On December 16, 1946, the Allied Winter Offensive kicked off for ten days, and the Southern Front under the command of British Field Marshal Alexander undoubtedly became the biggest bright spot in the past ten days. With a decisive and strong siege, the Allied Southern Front cluster gradually cornered more than 200,000 Soviet troops trapped in the border area between Romania and Ukraine, and laid a battlefield in the Khmelnytsky area of Western Ukraine to meet the armored units reinforced by the Soviet Ukrainian Front on the southern front. In this thrilling tank battle, not only did the Allied Air Force win enough attention with its outstanding performance, but the Allied tank units and anti-tank fighters all played a superior role, and what caught the Soviet military top brass off guard was that the opponent actually boldly carried out night interspersing in such low-temperature weather, and used reconnaissance, raiding, sabotage, and assault in all kinds of ways, and the appearance of dozens of detachments behind enemy lines and a large number of airborne troops made the Soviets exclaim the battlefield creativity and vigorous vitality of the Allied forces. How did they know that due to the crushing defeat of the three ace airborne divisions of the US-British allied forces in the previous combat operations, less than 200 of the paratroopers who were put into operation this time came from the US and British troops, and the two units that really formed the main force were the two units that participated in the war for the first time since the outbreak of this war, the 1st Airborne Regiment of the French Air Force and the 11th German Volunteer Regiment. Among them, France contributed more than 600 paratroopers who made their debut on the battlefield, and the 760 German volunteers who came out of the prisoner of war camp for just over a month were the former Third Reich army that had experienced many bloody and brutal battles, especially the officers and soldiers who had served in the vampire night battle commando, the Brandenburg regiment and the paratrooper unit formed the backbone of this elite force - in the late stage of World War II and just after the end of the war, German soldiers of this status were likely to be shot on the spot once captured by the Soviet army, but in the western occupation zone, Most of them survived, and despite their hardships in Allied prisoner-of-war camps, the hope of survival and recovery made many of them accept Allied conscription and take up arms again without hesitation......

Eric is one of them.

In a birch forest on the banks of the Danube, Eric sits cross-legged by a tree. He and the 17 German volunteers directly assigned to his command all wore US military uniforms with special symbols, and put on white cold-proof suits outside, and a total of three people in the team, including himself, carried individual night vision devices composed of "batteries + infrared searchlights + infrared sights". In the late Third Reich, the night swordsmen of the commando team used such equipment to carry out a large number of attacks on the Allied fronts, and many times they were tactically reversed, and during the same period, the United States and Britain also invested manpower and material resources in the research and development of night vision equipment, and the night vision equipment of the American army was put into practical use before the end of the war, and the similar distance made it easy for them to repair and reuse captured German equipment. Improvements have also been made in weight and effective distance.

In terms of weapons, the German-made MP44 assault rifle is certainly a pioneering technical weapon, but the interest of the Western Allies in this weapon is obviously not as good as that of the Soviet army, and many of the industrial equipment that Germany survived in the war was pulled away by the Soviets in sets, so it returned to the battlefield, Eric used the American-made M1 carbine, and the improved night vision device was used with it, and the effective distance and range were more consistent, and the night vision device equipped by the "vampire" commando was not only used with MP44, Another commonly used weapon, the G43 semi-automatic rifle, is also relatively close to the US military's M1 carbine in terms of appearance and performance.

Ordinary firearms can be powerful weapons in the hands of a true combat elite. What's more, the M1 carbine is more practical and stable than the German G43. The soldiers around Eric are also wearing American military uniforms and white winter suits, which is still a bit reluctant to fight the cold night in Eastern Europe. As for the nearby river, which is partially frozen, it is not a duplicate name, but the part of the second largest river in Europe that flows through Ukraine. The Blue Danube will eventually flow into the Black Sea in the Odessa region of Ukraine, completing a 2,850-kilometre journey through nine countries.

Wiping the water from his face, Eric took out a flashlight from his pocket and asked the two soldiers on the left and right to prop up the waterproof poncho to hide the light from the flashlight. The map made on brown paper was soaked in water for a long time. The edges had changed color, and the letters on them had made Erik, who was accustomed to German, frown. Soon, a big head went straight under the poncho, his cheeks bulging out, and he looked like a fierce man, and the epaulettes and emblems of the French Army could be seen on the collar of his white winter suit. …,

Eric wasn't upset by the guy's unsolicited arrival. People have always been able to show extra forgiveness for the defeat of their former subordinates, and the French army at this time was not as weak and weak as the outside world speculated. The rebuilding of the French army was carried out almost as the Allied counter-offensive on the European continent took place, and by the time Germany surrendered, the French regular army that had entered the war was already close in number to the British Army, and for more than a year, the French government was committed to returning to the ranks of European powers, politically committed to freeing itself from American and British control. Economically, we have made full use of the resources of the colonies to assist in the construction of the homeland, and militarily we have carried out the reorganization of the armed forces on the basis of strict military review, and these measures have had a very positive effect on the recovery of national strength and military strength.

"Here...... Over here...... Over here...... There are also 30 kilometers to go, with two tributaries on the way, crossing the bridge or swimming across the ...... It's hard to get to E before dawn! ”

Eric speaks German in his mouth. The French officer's head shook as he listened, and at last he came a phrase in fluent German: "I want to get there before dawn, take the outer route, and get around here...... Over here...... It's a bit of a distance, but we have off-road vehicles and it's not a problem at all. ”

It is true that there are enough jeeps and lightly armored personnel carriers, and there is enough fuel to deal with the enemy infantry, but the battlefield is not an off-road field, and enemy artillery, mines and tanks can appear on the side of the road at any time. Eric said with a grim face: "There are two villages nearby, and it is estimated that the Soviet army has deployed patrol forces, so we have to be extra careful." ”

On the third day of the Battle of Khmelnitsky, their sharp knife unit composed of French and German volunteers took advantage of the night to pass through the Soviet defense line and sent a lot of valuable information to their own headquarters through close reconnaissance. Eric wanted to take advantage of the confusion of the Soviet army to retreat to the area under his control, but he did not expect to encounter a mobile patrol unit of the Soviet army on the way. Although the opponent was defeated after a fierce battle, the side also lost a lot of soldiers, and now there are only 5 jeeps and 2 wheeled light armored personnel carriers left, including 33 prisoners of war.

Compared to the changes in the battlefield situation, encountering Soviet patrols was a piece of cake, and in this tank battle of unprecedented scale, thousands of combat vehicles on both sides were supported by infantry and artillery, and new troops were constantly entering the battlefield. Since the fierce battle, Lady Luck seems to have stopped favoring this group of brave warriors, for two days. They kept moving with their stubborn will, and were forced to flee in embarrassment when they encountered Soviet troops several times, but they did not expect to turn around and return to the vicinity of a target that was originally scheduled to carry out a surprise attack, and the French captain who led the team was the big head with two cheeks and flesh, and the convoy went out day and night, even if the surprise attack failed, it was necessary to detect the new situation there and bring it back to the headquarters.

"Since yesterday evening, we have not encountered Soviet patrols again, and the battle line should have changed again. If I'm not mistaken, it's likely that these two villages have been abandoned by Soviet troops. Either there is a weak alert force stationed. The big-headed French captain learned to use the demeanor of the Napoleonic Emperor and said, "Point E is either a large supply base for the Soviet army, or a high-level headquarters, if there is a strong Soviet garrison nearby, it means that it is still worth attacking, we can use the radio to summon American bombers and let them solve the problem, if there is nothing there." We can also judge that the center of gravity of the Soviet front has shifted to the north. ”

"Although we can still use the speed advantage to evacuate when we encounter an enemy attack, I always feel that there may be Soviet field artillery deployed in this vicinity, and I still want to reminisce about the feeling of being chased by shells?" Eric shook his head and said, "I spent a while around here 3 years ago, and in general, the sparse woods were not enough to provide cover for the troops to march. Moreover, these villages are either garrisoned by Soviet troops, or Soviet sentry posts are planted, and it is probably an empty vision to pass through smoothly! ”

"Why don't we change into Soviet uniforms and disguise ourselves?" The big-headed French captain came up with a bad idea.

As soon as he heard this, Eric said with a look of anger: "Hey, there are not many of us who can speak Russian at all, and we will die if we meet a Soviet patrol!" ”…,

Deliberation and deliberation came and went, but the two men who spoke of the chicken and duck could not reach a common opinion at all, and it was still the French captain who took the decision, and the rank was secondary. Allied generals were apparently more willing to give trust to the unruly French than German volunteers who had just been released from the camps, though they were more likely to mess things up completely.

After deciding to make a roundabout march towards Point E, the big-headed French captain gathered his exhausted and demoralized French soldiers for a mobilization. France is known for its fierce colonial corps, but in both world wars, it was the native soldiers who played the leading role. The French soldiers here are all European faces, and after a week of fighting behind enemy lines, they have lost more than a dozen of their comrades, and they have been more or less wounded. On Eric's side, a dozen German volunteers had been part of nine different units, and only a few had served in the same unit, and the soldiers were also exhausted, exposed to the cold for a long time, and their facial skin had turned into birch bark.

Following the arrangement of the big-headed French captain, the French soldiers rode in jeeps and personnel carriers in the back, and the German volunteers, who were more familiar with the Ukrainian environment, were still in charge of taking the lead - they wore American uniforms, rode in American-made jeeps, and operated Browning machine guns, which at first glance looked like ordinary American troops.

The experienced Eric sent two jeeps far ahead to explore the road, and the rest of the vehicles moved cautiously a few meters apart, and after less than half an hour of driving east, one of the jeeps turned back, and the German volunteers in the car brought a surprising report: behind the woodland near the village in front were Soviet artillery positions, many of which were Katyusha rocket launchers.

"Oh?" Eric looked at the map carefully from the parked car, "Is it in this location?" ”

The darkness and unfamiliar environment made it difficult to locate accurately, and the thick-eyed German volunteers thought twice: "Yes, it should be this position!" That broad-leaved forest covers an area of several hundred acres, and if we hadn't followed the trails of Soviet patrols, we might not have found those Soviet artillery hidden in the woodland! The range of their patrol force is not very large, from the south of the village to the east of the woods, in a roughly circular shape. ”

Wait for the big-headed French captain to come to his side. "This could be a subsidiary artillery unit at the level of a Soviet army group or a separate artillery unit at the division level, and artillery and rocket artillery are of little significance in a war of movement, either as a fire support point for fortified positions, or in preparation for a large-scale offensive," Eric said. ”

The big head scratched the back of his head: "Which one is more likely?" ”

Eric gave him a blank look, this guy really regarded himself as an all-knowing staff officer, and let himself analyze everything first. Then again, it seems that the heads of German soldiers in this era are indeed better than those of their French counterparts.

"It's possible to do both, maybe it's a combination of both." Eric replied vaguely.

The pretentious French officer, who paid no attention to this perfunctory tone, glanced twice in that direction and said lazily: "Send the coordinates of the Soviet artillery to the Yankees." Let them carpet bomb this area as soon as it is dawn, and the problem will be solved? ”

This method is not very brainy to hear, and it must be that the US and British air forces are strong enough, and the supply of fuel and ammunition is almost infinitely sufficient. Instead of advising on the contrary, Eric complied: "Then we can retreat early!" ”

"Retreat?" The big head shook his head and said, "No, let's take a detour to point E, where I always feel that there is a secret that will be decisive for the battle. Hey, Germans, you see. The sooner this war ends, the sooner order returns to normalcy in Europe, and this is also a good thing for the people of your country, and we will take risks in exchange for victory, honor, money, and status, right? ”

The corners of Eric's mouth were slightly raised, and he responded with a sneer to the captain's French logic, and the Soviet Union winning this war would be a disaster for the Western world. However, a quick victory for the Allies was not necessarily a good thing, and the war punishment for Germany would not be exempted from the bloody sacrifice of German volunteers on the battlefield. …,

"Then why don't we dozens of people come to an incomparably brave assault. Turning the Soviet artillery positions upside down in one fell swoop? Eric unceremoniously retorted that it was not that he had never done such seemingly crazy things, but now he and his soldiers were no longer fighting for the victory of the nation and the nation. Just to be free, you can't risk your own life and the lives of your compatriots.

"Saying that point E is the key, it makes no sense to consume soldiers in this Soviet artillery position!" Captain Big-Head yelled vigorously.

Eric's attitude just now was indeed a bit extreme, Eric forced himself to calm down instead of getting involved in the air-fired dispute with the French, he frowned and said: "I'm afraid that the main battlefield has undergone a large displacement in the past two days, and it has advanced to this vicinity from more than 100 kilometers away." In that case, maybe before dawn, the Soviet artillery should be in power. Captain, let's send the situation back to command! As for point E, I don't think there is time or need to make a detailed investigation, since this area has become the intended battlefield of the Soviet army, it must have become an important part of the Soviet army's front. ”

Eric's forbearance did not make the big-headed French captain relent. In the midst of the quarrel, his true opinion of these German volunteers was undoubted: "It seems that the German soldiers who are really not afraid of death have all died on the battlefield, and only you are the wretched eggs!" All right! You are here to wait, and we will retreat alone before dawn, and I will take my soldiers to point E...... Long live France! ”

Hearing the "nest egg", Eric's body trembled suddenly, but he gritted his teeth and withstood this provocation, and it was not wise to be angry on the battlefield. The big-headed French captain pretended to be excited and walked back to his car and directed the vehicle carrying the French soldiers around the front of the convoy, and Eric simply stood there without saying a word and watched the French play their childish tricks. After a while, the big-headed car turned around again, and the guy jumped down and walked up to Eric angrily: "You and your soldiers will be sent back to the prisoner of war camp because of this kind of escape, do you really want that outcome?" ”

Eric could have used the assumption of a defection to remind the other party of the current situation and the status of both sides, but he held back. Had he not been seriously wounded, he would not have spent the last years of the Third Reich in the rear hospital, and it was more honorable to die on the streets of Berlin with his former comrades than to be a prisoner of the Allies, and after spending his days in great psychological pain and mental emptiness, Eric gradually figured out one thing: fate must have made sense in this way, either to allow himself to return to the battlefield one day to play a role, or to allow himself to take on a new mission after the end of the war.

"We raided the Soviet artillery positions and pinned down the patrol and alert troops around the Soviet army, you take the opportunity to bypass this area and go to point E, the speed must be fast, maybe it will be time to take advantage of the chaos of the Soviet army to get reconnaissance and then evacuate all the troops." Eric said resolutely.