The 92nd Division of the German 11th Army was stationed in an inaccessible patch of hills and marshes in the Vistula River valley, just 40 kilometers from Bialystok, the capital of the Soviet-controlled province of Podlasie.

After Warsaw was occupied by Soviet troops, there were a number of incidents of friction on the German-Soviet border that led to casualties among soldiers on both sides, and soon the 10th Panzer Army of the German Wehrmacht received an order from the Ministry of Defense to move strategically eastward. Manstein acted immediately, and the 1st Panzer Division under the command of Rommel left Frankfurt early and moved into the eastern defense zone.

After the three battalions of the vanguard of the 1st Panzer Division arrived at the Vistula, with the help of the 11th Division of the 92nd Army, they immediately selected a camp and set up camp tents.

"Boys, don't grind, if you don't want to be bitten by mosquitoes and flies, get up and set up your tents before it gets dark! Fast! Fast! The commander of the second battalion, Major Gabili Tucker, roared furiously at the soldiers who were resting on the ground.

"This place is not inhabitable at all, Your Excellency Major, should we consider choosing another camp. Damn, even if you don't die on the battlefield, you'll be sucked dry by these damn vampires. Lieutenant Tyrol Speer, the commander of H Company, smacked a huge gadfly in his face.

"I can't do that, I'm sorry, Lieutenant. You and I have only been given orders to be strictly enforced, oh, you can try to ask General Rommel, but maybe he'll kick you in the ass twice. Alright, everybody, get up! Get up and get to work! Major Gabriel Tucker said as he continued to direct his troops to set up the tents.

"Work hard, brothers, don't look at me, yes! Solidify the ground. Bill, Bill ......" Lieutenant Tyrol Speer was bored and began to direct everyone to work.

Hundreds of armored vehicles suddenly appeared on the banks of the Qianli-Vistula River, and they suddenly became lively. The soldiers were to set up tents, dig trenches, and set up barbed wire and barricades before the sun went down. In an instant, the entire swamp area was trembling slightly.

Suddenly, a hurried whistle sounded, and the soldiers hurriedly threw down their hammers and pickaxes, picked up the bullets around them, and rushed to the dirt slope where the military flag was flying.

"Don't be stunned, quick! This is an urgent gathering, don't get dressed, grab your weapons! Lieutenant Speer commanded as he took the lead and ran towards the rendezvous site.

The camp was boiling, and the soldiers, most of them disheveled, and some even shirtless, stood in the queue panting.

At this time, the units began to form a company as a unit, and the sounds of standing upright, taking a break, looking to the right, looking forward, and reporting the numbers came and went.

A colonel stood in front of the queue with his head held high, arrogantly waiting for the chief officer of each unit to report on the arrival of personnel. Obviously, he was dissatisfied with the thirty-second assembly speed, and suspected that the number of people reported by each company contained water. After repeated questioning, the colonel waved his hand and personally led the law enforcement team to spot check the situation.

"I don't want to know which instructor brought you out, but I want to tell you that at this speed of reaction, let alone destroying the enemy, even if you survive a small life, smoke will rise from your ancestral grave. Look at you one by one, disheveled, loose, and embarrassed, what does this look like a soldier......" The colonel was very angry.

"Now I order your teams to bring it back and disband it immediately!" The colonel waved his hand suddenly.

The team was brought back in a series of commands.

"Damn! Knowing we're setting up camp, these damn lunatics are going to do some kind of emergency gathering, they're fucking fed and supported! Private Bill grumbled.

"That's not bad, but if we are spot-checked, it will be a big sniff." Herbert was a good friend of Bill, a crew member of the same armored car, and a partner who had nothing to say.

The soldiers of the second battalion talked and laughed, and began to throw off their arms and build their own barracks.

Just then, the sharp whistle sounded again. Everyone hurriedly threw down their tools, picked up their guns again, and quickly ran to the meeting place.

Stand upright and take a break...... Reporting the number of people, the colonel looked at his watch, then looked at the "remnants of the defeated army" in front of him, stepped forward and pulled out a soldier and said: "Look at it, look at it, is this like a soldier?" The coal miners in the Ruhr are better than you! Listen to me, from now on, I don't care what you're doing, even if you're digging dung, you can't be naked......"

Before the words fell, many soldiers who were naked quickly lowered their heads.

Major Gabili Tucker quietly touched Lieutenant Tyrol Speer beside him, and he looked up to see who the Colonel had picked up.

"I'm very sorry to disgrace you, Your Excellency Major. This is Herbert, the excellent bombardier of our company. Lieutenant Speer whispered, "Why did this kid go to this damn colonel?" Isn't this fucking looking for your own death? ”

"Does the lieutenant have anything to say?" The colonel stared sharply at Speer.

"Report sir, no!" Speer replied loudly with his head held up.

"Excellent! Then please shut your woman-like mouth! ”

"Yes! Sir. Lieutenant Speer held his breath, but he couldn't help but give in.

The colonel ignored Speer's embarrassed expression and patted Herbert on the shoulder to let him return to the team. Then he looked back at the small hill behind him and asked everyone in a loud voice, "Do you see that military flag on the mountain?" ”

"See." The soldiers replied in unison.

"Very good, in a few minutes you may not be able to see it." The colonel took a few steps back, stood on a higher dirt slope, and gave the order with all his strength:

"I need you to take back that flag in the shortest possible time! Listen, after the flare is lifted into the air, you will go straight to Heights 39 in the northeast corner like wolves! Whoever falls last, I'm going to kick his ass! ”

"Yes—" The soldiers replied in unison, and the swamps and hills shook.

At this moment, with a crisp gunshot, a red signal flare shot into the sky, drawing a beautiful arc and slowly disappearing into the vast night.

In an instant, the 1st Battalion led by Major Mesut Ziegfried took the lead in the formation of Heights 39, followed by the 2nd Battalion led by Major Gabili Tucker. The 3rd Battalion, led by Major Paul Breinate, was on the left hand side of the colonel, and it was obviously dumb in formation, but in the face of the colonel's cold eyes, he could only stubbornly lead his subordinates to desperately rush towards Heights 39.

Under the cover of night, the soldiers roared like a black torrent towards the army flag, which had been shrouded in night.

The 1st Battalion, which rushed to the front, ran four or five miles of winding mountain roads in one go, and finally came to the foot of Heights 39, but they were soon dumbfounded, because they could not find a way up the mountain.

Next, the 2 battalion, which followed closely, and the 3 battalion, which arrived last, met with the same situation.

The bushes are intertwined, the thorns are thick, and the military flag is on the top of the mountain, but all the people surround the hill, but they cannot climb the hill, which is only a few tens of meters high.

Many soldiers tried to swing through the bushes and thorns up the hill, but in the end they were all covered in blood and returned in vain.

Swords and axes to open the way also did not help, and the troops were helpless. Seeing this scene, Lieutenant Martin Ameke, the commander of the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion, was desperate to take the lead, but as a result, his clothes were pierced by the long black locust, and he was unable to advance a few steps.

Over time, the soldiers of the battalions gradually lost their fighting spirit and retreated one after another, and many simply lay on the ground and refused to move.

It was late at night, and the commander of the 2nd Battalion, Major Gabilee Tucker, immediately summoned Speer, Bill, Ernest, Herbert and others to discuss countermeasures. Everyone said a word, but all the plans were rejected by Major Tucker.

"Such a difficult hill to climb cannot be cleared without large engineering machinery cleaning such dense thorns. However, the fact that the military flag can go up means that the path must be there, but it is never at the foot of the mountain. Said the usually taciturn Ernest.

This sentence suddenly reminded Major Tucker.

"You're saying there's probably a hidden passage up the hill nearby?"

"That's all I can do now, sir." Ernest said with great certainty.

"Tell me what you think, corporal." Tucker encourages Ernest.

"Don't you think it's strange, sir, when we first arrived, we didn't even set up our camps, and the troops actually assembled twice in a row, and finally gave us an almost impossible task...... I think Capture the Flag is fake and should have another purpose. Ernest said.

"I have to say that your idea has a point, corporal. However, I don't care what the different purposes of the troops are, our task now is to capture the flag and find that path to the top of the mountain. In two hours the morning will be almost dawn, and we can't afford to spend our time here like the first and third battalions......" Major Tucker calmly divided his troops into two parts.

Lieutenant Speer, leading a company out of the fray, scattered his troops around the area in search of possible tunnels leading to the top of the hill. Major Tucker, with two other companies, continued to search for a direct way up the mountain at the foot of the mountain.

After the division of labor between the two groups, similar changes occurred in the other battalions at the foot of the mountain, but there was no progress at the foot of the mountain, and the troops searching in the surrounding area were also blocked by the law enforcement team of the 92nd Division and the guard company of the 1st Armored Division.

"The flag is gone......"

When the sky is just dawning. Suddenly, someone screamed loudly. The soldiers hurriedly looked up at the top of the mountain, and sure enough, there was nothing left on the mountain, and the military flag that fluttered last night was long gone.

Did someone get ahead of the curve? It's impossible, there are thousands and hundreds of people surrounding the mountain, and no one will know who rushed up the mountain. Major Tucker was suspicious that someone had captured the flag, and at this point, he thought of Corporal Ernest's analysis, unless the division headquarters really had another reason.

Without the military flag, the activity will lose the meaning of continuing, the soldiers stop moving, you look at me, I look at you, who took the flag away has become a mystery that everyone can't guess.

At this time, the assembly horn sounded, and the battalions had to quickly withdraw to assemble with this incomprehensible mystery in their minds.

"Good work, my soldiers!" The harsh colonel did not mock everyone, nor did he criticize the troops in front of him who had found nothing, but instead had a pleasant face and greeted him again and again, which made everyone suddenly confused.

"I think General Rommel should be asked to comment on your actions and performance last night. Okay, my soldiers, don't be stingy with your applause, and ask the general to say a few words to everyone. The major took the lead in applauding, and many of the new soldiers applauded vigorously to catch a glimpse of Rommel.

At this moment, a medium-sized lieutenant general of slightly chubby stature, wearing a gray eagle emblem brimmed hat, a general's gold-striped coat, and a silver medallion on his chest stood up from the convertible car in front of the queue.