Chapter 1215 Father's Witness

The young adjutant brought a soldier whom Guderian had never met before, an SS armored soldier, a guy who was about the same age as most of the young Germans who joined the army in this era.

"Let me introduce you, General. This is a Panther tank commander of the Second Reich Division of the Waffen SS, named Ernst Bachmann. We found different information from his eyewitness report, which is very useful. While the Reich Division returned to the country for rest and replenishment, we found him on purpose, hoping that he can help us solve the current dilemma."

Guderian had never seen the young man in front of him. Even after hearing his name, the memory search in his mind still knew nothing about him.

Guderian was very sure that he really didn't know or have seen this SS armored soldier named Ernst Bachmann.

However, this did not prevent Guderian from talking to him next.

The young adjutant knew Guderian's character well and knew what his boss would do next.

After whispering a few words to Bachmann's ear and giving a final warning, the young adjutant quickly retreated and closed the door when leaving the room to avoid any interruption to Guderian's subsequent conversation.

There were only the two of them in the silent office. What was the young man in front of him thinking about?

Guderian stood behind his desk and looked at him silently for a few seconds. All that could be felt from the young man's eyes was calmness and composure, just like buying candy in a street store, and he was a familiar store owner, which was generally no big deal.

If the scene continued to be silent, it would inevitably be a little awkward. Guderian, who never paid attention to the problem of cards and shelves, was a very practical pragmatist. He didn't care that the SS armored soldier in front of him, who seemed to be a little introverted and dull, didn't salute or greet him. Guderian felt that as long as he could solve his own problems, nothing was more important.

"Please take a seat, young man. I don't think I need to introduce myself. You should know who I am."

In order to ease the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Guderian opened his mouth with a half-joking smile, although his injured and scarred face did not look very good even when he smiled.

Guderian's first opening was quickly responded to, which seemed to surprise the SS armored soldier who was also observing him. The next action was the real opening speech.

"Hi! Hitler!"

The Waffen SS was accustomed to expressing their loyalty to the Führer. This loyalty could be expressed without scruples in any situation, and they were proud of this loyalty and the honor bestowed by the Führer.

Guderian, who had originally planned to sit down and go back, looked at the young man in front of him with his right arm raised diagonally, and his facial expression trembled as if he was touched. Then he slightly raised his right hand and replied softly.

"Hi, Hitler."

After the brief but expected opening remarks, Guderian and Bachmann were both seated. Guderian, who could not hold back his strong curiosity, decided to speak first.

"Can you tell me what you have discovered about the Russians' new heavy tanks, or what I don't know? This is very important to me and the present and future of our entire German armored forces."

Guderian's tone was not at all arrogant, just like an ordinary conversation between two soldiers of the same level, getting straight to the point and getting to the point.

Meeting and getting close to the rumored father of the German armored forces for the first time, Bachmann, who remained calm, just like he liked to do on the battlefield, quietly observed the man who was shouted "This is what I need!" by the Führer, constantly harvesting information that interested him and also had to respond.

"That happened nearly half a month ago. At first, I didn't think it was worth paying attention to. I thought the Russians had deployed those terrible steel monsters everywhere on the battlefield."

"But until the end of the battle, we lost Prokhorovka and were forced to retreat under the powerful counterattack of the Russians. We returned to the country to replenish and reorganize because of the heavy losses. We then learned from other people that this kind of monster had never appeared on the battlefields of other fronts. We were the only unit that was unfortunate enough to encounter it."

Guderian said nothing, but continued to stare at Bachmann on the sofa with an expectant and focused look, hoping to get more useful information from this young SS man with a strong sense of mystery.

"That day was the day of the decisive battle. Our Imperial Division, the Guards Flag Division and the Skull Division, together, completed the encirclement of the Prokhorovka Pocket in the evening of the previous day. A main Russian armored unit that caused too much trouble on the southern front of Kursk was surrounded by us in an unknown small village."

"Everything was planned. I heard that the encirclement of this group of Russians was well prepared. Eliminating them was one of the primary goals of setting up the Prokhorovka Pocket, which could give us a great advantage in this theater of war."

"The battle that started in the early morning did not go as smoothly as the officers promised us. The Russians used all means and methods to fight us to the end. Their tanks stood at every arterial road and every position of firepower to fight us, and their infantry Treat the dilapidated or even ruined houses and ruined walls in the village as positions."

"Every step forward will cost us a huge price. We are fighting with the Russians repeatedly for every meter of strategic depth in every lane and every broken house in the village."

"They would even take advantage of the fact that when we had just captured a certain point and our footing was unstable, they would gather their forces to fight back and try their best to drive us away. They succeeded many times! This reminded many people of Stalingrad. It’s hard to imagine that such a fierce battle could occur in a village that only covers an area of ​​two square kilometers.”

"But what causes us the most trouble is the new heavy tank of the Russians. We don't know what to call it. Some call it "Super Stalin", and some call it "Heavy T34." The only thing we can reach consensus on is that it It’s really hard to deal with.”

Guderian, who had been an honest listener, realized that the key point was coming, and his eyes were as bright as two lighted light bulbs.

"Go on, Buckman, I'm listening very carefully."

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