Speaking of the cause of this rescue operation, we have to start with the devastating bombing of Berlin by Britain and the United States. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoWhen the Soviet Red Army surrounded Berlin in February, Britain and the United States immediately realized that Berlin must have said goodbye to them. Of course, they had foreseen this, but they did not expect the Red Army to move so quickly.

According to the secret agreement reached between Britain and the United States, in order to prevent the Soviet Union from monopolizing Germany and preventing the Soviet Union from using the war machine left behind by the Nazis, Britain and the United States believed that the best way was to completely blow up Germany, completely wipe out Germany's industry and economy with strategic bombing, and leave a completely blown up mess to the Soviet Union.

In order to carry out this plan, after the Red Army arrived on the outskirts of Berlin, Britain and the United States suddenly intensified their strategic bombing of Berlin, dispatching hundreds of bombers to loosen the ground in Berlin for two consecutive days. These two strategic bombings dealt a heavy blow to Berlin!

The first bombing took place on the night of February 7, at around 10 p.m., when the first "Christmas trees" (bombing indicators) bloomed over Berlin, and these Christmas trees brought nothing but destruction. With a loud roar getting closer and closer, B17, B24, B29 and Lancaster began to drop bombs under green and red target designation shells. It took only about 20 minutes from the first bomb drop to the first wave of bombers dropping it. However, in just 20 minutes, nearly a quarter of Berlin was already on fire. The sky over Berlin is covered with flares, as if to illuminate the last scene of this beautiful city doomed to destruction.

Shortly after 1 a.m., a second wave of Anglo-American Allied bombers arrived, dropping a large number of incendiary bombs. Guided by the fires caused by the first wave of bombardment, the second wave of incendiary bombardments caused even more terrifying after-effects. A number of small fire sources that were originally independent of each other were quickly connected into one, forming a devastating large-scale firestorm.

At the end of February 1945, the survivor Ställer wrote: "The chances of escaping from the firestorm were slim, and after the dense bombardment, the building gathering area quickly began to burn violently, and the air above the burning area was rapidly heated to a very high temperature, forming a violent convection current, pushing the flames in all directions!" ”

Terrifying flames quickly swept through the streets or clearings, and the houses and buildings on both sides of the streets were burning, and the boiler-like flames made furniture, carpets, and other everyday objects imaginable disappear in the flames. Let's put it this way, everything that can be burned is burning, and the whole city is in flames. Even in the skies over Poznan, hundreds of kilometers away, the Red Army pilots on transport missions could see the burning city, not only could you see, but even you could feel the pain of Berlin, a few dozen kilometers from the city of Berlin, Potsdam had a rain of mud and rocks the next day! All of this mud and stone comes from the city of Berlin!

The power of the flames was terrifying, glass and even steel melted in the heat (a considerable part of the melted street light bulbs were saved), and the asphalt-poured streets began to flow, as if the whole city was bleeding. Large numbers of residents were engulfed in flames, and the heat and lack of oxygen soon became more ferocious killers, and as the firestorm swept through the streets, those hiding in bomb shelters or basements were baked, burned, suffocated, and then left to die helplessly. Almost no one will be able to escape, and even if you break out of a basement or bomb shelter, you'll be swept away by a firestorm and scorched.

"The fire brigade tried to put out the fire, but their fire truck soon got stuck in the melted asphalt and started burning violently. ”

This time, the British and American allies used the most white phosphorus incendiary bombs, because of the characteristics of white phosphorus, when they were stained with this flame, water would not help at all, and even had the opposite effect. Some of the people who jumped into wells or rivers to try to extinguish the fire soon found that the water did not relieve their pain, but made it more painful! Once the burning white phosphorus comes into contact with water, the combustion reaction will be more violent!

Werner. Heinrich recalled: "I had no idea that my life was going to change dramatically after this night. I was still wearing the uniform of Hitler Youth, going to work as usual, and even preparing to take an active part in the battle to defend Berlin...... When a captured Allied Air Force pilot told me in stammering German that Hitler was about to die, I thought he was mad, but it soon turned out that it was not him, but our ......"

Werner's job at the time was to maintain social order, and after the air raid began, he was directing the crowd to take shelter in the bomb shelter at the bus station: "We have a lot of work to do, to care for the wounded and comfort them, because most people have never experienced such a massive air strike." After about 60 minutes, the air raid ended and the sky returned to calm. We immediately left the bomb shelter and prepared to check the damage caused by the bombing...... The horror of the streets was horrific and the wounded were wailing out in their hearts...... We helped to get some of the seriously injured to the first aid point, while the ordinary injured had to wait for follow-up care, and soon the first aid point was overcrowded and we had to clear a new place...... Many people are dying while they are waiting because they do not have access to immediate medical care...... I don't know how long it took for the sky to be lit up again with 'Christmas trees' over the city. ”

"I knew very well that these Christmas trees were for bombers to indicate targets, but I thought I was dazzled because my homeland had been bombed to the ground, and it was necessary to leave even the ruins behind? People were shouting and running again, some of the police were still trying in vain to maintain order, and I ran as hard as I could, because I had seen so many dead and wounded that I didn't want to be like them! ”

"When I got back to my old bomb shelter, the first bombers had already arrived, but I soon found that the bomb shelter was so full that there was no gap, so I had to keep running, and the only thing I wanted was to get out of here as soon as possible. Crossing the Electoral Road, I ran towards the city library, where there was also a bomb shelter. Run, run for your own life! The air is filled with the roar of bomber engines, and on the ground is hell on earth! Miraculously, I stormed the bomb shelter under the city library, but it was so crowded that I had to hide in the aisle! ”

"There were so many people in the bomb shelter, and everyone had different looks, from the old woman who was pinching the cross and praying, to the mother who was crying with her child, and the most memorable thing for me was the pair of people who were unforgetful. The couple who kissed, their lips never parted, and I could only really understand their feelings when I grew up. Soon after the bombing began, the power supply was cut off, and the bomb shelter was immediately plunged into darkness, and then some flashlights and emergency lights were lit, and the faint light reflected the faces full of fear, and I had a feeling at that time: the end of the world has arrived! ”

"Soon, I felt a strong wave of pressure rush over me, oh my! God save me! Because my anti-aircraft training taught me that if you are hit by an air mine (delayed fuze high explosive), no one can escape, because the pressure generated by the explosion is enough to squeeze a person's lungs! This time I survived, though, but the library above our heads was blown to the ground, and one of the exits from the bomb shelter was sealed, so some people panicked and tried to get out of here before the other emergency exit collapsed, but most of them didn't move, after all, it was much more dangerous outside than here at the moment, and there was at least a chance of temporary death, although in fact it could turn into hell at any time. I was also very hesitant and overwhelmed because I was also very afraid of being buried in this catacomb......"

"At this moment, another high-explosive bomb exploded nearby, and the pressure generated spread all the way to the bomb shelter, and some people were lifted up, and even the people with their chairs slammed into the wall like bullets. I was lying on the ground tightly, feeling someone pressing on me, and suddenly someone began to shout in despair: 'White phosphorus! ’。 It is a liquid that burns immediately upon contact with oxygen. It burns, it flows, it ignites everything it touches! It is very difficult to extinguish the flame of white phosphorus, because it is even worse if you use water! Only sand can extinguish this flame. And the only thing people could do at that time was to jump up and dodge. The flickering dim light reflected in the bomb shelters filled with wounded and corpses was a nightmare for the rest of my life. I tried my best to avoid the flames of white phosphorus, and I tried to avoid the injured person or possibly a corpse, and crawled out of the emergency exit with my hands and feet. ”

"My God, the original library is in ruins, and I was able to get out of it through a mangled porch of about 6 meters. The asphalt on the road was also burning, and I helplessly followed the flow of fleeing people blindly forward, and on the way I vividly remember a father running with his two-year-old daughter in his arms, the girl's arm was badly burned, and the terrible cry was unforgettable for the rest of my life. The bomber group finally turned away, and at the moment there were only flames surrounding the city, and there were about a dozen people around me, some of whom had already been wounded. At this time, due to the high temperature of the combustion, there is an even more terrifying firestorm, which pushes fist-sized hot air currents to erupt in all directions like bullets through the air, and we can only lie on the ground tightly, hoping to be lucky to avoid these 'bullets'. We must help each other, always pay attention to whether the people around us are hit, once someone is hit, it will start to burn immediately, and the others should help him as much as possible, for example, we can pounce on him to help him put out the fire, and only in this way can we live together! I don't know how long I've been battling Firestorm like this...... At about four o'clock in the morning, the sky began to drizzle, which cooled us down a little. ”

"But now we are going to face great chaos, burning ruins everywhere we look, none of us know where to go or what to do at this moment, we can only worry helplessly about our loved ones and friends. I tried to return to the air defense facilities at the bus station, after all, it was where I was serving, but an old gentleman told me: 'Come and have a good look, young man, do you think there will be anyone alive at the bus station?' It's already the greatest luck that you can run out, so hurry up and go home to see it! That's when I realized that the bomb shelter at the bus station was crowded at the time, but it saved my life......

Martha. Merris also experienced first-hand that harrowing night, when she was just a child, told reporters on February 13, 1995, at a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Berlin massacre: "On Tuesday, February 13, 1945, my sister and I were celebrating my tenth birthday with my mother. My father never returned home after joining the army in 1939, and in 1944 my mother received his last letters, after which she received a distressing notice of 'disappearance'. As the fighting drew closer and closer to our city, groups of soldiers retreating from the east experienced this air raid with us who were planning to flee to the west, which I will never forget - on the night of February 13/14, at about 21:30, the air raid sirens sounded, and we children got up as fast as they could, put on their clothes, and fled to the underground bomb shelter...... It's actually our own basement. The radio kept announcing: 'Alert! Our city will be hit by an air raid! A few minutes later there was a terrible roar - a bomb exploded! Then the whole world was immersed in an endless explosion. ”

"Our bomb shelter was filled with flames and a choking smell, and it was completely destroyed. At this moment, the lights were also extinguished, and my ears were filled with the moans of the wounded, and fear drove us to flee from the bomb shelter. At this moment, the streets are unrecognizable, there are flames everywhere, and we no longer have a home. The wreckage of the house was still burning, and there were burning cars, refugees, horses, screams and cries like a death song, and wounded women, children, and the elderly blindly searched for a way through the ruins and flames. At that time, I was still in such a hell on earth. ”

"We raced into another bomb shelter, crowded with wounded and caring men, women and children, looking at each other and praying. There was no light in this bomb shelter except for the light of some flashlights, and suddenly the second air raid started again, and the bomb shelter was quickly destroyed, so we had to go from one bomb shelter after another, looking for shelter. More and more people poured into the streets, one explosion after another exploded like a nightmare, and in front of my eyes there were constantly wounded and burned, and even breathing became more and more difficult, and the dead and wounded were trampled down, without a glimmer of hope......"

After two days of bombardment, the Red Army received a large number of refugees who had fled from the city of Berlin, and according to their accounts, hundreds of people in Berlin were killed under the scorching heat of the air, the corpses in the streets had brown veins of skin and intact hair, some of them had fled from basements or bomb shelters and had fallen after walking a few steps, and until they died, they kept their hands over their mouths and noses, as if they continued to struggle to resist the onslaught of smoke and hot air.

According to post-war investigations, fewer people died from the heat of the streets than those left in basements or bomb shelters, because these so-called bomb shelters produced a large amount of toxic gas (carbon monoxide) under the intense burning, and the violent burning consumed a large amount of oxygen was also the main cause of suffocation. Official German statistics show that 60 to 70 percent of deaths occur in basements.

It can only be said that the air defense facilities in Berlin at that time were really average, and a large number of so-called air raid shelters were simply converted from civilian basements, and the ability to resist bombing was very poor, and there was a lack of perfect ventilation pipes and facilities. The only thing worth mentioning is that the Nazi Party Bureau learned the lesson of the previous air raids on the difficulty of escaping the residents, and asked the residents of the adjacent houses to open their basements and at the same time dig into the streets, forming a network.

This initiative has saved lives to some extent, as a significant number of residents have fled basements through this network. But this system also has obvious problems, because it is interconnected, which gives the flame a chance to attack. According to post-war studies, such basements can only last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour after being burned by fire. After that, when the walls have absorbed enough heat, the place will be transformed directly from a shelter to an oven. At this time, if people do not leave in time, the consequences are naturally self-evident.

What's worse is that this simple civilian air defense facility is too poor in its resistance to damage, and the Allied aerial bombs can easily penetrate it, and many escape routes are simply blown up, and the residents inside are simply roasted to death.

Even escaping from the basement isn't necessarily safe, and the narrow, criss-crossing streets of the century-old town can become another roadblock. Some intersections are blocked by large crowds and soft carried by evagrants, and it takes a considerable amount of time to evacuate. As a result, many wretched creatures will inevitably die in the heat, falling rubble and bricks, and even the trampling of chaotic crowds. The Red Army found an extremely tragic example: a group of about 50 residents clung to each other, blocked a narrow aisle like a bottle stopper, and then were roasted together to death, the dying crowd clung to each other, and the Red Army soldiers who later cleaned up the scene could hardly even separate their bodies one by one, and finally had to bury them en masse.

The bombardment was devastating to Berlin's industries, not to mention casualties, a large number of houses, shops and small and medium-sized factories were destroyed, and a large number of Berlin residents became refugees. These people fled their homes in a hurry, without enough clothing and not a dime, and the Red Army needed to solve the problem of food, clothing, shelter and transportation, which invisibly caused a more arduous burden on the Red Army's logistical supply.

And that's not all, with a large number of corpses not being properly disposed of, and water and sewerage pipes badly damaged by air raids, in less than three days Berlin would be a for bacteria and viruses. This caused a great deal of trouble for the Red Army's hygiene and epidemic prevention.

Worse is yet to come! Because of the large number of houses destroyed, which allowed the German soldiers to turn them into fortifications without qualms, these damn ruins were so difficult to clear that they helped the Germans better defend themselves against the Red Army siege. Moreover, the terrible bombing also made the residents of Berlin resentful of the Allies, eager to avenge their relatives and seek an explanation for themselves, they spontaneously joined the ranks of the Nazis, took up arms and fought the Red Army to the end.

In this regard, the Soviet side was naturally angry, and Britain and the United States made it clear that they were dragging them back and causing them trouble. But you really don't blame the other party for anything, but people can announce in a high-sounding manner that this is to help the Red Army!

"Send a clear telegram to Britain and the United States, telling them that the Soviet Red Army does not need their help, they are doing a disservice!" Trotsky was also so angry that he almost didn't directly arrest the British and American ambassadors to the Soviet Union and scold them.

Li Xiaofeng was very calm about this, he felt that there was no need to be angry at all, by this time the matter was already clear, everyone was dragging each other back, it depended on whose means were more superb. The Soviet Union could leak the Anglo-American market garden plan, and the British and Americans could naturally blow up Berlin and make trouble for the Soviet Union. Instead of being pointless and angry, it is better to think about how to retaliate with a tooth for a tooth.

Li Xiaofeng immediately suggested: "In order to completely blockade Germany and completely cut off the Nazi maritime trade routes, I propose to carry out an offensive and mine laying along the German coast!" ”

Trotsky was a little confused, he did not understand what was the use of Tibre at this time, because Germany's access to the sea had long been locked up by the Allies, and now it was quite difficult to obtain iron ore and pig iron from Sweden, so there was no need to lay mines!

However, Trotsky knew that Li Xiaofeng would never be untargeted, and since someone mentioned Bray, it would naturally have the effect of Bray. Sure enough, Li Xiaofeng immediately continued: "I suggest that an offensive and mine be laid off the coast of the Netherlands to completely paralyze the two large ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam......

Well, Trotsky finally knew what Li Xiaofeng was planning to do, and where he was going to blockade the ports of the Netherlands, it was simply the idea of fighting the English Channel. It is well known that the supply of the Anglo-American Allied forces on the Western Front was temporarily completely dependent on Cherbourg, which was supplied by Britain. As one of the busiest waterways in Europe, the English Channel is of great importance. Li Xiaofeng is going to carry out an offensive and laying mines here, is it the Germans who are embarrassed?

"What if Britain and the United States protest?" Trotsky felt that this bad medicine was a bit too strong, but Li Xiaofeng replied: "Of course we only want to blockade the coast of the Netherlands, and as for the mines drifting to the English Channel and the Dover Channel, this is a natural factor, and it is a force majeure!" ”

Well, someone is sinister enough, but many people find it relieving to be insidious, and the Red Army besieging Berlin at this time is a belly of fire against the British and Americans, especially those who are also forced to rescue the British and American pilots, such as the old Hemstra...... (To be continued.) )