Chapter 1884: surrender without a fight

  Chapter 1884 Surrender without a fight

   Sokov originally just said that casually, but unfortunately it hit the mark.

  It is located in Otac on the Transnistria, more than 30 kilometers away from Chernivtsi. It houses the Romanian 18th Infantry Division,

  After the division commander, Major General Antoneta, learned that the Soviet army had occupied Chernivtsi, he immediately became panicked, fearing that the opponent would take advantage of the victory and pursue it, and then attack Otac.

  Although he has more than 6,000 people under his command, but because it is a rebuilt unit, except for a few light tanks captured from the Soviet army and some mortars, he does not have any heavy weapons.

   Just when he convened the division chief of staff, Colonel Dinu, to discuss whether he should abandon the city and leave, he received a call from the military department. Calling him, the Army Chief of Staff said in a stern tone: "General Antonetta, the Army Commander ordered your division to launch an attack on Chernivtsi immediately. It is imperative to destroy the Russians in the city and retake the city."

"Mr. Chief of Staff," the other party's order was like a talisman to Antonetta, and he said tremblingly while wiping the cold sweat from his brow: "You know the situation of our division. There is a serious shortage of officers. , The soldiers have not undergone strict training, and the weapons they use are basically antiques from World War I. With such equipment, how can they fight the Russians?"

"General Antonetta, let me remind you that this order was issued by the Germans, and the army commander and I are just repeating it." The chief of staff said unceremoniously: "If you don't obey the order, you will wait for the order." Go to court-martial."

  After Antoneta put down the phone, he asked Dinu in a panic: "Chief of Staff, tell me, what should we do?"

  As the chief of staff of the 18th Infantry Division, Dinu naturally knew the situation of the troops. With the current strength of the army, it is still okay to fight those guerrillas hiding in the forest. If they compete with the well-equipped Soviet army, they will undoubtedly die.

Hearing Antonetta ask himself at this moment, after thinking for a while, he replied: "Mr. Sir, our strength is not at the same level as the Russians. Let alone offense, even defense may be very difficult. I Look, why don't we send people out to get in touch with the Russians, and if that doesn't work, we'll surrender to them."

"Surrender to the Russians?" Although Antonetta did not have the guts to fight the Soviet army, he felt embarrassed to ask him to surrender to the Soviet army: "Chief of Staff, there is no other way." ?"

"Yes, Mr. Commander." Dinu said with a serious expression: "With our strength, we must not be able to defeat the Russians. But if we abandon the city and retreat without authorization, we will be sent to a military court. Since attacking is death, so is retreating. death, why not try something else, like surrender to the Russians?"

   "Chief of Staff, do you think that if we surrender, the Russians will accept it?"

   "I think it should be possible." Dinu said: "We can send people to explore the road first. If everything goes well, it will not be too late to send a special envoy to negotiate."

   "Who do you think is more suitable to explore the road?"

  Dinu thought for a while, and replied: "Lieutenant Efrem, deputy commander of the division's reconnaissance company, he understands Russian and has fought in Russia. It is most suitable for him to go to explore the road."

   "Okay, Chief of Staff." Antoneta nodded and said, "Call him and let him come over."

   A few minutes later, a tall, handsome lieutenant appeared in the division headquarters.

   "Is it Lieutenant Efrem?" Antonetta looked up and asked.

   "Yes, sir, it's me, I'm Lieutenant Efrem." Efrem didn't know why he summoned himself to the headquarters, and asked respectfully, "What advice do you have?"

   "Lieutenant, I heard you fought in Russia, right?"

   "Yes, sir." Efrem replied, "I fought in Odessa and Stalingrad."

   Knowing that the other party had fought in Stalingrad, Antoneta couldn't help saying with emotion: "It seems that you have been blessed by God to come back alive from Stalingrad."

"Mr. Commander, the only reason I was able to leave Stalingrad alive was because of my injuries." Efrem said to Antoneta: "At that time, the company I was in was fighting against Mamayeh, which was occupied by the Russians. Fugang launched an attack. At that time, our enemy may have insufficient ammunition, and they fought with us with bayonets. My company originally had more than 160 people. After the battle, there were only five or six of us wounded. Everyone died on Mamayev Kurgan.

  The other two wounded and I were seriously injured, so we were sent back to China for treatment. Unexpectedly, before my injury healed, I got the news that all the troops entering the Stalingrad area were wiped out by the Russians. "

Although Antonetta had never been to Stalingrad, he couldn't help shivering when he heard his subordinates mention Mamayev Post: "It is said that the commander of Mamayev Post at that time was the famous Sokov. Whether it is the Germans or our army, they launched an attack after another, but in the end they all ended in failure."

"Mr. Commander, it is fortunate that Sokov was injured by a German bomb when he commanded the troops to advance towards Kirovgrad, and he may still be lying in the hospital." Chief of Staff Dinu continued: " It's a blessing not to have to fight him."

"Mr. Chief of Staff," Efrem unexpectedly said just after he finished speaking, "According to the information I have obtained, the Russian troops occupying Chernivtsi are under the command of Sokov. "

"What, the troops occupying Chernivtsi were commanded by Sokov?" Dinu asked back with shock after hearing what Efrem said: "Lieutenant Efrem, this kind of thing can't be done." Just kidding."

"That's right, Mr. Chief of Staff." Efrem said in an affirmative tone: "According to our reconnaissance, the troops occupying Chernivtsi are the 130th Division of the Russian 49th Army, and they belong to the 53rd Army. And now The commander of the group army is the well-known General Sokov."

   Originally, Antonetta still had a little luck, thinking that he could send someone to negotiate with the Russians, and then deliberately delay the time until the situation became clear before deciding whether to surrender to the Soviet army. However, Efrem's words made the last line of defense in his heart collapse.

"Lieutenant Efrem," Antonetta felt that at this point in the matter, it was necessary to tell the truth to Efrem who was going to explore the road: "I want to send you to Chernivtsi to have a good talk with the Russians. talk."

   "Mr. Master," Ephrem asked tentatively, "I don't know what the mission is?"

"Lieutenant, we plan to negotiate with the Russians and prepare to hand over Otac's defense to the Russians peacefully." Chief of Staff Dinu explained to Efrem: "But we don't know what the Russians' intentions are. So we need to send someone who is familiar with Russia and understands the Russian language to find out. And you happen to be the most suitable candidate."

  After listening to Dinu's words, Efrem turned and faced Antonetta: "Mr. Master, I don't know how to proceed with the negotiation between me and the Russians?"

   "Our conditions are very simple," Antonetta said: "After the peaceful transfer of Otac's defense, the Russians cannot disarm us. They must ensure the integrity of our establishment and not put us in a prisoner-of-war camp..."

   After listening to Antonetta's more than a dozen terms, the muscles on Efrem's face twitched violently. He thought it was strange that the Russians could agree to such terms. However, before meeting the Russians, he did not express his worries. Instead, he stopped and said to Antonetta, "Mr. Master, I will truthfully convey your conditions to the Russians."

  Seeing that Efrem agreed to go to Chernivtsi to meet the Russians as a special envoy, Antonetta and Dinu both heaved a sigh of relief.

   "Lieutenant, I will arrange an armored vehicle for you to ensure your safety on the road."

"Mr. Chief of Staff." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Evrem rejected Dinu's kindness: "If you really hope that I can reach Chernivtsi safely, please prepare me an open car." Barrel cart."

   "Why?" Hearing Efrem's strange request, Dinu asked in puzzlement, "Isn't it safer for you to travel in an armored vehicle?"

"On the contrary, Mr. Chief of Staff." Efrem shook his head and said, "If there are Russian vanguard troops on the road to Chernivtsi, when they see an armored vehicle of our army appear , will definitely launch an attack. But if I am sitting in an open bucket cart and flying a white flag, they will not initiate an attack and will send me safely to their headquarters."

"Chief of Staff," Antoneta waited for Efrem to finish speaking, and immediately ordered Dinu: "Get Lieutenant Efrem an open barrel truck so that he can reach Chernivtsi safely. "

  Lieutenant Efrem did not bring any entourage. He tied the white flag to the rearview mirror on the right, and then drove the barrel truck alone along the road to Chernivtsi.

As soon as he entered the outskirts of Chernivtsi, Efrem saw the fortifications being built in front of him. In order to prevent misunderstandings, he took the initiative to slow down the speed of the car and moved forward slowly at a speed not much faster than walking. .

  The Soviet army who was building fortifications must have arranged personnel to serve as guards. Seeing a barrel cart coming from a distance, a Romanian officer was sitting in the car, and the sentinel raised his gun, ready to shoot at the opponent. But when he saw the white flag tied to the side mirror on the right, he put down his gun and called a companion to meet him.

"Stop!" He stood in the middle of the road and shouted loudly at the barrel trucks coming: "If you don't stop, I'll shoot you." He shouted in Russian, regardless of whether people could hear him or not. Russian.

  Efrem parked the car five or six meters away from the sentinel, but he didn't get out of the car, but quietly waited for the other party to come to question him, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstanding.

  The sentinel parked Efrem's car not far away, then walked over cautiously, and asked cautiously, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm the staff officer of the Romanian 18th Infantry Division." Efrem was careful, and didn't explain his real identity, but generally said that he was the staff officer of the division headquarters: "At the order of the division commander, come here to see Your Supreme Commander."

   When he learned that the other party was coming to see his own supreme commander, the sentinel did not dare to make a claim, so he ordered someone to call his battalion commander and reported the matter to him.

The battalion commander walked to Efrem's car, glanced at the white flag tied to the rearview mirror, and asked cautiously, "What do you want to see our supreme commander for?" Although there was only one person on the other side, for safety reasons, He still has to make necessary inquiries.

"Our division is stationed in Otatz, more than 30 kilometers away from here." After explaining the location of his troops intentionally, Efrem continued: "We have no intention of fighting your army, so the division commander sent me Come here and speak to your Supreme Commander about how to hand over the defense of the city to you."

   Fortunately, the battalion commander is not stupid. When he heard the other party talk about the transfer of defense, he knew that the Romanian army was going to surrender to the Soviet army. How could he dare to decide on such an important matter, so he hurried back to the nearby sentry box, called the head of the regiment, and reported to the other party what happened outside.

  After listening to the call, the head of the regiment immediately contacted the division commander Su Luodenko and reported to him about the Romanian army sending people to negotiate.

  Surodenko was overjoyed when he learned that the Romanian army had sent someone to negotiate, and he quickly ordered the regiment commander: "Send him to the division headquarters immediately, and I want to talk to him in person."

   After finishing the call with the head of the regiment, Surodenko connected to the headquarters again, preparing to report the good news to Sokov. But the person who answered the phone was Chief of Staff Smirnov. He asked calmly in a flat tone, "Colonel Surodenko, do you have anything to report?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I have good news to report to you." Surodenko suppressed the joy in his heart and reported to Smirnov: "The Romanian army stationed in Otac sent someone to join us. Negotiations seem to be about surrender. I want to ask, how should I answer them?"

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov heard the news, quickly covered the receiver with his hands, turned to Sokov and said, "Colonel Surodenko reported that the Romanian army stationed in Otac sent people to Meet him and discuss surrender. He wants to ask, how should we answer each other?"

"Our condition is very simple, that is, let the Romanian army surrender unconditionally." Sokov said with a serious expression: "The officers and soldiers who surrender can enjoy the treatment due to prisoners of war, and officers can keep their personal belongings, self-defense weapons, and medals." Wait, Comrade Chief of Staff, please convey my opinion to Colonel Surodenko truthfully."

   After receiving Sokov's instructions, Surodenko knew how to proceed with the next negotiations. When the blindfolded lieutenant Evrem walked into his command post with the help of a soldier, he straight to the point asked, "Lieutenant, can you understand Russian?"

   "Yes, sir." Efrem straightened his body and replied without taking off the black cloth blindfolded, "I can understand Russian."

   "Very good!" Surodenko nodded and continued: "Since you can understand Russian, please tell me, Mr. Lieutenant, what is your purpose for coming here?"

"Mr. Commander." Efrem pulled off the black cloth blindfolded, and before he could see who was standing there, he hurriedly replied, "I was ordered to come here to talk to you. How to hand over the defense of Otac."

  (end of this chapter)