The war in Southampton was in a terrible state from the start.

It's a contest between two ace teams on both sides: the Skeleton Lancers - Scarlet Rose!

In fact, in more sense, the battle has nothing to do with war now, and the two sides are more concerned about each other's honor. They can endure defeat, but they must not lose the glory of being a soldier. This is unbearable for any real military man.

It is precisely under this mentality that Colonel Enrique has no intention of giving up, although the situation of the war has been unfavorable to him. And at this time, Dontanner, who commanded the battle in Southampton, made an unforgivable mistake. He rejected the suggestion to send reinforcements to Colonel Enrique.

Don Tanner was a very cautious general, and he would never make a decision lightly when the outcome of the battle was not clear. Judging from the battles on the front, it is clear that the 36th Brigade has fallen behind, and if the main force used to encircle Southampton is deployed at this time, it will inevitably suffer unnecessary losses. Rather than this, it is better to let Colonel Enrique and his "Scarlet Rose" delay as much time as possible, and consume as much of the enemy's vitality as possible.

To this end, he gave an order specifically to Colonel Enrique: to allow the abandonment of all positions in the event that it is impossible to continue to hold on!

Truth be told, there is not much wrong with Dontanner's decision, and he cannot be blamed, but as the war situation changes, maybe everything will be different.

From noon, the Germans significantly intensified the offensive. Major Stroop and his "Skeleton Lancers" received new reinforcements, which greatly increased their strength at once. As for Major Stroop's opponents, their strength is still wearing thin.

The balance of forces between the two sides has changed radically.

The most critical question is: Colonel Enrique has always adhered to the credo of the "Scarlet Rose": "Never retreat until the last minute!" ”

It's a brave man's declaration, but it also tends to cause a lot of trouble for the successive commanders of the Scarlet Rose, who must faithfully carry out this declaration or else be seen as a betrayal of the Scarlet Rose.

This is especially true of Colonel Enrique. He was loyal and courageous, but also rigid and stubborn, and he never doubted the correctness of his predecessors. Never try to change something. "Never retreat lightly until the last minute", this sentence has taken root in his mind.

Face the enemy's ferocious onslaught. He threw himself into the last reserve in his hands, and even he himself appeared on the front line of the fiercest battle. Can you accuse him of anything? No, you can't blame anything, on the contrary, every commander wants to have such a brave subordinate.

Only now it seems that Colonel Enrique's bravery has been used in the wrong place today.

A number of positions of the 36th Brigade have been broken through. The casualties of the brigade were unusually heavy. Especially after losing the protection of the air, those hateful enemy planes began to ravage their positions with impunity, and the entire position was enveloped in smoke and explosions.

The situation became very difficult. But even in such a harsh environment, Colonel Enrique did not give up at all. He ordered the whole brigade to begin to shrink its forces and concentrate on a few important core positions, which, in his opinion, could hold out until tomorrow.

In this British land called "Triposton", he was bound to leave a reputation for his bravery and warlikeness......

However, at this time, the commander of the Axis forces, General Johnnar, also began to initiate changes on his own initiative...... The 1st Division of the British Royal Army was ordered by him to make a detour from the left flank. Go around to the rear flank of the Triposton field and complete the encirclement of the 36th Marine Brigade of the United States Marine Corps.

Neither Colonel Enrique nor Southampton were able to detect the attempts of the Germans in time...... If the battle for Triposton is a tragedy. Then this is where the tragedy begins. In modern warfare, bravery and loyalty alone can no longer lead to victory for one's country.

In order to confuse the enemy, Gianner even continued to increase troops to the front line, and on the front-line battlefield, in addition to the German soldiers of the Waffen-SS, soldiers of the German Wehrmacht in Dalian began to appear. And this new situation filled Colonel Enrique's heart with pride again: he was fighting the SS and the Wehrmacht at the same time! Even if you fail, you can leave here with your head held high!

The "Skeleton Lancer" was very impressive from the very beginning of the battle, and Enrique also made it his main target, and he knew the prestige of the "Skeleton Lancer", which was the trump card of the German aces. But what is that? Their own troops are also the trump cards of the US military!

Ace vs. Ace!

Even if he does fail, as long as he can keep the "Skeleton Lancers" firmly out of the position, he will also receive great honors. No, it's not just him, it's his beloved "Scarlet Rose"!

In the honor room of the "Scarlet Rose", there are pictures of each commander, and Colonel Enrique has not hung his own until now, because he feels that it is shameful to hang there without a photo of his exploits. However, when this battle is over, he will be able to hang his picture in the most prominent place in the honor room.

The gunfire became more intense, but the blood in Colonel Enrique's heart burned uncontrollably......

At 12:30 p.m., the "Skeleton Lancers", which had been maintaining a strong momentum, suddenly slowed down their offensive, which was a little puzzling. Colonel Enrique was probably able to give himself only one answer: the enemy was also in a period of fatigue.

At 13:00, after a short rest, the "skeleton lancers" went on the attack again, and at this time a bad news reached the ears of Colonel Enrique: enemy units had been spotted in the flank and rear of his own troops.

As an experienced commander, Colonel Enrique quickly understood that this was an attempt by the enemy to encircle him. He now has two options. One is to immediately withdraw from the battlefield before the enemy's encirclement is formed, however, this will allow the frontal enemy to take advantage of the situation to pursue. At the same time, if the enemy behind the flank moves quickly, the 36th Brigade still has the possibility of being surrounded. The second option was to continue to command the troops to stay here until reinforcements arrived.

Without much hesitation, Colonel Enrique chose the second option......

"Never retreat lightly until the last minute." The words of "Scarlet Rose" firmly took root in Colonel Enrique's heart. And he himself thinks the latter option is more feasible.

By this time, the 36 Brigade had already suffered almost a third of its casualties. Colonel Enrique gathered them all in the three core positions in Triposton, and reported the current situation to General Dontanne, asking for reinforcements from the Southampton movement to arrive and join him as soon as possible.

A third of the casualties. A third of the casualties were suffered in just over half a day, which made Colonel Enrique's heart bleed. But this pain must not be shown in front of his subordinates. As a senior commander, calmness always comes first at all times......

However, Colonel Enrique didn't know at this time that it was his decision that completely buried the hope of survival of the "Scarlet Rose"!

The German offensive suddenly intensified. A large number of armored vehicles and soldiers poured in. The planes in the sky and the artillery fire on the ground joined the attack like crazy, and in the shortest possible time, the three core positions of Triposton were attacked with a large amount of steel, almost half of the positions were destroyed, and the casualties increased suddenly. By this time, Colonel Enrique began to have a vague sense that his decision might not be the right one.

Not only that, but the situation in Southampton is starting to change. The British Royal Navy joined the attack on the city. Until now, even Dontanner wanted reinforcements for Colonel Enrique. It seems that there is already a weak heart.

"I don't know if I will be able to hold out ...... Dao" After receiving a call from General Dontanner, Colonel Enrique became a rare hesitant: "The enemy's attack is very fierce. Our casualties have reached unbearable levels. But, General, I'll do my best. ”

I'll do my best—in fact, by the time the words were uttered, Colonel Enrique had probably foreseen his own defeat.

At 15:00, the 1st Division of the British Royal Army loyally and successfully completed the siege of Triposton, so far, the 36th Brigade of the United States Marine Corps, known as the "Scarlet Rose", has cut off the slightest hope of retreat.

Johnnar would never let this mouth-fast fat slip away, and he quickly ordered the 3rd Reconnaissance Armored Battalion, the 3rd Armored Assault Battalion, and the 3rd Armored Combat Engineer Company of the Skeleton Division to all be engaged in the attack, and issued an order to annihilate the "Scarlet Rose" before 22 o'clock.

A large number of German troops appeared on the battlefield, and the addition of new forces put the already precarious "Scarlet Rose" under unprecedented pressure.

Colonel Enrique had no way to change all this, and the only thing he could do now was to hope that he could rely on the bravery of the soldiers to change this passive situation, but this hope seemed so slim.

Shells continued to fall from the air and ground on the positions of the Americans, and one explosion after another, as if the Grim Reaper was roaring there. There were constantly American soldiers, blood washed the positions, and splashes of dirt and stones buried the lives of young soldiers.

From this moment on, the fate of the "Scarlet Rose" has been sealed.

At 16:00, the 1st Division of the Royal Army, under the command of Romeo, launched an attack from the rear of the "Scarlet Rose", which was fatal for Colonel Enrique and the troops under his command.

But what is admirable is that even at this moment, the "Scarlet Rose" still shows strong combat effectiveness and courage, and they repeatedly strangle the enemy on every inch of the position. The glorious title of "Scarlet Rose" has always been a source of inspiration for them from the First World War to the present!

People can die, but they must not die in humiliation!

As the Axis forces gradually compressed, the positions of the "Blood Rose" became smaller and smaller, and by 18:00, two of the three core positions had fallen into the hands of the enemy. More than half of the brigade was killed, wounded, captured, or missing, and the remaining soldiers and wounded could only huddle in a small position at the very rear.

The gunfire stopped for a while, but it was clear to every American soldier. The next time the shots are fired, it will be the last battle to judge their fate!

Colonel Enrique was helpless in the face of the fact that he was unable to cope with the fact that countless wounded soldiers were groaning in pain in the position, lacking the necessary medicines and adequate doctors. He wasn't a magician, and he couldn't conjure up everything the wounded needed.

"Colonel, your call, from the Germans."

Colonel Enrique judged that this was a call to persuade him to surrender, and that the Germans probably underestimated themselves. He would never surrender even at the last moment, but he took the phone anyway, and he wanted to hear what the Germans would say.

"I'm Major Stroop."

"I'm Colonel Enrique."

"Colonel. Hello, I must make it clear that I am not here to persuade you to surrender, because I have heard of the 'Scarlet Rose' and your famous saying. I think you'll flatly reject my offer to surrender too. ”

A smile appeared on Colonel Enrique's face. Yes, although the other party is an enemy, he can still understand himself.

"Colonel, I make a suggestion to you, today's day of fighting has cost us both a lot of losses, as well as a large number of wounded, who, as far as I know, cannot be effectively treated. Therefore, I advise you to send all those wounded out of their positions. ”

Colonel Enrique almost thought he had misheard, but Major Stroop's voice continued: "You can rest assured. We will definitely not detain the soldiers transporting the wounded, and we will temporarily stop the offensive for two hours. ”

"Are you willing to give up your precious time?"

"Yes, time is secondary to life. You can either disbelieve me or reject me. But I hope you will consider my suggestion carefully. ”

"No, I believe you, Major Stroop." Colonel Enrique's answer was in the affirmative: "A man who can make such a proposal will definitely keep his word." As the commander of an enemy army, I must express my gratitude for your gentlemanly behavior, and I wish I could see you. ”

"I'd love to see you too."

The phone was hung up, and when the American soldiers of Scarlet Rose heard the news from Colonel Enrique's mouth, they were just as incredulous as the colonel. This is war, and everyone knows what a second on the battlefield means to victory or defeat. However, the Germans were willing to sacrifice this precious time only to save the lives of the enemy.

Their will to fight to the death began to diminish imperceptibly......

The seriously wounded were sent out of position, and the Germans kept their word, not only did they detain the American soldiers who were transporting the wounded out, even though it was very beneficial for the next battle, but they also quickly treated the wounded in time.

The U.S. soldiers who returned to their positions told their comrades what had happened to them, and their determination to dwindle was further weakened.

The legend of the "gentleman on the battlefield" has not been around for a long time, and now the enemy has shown them what a true gentleman is. What's the point of fighting such an enemy, even if it is to the death?

The transport of the wounded lasted only an hour, and when Major Stroop's call came again, Colonel Enrique said: "Major, you can attack now, our wounded have all been transported out of the city." ”

"No, two hours, I'll promise to attack in two hours." Major Stroop replied firmly: "A gentleman's promise cannot be easily changed, even if it is necessary to suffer a very important loss for it." Colonel, take advantage of this time to rest your fortifications and give your soldiers a well-rested rest, for the next attack will be our last! ”

Colonel Enrique was completely convinced, and a thought suddenly arose in his mind that he had never thought of before: what was the point of fighting such an enemy? If the other party is a vicious enemy, he swears that he will fight to the end, no matter what the cost is to himself. But what kind of enemies are you facing now?

He was silent there for a long time, and then he said slowly: "Major Stroop, if I surrender at this time, shame?" ”

"No, Colonel, it is not a shame to surrender at this time, but rather your supreme honor. You and your troops are no longer in a position to redeem defeat, and many more will die if you continue to fight, and your decisions will save their lives. Although this will tarnish your personal reputation a bit. ”

Colonel Enrique smiled faintly: "Yes, my personal reputation will be tarnished, but I have already decided. Major Stroop, in an hour's time, I'll be leading the soldiers of the 36th Brigade of the U.S. Marine Corps out of their positions and surrendering. ”

This was the fate of the "Scarlet Rose", the planes, artillery and tanks did not bring them to their knees, but a gentleman's action made them completely abandon their determination to resist. Many times, fighting on the battlefield is no longer everything.

Colonel Enrique, the Scarlet Rose's unit, was the first commander to surrender.

But when he walked out of the position, Colonel Enrique did not feel any shame! (To be continued......)