In order to immediately attract the attention of the refugees and prevent them from being frightened, the troops sent by Miroshniko carried some red flags to deliberately show off.
The flagpole was a chopped twig, and the flag was red cloth. They raised twenty flags, and under the setting sun, their reflections were quite noticeable.
They walked north along the river for nearly four kilometers and finally came into contact with guerrillas from the "Red October" guerrilla brigade who were escorting the refugees.
The red flag is proof of friendly forces, and no oolong incident occurred. When they saw each other, everyone shouted in Russian, happily hugged each other, and reported their identities.
"Comrade! We are finally waiting for you! Are you people from Red October? How many refugees are there?"
"There are three thousand people! Thank God, I didn't expect you to come out of the city to greet us. It's great. After a long march, everyone is so tired that they are about to collapse."
The situation of the guerrillas themselves was also a bit bad. They were also promised that they would have sufficient supplies when they arrived in Lechica, so they only had one day's worth of rations with them.
The leader of the guerrilla team asked: "It is said that you have set up a big pot to cook noodles and porridge in the city?"
However, the unique burnt aroma of the baked noodles immediately caught the attention of the squad leader. He noticed the sacks carried by the friendly soldiers and asked curiously: "Are those pockets filled with bread?"
"No." The first battalion commander of the guerrilla brigade said happily, "But these are dry food that can be eaten immediately." He gave an order, and a soldier opened his pocket and showed the "pot helmet" to the guerrillas.
"We can't bake a lot of bread instantly, so we'll just make do with pancakes like this. I want to see the refugees immediately. There are three hundred of my men. They have brought a batch of food. I was ordered to distribute it to the refugees immediately."
"That's great." The guerrilla team leader even cried with joy. He pointed to the back with a sour nose, "They are all there, one kilometer away from us. You will see them soon."
"Very good!" A battalion commander flicked his sleeves, "Comrades, let's speed up!"
The guerrilla brigade seems to carry a lot of food, but only a little is distributed to each person.
The mother and daughter who were struggling to move forward were also given some "guokui". The mother knew that it was made of flour, and there were some burnt marks on the outer layer, but the burnt aroma of the flour was too tempting. However, eating this thing was a bit of a challenge. The little girl had no choice but to use her tiny teeth to chew into small pieces bit by bit.
This batch of food was crucial to the refugee group. They set off again with a full stomach. The overall march speed suddenly accelerated. By almost seven o'clock, there were 3,000 refugees. They drove a carriage and carried a large amount of daily necessities and a small amount of food. Sheep and poultry entered the war-torn city of Lechica.
What greeted them were Soviet Red Army soldiers with over 10,000 troops. They had established some large-scale field defense systems, so only two regiments of troops were stationed in the city.
The two independent regiments continued to be stationed, and most of the available items had been moved outdoors and placed together, waiting to be transported to the swamp. The soldiers' job became to temporarily take care of the refugees from afar.
Most of the soldiers of the Independence Regiment came from villages that had been ravaged by the German army, so they were all too familiar with the suffering faced by these refugees.
But the soldiers were surprised to find that the majority of the refugees were women and children, and most of them were quite young peasant women. Their haggard faces inspired the soldiers' instinctive desire for protection. Furthermore, all the soldiers in the independent group were men.
, since we are ordered to help refugees, it is inevitable that some cross-border help will occur.
Generally speaking, the discipline of the troops is still good. The close contact between the soldiers and the female refugees basically did not make them any better. On the contrary, the refugees or the soldiers who saw the motherland rushed towards them boldly, hugging the soldiers' faces and giving them a slap in the face.
Dear, I burst into tears again.
The grassroots political commissars and the "Refugee Transfer Committee" immediately started to control order, and the small chaos caused by the refugees when they first entered the city ended immediately.
Lavrenti and other officers were not very concerned about the actions of the soldiers. Anyway, they were guarded by the grassroots political commissars.
Lavrenty was most concerned about the refugee issue. When the refugees were taking time to eat and demarcating camps for tonight under the management of the "committee", he specifically ordered the captain of the "Red October" brigade escorting the refugees to hand over
In his own command post.
Lavrenti was really in high spirits now. A gasoline generator was found in the city, and the command post was only illuminated by a few electric lights.
He was wearing the Soviet military uniform, but when he was issued this uniform, he was not given the appropriate collar and shoulder straps at all. He was actually wearing a soldier's uniform, and the four medals with different meanings hanging on his chest proved his military merit.
All the officers in the Soviet command room were wearing standard military uniforms, so when the guerrilla squad leader, who was wearing patched civilian clothes and exuding a strong smell of sweat, saw everyone, his surprise was written on his face.
Lavrenti first saluted: "Comrades, you are comrades of the Red October Guerrilla Brigade, right?"
"Yes, sir!" The squad leader was so nervous that he opened his eyes and saluted immediately: "I am the first squad leader of the First Battalion of Red October, my name is Ivan Semenovich Grishenov, Yaroslavl
people."
"I am the commander of the second regiment of the 284th Guards Infantry Division of the 63rd Army and the commander-in-chief of the Lechica garrison, Lavrenty Lavrentinovich."
When the squad leader heard this, he immediately saluted: "Hello! Comrade Lavrenti!"
"You don't need to give examples, we won't talk nonsense. Now please tell me and my comrades, what is the strategic intention of the guerrilla brigade you belong to, where is the target of the attack, and where are the troops distributed. How many people are in the refugee group you are escorting?
, how many more refugees will arrive in the future..."
An emergency military meeting in Lechica was convened unexpectedly on the evening of July 21.
It turned out that the Red October guerrilla brigade had organized five refugee groups, and they would flock to Lechica from multiple directions. Lechica became the only way to the southern swamps, and they had to replenish supplies here.
Only then can I continue to go south.
There are five refugee groups, each with a different number of people. The one that arrived first in the evening is considered to be of a decent size.
The team leader claimed that a refugee group of up to 8,000 people would come from the northwest of Lechica, and that line of defense was also the edge of the guerrilla brigade's current western control area.
During the war, competing with the enemy for population is one of the necessary means for final victory. The plan of the Red October Brigade is very clear. It must do its best to gather all the refugees in the currently controlled areas and move them to safety.
transfer to the swamp. This was not only the order of the top superior Ponomarenko, but also the plan of the commander of the guerrilla brigade.
"We must rescue everyone so that the fascists can no longer enslave people." This is the current strategy of the guerrilla brigade.
These situations were sorted out by the front line, and by eight o'clock in the evening, a large number of telegrams began to be sent to the swamp.
At the same time, Yang Mingzhi and many personnel continued to stick to the headquarters, and a large number of refugees were moving to the swamp. No one should be neglected.
In order to welcome the refugee group of up to 20,000 people, the three major collective farms of the Guerrilla Republic have already taken action. There were not many people left behind. With the fighting on the left bank of the Pripet River completely over, a large number of soldiers participated in the war, as well as the newly joined 21st Guerrilla Brigade.
, all the officers and soldiers took on a big project—building a house.
The so-called refugees will not complain about the shabby accommodation, as long as it can provide shelter from wind and rain. In times of crisis, comfort is no longer so important. Being able to hold on to life is the most important thing.
Materials for building houses are indeed everywhere. Following the past construction habits, newly built wooden houses must be covered by woods. Soldiers cut down big trees, first repaired the frames, and then laid wooden walls and ceilings. A militia force composed of farmers
, rich experience in building wooden houses.
In addition to building houses, there is nothing better than preparing a large amount of potatoes. The newly dug potatoes must be sent to Homnich as soon as possible to ensure that the refugees have something to eat after eating the food stored in Homnich.
All kinds of work were added together and suddenly it became a big project. Although Salinchkin assured everyone that he would handle the matter completely, Yang Mingzhi was still a little worried.
At eight o'clock in the evening, a large number of telegrams suddenly came from Lechica.
The headquarters of the Guerrilla Republic already knew that the first batch of refugees arrived safely at six o'clock in the evening, and the new telegram sent two days later was a systematic report on the refugee group.
The translated message was spread out on the desk in the big office, and its content was of great significance.
"Haha, these people from Red October, their methods are quite similar to our May style." Yevlov was in a good mood, "There were three thousand people in the first batch, and the refugees also drove some carriages and carried
A lot of daily necessities. Comrade Berekov, your guess is correct, they don't have nothing."
"There is almost no food rations!" Yang Mingzhi read the telegram and fully understood the intentions of the friendly forces. "Maybe the superiors explained our situation to the friendly forces. The so-called guerrilla republic has very abundant food, which is indeed the case. The friendly forces took the refugees
We have carefully planned the food rations, and when we arrived in Lechica, we were completely responsible for the refugees’ feeding problem.”
"There is no problem. After all, we have captured the German grain warehouse in the city. Besides, it will only take a few days to evacuate the refugees. We can eat the potatoes here until next year."
"As long as they arrive safely," Sarinchkin added, "I will be involved in the next transfer work. Of course, the decisions of the two generals are also very important, especially you, General Belekov. As for how
I would like to hear your opinions on transferring refugees."
Yang Mingzhi is not an absolute genius who just read the telegram and suddenly came up with excellent coping strategies.
He paused and said, "This matter is the biggest issue we must discuss tonight. We must come up with a reasonable plan in a short time."
It turned out that the latest of the five refugee teams was expected to arrive in Lechica at noon on the 22nd. At this point, the entire burden of the Red October Brigade would be thrown to the Guerrilla Republic. In addition to them, there were five other refugee teams in the Gypsy Brigade.
There are more than a thousand people, and they will all arrive in Lechica on the 22nd.
However, the problem of the Czgan brigade is a headache. The area controlled by this brigade is in the area between Zhlobin and Gomel. All the residents of the villages under their control have to be relocated. They want to go to Lechica, which is also the left bank of the city.
Both railway bridges and road bridges were blown up by the Soviet army, and were even blown to pieces, making repairing them a major undertaking for the Germans.
Of course, in brainstorming discussions, these issues are not problems.
A preliminary response plan was sent to Lieqica by the headquarters at ten o'clock in the evening after Yang Mingzhi approved it.
As a result, a large-scale refugee transfer operation officially began at 10pm on July 21st!
All the soldiers and officials in the meeting breathed a sigh of relief. Yang Mingzhi was very pleased to see that everyone was already discussing the bright future of the guerrilla republic after the arrival of the refugees.
Of course, Yang Mingzhi personally used a ruler and ruler to briefly plan a reasonable refugee transfer route based on the map, which made Salinchkin very satisfied.
Salinchkin suddenly said: "Comrade Berekov, maybe this is our Long March."
"Long March?" Yang Mingzhi was surprised. What he heard was a special Russian term.
Indeed, the 25,000-mile Long March that took place in China was a military miracle that shocked the entire world. Major countries have their own terms for it.
Perhaps describing it as the Long March is too far-fetched.
Yang Mingzhi shook his head: "Last year, the German army's attack was too sudden and our army was defeated so quickly that they all withdrew and were even annihilated and surrendered on a large scale. The people who should have been escorted to the rear by the army were brutally attacked by the Nazis.
Control. Now it is our army's duty to escort the people to safe areas. After all, the Red Army soldiers come from the people, and we must protect the people.
If this is a long march, it is also a long march of the people. But it is not a long journey. I just hope that there will be no mistakes in the whole process and that no one will be killed or injured on the march."
Salinchkin nodded, "Your words reflect your lofty ideological consciousness. You are a Chinese. The Chinese have completed a military expedition of tens of thousands of kilometers. This is the first time in human history for thousands of years.
The ancient Alexander expedition and the Mongolian expedition were thousands of times more difficult. Perhaps, only the Chinese can do this kind of thing."
"Your praise is a bit excessive." Yang Mingzhi had an extra thought. Could it be that this was a test by Commissioner Stalin? He immediately said: "Since I have become a Soviet citizen, I am a Soviet."
Salinchkin glared at Yang Mingzhi: "However, isn't your soul still Chinese?" After saying that, he became unbridled and happy.
"Yes. So this time, we will use Chinese-style command art to rescue 20,000 civilians from the German encirclement and suppression. It is best to do more such actions in the future. If we can control the entire Belarusian countryside, we will have control.
The vast majority of the population of Belarus. And they, whether men, women, or children, can become militiamen."
Yang Mingzhi’s words were a bit impassioned, but they were not slogans or optimistic prospects. Yang Mingzhi knew history. In original history, more than three million people died in Belarus, and nearly a million more were kidnapped to Germany for hard labor. The rest were
The more than four million people in the country were suddenly developed into 400,000 guerrillas, and 180,000 of them turned into regular troops after the liberation of Belarus, and many even fought in Berlin.
Although no one has proposed a grand strategy with a formal name, the vast guerrilla forces have begun to figure out a suitable strategy in the war-the countryside encircles the city.
Red October and Gypsy, two guerrilla brigade, their strength has expanded to the size of two infantry divisions. Most of the rural areas in southeastern Belarus are controlled by them. For the time being, the German army can only rely on cities to hold on.
The battle so far was only in southeastern Belarus. The fact that it was supposed to take place in the summer of 1943 has been moved forward by a full year.