On December 20th, Herbert of the 100th Bomber Group. Second Lieutenant Koontz flew his HE-111 over the Caucasus as a German pilot.

The command gave him the order: "Take a closer look at any of the places where there is still fighting or any place where the Soviets are gathered, then drop your bombs or report to the command and we will send more planes!" ”

Koontz circled 6,000 meters above the mountain, not a single anti-aircraft gun or anti-aircraft machine gun fired at him, a thick fog shrouded the peaks below, and a blanket of snow made it difficult for him to spot the Soviet soldiers, also in white camouflage uniforms.

The observer glanced at the radio communicator and said, "Nothing, or they're down there, but we can't find anything!" ”

The radio messenger reported these words to the command, and soon received the order to return.

As the temperature gradually dropped, the temperature in the Caucasus Mountains dropped to minus 37 degrees, which forced both the enemy and us to be in a state of stinging, and in many places there was no need to even worry about a sneak attack, because whoever did it would be more likely to freeze to death outside than to die under enemy guns......

The cold in the Caucasus Mountains is not the same as the cold in the defense of Moscow during the war.

The extreme cold during the defense of Moscow was minus 40 degrees Celsius, which was slightly cooler than the temperature in the Caucasus Mountains at this time.

The problem is that there are still strong mountain winds in the Caucasus Mountains...... It's good that there is no wind, and the clothes on the body will also keep the body temperature for a while.

When it's windy, it's torture, and it doesn't take long for the heat to be lost. In particular, my feet gradually lost sensation, as if I was stepping on the ice with bare feet, because the mountain wind and low temperatures had already taken away the temperature of shoes and socks. The snot was not controlled at all, it came out involuntarily, and even worse, before it could all flow, ice streaked under the nostrils......

This bad weather also caused a complete truce between the Soviet and German armies.

However, despite this, the Germans had to be careful, because many Soviets would sneak into their camp every day to surrender...... The Soviets lacked not only food, but also fuel and necessary fortifications (except for the Soviet troops on the Kazbek peak, which occupied part of the German fortifications, in fact, the local Soviets did not have fortifications).

And in such extremely cold conditions, the absence of these means death. Under the threat of death, the Soviets had no choice but to surrender to the Germans.

"You're the last patrol plane!" The conning tower said to Koontz: "At least this winter, we don't think there's any need to waste fuel until next spring!" ”

"Oh ho!" The soldiers on the bomber couldn't help but cheer.

Just as they lowered their altitude and flew over Fort Kinov, the observer saw a group of people playing baseball below, and he was intrigued.

"Sir!" The observer asked, "Since we don't have any tasks this winter, can we organize a baseball game?" ”

"Good idea, second lieutenant!" The Commander replied, "You can use this as a good time to relax!" ”

Thus, a baseball game led by the commander of the Air Force, Major General Lorenz, was launched among the German troops stationed in the Caucasus abroad.

The one who was most excited about this kind of thing was Werner, who immediately jumped out of bed as soon as he heard the news: "Hey, it's finally my turn to behave!" ”

"Lieutenant Colonel!" Then Werner ran to Qin Chuan and reported: "I'm going to form a baseball team and join us?" ”

"Forget it, Werner!" Qin Chuan replied: "I don't know anything about baseball!" ”

Qin Chuan didn't lie, he could play some football and blueball, but he had never touched baseball...... As a Chinese, I am more exposed to table tennis, and almost every school has a table tennis table, but baseball fields are rare.

"Please, Lieutenant Colonel!" Werner said: "I can teach you, you are a 'legendary sergeant', you can do it!" ”

The soldiers burst out laughing.

"Forget it, Werner!" The baker said, "You just want to have one thing better than the lieutenant colonel!" ”

"If the Soviets play this baseball game with us!" Alfredo said, "Then call the lieutenant colonel!" ”

"Yes!" Dominic said: "The lieutenant colonel seems to be only suitable to fight the Soviets!" ”

……

"Sorry, Werner!" Qin Chuan refused: "That stage belongs to you, you should find some experienced people to form a team, and then regain the championship for our 21st Armored Division!" ”

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel!" Werner stepped forward to answer.

The pre-battlefield baseball game began on a small scale, confined to German units within the Transcaucasus, and was generally organized in divisional units.

But after a few comparisons, Marshal Manstein also heard about it.

"That's a great idea!" Manstein said to the staff officer: "Fighting a game allows the soldier to relax without leaving the front. More importantly...... This is still a humiliation and a blow to the Soviets! ”

"Humiliation? Hit? The staff officer did not understand what Manstein meant.

"Of course!" Manstein replied: "It was a game on Soviet soil. On the other hand, the Soviets were short of food and clothing on the front line, and even had to build roads and bridges in the bitter cold to prepare for next year's battle, while we still had the energy to organize an event...... How do you think the Soviets would have felt when they heard this? We can even publicize the situation of the game to the Soviets on the radio! ”

This is very much in line with the aristocratic spirit of Manstein, who loved nothing more than to use this civilized, spiritual humiliation of the enemy, who could not even respond.

"So!" Manstein said: "Why don't we extend this event to army groups? While this may have wasted a bit of fuel (the baseball teams need to fly to the venue), we have plenty of fuel! ”

Manstein immediately reported the idea to Hitler.

Hitler didn't think much of it and agreed to this "game" plan on the spot...... At this time, Hitler's control over the front-line troops was becoming tighter and tighter, and Hitler's personal approval was required for the transfer of troops above the regimental level.

Although everyone knew that this was the opposite of the flexibility and artistry of the German army in battle, no one dared to try to protest against it.

Of course, Qin Chuan's mind was not on this.

If the baseball game was a kind of relaxation for the German soldiers, then Qin Chuan's relaxation was to take this time to concentrate on further discussing the improvement of the helicopter with Conrad and Biederman.

But at this time, there was a person who took the opportunity of a baseball game to find Qin Chuan.