It was difficult to make him repent by means of moral criticism, so Salinchkin had no other choice but to simply send him to a prisoner of war camp.
Since he was a division commander and asked to carry a manuscript ax to chisel rocks, I'm afraid he would think it was a disgusting humiliation, and he might take the initiative to attack the supervisor in an attempt to kill him in order to get his name.
Smart officers all know that if you capture a high-ranking enemy official, you must first give birth to him. Regardless of whether he is willing to cooperate or not, capturing such a person has great political significance.
Similarly, for Hendryson, he never dreamed that there was not only a huge sulfur mine in the swamp, but also more than 200 German soldiers serving as slaves!
When he met the prisoners of war, he immediately assumed the posture of an officer and shouted loudly: "Assholes! You are German soldiers, how can you be slaves? The Slavs are slaves! Go and resist!"
Unfortunately, the prisoners of war were indifferent.
For a moment, Henschel just shook his head in despair and helplessness, while everyone else watched with blank faces and empty eyes as the poor division commander was escorted away.
After this, no one believed that friendly forces would rescue them. Friendly forces no longer dropped bombs and burned incense! The Russians actually captured a division commander, which shows that they have annihilated at least one infantry division. They can accomplish such a feat.
, does it mean that the German army is about to be defeated?
The prisoners of war mostly talked about pessimistic arguments in the dormitories, and of course, such arguments were also eavesdropped by the Soviet army. Even if the prisoners of war showed a positive attitude of cooperation, it cannot be ruled out that what they did was to deliberately paralyze the guards and plan for escape.
More news of the German defeat came. After the arrival of the commander of the 64th Division, another captured officer was escorted.
The new guy is none other than the lucky and unfortunate Lawrence.
In a sense, Lawrence was more willing to cooperate than Henschel. He not only confessed everything he knew, but also cursed Hitler more than ten times during the interrogation. This move immediately attracted the favor of the interrogating officer, and his outspokenness
Admittedly, Salinchkin, who was in a good mood, decided to deliberately improve this person's treatment.
Lawrence did not come alone. He once had a conscience and saved a woman. Now he will benefit from this kind act. Kaya who was rescued by him was given a new task, that is, to take care of Lawrence's daily life.
She settled in the mine in name and kept a close eye on her.
Of course, Lawrence also knew about this woman's surveillance mission. To make the Russians absolutely assured, he had to follow their intentions.
When Henschel met Lawrence, the two were very war-weary. They hit it off and influenced more prisoners of war.
Besides, I have enough food to eat every day, I hardly have to work, I just wander around the barbed wire fence of the prisoner of war camp every day, and I have that Kaya with me at night. If this kind of good life continues until the end of the war, it won’t be good.
?
When the time came to August, the prisoners of war all learned that the Soviet and German armies fought a fierce battle around the Gomel area, and the Soviet army won the victory. The prisoners of war's original troops either suffered heavy losses or were disabled. Some prisoners of war were visiting
After picking up the mountains of German helmets, it was confirmed that the German army was truly defeated.
After August, the prisoners of war worked even harder, and the amount of ore produced increased day by day.
Is there anyone who still resists cooperation? No more. No one can feel uncomfortable with five kilograms of potatoes every day!
This is what the prisoners of war did.
The army's morning bugle usually sounded at 5:30 in the morning local time, and the prisoners of war had to assemble on time. In the style of soldiers, they assemble very quickly. After a simple wash, the fat Russian aunt would bring the boiled potatoes
Taken to a prisoner of war camp.
Each person had four potatoes and a bowl of fish and mushroom soup for breakfast. After breakfast, everyone put on a uniform and washed clothes, queued up to receive draft axes, coarse cloth gloves and gas masks, and continued lining up to the mine.
No longer restrained by ropes, they were escorted by armed supervisors with live ammunition, stepped down to the open-pit mine, and began the morning's work.
Rather than saying that they are prisoners of war, it is better to say that they are a group of miners. The mine still implements the old method, that is, ten people are divided into groups. After completing the assigned tasks in the morning, they can apply for a rest. If they continue to work, the mine will be based on the number of mines.
Rewards will be given based on the quantity of ore. "Labor competitions" are widely conducted among prisoners of war. Often the prize of a can of beef can force multiple groups to work hard!
Five kilograms of potatoes per day ensured the prisoners' calorie intake of nearly 4,000 calories. Coupled with the high-quality protein provided by some fish and mushrooms, the physical fitness of this group of people was much better than in May. Especially some prisoners of war learned that the Soviet soldiers
The food he was eating was almost the same as mine, and an inexplicable feeling suddenly came over him.
Good treatment was only given to German prisoners of war. As for those traitors, the Soviet army did not have a better look.
Is there anyone more hateful than a traitor?
The puppet soldiers also became miners. Their food was only half that of the German prisoners of war, and their accommodation was even simpler.
The German soldiers can claim that as soldiers, they must obey the orders of their officers even though they know it is a war of aggression. They can make such excuses, but the puppet troops cannot. Any excuses made by the puppet troops are extremely empty, and they deserve the punishment they are suffering now.
August 10th is another ordinary working day.
Early in the morning, Lawrence had breakfast and sat around smoking a cigarette as usual in the prisoner of war camp, while Henschel prepared to lead other prisoners of war into the mine as usual.
He was suddenly summoned by a supervisor.
"Hey! Germans, another group of people is coming, including fifty German soldiers. Get your people ready to meet them."
Henschel was startled. He wanted to ask for more advice, but the supervisor did not say much.
Fifty more brothers were captured. Which army did they belong to?
After finishing the morning's work, Henschel was left in the prisoner of war camp. He himself would greet the new prisoners of war and lead them to dig in the mine. For this reason, Lawrence could no longer be idle. As a major commander, he
It is imperative to stabilize the mood of new prisoners of war.
The atmosphere in the prisoner-of-war camp became a little delicate. After lunch, the prisoners went back to dig. After they left, a group of female soldiers with live ammunition entered the barbed wire fence of the prisoner-of-war camp.
Henschel knew that the combat effectiveness of these Slavic women was no worse than that of male soldiers. Almost every woman had the experience of killing people. It was best not to offend these "Amazon"s.
Their sudden arrival was obviously to strengthen security, which surprised Henschel. Could it be that the number of new guys was surprising?
"Oh my God, how many of our men did the Russians capture in the past battles?!"
With uneasiness and doubt, Henschel waited for those poor people.
German prisoners of war must be treated differently. These fifty people staggered to the prisoner of war camp. Everyone was almost exhausted, but compared to the group of puppet soldiers, their situation was at least better.
They walked into the network wall and faced an unknown fate. They never imagined that they would drink clean water as soon as they arrived.
The strong village woman brought a few buckets of water. The prisoners of war, who were once in complete formation, rushed over like crazy when they saw the water. After some snatching, they all drank more or less of the water.
It was just their poor appearance that made Henschel very worried. How could the compatriots behave like German soldiers? Even if they were prisoners of war, would their dignity be gone?
After all, Henschel couldn't hold it back and shouted: "Hey! Germans, have you drunk enough? Stand up like a soldier!"
The familiar German language frightened the guys sitting on the ground to stand up and stare at the speaker.
Originally, the Soviet army planned to fire warning shots to force the prisoners of war to stand at attention. Several of them had already stood up, so things would be easier to do next.
Henschel was supposed to be the conductor of the newcomers, and through this move, the meeting would not be too awkward.
Fifty prisoners of war were surrounded by more than 500 Soviet soldiers with live ammunition. Who would not be trembling in this situation? The prisoners of war were very surprised by the man who spoke German. At first glance, this man had blond hair and fair skin.
, there are indeed some differences from Russia.
Needless to say, this man is also a poor prisoner of war.
Henschel already knew how the Soviet army would arrange the newcomers. It was still early in the morning, and they would immediately go to the mines to dig. They would get to work quickly like old prisoners of war, with no buffer time at all.
Henschel's task was to read out the prisoner of war camp's policies to the newcomers on behalf of the Soviet army, and immediately distribute food and labor tools after the routine.
As a result, Henschel's rough hands held up a speech written for him by the Soviet army and read it according to the script.
What about the food and labor in prisoner-of-war camps? What are the punishments for those who try to escape and those who disobey orders? There are also rewards for over-fulfilling tasks.
The various rhetoric opened the eyes of the newly arrived prisoners of war. Many of them thought that they would be deliberately tortured to death by the Russians. Is there such a good thing? As long as they work peacefully, they can eat five kilograms of potatoes every day?
Due to logistical supply problems, part of the military rations for the German garrisons in many places were supplied on-site. Due to the unprecedented damage to the normal agriculture of the Soviet Union, civilians in the occupied areas began to plant potatoes on a large scale, so the proportion of horse grain in the occupying army's meals was among the highest.
Not too high.
What prisoners of war feared most was starvation, because many people knew that the German army's attitude towards Soviet prisoners of war was deliberate starvation.
Will these Soviet troops in the swamp really fulfill their promise?
No! This must not be the case!
As Henschel read the document from the script, a platoon leader rudely interrupted him.
"Hey! That lackey of the Russians, which army are you from? You lived a comfortable life as their dog! Now you are deceiving your compatriots. How can you face your oath?!"
There are definitely some unruly people among the prisoners of war. This person yelled a few words, and the translator in the Soviet army immediately understood the meaning of his shouting. Then two armed supervisors with sticks in their waists pinched the man's arms.
Take him out of the team.
Henschel was startled and said to a political commissar with a blue hat: "You don't have to be too rough with this guy..."
"That's enough. That person insulted you, the manager we appointed, and was challenging our authority. The new guys are a little arrogant. We need to find a role model to serve as a warning to others."
"This...you...shouldn't you execute him?"
The political commissar said disdainfully: "It depends on his performance, but a few whips are indispensable."
In the past, this group of Russians dealt with people who had a sense of resistance, including himself. Henschel knew the feeling of being whipped, but he interceded with the Russians, but he was afraid that he would not suffer the consequences.
He gritted his teeth and simply ignored it.
Henschel didn't want to get himself into trouble, and there was a man he couldn't stand anymore.
Lawrence, who had been watching, knew that he was being treated specially by the Soviet generals, so what was their bottom line? Lawrence stepped forward, deliberately stopped the overseer who was escorting the poor man, and said in Russian: "Who would be a prisoner of war?"
What about happiness? Don't be rough with him."
Seeing this, the political commissar hurried over: "Hey! Lawrence! This matter has nothing to do with you. You should go away quickly, otherwise I will write a report to my superiors, and your good days may come to an end."
"You think you can scare me? Just because I don't want to fight doesn't mean I'm a coward!" Lawrence was irritated. He pushed the two overseers away, grabbed the prisoner's collar alive, and asked in German: "Soldier! Who are you?
Teacher? How could you be captured by them?"
"Bah! You are also a German, and you are also their lackey!"
The prisoner of war struggled to get away, took two steps back, and continued to roar angrily: "Are you worthy of the Führer by working for the Russians? Why should you cooperate with the Russians? I will never cooperate even to the death!"
For a moment, Lawrence didn't know how to deal with such a difficult problem.
He paused for a while, then said with a wry smile: "Your consciousness is so high, why don't you fight to the death?"
"I..." Just as the prisoner of war was about to defend himself, he was pinned to the ground by the armed overseer. The soldiers who were armed with live ammunition also had bayonets inserted into their rifles to prevent the other prisoners of war from rioting.
Lawrence shook his head helplessly and said earnestly: "Our war is over, and it is no longer possible for Germany to win! Do you want to go home alive? Just follow the Russians' arrangements now. As long as you work honestly, they will not
I want your life."
"Bah! I don't want to see your disgusting face. Russians, kill me! Compatriots, we don't want to be slaves to the Russians, go and resist! Destroy them all!"
This person continued to curse, and he was obviously a "hardcore ***" as defined by the Soviet army. Lawrence and Henschel were both very surprised. Didn't this group of people walk a long way? They also ate a lot of potatoes in a village.
I just drank water. Could it be that after eating and drinking enough, I finally had the strength to curse?
But neither Lawrence nor Henschel knew the answer to the question.
"Hey, are you waiting for a while before you scold me? Let me tell you, I am the major commander of the 707th Division. I am much more senior than you, the platoon leader. You must treat me with respect. Now tell me the number of your unit."
"What? The 707th Division is synonymous with idiots? Your 707th Division is the scum of Germany. You only lose battles, and now you have learned to be the Russians' dogs!"
"Stop talking nonsense and tell me your number!"
"We are all troops of the 611th Division, and most of us are stationed in Ukraine! Now you, the traitor, are satisfied."
Lawrence nodded and stopped talking nonsense, and then said to the political commissar who was already frowning: "You can do whatever you want! Even if I beat this man to death, I won't say anything else. I just hope that I won't anger others because of one person.
.I believe most people are willing to cooperate.”
The political commissar let out a sigh of relief: "Well, we always thought we were raising an idle person. You, an idle person, can be quite useful at critical times."
What awaited the prisoner of war was to suffer physical pain in a small dark room, as an example to scare others. The man was first hit with a few sticks on his legs, and then he was carried away after being honest.
Henschel, who continued to read the document, took advantage of the topic: "Gentlemen! You have all seen it. Don't make trouble over nothing! Don't listen to that person's so-called resistance mobilization. I tell you that the consequences of any attempt to resist will be a beating! You want to live.
When you go home, you must obey my orders!" (To be continued)