In the strong wind, a dark green painted C-47 transport plane appeared through the clouds over the military airport in the northeastern Polish city of Olsztyn, its wobbly descending attitude made the ground personnel look very worried, fortunately, the pilot's skills are solid enough, this classic transport aircraft is also very good, it finally overcame the challenge of the east wind and landed safely on the airport runway. At the end of the runway, several American-made Willis military jeeps and Ford sedans appeared to have been waiting for a long time, and when the plane was stable, they quickly drove to the bottom of the gangway, and there was no welcome ceremony or photo opposition, and the passengers on board hurried into the cabin. Even so, the airport staff were very surprised at a glance: among the passengers, there were guys dressed in German [***] clothes!

Under this all-round protection, the Ford sedan soon transported the special guests from afar to a large hotel in downtown Olsztyn, which had become the seat of a joint division of the European Alliance, judging by the sentry in front of the door and the flags in the foyer. Under the serious gaze of the guards, two soldiers in the uniforms of the Third Reich left the car and walked into the hotel, both of them were not tall, the leader looked a lot older, with old skin, gray temples, and a steady gait, and the one in the back was in his thirties, with clear eyebrows, clean and tidy, and a very professional posture with a bag.

At this time, the conference room on the first floor of the hotel had been completely transformed into a makeshift command structure, full of maps, papers, pencils, magnifying glasses, and hurried figures, judging by the officers' uniforms, a mixture of American, British, French, and Polish soldiers, and the language spoken by the people seemed very inconsistent, English, French, Polish, and "crosswords" with strange accents among themselves. When the captain in the uniform of the American army and the orderly officer pushed the door in with two Germans, a long-faced, balding American general said angrily: "It's going to rain, we can't blow the clouds away with a fan!" It rained for four consecutive days, and it is estimated that the front-line airfield will not be put into normal use until the fifth day, and four days is still the most optimistic estimate! ”

"Report! They're coming! The captain had to wait until the commander had finished a sentence before interrupting the heated discussion of the group of allied generals.

There was no shortage of "reports" in the bustling headquarters, and the people were not completely quiet at first, until they realized that the atmosphere was something strange and finally turned all their eyes to the entrance, where the famous German Field Marshal Manstein stood expressionlessly in the right hand of the captain's orderly. Except for a small number of high-ranking generals, the others did not know about the arrival of this heavyweight, and the huge difference in identity made them think a little for a while, until the long-faced, balding American general, the biggest commander in the area, Omar. Nelson. Bradley said "Please come in" in a hearty tone, and the atmosphere that was close to solidification thawed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't think I need to introduce you!" Bradley exclaimed in his beautiful language, "Field Marshal Manstein, our new friend, who will serve as our senior military adviser." ”

The generals present had all experienced the baptism of the Second World War, especially the French and Polish officers, who were defeated by their German counterparts, and the situation of the British was not much better, they all hesitated for a moment, and then there was a rather sparse applause, which could be regarded as a reluctant acceptance of Manstein's arrival.

Bradley's course of war, by contrast, was much more pleasant. He trained troops in the United States before 1943, and when he arrived in North Africa, he was just in time for the Tunisian campaign to annihilate the German and Italian armies, the Sicilian campaign of landing in Italy was relatively smooth, and then the Normandy landings and the advance to the German mainland.

"Come on! Marshal Manstein! ”

Without the odds of his British, French, and Polish colleagues, Bradley readily invited the German field marshal, who had just been in the British prisoner of war detention center a few days earlier, to his side, and the two shook hands solemnly and greeted each other, and the German [***] officer, who was following Manstein, promptly translated the other's words into German.

Ignoring the strange eyes of the British, French, and Polish generals, Manstein began to look at the battle map with Bradley's introduction, and while examining the current situation of the battle lines on both sides, he asked a few questions about the strength of troops, the disposition of firepower, and the results of the early victories. Although the Poles here are "fighting at home", they have made the slowest progress in rebuilding their army after the war, and the troops they sent this time are also the weakest, so they naturally lack the strength to speak and express their positions.

"There will be four days to a week of continuous rainy weather." At the end of the introduction of the battlefield situation, Bradley reluctantly said, this is also the situation that the Allied generals were discussing when Manstein entered the door just now.

"The worst weather in Russia is their rainy season in late autumn, which usually lasts about half a month, the roads are muddy on one side, and it is very difficult for vehicles to pass." Manstein muttered, and the translator he brought with him hesitated a little to translate the sentence into English. Judging from his not-so-standard pronunciation and diction, he was not a professional translator but a German [***] officer who could speak English.

Before Bradley could answer, he heard Manstein's elongated "but", a German word that was easy to understand.

"The marshal said that your air force will not be able to exert its power for a week or so, and the left and right flanks, especially the left flank, are too deep into the enemy's territory, and it is very likely that they will be violently counterattacked by the enemy." The German [***] officer brought by Manstein translated his words literally into English.

Bradley and Yue's expressions changed back to their previous seriousness, and he motioned for Officer De[***] to ask Manstein "what advice do you have?"

Manstein looked up at the window, and because the curtains were drawn, he couldn't see the sight outside, but he could clearly feel the precursors of the rain coming.

"Take advantage of the rain to go on the defensive, and arrange a layered battlefield defense."

In the face of the enemy's counterattack, it was necessary to do a good job of defense in advance, which sounded like a countermeasure that even ordinary officers could think of, and the British and French generals next to them clasped their hands one by one, looking at Manstein, a seemingly formidable "foreign aid", with disdain.

Bradley took the opportunity to ask: "What kind of battlefield defense can be considered hierarchical?" ”

"There is a front line, there is depth, there is mobility, fully estimate the strength invested by the Soviet counterattack, use the fortifications to reduce their offensive layer by layer, and find out their weak points to be able to launch a counter-attack in time." Manstein spoke quickly and smoothly, and at this moment he seemed to have found the feeling of being able to plan again, and at this moment he seemed to have returned to that difficult and glorious time, surrounded by strong-willed, loyal and reliable colleagues, who had always fought for a common faith...... After listening to the English relay of the German [***] officer, Bradley held his chin in one hand and thought seriously, his eyes searching the map over and over again. After a moment, he reluctantly said to Manstein: "I am afraid that this will be difficult to do in a short time, our army is accustomed to attacking, and the stubborn defense against the enemy is still good, and it is necessary to temporarily organize a systematic and in-depth defense...... What would happen if we fought a large-scale campaign of war against attack? ”

This time, without waiting for Manstein to speak, the British general on the side couldn't bear it anymore, and he said coldly and sarcastically: "The result? If we had changed to the German [***] team, we would have been beaten by the Soviets, but we were not a German [***] team, with a Führer who liked to command blindly and a group of production organizers who would only make personal gains. ”

Bradley could prevent his allies on his side from shutting up, but he couldn't tell the German [***] officer brought by Manstein to skip this sentence, only to see that he relayed the words of the British general to Manstein with a surprised face, and the German field marshal did not break out, but looked at this unqualified British [***] officer with an extremely cold gaze, and did not say a word.

In the face of Manstein's eyes, the British general was obviously timid, and he said to himself: "If you really have the ability to command with God, how can you become a loser with your empire?" ”

"Enough!" Bradley took a sideways step between the British general and Manstein, cutting off the rapidly escalating confrontation between the two, and said to the British general: "General Lenka, earlier we were indeed inseparable from the Germans on the battlefield, and we were in our own ways at that time, and now that our feud with Germany has been settled, it is time to work together against the Soviets!" Marshal Manstein's appointment as a senior adviser is also a decision made by the top leaders of our two countries, and we, as soldiers, should abandon our personal prejudices. ”

As the "general of the American GI", Bradley enjoyed a high reputation among the American [***] team and even the Allied officers and soldiers, and the British general, who wore the rank of lieutenant general, could not help but give face to this foreign superior, and he snorted coldly: "Okay! Let this Nazi marshal speak his mind! I'd like to see how clever he can give it. ”

It is difficult to avoid this kind of friction and conflict due to differences in culture, habits, and concepts when leading a multinational joint force, Bradley turned to look at the other generals present with a stern face, and his eyes swept over the circle of officers outside, who were also from the American, British, French, and Polish armies, and were also full of surprise, curiosity, and emotions with their own subjective intentions, including hostility, fear, admiration, and admiration and worship for Manstein's arrival.

"Field Marshal Manstein is our senior advisor, and I hope I don't have to remind you of that again and again, ladies and gentlemen." Bradley said a pun, and then, in earnest, apologized to Manstein and asked him to continue with the conversation.

Demeanor is the biggest difference between those who have achieved great things and those who are modest, and Manstein has not lost his temper because of anger from beginning to end, and the look in his eyes that is colder than frost has a kind of momentum that is not angry but mighty. Accepting Bradley's apology, he calmly analyzed: "Rainy weather is not suitable for an attack - relatively speaking, it is even more disadvantageous for the side that has penetrated deep into enemy territory and has elongated supply lines. If you want to continue the offensive despite the weakening of air support, you can, but the troops participating in the attack must ensure the same determination, launch a decisive attack with full courage and perseverance, and take the enemy by surprise! ”

Hearing this statement, the French general present was the first to speak: "Such an attack means that we have to pay a considerable price, right?" ”

"It's usually understood, but it doesn't rule out the possibility of hitting the opponent's soft underbelly in one fell swoop and getting a big victory." Manstein replied.

"Probably a very small surname." The French general continued.

Manstein did not deny it.

The French general asked again: "Then if we switch to conventional defense and do not organize your so-called layered defense, how large is it possible for the Soviet army to organize a counterattack in these few days?" ”

"It's bigger than you think." Manstein's answer seemed to have a hint of contempt.

The French general smiled: "You overestimate the Soviets, in the past three months, we have dropped hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs on the rear of the Soviet Union, and you should be well aware of the complete damage caused by this strategic bombing." ”

Faced with a contemptuous counterattack, Manstein remained unmoved, he just responded coldly: "Don't forget the Ardennes counterattack." ”

"Yes, the Ardennes counterattack has shed the last blood of the Third Reich, how can it be forgotten?" The British general interjected inopportunely, and was very targeted.

In spite of the siege, Manstein stood still like a pine, and the more this happened, the more one felt a kind of sorrow of victory and defeat, Bradley had to speak again at this time, and he said to the crowd: "All right, Marshal Manstein has also gone through more than ten hours of bumps on the road, so let's get here today!" We have arranged our lodgings upstairs, Marshal, and we have prepared a small welcome dinner for you to-night, and I will have the adjutant invite you in advance. ”

Without arrogance and pretentiousness, Manstein did not push down the dinner party prepared by the Americans on the grounds of fatigue, he thanked Bradley blandly, and then walked out of the room without looking back, led by the American service officer. As soon as the door closed, the British, French, and Polish generals chattered like vendors:

"Look at this Nazi marshal, he is still so arrogant after more than a year of defeat, he really should be imprisoned and go back to prison to reflect on it!"

"I really can't figure it out, how could this guy be our advisor, his military ability is indeed undoubted, but how can he really help us sincerely, he, like all Germans, wants us to fight with the Soviets at this moment!"

"Yes, General Bradley, we can't let his words disrupt the deployment, as General Lenka said just now, if he can penetrate everything on the battlefield, how can he lose the decisive Battle of Kursk?"

Bradley smiled a little bitterly, and at the same time he raised his hands to signal everyone to be calm: "I can understand your feelings, it is indeed not so comfortable to have the marshal of a defeated country here, but we have to admit that the Germans are not so useless, otherwise we would not have had to mobilize all our forces to defeat this opponent in the first place." As for the battles and battles on the Eastern Front, I have read some from the press and war reports, and I have heard some from the Soviet population, that the Germans fought very well in the early stage, and there are no lack of classic examples in the middle and late periods, and their experience is indeed what we lack at present. To tell the truth, I was surprised when I first received the notice from above, and then I thought about it, a ruined country, a marshal in name only, what do we have to worry about, are we afraid that he will conquer us in turn? Don't forget, humans can tame even vicious wolves. ”

These last two sentences obviously moved the unconvinced Allied generals, who nodded their heads and cheered, and the unhappiness just now was swept away, and everyone returned to the topic, arguing with their own opinions about how to deal with the next continuous rainy weather.

There was obviously no shortage of spacious and comfortable rooms in such a star-rated hotel, and the Allies arranged a large suite facing north for Manstein, but a small room in the corner for his assistant, and between the two were almost at the ends of one floor, which was obviously very inconvenient in life.

"They're just too much!"

Leaving the briefcase in Manstein's study in the suite, the lieutenant rank of lieutenant said angrily.

Manstein sneered silently, and then motioned with his eyes to his assistant not to talk nonsense here, and the lieutenant understood.

"I thought I would never have had the opportunity to set foot on Polish soil in my life, and the people here had a deep resistance to us, the war...... Does it have to be so deeply hurt and hateful? Manstein sighed as he walked to the balcony, he did not push the door open and walked out, the air outside was fresh, but there was no freedom for them who were defeated.

The lieutenant only sighed silently, and then asked, "Sir, let me make you a pot of coffee!" ”

"Okay, thank you!"

When Manstein returned to his room from the balcony door, he saw a newspaper on the table, and when he walked over it, he found it printed in Polish.

"Hans, do you know Polish?"

The lieutenant turned around with the kettle: "Understand, but not proficient." ”

"Look at yesterday's newspaper." Manstein looked at the masthead and said, "It may have carried the news of the advance of the [***] team in Eastern Europe." ”

"I'll be right here!" The lieutenant filled the kettle with water and plugged it in, and while wiping his hands, he walked over to Manstein, he picked up the newspaper and looked at it very seriously, "Well, the Poles feel that they are about to follow the Allies to win this war, and they are sure to reclaim the territory they once had from the Soviet Union." ”

"It's not good to be too optimistic, they'll be disappointed very quickly." Manstein whispered, like his own words—the lieutenant standing next to him could hear it, but the listening equipment placed in the shadows would not yield anything.

(To be continued)