Chapter 194 Battle of Dahequ Tribe (7)
Just as Heinrich, accompanied by Manstein, inspected and became familiar with the defense line and his troops, the armored troops who had been hiding behind and on standby were already unable to restrain themselves and wanted to attack, especially after hearing that General Huth commanded the left wing group. After a beautiful armored assault by the Voronezh Front of the Red Army, this feeling of being idle was even more disturbing.
In a rest camp of the 16th Armored Division, a group of people happily surrounded an officer who was in his fifties and held the rank of lieutenant colonel and shouted:
"Count, please talk to Father Hubei again and let us go out to fight once. We haven't had a good fight since we started to retreat inexplicably in September. There are still people in the tank from time to time. Maintenance, this guy will get rusty if he doesn’t move.”
"Yes, we are replenishing new tanks and replenishing assault guns. I thought there was going to be a big battle, but the one on the left retreated and the one on the right was on standby. All the patience I had saved up was worn away. Finally, today there is a Red Army The tank brigade appeared and so many anti-tank guns were destroyed before we even took action. If this continues, my brother who serves in the 13th Armored Division will surpass me - I can't afford to lose this person. "
"I know, I know, why don't I go and tell you? You are the only one who is anxious, am I not anxious?" Heizint von Schitt, known as "Count Tank", is the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 16th Armored Division Armored Regiment. Lieutenant Colonel Ravitz looked annoyed. In fact, he particularly understood the desire of these young men to fight. On the one hand, he received a retreat order during the battle and victory, which made it difficult for people to change their minds. Not to mention that the ordinary soldiers below could not figure it out. Even people like him It is also difficult for mid-level officers to communicate with each other; on the other hand, there has been no decent battle in the past two months. I used to look forward to rest when fighting, but if I really have a rest for two months, only the young young men who are full of blood can bear it. Strange.
However, although his words sounded very decisive in the crowd just now, behind those few words were completely prevarication and perfunctory, because recently he was a little afraid of seeing Father Hubei.
Father Hube is the nickname of the commander of the 16th Armored Division, Lieutenant General Hans-Valentin Hube. This armored general who lost an arm in World War I has a very good character and has a very regular life (persistence Eat a meal every 3 hours to maintain physical strength). He is talented, clear-thinking and at the same time firmly maintains the honor and image of traditional soldiers. Whether in command operations or daily communication, he maintains a serious expression and meticulous style, no matter what difficulties No hardship can trouble him. He will always appear in front of his subordinates with a calm expression. Only when he is in a very intense mood will he wave his black artificial hand - this is the only thing left by him from the last war. commemorate.
Strawitz was born into the Junker aristocracy. He was the eldest son of the family and held the title of earl. He was actually not too young. He was nearly 50 years old and his temples had already started to turn gray. As a member of the cavalry in the last war, Strawitz participated in the war. He has a lot of experience - he has been wounded, he has been in a French prison, and he can be regarded as a person. Later, he switched careers and became an armored soldier, starting from the most basic level as a vehicle commander. Logically, an officer with such a prominent family background and deep qualifications should be able to stand out quickly. Unfortunately, he has never been able to change his character: on the one hand, he is unruly and contemptuous of his superiors. , on the one hand, he spared no effort to care for his subordinates, so it was a headache for senior officers to mention him, but his subordinates all liked him, so until the war started, he was only a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander - among the armored forces who were on average younger and lighter. is very rare.
If he had been doing nothing for two months, he would have jumped out and scolded people based on his previous fiery temperament. However, recently, his temper has been much restrained, because not long ago, Lieutenant General Hubei went to him to lecture him. Under the fierce reprimand of the other party, This old troublemaker who was always fearless was finally restrained.
Hubei's father looked ugly that day and was extremely angry. Strawitz bet that he had never seen his father in such a furious mood. He hit the table with his prosthetic hand and cursed: "I heard that you have a bad mind." He is so stupid that he is actually planning something as treasonous as a coup, and he even dares to devise a plan to detain the head of state when he comes to inspect. "
He was startled and said with a guilty conscience: "How can it be?"
"Don't be sophistical. Do you think your little friends can still refuse to tell the truth when they enter the Gestapo's secret prison? If they are as unyielding as they claim to be, I would admire them as heroes, but what have I seen? It's everywhere. There are those who beg for mercy, those who ask big figures to clear the door through various connections in the hope that the head of state will forgive them, and those who push the responsibility onto other people. They are a bunch of wretches who have shown their true colors - there are only two strong bones among them, and one is Trey. Skov, one is Stauffenberg... As for Ludwig Beck, he is a complete fool." Father Hubei looked serious, "You actually hang out with them, which makes me have to doubt you. IQ.”
"But this is completely slander. I am a lieutenant colonel. Although I have the title of count, so what? There are dozens, if not hundreds, of counts in Germany." Strawitz exclaimed, " Besides, our teacher, you are the supreme commander. If I detained the head of state, you could release him with just a word..."
"Speidar has taken care of everything. Do you believe that the Gestapo can now show you the confession signed by him?" Hans Speidel was the chief of staff of the Fifth Army at the time and was a close friend of Baker. , was deeply involved in the conspiracy group, and Strawitz was the person he favored who could be used to carry out "special tasks."
Upon hearing the name Speidel, Strawitz's heart suddenly sank, as dejected as a defeated rooster. Finally, under Hubei's repeated questioning, he hesitated to tell the difference between him and Speidel. Confidential dialogue between: ...If the situation is unfavorable and requires decisive action, the head of state may be detained during a front-line inspection...
"But this was all told as a joke... You also know that there are many people in our division talking about the head of state, and there are many occasions for joking. This has no feasibility at all. At most, it is an overdone joke. "Does Strawitz still know that it was Speidel who confessed him? He deeply hated the other party for being so ungrateful, but he still had to insist on not admitting it - otherwise it would be the end of him.
This is a good excuse: the 16th Armored Division is an army with a strong Prussian tradition. There are too many noble members serving as officers in it, and only a few civilians join the team with their military ranks and military exploits. Internal jokes say that various Junior officers are not Mr. Captain or Mr. Second Lieutenant, but should be called Mr. Marquis and Mr. Fire Earl. Of course, this is how the title "Count Tank" comes from. In such a team, officers at all levels are very active and willing to participate in political discussions. While relevant speeches are completely free, various ideas are growing and spreading. The officers of the division staff themselves commented: "... …No other division could joke about Hitler like we did, and we could even discuss his removal from command…”
Hube was obviously troubled by this, but now it was different. He stared at Strawitz's face and gritted his teeth and said: "The head of state has organized a military court to give them a full trial, Marshal Lundstedt. After presiding over the comprehensive work, the verdict will be announced soon. Most people will inevitably be hanged. Do you want to go in and stand with them? "
Strawitz was startled and said quickly: "Of course not!"
"I don't care whether you are joking or having a serious discussion, I will never allow this to happen - this is betrayal!" Huber banged the table hard and raised his voice and said, "It's over for the Führer to lead the German people. The fragmented situation saved the country and nation from the economic crisis and won space for the future development of the empire. No matter what mistakes or inappropriateness he made, they are not something you and I can discuss casually - besides, I don’t think the mistakes of the head of state are serious. No matter how old you are, the so-called morality, faith, and honor we adhere to are often not worth mentioning in the face of the ultimate interests of the German people! No matter what your reasons and motives are, you can't violate the military oath you swore in front of the Führer! , aren’t the policies you are busy attacking slowly being adjusted? The methods used to deal with the Jews are no longer so drastic, and the management ideas for Eastern peoples are also being adjusted, including military strategy, internal affairs management, economic system and other policies. Adjustment. As a politician and strategist, the head of state usually stands higher than us, sees farther than us, and leads us from victory to victory. What else do you want to do with just a small armored battalion commander? Is it worthy of criticizing the head of state’s governing philosophy?”
Hube's words were certainly not out of place, nor were they deliberately used to make things difficult for Strawitz. The 16th Armored Division had many problems, and the Potsdam Infantry Regiment also had similar problems (if readers have any impressions, please refer to them) Will remember the Ninth Earl). After the Ninth Earl was liquidated, the situation inevitably spread to the 16th Armored Division, because many of them were relatives and friends. Strawitz now finally understood why the other party looked so bad. , he could only stand at attention respectfully, not daring to say a word.
"The head of state himself is aware of this matter and understands your thoughts. He generously ignored your past. At the same time, he also noticed the abnormal political atmosphere in our division. So after this battle, you You will be transferred with part of the troops to form an independent heavy armored battalion, and you will serve as the commander of the battalion. This is a unit under the personal control of the commander of the Army Group. It will be equipped with the latest and most powerful tanks developed by the empire. I hope you can seize the opportunity. ”