Chapter 68: Erwin Gaihard

The pace of the offensive in the city was slow, but everything was expected. It was very cold in Potsdam after the heavy snowfall, and the people, the wounded and the defectors were in urgent need of rescue. Under the instructions of Generals Hoffmann and Rundstedt, the logistics troops entered the city one after another as planned, and began to receive, manage, distribute clothing and food supplies to the common people and surrendered officers and soldiers.

The Third Army of the Nationalist Army organized elite forces to repair the main road outside Potsdam that was dug by the enemy's 19th Army overnight. The 11th Brigade of the 11th Panzer Division and Erwin Commanded by General Kleist were ordered to lead the 111th Armored Division? The 501st Tank Battalion led by Rommel entered the city to reinforce the siege troops, and attacked and cleared the fortifications and barricades built by Schleicher, the commander-in-chief of the enemy's 19th Army.

At two o'clock in the morning, the heavy snow stopped, but it was still very unfavorable to the deployment of the attacking troops, especially the transfer of vehicles and supplies for the follow-up troops was very difficult. According to Adrian, the officers and soldiers who surrendered were not called surrender, but were rescued, because they were the people who were most persecuted by Albert's puppet government. The first group of defenders who surrendered to Cheng went out of the city in an orderly manner and were properly accommodated, relieving them of the fear that they would be sent to the gallows by the Nationalists after surrendering, which greatly shook the officers and soldiers who were still actively resisting in the city, and the confidence and determination of the defenders in Potsdam to surrender on their own initiative were increasing, and they were spreading, like rolling spring thunder, accumulating energy and breaking through the confines of winter at any time.

The Fifth Commando Force, led by Lieutenant Geihard, was still fighting bloodily, and in the long battle of gradually advancing towards the central square, Bauer had completely changed his role, he became very brave and active, and he repeatedly performed difficult propaganda tasks brilliantly, rescuing a large number of officers and soldiers who were deceived by the puppet government. After the death of Captain Felix, he felt that he had grown up and matured, and that he should not always hide under the sheltered armpits of his comrades.

The advance of the main street was very difficult, and every meter of advance had to pay a great price, and the average weight of the assault team was twenty-five kilograms, and in addition to the basic sufficient ammunition, they had to bring their own dry rations, small shovels, and ropes for climbing, and they were all young officers and men selected from several group armies, and in addition to being shrewd and capable, they must also have a strong physique. Countless assault teams were interspersed with the downtown square from all directions, and Schleicher sat quietly at his desk, no longer in the mania of yesterday. The chain of command was still functioning normally, giving him a little comfort, and for the sake of his promise, he could only choose to resist to the end. At this moment, he couldn't take anything with him, and he didn't think about taking anything with him. Now, he wants to brush up his chaotic thinking and reminisce about his life, yes, it's long overdue, look at how complicated this world is, look at it, how impatient this world is, people, with power, even a sick cat is like a tiger, but now it's all about to end; With honor, even the foolish man felt arrogant and proud, and now it has lost its due brilliance; With status and money, a coward becomes mad and manic, which he never had; Now, perhaps the only thing he can take away is this last shame and desolation.

The armoured vehicles that had come to reinforce them were already in step with the commandos, because they had to comply with Adrian's "four musts", which had no other purpose than to act as mobile shelter for the infantry, and even sometimes had to beware of the enemy's use of "oil bottle shells", not to mention that they would have any unique features when attacking those narrow lanes, but with the cover of armoured vehicles and tanks, the defenders' sandbags were useless, and the speed of the attack could be greatly increased.

The closer to the central square, the more fierce the battle became, and the Fifth Commando Team led by Geihard advanced more than 1,000 meters with difficulty with the cooperation of armored vehicles, while the three armored vehicles that assisted, one of which caught fire after being hit by multiple "oil bottle shells", and the remaining two also broke down due to mechanical failures in the middle, and they could still only fight their flesh and blood to make an uneven path forward.

The battle heats up, with Gaihard and the commandos being enveloped in layers of enemies in narrow alleyways, and a maze of you and me is brutally fought. Gaihard still used the "party" method to maneuver around the ruins with the defenders, killing the enemies who approached them one by one, and fighting while alertly approaching the downtown square. The members of the preaching team slowly lost their effectiveness, because the Potsdam command center was almost entirely surrounded by Schleicher and Wilhelm? Grena's cronies also had a stronger will to fight and weapons and equipment than the periphery, and 10 of the only 20 machine guns of the enemy's 19th Army were deployed around the command center, so it was very difficult to fight a tough battle.

The city hall building could already be seen in the distance, but the assault was also difficult, and the dense network of fire blocked the streets, and the passage to the city hall would have to be opened at the cost of blood or lives. The gunfire in the adjacent neighborhood was already very close, indicating that the commandos were gradually moving closer to the central square, and the fighting was much more intense, and the grenade was the weapon used by both the attacking and defending forces with the highest yield, in order to protect the monuments and important buildings in the city as much as possible. From the day the war began, civilians in potential fighting areas fled Potsdam, while others hid in their homes.

William? Grener seemed to have expected such an outcome, but this expectation was only more than a dozen hours ago, because two days ago he was still comforting President Albert not to be afraid of the National Army, and even colluded with the so-called think tank, saying that there would be no war in the short term and supplies that could be sustained until the end of the year, etc., and in less than two days, he began to slap himself in the face. Now, he may really make a self-summary, how can this "government" with nothing and the "army" that has no army at all be so confident to compete with a real army, and there is only one reason for this, that is, sitting in a well and watching the sky, Lao Tzu is dominant. A "state power" that has no depth and can only take the front line as the rear is pretentious, and dares to match the strength of the whole country with the power of the desolation, if this is not an inspirational novel, it must be a fantasy, I am afraid that the whole world is Albert and William? Grener can have such a feat, it can be said that the dying man is not afraid of ghosts, and he has become an immortal on the road to the west.