"Yes, of course." After hearing what the translator said, Stemmermann said with a smile on his face: "Please take a seat, General Sokov. It's a pleasure to see you here."
Seeing that Stemelman actually called out his name, Sokov couldn't help but asked in surprise: "General Stemelman, do you know me?"
"That's right, General Sokov." Stemerman nodded and said, "I have seen your photo before, so I recognized you at a glance. In fact, I am not the only one who knows you, only those who are above the regimental level
Officers have basically seen your photos."
Knowing that all German officers at regiment level and above had seen his photos, Sokov couldn't help but curiously asked: "General Stemmermann, can you tell me why all your officers at regiment level and above have seen my photos?"
"
"Because you are our most respected and feared opponent. At least so far, no unit that has fought against you has achieved victory." Stemerman said with a smile: "Let all officers above the regiment level know you.
You, this is Marshal Manstein's order. He told us that in order to defeat our opponent, we must first be familiar with and understand him."
After figuring out what was going on, Sokov smiled faintly and said: "General Stemerman, you are flattering me. I am not truly victorious in every battle. At least against the Viking Division, my troops have no chance of winning.
.”
"The Viking Division is just an exception." Stemmermann said with a smile: "Didn't the Flag Guard Division, the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division all suffer defeats under your hands?"
Sokov smiled and said nothing.
"By the way, General Sokov, are you the negotiator tonight?"
"Yes, General Stemerman, I am the negotiator for the Soviet army."
After Stemerman waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he nodded and said: "It seems that you attach great importance to this negotiation. You actually asked you to come here from Moscow overnight."
"General Stemerman, let me interrupt." Sokov heard this and quickly interrupted: "I didn't come from Moscow overnight, but I was already in the Cherkasy area."
"What, you have arrived in the Cherkasy area a long time ago?" Stemerman asked in surprise: "Then where have you been staying during this time?"
Before Sokov could answer, Stemmerman suddenly thought of a possibility: "You are not the commander of a certain unit here, are you?"
"That's right." Sokov felt that there was no need to conceal his identity at this moment. After all, his mission this time was to persuade Stemerman to surrender. It would be better to be honest: "I took over the position of commander of the 53rd Army not long ago.
"
"What, you are the commander of the 53rd Army?" Sturmerman, who was shocked, asked in an unbelievable tone: "How could you be the commander of the 53rd Army? What about the headquarters of the 53rd Army?
Could it be you?"
Sokov spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and said with a helpless expression: "It's not just me."
Sokov's words drove Stemerman crazy: "No wonder, no wonder. No wonder the Walloon assault brigade could easily capture Komarovka, but suffered a big loss here on Hill 239.
It turns out that the person commanding this army is actually you."
Stemmerman laughed dryly and said: "For me to be defeated by you, Lieutenant Colonel Lippert deserved his death."
Sokov knew that Lipt was the commander of the Walloon Assault Brigade. He heard from the prisoners that the man was seriously injured in the shelling, and he still had a certain degree of doubt about the authenticity of this matter. At this moment, Stemerman heard
If he personally said that Lipt was dead, then the news could not be false.
"General Stemmermann," Sokov said, remembering his mission here: "I think it's time for us to start negotiations."
Stemerman sat down opposite Sokov and said with a somewhat depressed expression: "General Sokov, actually, even if you don't say it, I know in my heart that you are here to persuade me to surrender. Am I right?"
"
"Yes, indeed."
"I think there is no need for us to continue talking." Stemmermann suddenly said seriously: "Although our situation is very difficult, it is simply impossible for me to order the troops to lay down their weapons and surrender to you."
Sokov also knew that the negotiation he came here today was just a formality. Even if he said something to the extreme, Stemerman would never surrender. But since he was here, there were some things he felt he still wanted to say.
Next: "General Stemmermann, although I know it is impossible for you to stop resisting, lay down your arms and surrender to us, but for the sake of your officers and soldiers, I still have something to say."
"Please speak, General Sokov." Stemerman made a gesture of invitation: "I'm listening."
"You have been heavily surrounded by our army." Sokov did not mince words and said bluntly: "The troops surrounding you are millions of troops from our two fronts, and you only have a mere 50,000 to 60,000 troops.
, with such a disparity in strength, it is basically impossible to break through our encirclement and join forces with the troops coming to respond."
In order to enhance his persuasiveness, Sokov continued: "A year ago in Stalingrad, as a representative of the Soviet army, I went to Paulus's headquarters to persuade him to lay down his arms and surrender, but he refused. Only after
Within a week, he became my prisoner."
"Yes, I have heard about it." Stemmermann nodded and said expressionlessly: "I heard that Paulus surrendered to you and the troops under your command as a marshal. You guys
In the propaganda, although it was emphasized that the unit that captured Paulus was the 64th Army, we all know in our hearts that the person who really captured Paulus was you."
Seeing that Stemmermann was so clear about his past achievements, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little complacent. He smiled and asked: "General Stemermann, you might as well think carefully about it, if you lay down your weapons and surrender at this moment.
, it can save more lives, which is better than letting them die in vain."
Facing Sokov's persuasion, Stemmerman remained silent. Sokov knew that the other party was having a fierce ideological struggle, so he did not disturb him and waited patiently for him to make his final decision.
After a long time, Stemerman raised his head and said to Sokov: "General Sokov, I am very grateful to you for showing up here to save us. But after repeated thinking, I can only refuse you.
With good intentions, my men and I will continue to fight until the last moment of our lives. This is our obligation as a soldier."
Stemerman's refusal was not surprising to Sokov at all. However, he did not give up because of this, but continued: "General Stemerman, have you ever thought about what if you want to
If we rush out of our encirclement with all our strength, we will inevitably leave behind those seriously injured people who are unable to move and leave them to fend for themselves in the encirclement. Although I don't know the specific number of wounded, but there are at least a thousand people, right?"
Hearing what Sokov said, Stemerman was silent again. He stared at Sokov for a long time, then nodded slowly and said: "You are right, if we want to break out with all our strength, we must
We can only abandon those seriously injured people who are unable to move and let them fend for themselves in the ice and snow."
At this point, Stemmerman closed his eyes and said with a painful expression: "Two thousand people, I can only watch them die of the cold or due to lack of medical treatment, but
And there’s nothing I can do.”
"Actually, it's very convenient for you to help them." Seeing that Stemmerman's idea had changed, Sokov quickly said while the iron was hot: "As long as you order the troops to stop resisting, lay down their weapons and surrender to our army, I can surrender to you.
It is guaranteed that these injured will receive due treatment."
The conditions put forward by Sokov made Stemermann fall into hesitation again. One was to violate his military oath, lay down his weapons and surrender to the enemy; the other was to ruthlessly abandon these wounded soldiers and take the remaining soldiers with him.
troops to break out of the encirclement.
"I'm sorry, General Sokov." After a fierce ideological struggle, Stemmerman finally made a difficult choice: "I am a soldier, and I cannot violate my oath. I will not violate my oath at any time."
I will not lay down my arms and surrender to my opponent, please understand my difficulties."
"General Stemmermann, do you really intend to ignore those more than 2,000 wounded?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Stemerman's face showed a relaxed expression: "General Sokov, if it were other Russian troops, I would still be very worried. But if it is what we are about to face,
I am not worried at all if the opponent is you, because as far as I know, although you have executed some captured German officers and soldiers, those people were SS soldiers who committed evil, and you have never killed the wounded.
It's good luck for them if they can be captured by your troops."
Sokov couldn't laugh or cry after hearing this. He originally planned to use the seriously wounded as bargaining chips to make a last-ditch effort, but he didn't expect that Stemerman would throw the burden of the wounded to him. If it was really his own troops who captured him.
For this batch of wounded, a large amount of medicine must be provided to treat them.
"General Stemerman," Sokov said with a headache: "If my troops capture your wounded, I guarantee you that they will receive preferential treatment and enjoy the treatment they deserve. But, if
If they fall into the hands of other troops, I cannot guarantee their safety."
"Understood, I completely understand." Stemerman knew very well in his heart that the medicines needed for more than 2,000 wounded people were a large amount. Except for Sokov, the rest of the troops captured these wounded people.
Instead of killing them on the spot, just throw them in the snow. In less than an hour, they will all be frozen to death due to hypothermia. Faced with the promise made by Sokov, he said gratefully: "No matter these wounded people
Regardless of their final fate, I would like to express my gratitude to you on their behalf!"
Since Stemmermann was unwilling to surrender, Sokov knew that he didn't have much meaning in staying any longer. After chatting for a few more words, he stood up and left.
If he were an ordinary negotiator, Stemmermann might have called the officer who led the way and sent the other party back to the original meeting point. But since today's negotiator is Sokov, Stemmermann behaved like a normal negotiator.
Extraordinarily attentive, he not only escorted Sokov out of the tent personally, but also called his adjutant and ordered him to bring a platoon of people to escort Sokov back to the receiving point.
After arriving at the connection point, Sokov met with his men and immediately ordered to drive to the front army headquarters. He planned to report the details of tonight's negotiations to Konev in person.
Hearing that Sokov planned to go to the front army headquarters, Koshkin reminded him: "Comrade Commander, it is too late now and the road is not easy. I am worried about what danger I will encounter. It is better to go back to the headquarters directly.
Just report to General Konev by phone."
Koshkin's suggestion moved Sokov. For a moment, he almost ordered the other party to return to the army headquarters and report to Konev over the phone there. But then he thought about it, and there were some things that couldn't be said over the phone.
Clearly, it is safer to report in person.
After thinking about this, he ordered Koshkin with a serious expression: "Comrade Lieutenant, obey my order and drive to the front headquarters immediately. Do you understand?"
Although Koshkin obeyed Sokov's order, for safety reasons, he still asked one of the trucks full of soldiers to explore the road ahead, while the jeep and the other two trucks followed at a distance. Even the front ones
If a vehicle is attacked, the vehicle behind it also has time to respond.
Fortunately, what Koshkin was worried about did not happen. Near the front army headquarters, they even encountered a patrol team directly under the front army and sent them directly to the headquarters.
Zakharov, who was busy in the headquarters, saw Sokov's arrival, looked at his expression, and then said: "How is it, Comrade Sokov, what is the result of the negotiation?"
Before Sokov could speak, Konev, who was sitting at the table looking at a map, raised his head and interjected: "If I guess correctly, Stemmermann did not agree to the conditions we proposed."
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Seeing that Konev had guessed the final result, Sokov nodded and said truthfully: "You are right, General Stemermann of the German Army rejected our army.
I am trying to persuade you to surrender, and I plan to continue to fight to the end."
"Since the enemy will not surrender, then destroy them." After Konev said this, he ordered Zakharov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call the commander of the cavalry unit and inform them to rush to the designated location as soon as possible.
, be ready to attack."
Hearing that Konev planned to use cavalry to attack the German troops that broke out of the encirclement, Sokov couldn't help but be stunned. From the beginning of this era, Sokov always felt that cavalry was a useless unit.
For the Germans who were armed to the teeth, they were the best shooting targets.
Perhaps seeing Sokov's doubts, Konev smiled and explained to him: "Comrade Sokov, don't worry, I won't just throw the cavalry into the battle. Unless the German army begins to collapse and cannot organize a decent cavalry."
When there is resistance, I will send the cavalry out to chase down the fleeing enemies. In any case, a horse with four legs will definitely run faster than a man with two legs."
Sokov thought about it and realized that this was true. If the German army's organization was disrupted and soldiers were running around in the mountains and fields, the effect of sending cavalry to pursue them would be far better than that of infantry.
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov guessed that Konev might have already prepared for a general offensive, so he asked tentatively: "When will we launch the final attack on the Germans?"
"The offensive troops will be able to reach the designated position before dawn." Konev said: "As soon as dawn comes, we will launch the final attack on the Germans."
