In World War II in North Africa, Italy and the Western Front, the officers and soldiers of the American and British armies were all impressed by the strong combat effectiveness of the German army, especially their heavy tanks, machine guns and sniper shooters, and when they really faced the Soviet army, they soon found that in addition to the lack of high-speed machine guns with extremely terrifying lethality to infantry, the Soviets had almost everything that the German army was afraid of - powerful tank clusters came with billowing dust, they had the dual advantages of quantity and quality, T-34/ 85 was able to knock out most of the Allied tanks and armored vehicles in service from a great distance. The heavy tanks named after Stalin had defenses that were not inferior to those of the Tiger and King Tiger tanks, but they moved much faster than expected. A large number of Soviet infantry arrived on the battlefield with the tank, they are not a needless victim of covering the armored troops, as long as they jump off the tank, they will dodge the defender's guns and artillery fire with a skillful posture and agility, and charge in a brave and calm and intelligent way, and this army with the "** sand" submachine gun as the main weapon can organize more ferocious front-court fire than the German army, and is extremely good at white-knuckle combat and hand-to-hand combat, once they rush into the defender's trench, It would be difficult for the Western Allied forces to expel them again. As for the battlefield snipers, the use of the Soviet army was no less than that of the German [***] team in the middle and late stages of the war, which also caused the officers of the American and British armies to be very injured, and they were often shot from a distance before they had time to command their soldiers to counterattack or retreat...... The news of a large-scale Soviet counterattack by the Southern Combat Cluster soon reached the Northern Operational Cluster Command in northeastern Poland, where it was still raining heavily and it was dark, as if the end of the world in the Bible was coming. In the face of increasingly pessimistic telegrams, the generals of the United States, Britain, France, and Poland had heavy expressions, although their direct troops were not counterattacked by the Soviet army, but once the friendly forces on the southern route were defeated or even suffered extremely bad losses, it would inevitably put the whole front of the war into a passive situation, if the Soviet army with strong forces made a decisive breakthrough in Romania and Hungary, they could cut from the southern flank to the rear of the Allied forces with a sickle, At that time, even if the navies of the allied countries were able to use the sea route to transport a large amount of supplies, it would be very difficult to completely support the combat troops of the northern route of more than one million people, and the impact of such a defeat on the morale of officers and men and even on the international environment could be immeasurable!

The Soviet army invested the main force on the southern road, and their rear was naturally relatively empty, this simple truth was that the Allied generals had already formed a consensus when they received the first battle reports. However, the continuous heavy rain seemed to be an obstacle to their rapid offensive into the depths of the Soviet army, and most of the troops suspended their advance and focused on dealing with the rain and the Soviet counteroffensive, the lack of material reserves for the rapid advance, the muddy road ahead due to the rain, and the possibility of a premeditated ambush by the Soviet army, all of which deeply troubled Bradley and his allies. On the one hand, in accordance with the orders of the Allied General Command, they let the armored units on the right flank turn south to attack the Soviet counterattack forces in central and eastern Ukraine, and on the other hand, in order to test the reality of the Soviet army on the northern front, they launched the first offensive on Minsk in advance, and 4 American divisions and 1 British division braved the rain to attack under the cover of the artillery units of the army group - the rain there was relatively small, lasted less than a day, and the impact on the armored vehicles was not too great, but after a few hours of attack, The stubborn defense of the Soviet army on the perimeter had already caused heavy losses to the American [***] team in the main attack, and after nightfall, the Soviet army also launched a tactical counterattack with heavy tanks to support the infantry, recapturing a trench and two high ground occupied by the American and British troops during the day.

"John, go and ask Marshal Manstein and his assistants."

Bradley directly ordered his subordinate staff officers without consulting anyone, and Manstein's name instantly made the faces of the British, French and Polish generals even more gloomy and embarrassed, and after the American staff officers left, General Cullen of the British army said very resentfully: "This Nazi marshal came the day before yesterday and alarmistically heard that the Soviet army would launch a large-scale counterattack in our area, and suggested that we focus on building a useless defense system. It is simply impossible to contain the large-scale offensive of the Soviet army on the southern front in a short period of time, don't you think that we have been fooled by the Germans and the Soviets together? ”

It sounds far-fetched to put the blame on a senior advisor who had only been here for three days, and they didn't take Manstein's advice at all, but instead "shelved" him for two days. The French general did not agree, and the Polish general snorted coldly: "Even if we don't join forces, we won't really help us at all, what good is our victory for Germany?" ”

Bradley looked coldly at these rather unpleasant collaborators, and similar arguments and accusations never ceased from the landing of American troops in North Africa and the Allied attack on mainland Italy to the landing in Normandy and the march on the German mainland. Each [***] person has a different style of acting, and under the common interest of fighting against the same enemy, there is a distinction between the small interests of individual states, coupled with the competition for power and honor of individuals, and the open and covert struggle of the state for the command of joint operations, all of which have doomed the complex surnames within the Allied command organs from the very beginning.

After a while, Manstein appeared before everyone with his assistants, their expressions looking calm, neither gloating nor arrogant. However, when Bradley asked Manstein if he knew about the current state of the war, the German marshal's blunt "I don't know" annoyed the other Allied generals present.

"The world is so noisy, and the marshal can still calm down and recuperate, such a mentality is worthy of admiration!" General Cullen said sarcastically in a sharp tone.

Without waiting for the assistant to translate, Manstein replied directly in German: "In addition to the meal, there is only one local Polish newspaper in our room every day, and our understanding of Polish is very limited, even the news in the newspaper cannot be fully understood, let alone otherwise. ”

General Cullen immediately responded with a cold snort.

"Marshal Manstein, let's get down to business!" Bradley reluctantly diverted the-for-tat words between the two, he briefly introduced the situation of the Soviet army's large-scale counterattack on the southern front, and frankly said that the Soviet army invested the main force of the air force and armored forces this time, and from the perspective of the form of operation, their intention should be to fight a large-scale encirclement and annihilation war against the Allied troops on the southern route.

After hearing this, Manstein was not in a hurry to speak, but looked at the front of the map.

"The current situation cannot but be reminiscent of Marshal Manstein's analysis the day before yesterday." The Polish general said in his jerky English, "Unfortunately, the marshal was only half right—the Soviets did launch a massive counterattack, but the main direction of attack was on the southern front." It is surprising and puzzling that the marshal had dealt with the Soviets on the battlefield for several years, and had presided over several crucial battles, and that he had only been half right in such a situation! ”

Manstein did not respond directly this time, and when his assistant translated the words with an expression of indignation, the German marshal said without raising his head: "But all speculations are based on a common analysis of past experience and the present situation, and you do not even provide a radio, nor do you have a detailed battle report, and you still expect 100% correct judgment to take me for a god?" Thank you so much! ”

This made the Polish general shut his mouth in a huff, and Bradley heard something, and he turned his head to his adjutant to explain a few words, and the adjutant glanced at Manstein in a very complicated way before leaving.

Although Bradley had not just described the response of the Allies on the Northern Front in the past two days, the pointed points and lines on the operational map clearly marked everything, and Manstein said to him: "If I am not mistaken, the general told me the day before yesterday that in the past two months, about 600,000 Soviet troops on the Northern and Southern Fronts have been eliminated or captured, and this time the Soviet Army has an estimated 2 million troops on the Southern Front to counterattack, and considering the threat to the Soviet Army in other directions, the Soviet troops opposite you still have sufficient military strength." ”

When Manstein's words were translated into English by his assistants, General Cullen retorted unwillingly: "If we count the 10 million troops claimed by the Soviet side, the total number of enemy troops on our side may reach more than 6 million, right?" ”

As in the past, when discussing problems with his colleagues in the German army headquarters, Manstein replied without raising his head: "This 10 million should refer to the total number of front-line regular troops, auxiliary troops, local guard troops, plus naval and air force units, and you should have a more accurate estimate of the army units that can really be assembled to fight in the European theater, and there is no need for an outsider like me to explain it!" ”

The Polish general was very unconvinced and said: "The overall size of an army and the troops with real combat effectiveness are naturally two concepts, I mean that the Soviet army has concentrated the elite on the southern front, and even if there are still many troops to contain us, only some of them are elite!" And we have reason to believe that the overall strength of their air force is at a disadvantage, and this time it is necessary to send the best planes of the air force to the southern front, and only the second line and reserve forces on the northern front, which is a great opportunity for us to use the offensive to break up the offensive of the Soviet army on the southern front! ”

Manstein finally straightened up, looked at the Polish general and said, "But you have sent a considerable part of your elite troops south to support the friendly forces, and whether it goes well or not, they will no longer be able to engage in frontal combat on the northern front for a short time." Now, the Soviets on the opposite side have lost an arm, why don't you? ”

The Polish general asked rhetorically: "So, do you think we should continue to carry out a resolute defense with nothing to do?" ”

"It's not up to me to decide where to go, I'm just an advisor, a detained officer in a defeated country." Manstein replied unceremoniously.

Bradley reluctantly skipped the Polish general and asked Manstein directly: "According to the combat habits of the Soviet army, they must have considered the whole situation, and it is probably difficult to find obvious loopholes, but there will always be relatively weak points, right?" ”

Manstein replied decisively: "The strategy of holding and retreating in the early stage of the war allowed them to preserve most of their living forces, and this counterattack was a key link in the strategic tempo shift, and the Soviets must have gone all out, and their marshals were at least nominally in control of the country, and this counterattack was inevitable, and all the seemingly weak points were probably traps to attract the opponent." It is a failure for you to move southward, to contain your forces, or to advance directly to Moscow, and it seems to me that the best way to do so is to hold on. That's all I have to say, if you decide to stick to it, I can offer some more experience with the Soviets, and if you decide to fight back, I can only wish you the best of luck! ”

Bradley, like his allies, was astonished to see Manstein say this with seriousness and determination. In terms of command experience and war experience, most of them are competent, like Bradley himself is in the ranks of field commanders, they have the ability and confidence to command a large corps of soldiers, the reason why they ask a defeated general for advice, the most important thing is the experience and experience of the German army and the Soviet army for many years of confrontation, but at the same time, even such a famous professional soldier as Manstein, they can only give very limited professional trust - both sides know this, And Manstein's attitude only indirectly highlights this.

Seeing that his allies were very prejudiced against Manstein, and that continuing to be in the same room would only deepen the intensity of this smokeless war, Bradley had no choice but to move everyone out of the common steps: "Okay! Marshal Manstein, please go back to your room first! We will do our best to ensure that you have access to information about this battle so that you can better fulfill your role as an advisor. Over here...... On behalf of the allies, I would like to thank you for your selfless contributions, and I hope that one day we will be able to truly put aside our past grievances and live together in peace with mutual respect and cooperation. ”

Manstein returned Bradley's American military salute with a Wehrmacht salute, and without any verbal response to the good wishes for peace, he turned and left the room, which had never made him feel any pleasant.

At this time, on a clear night in eastern Ukraine, the offensive of the Soviet army was like an arrow that had just come out of the string. After the passage of tank and mechanized infantry units, Soviet infantry divisions and heavy artillery units followed through the dilapidated Allied lines, and every face looked optimistic and positive. Despite the prohibition of singing and loud noises during the night march, the positive slogans of the officers and the occasional laughter in the ranks set off the mentality of the officers and men, and at this moment people seemed to return to 1945, no matter how stubborn the enemy's resistance was, they were stepping towards the end of victory. This time, although the Allied forces led by the United States and Britain had powerful naval, air, and artillery units, their soldiers were far less difficult than those of the German SS. On many front-line positions, American and British officers and men were like German soldiers frightened by British tanks in 1917, lacking the courage to fight to the death in the face of hordes of T-34s. Many units only made initial resistance with anti-tank guns and anti-tank rocket launchers, and once they realized that the enemy was unstoppable, they would choose to retreat or surrender, and the American and British tankers were surprised by the way the Soviet armored forces fought, they may never have expected that a powerful medium tank could appear on their flanks or even the rear with the strength of a cheetah, and the "black death" - the Il-2 strike aircraft that made the German officers and soldiers helpless. In daytime battles, the Allied armored forces were also brutally ravaged.

Bursts of gunfire came from not far away, and a truck was parked on the side of the road near the fork in the road, and soldiers wearing Soviet-made steel helmets were turning the guns towed by the trucks to shift and set up temporary firing positions. At the commanding of the commander, a contingent of infantry marching west also stopped at the side of the road, and the soldiers waited calmly and calmly, watching the friendly troops behind pass by the road in front of them. Although the weather was a little hot, no one in the team took off their equipment or military boots to breathe. After a while, the commander brought back a specific battle order: to destroy a British unit in the vicinity with artillery support. As soon as the order was given, the lieutenants and non-commissioned officers in the team quickly formed a group to count the points, and since it was a mountain attack, the soldiers obeyed the order to unload the ration bags and spare rain boots. At that moment, the nearby cannon fired, and the roar of the cannon was like a battle horn, and the gunners adjusted and reloaded with skillful movements, and when they looked away from the road, they could clearly see a continuous flame of light rising from the distant mountains.

The sound of artillery died down, and the commander of the infantry contingent, a tall, lean middle-aged colonel, jumped onto the rocks on the side of the road and shouted to the soldiers who were about to enter the battle: "Soviet fighters, in order to defend our great Motherland, to defend our homeland and our loved ones, to destroy these imperialist invaders!" Advance! Advance! ”

A warm "Ula" burst out among the soldiers who were ready to go, a cry that condensed the immortal will to fight and the indignation against the invaders. The difficult environment at home and abroad did not break their spirits, the continuous and fierce bombardment did not weaken their will, and all the hardships and dangers were another tempering of their bodies and minds. They hold their heads high, they stride forward, they have contempt for the enemy who has the advantage of the terrain, and they will not hesitate to open the way to victory with their flesh and blood. When their artillery roared a second time, the main attack team was launched, and the soldiers entered the forest in a single column, the big men with heavy machine guns and mortar parts on their shoulders no slower than their companions.

(To be continued)