Sergeant Doppler had just climbed back to the trench when he saw the company commander standing in front of him. He quickly straightened his body and shouted: "Hello, Mr. Captain."
"Sergeant Doppler, I heard that you were the first to take the lead and climb to the Russians' position?" The company commander asked expressionlessly: "Is that the case?"
"Yes, Mr. Captain, is the first position I climbed to the Russians." Sergeant Doppler did not know what his company commander planned to deal with him, so he could only answer honestly: "I haven't eaten anything for several days, and I was so hungry that I couldn't stand it. Hearing the Russians' radio shouting that as long as I run over without weapons, I could eat enough, and I decided to take a risk."
After listening quietly to Sergeant Doppler, the captain waved his heads to the two soldiers behind him and said, "Search for his body."
The two soldiers immediately stepped forward and searched Sergeant Doppler and found the black bread that Guchakov gave him from his pocket. The two soldiers were also hungry for a long time, and now they saw such a large piece of bread, and couldn't help swallowing. However, they did not dare to hide what Sergeant Doppler found in private, so they hurriedly handed it over to the company commander standing aside.
The German company commander took the black bread, held it in his hand and weighed it, saying, "Sergeant Doppler, can't you see that this is a bomb disguised as bread by the Russians? Are you bringing such a dangerous thing back to help the Russians blow up our positions? In order to prevent unnecessary casualties from causing our company, I confiscated this thing." After that, he put the black bread in his pocket and turned around and left.
"Mr. Captain," Doppler was so heartbroken that he was crying when he saw the company commander snatching the bread he brought back. Thinking of his wounded friend who had been hungry for a few days, he hurriedly chased him and begged to the company commander: "Mr. Captain, leave some for me. This piece of bread was left for a friend. He was injured and had not eaten for several days. If he didn't eat it, he would probably not be able to support it."
"Bread, what bread?" The German company commander stopped and said disdainfully: "I just found out from you. It was just a bomb disguised as bread by the Russians. I want to take it back and check it carefully so that I will not cause unnecessary casualties to my company officers and soldiers."
In this way, the bread that Sergeant Doppler brought back for his friend was taken away by the German company commander. He looked at the other party's back and spitted. If he had a weapon in his hand, he felt that he would definitely shoot at the other party's back without hesitation.
"Sergeant," the soldier who followed Sergeant Doppler's first group of climbing over, approached him and asked, "Will we go over tomorrow?"
"It's all right." Sergeant Doppler looked at the company commander's departure and said gritted his teeth: "As long as the Russians provide us with food, we will go there, otherwise we will have to stay here and wait for death."
"Sergeant, I have something to say to you." The soldier pulled Doppler aside, looked at no one nearby, and said to him in a low voice: "Even if the Russians often provide food for us, I don't think it's reliable. If the superiors order us to go to war with the Russians, do you think they will provide food for us?"
What the soldiers said made Sergeant Doppler fall into deep thought. During this period, both sides were in a stalemate and did not open fire with each other. The Russians could barely make sense to provide food to their own people. But if the two sides really fought, it would be not easy to ask the Russians to provide food at night. Who knows if the other party would suspect that they were preparing to attack them in the sneak attack?
Thinking of this, he asked the soldier: "What the hell are you going to say?"
"Sergeant, I think we should stay there if we want to have a full meal." The soldier whined to the Soviet position and said, "If they can continue to provide us with food tomorrow night, I will not plan to come back after I go there. I wonder what you are planning?"
When Sergeant Doppler heard his subordinates say that he was going to surrender to the Soviet army, he couldn't help but be moved. When he almost agreed to his subordinates' proposal, he suddenly remembered his wounded friend who was still lying in the cover-up department. The thought that had just come out was suppressed again. He shook his head at the soldier and said, "No, I have an important friend here, I can't leave him alone." Seeing that the soldiers wanted to say something, he added, "What is the supply situation of the troops now? Even if I don't say it, you should be very clear. If I really go there like this, my injured friend may be starved to death."
"But, you forgot that when you came back, the captain sent someone to search you." The soldier shook his head and continued, "I'm worried that the food you brought back tomorrow will be taken away by the captain in the end."
"Don't worry, I've already thought of a good idea." Sergeant Doppler pointed to the crater in front of the trench and whispered to the soldiers: "When we come back tomorrow, we will hide all the food we carry on our bodies in the crater. After the company commander searched and left, we will secretly retrieve the food."
"This is a good idea." The soldier's eyes lit up when he heard Sergeant Doppler say this. "In this way, we will no longer worry about the food we carry on us being searched by the company commander."
After the German soldiers who came to eat left, Guchakov immediately reported the situation here to Sokov. Sokov learned that there were indeed German soldiers coming to eat, and asked in detail: "Comrade Captain, how many enemies are there? Are there any officers besides ordinary soldiers?"
"There were 69 people coming in total, including two officers." Guchakov had long guessed what Sokov would ask, so when the German officers and soldiers who were dining entered the position, they personally took stock of the number of people, "One was a lieutenant and the other was a lieutenant."
Although only two lieutenant-level officers came tonight, Sokov felt that he had achieved the intended goal. He said to the microphone: "Comrade Captain, you did a good job, this is a good start. In the next days, you may have to receive more German officers and soldiers. I guess some soldiers will definitely not want to go back after coming a few more times. Then you will arrange for people to send them to the regiment headquarters and hand them over to the regiment commander Berkin."
After finishing the call with Guchakov, Sokov asked Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, except for the reduction regiment, how are the positions of the other three regiments? Is there any enemy coming to have a meal?"
"No." Cidolin shook his head and replied, "There are barbed wire and minefields in front of the positions of the three regiments. I guess even if a German wants to come over for dinner, I may be worried that he will encounter danger."
"Since that's the case, then after dawn tomorrow, open a passage in the middle of the minefields of the three regiments so that the German soldiers who come to eat can enter and exit freely."
"But, Comrade Commander, what should we do when we open up a road in the minefield and are used by the enemy to attack us?"
"Don't worry," Sokov understood very well. Paulus's troops were now at the end of their power and could not make any mistakes. If they did not send troops to attack, they were about to laugh and dared not provoke themselves. Therefore, he comforted Cydolin: "Even if we open up a road in the minefield in front of the enemy, the Germans would not dare to do anything to us? For them, how to fill their stomachs is their top priority."
Ivanov still had a different opinion on Sokov's approach: "Our food supply is not actually rich. Is it appropriate for you to take out so many things to entertain the enemies who are fighting with us? I am worried that this will be detrimental to you when it comes to the ears of my superiors."
"Don't worry, comrade, deputy commander." Sokov replied with a smile: "Just shouting slogans to the German positions every day will be very limited. But if the Germans know that when we come to us, they can fill their stomachs and let them experience it truly, the effect will be multiplied."
"What if the superiors pursue it?" Although Sokov had already mentioned this, Ivanov asked worriedly: "How should we answer then?"
"Tell the truth." Sokov didn't go around in circles and said bluntly: "Report the purpose of our doings and the results we have achieved to our superiors. I believe that our superiors will understand us. Even if they don't understand and insist on holding them accountable, I will bear it."
…………
Through his own information channels, Cuikov learned that Sokov was providing food to the opposite German army on the position. On the first day, 69 German officers and soldiers came to have a full meal and couldn't help but frown slightly. After dawn, he calculated that Sokov should get up, so he called Mamayevgang to start a military conviction.
"Col. Sokov, what's going on?" Cuikov asked angrily: "Why do you provide our precious food to the Germans? Do you want them to attack us again after they have enough?"
"Comrade Commander, please listen to my explanation. Things are not what you imagined."
"Tell me, what's going on?" Cui Kefu said angrily: "I'll wait for your reply."
"Yes, we provided food for the enemy opposite last night. But only the enemy opposite the shrinking regiment put down their weapons and crawled out of their positions and went to our positions for a meal." Sokov thought of the fact that he ordered people to open a road in the minefield, which was definitely impossible to hide, so he took the opportunity to report to Cui Kev: "In addition, today I also ordered the commanders of the three guard regiments to open up roads in the minefield in front of their positions so that those German soldiers who came to eat could pass smoothly."
"What, you have someone who opens a road in a minefield to facilitate the German soldiers to come and have a meal?" Cuikov couldn't help but get angry when he heard this: "Col. Sokov, do you know that you will make a big mistake like this? If the Germans use the road you opened to attack, I ask you, can you stop it?"
"Don't worry, comrade Commander, I can guarantee that the enemy will never use the roads opened in the minefield to attack." In order to convince Cui Kov, Sokov mixed the information he obtained from Guchakov and some of the content he learned from history books, and reported to Cui Kov: "Due to the shortage of supplies, the Germans have completely lost the ability to take the initiative to attack. Their soldiers are not full and not warm in clothing. Almost every day, a large number of soldiers die due to the severe cold and hunger. At this time, we provide food to German officers and soldiers, so that they can understand one thing. Only by putting down our weapons and surrendering can we save such lives. As long as we persist for a while, I think a large number of German soldiers will come to surrender to our army. In this way, our army can reduce a lot of unnecessary sacrifices."
"You mean, are you providing food to the enemy to dismantle their morale?" Trikov finally understood Sokov's intention when he heard this, but he asked cautiously: "Then tell me, how long will it take for the Germans to come and surrender to us?"
"Two or three days at most." Sokov didn't know whether this trick was good, so he could only say ambiguously: "I think after two or three days of the work of providing food to the Germans, German officers and soldiers should come to surrender one after another."
"Okay." Cui Kefu said cheerfully when he heard this: "Then I will give you three days. If there are really German soldiers who have eaten your food and take the initiative to surrender to you, then you will continue to carry out this work. But if there is no effect, then stop immediately. We cannot waste our precious food on our enemies."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Cui Kov did not object to his approach, Sokov felt relaxed: "I will definitely not let you down."
Seeing Sokov put down the phone and with a solemn expression on his face, Cidolin quickly asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, what did the commander say to you?"
"Comrade Commander said, give me three days." Sokov grinned silently and continued, "If no German officers and soldiers surrendered to us, then stop providing food to the enemy. We cannot waste precious food on our enemies."
"Comrade Commander," Cidolin became nervous after hearing this: "Do you think we can do it?"
Although Sokov knew that the food tactics he used would be very effective in a few years, he was not sure whether the method of dismantling the enemy was effective on the Soviet-German battlefield, so he replied vaguely: "I think the commander's order should be done."
That night, German soldiers were welcomed to eat at the Guchakov company's position. But after eating today, several German soldiers were reluctant to leave, including the Doppler Sergeant.
Guchakov asked Ubrich to be a translator for himself and asked Sergeant Doppler curiously: "Sergeant, since you are full, why don't you go back? Are you not worried about being punished by your superiors??"
"Sir Captain," replied Sergeant Doppler respectfully, "We do not want to go back, we want to stay here, please accept us. As for the punishment, let it hell, since we have surrendered you, they will have no way to do anything to me."
"Why do you want to stay?" Guchakov asked curiously.
Sergeant Doppler looked at the soldiers around him and murmured: "There is no food there and the clothes they wear are thin. If you go back, it won't be long before you can either starve to death or freeze to death. Therefore, we decided to surrender to you after discussion."
"Where are your military coats?" Ubrich saw that the soldiers were wearing thin military uniforms and a small blanket was wrapped on their heads to keep warm, so he asked curiously: "Didn't the military department distribute winter clothes to you?"
"Actually, we all have military coats," Sergeant Doppler explained with a wry smile: "Later, in the process of transferring to Karachi, in order to speed up the marching, our superiors asked us to burn the military coats and said that as long as we left the encirclement, we could get new military coats. Who knew that before we arrived in Karachi, the gap was closed by you. Those places where winter clothes were stored were outside the encirclement, and we could not get those winter clothes at all."