In the middle of summer, the temperature in London is moist, and even when the sun is shining, it rarely exceeds 30 degrees Celsius. The flames of war in Europe were rekindled after a year, and the British were far less anxious and panicked than they had in the summer of 1940. Not only is the main battlefield thousands of kilometers away from the British mainland, but also in terms of relative strength, the opponents of the Soviet Air Force and Navy this time have not yet reached the threat posed to Britain by the heyday of the Third Reich, even if they take 10,000 steps back, no matter how strong the Soviet Army is, it is impossible to cross the natural barrier of the English Channel, and the only thing that makes the British feel less reliable is the "nuclear weapons" in the hands of the Soviets that make people full of reverie. The damage to the Royal Navy from a nuclear explosion in the Norwegian Sea was quite bearable, but the burn marks of the wounded were similar to those of the survivors of the post-war surveys in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to widespread belief in the West that the enemy had indeed mastered the atomic bomb technology, that Moscow probably possessed or was about to build multiple atomic bombs, and that it was entirely possible that they would use submarines or other covert means to retaliate against the Western allies. Under these circumstances, wartime controls were imposed in London, Paris, and even large cities such as Washington and New York in the United States, some densely populated areas were evacuated, and new air defense systems were designed and constructed according to the known standards of nuclear warfare...... On a seemingly normal day, on the road to St. James's Square, a military jeep painted in grass green cleared the way, followed by a black Ford sedan. In the back seat of the Ford sedan, a wrinkled, old-fashioned white-haired man leaned back on his seat with his eyes closed. He wore a German-style military uniform in a field gray tone, with only the simplest ornaments on the military uniform and military cap, no marshal's collar medal with a red background, no exquisite Knight's Cross with oak leaves, and no rumored ferocious, bloodthirsty and brutal. When the bright and blazing sun shone on the face through the right window, one of the three famous players in the minds of the Germans, Fritz. Erich. Feng. Marshal Manstein slowly opened his eyes as if he had woken up from a sleep. In the slightly swaying car, he looked with a desireless gaze at the bustling streets and pedestrians outside, everything here was foreign and irrelevant to him, and the Third Emperor[***] was still in the heyday of his power to conquer the British Isle in one fell swoop, and all that had long been buried in the depths of his memory with the annihilation of hope. From Nuremberg Prison to the German high-ranking military officer prison in Britain, the change in his eyes was only a change of wall.

Upon arrival at St. James's Square, the two cars eventually stopped in front of the famous Norfolk Hotel. From January to September 1944, the Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe was located in this hotel, and later with the opening of the second theater of war by the Allies in France, the headquarters moved to Europe, and this hotel was used as the headquarters and general liaison office of the American [***] team in the United Kingdom, and it was planned to end the lease contract and return it to the British side after the number of American troops was further reduced in the number of occupying forces. Just over two months ago, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had already served as chief of the General Staff of the US Army, was once again appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe, and millions of American GIs returned to Europe across the sea. However, this time the Allied Command was not located in London, which was far away from the battlefield, but directly located in Bremen, Germany, on the European continent, and now with the successive victories of the Western Allied forces in Eastern Europe, the Allied Command composed of Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Leclerc as military representatives of the United States, Britain and France is about to move eastward to Poland, so as to facilitate a more direct and convenient command of the front-line war.

There were no additional spectators, no applause of flowers, and Manstein was greeted by a group of American and British [***] officials with complicated expressions. On the steps in front of the hotel, an American general and a British general waited for the arrival of the former formidable enemy with their hands naturally down, and when Manstein walked up the steps, he took the initiative to extend his right hand and greet him in English. After turning around and walking into the hotel, the two little-known Allied generals walked a little hurriedly, Manstein was obviously half a beat slower, and by the time he walked up the stairs to the second floor, they had already been pulled down two or three positions, and the American and British generals had to stop and wait for a while. Eventually, the three of them entered the Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe and the Chief of Military Affairs of the United States Forces in Britain. Lawx. Devers's office, while the current commander of the British Home Defence, Harold Brown. Marshal Alexander was also waiting here.

In terms of prestige and status during the war, Devers, Alexander, and Manstein were not the brightest stars in their respective countries, but they shared many similarities: they were praised for their military talents, they served as commanders of army groups, and they had outstanding performances on the battlefield. Now, Devers carries the temporary rank of four-star general, Alexander, although he is a marshal and in the prime of life, is somewhat overshadowed by Montgomery's glory, and as for Manstein, he has not been reused since he was dismissed by Hitler in the spring of 1944, and was arrested by the British army after the end of the war.

"Marshal Manstein! Welcome! Devers stood up to greet the famous German general, who had never been photographed on the battlefield, his tone was not lacking in enthusiasm, and the expression on his face was even kinder with a very subtle gesture of goodwill.

The U.S. [***] team does not have the establishment of marshals, the five-star general is the highest rank, and the four-star of Devers can be regarded as a sufficient interlocutor, Manstein is always straight, his eyes are level with each other, and he responds in German without humility or arrogance: "Hello, thank you!" ”

Compared with the attitude of the Americans, Marshal Alexander, who had also not fought with his opponent on the battlefield, was more generous, he gave Manstein a clear smile, and the long handshake with the other party also showed a kind of heroic open-mindedness, but this was not enough to melt the indifference on Manstein's face, and he still only greeted him politely.

Under Devers's guidance, Manstein sat down on the sofa, Alexander and Bradley sat on one side, and the two American and British generals who came in with him sat in the chairs that had been arranged behind the large sofa, and a young man in a British Army uniform acted as interpreter.

"When I first arrived in England, the marshal was still used to it!" Devers asked.

After the translation relayed, Manstein replied unhurriedly: "It's fine." ”

Devers said at an unhurried pace: "Although the German newspapers and periodicals delivered to you are usually delayed by one or two days, I believe that they can still give you a very intuitive understanding of the external situation. We are now in a state of direct war with the USSR, in the sense that we are walking in the footprints you have left behind, which sounds somewhat ironic, but things do not always work out as one would like. ”

Before listening to the translation's paraphrase, Manstein sat motionless, a gesture that was also an inherent impression of the Germans. In the end, he just nodded slightly, and did not say anything.

Devers glanced at Alexander, and then went straight to the point: "The main reason for inviting you here today is that you have fought with the Soviets for four years and have a good understanding of their combat methods, and you are Germany's leading military expert, so you ...... We hope that you will be able to help us in a way that you find acceptable, so that we can also help you and your colleagues and compatriots in any way we can. ”

Manstein was still not in a hurry to speak, he sat there like a rock, his gaze lingering on Devers's face for a long time, forcing Devers to cast a look for help from Alexander.

Alexander then said to Manstein: "We can offer you a formal position of senior military adviser in the Allied Command in Europe, open or confidential according to your wishes." We are confident that your insights will be of great help to our military operations, and that we can free you from imprisonment in the way of comrades-in-arms. After the war with the Soviet Union, you can return to Germany as a free person, regardless of politics, or rejoin the West German army, it's up to you! ”

For the most basic etiquette, Manstein made eye contact with Alexander when he spoke, and the English laid out more detailed conditions, which were also quite tempting for a defeated [***] man who had lost his freedom and whose future was uncertain. Manstein thought for half a minute, opened his mouth and said a few words in German, which the interpreter hastily translated into English: "I am tired of being a staff officer and military commander for many years, and I personally do not hate Soviet soldiers, they only stand on their own side and perform the duties of soldiers, and in the process it is inevitable that some people will behave. ”

Hearing this, Alexander looked a little disappointed, and Devers said calmly: "We understand and respect your ideas, otherwise I would have chosen to think quietly rather than re-engage in war and strife." In fact...... We are currently considering another plan, which is to rebuild the German [***] team. ”

Ten or twenty years from now, it would not be surprising to say that a country like Germany, which is geographically equivalent to the crossroads of Europe, cannot remain in a military vacuum for long, especially since its army is the most militarily refined and easy to command. But now, in 1946, only 14 months after Germany's defeat, those imprisoned in Allied prisoner-of-war camps were all sworn allegiance to Adolf during the old Third Reich. Hitler's soldiers, the SS, the Wehrmacht, and the reserve forces of all ranks, some of them were indeed misled and recognized the truth of the war, but many more were probably still reluctant, like those predecessors who actively campaigned for the Kaiser's restoration after the end of the First World War, waiting for a call from the darkness.

The reason why a famous general can become an extraordinary person, the more important the right and wrong, the more he can keep a calm and sober mind, Manstein was not carried away by Defuss's words in the slightest, he thought calmly, and asked: "The Soviets are already using their captured German [***] people to participate in this war, right?" ”

Devers exchanged glances with Alexander with some surprise, and then replied: "According to the information we have, the Soviet Union does have such a plan, those German prisoners of war who thought that they could fight in exchange for freedom will be used for dangerous work such as field engineering, front-line demining, etc., and those who are confused or assimilated by the ideas of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union may even be sent to the front line to participate in the battle - we have reason to believe that the Soviets will stop at nothing in order to win." From our standpoint, we don't want to see hundreds of thousands of German [***] teams become accomplices of the enemy, and from your standpoint, we don't want your compatriots to be in such a desperate situation, so we have a common position on this point. ”

Manstein thought for a while, and then asked sharply: "You allow the German [***] team to rebuild, don't you also want our soldiers to build bridges and pave roads, dig trenches and clear mines, and even fight the Soviets on the front line?" ”

"Yes! We have our position, you have your position, and cooperation is possible only when the two positions converge. We need your military help, you need to be free, to put it bluntly, it's simple! Devers replied without shying away that his directness surprised even Marshal Alexander. On the issue of these details, it is obvious that the two important American and British generals did not communicate adequately.

Before the translator translated Devers's words in their entirety, Manstein was already in a state of deep thought. This time he thought about it for a long time, so much so that Devers couldn't wait to throw out a deeper temptation: "As long as the Soviet Union is defeated, it is obvious that the previous agreement between us and the Soviet Union to divide and occupy Germany will lose its validity, and we can either choose to re-divide and occupy Germany by the United States, Britain, and France, or let it return to a unified state, and take the right path under the supervision and support of the allies. ”

"You're not worried about the rumors about the remnants of the Third Reich?" Manstein still raised his question in the form of rhetorical questions, and judging by the reactions of Devers and Alexander, they must have realized that the German star in front of him was a tricky target with a strong sense of subjectivity, which should be the main reason why he was abandoned in the later stages of the war.

"Most of us think that it was a cover used by the Soviet side to divert public attention, because after the United States mastered the atomic bomb technology, they were afraid that the United States would attack and disintegrate them with this superweapon, unless they had the same superweapon, they simply did not have the ability to resist and fight back!" "Now we are launching an all-out offensive to eliminate the threat to Europe and the world once and for all, before the Soviets can build more atomic bombs." ”

Manstein burst into laughter—not heartily, but a frightening, grim laugh that made Devers and Alexander look at each other.

"One thing that puzzles me is why the United States should launch a fierce air and ground offensive with Britain, France, and other countries, and wouldn't a dozen atomic bombs be enough to solve the problem?"

This question immediately stunned Alexander, but Devers, a general called a "powerful man" by his American colleagues, said calmly: "No, Mr. Manstein, a dozen atomic bombs will not solve all problems, but can complicate them." To use a very simple analogy, if a village has landlords and peasants, and the landlords have always oppressed the peasants, if we set a few fires in the village or even burn the landlord's yard in one go, it is very likely that the people in the village will stand on the side of the surviving landlord's family out of fear, anger and sympathy, and resist our attack with the same hatred, and if we adopt a more intelligent way to occupy a household, we will wake up the poor peasants who have to swallow their anger against the landlord's arrogance in a reasonable way. One by one, they will side with us, eventually isolate and eliminate the big landlords, and the village will be stable for a long time. ”

This is not a clever metaphor, but it barely copes with Manstein's problem, and as for the deeper problems behind it, the Americans regard it as a secret, and outsiders can only figure it out on their own.

"I have no interest in serving as a staff officer or adviser, I just want to make more contributions to our motherland in my lifetime, and if I can participate in organizing the reconstruction of the German [***] army, I am willing to provide some positive and effective analysis and suggestions for the military operations of the allies, and you can decide for yourself whether to adopt it or not."

Manstein finally showed his arrogant side when he said this, you must know that his "Manstein Plan" helped the German [***] team to quickly and unexpectedly defeat France, and directed the splendid and heart-wrenching Battle of the Crimean Peninsula when the troops were not superior, captured the Sevastopol fortress group, which is known for its fortification, and as the commander of Army Group South, he launched the Kharkov counterattack which was of great strategic significance and exquisite in the entire military history of World War II, and almost single-handedly changed the tide of the war. He was good at concentrating on the use of armored forces, emphasizing quick victory and surprise victory, and although there were regrets such as the failure of the 6th Army to capture Leningrad and rescue the trapped Stalingrad, he was still the most outstanding military commander of his time.

"You made a very wise decision." As if he was afraid that the boiled duck would fly away, Devers hurriedly put a lid on his pot with these words, and then added: "Of course, you also know that rebuilding the German [***] team is not an easy thing to complete, from planning to implementation involves all parties, and the war on the front line will change every day, so we hope that you can fulfill your duty of providing analysis and advice for our military decision-making as soon as possible, and we will also fulfill our commitment to you with a personal guarantee." ”

"I can clearly distinguish between the objective and human factors in this." Manstein coldly reminded.

At this time, the relieved Field Marshal Alexander smiled again at Manstein: "What a wonderful sight it would be if one day we could fight side by side on the battlefield!" ”

(To be continued)