Oleg Rezanov was a second lieutenant in the Soviet Air Force. The fighter plane he piloted was unfortunately shot down by a German fighter plane during the Kuban air battle. When he parachuted to land, he was besieged by a group of German troops. After a fierce battle, he was injured and captured.
Because he was a pilot, the Germans did not shoot him in order to obtain useful intelligence, but sent him to the hospital for treatment. After recovering from his injuries, he was imprisoned in a concentration camp near a field airport, where he and a large group of prisoners of war repaired the airport's runway every day.
When he discovered that a German heavy bomber was parked in a temporary hangar at the airport, he had the idea of escape. Since he was alone, it was difficult for him to fly the plane without being discovered by the Germans. Therefore, he contacted several other prisoners of war in the prison camp to look for opportunities to escape from the prison camp.
They finally got the chance today. After killing the two German sentries guarding the hangar, they seized their guns, climbed into the heavy bomber, refueled and took off in a hurry.
Due to Oleg Rezanov's lack of proficiency in operating German bombers, two consecutive takeoffs ended in failure, which attracted the attention of the Germans. As German troops rushed in from all directions to prevent them from taking off, he finally succeeded on his third attempt to take off.
Although the Germans dispatched fighter jets to pursue them, they tried to shoot them down. However, because the bomber piloted by Oleg Rezanov quickly entered the Soviet anti-aircraft fire area, the pursuing German fighter jets were worried about being shot down, so they could only turn around and fly back to their field airport.
After Oleg Rezanov's bomber was intercepted by Soviet artillery fire, it changed its direction in time and successfully landed in the defense area of the 116th Division of the 53rd Army. Shortly after landing, everyone climbed out of the cockpit with difficulty, but were captured by a group of Soviet troops who came after hearing the news.
When they were escorted to the headquarters for review, Oleg Rezanov was extremely conflicted. He didn't know whether he was right or wrong in flying a plane to escape from the German prisoner-of-war camp. Therefore, the friendly troops he saw did not show any friendly attitude toward him. On the contrary, they treated him as an enemy.
When he was interrogated by Managarov and heard that he and others would be shot as German spies, he fell into despair. Seeing Sokov appear, a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart. But when he saw Sokov's military rank clearly, his whole heart suddenly went cold. There were two lieutenant generals present. What a major general said can Does it count?
But what happened next was far beyond his expectation. Not only did the other two lieutenant generals have no objection to Sokov's words, one of them even offered to screen Rezanov. In this way, Rezanov and others saw hope of survival.
However, some of the other five prisoners of war expressed doubts about what was happening before them. When could a major general actually command a lieutenant general? Moreover, in the face of the orders issued by the major general, the two lieutenant generals not only did not object, but were even willing to actively cooperate. This really subverted their cognition.
Sokov guessed the worries in their hearts from the expressions of everyone, so he stepped forward and said: "Comrades, screening you is a necessary procedure. If it is confirmed that you have no problems, you can be screened first Send them to the hospital for treatment, and when you are discharged, we will arrange work for you based on your abilities."
A middle-aged prisoner of war looked at Sokov and asked: "Comrade General, can you keep what you say?"
"I am Major General Sokov, commander of the 27th Group Army. Currently, the troops on both sides of the Dnieper River are under my command." Sokov said seriously: "As long as I say it, it will definitely count."
As soon as Sokov revealed his identity, the six prisoners of war, including Rezanov, were stunned. They never dreamed that the young general in front of them would frighten the German army. Sokov.
After a while, Rezanov said tremblingly: "Is he General Sokov who annihilated the Skeleton Division, the Imperial Division, and severely damaged the Flag Guard Division?"
"Yes, Comrade Pilot." Lunev rushed to answer: "The young general you see is the Major General Sokov who made the Germans talk about it."
After confirming Sokov's identity, the six people who had originally raised their hearts in their throats, thinking that they would soon die, suddenly became energetic, and they desperately hoped that Lunev could quickly screen them. , so that he can clear his name.
After Lunev arranged for the six Rezanovs to be sent away, Derevyanko cautiously asked Sokov: "General Sokov, you really trust them so much and don't worry about them being instigated by the Germans to rebel." , a spy trying to break into our army?"
"General Derevyanko," faced Derevyanko's questioning, Sokov reminded him: "Have you seen the images of the six of them? They all look malnourished and skinny. What do you think? Will the Germans spend their energy in instigating such people to rebel? Maybe after instigating rebellion, these people will die from malnutrition.”
After hearing Sokov's words, Derevyanko didn't know how to reply for a while and could only remain silent.
Seeing that Derevyanko was silent, Sokov turned and ordered Lunev: "Comrade Military Commissar, after the screening and review of the six of them, remember to send the pilot to General Goryunov."
"Send it to General Goryunov?" Lunev asked in surprise, "Why?"
"Because he knows where the German field airports are," Sokov said with a smile: "He can guide our air force to bomb the enemy's field airports, thereby weakening the German air power."
"Comrade Commander," although Lunev had just cooperated with Sokov's work, he was still a little worried: "Will he willingly take our planes to bomb the enemy's airport?"
"I think there should be no problem." Sokov said confidently: "I saw the overwhelming hatred for the Germans in his eyes. As long as there is an opportunity to take revenge, I don't think he will let go of this opportunity. of."
"General Sokov," Managarov, who had been silent for a long time, finally couldn't help but speak: "Do you really think that these six people escaped from the German prisoner-of-war camp that was closely guarded?"
Faced with Managarov's question, Sokov nodded vigorously. He remembered that in real history, a pilot named Mikhail Dvitayev flew with a dozen prisoners of war. A heavy bomber escaped from the German missile launch base and guided the Soviet Air Force to bomb the German base. But it is regrettable that these dozen prisoners of war who escaped from the enemy prisoner-of-war camp after many hardships provided important intelligence to the Soviet army, but were still executed as German spies. This cannot but be said to be a shocking incident. Things that people regret.
The reason why Sokov chose to believe Rezanov, apart from the fact that they were all skinny and malnourished and did not meet the criteria for being instigated by the German army, was because they were reminded of the tragedy of Mikhail Dvitayev .
"Yes, Comrade General." Sokov said to Managarov in a positive tone: "According to my intuition, all six of them are trustworthy people."
"By the way, what was the condition of that plane?" Sokov thought of another important question and asked quickly: "Did it crash during the emergency landing?"
Managarov never thought of asking about the plane when he got here, so he seemed a little confused when he heard Sokov's question. He could only turn his head and look at Stilitz, the commander of the 116th Division: "Comrade Colonel, please report the situation of the plane to General Sokov."
After hearing Managarov's instructions, Stilitz quickly stepped forward, straightened his body and reported to Sokov: "Report to Comrade General, after our people arrived at the emergency landing site, they found the plane's The landing gear was broken and there were more than 40 bullet holes in the fuselage, which must have been strafed by pursuing enemy planes."
When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help frowning and asked Stilitz in a reproachful tone: "Comrade Colonel, why didn't you report such important information to General Managarov just now?"
Stilitz's face suddenly turned red. In fact, he wanted to report the matter to Managarov just now, but the other party was eager to interrogate the six prisoners of war and had no time to listen to his report. At this moment, Sokov asked, Stilitz could not pass the responsibility to Managarov, but could only shoulder it himself: "I'm sorry, General Sokov, it was my negligence. I am willing to accept any suggestion from you." Punishment.”
If Stilitz was a subordinate of the 27th Army, maybe Sokov would criticize him in public. But he is Managarov's subordinate, and it depends on the owner to beat the dog. He criticized Stilitz in front of everyone, where would Managarov put his face? Therefore, he could only say lightly: "Comrade Colonel, forget it this time. Don't make similar mistakes next time."
Seeing that Sokov did not blame himself, Stilitz couldn't help feeling ecstatic and said repeatedly: "I understand, General Sokov. I promise you that I will not make similar mistakes again in the future."
"What to do with the plane?" Derevyanko asked.
"Let's find a way to transport it back to Moscow." After Sokov said this, he thought that the bomber crashed in the defense area of the 53rd Army. If his own people came forward, it would be suspected of overstepping his authority, so he took the initiative to attack Managa. Rove said: "Comrade General, let your troops complete this matter."
Capturing a basically complete German heavy bomber is no small feat. When Managarov heard Sokov say that he was going to send the plane to Moscow, his heart rose in his throat. He knew very well that his troops were now under the command of Sokov. If the other party wanted to take the credit for this In the past, there was nothing I could do against him. But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that Sokov would be so generous as to allow him to arrange for manpower to send the bombers back to Moscow.
Managarov quickly replied: "Okay, General Sokov, I will arrange manpower as soon as possible to transport this German heavy bomber back to Moscow."
After arranging everything, Sokov said to Managarov: "Comrade General, I still have something to do and need to rush back to the headquarters as soon as possible. I will leave the aftermath here to you."
"No problem," Managarov said magnanimously: "General Sokov, go ahead and do your work. Leave the things here to me. I will never let you down."
On the way Sokov and Lunev returned to the headquarters by car, Lunev asked: "Comrade Commander, since the 53rd Army is under your command, isn't it the same who sends the bombers to Moscow? "
From Lunev's words, Sokov heard that the other party wanted to take credit, so he smiled and said to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, although sending the captured bomber to Moscow is a great achievement. But this one After all, the bomber made an emergency landing in the defense zone of the 116th Division. Even though the 53rd Army was temporarily placed under our command, it is actually an independent fighting force. Even if I issue combat orders to them, when the other party's commander executes them, It will all be greatly reduced.”
Lunev did not refute Sokov's statement. He knew very well that Managarov surpassed Sokov in terms of seniority and military rank. Although Konev ordered the 53rd Army to be under the command of Sokov, Managarov and others must be unconvinced and have some resistance. This can be seen from the fact that Derevyanko often contradicted Sokov. You can see it.
"What a pity." Lunev said with regret: "If we sent the bombers to Moscow, it would be a great achievement, but now we have to take advantage of the 53rd Army."
Sokov was very open-minded about this kind of thing. After hearing Lunev’s complaints, he smiled and said: “Comrade Military Commissar, although we gave this credit to the 53rd Army, in this way, we have lost The relationship between our two armies has become easier. If there is an opportunity for joint operations in the future, the other party will definitely return the favor to us."
"By the way, Comrade Commander, this matter is of great importance. I think we should report it to our superiors." Lunev thought of a key question and quickly reminded Sokov: "Look, should you report it or should I report it?"
After hearing the question raised by Lunev, Sokov thought about it in his mind. If Lunev reported to his superiors, it would definitely be through Beria's line, which he didn't like. After careful consideration, he said: "Comrade Military Commissar, I think it's better for me to report to Commander Konev personally."
"Report to Commander Konev?" Lunev couldn't help but be stunned when he heard what Sokov said, and then asked: "Why don't you report such a major matter to Marshal Zhukov?"
"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov said with a smile: "In any case, our group army is affiliated with the Steppe Front Army. When it comes to matters in the army, we should first report to Commander Konev. After getting his With permission, it will not be too late to report to Marshal Zhukov."
