Chapter 773: Butcher and Pig

Colonel Adam's expression was absent-minded at first, then thoughtful, and then slightly unhappy.

All the changes in expression were completed within ten seconds.

An old soldier in his forties saw that Colonel Adam was unhappy, and bravely raised his hand to signal Colonel Adam that he wanted to speak.

Colonel Adam, who was attracted by the hand-raising action, cast his eyes at the old soldier and saw clearly that this was an old soldier who had lost three fingers on his left hand. The scarlet bandage on the broken fingers had obviously not been changed for some time.

With a trace of sympathy in his eyes, Colonel Adam nodded slightly, indicating that the old soldier who looked polite and a little timid could speak.

The old soldier who received a clear reply signal from Colonel Adam did not answer directly, but tilted his head and thought for a while before slowly speaking.

"Colonel, I can prove to you that what the three of them just said is all true. I like reading newspapers and have the habit of reading our army newspapers every day. I read in the newspaper that those Russians have no strength left, and the city is almost ours now. The remaining recalcitrant resistance will soon be completely wiped out by the heroic imperial soldiers."

"This is simply a joke, the funniest joke I have heard this year, Colonel. Until now, we are still laughing at those Russians, saying that they organized workers and peasants to attack us with work tools and farm tools. Don't you think this is ironic?"

"In this devilish city What we fear most is night fighting. During the day, we can capture some blocks with the help of planes and tanks, but at night, these iron guys are useless. "

"The Russians attacked us fiercely under the moonlight and drove us out of the streets we had just captured during the day. Sometimes even the tanks were captured by them because they didn't understand the situation. I don't question the news that our superiors told us that we will definitely win, but I am worried that even if we can take the city, it will probably be after Christmas or even later. "

Colonel Adam wanted to give the wounded veteran in his forties some comforting answers that could boost morale.

But before Colonel Adam could speak out the answer he had just prepared, the wounded treatment hall, where the sound of a pin drop could be heard just now, almost unanimously rang out quite in agreement.

"He's right, Colonel! Those Russians are simply devils, they are servants of Satan, they have climbed up from hell to hunt us! Stalingrad is a slaughterhouse, the Russians are holding sharpened butcher knives, and we are the live pigs that are transported into the city by truckloads!"

"Yes, that's it. I have dug several pits to bury people. I buried the three brothers of Konis with my own hands."

"I want to go home, I want to spend Christmas with my mother, I promised her that I will go back this year"

"Colonel! When can we take this city? I don't believe those shitty newspapers and loudspeakers, they are all lies, you come and tell us the truth!"

Before coming to the field hospital, Paulus, who had calmed down and re-energized himself to command the battle, once specifically told Colonel Adam before leaving, telling him to try to cheer everyone up and restore morale in the hospital. Once these injured veterans return to the team, they will be a key force that can drive the overall combat effectiveness of the troops, so their importance is the first priority.

Colonel Adam promised Paulus that he would find a way to do it. In fact, Colonel Adam did not lie. The ultimate purpose of his visit to the hospital was to cheer everyone up and boost morale.

But now Colonel Adam felt like a freak in the vast crowd.

Everyone was complaining about the cruelty and horror of the Russians, and complaining that this damn city was as terrifying as the devil.

Colonel Adam suddenly felt that it was useless to say anything now. The power of one person was not enough to change a group of people.

Besides, it was these wounded veterans who had luckily saved their lives who fought with the Russians on the front line, not himself who sat in the office and circled around Paulus all day.

In terms of understanding the battlefield and the Russians, he was not even a fart in front of these wounded veterans who had the most say, and he was not qualified to reprimand or educate these veterans who had shed blood on how to fight.

Colonel Adam did not complete the task entrusted to him by Paulus after all. He felt that his power was too small in front of the unanimous voice of the wounded in the entire hospital, just like a small broken ship drifting in the vast Atlantic Ocean. No matter how high-sounding lies he told in front of the wounded, or how unrealistic promises he made, it was useless.

Colonel Adam, who was silent all the way, returned to the convoy with his entourage and guards. He stayed in the hospital for less than an hour, which surprised the driver who was waiting in boredom because he thought it would take several hours. He didn't even notice that the cigarette butt in his hand was about to burn his fingers.

"Where are we going now? Colonel."

Colonel Adam closed the car door. This trip to the hospital can be said to have made him feel mixed emotions at the moment.

"Let's go back to the headquarters. There is something important to report to Commander Paulus in person. Drive faster."

"Okay, Colonel."

Colonel Adam returned to the army headquarters in almost half the time he had come. What was waiting for him was Paulus's pale face, which looked like he hadn't slept for a month.

"You're back, Adam. Tell me what you went through in the hospital? How is the morale now?"

Colonel Adam was silent, and didn't even know how to describe it to Paulus. He thought for a long time before speaking to Paulus in a way that he thought was more appropriate.

"It's terrible, Commander Paulus. It can even be said that everything is terrible."

"I forced myself to follow your orders more than once, but it was useless. The whole hospital was shouting about how terrible the Russians were and what a hell Stalingrad was."

"Everyone, even the doctors and nurses, were in very low morale. Most people felt that this Christmas might be spent in the ruins and amid the greetings of the Russians' guns and artillery."

"I just thought about deceiving you and using words that would make you feel comforted to describe the tampering, but it's really useless, Commander Paulus. You and I both know that what the newspapers say is all lies, and now even the soldiers are unwilling to believe it."

Unexpectedly, Paulus did not get angry like he did when he lost Mamayev Kurgan before. He sat in a chair without saying a word, just like a flat tire that had been deflated and could not burst a second time. His cloudy and bloodshot eyes seemed to be thinking about something that Colonel Adam didn't know.

"But at least, we still have to complete the task assigned to us by the Führer. We must complete it, right?"