Compared with the inferiority complex of the navy, most of the German army generals at this moment have a heart of revenge. They were convinced that they were not defeated in the First World War, but were betrayed by a handful of traitorous politicians.

So this time the battle of Poland gave them a chance for revenge - a different opportunity to enter the Rhineland with arms, a different opportunity to annex Czechoslovakia and Austria, and a different opportunity to accept the surrender of Hungary.

"Boom!" a 150 mm field howitzer roared, several German artillerymen covered their ears and watched the muzzle spray dazzling flames, they began to clean the chamber, borrowed a simple lever machinery to load the shell, and then the gunner closed the bolt, fired the gun again, and with a "boom", another shell roared and flew towards the target.

Not far away, another 150mm cannon also spewed out a puff of smoke, and the air current blew a small tree of unknown kind not far away from side to side. Next to this artillery position is a small Polish town, and there are a few children in the town lying on the wall watching the German soldiers busy loading ammunition and adjusting the angle of the artillery, so as to slaughter their own soldiers faster and more accurately.

The streets of the town are lined with Mercedes trucks parked in rows, as well as off-road vehicles. There were even several armored command vehicles belonging to different armies parked. But the most popular thing about the children in the town are the two beautiful gray-green Leopard tanks. From time to time, children cheered around the tank, as if the loss of the country and the fall had nothing to do with them.

Here was the general headquarters of the German Army Group D, the front-line command center of General Modell. The commander of the 1st German Panzer Army, Major General Guderian, was standing in front of Moder at this moment, presenting the plan of action of his army north of Krakow.

"General. Guderian pointed to the huge theater map hanging behind him and reported: "My 1st Panzer Division is continuing its offensive north north of Krakow, with the aim of cutting off the supply lines behind the already chaotic Polish Qianshan Corps. ”

He pointed in the other direction and said: "In addition, the 3rd SS Panzer Division is making a detour to the east of Krakow, completely encircling the city and cutting off the southern lines of communication in Poland. ”

"How's it going?" asked Modell, looking at the map and whispering, an affable boss who was always mild-mannered in his speech, who had given Guderian near-independence powers, restraining the Führer's henchmen only when necessary.

"The 3rd SS Panzer Division is here, and here and here there is stubborn resistance, but the Polish defenders are gradually giving way to their lines because of the lack of ammunition. Pointing to the map, Guderian replied: "Forgive me for my decision, valuable armored units should not be used in street battles in the city. This is the experience of the Spanish Civil War, where it is more suitable for sniper groups and grenadiers. ”

"You're right, General Guderian. Moder nodded, and handed the report to Guderian: "This is the order of the General Army Command, they told you to continue the attack to the north, but the order from above is to attack to the current position of your troops." ”

"Sir, if my troops stop now, it will be possible for the Poles to reorganize their defenses!

"So I'm going to let you go on the offensive!" said Modell, pointing to the vast area behind Krakow, "If you can maintain the current pace of attack, you can attack the heart of Poland before the Polish rout arrives." ”

"Instead of attacking the Qianshan Army in the east, but in a straight line to the north, do you mean...... Cooperate with our army in the center to eliminate the Polish Lodz Army?" Guderian's eyes lit up, if he lost the original campaign objective and switched to fighting the more elite Lodz Army, this would undoubtedly bring him greater military merit.

"Yes, I have slightly modified the attack mission of Army Group D, your army will take over the attack direction of the original 5th Infantry Army, and the original task of advancing eastward will be handed over to the 5th Infantry Army to complete. Modell nodded.

......

In the middle of a pile of rubble on the edge of a collapsed building in Krakow, a German machine-gun emitted a distinctive sound similar to that of a torn cloth being torn apart, and the muzzle of the gun spewed out a long, reddish tongue of fire.

"Bullets! reload!" shouted the heavy. At his shout, two infantrymen poked their heads out and fired desperately in the direction of the enemy with their G43 rifles. Two Polish infantrymen, who had taken advantage of the opportunity to rush up, fell in the corner. Krakow was the headquarters of the Polish Krakow Regiment, and it was the only stronghold of the entire regiment that was still formed to resist the Germans.

The bullets from the machine guns were replaced, the Polish troops on the opposite side also retreated, and the battlefield returned to a slight calm, and a German medician wearing a white vest with a red cross painted on it hunched over to the center of the battlefield, checked the bodies of several Polish soldiers, and ran back to his own position.

In the spirit of what little chivalry is left and respect for international law, both sides are still trying to avoid attacks on the medics. As a result, the medics were able to treat wounded on both sides in a more relaxed environment, and many Polish prisoners survived. But what awaited them was not much better: they were sent to work in concentration camps until they died.

Sometimes the German soldiers on the front line were a little embarrassed to bully the Polish soldiers on the other side, and these brave soldiers lost their young lives because of the huge gap in weapons. While German snipers and machine gunners slaughtered the Polish defenders in the hundreds, all the Poles could do was slowly return fire with their old rifles.

If you include the new weapons and equipment such as bazookas and mortars, the Germans outnumbered the Poles in every firepower, so the stubborn resistance of the Polish defenders can be described in another word: "dying and struggling".

Germany's Do-217 is now the largest active bomber that the Air Force can handle, a terrifying bomber that can carry 4,000 kilograms of bombs to a target at an airfield 1,000 kilometers away, and when such planes fly over the city in swarms, it can often directly paralyze the city's operations.

Forty Do-217 bombers are now circling over Krakow, calmly dropping bombs and destroying targets they can see. The Polish defenders lost the airfield and the surrounding roads, leaving only a large number of infantry to cower in the city to resist the German attack.

A building collapsed, bomber bombs destroyed the load-bearing parts of the building, and the centuries-old building was left in ruins with flying rubble and rubble around it. Before the smoke cleared, a few poor Poles rushed over crying and trying to get their finances or their loved ones back.

Two German infantrymen armed with old Mauser 98K rifles slowly searched through the rubble, and they were responsible for clearing the buildings, so there were plenty of grenades hanging from their tactical vests on their chests. They advance cautiously, for fear of making a noise that would attract the attention of the enemies around them.

Suddenly, a Polish officer rushed out of the corner of the wall with a submachine gun, he tripped in the rubble of the rubble, and stumbled under his feet. The two German soldiers who were searching for it were clearly not going to miss such an opportunity, and one of them pulled the trigger with his rifle in his hand.

"Bah!" a gunshot rang out. The Polish officer's chest was pierced by bullets, and the force made him fall backwards, and his fingers subconsciously pulled the trigger of the submachine gun, shooting a few bullets into the corner, splashing a cloud of dust.

With a pull on the bolt, the two German soldiers stopped their advance and shouted loudly around the corner: "Come out! I know someone! If you don't come out, I'll throw a grenade!"

"Don't shoot! We surrender!" After a few seconds or so, a Polish soldier with his weapon in both hands said to two German infantrymen who were watching him come out with a rifle in hand, "Please don't shoot!" ”

As he spoke, behind him stood up Polish soldiers one by one, their expressions depressed and ragged, but the number was staggering, and at a rough count there were more than thirty.

"We're out of ammunition! Don't worry!" said the Polish soldier who was the first to come out, "don't kill us." As soon as he finished speaking, several Polish prisoners around him also nodded: "Please, don't kill us!" "God, help us!"

The resistance in the neighborhood soon ended, and due to lack of ammunition and medical treatment, some 4,150 Polish defenders surrendered to the Wehrmacht, and these Polish soldiers wept bitterly that they could not repel the invaders of their homeland, but they still could not use their rifles without bullets against German aircraft and tanks - it was a contest of technology and national strength, not individual bravery and tenacity.

In the afternoon of the same day, the command of the Krakow Corps gave the whole army an order to surrender by ceasefire, and then sent a telegram to Warsaw, which was very brief: "Our troops have resisted to the last moment, and in a few minutes I will surrender." ”

This was probably the only task that the Polish defenders had been able to accomplish in the last two days, and about an hour later, the commander of the Krakow Regiment handed over his flag and saber to the commander of the German 17th Infantry Division, completing a brief surrender ceremony that opened the prelude to the collapse of the entire southern part of Poland.

And on that night, Guderian's troops, who had bypassed the offensive and defense of Kraków, advanced a full 55 kilometers north, and in the face of the overwhelming Polish defense, they advanced at the fastest pace in history: about the same speed as a large-scale march in peacetime.