The golden snake brings wealth, the spirit snake brings good luck, and the blessed snake comes to live a long life. On the occasion of the Chinese New Year, I wish all book friends a happy new year, good health and good luck!

Regardless of war or peace, the New Year's bell of 1951 is still ringing as scheduled. This is the second year of the second half of the 20th century, and the specter of war and killing still hangs over people's hearts, so much so that the Creator began the new year with a prayer for peace. However, looking at the continents of this world, the complex and chaotic situation is probably beyond anyone's control. In Asia, it is difficult to resolve the anti-colonial war in a peaceful way in the context of bloc confrontation, and the suspense of division and reunification still persists in some areas. In Africa, national independence movements are surging, and the general trend of history is unstoppable; In the Americas, the struggle for national independence and sovereignty has quietly changed the seemingly calm situation; In Europe, with Germany in the north-central part of the European continent as the fulcrum, the competition between the Eastern and Western camps is turning from a covert struggle to an open one, and the outcome of the Second Soviet-German War is not only related to the ownership of world hegemony, but directly affects the fate of many countries and nations......

Germany, Baden-Württemberg, Ulm, West Bank of the Danube

January 4, 1951

Accompanied by a group of generals dressed in officers' trench coats, Lynn went to the German forward positions to inspect the defenses. With the fall of Munich and other cities and regions, 80% of Germany's territory has been controlled by the Soviet army, which seems to be an irretrievable situation, but with the comparison of strength at the beginning of the war, he was able to lead the German military and civilians to hold on to the present and win many meaningful victories, and his unprecedented young president has won countless praise and recognition at home and abroad. To this day, although the German armed forces can only rely on the last 70,000 square kilometers of land to resist the attack of the Soviet army, after the tempering of the previous stage of war, the German army has gone through the most difficult part of the journey to nirvana. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhine-Ranpalatisate, Saarland, and Baden-Württemberg, nearly two million German soldiers were well prepared to meet the enemy, and their high morale and increasing armament were in stark contrast to the enemy who was like a crossbow!

Walking through the muddy and familiar trenches, Lynn kept shaking hands with the warriors who stood up to greet him. Under the constant bombardment of the Soviet Air Force. Germany's domestic industrial production was once again reduced to zero, and the steel helmets made by the "underground workshops" had obvious flaws and even defects in appearance, and the tight combat itinerary and the consistently harsh conditions on the front line made it impossible for the soldiers to maintain a neat and tidy appearance. The more this is the case, the more Lynn is able to derive a fraternal kinship from these people. And exactly six years ago, he himself was just a nobody in the trenches ahead. The difference is that at that time, he was well aware of the general trend of history and was powerless to change it, and his heart was full of sorrow and despair, while these equally young German soldiers are full of hope for the future.

It is precisely because of this hope that most of the various units hastily formed by the German army after the start of the war have performed well on the battlefield, and a large number of combat elites have emerged. The vast majority of recruits and newly promoted officers grew up rapidly in the midst of hard and distinguished battles. Their maturity has made their units more stable and stronger. During the Battle of Munich, many of the units with a majority of new recruits withstood the onslaught of the Soviet army in the outer defensive battle, and even if they suffered heavy losses, these units did not show the extreme situation of collapse, and they were able to regain their combat effectiveness in a relatively short time by retreating to the rear to rest. During these months of war, the German armed forces were almost twice as killed, captured, missing, and seriously wounded as the Soviet troops, and even so, Germany's military power was multiplied. On the other hand, on the side of the Soviet army, although the number of troops fighting in Germany increased from more than 800,000 to more than 2.2 million, with the elongation of the battle line and the expansion of the occupied area. Both at the front and in the rear, they are controlled everywhere and are quite passive. Under the joint resistance of the Western world, the Soviet Union could only import military supplies from a very limited number of countries since the invasion of Germany, and the domestic industrial output was only 60 percent of that in 1945, and the military production was mainly concentrated on the fighters, tanks and artillery shells that consumed quite a lot on the front line, so that the monthly output of bullets was less than two-thirds of the demand for the front line, and the army's food supply barely maintained the level of 1942. The political struggle from top to bottom has also created quite serious internal friction, and the morale of the grassroots troops is not only low. From time to time, it is also affected by bureaucratic atmosphere, which leads to abnormal performance. …,

There is a saying that a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and although the Germans succeeded in reversing the absolute disadvantage at the beginning of the war, the Soviet army was still superior in hard power. Prompted by political directives from Moscow, the Soviet troops fighting in Germany braved the bitter cold to assemble in the western part of the country, which was held by the Germans. In the front-line position in Ulm, Lynn could clearly observe the frequent movements of Soviet troops on the other side through the trench periscope, and learned from his own officers. Since the confrontation between the two sides across the river, the Soviet army has not only carried out intensive aerial reconnaissance and bombing of the German positions, but has also sent detachments to carry out night river crossing reconnaissance on many occasions in an attempt to obtain important information on the German army's defense, and a new round of offensive seems to be on the way.

Familiar with military history and has rich front-line combat experience, Lynn is very clear about the Soviet army's combat intentions, with the current war situation, every day the time is delayed, the hope of victory is one step away from the Soviet Union, the Soviet army must be completely defeated before the further expansion of the German army, once the German regular army defending the west is crushed, even if their remnants are defeated and flee to France, the Netherlands and other countries, the Western world will also suffer a heavy psychological blow, then the Soviet Union will not only gain the German occupation zone in ruins, but more importantly, get recuperationMoscow's decision-makers will also consolidate their shaky prestige.

"If the Soviets on the other side of the river commit an army group or even a greater number of offensive troops, how long will our defensive line be able to hold out?"

In the humble but sturdy front-line headquarters, Lynn asked a question that seemed all too ordinary. The German troops stationed in Ulm consisted of three infantry divisions plus one artillery regiment, the total strength of which was roughly equivalent to half of the Soviet field army, and the terrain conditions were favorable for defense. Otto, who was the commander-in-chief of the Ulm Defence. General Heaterfeld, who served as acting commander of Army Group during the Third Reich, performed well during World War II, and as a general of the German Wehrmacht against the Soviet Union, he won one of the few partial victories for the Allied camp in the latter part of the war, inflicting heavy losses on an advancing Soviet tank unit with two German infantry divisions.

"There is no if in war, for the survival of the country and the nation, and for the sacred mission of the German soldiers, we must hold on to this until one man and one shot!" General Heaterfield gave a perfect answer in a sonorous tone.

For the final offensive that the Soviet army is about to launch, the German Joint Staff has come up with a response strategy. The Germans would not withdraw across the Franco-German border unless they had to, and the depth of operations in the western regions of Germany was too narrow, and in order to defuse the Soviet offensive, it was necessary to wait for an opportunity to defend on the basis of a solid defense. Given the naval supremacy of the Western Allies, the counterattack would begin from North Rhine-Westphalia in an effort to regain the North German coast, while in the southwest at Rhine-Ranpalatinate and Baden-Württemberg, the Germans would contain the main Soviet forces in the south with limited forces. Ulm's geographical location will not be the focus of the campaign, but it will be on the important passage of the Soviet army into Stuttgart, Freiburg and other important strategic targets, once the Soviet offensive begins, it will inevitably bear the brunt of the battle. Therefore, Lynn said deeply: "Perhaps, this will be an unprecedented and tragic battle, and it will not be enough to complete the task without desperate resistance." I sincerely hope that in the near future, we can raise a glass to celebrate victory! ”

Less than 40 hours after Lynn inspected Ulm, the rolling roar of Soviet heavy artillery sounded on the east bank of the Danube, rain-like shells invaded with the momentum of destroying the world, hundreds of Soviet fighters flew to Ulm in turn to drop bombs, and thousands of Soviet infantry forcibly crossed the river, and the course of the battle was exactly what Lynn said: unprecedentedly tragic!

"What? Did enemy tanks land in Donausten? Let your soldiers find a way to knock them out with an 'iron fist', and no one is allowed to retreat without permission! Reinforcements? Now there are no reinforcements, and you must rely on your own strength and wisdom to solve the problem! ”…,

At the operational command center located in the city, Otto Otto, who wears the logo of the army general. General Heaterfield hung up the phone fiercely, and before he could catch his breath, a shrill telephone rang from another telephone, and the adjutant picked it up with disgusting agility, and bad news came out of his mouth: "It is General Horid, who reports that the Soviets have once again launched an onslaught on his right flank position, and that the last reserve has been dispatched, and that he will have to draw troops from other positions, or the command will send him reinforcements." ”

"Reinforcements? Now is not the time to use the General Reserve! General Heaterfield walked to the phone with a mutter, took the microphone from the adjutant's hand, and said to his colleague on the other end of the phone in a neutral tone: "Listen, William, this is only the first day of the Soviet offensive, calm down your clever brain, we will hold out here for many days, this is necessary, we must use our forces very sparingly, of course, the premise is to firmly hold every position of yours!" Good luck! ”

Hanging up the phone, Heaterfield completely ignored the adjutant's gaze, he went straight to the table and picked up the water glass, sooner or later, the ground shook violently with the sound of a huge explosion, and a strong wind swept sand and dust in from the entrance passage, and everyone in the command headquarters was discouraged. General Heaterfield looked at his cup, slammed it on the table, and said to himself: "If we had defeated the Soviets, we would never have suffered today...... This victory is a few years late, but we will return these pains to the Soviets twice as much! Definitely! (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )