sitting in the passenger seat, half-turned around and asked: "Comrade Commander, can you tell us what happened?"
"The situation is like this, two Comrade Military Commissioners." Managarov explained to the two of them: "Not long ago, a German heavy bomber made an emergency landing in the defense area of the 116th Division..."
When he learned that it was just a German bomber that had made an emergency landing, Gorokhov said disapprovingly: "Isn't it just a German bomber? The commander of the 116th Division can handle it. Why do we have to rush over?"
Managarov did not immediately answer the other party's question, but continued: "After the bomber made an emergency landing, the commanders and fighters of the 116th Division quickly surrounded the aircraft and captured all the occupants of the aircraft."
"Isn't it great," Gorokhov said with a smile: "Not a single German can escape."
"After our soldiers captured this group of people, they discovered that they were not Germans, but our people."
"Our people?!" After hearing what Managarov said, Gorokhov's chin almost hit his leg: "Comrade Commander, what is going on?"
"Those people claimed to be captured by the German army. Today, when the enemy was not paying attention, they stole a bomber and escaped."
"This is impossible." Before Managarov could finish speaking, Gorokhov raised his voice and said: "The German prisoner-of-war camps are so tightly guarded that it is very difficult to escape, let alone fly a German prisoner-of-war camp. It is simply a fantasy that human bombers can escape."
"Comrade Military Commissar, you are right." Managarov agreed with Gorokhov's statement: "I am also very doubtful about the confessions of those prisoners, so I took you over to see what happened. .”
When the jeep arrived at the division headquarters of the 116th Division, the division commander, Colonel Stilitz, and several officers stood outside the door to greet them.
Seeing that the jeep was stable, Stilitz quickly stepped forward and opened the rear door.
Managarov stepped out of the car, stretched out his hand to shake Stilitz's hand, and asked straight to the point: "Comrade Colonel, where are the people you mentioned?"
Stilitz pouted towards a stable not far away and said, "They are all locked up in the stable. If you want to see them, I will ask the soldiers to bring them over."
Managarov nodded: "Bring them in, I want to ask what is going on."
A few minutes later, six men wearing black and white striped prison uniforms walked into the headquarters.
Managarov looked at the few people and asked, "Who among you drove the bomber over?"
"It's me, Comrade General." A young man with a beard stepped forward and said proactively: "I flew back in the plane."
"What did you do before and why did you fly a plane?"
"I used to be a fighter pilot. During the air battle in Kuban, my plane was shot down by the Germans, and I was captured because of my injuries." The young man told Managarov: "Later I was imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp. My daily job was to repair the German airport runway. During the repair process, I found a Dornier Do217 twin-engine heavy bomber parked in the German hangar, and decided to use this aircraft to escape from the prisoner of war camp."
Managarov turned to look at the two military commissars sitting next to him, and then continued to ask: "I heard that bombers seemed to be drunk when they were flying in the air. Can you tell me the reason for this? ?"
"The reason is very simple, Comrade General." The young man explained: "I am only a fighter pilot. I have never flown a bomber. I am even stranger to the German bombers, so during the flight, the operation seemed very smooth."
Regarding the young man's explanation, Managarov did not immediately express his position, but continued to ask: "Are all of them with you?"
"Yes, Comrade General, they are all German prisoners of war like me." The young pilot argued to Managarov: "To steal the German bombers from the hangar, one person can I couldn't do it, so I contacted a few companions who seemed very smart and eager to escape from the prisoner of war camp to jointly execute this escape plan.
After the German plane returned today, I saw that there were no Germans in the direction of the hangar, so I called a few companions to sneak into the hangar. First, I took the time to refuel the aircraft, then asked two people to open the hangar door, and I started the aircraft and left the hangar.
At first, everything went smoothly without being discovered by the Germans. But since I had never flown such a heavy bomber of the Germans, there was a little accident during takeoff, and two consecutive takeoffs failed, which aroused the suspicion of the Germans. They came from all directions, trying to prevent our liftoff. But fortunately, our luck was not bad and we finally took off successfully at the last moment. "
Derevyanko, who had just arrived at this time, sneered when he heard the young pilot's words and asked disdainfully: "Are the Germans just going to let you escape so easily?"
"Of course not, Comrade General." The young pilot quickly explained to Derevyanko: "The Germans sent two fighter jets to chase us and strafed us with machine guns. If you don't believe it, you can take a look at the markings on the fuselage. The bullet holes were all left by German fighter planes when they were shooting. The German fighter planes pursued them until near the Dnieper River and were intercepted by ground anti-aircraft fire before they returned."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Derevyanko waved his hands and said, "This doesn't mean anything. Maybe you are spies sent by the Germans, ready to come to us to cause damage."
Regarding Derevyanko's doubts, the young pilot, although bitter in his heart, still bit the bullet and explained to him: "Comrade General, we are not spies, but prisoners of war who escaped from the German prisoner-of-war camp."
"The reason is very simple, Comrade General." The young man explained: "I am only a fighter pilot. I have never flown a bomber. I am even stranger to the German bombers, so during the flight, the operation seemed very smooth."
Regarding the young man's explanation, Managarov did not immediately express his position, but continued to ask: "Are all of them with you?"
"Yes, Comrade General, they are all German prisoners of war like me." The young pilot argued to Managarov: "To steal the German bombers from the hangar, one person can I couldn't do it, so I contacted a few companions who seemed very smart and eager to escape from the prisoner of war camp to jointly execute this escape plan.
After the German plane returned today, I saw that there were no Germans in the direction of the hangar, so I called a few companions to sneak into the hangar. First, I took the time to refuel the aircraft, then asked two people to open the hangar door, and I started the aircraft and left the hangar.
At first, everything went smoothly without being discovered by the Germans. But since I had never flown such a heavy bomber of the Germans, there was a little accident during takeoff, and two consecutive takeoffs failed, which aroused the suspicion of the Germans. They came from all directions, trying to prevent our liftoff. But fortunately, our luck was not bad and we finally took off successfully at the last moment. "
Derevyanko, who had just arrived at this time, sneered when he heard the young pilot's words and asked disdainfully: "Are the Germans just going to let you escape so easily?"
"Of course not, Comrade General." The young pilot quickly explained to Derevyanko: "The Germans sent two fighter jets to chase us and strafed us with machine guns. If you don't believe it, you can take a look at the markings on the fuselage. The bullet holes were all left by German fighter planes when they were shooting. The German fighter planes pursued them until near the Dnieper River and were intercepted by ground anti-aircraft fire before they returned."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Derevyanko waved his hands and said: "This doesn't mean anything. Maybe you are spies sent by the Germans, ready to come to us to cause damage."
Regarding Derevyanko's doubts, the young pilot, although bitter in his heart, still bit the bullet and explained to him: "Comrade General, we are not spies, but prisoners of war who escaped from the German prisoner-of-war camp."
