Chapter 774 Holiday

Historians of later generations can call Paulus a "loyal dog" raised by Hitler. Such a statement is by no means a deliberate smear, but Paulus is such a person.

At least before this guy surrendered to the Soviet army, his loyalty to Hitler was almost 100%. He left all kinds of difficulties to find ways to overcome them by himself, and tried his best to execute all the orders from the Fuehrer without any discount.

Let's not talk about whether the Sixth Army has the ability to do those orders from Hitler. Paulus' attitude of carrying out the orders to the end without any discount is rare in the Wehrmacht, where the Junker aristocratic officer corps occupies the upper power and often disobeys Hitler's orders.

Now, even in the face of such great difficulties and obstacles, Paulus is still thinking about how to execute the Fuehrer's orders. As for the miserable situation in the field hospital reported by Colonel Adam, Paulus compared it with the battles experienced by the German army last year and thought it could still be overcome.

After all, the German army survived the battle in Moscow this year. Is Stalingrad worse than last year's Moscow?

Paulus thought about it and felt that he must be able to overcome this difficulty. The current difficulty was only temporary and was used to test his willpower. The commander who could not fail at this time was himself. If he had no hope of victory, the Sixth Army would have failed completely.

With this method of self-comfort, Paulus once again cheered up and made a ray of life on his pale face like a zombie before speaking to Colonel Adam again.

"I remember you are going on vacation soon, Adam."

If Paulus hadn't mentioned it, Colonel Adam would have almost forgotten that his vacation was imminent.

Frowning and recalling a little, Colonel Adam quickly remembered that his original vacation would start tomorrow, of course, if he followed the original vacation plan.

"Yes, Commander Paulus, I was supposed to start my vacation tomorrow. But in the current situation, I think I should stay here. I need to deal with many things in person, including you."

Paulus certainly knew what Colonel Adam was referring to.

To be honest, even Paulus himself was quite dissatisfied with his performance in recent days: irritable, capricious, changing his face faster than turning a page, and if he didn't take two sleeping pills before going to bed at night, he would definitely suffer from insomnia. When he woke up, he was swaying like a living corpse. When he looked in the mirror, he saw a broken face that he didn't recognize himself.

Strictly speaking, he did need personal care and a close friend who could chat with him to relieve his depression. It would be best if he could solve his worries and difficulties in combination with the troubles he encountered at work.

Colonel Adam felt that he was the best candidate in this situation, and of course Paulus thought so too, but this was not enough to be an excuse to cancel Colonel Adam's vacation.

"The vacation is not long, Adam. A week will allow you to adjust yourself quickly. When you come back from China, I will also adjust myself. This is the agreement between us. The agreement between men must be fulfilled, right?"

"Right?" This is a crucial question at the end of the words. Colonel Adam felt that it was not powerful at all. It was more like the tone of a primary school kid asking adults for answers to math problems. He was timid and unconfident in his own ideas.

Colonel Adam did not think that Paulus was a little kid who knew nothing at the moment. It was just that Paulus's unconfident tone was captured and noticed by Colonel Adam. In other words, Paulus had no confidence in himself now. He was just relying on the stubborn obsession in his heart to support his body and consciousness to do those "things that should be done".

Colonel Adam knew what he should answer.

His answer could be said to be a reassurance for Paulus to feel at ease. Paulus needed to find someone to rely on to restore his confidence. Colonel Adam, who was closest to Paulus, had to personally give him this confidence.

"I understand, Commander Paulus. I will leave after I hand over my work and the documents in my hands. I will use the vacation to adjust myself, and the same goes for you."

Early the next morning, Paulus walked out of his headquarters for the first time in many days and breathed the air full of the smell of war smoke outside the house in the early morning.

As soon as the air was filled with the smell of dead people, it was estimated that it was mostly the bodies of German soldiers who died in the nearby field hospital. But Paulus, who seemed to be in a good mood, obviously had a good sleep last night. He ignored the strange smell in the air and had one thing to do this morning, sending Colonel Adam back home for vacation.

It was a very rare behavior for the commander to send his adjutant back home for vacation in the Wehrmacht. Of course, Colonel Adam would not ask Paulus to do so.

However, Colonel Adam did not refuse Paulus's offer to give him a ride. It would be good for him to walk out of that dark, restrictive and narrow headquarters. The more narrow and cramped the living and working space is, the more it can drive a normal person crazy. Many miserable 996 office workers in later generations committed suicide in this way.

Paulus sent Colonel Adam to the field airport in the rear. Although the journey was not far, only a few dozen kilometers, this was the longest trip Paulus had taken recently.

"Is there anything I need to do when I return home? Commander Paulus."

The propeller of the Junkers transport plane was already roaring and warming up not far behind him. The soldiers of the Sixth Army who were on leave today would take this special plane to depart and transfer back home, and Colonel Adam was no exception.

Paulus raised his head and looked over Colonel Adam's shoulder at the warming plane that was close at hand. His eyes seemed to reveal an indescribable complex emotion.

Was Commander Paulus envious of being able to return home on leave? Colonel Adam had this guess, but he was not sure, because even he, who was closest to Paulus on weekdays, could not understand what Paulus's eyes meant.

"Nothing needs to be done. I'll wait for you here. I will continue to lead the Sixth Army to victory and complete the tasks assigned to us by the Führer. When you come back in a week, we can all be in the best condition to fight. Now it's time to enjoy your own vacation."

What is Paulus thinking about, who is behaving abnormally, becoming more erratic and unpredictable?

Colonel Adam, who has been in the air for a long time, pondered hard, but still couldn't get a satisfactory answer.

The only thing Colonel Adam can be sure of is that his personal friendship with Paulus is indeed better than before. This may be the only thing that can make people feel relieved at the moment, which is good for both parties.