Iron Cross

Hoffman calmed down, took the note and read it slowly. It was okay if he didn't read it, but after reading it, his face became very distorted, and he was in a terrible mood.

The telegram clearly stated: "...Last night the British and American Allied bombers carried out a major bombing raid on Augsburg. The total number of enemy aircraft was more than 400. Our army fought back and shot down 23 of them, and many more. The enemy plane escaped after being wounded. Our casualties were not serious. However, the diesel engine production plant of MAN Company for U-boats was damaged. After emergency cleaning and statistics of the site during the day today, about 36% of the machinery and equipment had been buried by the rubble. It may be confirmed that it cannot be used, and U-boat production in the next three months will be significantly affected..."

To the surprise of both of them, the head of state did not get angry as usual. Although his face was ugly, he only said lightly: "Go back to the Air Force Command first. I want to listen to their report and explanation."

Sitting in the spacious Mercedes-Benz 770K, Hoffmann fell into deep thought. The new chief adjutant Lieutenant Colonel Fritz Dargos, who was accompanying him in the passenger seat, saw that he was unhappy and persuaded him: "My head of state, you and Spee Minister Er seems to be very concerned about this loss? But as far as I know, the British suffered heavy losses in air raids in June, July and August, but our losses were very small. Simply speaking, let them succeed once. It seems reasonable.”

"You, like the people in the Air Defense Command, still don't understand the importance of this factory." Hoffman shook his head and did not take the adjutant's advice to heart. "After the failure of the British air battle and the failure of the 'Sea Lion' plan, After the restrictions were delayed, the wolves active in the Atlantic were almost the only shackles around Churchill's neck. If Dönitz could not maintain the current pressure, the British would release more troops. At that time, it would not only be air strikes, but also ground attacks. The troops will counterattack one after another. The Battle of Dieppe has reminded me that our 'Western Wall' fortress is far from perfect."

The head of state sounded a little impatient, but Dargos was still happy to hear such a "lesson" and hoped that the head of state would talk as much as possible. After the Eagle's Nest meeting where he was almost assassinated, he keenly felt that there seemed to be some unusual changes in the head of state's personality - to use words to describe it, he was sensitive and suspicious, although this attitude was gradually revealed in a subtle way. , but life for the adjutants and attendants generally became difficult. Except for Chief Adjutant General Schment, who was promoted to the Eastern Front to serve as Director of Munitions because of General Zeitzler's appointment as Chief of General Staff, other adjutants encountered problems one after another: the original Air Force Adjutant von Bey Because Colonel Luo was the candidate recommended by Reich Marshal Göring, he "inappropriately" disclosed the news that the Air Force Field Division was split and replenished to Göring before the strategic meeting, and was deemed "politically unreliable" by Himmler. It was suggested that the head of state should be purged, and he was finally sent to guard the prisoner of war camp under Marshal Milch; Naval Adjutant Putkamer had worked with Admiral Canaris for a period of time before the war and served as the latter's liaison officer. After he was thrown into prison, he was also reviewed by the SS. Although no problems were found, he was still sent to the site by the Führer in the name of the liaison officer of the Ministry of Armaments to inspect the construction progress of the Graf Zeppelin and other warships. He worked at the shipyard every day to Exhausted from coordinating labor and supplies. He was the only one who seized the opportunity, because he originally served as Martin Bormann's secretary and had always been appreciated in the inner circle of the head of state. During this drastic change, he was honored to take over the position of chief deputy under Bormann's recommendation during this drastic change. The military rank was also promoted from major to lieutenant colonel.

Dargos himself never thought that the fundamental reason for the transfer of these adjutants was not due to reliability issues, but entirely because they had followed the Führer for many years. Hoffman did not want people who were familiar with Hitler's temperament to notice the changes in the Führer's temperament and take advantage of this opportunity. Transfer away. Although Dargos's promotion was due to his ability and past performance, it was more of a trade-off made by Hoffman to support Bowman's power. Hoffman was more familiar with this man who was almost eliminated in history than Dargos himself. He married Eva's sister and became brother-in-law with the head of state. He resigned because he was "unable to catch flies" and wrote "Memoirs of an Adjutant" and other anecdotes. In the same way, as a reward for Ribbentrop's first attack on Göring, Hoffmann also asked him to recommend an intelligence adjutant, on the condition that he was proficient in foreign languages ​​​​and good at comprehensive text analysis. As a result, the foreign minister found him. An all-rounder, this diplomat named Maximilian von Kohl, who has the blood of an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, is not only proficient in English, French, Russian and Italian, he even stayed in Japan for two years and is familiar with Japanese conditions. He was fluent in Japanese and organized all the intelligence submitted by the Imperial Security Bureau. His rigorous style and high efficiency won the praise of Bowman, who assisted the head of state in carrying out intelligence work. Hoffmann had already praised Ribbentrop twice in private and in public, making the latter almost grinning from ear to ear with joy. From this point of view, power is a natural corrosive to human nature. God, this position of head of state transformed Hoffman's worldview from a gentle intellectual to a powerful dictator.

Under the strict protection of the Guards, the convoy arrived in Berlin in the evening. It was completely dark. Except for a few places, not many lights could be seen over the huge city. Hoffman was very satisfied with this. After the full transition to the wartime system, the city's nighttime light control was finally implemented unswervingly. It is strange to say that, knowing that British aircraft often carry out night raids at regular intervals, The light control discipline in big cities such as Berlin is still implemented half-heartedly, and only after the air raid siren is sounded, it is dealt with hurriedly. You must know that in the UK, two years ago, during the Battle of Britain, the free and loose British people had already Strict light control began to be implemented, but the Germans, who have always been known for their strict discipline, did not care about it. It can be seen that the recent pursuit and treatment of the treasonous group has obviously gained additional benefits: fewer people from various classes below, especially the original privileged class, dare to obey the orders of the military and government. After all, no one wants to be blamed for a trivial matter. I was invited to drink coffee by the SS and the Gestapo.

Hoffman finished his dinner in a hurry. After making major adjustments to the original adjutants and personal attendants, he finally had the courage to upgrade the original food from sugar-boiled fruit and oatmeal to bacon and small sausages. and whole-wheat bread and other traditional foods. As for the desire for steak, caviar and Bavarian pork knuckles, they can only be suppressed for a while before they dare to try it - the Führer's vegetarianism really killed him.

He hurried to the conference room of the Air Force Headquarters with Speer, Keitel and others. The new Air Force Adjutant Major Lyman was already waiting for him. Before he opened the door of the conference room, he heard ten minutes inside. Fierce sound. Hoffman waved his hand, stopped the guard who was about to shout a report, stopped and listened.

It seemed to be the voice of Major General Adolf Garland, the fighter director. He was accusing someone: "This afternoon, in the face of the air raid by the US Army Air Force, the fighters of your wing have clearly discovered the enemy aircraft. Why did most of the fighters choose to attack in the end?" To avoid fighting? This is a shame for the entire JG26 unit!”

"Your Excellency, I cannot agree with your point of view." A young voice argued, "You must know that it is impossible to assess the death threat posed by the new U.S. bombers while sitting in an office or command room. You must go and experience a flight for yourself. Only then can you know. You are also a pilot, and you should know that almost all the aircraft sights and attack weapons we have are prepared for attacking fighter jets, and we have never tried to optimize them at all for this type of heavily armored and heavy firepower bomber. If it were a fighter jet, they would only fill the circle of the aircraft's sight 100 meters away, but American bombers were completely different. Before they reached the appropriate range, their huge bodies had already filled the entire sight. , the rear-facing gunners on the enemy aircraft will use violent rain of bullets to prevent us from getting closer. Imagine the feeling of being surrounded by red tracer bullets in the cockpit and unable to effectively fight back. You can understand why many pilots gave up the attack in the end—— They are humans, not gods, and they cannot rush forward in such a terrifying and desperate environment..."

Listening to the opponent's unceremonious excuse, Garland roared and said in a voice trembling with anger: "Since you can't hit the Americans from a distance, why can't you get close? You may be inferior to others in skills, but as the JG26 Wing, we once Commander, I never want to see you lose even your basic fighting spirit. This is tarnishing the glorious tradition of the regiment."

"I'm sorry, sir. I am responsible for their lives. I cannot make unnecessary sacrifices. Besides, wasn't one of these bombers shot down by anti-aircraft artillery today? We may not lack the means to deal with this new aircraft before we improve the fighter jets. …”