The border between the Soviet Union and Germany became even more tense as Italy declared war on Yugoslavia and Greece despite the diplomatic situation. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Tensions spread throughout the Polish occupation zone, and even the eastern part of Germany, where martial law was imposed.

One train after another, departing from various regions of Germany on time, carrying all kinds of military supplies, headed for the Soviet-German border area.

Some trains are filled with quilts and tents, while others are military uniforms and lunch boxes and other daily necessities. Millions of troops are massed in the border areas, and the daily expenses are enormous.

Toothpaste, shaving creams, cigarettes and soaps, sweets and alcohol, all of which have become sought-after consumables, occupy the railway's valuable capacity every day.

Never underestimate the diversity of materials consumed by a unit, even the wooden boards, paint, nails, and blank paper, which are in demand by the troops on the front line.

As winter approached, the Wehrmacht prepared a temporary white smock over a gray-green military uniform for the front-line troops. As many as a million sets of these smocks, they were shipped to the front in a heap.

Standing on the platform of the busy railway station, Wittmann looked blankly at the busy engineers around him, who were fixing a tank of astonishing tonnage to a flatbed wagon.

When the Leopard tank was designed, it fully took into account the carrying capacity of roads and bridges, and the dead weight of 41 tons was only 5 tons more than the maximum weight of 36 tons required by most bridges.

Although this passability has been criticized by German engineers, it is much stronger than the Tiger tank in history.

Of course, there is no comparison now, and everyone is still complaining. Weitmann heard the engineers not far away, complaining as he fixed the Leopard tank in front of him.

In the busy station, there are also ordinary infantry with bags waiting to get on the train, these soldiers look curiously at the flat wagon through the railing, as if they want to see what the tank covered by canvas looks like.

It's a pity that because of the heavy canvas cover, these infantrymen could not see anything except the wide tracks.

The platform where Wittmann is located is not crowded because it is a platform for special equipment. His big fingers were stuck in his belt, as if he was pinching his waist, waiting for the order to get into the car.

The train was about to depart, and the last tank had already been loaded onto the board. On the other side of the platform, the infantry got on the train, and the originally crowded platform was suddenly empty.

In order to facilitate transportation and simple management, soldiers will not distribute weapons during the train to the front.

Their weapons and other equipment had to be collected at the front line. The soldiers were huddled in the carriages, talking and laughing, not at all like they were going to the front.

A railroad guard with a crescent-shaped badge on his chest walked over and handed the commander of the 1st Company beside Wittman a record indicating that the heavy equipment had been fully loaded at this small station.

The soldiers of Wittmann's company came to this small station by train from Berlin. Naturally, their tanks were left in the training camp area on the outskirts of Berlin.

They were ordered to come here to receive new equipment, and then take it with them to report to the 1st Panzer Division.

This 1st Panzer Division is the famous Waffen-SS 1st Panzer Division - Adolf? Hitler's Guards Panzer Division!

With Li Le's intervention, this unit, which was originally expanded into an armored infantry division, has now received the latest tanks and has become a veritable armored division.

At present, this armored division has not yet completed its transformation, it has only one automobile supply battalion that has just been put in place, and there is also a division headquarters composed of armored vehicles and automobiles.

And now, the 45 new Leopard tanks that Weitmann's tank company is responsible for escorting to the front line are the first real tanks that this panzer division receives.

Obviously, the 1st SS Panzer Division, having received a sufficient number of Leopard tanks, would have become the most combat-ready armored unit on the Eastern Front worthy of the name.

"Please sign! We're going to make a record. The railway guard handed the commander of the 1st Company a pen, pointed to the location of the signature on the record, and spoke.

The company commander of the 1st Company just saw that his equipment was loaded onto the train, nodded with satisfaction, and signed his name on the record.

After signing his name, he lifted his leg and walked to the carriage specially prepared for them. It was a little more spacious than the infantry compartment in front, at least not so crowded.

Wittmann followed the company commander and stepped on the ladder of the train, which was at least thirty centimeters higher than the platform, and got into the board carriage.

I looked at the seat made of wooden planks, and the paint had been worn away due to frequent use, revealing the true color of the wood inside.

Although the interior of the train carriage is not very nice, it is clean and tidy - there is really no possibility of mess, there is nothing to move around here.

Wittmann, who got into the car, sat in his own seat, and across from him sat the commander of another tank.

The rest of the crew was in the back carriages, and they didn't have that treatment, and the conditions were much more crowded than here.

Soon, several railroad guards from the small station came up with some boxes, which they stacked in the small hallway, making it even smaller.

"I'm sorry, but this is a gas mask to be sent to Poland." With an apologetic smile on his face, one of the railway soldiers at the head explained: "No way, the capacity is tight." ”

As he spoke, the railroad soldiers behind him brought up more boxes and piled up a meter-high "wall" in the aisle.

Looking at the goods that had come up on the makeshift ride, Wittman pulled out a newspaper folded into a square from his pocket, unfolded it and began to read its contents.

The newspaper was bought from outside the station, and there were only a few thin sheets. The above content is also laughable, it is nothing more than the bombing of Britain and the victory of the war in North Africa.

About the tense Eastern Front and the Balkans, where fighting has already begun, this newspaper does not say a word about the rhythm.

Reporting good news but not bad news, Goebbels, as Germany's propaganda minister, simply fought the war of public opinion to the extreme. If you only read the newspapers, Germany would probably be the happiest country in the world by now.

Directly below the first edition, the only thing that made Wittmann feel that there was still some content was a report on increasing agricultural production.

The above is that the agricultural sector, at the request of the head of state, will increase the amount of food distributed per capita, starting next month, November 1.

The increase is not large, if not very little. However, this was the first time since the introduction of the wartime food rationing system in Germany that the food ration quota was increased.

Moreover, as mentioned above, according to the regulations related to the wartime military participation allowance, the increase in the share of military families is even greater, and they can get about two more potatoes per day.

The people in the family, after this ration increase, should be able to eat more full, right? Wittman thought.

You know, there is not enough arable land in Germany. After Hitler came to power, he even launched the German version of the "vegetable basket project".

The National Socialist Party vigorously advocated and encouraged all families to convert their gardens and other land into arable land to grow vegetables.

Even so, in fact there has been a slight shortage of agricultural products in Germany. It provides less food rations to the rest of the occupied territories, which is one of the main contradictions of the occupied territories.

Under such circumstances, any policy of softness that Li Le was brewing could not be carried out in the occupied areas of Denmark and France. Substances can't be conjured out of thin air, where do you want to show favor to food and medicine?

The train spewed steam and filled the platform of the small station, and the train sounded its whistle and slowly began to move forward.

Wittmann looked through the window and saw the small station receding outside the window. Soon, the platform was gone, and what flashed out the window was a wooden fence separating the railroad tracks.

The sound of train wheels hitting the gaps in the railroad tracks echoed in the ears. The fence outside the window soon disappeared as well, and then there were vast fields and houses in the distance.

In the fields being harvested, farmers are busy, and by the end of October, most of the land in Europe has been harvested.

If you just look at it, the whole world seems to be a better place. The war was very far away, and there was a quiet and peaceful scene everywhere in the quiet fields.

Everything here, away from the hustle and bustle. Wittman even saw that he forgot the newspaper he was holding.

The company commander next to him looked at Wittman, then took the newspaper from the distracted Wittman and opened it.

Wittman had the newspaper in his hand taken away and came back to his senses. However, when he saw that his company commander was flipping through the newspaper, he continued to turn his head to look at the busy scene outside the window.

The second page of the newspaper was a blurry photograph of a U-boat riding the waves in the Atlantic Ocean.

The headline of the news is very eye-catching -- "U-47 submarine set another record, sinking 30,000 tons of transport ship and returning victorious!" 》

I don't know if it's because of the limited photography skills or because of the need for secrecy. The submarine was indistinct, and the people standing on it couldn't make out the numbers.

However, the commander of the 1st Company, who was very sensitive to this unit, made a voice of admiration: "Look! This captain named Prion is also too powerful...... Our tanks weigh only a few dozen tons! ”

The words of the commander of the 1st Company caused some commanders to sigh, and some of them smoked cigarettes and began to swallow the clouds, and the carriage suddenly became full of smoke.

The train was still shaking and making a monotonous sound. Wittman continued to look out the window at the receding fields.