"Whatever the cost, hold Rzhev!" This was said by Hitler.

The reason is simple, in Hitler's eyes, Rzhev was a sharp knife stretched out by the German defense line to Moscow...... The armored forces from here will take only three hours to storm Moscow, and they will be easily accessible.

Hitler, who had not yet given up attacking Moscow, certainly did not want Rzhev to make any mistakes.

Unlike Hitler, although Moder also did not want anything to happen to Rzhev, he used Rzhev as the cornerstone of the German defense line and the guarantee of the encirclement of the Russian army.

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Modell replied, but stood still.

Hitler was stunned, and then knew what Moder was waiting for...... Since "no matter what the cost", it was time for Hitler to deliver on his promises.

At this time, Hitler did not hesitate, because he knew that if Rzhev lost the last hope of counterattacking Moscow, he would also lose it, even if he still had a few panzer divisions in his hands.

So Hitler nodded and said, "You have the troops you want, my general!" I'm sure you'll lead them to another miracle! ”

As he spoke, Hitler opened the folder, signed the document with his name and handed it to Moder.

"I'm waiting for news of your triumph!" Hitler said.

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Satisfied with Mordell, he left the commander.

Looking at the back of Model's departure, Hitler said to the staff officers beside him: "Do you see the man's eyes and persistence? I trust him, but if I were a soldier, I wouldn't want to fight under him! ”

Of course, Moder didn't hear the words, and even if he did, he would take it as a compliment.

At this time, Moder was concerned with only one thing: Rzhev.

"What's the situation?" As soon as the plane took off, Moder contacted the command of the 9th Army through the plane's communication setup: "I have only been away for two hours, and you told me that Rzhev is in danger?" ”

In fact, at this time, Moder was not very sure of the danger of Rzhev, because he had personally seen the terrain of Rzhev, and believed that with enough artillery and enough shells there, an infantry regiment stationed there would be able to hold off any enemy attacking Rzhev.

Even Moder was a little glad that this "crisis" had come at a good time, and if it weren't for this "crisis", the great Führer would not have handed over the reinforcements to him for command.

At this time, Del was a little annoyed...... Why hadn't he thought of this earlier? It only takes a Rzhev to talk to the Führer about the problem, and the problem that has been bothering him is solved, then the 9th Army will be able to get these four elite armored divisions a few days ago.

But Modell soon discovers that the problem is far more serious than he thought.

"Your Excellency, General!" The chief of staff, Colonel Krebs, reported: "The enemy bypasses our frontal line of defense and climbs from the cliff into the rear of our army to attack our artillery units directly, and Rzhev will not be able to hold it......"

"What?" Moder was taken aback, and then ordered: "Order them to hold it, hold it at all costs!" Immediately transfer troops from the 23rd and 27th armies to reinforce Rzhev! ”

"I've already done that, General!" Colonel Krebs replied: "I mean send reinforcements, but let him hold Rzhev...... We have lost contact with Rzhev! I think the enemy will take it before reinforcements arrive! ”

Colonel Krebs, of course, could not reach Rzhev.

Because the headquarters of the 201st Infantry Regiment and the 317th Artillery Regiment stationed in Rzhev have been occupied by the Soviet troops, of which the headquarters of the artillery regiment is still occupied by Shulka...... This is not at all pressure on the infantry, after all, artillery is artillery, they are usually trained how to calculate how to fire, land warfare is simply a layman, even the German army can only shoot to the extent that it can not confront the "professional" infantry of the 1st Infantry Battalion, which is attacking with each firepower.

The German artillery headquarters was located in a small three-story building, and the guard company was still stationed with sandbags at the window as before, and a group of officers and Colonel Allen were in a panic sorting out documents and materials in the building...... There are some things that cannot be left to the enemy, especially the artillerymen, because they have a lot of information about the deployment maps and coordinates of friendly forces, and even a radius of ten kilometers.

Needless to say, there is a fear that the artillery will accidentally injure friendly troops, and if necessary, it can also accurately provide fire support to friendly troops.

If these things fall into the hands of the enemy, they will put their own allies under the enemy's guns, and ironically, these cannonballs will be their own shells.

But the officers and guards made the mistake of underestimating the Soviet army that was attacking them, thinking that they would be able to withstand it for a while and had time to take the information with them...... They should have poured gasoline on it right away and struck a match to burn it.

By the time Colonel Ellen realized this, it was too late, for the battle began with a piercing scream and explosion.

There was a "boom", and an explosion came from downstairs.

"What's going on?" Colonel Ellen asked the adjutant, "What's that sound?" ”

This was strange, at least for the Germans at the time, because there had been nothing in the infantry to bombard buildings like this, especially the enemy who had climbed up from the cliff to sneak up the attack.

Mortar?

The mortar is top-down, and its shells are supposed to blow up the roof and not downstairs.

Hand grenade?

It wasn't the explosion of a grenade, and the guard company didn't get the enemy into the grenade's throw range so easily...... The surrounding seventy meters or so is empty, which is one of the reasons why this three-story building was chosen as the headquarters.

Infantry artillery ...... It can't be, they climbed up from the cliff and attacked!

So Colonel Allen really didn't understand anything that could attack them like this.

Confused, Colonel Ellen put down the papers in his hand, pulled out his pistol, walked to the window, and cautiously poked his head out to look at the building opposite.

I saw a flash of fire outside, another "chirp", and another explosion came from the first floor, and the soldiers of the guard company let out a scream...... The walls of the building could not withstand the bombardment at all.

"New equipment for the Russians!" Colonel Ellen immediately realized this, he had only heard of them in Tver before that.

In the next second, Colonel Ellen ordered loudly: "Quickly, destroy those documents......"

But before the words fell, a rocket whistled in, followed by a "boom".