Chapter 663: The Talker

It seemed that the psychological suggestion repeated tens of thousands of times in just a few seconds did not work at all. Major Strauss, who did not want to admit that he was not as good as the Soviet pilots, finally admitted the fact.

If the situation was reversed, I am afraid that I would not be able to do such a fearless act even if I repeated it hundreds of times.

This is not about the courage and fortitude of the soldiers, but because humans have the most instinctive fear of death.

In the last moment before death, hold the determination and courage to die with the enemy, and drag as many of these fascist running dogs as possible to die together.

Similar scenes are not just isolated cases. There are countless similar scenes happening or about to happen on the cruel and white-hot battlefield where even the sky is about to be set on fire.

The horrific scenes that kept taking turns made Major Strauss, who was originally full of confidence, more and more exhausted.

The performance of the fighter planes in our hands is very good, but they can't withstand the desperate spirit of the Soviet pilots who are desperate to knock you down even if they hit you.

The German defense line on the ground was indeed fought well with the help of the air force, but a desperate IL-2 on fire or a Tu-2 with its tail destroyed could instantly burn down all the efforts and fragile lives of the entire German infantry company.

Major Strauss, who had been fighting in the air for an hour, finally withdrew from the battlefield and flew back to the front-line field air base after running out of ammunition.

Driving the Butcher Bird, he slowly glided and landed on the runway. When he reached out to open the cockpit cover, Major Strauss found that his shaking right hand could hardly even clench into a fist, let alone use his strength to open the hatch.

Major Strauss, who tried several times but failed to open the hatch by himself, gave up the attempt and leaned heavily on his seat, feeling unprecedented physical and mental fatigue.

The German ground crew, who did not see the pilot exit the cabin on his own, panicked and mistakenly thought that Major Strauss was seriously injured and did not have the strength to open the canopy. They immediately rushed over in groups of three or five, shouting and pulling the medical staff, climbed onto the plane with bare hands and immediately opened the canopy.

"Major Strauss, are you okay?"

The ground crew boy wearing windproof goggles closest to him was someone Major Strauss was very familiar with.

Wenke's dream since childhood was to become an ace pilot like Red Baron Richthofen to conquer the blue sky, but in the final physical examination, he was ruthlessly rejected by the German Air Force Recruitment Department because of his color blindness. He had to change his career and become a ground crew to watch others fly planes.

Major Strauss, who was almost paralyzed in his flight seat and unable to move due to physical exhaustion, felt a little fortunate at this moment, and even showed a rare and mysterious smile from the bottom of his heart.

Major Strauss was glad that it was not a sentimental young man like Wenk who liked to write poems to express his inner feelings who was going to fly the plane in today's battle.

Such a cruel and bloody sky should be left to an old man like him who had been devastated by the war and suffered from neurasthenia.

As for Wenk, it would be good for him to write some poems that could be used by the German Air Force Propaganda Department as a recruitment notice and pack up his plane.

"Carry me out, Wenk, I don't even have the strength to stand up now"

Half an hour later, Major Strauss, who was diagnosed by the military doctor as having a serious physical overdraft due to continuous high-overload maneuvers, was lying on the hospital bed. The two gunshot wounds in his thighs left by playing roulette with a desperate Soviet pilot last year were painful.

The more it was at this time, the more Major Strauss felt that his body, which had begun to decline, was becoming more and more powerless. The 44-year-old old man was indeed far behind the young men.

After a while, an Air Force colonel who was obviously older than Major Strauss pushed the door open and walked in.

The face that looked extremely determined flashed with a look that was enough to make people trust from the bottom of their hearts. After arriving at the ward, he immediately walked straight to the bedside of Major Strauss without thinking.

"I just asked Dr. Hippman, do you know what he said to me?"

Major Strauss, lying on the bed, smiled bitterly. He could guess that the mysterious military doctor who was as long-winded as a missionary was repeating the same old tune again.

"You don't have to guess. He must have suggested that I retire compulsorily. Am I right?"

"It's not compulsory, Strauss. You have to know that Dr. Hippoman is doing this for your own good. Your body is no longer strong enough to support your dream. Staying in the Air Force may cause you to become disabled or even die on the battlefield. Besides, you have already paid so much for the country and the head of state. Now is the time to return to your hometown as a hero. I heard that your youngest son is about to get engaged. Maybe it's the right time to go back and accompany your family."

Faced with the advice of his old superiors for many years, Major Strauss, who looked a little hesitant, finally did not comment and did not give any answer. He tilted his head and still lay on the pillow as if thinking about something by himself and remained silent.

Seeing this scene, the colonel, who knew that this stubborn young man in his youth had not changed his stubborn character even now, simply changed his tone.

"Okay, let's change the topic, Strauss. For example, you can tell me why today's battle turned you into this state."

If the colonel hadn't mentioned this, Major Strauss, who was lying in bed with a sense of emptiness in his heart, might not have remembered this.

But now that this name was mentioned, Major Strauss couldn't help but blurt out what he had been holding in his heart.

"You have to listen to me and believe me, Bourne. We are now fighting a very terrible opponent! You and I know that those Russian planes come in waves. If we destroy 50 today, 100 will come tomorrow. It's like there are endless planes that can't be killed at all!"

"Today I saw with my own eyes that those Russians drove the severely damaged planes directly into our people. The explosion and flames instantly devoured dozens or even hundreds of lives, but the Russians still saw such a scene and still looked forward to death! God, we are simple It's like fighting a giant-like terrible air force. "

"This is simply terrible! Bourne, you have to believe me, our Fourth Air Force must evacuate Stalingrad immediately, you have to persuade Baron Richthofen, otherwise..."

The colonel interrupted Major Strauss's unfinished words with an unwarned hand-raising gesture, and gently pressed down his right hand floating in the air, indicating that Major Strauss could lie down quietly without talking, and then picked up the military cap hanging by the bedside and left without saying a word.

It was about eight o'clock that night. Major Strauss, who was standing by the window doing stretching exercises to recover his body as soon as possible and be prepared at all times, suddenly received an envelope handed over by a correspondent.

After opening the envelope, there were only a few short lines of words on the letter paper, which can be roughly summarized as a more refined sentence.

"The retirement procedures have been completed for you. You will receive twice as much money as other people with the same rank. This is the last thing I can do for you. Remember to say hello to Alina for me and take good care of yourself when you return. This is my only request."

——Old friend: Bourne