Chapter 744 This Day Last Year

The sunset in the evening came on time as promised, but the victory promised to Paulus by Major General Osheim did not come as expected.

"Thirty percent casualties! More than 40% of technical equipment losses! Can you tell me what's going on? Osheim! How did you create a "miracle"!? Huh?"

Paulus rarely got angry. The good education given to him by his father, who taught and educated people when he was young, inspired his ignorant heart. To demand himself based on his father's attitude towards life is what Paulus has always strived to achieve. .

Rather than being a boss or a commander, Paulus hopes that people around him can see him from the perspective of a friend, and only need to retain a little bit of necessary respect for his superiors.

This is what Paulus hoped for and what he demanded of himself. Of course, this is what he actually did.

But Paulus today is different.

The water glass on the table was slapped by Paulus and flew far away, and the drawing pencil on his hand was cut into two pieces by his index finger and thumb.

If it weren't for the existence and value of the microphone in his hand, I'm afraid this thing would have been lying on the ground and reduced to parts.

Major General Osheim was the commander of the train station war effort appointed by Paulus. The original colonel who had failed in his command had been directly replaced by Paulus with an order. He only sent a telegram to Berlin to inform him. Suddenly, Paulus had the latest power granted by the head of state to remove commanders who were unfavorable in frontline operations.

Compared to Paulus, Major General Osheim, who was only a few years older than Paulus, had a rather miserable background.

His father was a worker exploited by the capitalists who collapsed in a steel factory due to exhaustion and had his head crushed by a forging press. In order to support him, his mother was forced to do jobs in the factory that were generally only done by men.

Paulus, who did not come from a poor family but came from an ordinary commoner family, pitied Osheim.

Yes, that's the word pitiful, at least that's how Paulus himself, who is now in a high position, should describe it.

After being transferred from the General Staff Headquarters to the front line, Paulus used his connections to recruit Osheim, who was still a squad leader under him when he was a company commander.

The experience of working in the General Staff Headquarters not only tempered Paulus' ability to coordinate the overall situation, but also made Paulus understand that wherever there are people, there must be the dark side of society and people's hearts.

Extreme, anger, hatred, many kinds of negative emotions have deeply locked the hearts of human beings, including soldiers.

Paulus, who was parachuted down, did not trust many people around him. He deliberately cultivated confidants in the Sixth Army who were closely united around him. Paulus secretly found out the details of Colonel Adam, the chief adjutant assigned to him. Although he was a good man and had a good temperament, he was from the Junkers aristocracy after all.

For Paulus, who had already placed his position on the side of the head of state, Colonel Adam's role was at best a confidant who could chat about unimportant things to relieve his mood when he was bored. Paulus needed someone who could conquer and fight well. A general who can establish his own image among grassroots officers and soldiers serves as a confidant. This person must be absolutely loyal to himself and indirectly loyal to the head of state.

In order to allow Osheim to fight a good battle that could suppress the situation, Paulus allocated three forces from the three main attack lines to Osheim. Counting the German troops that had been deployed before the train station, Osheim had more than two full infantry divisions, an assault artillery battalion, and an armored regiment.

"Don't worry, Adam. If we can't defeat those Russians with such a strong force, then we would have been wiped out by the Russians in Moscow last year, and we wouldn't be here today."

Paulus had said this, at the same moment yesterday evening.

But now, this unsatisfactory Osheim slapped him in the face like an enemy.

Paulus, who was holding the phone in his hand and feeling ashamed and angry, even wondered if Colonel Adam was secretly laughing at him, and looked behind him out of the corner of his eye with some guilt.

Fortunately, Colonel Adam still stood there with a calm expression. Paulus could even read the annoyance in his eyes. The huge loss at the train station also made Colonel Adam feel unbelievable and extremely shocked.

"I, General Paulus, I'm sorry, this is my dereliction of duty, and I am willing to take all responsibility for it! Please punish me in accordance with military laws and regulations!"

Osheim did not expect that this proactive admission of mistakes and guilt, which he hoped would calm Paulus down, would actually add fuel to the fire for Paulus.

Click——click——

Colonel Adam, who was still lowering his head and thinking about what to do next, suddenly heard a strange and strange sound coming from the direction of Paulus.

A somewhat worried look mixed with curiosity then looked towards Paulus, and the scene he saw next made Colonel Adam's face full of surprise.

Paulus, who had not cut his nails for more than a month, clenched the phone too tightly because it made a tooth-piercing sound, as if his fingernails were being pulled across a blackboard. The penetrating voice.

"You apologize to me? What a pity, Osheim, you are not qualified to apologize to me, and I am not qualified to accept your apology."

"I suggest you go to the morgue and apologize to the bodies of the outstanding German soldiers who sacrificed for the Führer and the country, if you have collected their bodies."

Osheim, who failed to achieve the desired effect, was a little scared at the moment. He was worried that Paulus would use extraordinary means to deal with him. The little kindness in the past was simply not worth mentioning in front of the big guy he had just made.

Major General Osheim had never been to China, and he didn't know that the profound Chinese culture had already helped him solve the problem.

The Chinese of later generations summarized the experience of their predecessors and came up with a workplace truth. If your direct superior scolds you for something you did wrong, and even throws things in anger.

Then congratulations, at least you have not been completely abandoned by your leader.

If you are really worthless in his eyes, what awaits you is not a rage, but indifference or even a smile as if nothing happened.

Although the languages ​​and cultures are different, this truth is still applicable to Major General Osheim, who is standing there trembling all over.