Red Moscow

Chapter 2538

Sokov thought that it was not that far from the hotel to the Brandenburg Gate and he could walk there. He nodded to the soldiers and prepared to walk towards the meeting point. Unexpectedly, as soon as he took two steps, Vaselgov stopped him: "Comrade General!"

Hearing Vaselgov's shout, Sokov stopped and asked: "Major, what's the matter?"

 “Are you planning to just walk over like this?”

"Yes." Sokov nodded and gave the other party a positive reply: "It's only a few hundred meters from here to the Brandenburg Gate, and it won't take long to walk there."

"Comrade General," Vaserigov heard Sokov say, and explained with a bit of laughter: "It is indeed not that far from here to the Brandenburg Gate, but we have a close relationship with officials from the International Red Cross and the US military. After meeting with the representatives of the French army, we have to go to the prisoner of war camp on the Rhine River, which is not close to here. "

After Vasergov's explanation, Sokov realized that he had made a common-sense mistake. He only thought about going to the Brandenburg Gate to meet with Allied representatives and officials of the International Red Cross, but forgot Next, we need to walk a lot to inspect the prisoner of war camp.

“Comrade Major, you are right, if you want to go to the prisoner-of-war camp on the Rhine River, you will definitely not be able to walk.” Sokov waved his hand to Vaserigov and said, “Then let’s get in the car.”

 Sokov, Adelina and Vaserigov got into the first jeep, and several soldiers got into the second one.

When the car started, Vaserigov, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, explained to Sokov: "Comrade General, since the US military has strict restrictions on the number of vehicles and people we can enter their defense zone, I only carried two of them today. A jeep, accompanied by two drivers and four guards, I hope you don’t mind.”

Sokov knew very well that although there were still many small German troops in Germany who had not surrendered, they had illusions about the British and American troops and felt that having the other side rule Germany would bring them a good life. Therefore, the targets of these small units were the Soviet army, but they adopted a non-intrusive attitude towards the US military. This time we went to the Rhine River prisoner of war camp controlled by the US military. We should not encounter harassment from the small remaining German troops, so it was more than enough to bring four guards with us: "Comrade Major, you are very thoughtful."

As the vehicle approached the Brandenburg Gate, the female soldier who was directing traffic here quickly signaled the vehicles traveling sideways to stop and give way to Sokov's vehicle.

When he arrived at the Brandenburg Gate and got off the bus, Sokov saw a group of people standing on the other side of the door. Judging from their clothes, they should be officials from the International Red Cross and the French Army in Berlin. commander.

Sokov turned and asked Vaserigov: "Comrade Major, do you know the commander of the French army?"

"Yes, Comrade General." Vaserigov said in a positive tone: "The French Lieutenant General is Tarsini, and he is the highest commander of France in Berlin."

Finding out that the French lieutenant general in the distance was actually Tarsini, who was later posthumously awarded the title of marshal, Sokov nodded slightly: "Oh, so it's him."

Vaseligov was stunned, and then asked: "Comrade General, do you know him?"

“I don’t know him.” Sokov answered very simply, “If I knew him, would I have asked you just now?”

Seeing the arrival of Sokov and others, an American military policeman wearing a white hat came over, raised his hand in salute, and asked politely: "Are you a representative of the Russian side?"

"Yes, Corporal." Vaserigov stepped forward and introduced him: "This is General Sokov. He is Marshal Zhukov's deputy and is specially here to participate in today's operation."

The military policeman nodded, brought Sokov and others to the group of people, and introduced Sokov's identity to everyone.

"Hello, General Sokov." Even though Tassini is the highest commander of the French army in Berlin, his military rank is one level lower than Sokov, and he is only a lieutenant general, so he kept his attitude calm. Very low: "I am Lieutenant General Tarsini, the commander of the French Army in Berlin. Nice to meet you."

"Hello, General Tasini." Sokov shook hands with the other person and said politely: "Me too, nice to meet you."

"General Sokov," Tasini brought Sokov to the officials of the International Red Cross and introduced him: "Let me introduce to you, this is Mr. Charlie Kolb. During the war, , he and his colleague Vladimir Steiger made various attempts to enable Jews to immigrate to Turkey and from there to Pakistan or Latin American countries, with the support of Jewish organizations. The delegates submitted these proposals and made various types of representations with the authorities, but none of this led to any results, as it was simply not possible to obtain the necessary permissions. Despite this, the ICRC delegates managed to save the situation. Some Jews survived the war."

After listening to Tasini's introduction, Sokov had a good impression of Charlie Kolb. He shook his hand and said: "Mr. Kolb, I think those Jews and their descendants who have received your help will definitely Remember the help you gave them.”

“I hope so.” Charlie Kolb said with a wry smile: “Actually, compared with my colleague Dr. Maurice Russell, I haven’t done enough.”

Sokov looked at Charlie Kolb with some confusion, because he was completely unfamiliar with Maurice Russell and had no idea what the other person had done.

Seeing Sokov's expression, Kolb felt that he had not spoken clearly, and quickly added: "He and two Danish officials went to Theresienstadt, Czechoslovakia. Accompanied by military officers, he entered the Jewish ghetto, but because his visit was strictly monitored, he had no chance to talk to the Jews there, and naturally could not provide them with the necessary help.

  On September 27, 1944, Dr. Russell went to Auschwitz. There, he talked with the concentration camp commander and tried to enter the concentration camp to understand the actual living conditions of the Jews. But regrettably, his request was once again rejected by the Germans, preventing him from entering a concentration camp before the end of the war. "

After listening to what the other party said, Sokov felt that the officials of the International Red Cross were not as powerful as he imagined. They said they wanted to help the Jews who were suffering, but due to their limited abilities, various efforts to help the Jews failed. Sokov suddenly remembered a movie he had watched "The Downfall of the Empire". There was such a detail in it. Germany was about to be defeated in the war. The deputy national commander of the SS went home to have dinner with his wife and daughter. He secretly hid under the table. He detonated two grenades, blowing himself, his wife and daughter to pieces. The man who murdered his family was Grawitz, the president of the German Red Cross and the chief medical expert of the SS.

The Red Cross was originally a charitable organization that helped the wounded and the poor, but the German Red Cross president Grawitz was an alternative. He was not only keen on using concentration camp prisoners to conduct medical experiments, but also actively participated in the Nazi race. He was directly responsible for the Holocaust Plan and the massacre of millions of Jews in Nazi gas chambers. Such a ruthless and inhumane person serves as the president of the Red Cross. How do you expect him to treat prisoners and Jews well in accordance with international conventions?

After Kolb greeted Sokov, he turned to Tashini and asked: "General Tashini, when will the representatives of the US military arrive?"

“Wait a little longer.” Tasini said with a wry smile: “I think they should be on the way now.”

 Everyone waited at the Brandenburg Gate for more than half an hour, and finally saw a motorcade appearing in the distance. There was a red sign with four silver stars hanging on the front of the leading jeep. Seeing the opponent's posture, Sokov knew that the US military representative who came was a four-star general. He began to wonder, who is the commander in charge of the US military stationed in Berlin now?

The convoy soon stopped not far away, and the U.S. military police on duty at the Brandenburg Gate hurriedly stepped forward to greet it.

 When the car door opened, an elderly general got out of the car. After Sokov saw the other person's face clearly, he couldn't help being surprised. He had seen this face countless times in the history books of later generations. He was the famous General Patton. Sokov looked at the other party with doubts on his face, wondering if he had not been appointed as the military administrator of Bavaria. How could he be here? Could it be that there is a deviation in my memory?

“Major,” Adelina whispered to Vaselgov when she saw General Patton walking this way: “Who is this?”

 “It’s General Patton of the US Army!”

“General Patton?!” Agelina said in surprise: “Isn’t he appointed as the military administrator of Bavaria? Why is he here?”

"Comrade Adelina, your news is out of date." Vaserigov explained: "In October, because he offended his superiors, he was dismissed from the post of Bavarian Military Administrator and was reassigned to the 15th Army Commander."

“He is now the commander of the 15th Army?”

"Yes." Vaserigov continued: "He seems to have always been hostile to our army. After the Elbe River junction, General Sokolovsky, deputy commander of the 1st Belarusian Front, served as Marshal Zhukov's special envoy. , went to the area controlled by the Allied forces to meet. At the cocktail party, General Sokolovsky took the initiative to propose a toast to General Patton, but was rejected by him. He even said in front of the comrade General: I won’t clink glasses with the bastard. !”

When Sokov heard this, he immediately became happy. Isn't this a scene from the movie "General Patton"? At that time, everyone used to think that the person who took the initiative to clink glasses with Patton was Zhukov. In fact, it was just a translation error. There was a joke about showing off one's talents to others. Patton was just a four-star general and had no qualifications to be on an equal footing with Zhukov, so Zhukov sent his deputy commander, General Sokolovsky, to give Patton a lot of face.

Moreover, the promotion of military ranks in the United States is divided into two types: permanent promotion and temporary promotion. A permanently promoted military rank is called a "permanent military rank", also known as a "formal military rank". It cannot be downgraded, stopped or deprived without legal procedures, and is owned by an individual for life; a temporarily promoted military rank is called a "temporary military rank", also known as a "positional military rank". "Once you lose a position equivalent to this military rank, your temporary military rank will disappear and you will be reduced back to your permanent military rank. Patton, for example, wore the rank of colonel in the late stages of World War I, but after the war ended, he returned to his original rank of major.

The last time the two sides met, the representative sent by Zhukov had the rank of general, but he was hostile to Patton. Therefore, during this meeting, Zhukov deliberately lowered the standards and asked himself, a general, to replace Sokolovsky in the negotiation with Patton. touch.

Patton came to Sokov and Tasini. He glanced at Sokov, with some disdain flashing in his eyes, and then looked at Tasini again, trying to put a smile on his face: "General Tasini ,We meet again."

Tasini shook hands with Patton, and then introduced Sokov to him: "General Patton, let me introduce to you. This is the representative sent by the Russian side - General Sokov. He will go to the prisoners of war with us. Battalion inspection.”

Hearing what Tasini said, Barton turned his eyes to Sokov again, the expression on his face was full of disdain. He closed his eyes slightly, tilted his chin high, and said to Sokov: "I am Patton, the commander of the 15th U.S. Army."

 “Hello, General Patton.” Although Patton’s face was full of contempt for himself, Sokov still said in a humble manner: “Nice to meet you…”

Before Sokov could finish speaking, Barton muttered, "I don't want to get to know you."

Although Agelina had not yet had time to translate Barton’s words, Sokov had already understood. He raised his hand to stop Agelina from continuing to translate, looked at Patton and said in proficient English: "General Patton, I have heard a lot about you and am very interested in you, so I can get to know you today. My pleasure."

Patton's eyes widened in surprise. He never dreamed that a Russian general he despised could speak such fluent English. After a brief absence, he asked cautiously: "General Sokov, do you speak English?"

"Yes, General Patton!" Sokov said with a laugh: "I heard that I was going to meet such a great military commander like you. Out of politeness, I learned English overnight just to make it easier to communicate with you. ”

Although Sokov's answer was far-fetched, a smile still appeared on Barton's face. Seeing this, Sokov quickly struck while the iron was hot and said: "General Patton, there are not many people I admire. Marshal Zhukov is one, Marshal Rokossovsky is also one, and you, too, must be the person I admire."

Barton chuckled twice: "Really?"

“Of course.” Sokov nodded and said, “I especially appreciate what you often say.”

Sokov’s words successfully caught Barton’s attention, and he asked with interest: “I wonder which sentence it is?”

"Attack, attack, and attack again! Do this at all costs." Before Barton could ask again, Sokov took the initiative and said: "There is no fortress that can be defended in this world. Attack is the best defense. When you continuously If you attack bravely without interruption, the enemy will retreat and be unable to attack, and the purpose of defense will be achieved.”

Barton smiled. He did not expect that a general from another country would praise him so highly. He even remembered a sentence he often said and understood it very thoroughly. This time he took the initiative to reach out to Sokov and said in a friendly tone: "General Sokov, nice to meet you!"