"Shameless lie!" Unsurprisingly, Instructor Artur exploded after a tense silence. "Conjecture with ulterior motives! You've finally shown your true nature, Shuerka! You are a traitor a sinner against the Soviet Union!"
As he spoke, the instructor drew a pistol from his waist.
"Artur!" Major Gavrilov blocked his movement with a firm hand.
"Major, don't you see?" the instructor shouted. "This man was bought by the Germans! He spreads lies to make us abandon the Brest Fortress, so the Germans can occupy it without resistance!"
"But we don't know that yet!" Major Gavrilov countered.
"How can our army retreat across the board? It's only been five hours since the war began! Our Western Special Military Region is stationed nearby!"
(Note: After the outbreak of war, the Western Special Military Region became the Western Front Army under General Pavlov.)
"Then how do you explain that there are no planes, no reinforcements so far?" the instructor pressed.
Major Gavrilov said nothing. Artur's words stunned him briefly, but he remained calm. "Comrade Gavrilov, you won't believe this traitor, right? Remember, the soldiers trust you. You are responsible for them, for the fortress, for the Motherland!"
"I am responsible, Comrade Artur," Major Gavrilov replied evenly. "That's why we must verify. Five hours ago, no one believed the Germans would attack. Similar statements would have been censored as lies. But now the German guns are firing at us, their planes circle overhead, and artillery shells explode among us!"
The statement was unspoken but understood by everyone. Major Gavrilov's experience confirmed the trutt he had foreseen this attack. Yet in peacetime, such warnings could have been punished.
The instructor tried again. "I admit we misjudged the Germans. But that doesn't mean this traitor is right. Our army cannot be defeated so easily…"
"Why don't we ask for proof?" Dmitri interrupted sharply.
He was growing frustrated. The instructor had no right to label him a traitor without evidence, and in this environment, such accusations could lead to execution.
"Shut your mouth!" the instructor snapped. If it weren't for Major Gavrilov's protection, Dmitri might already have been gagged or worse.
"Yes, we can verify it," Major Gavrilov said firmly.
The first method Major Gavrilov considered was reconnaissance. He sent three armored scout vehicles toward Brest city, tens of kilometers behind the fortress. A division of the Soviet army was stationed there; if contact could be made, they would confirm the truth and potentially request reinforcements.
But of course, daylight and the German encirclement made the mission nearly impossible.
More than an hour later, the three armored vehicles returned, riddled with bullet holes. Lieutenant Timka, the convoy commander, had a bandaged head and a grim expression.
"Comrade Major," Timka reported, "all exits are blocked by the Germans. They've set cars ablaze. We found a German tank at the eastern exit—we couldn't break through."
Major Gavrilov nodded in frustration, and Timka went to rest.
With reconnaissance impossible, the only option left was to capture a few German soldiers for interrogation. Even ordinary troops would know more than the besieged Soviet forces.
Fortunately, in the chaos of battle, a few prisoners could always be taken alive. Gavrilov ordered, "Be careful take some alive!"
But this too quickly failed.
From the German side, a loudspeaker blared in perfect Russian.
"Comrades in the Kobrin Fortress, I am Second Lieutenant Yegors of the 53rd Infantry Regiment. The Soviet army has already been routed. You are surrounded. No one will come to rescue you. Surrender resistance is pointless! The Germans will treat prisoners humanely!"
(Note: The Brest Fortress was divided into four fortresses; Major Gavrilov and Dmitri were at Kobrin Fortress in the north.)
The Germans intended to undermine the defenders' morale. Using captured Soviets, they broadcast a chilling message into the fortress. If delayed a few hours, it might have worked, but at this sensitive moment, events unfolded differently… almost fatally for Dmitri.
"Look!" Instructor Artur turned to Dmitri, voice triumphant. "The enemy's message matches this traitor's claims exactly! Doesn't that prove he's working for the Germans?"
Dmitri was momentarily speechless. The Germans' broadcast was true, it wasn't a lie. Yet he could not prove it. Talk about bad timing.
Capturing prisoners had lost its value; their statements were orchestrated to match the Germans' deceptive narrative.
"What else do you have to say?" the instructor demanded, weapon in hand.
Dmitri felt trapped. He looked to Major Gavrilov for help, but even the major could only watch.
"Take his weapon!" the instructor ordered triumphantly. "Remove this traitor!"
Dmitri felt his heart sink. He realized he might die here, unjustly, his knowledge wasted, his life cut short. The truth would surface in a few days, but that meant nothing now.
The instructor pushed Dmitri toward an open space beside the headquarters, preparing for an execution in front of the fortress.
Bang!
"Kneel!" the instructor shouted, firing the gun in warning.
But at that moment, Major Gavrilov dashed from the headquarters.
"Wait, Comrade Artur! You need to hear this first!"