Hearing Besier's shout, Lieutenant Martin, who was hiding under the ridge, stood up, raised his hands high above his head, and said loudly: "Captain Besier, I am Martin, please don't shoot. "
When Lieutenant Martin slowly walked up to him, Besser gave him a warm hug. Although they were separated for only a few hours, Besser felt as if he was a world away.
Martin hugged Besier and said repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you, Captain Besser, you saved my life."
At this time, the Soviet platoon leader came over with several soldiers and said coldly: "Mr. Pilot, it is not safe here. We must move to a safe place as soon as possible."
After Besier and Martin separated, they were about to leave with the Soviet army. Suddenly a soldier rushed over and punched Martin without saying a word. Martin didn't recover for a moment. He was punched on the chin, his head tilted back, and then he fell to the ground.
When Besr saw this, he immediately shouted loudly: "Stop, why are you beating my men?"
After the translator translated Besir's words into Russian, the soldier who beat him said viciously: "He killed my fellow countryman with his own hands, and I will make him pay with his life!"
Just as the translator translated the soldier's words into English for Besser, the Soviet platoon leader pulled the soldier aside and said in a stern tone: "Comrade soldier, I know you hate this pilot because of the death of your compatriot. I feel so deep in my bones that I want to kill him immediately and avenge the death of my compatriots. But no, brother, the British pilots are our allies. They shot at us entirely because of the language barrier. If you really want to To avenge your fellow countrymen, then kill a few more old Germans on the battlefield, do you understand?"
Before the soldier could say anything, a strange sound suddenly came from the air. Hearing this voice, the Soviet platoon leader's face suddenly changed. He shouted: "Shell attack, lie down, lie down quickly!" As soon as he finished speaking, a mortar shell landed not far away and exploded with a dazzling fire. After the flash, a column of black smoke rose into the sky.
The gun battle that took place by the lake had already alerted the nearby Germans. They discovered that a small Soviet force was besieging a lone man. The German commanders preconceived the idea that their soldiers must have been besieged by the Soviet army, and quickly brought in mortars, preparing to use artillery fire to cover their soldiers' escape. The shell just now was just a test fire. Seeing that the shell accurately hit the area where the Soviet troops were gathering, he decisively ordered the remaining mortars to fire as well.
The Soviet platoon leader took advantage of the cessation of shelling, jumped up from the ground, and shouted loudly to the surroundings: "It's a mortar, move quickly!" After shouting, he grabbed Besser, who had just climbed up from the ground, with one hand. and Martin, running in the direction they came from. The other soldiers also came to their senses at this moment, got up one after another, and ran with all their strength, trying to leave this dangerous bombardment area as soon as possible.
The Germans discovered that the Soviet troops were trying to escape the area, and shells began to fire after them. From time to time, dazzling fires emitted from the fast-moving ranks of the Soviet army, and streams of black smoke mixed with soil rose into the sky. Shrapnel flew horizontally, cutting several unlucky soldiers to the ground.
When the Soviet platoon leader, Besser and Martin escaped to a safe area and counted the number of people, they found that there were five men missing from their platoon. The infantry squad led by the sergeant was missing half of its men.
Looking at these Soviet commanders and fighters who suffered heavy casualties in order to rescue their compatriots, Besser felt guilty in his heart. He looked at the Soviet platoon leader and asked: "Mr. Second Lieutenant, shall we go back to Lazienki Palace?"
But the Soviet platoon leader shook his head and said resolutely: "No, we must still find those missing pilots, and we must not let them fall into the hands of the Germans. According to the intelligence we have, there are still people nearby There are several pilots who have successfully parachuted, we must find them."
The search and rescue efforts for the pilot did not end until early the next morning.
After Zakharkin compiled the data, he drafted a telegram and handed it to the accompanying telegraph operator, instructing him: "Immediately publish it to the front headquarters to let Marshal Rokossovsky know about our rescue situation."
After receiving Zakharkin's telegram, Rokossovsky said to Malinin and Telekin: "General Zakharkin sent a telegram saying that after search and rescue, they successfully rescued eight pilots, all British pilot."
"What, only eight pilots were rescued?" Hearing that only eight pilots were rescued, Military Commissar Telekin couldn't help but frowned: "Comrade Commander, according to the report given to us by our superiors, the number of pilots who parachuted should be two." There are about ten people, why did the deputy commander and the others only rescue so many people, where did the rest of the pilots go?"
"Obviously," Rokossovsky said with a shrug: "These missing pilots either fell into the German defense zone and became prisoners of the German army; or they fell into the Vistula River and were captured by the Germans. The rushing river washed it away.
We have done our best to rescue the Allied pilots. After all, our troops only occupy a small part of Warsaw. I hope those pilots captured by the Germans can survive until the day we defeat the Germans. "
After saying this, he paused for a moment, and then told Malinin: "Chief of Staff, call General Zakharkin back and order him to find a way to send these rescued pilots to the headquarters. We must send these pilots to the headquarters as soon as possible." Return it to the Allies."
As Rokossovsky judged, three British pilots unfortunately became prisoners of the Germans. Although they said nothing except their names and ranks after being captured, the cunning Germans judged from their identities that the Allies risked airdropping various weapons, ammunition and supplies into Warsaw because of the uprising. The army could not hold on any longer.
In order to prevent Allied aircraft from appearing again in the sky over Warsaw, the German army increased a large number of anti-aircraft fires in the areas under its control, preventing Allied aircraft from entering the sky over Warsaw again and airdropping supplies to the rebels fighting hard in the city. In addition, in order to cut off the supply lines of the Soviet and Polish troops who occupied the Lazienki Palace and the Belvedere Palace, they specially mobilized artillery to bombard the surface of the Vistula River to prevent any more ships from crossing the river from the right bank.
Zakharkin, who stayed in the city to command the troops, became anxious when he saw that the transportation line on the Vistula River was cut off. He sent two emergency telegrams to Rokossovsky, urging for transportation within Warsaw as soon as possible. supplies, and repeatedly emphasized that if supplements from outside the city could not be obtained within two days, the troops at Lazienki Palace and Belvedere Palace might be defeated by the German army due to the scarcity of ammunition.
After reading these two telegrams, Rokossovsky became furious. After slamming his hands on the table several times, he said excitedly: "As the deputy commander of the front army, Zakharkin, however, encountered When encountering even the slightest difficulty, he starts worrying about gains and losses, which is simply outrageous."
After Telekin waited for Rokossovsky to finish getting angry, he turned and asked Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, have those Allied pilots been sent over from the other side?"
"Not yet, Military Commissar." Malinen shook his head and said seriously: "Because the German artillery bombarded the Vistula River all the time, many of our ships transporting supplies were sunk. Fortunately, those The pilots are still staying at the Lazienki Palace and have not taken a boat to cross the river, otherwise if they have any trouble, we will be politically passive."
After Rokossovsky sat down, he raised his head and asked Malinin: "Chief of Staff, didn't Chuikov send two divisions from the Magnushev landing site? Where have the troops reached now?"
Malinen looked down at the map, pointed to the south of Warsaw and said: "General Glebov's 27th Guards Division is currently only five kilometers away from Belvedere Palace and can arrive in about an hour. And Pankov The General's 88th Guards Division, after a day of forced march, is still about 40 kilometers away from the city of Warsaw. If all goes well, the division will arrive at the location of the Lazienki Palace tomorrow morning."
Telekin remembered that it was now impossible to supply the troops stationed in the two palaces from the right bank. The two Guards Divisions sent by Chuikov, even after entering Warsaw, could only replenish through the direction of Magnushev Landing Field. Thinking of the upcoming battle, he asked Malinen with some anxiety: "Chief of Staff, I wonder how much ammunition these two divisions carry?"
"I only brought two basic amounts of ammunition." Malinin explained to Telekin: "If you carry too much ammunition, it will affect the marching speed of the troops."
Rokossovsky took a few deep breaths to stabilize his mood, and then said to Malinin: "Send a telegram to the deputy commander of the front army and tell him that when General Glebov's 27th Guards Division arrives, Let them launch an attack along Wilanov Avenue towards the Warsaw Okence train station, and if things go well, go further to seize Okence Airport.”
After recording the orders dictated by Rokossovsky, Malinin said with a smile: "Comrade Commander, if our troops can successfully seize the railway station and the airport, then supplies can be transported continuously by trains and planes. Enter Warsaw. This way, even if the Germans arrive with more reinforcements, our troops with sufficient supplies can still hold them off."
"Yes, that's the case." Seeing that Malinin guessed his intention, Rokossovsky smiled and nodded, and then said: "Although our plane cannot land near the two palaces, it can Landing at Okenche Airport will greatly speed up the supply."
Zakharkin, who was staying in Warsaw, soon received a telegram from Rokossovsky. After reading the content clearly, he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Denis and Petrie: "Two comrades, lieutenant colonels, I have good news to tell you. General Glebov's 27th Guards Division , can reach us in an hour at the fastest. And another 88th Guards Division led by General Pankov is also in the process of marching to Warsaw, and will reach Warsaw by tomorrow at the latest."
"That's great, that's great." When Petrie heard the good news, he touched Denis twice with his elbow and said excitedly: "In this way, we have two divisions plus one in Warsaw. With two regiments, we are more sure of defeating the enemy.”
"Isn't that right, Comrade Petrie." Denis said with a smile on his face: "The arrival of these two divisions has made our army stronger than ever. Next, we should take the initiative to attack the areas occupied by the German army. ”
Rokossovsky was in his headquarters, waiting for a telegram from the other side of the Vistula River, when a staff officer hurried over and handed Malinin a telegram he had just received.
Malinin was shocked after reading the telegram. He turned to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade Commander, it's bad. According to the intelligence intercepted by our army, the Germans have occupied the town of Luran."
"What, the Germans occupied the town of Luran?" After hearing Malinin's report, Rokossovsky showed a shocked expression on his face: "When did this happen and why did Misha not report it in time? "
After speaking, he grabbed the high-frequency phone on the table, connected to the 48th Army Headquarters, and said in a stern tone to the staff officer who answered the phone: "I am Rokossovsky, let your commander answer the phone. "
Sokov happened to be sitting not far away at the moment. When he heard the staff officer say that Rokossovsky was looking for him, and his tone was very stern, he couldn't help but show a confused expression on his face. He took the phone and said respectfully: " Hello, Comrade Marshal, I am Sokov, do you have any instructions?”
"Comrade Sokov," Rokossovsky said for the first time, instead of calling Sokov by his nickname, he directly called him by his surname. "Why didn't you report to me that such a big thing happened?"
Hearing that Rokossovsky actually called him by his last name, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He secretly said that Rokossovsky seemed to be angry about something, otherwise he would not have called him by his nickname. Instead, use the surname directly. But he didn't know where he had offended Rokossovsky, so he could only ask cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, I don't quite understand what you mean. What did I fail to report to you in time?"
Seeing that Sokov was still pretending in front of him, Rokossovsky became even more angry: "You still have the nerve to say, let me ask you, Luran Town was lost, why didn't you report it in time?"
"The town of Luran was lost?" Sokov's eyes widened in surprise when he heard what Rokossovsky said: "Comrade Marshal, when did this happen? How come I didn't know about it at all?"
"Now that things have come to this point, do you still want to quibble?" Rokossovsky laughed angrily: "Our intelligence department intercepted a telegram from the German army, saying that they had captured the town of Luran."
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible." Sokov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, then raised his voice to defend himself: "The town of Luran is still in the hands of our army and has never been captured by the German army."
In order to confirm this, Sokov did not even cover the microphone and directly asked Sidorin beside him: "Chief of Staff, have you received a report from Major General Nikitin of the 120th Guards Division that the town of Luran has been lost?" Already?"
Regarding the matter mentioned by Sokov, Sidorin was also confused: "Comrade Commander, I have not received any report from General Nikitin. But if the town of Luran is really lost, even if it is close to If the 120th Guards Division does not report, then the 1st and 6th Guards Divisions deployed on their left and right flanks will also report."
