After returning to the temporary station after the night attack, the soldiers who participated in the battle were disbanded on the spot and found a place to rest, but Weiss still had to deal with military affairs and inspect the adjustment of the vigilance and defense of some defense areas. It was early in the morning, and he found a spot not far from the foundry and conducted a discreet near-surface reconnaissance himself—to put it bluntly, a peek out from the ruins accessible by sewers. At this time, heavy gunfire explosions could still be heard in the city, which meant that the Norman army had not yet captured the entire city, and the Union army was still engaged in organized defensive operations. On the positive side, on the other hand, the Normans were cleaning up their houses along the streets: many of the Union soldiers who were stranded because they were wounded or their troops were scattered became prisoners of war, and occasionally those who did not want to be captured by the Normans relied on dilapidated buildings to resist, but when the Normans were already in control, this resistance was quickly wiped out by the Normans with spinach bullets and flamethrowers.

With hope and sorrow, Weiss silently returned to the gloomy underground world, his will has not wavered, his plan has not changed, but in the face of this cruel reality, and the various pains that will befall him sooner or later, he feels that the depression and grief in his chest are like dark clouds before the rainstorm, thicker and thicker......

The city's sewer system was so large that the Normans had neither the energy nor the time to sweep the sun-drenched corners, but this was only temporary. This past night, the Norman commanders were not blind to the large-scale and devastating bombings and attacks in the city occupied by the Normans during the day, perhaps already considering how to solve the tricky problems coming from the sewers. Fighting alone is bound to be full of difficulties and dangers. While keeping a close eye on the enemy's movements, Weiss also sent people along the sewers to the south of the city, trying to get in touch with the higher command and let them know that in the area of the fall of the city, there was also a group of federal soldiers who had moved into the sewers to continue the battle against the Normans. However, whether the soldiers sent out by the battle can reach the southern area of the city and smoothly contact their own troops is still unknown for a while, and how to settle the increasing number of soldiers and civilians is the immediate priority.

Food, on a permeable basis, can be used for half a year for 200 people; Fresh water, a pipe connected to the reservoir was found in the location where a group of civilians temporarily sheltered, and as long as the reservoir was not damaged, it would not be a problem for 500 people to drink, and if this "accidental discovery" was lost, the fresh water stored in advance could be maintained for a long time. However, the above is only a theoretical situation, and there are many problems or uncertainties in practice. For example, food is collected by the military, and the shelf life of tinfoil and canned rations that meet military standards is not a problem, and the shelf life of baked cakes, bacon, pickles, and semi-processed starches made in the sewer environment may be only two or three weeks. Fresh water, for example, is more than enough for people to drink, but from the point of view of hygiene and health, it needs to be cleaned regularly, and no matter how optimistic the situation, bathing in fresh water here is too much of a luxury. In addition, the army's reserves of medicines are mainly for external injuries, and if you stay in the sewers without sunlight and open flames for a long time, the demand for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs is obviously not guaranteed by the reserves.

These problems, after careful consideration, seem to be complicated and difficult to deal with, but if you calm down and sort them out, you will find that there are not no solutions-in the urban areas occupied by the Norman army, there should still be many material reserves that the defenders did not destroy when they retreated or were buried in battle. In these supply storage points, you can find a lot of ammunition, food, medicine. They were usually created by the defenders, and none of the maps marked all the supply points, which meant that the Normans did not know the status of many of the supply points until they completely cleared the battlefield. As long as they took advantage of this time gap, Weiss and his soldiers would be able to quickly replenish their headquarters' material reserves at a relatively small cost.

After sorting out the route of logistical support, Weiss immediately instructed a capable non-commissioned officer to handle the matter. Although they did not have the distribution of material reserve points in their hands, there were quite a few soldiers from other units in this team, and through their mouths, they were able to learn more or less about the situation of the material reserve points of various departments, and then conduct corresponding reconnaissance, and select one or two targets every night to attack.

After a busy night and a morning, Weiss dragged his tired body to a maintenance passage that sealed the upward exit, and fell asleep with a few soldiers. In this relatively dry place, due to the small space, you can only maintain a sitting position, and after a few hours, you will inevitably have back pain. However, for the federal officers and soldiers who planned to continue the fight against the Norman army in the sewers of the city, the dark and damp environment and the difficulties and pressures that came with it were something they had to adapt to and overcome.

When I woke up, it was another dusk with no sunset or sunset in sight. In addition to the strange smell inherent in the sewers, the smell of food wafts through the air. Outside the maintenance corridor, a group of soldiers sat in the maintenance walkway on the side of the sewer using empty ammunition boxes as chairs, and boiled a pot of hot soup on a kerosene stove, and for dinner it was a soup with baked cakes and vegetables. Before going to bed, he swallowed up a whole military ration and poured half a pot of white water, Weiss was still full, and the smell of hot soup evoked not his gluttony, but his memories and yearning for a normal life.

Instead of lingering next to the diners, Weiss made his way to his makeshift headquarters, a maintenance room next to the six-way crossing, where officers and non-commissioned officers had assembled a table out of empty boxes with a map of the city's sewers, and kerosene lamps for lighting the air that filled the air with a different atmosphere.

Seeing that his colleagues at the table were bored there, neither busy nor talking, Weiss noticed something unusual, so he walked over and said, "Hey, guys, what's new in the afternoon?" ”

The crowd rose and looked at each other, and Sergeant Paster reported: "We have picked up leaflets dropped by the enemy in the sewers, and they are asking us to surrender, not only to guarantee our safety, but also to provide preferential treatment." ”

Weiss snorted, "I'm not surprised at all that the enemy would do this. If any of us wanted to give up the fight, I would not stop it, the only requirement was to return to the ground from as far away from here as possible, and, in any case, not to reveal our location. ”

Despite the second option given by the leaders, the men were unanimous on the question of whether to fight or give up: they would never be tempted by the Normans' sugar-coated shells, and would resolutely fight the enemy to the end.

Finally, Sergeant Post added: "The leaflets have only been found in one waterway so far, and the enemy must have dropped them from the downstream outlets, and we have assigned reliable soldiers to fish them out, and the vast majority of soldiers have not seen them." However, this method will only work for a short time, and sooner or later the soldiers will know that the enemy wants to persuade us to surrender. We are worried that even if the soldiers do not escape, the morale of the soldiers will be shaken, and perhaps we should do some mobilization work in advance so that the soldiers will give up the idea of surrendering to the enemy as soon as possible. ”

It is indeed very important to fight against the trend, stabilize the morale of the army, and boost morale. It is true that the federal army has all kinds of shortcomings, but as a commander, he must find ways to overcome all kinds of problems and difficulties when he leads his troops to the battlefield, so that the troops can exert their combat effectiveness to 100 percent or even exceed. In this regard, Weiss knows a lot of theoretical knowledge, has more and more practical experience, and gradually understands some practical tricks, and is condensing the prestige and aura of the strong. It was precisely because of his foundation that he realized that what his army really lacked was not determination and fighting spirit, but confidence and confidence. Rather than taking painstaking measures and investing a lot of time and energy, it is better to dredge up emotions, let those who are willing to fight follow themselves to win victories, regain self-confidence and firm fighting spirit in victory, and let those who are unwilling to fight withdraw as soon as possible, remove hidden dangers in advance, and save materials by the way. As for whether the majority of people can be in the first category, that is the ability of the commander to reflect.

So, in response to Sergeant Pascal's suggestion, Weiss nodded in agreement, but did not make specific arrangements, but changed the conversation: "What are the alternatives for our goal tonight?" ”

In addition to Weiss, those present were the highest rank of Second Lieutenant Hute of the 47th Combat Division, who had served as an officer for a longer period of time than Weiss. If they hadn't been wounded in battle, their troops would have been scattered and would not have ended up alone in the underworld. In the previous conversation, he didn't say anything, and when Weiss asked about tonight's operation, he said without hesitation: "After screening and screening, four targets have been preliminarily selected, and they are all on the edge of our defense area, specifically the battalion-level reserve of the original 204th Regiment, the company-level reserve of the 278th Regiment, the battalion-level reserve of the 413th Regiment, and the company-level reserve of the 435th Regiment. According to the information we have so far, there are no enemy troops stationed around the reserve of the 278th Regiment, and there is a large amount of material reserves, so it is recommended to be listed as a priority target. The 413th Regiment and the 435th Regiment are both alert regiments, with a smaller number of soldiers, a smaller defense area, and a relatively small amount of ammunition and medicine in reserve. According to the soldiers' reactions, their defensive positions were forcibly broken through by the armored units of the Norman army, and the battle only lasted for half an hour, so the consumption of reserve materials was very small, but we observed that the Norman army had already stationed in the building where the material reserve point was located, and preliminarily judged that they found the materials inside, and were carrying and using food and medicine in a planned manner, as for ammunition, it is estimated that they will not be transferred in a short time. That's all there is to it. ”

As he spoke, Second Lieutenant Hutter illustrated the battle map and sewer distribution map of the city. The four candidates, two in the north, one in the east and one in the west, are far apart from each other. In terms of target value, the 278th Regiment's ammunition depot located in the north is the first choice, if it can be successful, even if all the troops are dispatched, it may not be able to move all the good things overnight, but its location is next to the main road of the city, and there is a pencil line on the map: Bank vault, second basement.

Wei Si pondered again and again: "This time, let's start with a simple one, the company-level reserve of the 278th Regiment and the battalion-level reserve of the 413th Regiment, choose one of the two, and concentrate on it." ”