Major Pat moved four mortars and several boxes of smoke grenades into the woods.

"Brothers, these four of our mortars can shoot a smoke screen covering both ends of the bridge in about a minute and a half with maximum speed, and the smoke screen should last for a long time without much wind today. We're going to use this time to rush across the bridge. Brothers, the smoke screen will interfere with the enemy's aiming, but the enemy will still blindly fire at the bridge surface, their fire density will still be very large, and the smoke screen will also interfere with us, so this operation, although it cannot be completely said to be suicidal, is not far off. Once you decide to join the ranks of the breakout, you must understand that whether we can rush through it, and how many people can rush through, depends on God's will. Major Pat said to the people gathered around him.

"If it was on the Eastern Front now, I wouldn't have told you that at all, and you know that a breakout is the only option. The Russians don't just let us go, just as we don't let them go. This is not the Eastern Front, and we do not have a blood feud with the Americans and the British like we have with the Russians. Even if we are captured here, we don't have to worry about being sent to Siberia to dig coal. Just for safety reasons, it is also a good choice to stay as a prisoner. And in the previous battles, you have done your duty for Germany. You don't have to take part in such a life-or-death adventure, and I hope that those who join this operation will do so voluntarily. Major Pat continued.

"So, Major, why are you going to risk breaking out?" A soldier asked.

"Ah," replied Major Pat after a moment's thought, "I am not like you, I am an officer and a member of the Party. And, most crucially, I got more than you all when the empire was at its peak. So, I have more obligations than you do. ”

Everyone fell silent. After a while, Major Pat said:

"We're running out of time, let's decide now. Raise your hand if you're willing to rush with me! ”

A few people immediately raised their hands, and some hesitated for a moment and raised their hands one after another. But there are still many who remain silent.

"Alright, there's no time. Just follow me! "Plus, we need someone to help us control the mortars......"

Sudden shells landed on the head and deck of the bridge, and then thick smoke rose, and the entire bridge, along with both ends of the bridge, was quickly enveloped in smoke.

"Quick! Fast! Major Pat led the charge into the smoke. They all had a soaked towel wrapped around their faces - the smoke was poisonous, but they didn't have gas masks on their hands, so they had to rely on that.

It was difficult to discern direction in the thick smoke, and Major Pat could only run as fast as he could, while keeping his eyes wide open, trying to see what was around him, especially beneath his feet......

"Captain! What are the Germans doing? "Gunner Gru said.

"They want to run! What are you still doing? Fire at the bridge! ”

Gru turned the muzzle of the 25mm Gatling and turned towards the bridge, and then the six 25mm barrels of the cannon spun wildly, and a bright orange-yellow whip of flame swept fiercely towards the bridge deck.

Major Pat had scarcely rushed to the bridgehead when he heard an ominous crackling sound like a heavy rain, which he knew was the sound of enemy 25mm cannon shells hitting the bridge deck. Although the distance he could see was limited, he still saw a shell with orange and yellow traces hitting him around him. And screams began to sound around him.

But Major Parker knew that he could not stay for a moment at this time. The cannonballs whizzed past him, but he was unmoved, his vision was blurry, but he continued to run at high speed, and then he suddenly felt empty under his feet, and then his whole body lost its weight—there was a large hole in the bridge that had not had time to be repaired, and Major Parker stepped on the air, and fell straight out of it, tumbling and falling towards the river.

……

"Marshal, Führer's telegram." The adjutant handed a telegram to Marshal Kruger.

Marshal Kruger opened the telegram, glanced at it, and smiled.

"Hitler thought I was too tired, so let me rest." Field Marshal Kruger casually threw the papers on the table.

"I do need to rest, and I haven't had a good rest since the war broke out." Marshal Kruger continued, "I'm going to get a complete rest...... Still, I'm going to hold on until my successor arrives. Well, my successor is Marshal Moder. Well, Moder is a good commander, but his luck is really bad, and the situation here is not comparable to that of the Eastern Front. This is not something that can be undone by man. He had better understand that. ”

Field Marshal Modell was one of the few defense experts in the German army. Unlike the average German general, most of the German generals behaved in the early and middle stages of the war, and as time went on, as the enemy army became stronger, these generals did not perform as brightly as they did in the early days. But Marshal Moder went to be an exception, when the German army was superior, Moder did not show a particularly great talent, but when the German army was passive, Moder's performance became more and more sè. So in this case, Moder became Hitler's fire captain, and Hitler would send him almost wherever something went wrong. Quite a bit of Uncle Joseph's taste of Zhukov at the beginning of the war.

And most of the time, Moder did not live up to Hitler's expectations, and he was always able to use his broken army efficiently to stabilize the situation. Now that the situation on the Western Front can almost be called a collapse, Hitler naturally remembered Moder again.

Marshal Kruger himself moved from the Eastern Front to the Western Front. He knew that the situation on the Eastern Front was very different from that on the Western Front, and that Moder lacked the time to understand the difference. Modell's ability is indeed strong, but it does not take time to adapt to the battlefield on the Western Front. When he first arrived on the Western Front, didn't he also lack understanding of the Western Front, and even ridiculed Rommel because of his fear of Allied air power? Therefore, he had to think carefully about how to make Marshal Moder understand the characteristics of the Western Front more quickly.

"Go ahead, let's sort out all the operational records after we come to the Western Front, and pick out the relevant records that best show the enemy's combat characteristics, well, that is, to simplify the situation with overwhelming material power. These things may be useful to Marshal Moder. ”

……

When Moder met Marshal Kruger at the headquarters of Army Group B, he simply couldn't believe his eyes. Is the person in front of him Kruger? Is it the original Marshal Kruger, who was known for his tenacity in the Eastern Front? Moder felt as if he had been overwhelmed by the Allied offensive.

"That's what you're going to be in. The entire army group was about to fall into the encirclement. The Führer has just sent me another order, and it is the same old as 'not to retreat a single step,' but I advise you, Your Excellency, that you should proceed with the retreat as if you did not know about the matter—and that there would always be things left out in the handover. There is no one in Germany who is more out of place than you in arranging a retreat. Withdraw as many lads as you can. Army Group B can only count on you now. Pay special attention to the enemy's air power, and in addition, do not be easily swayed by orders from Berlin. That's all I can give you. As for how you can beat your opponent and win, Moder, I can't do that, and I hope you don't get your hopes up too much. ”

Field Marshal Kruger completed the transfer of command of Army Group B with such a pessimistic tone. He then raised his marshal's scepter to greet Marshal Modell, and then turned and left the office.

"What kind of blow made this 'clever Hans' completely collapse!" Looking at Kruger's back, Moder couldn't help but feel such a feeling.

However, Moder did not have time to be too emotional, because the current situation of his army group was really not optimistic: the army group was in fact encircled, but there was still a small gap less than ten kilometers wide. If the Americans and the British were willing to make greater sacrifices, they would soon be able to plug these gaps. In any case, it is impossible for the entire army group to completely withdraw from this encirclement. How much you can withdraw, and more, depends on the reaction of the enemy army, because you have almost no cards in your hand.

Moder sat at his desk, flipping through the pages of the records that Marshal Kruger had left him. These records allowed Moder to see a formidable opponent he had never faced before.

This adversary is capable of deploying thousands of heavy bombers for fire readiness at any point in the entire campaign area, and their air power can attack any node throughout the campaign area twenty-four hours a day. On the Western Front, there was no real rear, all the rear was exposed to enemy blows, and any maneuver was attacked by air power. So the efficiency of all campaign operations will drop sharply, while attrition will rise sharply. And the ground forces of the other side also have enviable mobility capabilities. They move much faster on the ground than they have in their own hands. Moder knows that the success of his best defensive counter-attack depends largely on being able to seize the time difference and land a fatal blow. But when facing an opponent with super maneuverability, it is not easy to seize such a time difference. Because the opponent's reaction is too fast, this feeling is like playing football and defending the counter, only to suddenly find that the opponent's four defenders have run 100 meters in less than 11 seconds. What's worse is that there is also a great offensive player on this team who is completely unstoppable, so that the other players only need to defend well and don't need to risk pressing at all. There's no chance at all!

"Oh, there's no need to take any chances!" Marshal Moder felt as if he had touched something at once. "The fog from last night to noon today brought the entire Allied forces to a halt. What would have happened if they hadn't stopped? Their army will be thrown into chaos along with ours. But our army had lost its most powerful fighting force in the previous damned attack. The result of the scuffle will inevitably be that they will suffer a little loss, and we will all be finished. If it were the Russians, they would have been willing to do it. But neither Sam nor John seemed willing. Not only do they want to win, they even want to keep a clean sheet, preferring 3-0 to 6-2. There seems to be something to be used here......"

……

"Marshal, there is a military train to Berlin in the evening, are you going to take this car back to Berlin?" In the car, the adjutant asked Kruger.

"No, I'm not going back. What are you going to do back? To be tried for treason? I don't want to go back so early. But I have a letter that you can bring to Hitler. Marshal Kruger replied, leaning wearily on the back seat.

The letter had been written, and it was in Kruger's jacket pocket, and along with the letter was a small glass bottle containing small pills called cyanide.

……

Command in the Wolf's Lair, an attendant officer handed over a letter to Hitler.

"Führer, this is a letter left to you by Marshal Kruger."

"Oh, let's see, what will this desperate suicidal coward say? Well, I guess he will say, 'Führer, let's surrender, we can't beat theirs, let us kneel down and surrender, if we're willing to kneel down and lick their boots, maybe they'll be merciful and merciful enough to give us another Treaty of Versailles.'" Stop dreaming! Think about how the Romans dealt with the Carthaginians? Don't have any illusions! There is only one way for us, and that is victory or destruction! Ah, let's see what he wrote. ”

Hitler pulled out Kruger's letter and read it in a very exaggerated tone with malice:

"'When you read this letter, I am no longer alive. Life doesn't mean anything to me anymore. Rommel and I had foreseen today's situation. Who wants to listen to us? I don't know if the experienced Marshal Moder will be able to control the current situation. If he can't control it, and the new weapon you are looking forward to won't succeed, then, my Führer, be determined to put an end to this war. The suffering of the German people is so great that it is time to put an end to this horror. I have always admired your greatness, and if fate is stronger than your will and genius, I hope that you will now also be strong enough to put an end to this hopeless struggle if necessary! 'Ah, what a strong proof that Kruger was involved in the shameful conspiracy, and that with this letter alone, he should have been shot! ”

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