Hearing what the major said, the sergeant looked across the river again and found that the troops on the other side were not dressed like Germans. He reported to the major: "Major, the people shouting to us across the river don't look like Germans."
He's German, but he looks a bit like Russian."
After hearing this, the British major couldn't help but frowned. He ordered someone to call the German translator and said to the other person: "Ask the other person, which part of the German army are they from?"
Although the German translator had never fought with the Germans, he judged from the clothes of the troops on the other side that they were definitely not Germans, so he cautiously said to the major: "Major, the troops on the other side of the river don't look like Germans. I don't think they are Germans."
The sergeant was right, he might actually be Russian."
"No one here understands Russian, so how can we communicate with them?" The major impatiently ordered the translator: "You first shout to them in German and ask them which section they are from and what they are doing here."
"But what if they don't understand German?" The translator reminded the major: "Our soldiers call the Russians gray animals, which shows that their cultural level is not very high and they want to pick out one of them who understands German.
I’m afraid it’s not an easy task.”
The translator's words made the major waver a little. He began to consider whether it was appropriate for him to ask the translator to speak to the troops on the other side in German. But after a moment, he made a decision and said to the translator resolutely:
"It is better to carry out my order and shout to them in German. Whether they can understand it or not is not within our scope of consideration."
Upon hearing the major's order, the translator nodded helplessly, then took a tin trumpet, came to the river, and shouted in German to the Soviet commanders on the other side: "We are the British Royal Airborne Division, you are
Which part?”
After shouting, there was silence on the other side, and no one spoke at all. The translator thought that the other party did not hear his shouting, so he repeated what he just said.
When the Soviet commanders and soldiers on the east bank of the Elbe River heard the British troops on the other side shouting to them in German, they couldn't help but look at each other, and for a moment they didn't know what to do.
Fortunately, the leading battalion commander was smarter. When he saw the British troops on the other side shouting in German that he did not understand, he quickly reported to the brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Victor, over the phone.
After hearing this, Victor also had a troubled expression on his face: "What, the British actually shouted to you in German?"
"Yes, Comrade Brigadier." The battalion commander replied: "As you know, there is no one in our battalion who understands German, so we have no idea what he is saying."
There was no one around Victor who knew either German or English, so he had no choice but to ask Sokov for help. He quickly answered the phone at the group army headquarters: "Comrade Commander, I am the commander of the 122nd Infantry Brigade.
Lieutenant Colonel Victor, we have encountered a trouble now." After saying that, he reported to Sokov in detail about the British troops on the other side of the Elbe River greeting their troops in German, and finally asked, "Commander
Comrade Communist Party members, what should we do next?”
After listening to the other party's report, Sokov thought to himself: Although he knew English, it was obviously inappropriate to appear at this time. He turned to Sidorin and asked: "Chief of Staff, is there anyone in our army who understands English?"
"No, Comrade Commander." Sidorin answered simply, "There are many translators who understand German, but there are no translators who understand English. Comrade Commander, why do you ask this?"
"Didn't I send Lieutenant Colonel Victor's 122nd Infantry Brigade to join the British army on the other side of the Elbe River?" Sokov explained: "Now they are talking to the British army across the bank, but the other side sent a German
translate……"
"German translation?!" Hearing what Sokov said, Sidorin couldn't help but be startled, and then asked: "Comrade Commander, when the British are dealing with us, what do you call a German translation?"
"I think there may be no one in their army who understands Russian." Sokov said with a bitter look on his face: "So they can only use someone who understands German to deal with it, but that's okay, they don't have a translator who understands Russian.
, we don’t have a translator who understands English, so there may be problems with direct communication. But both sides send a German translator, and through these two people, what they want to say can be translated into Russian and English respectively.”
After hearing Sokov's explanation, Sidorin immediately understood what was going on. He nodded quickly and said, "I understand, Comrade Commander. I will immediately send a German translator to the Elbe River to communicate with the people on the other side."
The British negotiated."
When the German translator sent by the headquarters arrived at the Elbe River, Lieutenant Colonel Victor personally arranged a wooden boat, and together with the German translator, they crossed the river to the British defense area on the other side.
Although Victor did not understand English and the British Major did not understand Russian, there were two German translators who were able to convert the content of both parties into a language that the other party could understand.
Two hours later, the two parties who reached an agreement set up a pontoon bridge on the Elbe River to make it easier for both parties to travel. Victor returned to the headquarters and reported the meeting to Sokov.
If there were troops commanded by General Patton on the other side of the Elbe River, maybe Sokov would try to meet with Patton. Now that he knows that the other side of the Elbe is only the British Royal Airborne Division, and the division commander General Paulson is not famous in history, Sokov will naturally
Wouldn't be interested.
Sidorin learned that the construction of a bridge on the Elbe River had begun, and he immediately became interested and took the initiative to propose to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, when the pontoon bridge is erected, we can go to the other side and have a look with the commander of the British Airborne Division.
Want to meet?"
"I don't think it's necessary." Sokov said lightly: "Just let any division commander go see General Wilson on our behalf. If we really want to cross the river, we can't wait until Comrade Marshal goes to see Montgomery.
.”
"Yes, Misha is right." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Lunev agreed: "The other party is just a division commander, and he is not well-known. How can he let a group army commander go to see him?
Where is a division commander? I think it will not be too late for us to cross the Elbe River when Marshal Rokossovsky goes to see Marshal Montgomery."
The pontoon bridge on the Elbe River was quickly erected. Except for Victor's 122nd Infantry Brigade crossing the river, the rest of the 48th Army stayed on the east bank, continuing to collect the weapons of the surrendered German troops and temporarily detaining them in a suitable place.
Not to mention that Sokov did not issue an order to cross the river. Even if such an order was given, I am afraid not many people would be willing to cross the river. After all, the war is over. They should stay in their own defense zone and accept the Germans with peace of mind.
Isn't it good to surrender?
The day after the pontoon bridge was erected, Sokov received a call from Rokossovsky from the headquarters: "Misha, are you free now?"
When Sokov heard what Rokossovsky said, he thought that the other party was coming to inspect his troops, so he quickly replied: "Comrade Marshal, are you coming to inspect my troops? I can give up other work for the time being.
I’ll accompany you on your inspection.”
"You misunderstood, I'm not going to inspect your troops." Unexpectedly, Rokossovsky said: "I received a call from Field Marshal Montgomery, inviting me to go to Wismar to meet with him. I wanted to call
You go together."
When he learned that he was going to see Montgomery, not the unknown General Wilson, Sokov suddenly became interested: "Comrade Marshal, I don't know when you plan to go to Wismar. I am willing to follow you to see Marshal Montgomery."
"At around two o'clock in the afternoon, I will pass through your defense area, cross the Elbe River on the pontoon bridge built by you and your friendly forces, and go to Wismar to meet Field Marshal Montgomery."
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Sokov, along with Military Commissar Lunev and Chief of Staff Sidorin, stood on the east side of the pontoon bridge on the Elbe River, quietly waiting for Rokossovsky's arrival.
At this time, the jeep Rokossovsky was riding was passing through a forest. Rokossovsky, who was sitting in the back seat, suddenly saw the road in front of him crowded with soldiers. Looking at their military uniforms, he thought
His heart skipped a beat, it was the Germans! So he instinctively stretched his hand to his waist, preparing to draw his gun and fight the opponent. But the next moment, he realized that the war was over, and the German officers and soldiers he saw were just in front of him.
A group of prisoners of war escorted by his subordinates.
Fortunately, he was sitting alone in the back row and no one noticed his panic. However, in order to cover up his gaffe, he reached directly into his trouser pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes.
He took out one and held it in his mouth, but did not light it immediately.
The soldiers escorting the prisoners in front saw a long line of jeeps approaching and immediately realized that a big shot was coming. They quickly drove the German prisoners walking in the middle of the road to both sides to make way for the approaching convoy.
The German prisoners who were driven to both sides of the road looked at Rokossovsky sitting in the jeep. Many of them had expressions of surprise on their faces. This was the first time they had seen Rokossovsky at such a close distance.
to the marshal of the Soviet army. But more people just glanced at him and then looked away, continuing to maintain indifferent expressions on their faces.
Due to the large number of German prisoners, Rokossovsky's convoy was still stopped even though the escorting soldiers kept driving away.
Seeing the motorcade stop, a major officer quickly jogged to Rokossovsky's car, raised his hand in salute and said: "Hello, Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union!"
After Rokossovsky raised his hand in return, he asked: "Which department do you belong to?"
"Reporting to Comrade Marshal, we are from the 339th Regiment of the 120th Guards Infantry Division." The major replied: "We are being ordered to send these surrendered Germans to a prisoner of war camp a few kilometers away."
"The 120th Guards Division is a unit of the 48th Group Army."
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." The major replied: "We are indeed the troops of the 48th Group Army."
"How many prisoners are there in total here?"
"There are more than five thousand people."
"More than five thousand people, that's a lot of people." Rokossovsky continued to ask: "Did they surrender voluntarily, or did they lay down their weapons and surrender to you after a battle?"
"They surrendered voluntarily, Comrade Marshal." The major replied: "Since yesterday, the Germans who originally fought with us have stopped resisting, laid down their weapons in an organized manner, and surrendered to us. Our battalion was ordered to kill these enemies
, sent to a newly built prisoner of war camp a few kilometers away."
"Are they honest?" Rokossovsky looked at the German officers and soldiers passing by and asked with a straight face: "Did any of them resist or try to escape?"
"No, Comrade Marshal, they are all honest." The major explained to Rokossovsky: "Our battalion now has only more than 300 people, but it has to escort more than 5,000 prisoners of war, and each person has to take care of an average of 20 prisoners.
. But they are very honest, no one wants to run away, and when we ask them to start, they start; when we ask them to stop, they stop, and they are very obedient."
After hearing this, Rokossovsky nodded and said: "It's fine if they are really honest. If you encounter someone who wants to escape or incite rebellion, don't be polite. Kill as many as you can to serve as a warning."
Follow your example. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Marshal." The major suddenly said unexpectedly: "To tell you the truth, I was once a prisoner of the Germans. Under their escort, we were on the way to the prisoner of war camp. If anyone fell or
If you try to leave the team, you will get a bullet from the Germans. Many of my comrades died in the hands of the Germans in this way."
Rokossovsky knew that a considerable number of Sokov's men came from prisoner-of-war camps. These commanders and fighters who had been prisoners of the Germans had a deep-seated hatred of the Germans, so he entrusted them with the task of escorting the prisoners.
It is undoubtedly the most suitable. He nodded slightly and said: "Major, I know that you have a deep hatred with the Germans, but now that the war is over, the Germans have also announced their unconditional surrender. I am afraid that these German prisoners of war will be detained for a few months.
They will be released one after another, and if they do not have any excessive behavior, it is better not to take too harsh measures."
Hearing what Rokossovsky said, a bitter expression appeared on the major's face: "Comrade Marshal, I am only ordered to send the prisoners to the prisoner of war camp. Unless they commit suicide during the transportation, want to escape or want to rebel, otherwise
We won't do anything to them."
"What about the commander in charge of the prisoner-of-war camp?" Rokossovsky recalled something Sokov once mentioned to himself: "Who is in charge of the prisoner-of-war camp you are going to?"
"It's Major Gavrilov." The major replied without thinking: "He turned out to be the commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment in the Brest Fortress. Later, after the fortress fell, he fought with the Germans in the fortress.
months, until he was wounded and captured. After being detained in a German prisoner-of-war camp for several years, he was left disabled. After being rescued from the prisoner-of-war camp by the commander, he was appointed as the person in charge of the prisoner-of-war camp. However, according to my
As far as I know, he basically acted in accordance with the instructions and rarely dealt a fatal blow to the Germans in the prisoner-of-war camps. In other words, in the prisoner-of-war camps under his jurisdiction, German prisoners of war could enjoy the treatment they deserve as prisoners of war."
"Oh, Major Gavrilov." Rokossovsky repeated the name and said, "I seem to have heard Misha mention this, saying that he is a great hero. If he had commanded
If we have more troops and more weapons, ammunition and various supplies, we may be able to hold on in the Brest Fortress for a longer time."
"Comrade Marshal," the adjutant living in the passenger seat turned to Rokossovsky and said, "the road has been cleared and we can continue moving forward."
