As the battle at the school ended, the Soviets realized that their offensive would no longer be of any use, so they retreated like a tide.

Moreover, this retreat was not only the retreat of the 33rd Division, but the retreat of the Soviet assault on the Third Army and even the Fourth Army...... As soon as Pukaev realized that it was impossible to capture Holm, he immediately conveyed the news to several divisions that had already attacked the western part of Holm.

But it was too late to retreat.

It should be said that if it is just a march, it may be too late, the Soviet army only penetrated more than 100 kilometers west of Holm, at this time the snow has begun to melt, although the road is muddy, but it is still much better than the previous snow up to one meter deep, with a one-day march of 30 kilometers, three days can be withdrawn to Holm.

The problem was that the Germans would not let the Soviets withdraw so easily, so they sent small troops and bombers all the way to bomb and occupy the high ground to intercept it...... As was said before, the test of the quality of a unit is not an offensive but a retreat, and poorly qualified troops often have all sorts of confusion when retreating.

The Soviets clearly belonged to the latter group, so after a few days, although they paid heavy casualties, they only withdrew 30 kilometers, and the further back they went, the more difficult it became.

Finally, thirteen days after the First World War of the school captives, the first sound of ice breaking was heard from the Lovati River, followed by another sound, and soon the Lovati River became a stream.

The swamps around Holm haven't completely thawed yet...... The swamp was a mixture of mud and water, and the thaw would be slower than that of the river, and the melting snow had already made the swamp muddy, and the Soviets had to withdraw from the swamp to the east of Kholm.

Pukaev's order to several divisions to the west was: "The swamps have thawed, it is too late to withdraw, in order to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the enemy, disperse into pieces and disperse into woodlands to deal with the Germans!" ”

Several division commanders were not reconciled to this, and one of them, Major General Teryzensky, objected: "Comrade Pukaev, even if the swamp thaws, we can carry out a two-sided attack on Holm, and with a huge superiority in troops, we can also drive the German invaders out of Holm and open the way back!" ”

"Trust me, it's a fantasy!" Pukaev replied: "It's not a question of troops, if it were as easy as you think, Holm would have been ours a long time ago!" ”

As a result, several divisions of the Soviet army had no choice but to blow up all the heavy equipment and flee to the woods to fight guerrillas.

However, fighting guerrilla warfare is easier said than done, and the reason is also related to the Soviet army itself...... A large part of guerrilla warfare requires the support of the common people, otherwise hiding in the mountains and forests for supplies is a big problem.

The problem is that when the Soviet army retreated to Moscow, it implemented a policy of clearing the wilderness for the people, and the war made the people have no intention of producing, so even the people themselves did not have enough food, which made the Soviet army retreat into the woodland to fight guerrillas lose the basis for survival, so in the end, these divisions suffered heavy casualties in the encirclement and suppression of the German army, and only a few hundred people could survive a division, which was actually encircled and annihilated.

Of course, that's all for later.

As soon as the Soviet encirclement was withdrawn, the German troops in Holm cheered as if they were celebrating a holiday.

But Qin Chuan soon realized the danger at this time.

There is a saying that "we can share hardships but not blessings."

What this means is that when we share hardship, we all have the same goals and pursuits, so it is easier to unite and work for the same interests. But when happiness comes, especially when it shifts from "shared suffering" to "shared happiness", then the psychology will be relaxed, and everyone's thoughts will be different, so the strength that was originally united will become a plate of scattered sand again.

This was the case with the German army in Holm, which numbered only 5,000 men but had more than 60 troops, which had previously been united by survival, but now ...... The question of survival seems to have been solved, so ideas will soon come to mind.

As expected, some scattered troops, including Major General Hartmann, began to prepare their luggage for the withdrawal of Holm.

"Colonel!" Major General Hartmann said to Colonel Slein: "I have great admiration for your command in Holm during these months, and you have done a very good job with the officers and men of the 1st Regiment. But now...... You know, the Soviets have retreated, and we don't need to stay in Holm any longer......"

"No, General!" Qin Chuan interrupted Major General Hartman's words: "We still have to defend here!" ”

"I'm sorry, Captain!" Major General Hartman replied: "We have not received an order for the task of defending Holm, or rather...... Defending Holm is the task of your first corps, but it is not ours, and we can say that we are helping you defend before that, so ...... No need to thank us! ”

"General!" Colonel Slain handed a telegram to Major General Hartmann and said: "This is the order that Marshal Kruger has just given, and if it was not your duty to defend Holm before, then from now on, it is!" ”

It was actually an order that Colonel Slein had asked Marshal Kruger to give in order not to let Holm's power disperse.

Major General Hartmann took the telegram and looked at it, and replied with a displeased face: "Well, it has been stationed for a few months, and of course it is not a problem to stay longer!" ”

Then, everyone received a death order: "Everyone must hold his post until the order to retreat!" ”

Inevitably, there will be some rebellion among the soldiers.

This was normal, because the German soldiers were surrounded by Soviet troops and were isolated and helpless under the pressure of being crushed by superior Soviet troops at any time, and their mental pressure was accumulating day by day, becoming heavier and heavier, and could destroy their sanity at any time.

One by one, they all survived.

At this moment, Holm's door to the outer world of light suddenly opened, and his wife and children, relatives and friends were waiting in the rear to wave at them, and they could get these by taking a step back, and even countless flowers and praises.

However, they were ordered to stay where they were, and only the wounded could be evacuated...... So one by one, they vented all the negative emotions that were suppressed in their hearts.

Of course, this is not a big problem.

Because Colonel Slein was quick to give the soldiers good news: "The Führer is always following the progress of the Battle of Holm, and he has decided to give a special medal to every officer and soldier who holds Holm as a reward, and hopes that all of us will hold on to the last moment!" ”

"Long live the Führer!" The German soldiers let out a cheer in unison.

(Note: This medal is the Seal of the Battle of Holm)