Sokov knew very well that what the German general said was just polite words. Even if he knew that his troops were stationed nearby and made up his mind to command the troops to surrender to him, he would probably be opposed by his subordinates. After all, Germany
People have heard too much negative news about the Soviet army and are worried that their life safety will not be guaranteed after surrendering. Therefore, many troops will find ways to enter the defense zone of the British and American Allied Forces and surrender to them.
"Your Excellency General," Sokov said to the German general with a smile: "Germany has declared defeat anyway. Surrendering to my troops or surrendering to the Allies has the same effect. Now that the war is over, I think
You will not be able to stay in the prison camps for long before you can return to your own homes."
Hearing what Sokov said, a look of surprise flashed in the eyes of the German major who was the translator. He didn't bother to translate what Sokov said to the general, and asked impatiently: "General Sokov, what you said is all
Really? It really won’t be long before we can return to our homeland.”
Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "In as little as one month, as long as three months, most of you will be able to return to your homes. After all, the war is over and it requires a lot of labor.
Come and rebuild your country."
After the major waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he quickly translated what he said to his general, and finally added in German: "Your Excellency, division commander, I think what General Sokov said makes sense. Now that the war is over, reconstruction
Homeland requires a lot of manpower, and whether we enter a Russian or American prison camp, we only need to stay for one to three months before we can get out and return to our hometown."
The German general stretched out his hand to Sokov: "General Sokov, after listening to your words, I felt much more at ease. When I leave the prison camp and return to my home, I will definitely invite you.
As a guest."
Now that the war is over, the Germans in front of him are no longer his enemies and may become friends in the future, so Sokov politely replied: "If I have the chance, I will definitely visit your home."
After saying this, Sokov turned around and asked the US military lieutenant colonel: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to ask, when can I leave here?"
The U.S. Army lieutenant colonel saw that the German general was respectful to Sokov. Although he did not know the identity of the other party, he knew that someone who could be respected by the arrogant Germans must have a great background. At this moment, Sokov asked
He quickly said with a smile: "Mr. General, you can leave at any time. I will order someone to inform the subordinates along the way, and no one is allowed to block your car." After that, he called a lieutenant and gave a few instructions in a low voice.
sentence.
After receiving the order, the lieutenant immediately jumped into a jeep and ordered the driver to drive in the direction where the German prisoners of war were coming. Apparently, he was conveying the lieutenant colonel's order to the American officers and soldiers along the way.
After waiting for another seven or eight minutes, the radio station placed on one of the jeeps rang. When the US military lieutenant colonel heard the operator calling him, he went over to take the earphone and microphone and said a few words to the other party. Soon, he
He put down his things and came over to Sokov and said: "Mr. General, the road ahead is clear, you can leave at any time!"
After nodding his thanks to the other party, Sokov and Koshkin got into the jeep and drove forward along the road.
On the way, Koshkin asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand. We always say that Britain is in front and the United States is in the back. Why can Americans enter the area controlled by the British army unscrupulously?"
, and the British didn’t care?”
"The reason is very simple. Today's world structure has changed." Sokov replied with a sneer: "The person who has the final word now is no longer the United Kingdom but the United States. Let alone the U.S. military entering the British defense zone and being surrendered, even if it is
Let the British attack the Germans, and I am afraid the British would not dare to have any objections."
After the vehicle drove forward for some distance, Sokov saw a US Army jeep approaching. He recognized at a glance that the officer sitting in the back of the jeep was the lieutenant sent by the US Army Lieutenant Colonel to help him clear the road.
.At this moment, there was a girl who was all dressed up sitting next to the lieutenant. The lieutenant put a hand on the girl's shoulder, but she didn't seem to care at all. Instead, she was chatting and laughing with the lieutenant. It seemed like they were good friends who had known each other for many years.
"Comrade Commander." When Koshkin saw this situation, he turned to Sokov again and said: "The woman sitting with the US lieutenant does not look like an American in any way."
"You are right, he must be a German." Sokov said lightly: "I guess he is just a hitchhiker."
"Look at the closeness between the two of them, as if they are old friends who have known each other for a long time."
Sokov did not speak, but just stared at the American lieutenant and the German girl in the oncoming jeep. He thought to himself, if there was a German girl in his car and she behaved intimately, if she was photographed by a US military reporter,
Taking down the photo would probably cause a lot of trouble. However, the close relationship between the US military and the German girl seemed natural and logical.
After driving forward for some distance, a large convoy appeared in front of him. Seeing that the road was too narrow, Sokov might cause a traffic jam if he continued to drive forward, so he raised his hand and patted the driver's shoulder and gave instructions.
He said: "Comrade driver, pull over!"
Seeing such a huge convoy, Koshkin was a little surprised: "Comrade Commander, what kind of army is this?"
After observing carefully for a while, Sokov replied: "The convoy that came should be the German artillery unit. Now that there are no artillery, the trucks that used to tow the artillery were used to transport troops."
When the convoy passed by, Sokov clearly saw the soldiers sitting in the carriage, most of whom were female soldiers. He couldn't help but show a surprised expression on his face. He thought his judgment was wrong. The people sitting in the carriage were
Not artillery, but communications troops and the like.
The soldiers sitting in the carriage couldn't help but cast curious glances when they saw two jeeps being carried on the roadside. When they saw clearly that the people in the car were all Soviet officers and soldiers, they couldn't help showing a look of contempt on their faces.
In their minds, even if the war is over, these damn Russians are still their enemies. Only the British and American troops who are about to accept their surrender can be regarded as their future allies.
After finally leaving the town and heading towards the Elbe River, Koshkin, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around again and said: "Comrade Commander, I heard a rumor yesterday."
"Rumor? What rumor?"
"I heard others say that although the war is over, we still have a lot of work to do." Koshkin said: "For example, each unit must arrest Nazis in its own defense area. All those who committed crimes during the war
Those who have committed serious crimes will be punished accordingly and may even be shot."
Although Sokov had not heard of this at all, he felt that it was completely necessary to eliminate the Nazi forces in Germany after the war. If his superiors had given him such an order, he would have agreed without hesitation.
"This matter is not urgent. It will not be too late to carry out the matter after receiving the official order from superiors." Sokov said: "But before that, we need to understand the situation in the defense zone and wait for the arrest order to be issued.
, we can launch a war and arrest operation purposefully."
After Sokov returned to the headquarters, he asked the temporary staff officer in charge: "Did anything happen after we left?"
"No, Comrade Commander." The staff officer replied simply, "Nothing happened."
"Where are the troops?" Sokov continued: "What are the troops doing?"
"Comrade Commander, since the war is over, the troops are naturally resting and regrouping." The staff officer looked at Sokov with a strange look and muttered to himself: "Now that there is no battle to fight, what can the troops do if they don't rest and regroup?"
"Okay, it's okay. You can go and have a rest." Sokov waved his hand to the staff officer and motioned for him to leave. After all, the war is over now and there is no work to be done in the headquarters. The originally busy staff officers and communications staff have become
Relaxed.
"By the way, Comrade Commander, there is one more thing I almost forgot to tell you."
"what's up?"
"Comrade Asiya came to see you yesterday." The staff officer reported: "I said you were not here, and she left disappointed."
If the staff didn't mention Asya, Sokov almost forgot that his wife was still in the field hospital, so he quickly finished: "I understand, I will go find her later."
Just as Sokov was about to leave, the phone on the table rang.
Sokov reached out and grabbed the microphone and put it to his ear: "I am Sokov, who are you?"
"I'm Zhukov!" Zhukov's familiar voice came from the receiver: "Misha, I've called you several times, but why aren't any of your responsible people here?"
"Comrade Marshal," Sokov quickly explained after hearing Zhukov's words: "Members of our headquarters followed Comrade Commander of the Front Army to the British defense area to meet with them and celebrate the victory."
Knowing that Sokov and others had gone to the British defense zone not long ago, Zhukov asked: "I heard that the British gentlemen are very arrogant. Did you get any snub from them when you went there this time?"
"No, Comrade Marshal, they were very enthusiastic towards us." Sokov replied: "In addition to holding two banquets, they even held a dance. We originally planned to return yesterday, but due to the British
He received warm hospitality, so he postponed his return, and now the commander of the front army is still with Marshal Montgomery."
"My deputy, General Sokolovsky, went to the Elbe River yesterday to meet with representatives of the US military." Zhukov said on the phone: "I heard him say that at the banquet, he proposed to General Patton that we drink together for victory.
When we were having a drink, we were rejected by the other party. Fortunately, another American general came out to smooth things over, otherwise the banquet would have ended in an unhappy state."
"Comrade Marshal, I personally feel that both the Americans and the British look down on us from the bottom of their hearts. But the British have a gentlemanly demeanor. Even if they have opinions in their hearts, they will not lack superficial courtesy." Sokov
After saying this, he suddenly remembered what Koshkin said to himself on the way, and quickly asked: "By the way, Comrade Marshal, I want to ask if our next task is to arrest Nazis on a large scale who have slipped through the net."
?”
"Yes, I received an order from the Supreme Command yesterday to arrest all Nazis and put them on trial." Zhukov said: "I issued an arrest order to the troops this morning. Where are you?
I’m afraid we will have to wait until Rokossovsky comes back before we can start executing this order.”
For this order from the high command, Sokov applauded with both hands. He knew very well that not only the Soviet army had received such an order, but I am afraid that the American and British troops to the west had also received similar orders. Otherwise, as his own bodyguard,
Where did Koshkin get such top-secret information?
However, before the formal arrest order was issued, Sokov was concerned about another matter. He cautiously asked Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, I have something to ask you."
"What's the matter? Tell me."
"Now the Germans have surrendered, but the little devils in the Far East have not shown any signs of surrender." Sokov asked cautiously: "I want to know if the superiors will send manpower from the troops occupying Germany to the Far East.
, how about the final battle against the little devil?"
Zhukov once commanded the troops in the Nomenkan area and beat the Japs to the ground. When Sokov mentioned this, he was a little eager to try. But he was not sure whether the Supreme Command had any plans to use force against the Japs.
, so he could only say euphemistically: "There is no news from the Supreme Command yet. If any news comes out, I will inform you as soon as possible."
Although he did not get the answer he wanted from Zhukov, Sokov was not discouraged at all. He clearly remembered that the person who commanded the troops to attack the Japs in the Far East was Marshal Vasilevsky, and Zhukov's
The mission is to stay in Germany, stabilize the situation here, and start implementing the post-war reconstruction plan.
Zhukov paused for a moment and asked with some confusion: "Misha, aren't you tired of fighting for so many years? I originally thought that you would stay in Germany with peace of mind and help me with the post-war reconstruction work.
But now it seems that you are more eager to go to the Far East and fight the notorious Kwantung Army."
"Comrade Marshal," Sokov waited for Zhukov to finish and quickly gave a high-sounding reason: "As a soldier, as long as the enemy is still undefeated, I cannot easily put down my weapons. Even if I want to demobilize or
We have to wait until we have completely defeated the little devils from the East before engaging in other jobs."
