Chapter 253
Warsaw in the rain is like a dilapidated garbage dump, with broken walls everywhere, destroyed tanks and military vehicles everywhere, and a scene of desolation and desolation everywhere. This is not a city at all, but a complete ruin.
As Hitler himself said, from now on, Warsaw has become a purely geographical term.
After four days of fighting, the Soviet army finally captured the city. However, they obviously did not gain much here. The Germans had completely destroyed the city, and along with the city, more than 200,000 Warsaw citizens were wiped out.
The military vehicle that Yuri was riding in slowly drove across the newly repaired steel bridge over the Vistula River. Under the bridge, which was only a few meters high, on the riverbank covered with weeds, a large number of ragged Soviet soldiers were bathing in the river in the rain. In German propaganda, the soldiers of the Soviet Red Army were all sloppy and alcoholics, but in fact, the Red Army soldiers paid great attention to personal hygiene. Even in war, they would look for opportunities to take a bath or something. This was vividly demonstrated during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Well, it seems that the Soviets did not gain anything from Warsaw. In this ruined city, Kaminski and his "Belarusian Brigade" were annihilated, and Kaminski himself and more than 1,700 soldiers under him became prisoners of the Soviets. Now, Shelov is leading his men to identify these prisoners one by one. He wants to determine the identities of these "traitors" and "Russian traitors", including their surnames, names, where they come from, and who else they have at home.
Comrade Stalin himself ordered that these traitors, whose hands were stained with the blood of the partisans, must be mercilessly liquidated and that they must fall into hell in repentance and shame... including their relatives.
This is a huge task. Most importantly, Shelov has to prevent the prisoners from committing suicide. However, he actually likes this tedious work and never gets tired of it.
The jeep passed through the poor quality of the river bridge and drove through the potholes and ruins. From time to time, people in civilian clothes were seen being escorted away by Internal Guard soldiers wearing blue hats. This was Shelov's second task, to check the existing commanders and soldiers of the National Army in the urban area of Warsaw.
Comrade Shelov was very effective in handling this task. In just a few days, he had arrested nearly 8,000 members of the Polish National Army, including Jankowski, one of the leaders of the Warsaw Uprising, in Warsaw and the Soviet-occupied areas in eastern Poland.
To put it bluntly, Shelov's work has dealt a heavy blow to the Polish National Army, while the Polish People's Army has expanded rapidly. During the Battle of Warsaw, a new Polish government with members of the Polish National Liberation Committee as its core has been established. Previously, this new Polish government was established in Lublin, so it is also called the Lublin Government, and today is the day they moved into Warsaw.
On the ruined streets, young people in various clothes can be seen wandering around from time to time. They carry guns on their shoulders and hold huge oil-paper bags in their arms. Almost everyone has a happy look on his face.
These are the soldiers of the Polish National Army who were incorporated. With the arrest of the main members of the Warsaw Uprising General Command, at the call of the Polish National Liberation Committee, the Polish National Army units participating in the Warsaw Uprising chose to surrender. Then, they will be reorganized and form the Polish Ninth Army on the basis of the original Polish 1st and 2nd Armies.
To be honest, for these young ordinary soldiers, the so-called communism or capitalism is meaningless. They don't care whether the country is led by the government in exile or the National Liberation Committee after the German fascists are driven out. After nearly five years of war, they only long for a peaceful and quiet life, not being enslaved, and having enough food and clothing. This is enough.
Could the government in exile give them such a life? Perhaps, but it was obvious that the National Liberation Committee, supported by the Soviets, could do it, because truckloads of supplies were being transported into the city from the east bank of the Vistula River, and the food that people needed was being distributed free of charge by Poles who had joined the Soviet Red Army.
In addition, the executioners who had killed countless Poles were also being subjected to cold-blooded trials and punishments. In the square in front of the Lazienki Palace, a firing squad composed of Warsaw citizens were hanging the previously arrogant Germans, Ukrainians and Belarusians in batches, and the onlookers almost filled the entire Povszynska Street.
Yuri had to admit that Shelov and Bulganin were indeed good at this kind of work. The execution of SS prisoners and the distribution of free food were two simple methods that undermined the resistance of Warsaw citizens to the Soviet Red Army and at the same time, undermined the survival foundation of the National Army.
In the Ohota district, Yuri's jeep stopped at the edge of a camp. This was temporarily a garrison camp. At this moment, there were only large tents. Busy trucks were transporting truckloads of logs, preparing to build wooden townhouses here to accommodate the Poles who had lost their homes.
Those working on the construction site were all prisoners wearing German uniforms. Without any large equipment, they had to unload logs as thick as human waists from trucks and transport them to the construction site. The soldiers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs were responsible for supervising their work.
Yuri got out of the car in front of the camp and took a look into the noisy camp. Then he turned his head and said to Arseni, "Go ask where Comrade Shelov's headquarters is."
"Yes!" Arseny responded and turned to run towards two Soviet guards not far away.
He had obviously found the right person. The two Soviet guards gestured to him for a while, and then he walked back quickly and said, "Let's go, General. It's not far ahead. Turn right after the transfer station and you'll arrive."
The jeep started again and continued along the bumpy road.
The transfer station was set up at a T-junction and was very large. Soldiers who got lost during an offensive campaign or fell behind during a march, or who were preparing to return to the unit after recovering from injuries, would spontaneously look for this place and wait to be sent back to their original units.
The jeep turned right at the intersection where the transfer station was located. Just after turning, it saw two jeeps coming from the opposite direction. When the jeeps from both sides crossed each other, someone stuck his head out of the window of the first jeep on the opposite side and shouted in this direction: "Yuri, Comrade Yuri Arkipovich?!"
Arseny hurriedly stopped the car, and Yuri also bent down slightly and looked at the car opposite.
"Comrade Yuri Arispovich," the door of the jeep opposite was pushed open, and a lieutenant colonel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs got out of the car. He stood outside Yuri's door, saluted in a standard military manner, and said, "An urgent telegram from Moscow."
Yuri opened the car window, reached out to take the telegram from the lieutenant colonel, glanced at it, and asked, "Is the plane ready?"
"It's ready, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich," the lieutenant colonel said loudly, drawing himself up to his full height. "Comrade Ivan Alexandrovich is waiting for you at the airport."
"Lead the way," Yuri nodded, handing the telegram back through the window and said.
The content of the telegram was very simple, asking Yuri to rush to Krakow immediately. This telegram was sent not just in one copy, but to the four front command headquarters in the entire Belarus direction. At the same time, it was also sent to the Polish National Liberation Committee - mainly because Moscow didn't know where he had gone.
Krakow is the second largest city in Poland, nearly 270 kilometers away from Warsaw. It is not in the battle zone of the Belarusian Front, but in the offensive range of the 4th Ukrainian Front. According to the intelligence Yuri has, the Front seems to have captured Krakow only three days ago, and the battle was initiated by the 60th Army under the Front.
The temporary airport was set up in the eastern suburbs of Warsaw. The conditions were very poor. The runway was made of rammed earth and the aircraft used looked shabby. However, when Yuri arrived at the airport, he found that not only Shelov had come, but also Bulganin, and some officials from the Polish National Liberation Committee.
"Nikola, what happened?" Yuri took off his military cap and laid it flat on his lap after getting on the plane. He glanced at Bulganin who was sitting opposite him with his eyes closed and asked, "Why do we have to rush to Krakow in such a hurry?"
Bulganin raised his right hand and wiped the mustache under his lower lip with the tip of his middle finger. He said, "The 322nd Infantry Division of the 60th Army captured a small town less than 60 kilometers away from Krakow the night before yesterday and found something amazing there."
"Oh?" Yuri asked curiously, "What is it?"
"A concentration camp," Bulganin said solemnly, "a death camp used by the Germans to detain Jews."
Yuri almost blurted out the name "Auschwitz", but fortunately he reacted in time and forced the word back.
"This is a brutal act of German fascism, an inhumane brutal act," Bulganin said in a much higher voice, as if speaking specifically to the Poles. "Comrade Stalin has already made a decision yesterday. He plans to arrange for Allied observers and journalists from various countries to go and see it. It is said that the ambassadors of Britain, France and the United States will also be present ."
