"Citizens of the Soviet Union!" came a voice from the radio: "At four o'clock this morning, without making any prior demands on the Soviet Union and without declaring war, German troops launched an offensive. They launched attacks on many points along the Soviet border.
, and used planes to bomb Zhytomyr, Kiev, Minsk and other cities. This unprecedented German attack on the Soviet Union was an act of treachery without precedent in the history of a civilized nation..."
Everyone was listening quietly, until the voice on the radio finally ended with a few words of appeal, and turned into a disturbing "rustling" sound.
"The speaker is Soviet Molotov!" Gavrilov explained: "Chairman of the People's Commissariat of the Soviet Union, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs!"
The instructor was silent when he heard this.
Shulka couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Molotov's speech to the entire Soviet Union did not say that the Soviet troops on the front line were completely defeated... of course this cannot be said, especially in a broadcast to the military and civilians across the country.
But this passage first confirms one thing: the German army launched not a local war against the Soviet Union, but a comprehensive, large-scale war.
And this is one of the differences between the instructor and Shulka.
Secondly, this passage also mentions that the German army used aircraft to bomb Zhitomir, Kiev, Minsk and other places.
You must know that Minsk is 349 kilometers away from Brest, and German planes can bomb the hinterland 349 kilometers away from the border. Needless to say what this means... This passage almost proves that what Shulka said
correct.
The word "almost" is used because the instructor still doesn't want to admit it.
"This does not mean that the Soviet army retreated across the board!" the instructor said: "It was just a bombing by planes. We may have lost our advantage in the air, but our troops are heroically resisting the German aggression on land!"
"This is indeed possible!" Major Gavrilov said: "But it is more likely that we have been surrounded and isolated, and we must break out!"
"No, this is greed for life and fear of death, cowardice. We should stick to the fortress and defend every inch of the motherland!"
…
The argument between Major Gavrilov and the instructor continued, and Shulka was put back, fully equipped.
"Great!" When Okunev saw Shulka and the gun in his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a warm hug.
"I thought I would never see you again, my friend!" whispered Okunev.
"Indeed!" Shulka only said this, and nothing else, because he was warned not to leak any relevant content, especially after a "large-scale war" and a "complete retreat of the Soviet army"
Class words.
Of course Okunev understood this, so he didn't ask anything. He just took out the newspaper and tobacco from his pocket, crumpled the newspaper and rolled a cigarette skillfully as before and handed it over.
Shulka took the cigarette, and then he realized that his hand holding the cigarette couldn't help shaking, and the match in Okunev's hand even took a lot of effort to light the shaky cigarette.
Shulka greedily took a deep breath of smoke and then exhaled it in a long breath.
Shulka originally thought that the battlefield was the scariest, but now he realized that it was not the case... He would never forget the cold command from the instructor standing behind him, the crisp sound of the gun, and the looks of the nearby guards.
The indifference in his eyes here.
Shulka could almost see the bullet piercing the back of his head and causing a trail of blood. He could not imagine that these people would decide a person's life or death so easily, especially if Shulka was one of his own and a Su
Army soldier.
Taking another deep puff, Shulka filled his lungs with the pungent, choking smoke of inferior tobacco, which actually made Shulka feel better.
Only then did Shulka understand why many people became smokers on the battlefield.
In the thick smoke, Shulka forced himself to bring his thoughts back to the situation at hand.
Shulka was very reluctant to do this, because his previous efforts almost cost him his life, which left a shadow in Shulka's heart.
But Shulka had to do this because he knew that if he didn't do something, he would lose his life sooner or later.
So...can Major Gavrilov convince the instructor?
Shulka doesn't think so.
As mentioned before, despite what Molotov said, it does not mean that the Soviet army was completely defeated, especially the instructor still stood on the moral high ground, and more importantly... the radio contact could not be reached
Superior, this means that we did not receive the order to retreat.
Without orders, an unauthorized retreat will turn into an escape at any time, and everyone knows what the consequences will be.
Shulka smiled mockingly, which meant that he almost fought for his life just now but got nothing.
While Shulka was thinking wildly, Okunev handed an empty lunch box to him.
Shulka didn't understand what this meant at first, but when he saw two soldiers carrying an iron bucket filled with food to distribute food, he realized that it was time for dinner.
With a sound of "Puff!", the cook knocked a sticky ball into Shulka's lunch box.
Shulka plucked it with a spoon. He couldn't believe that he would eat such a thing, but when he saw the people around him devouring it, he could only frown and stuff the thing into his mouth...
Maybe it's because I'm hungry, but it doesn't taste as bad as I thought. Of course, it would be better if I could add some butter or a piece of bread.
At this time, the Germans on the other side shouted through the loudspeaker again: "Soviet comrades, we are here to liberate you. Join us and get rid of the oppression and restraint imposed on you by the Soviet Union..."
"Oh!" At this time, a soldier squatting a few meters away and eating food said: "Some of us like to hear these words, don't you think so, Shulka?"
Everyone around knew what this meant and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Comrade Valery!" Okunev objected: "The superiors returned the rifle to Shulka and rejoined us. This proves that Shulka is not a traitor!"
"I know!" Valery replied: "But that doesn't prove he's not a coward, does it?"
There was laughter again. Okunev wanted to say something else but was suppressed by Shulka.
Shulka didn't care about this. Knowing that most people would die in this war, the war of words meant nothing to Shulka.
What Shulka was thinking about was how to survive this cruel war.
What's more, whether you are a hero or a bad guy is not just a matter of words.