Shulka knew very well that if he wanted to quell the soldiers' anger and gain their trust, he had to tell the truth. If he continued to be secretive or tried to suppress it, it would only add fuel to the fire... The soldiers were not fools, nor did they
I want to be taken for a fool.
"How do you know this?" someone asked Shulka.
"The German prisoners confessed!" Shulka replied: "I was being interrogated as a traitor at the time, so I was lucky to know what they confessed!"
Many people know this, so it's very convincing.
"But you didn't tell us!" Another soldier blamed Shulka: "You might be with them!"
Okunev objected on the spot: "Think with your head, comrade, Shulka is of course ordered not to tell these things!"
The soldiers nodded in agreement. They had more or less similar experiences, so they understood this very well.
"I don't want to defend myself!" Shulka said: "But I think you should consider the major's difficulties... So what if I tell you this? Have you ever thought about this! Tell you that we have not
Reinforcements? Even the enemy has invaded our country for more than 100 kilometers? What do you think will happen?!"
The soldiers fell silent for an instant.
"Look!" Shulka spread his hands to everyone: "The result I tell you is like this. Everyone is no longer willing to fight and thinks there is no hope of victory. Then the Germans can easily break through our defense line.
, plunge the bayonets into our chests, and point the guns at our heads... Or there is another option, which is what the Germans said, they will treat prisoners preferentially, and you can use the status of 'prisoners' to be 'honorable'
Survive!"
Although Soviet soldiers were generally dissatisfied with the Soviet Union's high-pressure policies, they still looked down on people who were greedy for life and afraid of death. Therefore, everyone showed contempt on their faces.
"That is to say, we have two choices before us!" Shulka continued: "Death or capture! Do you want to die?"
No one answered.
In fact, there is no need to ask. No one standing here wants to die, otherwise they should point a gun at their head in a corner.
"Do you want to be a prisoner?" Shulka asked again.
The soldiers shook their heads, and several gave negative answers.
"Then, we have only one way to go!" Shulka said: "Just like the major said, break out at seven o'clock in the evening. You should be very clear that this is the only way to survive..."
"They are liars!" Someone shouted: "They lied to us, why should we listen to their orders and fight for them!"
"No, comrade!" Shulka objected: "We are not fighting for anyone, not for the officers, not for the people, not even for the Soviet Union!"
When he said this, the instructor wanted to stand up and object, but was stopped by Major Gavrilov, who was quick-sighted.
"Don't do anything stupid, Comrade Artu!" Major Gavrilov whispered in the instructor's ear.
"Don't you understand, comrades!" Shulka continued: "We are fighting for ourselves, and in order to live, what else is more important than living?"
The soldiers were silent for a while, and then someone said: "Shulka is right, we are fighting for ourselves!"
"Yes, for myself to live!"
"If you want to survive, you must unite and organize a breakout!"
…
But the soldiers are still a little worried. They are worried that the officers, especially the instructors, will settle the score later.
Of course Shulka understood this, and he turned his attention to Major Gavrilov behind him.
Major Gavrilov understood, and he stepped forward and said: "I promise that I will not hold anyone responsible for this incident and just treat it as if it never happened!"
As he spoke, Major Gavrilov winked at the instructor again.
The instructor stood up reluctantly and said: "I promise that I will not hold anyone responsible for this incident and treat it as if it never happened!"
In fact, the soldiers don't need to worry about this at all, at least not for the moment, because even if they break through, they will still have a narrow escape. It's not certain who can survive to the end. Maybe the instructor can't break out? Or maybe someone will give him a shot behind the scenes.
Where's the gun?
However, getting this guarantee was a bit of psychological comfort, and the soldiers dispersed in twos and threes and returned to their posts... Fortunately, the German army did not attack just now, otherwise there would be no need to choose.
Major Gavrilov said nothing, just patted Shulka on the shoulder and left.
Major Gavrilov is very smart, and the taboo at this time is to get too close to him, otherwise Shulka will be suspected of being in league with him.
"Wow, Shulka!" Okunev said: "I just realized today that you are so good at talking..."
"No way, Okunev!" Shulka replied: "I was forced!"
"Forced?"
"I want to live too!"
Okunev nodded in understanding.
You have to do this if you want to live, but other people's ideas are not as clear as Shulka's.
The battle during the day went smoothly, and the German army launched several more attacks as usual. However, after receiving supplies and even adding more than a dozen mortars, the Soviet army's defense was significantly improved.
This was beyond the expectations of the German army, so they were repelled time and time again. The defense line did not move an inch. What changed was that there were more corpses of German soldiers on the battlefield, and the Soviet camp also suffered some casualties.
If things continue like this, things are likely to go as Shulka hoped, with the central fortress and the Kobrin fortress breaking out to the north at the same time after seven o'clock in the night, catching the Germans by surprise.
Of course, not all of them can break through successfully, especially the troops in the central fortress. They first have to break through the river bank blocked by the Germans to reach the Kobrin Fortress, and then continue to break through to the north along the gap opened by Major Gavrilov.
But on the one hand, the Germans were unprepared, and on the other hand, they could enter the forest only two miles north... Entering the forest almost meant safety.
Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, a considerable number of people will still succeed.
At five o'clock in the evening, the soldiers ate the "Last Supper" under the setting sun.
This time they were not going to save anything because no one was sure whether they would survive to eat another meal.
Then they packed their luggage silently... Breaking out of an siege was different from ordinary combat. They had to consider the follow-up issues of entering the forest, so they carried more ammunition and food, and even had to choose between the two.
"Compared with food, I would choose to carry a few more bullets!" Matvey held up the bullets in his hand, raised them, and then stuffed them into his shoulder bag.
Matvey was right, it was summer, and the warm climate brought many animals and edible plants to the forest.
Shulka was about to ask other soldiers to do the same, but gunfire rang out from the other side of the trench...