Steel Soviet Union

Time goes back to the end of last year. Although the Sixth Army was in a critical situation at that time, it was much better than the current state where it was already dead.

The Fourth Armored Group under Manstein broke in from the south of Stalingrad. When the Soviet encirclement was not so impregnable, it surged forward with overwhelming momentum. At the closest point, only the main city of Stalingrad was left. Thirty kilometers: a distance that a tank can cover cross-country at full speed in less than an hour.

At that time, even Colonel Adam himself breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the nightmare was finally over, and it was time for the Sixth Army, which suffered heavy casualties, to say goodbye to the hellish place of Stalingrad.

But what no one expected was that Paulus, who should have ordered the troops to break out immediately to join Manstein, actually ordered the telegram to be sent in person on the grounds that "the breakout order from the Führer was not obtained" in the telegram. "We are going to save you right now!" Manstein, who telegraphed, pressed his hot face against his cold buttocks.

"Paulus's loyalty and fanaticism to the Führer reached a pathological level. He was even willing to blind his eyes and deafen his ears so that he could not see, hear or think about certain things. Although he He didn’t really do it, but many people, including myself, thought so from the day he refused to take responsibility for the breakout and insisted on implementing the orders of the head of state.”

A few years later, the words that were rated as classics by Time Magazine are still lying quietly in Colonel Adam's diary and are not known to the world.

Paulus deliberately grafted the disaster caused by his own decisions onto Manstein's head through the transfer of subjective thoughts. It is believed that Manstein did not work hard and failed to completely break through the encirclement outside Stalingrad, which caused the Sixth Army to fall into today's annihilation situation.

As for how outrageous this blame-shifting is, who cares at this time?

Paulus, who didn't even know what he was thinking, suddenly remembered one of the more "interesting" things mentioned in the report he received yesterday.

It is said to be "interesting" because the incident itself is quite entertaining and funny. If the same thing happened to a Russian guy, Paulus felt that he would definitely laugh out loud, and even get angry for it. Celebrate with a glass of French brandy.

It's a pity that this relatively "interesting" thing happened to the German army himself, which is really hard to laugh at.

Paulus, who had nothing to say and was just passing the time, spoke again, shaking out all the things on his mind like beans poured out of a bamboo tube.

"Did you know? Adam, I received a report yesterday. The report said that our troops on the front line finally waited for two transport planes to drop supplies."

"However, one of the two planes was not in very good condition. It was shaking on the ground, black smoke was coming out of the engine, and the Russian anti-aircraft guns damaged it, but even so, the plane still flew in What a rare courage for those in the air force to come to the city to airdrop supplies!”

Colonel Adam did not interrupt. In recent days, he had gradually become accustomed to Paulus's grumbling and various complaints and shirks. Now he only needed to wait quietly and continue to listen.

"The injured plane crashed and exploded a long distance away. In the area controlled by the Russians, at least the Russians will not get complete supplies as a result."

"The remaining plane dropped supplies over our men's heads, and this time they didn't lose their position."

"The hungry soldiers excitedly rushed to the open space to open the supplies thrown down, but there was no food in them. The soldiers were disappointed to find a box full of military uniforms and shoes! The other boxes contained drinks. "He had some warm liquor, a box of black pepper, and a box of 9mm submachine gun ammunition."

"This has become a joke, Adam! The soldiers are having fun with the joke about "9mm black pepper mixed with vodka". What did the air force drop to us? Is this their original guarantee of supplying one army group a day? Hehe Manmeyer is a fat pig who has nothing to do but brag. He can’t even sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet! What kind of air force commander is he?”

Paulus, who had a half-cold poker face at first, became more and more excited as he spoke, as if he was the one starving and confronting the Soviet army on the front line. All his anger and complaints were vented to the Imperial Marshal Georg in Berlin. Lin, although this is unlikely to have any substantive effect.

At this point, Colonel Adam, who always felt that both he and Paulus had taken a dim view and had seen through a lot, no longer told lies. The last bit of hope that was within reach still had a glimmer of value worth hoping for.

"Maybe we can surrender soon, Paulus. If the Führer can understand the true situation on the front, I believe he will allow us to do this. All people have fulfilled their obligations and responsibilities, and now it is time to end That’s all, we just need to wait and execute.”

Paulus, who had long ago sworn that he would not surrender, fell silent.

Paulus, who always adhered to his loyalty to the Führer, was ultimately no match for the strong desire to survive in his heart. Why must he die if he had the chance to live? What's more, if he resisted to the end, he wouldn't die alone. All the remaining soldiers of the entire Sixth Army would be buried together. Paulus couldn't bear the result just thinking about it.

In the end, was it primarily about saving the lives of the soldiers of the Sixth Army that triggered Paulus's personal desire to survive? Or is it that Paulus's personal desire for survival came first, and he regarded the life and death of the Sixth Army as an added bonus?

The excuses and priorities are not important now. What is important is what the anxious and anxious result will be.

Could Colonel Adam's words be true?

Paulus hoped it was true.

Because if it wasn't true, then Paulus really didn't know what to do next. He didn't even dare to face it even if he tried to think about it. The scene of bullets popping up in his head was something he had never seen in his nightmares. arrive.

The casual chat continued for a while, and finally ended with Colonel Adam leaving with an excuse.

And when Colonel Adam finally returned to the office with a fresh telegram, the extremely brief line of black and white words on the telegram almost made Paulus, who had the last hope, black out and fainted on the spot.

"No surrender is allowed! The troops should hold their position and fight until the last German soldier falls! Use the last bullet!"