At this time, the armored corps of the Ming army, after a large-scale pursuit, had surrounded many German troops from north to south in many large and small encirclements. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Some of the German troops in the encirclement took advantage of the fact that the Ming blockade was not tight. There were also some German troops who managed to break out of the encirclement with the help of external troops.

However, in this case, there were still large German troops surrounded by the Ming army in various parts of Germany. A rough estimate is that at least nearly three million German troops were surrounded. And most of these German troops were the last capable German army at this time.

By early August, the Ming army had largely cleared out the German forces in various large and small encirclements on the east bank of the Rhine. The last thing that remained was a sizable German unit in the Stuttgart area of southern Germany.

In fact, the Ming army could have ended these encircled battles ahead of schedule. It's just that the Ming army had to follow Zhang Cheng's order to consume the troops of those colonies as much as possible, which slowed down the speed of the march.

By this time, most of Germany had fallen into the hands of the Ming army, from Hamburg and Bremen to Munich and Austria closer to the south. The Ming army, attacking Germany, had already made contact with the Ming army on the Apennine Peninsula near Venice.

Now the Germans were left with only the west bank of the Rhine and part of the east bank of the Rhine. At this time, most of the German army had already collapsed and perished, and in the battle of Munich that had just ended, the number of German troops in the encirclement surrendered to the Ming army exceeded 300,000.

The German government-in-exile that had now moved to London had less than a million troops under its command, including more than 200,000 German troops besieged near Stuttgart.

The Ming army, which had been singing triumphantly all the way, had reached the banks of the Maas River in the north, while the center was besieging Stuttgart. The troops to the south are marching hard through the Alps, conquering the mountainous regions one by one.

Everyone knew that the Germans were now defeated, but the Allies were unwilling to allow Germany to surrender. Although the German Emperor, who had been captured by the Ming during the Battle of Berlin, had already issued an official surrender proclamation (this proclamation had played a role in the Ming army's elimination of the German forces in many of the encirclements. The allies also categorically refused to recognize it. They still demanded that the German army continue to fight.

Now all the top leaders of the allies are pinning their hopes on the superweapon developed by the Americans. Everyone knows that the conventional war has completely failed, and the only way to save the defeat is to wait for the progress of the Americans.

The Americans now need time, and they need their allies to hold back the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, even if the fight had reached the point of ruin, the Germans still did not choose to surrender. Of course, it is only those in power who have not surrendered. Ordinary German nationals are unaware of these things.

For those German nationals who lived in the precarious years of war, the only thing they now knew was that they had been defeated. What they really want now is to be able to live, as long as they can eat enough, nothing else matters.

As for the propaganda of the German government, it no longer means much to these ordinary German citizens at the moment. The propaganda was far inferior to the bread and candy handed over by the Ming army. Staying alive is the only thing they are pursuing now.

The reason why the German army was defeated so quickly on a large scale, in addition to the pursuit and encirclement of the Ming army, was largely because they all believed that Germany had been defeated, so it was very normal for them to choose to surrender when they were unable to continue to resist. By the time the Ming army captured Prague to this time, the number of German troops surrendered had exceeded three million.

At this moment, the German army surrounded near Stuttgart had a total of more than 30 divisions, including 10 armored divisions. It has more than 200,000 officers and soldiers and more than 700 tanks. There are also thousands of artillery pieces of various types. However, not only do they lack the necessary ammunition and supplies, but even the food is no longer enough to continue to sustain consumption.

Stuttgart's modest reserves had been depleted during the previous wave of German flights, and by the time Rommel's troops were encircled near Stuttgart, there was nothing left to feed and drink the more than 200,000 troops.

There were basically no people in the city at this time. Most of the Germans living in the cities have fled to neighbouring countries or rural villages. Now only a large number of German soldiers remain in the entire city of Stuttgart. In a church in the city, dozens of senior German officers are engaged in a heated debate about the survival of the army.

The nominal commander of this temporary corps, which consisted of several German units, was Army General Rommel. After returning to Germany from Italy, he temporarily lost his real power due to his defeat on the battlefield in Italy and became a battlefield inspector. However, as a confidant of the German Prime Minister, he immediately returned to the front line to control the military after the Ming army defeated Russia and entered Poland.

The mustachioed German chancellor was a civilian, and he had absolutely no influence in the German army. The German army had always been controlled by the Junker aristocracy. Although the German chancellor continued to strengthen his control over the military in various ways, he himself was neither a member of the army nor a proxy for the aristocracy and Juncker. If you want to control the army, you can only promote officers like Rommel who are not of high background but are willing to take the initiative to take refuge in him to control the army.

And people like Rommel, who are difficult to get ahead in the army because they are not from aristocratic backgrounds, are unimaginable to be loyal to the German prime minister after being appreciated and promoted by the German prime minister.

And these officers, who were strongly supported by the German Prime Minister, were naturally at odds with those of Junker aristocratic origin. Although some pure military personnel have always made it their duty to obey orders, most of the Juncker officers have never really been convinced by the German Prime Minister.

Especially after the German emperor announced his surrender and sent a telegram demanding the surrender of German troops everywhere, many Junker officers of noble origin found reasons to surrender voluntarily. They were following the orders of the German Emperor.

Although before that, the German emperor had become a puppet in the eyes of everyone. However, because it was in their own interests, because it was also beneficial for the Junker aristocracy to limit the imperial power, these Junker nobles turned a blind eye to what happened to the emperor.

But now these Junker aristocracy, almost all of whom are in Germany, are no longer willing to continue fighting, nor are they willing to leave their homeland to continue fighting abroad. They want to end their war career. Anyway, if we continue to fight now, there is no hope of victory, and it is also an inevitable choice to succumb to the strong.

In fact, at the moment the strength of the Ming army near Stuttgart was not very strong, and their main forces in southern Germany had just finished the Battle of Munich, and they were still gathered in the area near Munich.

The Germans here in Stuttgart had a good chance of escaping if they broke through to the other side of the Rhine with all their might. It's just that because of the huge differences between the prime minister's faction represented by Rommel and the Junker aristocratic faction, they have not been able to carry out the breakthrough operation for a long time.

And the main forces of the Ming army in southern Germany had begun to approach the vicinity of Stuttgart. If they continue to grind, it won't be long before anyone wants to leave. This is where the quarrel in the church took place.

"We have been defeated, and there is no point in continuing to resist now." Herman. General Holt slapped the table in front of him and shouted, "We have done our duty as soldiers, and there is no point in fleeing abroad to continue fighting!" ”

"The Wehrmacht was used to defend Germany, and now the whole country has fallen. It's time to put an end to this senseless war. Manstein continued: "The plan to flee abroad cannot be implemented. We have all lost our country, what is it to go to war abroad? Mercenaries? The honor of the Wehrmacht does not allow us to do such a thing. ”

"Yes, as the glorious Wehrmacht, we must not go abroad to fight while our own homeland has fallen."

"The Wehrmacht must not become mercenaries."

"Now that the war has been defeated, then there should be the courage to accept this fact."

"The Wehrmacht will never leave the German mainland!"

“......”

Dozens of senior officers of the German army spoke out demanding the surrender of the army, and they were unwilling to continue fighting.

"The Prime Minister's order is for us to continue to fight." German Army General Joseph. Dietrich shouted loudly, "As soldiers, we must obey the orders of the Prime Minister!" ”

"Prime Minister?" The highly respected Feng. Admiral Loeb sneered and said, "Where is the Prime Minister now?" He himself is not in Germany, so can he still be considered the prime minister of Germany? ”

Loeb's words silenced the many generals in the church. Since the German prime minister came to power, there have been few people questioning the prime minister in person, at least in Germany. The chancellor from an ordinary background has the ability to control the whole of Germany firmly in his own hands. But now, with the war unfavorable and the massive fall of the homeland, those who have been suppressed for a long time finally dare to express their dissatisfaction with the German chancellor.

"As soldiers, it is our duty to obey orders." After a moment of silence, a sharp glint flashed in Rommel's eyes: "Since His Excellency the Prime Minister has given an official order, then we, as soldiers, must obey it!" Anyone who opposes it is a betrayal! It was not only a betrayal of His Excellency the Prime Minister, but also a betrayal of the entire German people. Because Your Excellency the Prime Minister was elected by the German people! (To be continued.) )