The day passed quickly, and Xia Ming and Muller were lying in a simple military tent at this time, each smoking.

In order to reward them for their heroic performance, the division headquarters distributed a lot of living supplies, and after eating and drinking enough, he slept for ten hours, and when he woke up, it was already late at night outside.

At this time, the assault battalion had already existed in name only, with more than 90 percent of its personnel reduced by more than 50 people. The company was reduced to less than 20 men.

Of the 10 members in the class, only Mueller, Harry, Joseph and himself remained.

He still remembers the way everyone talked and laughed on the train, and now there are only four of them left.

The two were not in the mood to speak at this time, they were both looking at the smokescreen above their heads and thinking about life.

But their sacrifice was decisive for the war.

The division headquarters quickly and completely occupied the high ground, and quickly advanced 2 kilometers through the advantage of the high ground.

An encirclement network was formed against the enemy's 62 Army.

It is said that it has been surrounded, divided, and annihilated the forces of the opponent's three divisions.

The most important thing is to deliver a devastating blow to the enemy's armored corps and artillery regiments. If it weren't for the 64th Army on the flanks to break through the feint and reinforce the enemy, the 62nd Army would not have escaped the fate of annihilation.

As an infantryman, Xia Ming doesn't care very much about the overall battle situation, he only cares about what role he will play in the future.

It's hard to say whether the number of the assault battalion can be kept now, and they may rest for a long time.

Of course, it may be reorganized into other corps.

If that's the case, I'm afraid he'll be going to war again soon.

"Whew..."Xia Ming exhaled a heavy puff of smoke, he really felt the powerlessness of a small soldier now. If you give him a regiment, or a company, at least you can do something.

What can he do alone?? You can only go with the flow.

"Hey, how long are you going to lie down??" Mueller finally couldn't help but ask.

“... Lie down until you don't want to lie down. Xia Ming picked up a bottle of wine beside him and took a few sips.

He understood now.

The sake is not very tasty, but it can make you forget your troubles for a while.

He just wants to sleep with him now, the sky is dark, the sun and the moon are dark.

*********************

A month passed in a hurry.

August 22, 1942, in the afternoon...

Xia Ming followed Joseph to Karachi, located on the east bank of the Don River.

After a month of tug-of-war, the Sixth Army finally repelled the Soviet 62nd Army, successfully crossed the Don River, and occupied Karachi.

There is only one step left from Stalingrad, and it can be said that the troops are coming to the city.

A lot of things happened during this period, and naturally it was not as simple as the result.

The 4th Panzer Army, which had been moving south to reinforce the Caucasus, received an order from the Führer and turned back again, struck through Kotelnikovo all the way to the north, and inflicted heavy losses on the 64th Army.

This also created conditions for the Sixth Army to force its way across the Don River.

At present, a tendency has been formed for the Sixth Army and the Fourth Panzer Army to flank Stalingrad from the north and south.

The real Battle of Stalingrad, the most brutal street fighting in the history of mankind, is about to begin.

To be honest, Xia Ming couldn't understand the Führer's command plan at all. If the Fourth Panzer Army had not been transferred south at that time, and the two armies had decisively attacked together, it would have been very likely to occupy Stalingrad during the operation, and the Soviet army would not have been given such a long time to prepare.

Since this is already the case, it is better to let the Sixth Army continue to defend and encircle the Don River to exert pressure, and the Fourth Panzer Army will go south to attack the Caucasus and take the enemy's largest oil field as soon as possible.

You must know that Army Group A almost attacked the oil fields later. Having the Fourth Army run back and forth was time-consuming and costly, wasting valuable strategic time.

Even if you take 10,000 steps back, if the Caucasus is not taken, it will create huge pressure. Forcing the Soviet army to rush to the rescue, the field German army completely had the advantage, and it was necessary to face the Soviet army in the city.

The most important thing is that the city of Stalingrad is very unsuitable for attacking, because urban warfare has always been surrounded by superior forces.

The city is backed by the Volga River and cannot be surrounded at all. The Germans also did not have the ability to make a detour across the Volga. Isn't this equivalent to letting the other side constantly rely on the Volga River for reinforcements??

How could the Germans win the Soviet army in a war of attrition on someone's doorstep??

Is it because the city is called Stalin??? How capricious does it have to be to make this choice??

Anyway, Xia Ming really didn't dare to compliment this tactic. Not to mention the gains and losses, he also made the worst choice.

He became a rear unit during this time, and the assault battalion had been temporarily withdrawn. Even if he occasionally rushes to the Führer's decision-making, it is useless, and what should come will still come.

Perhaps it was because his superiors sympathized with them that they had gone through such a brutal battle, and he and the remnants of the company were basically doing some logistical work.

Now they have come to Karachi with the 7th Engineer Battalion. The purpose was to strengthen the pontoon bridges, transport supplies and, incidentally, protect the security of the sapper battalion.

In fact, it is to work with the engineer battalion.

The combat engineer battalion was not at all weaker than the main forces.

However, their heroic performance was naturally respected by the sappers, and they were treated almost as heroes in the battalion. I don't usually do much, and I move more freely.

After a few people arrived in Karachi, they simply worked for a while and walked around.

Today, Karachi is still a relatively large village, and the Germans quickly occupied it, which naturally caused a lot of trouble.

"Hurry up and let me go, if you don't leave, I'll shoot you!" Xia Ming watched a group of Soviet prisoners of war being escorted by several German soldiers and pouted slightly.

They either kicked with their feet or smashed them with the butts of their rifles, and many of them were tortured to death before they reached the camps.

He has seen this situation many times.

The racism of the German army in World War 2 was still quite serious. Racism did unite the German nation and exploded its unimaginably powerful potential, sweeping across Europe in just a few years, wiping out 8 million Allied troops and occupying dozens of times the size of its own territory.

But its blind xenophobia deprived Germany of a large number of non-German talents, including Albert Einstein. The losses are incalculable and difficult to measure. War is a contest between people, and talent is indispensable.

For the Soviet army, Germany also took a more extreme approach. For example, in the Battle of Moscow, the Führer was arrogant and did not surrender even if he surrendered, completely blocking the retreat of others.

You must know that the Soviet army actually surrendered quite a lot to the enemy, and it was no less than the traitors of the Celestial Empire back then. Stalin's rule actually had many problems, and the Soviet Union itself had many class contradictions and restoration forces.

Unfortunately, the arrogance and brutal suppression of the Germans led to their hatred for a while...

At least with the attitude towards the French, it was stronger than it is now.

If we had used a more softening attitude, co-opting a puppet government or using the strategic thinking of our great leader, perhaps there would have been a different possibility.

Unfortunately, history can never repeat itself, and no one knows what will happen.

As a young man from the 21st century, Xia Ming was naturally very disgusted by this kind of abuse of prisoners of war, but he couldn't change it as a soldier.

Joseph was also a man of chivalry. With cigarette butts in his mouth, he frowned as he watched them pass by.

"Hey! See what I found?? At this time, a German soldier not far away walked out of a room excitedly, and pulled a Russian girl to wave to a few comrades-in-arms.

"Wow puppet~ What a beauty! That's a lot better than an Italian chick. ”

Xia Ming turned his head to look at them. Several people looked at the girl with smug faces, and they had already begun to move their hands and feet.

The girl bit the soldier who grabbed him fiercely, and ran towards Xia Ming in a panic.

"MD, it's still prickly, but I like it." The soldier flicked his arm and chased after the brother.

"Ahh The girl suddenly heard a gunshot behind her at the intersection, and unconsciously changed direction and crashed into Xia Ming's arms.

I must admit that the Russian woman in front of her is very beautiful, and she belongs to the typical Western beauty in Xia Ming's mind.

He looked less than 20 years old, and his long blonde hair was simply tied up. Although she wears rough clothes, it is difficult to stop her natural beauty.

With fair skin and tall figure, if he is placed in his era, he must be a supermodel in the world.

"Congratulations, you have started the hidden mission - the secret of Anna Gone with the Wind.

Objective: Have a friendship with Anna at least 80. ”

Just when Xia Ming was a little surprised by the other party's beauty, the system actually gave him a hidden task...

"Let go of me!" Anna pushed Xia Ming away, making him slightly embarrassed.

Obviously, she bumped into him herself, maybe he unconsciously hugged her, and that was a normal reaction.

"Hey, chick, look where you're going." At this time, the soldiers behind had already chased after them, glanced at Xia Ming and them, and wanted to take Anna away very unceremoniously.

Surrounded by a group of German soldiers, Anna knew that it would be difficult for her to escape their clutches today.

“... You guys are that part?? Xia Ming hesitated slightly and stood in front of Anna. He was a little tired of these soldiers, their discipline was corrupt, and they were always indispensable for burning, killing and looting.

Wars are wars, but the mutilation of civilians is always despicable.

“... Brother, what do you mean by that? Our lives in the war are almost gone, and we won't be allowed to play anymore?? Don't pretend to be serious for me, you want to eat alone, do you?? Why don't we come together? The soldier who took the lead looked at Xia Ming very unpleasantly. Naturally, what they do can't be put on the stage, but everyone actually knows it.

If you have to go to the above theory, it's not good for everyone, why bother with each other for an enemy woman??

"As soldiers, we can't do such shameless deeds. I'm not kidding you, either get out of here now, or I'll go to your superiors. Since Xia Ming had already decided to come out, he naturally wouldn't retreat halfway, staring at them coldly.

If you pretend to be imposing, you have to pretend to be imposing, and you don't have much confidence to measure rogue soldiers like them.

“.... Forget it, head, there's no need to fight him...."One of the soldiers was sharp-eyed, and saw the formation of their elite commando team. Veterans like Joseph and Harry, who have two battle medals, will be respected everywhere.

"Okay, you're amazing." After his subordinates whispered to him, the soldier who took the lead gritted his teeth, took a deep look at Xia Ming, and left the intersection without looking back.

It's a big deal to look for it in another place, and it's really not necessary to go head-to-head with these death squads.