In the encirclement of Smolensk, the originally peaceful city has now become a ruin, and the tranquility is still quiet, but the current tranquility has become a suffocating dead silence. After the German bombardment, everything was so deserted, and the Soviet infantry huddled in the trenches, crouched behind collapsed houses, some smoking cigarettes, some dozing helplessly.

No one will be too interested in this kind of war, where the enemy bombards your positions with artillery, enemy dive bombers hover over your head, and you can only dodge everything, without even firing a shot, just because one of you can't dodge in time and die in the street next to a ruin.

Now the defenders of Smolensk had to face the problem that they had no way back and were completely surrounded by the Germans in a limited space. In order to reduce their own casualties, the Germans only used some heavy artillery and bombers to break the will of everyone defending the city every day. Shells fall from time to time, smashing into uncertain corners of the city, taking lives, as well as once beautiful buildings.

No one knew when the war would end, but they ate worse and worse food, slept with weapons in the middle of increasingly scarce buildings, and did not feel the slightest possibility that the war would end again, and this hopeless day tormented the hearts of the Soviet defenders every moment.

"The forces of the bombers, according to the plan, have already begun to be gradually reduced. Returning to the front, Rundstedt took his eyes off the artillery mirror and said to the Air Force liaison officer beside him: "We must save fuel and prepare for the next hard battle, and we can't even retreat, because the fuel is only enough for us to fight defensive operations." ”

"In the future, we have made a systematic attack plan, a total of 4 air strikes on Smolensk, bombers will take off from several front-line airfields, drop napalm on the city to expand the effect of air strikes. The liaison officer of the Air Force reported to the marshal in front of him: "The Führer meant to bomb Moscow in a limited way, but the problem of fuel made him hesitate whether to carry out this deterrent attack." ”

"Bombing Moscow...... It is difficult to judge what effect this incident could have played in Stalin's decision-making. Rundstedt walked to his front-line command bunker with his hands behind his back, and said without looking back: "If you really anger Stalin and force the Soviet army to start a counterattack in the center in advance, won't it be worth the loss......

The air force liaison officer hurriedly followed, and replied quietly: "If Stalin and Zhukov were so simple, we would not have to spend so much time in Smolensk." I think that since they don't dare to act rashly, we will be more suspicious if we are more arrogant. ”

"Adjutant. Walking into his bunker, Rundstedt took off his military cap, hung it on a hanger at the door, and instructed the adjutant who was writing the report: "Write a letter to General Catherine in my name, thanking his air force for its support of Army Group A, and asking him that if the Führer insists on attacking Moscow, please delay the bombing of Moscow, at least until the fuel reserves of my army group have recovered to 70 percent, and then start the bombing of Moscow." ”

"Yes, Marshal!" the adjutant did not get up, but only agreed. After all, the report documents of a group army are not a few blank sheets of paper, and the things he wants to write are all-encompassing, and the reports piled up around him are almost a foot thick. It has long been a habit for the Army to file detailed operational reports from the beginning of Army Group A's advance to the occupation of the whole of Belarus to the siege of Smolensk.

Just the combat report on the King Tiger tank sent by the people below, as well as related improvement suggestions, there are a stack of detailed records, including how the King Tiger tank was destroyed by Soviet soldiers in the Battle of Orsha Heights, how the wreckage was disposed of afterwards, as well as photos taken by engineering units, technical analysis reports, and testimonies of members of the surrounding tank crews.

The more modern the war, the more it needs the support of all kinds of data and logistics personnel, a division is not only combat soldiers carrying rifles, but also cooking personnel responsible for food, anti-aircraft artillery units specializing in air defense, transport troops responsible for transporting fuel and ammunition, engineers specializing in guiding the construction of fortifications and destroying the opponent's fortifications, salarymen, tailors, bands, flag corps, and even photographers and electricians.

The era when Han Xin ordered more troops the better is over, and managing the army depends more on professionals from all walks of life than on a general himself - if someone really wants to personally manage every detail of a modern army, then he may only be worthy of being a regimental commander in his life.

When Accardo made a compromise and no longer allowed the central and southern clusters to attack at the same time, Rundstedt knew that he would have to fight back defensively for a while. On the wide frontal battlefield, Army Group F under the command of General Kluge was responsible for defending more defensive lines, while Army Group A was able to save more armored forces in order to reinforce the Soviets' offensive lines in time to push back the Soviet forces that dared to counterattack.

The Germans were familiar with this tactic, so Marshal Rundstedt, as the commander, did not arrange any more whimsical tactics, and sometimes the simplest and most crude way was also the most effective way. Because it's simple, it's more resolute and powerful to execute.

"Our troops are not good at this kind of urban assault, and to be honest, even if they replace other German units, they are not very suitable for this kind of battle in the ruins. Rundstedt said: "Sometimes the more I face a crisis, the more emotional. ”

He looked back, looked at the Air Force liaison officer, smiled, and said: "Because the crises I have encountered since 1935 have proved that the Führer has long thought about these issues, and this reassures me and makes me feel that I am bound to win." Since 1927, we have been systematically learning how to fight in the streets of the city, how to hold more enemies in the city with fewer troops. Although we are still not very good at fighting urban fortifications, we are indeed better trained than our opponents, and most of the officers have been 'tortured' by the Führer in those years, and they have said to me with sad faces that they have had enough of the ruins. ”

Speaking of this, Rundstedt was very interested: "At that time, the Führer personally judged our exercises, and in the siege of the city, we taught every soldier how to bend down and bow his head, how to reduce his own casualties, and how to use the ruins and everything around him...... The soldiers at that time are now all officers, and luckily they haven't forgotten what they learned back then and handed them over to their own recruits, and that's why we're where we are, isn't it?"

The Air Force liaison officer nodded and said to the marshal in awe: "Yes, marshal. This is felt even more deeply here in the Air Force. Our fighters are more advanced than the enemy, our tactics are stronger than the enemy, all this was done under the leadership of the Führer, and my respect for the Führer cannot be described in words, and I was even a little afraid to see him, and in his presence I even spoke a little trembling in my voice. ”

God's gift, the savior of Germany, the Germanic prophet...... The Führer had many adjectives and nicknames in Germany, and every German believed that this savior could foresee the future and lead Germany to final victory. It is precisely because there is so much evidence to prove the foresight of the Führer that many people firmly carry out the Führer's orders and do not dare to discount them in the slightest.

They believed that the Führer and God were inextricably linked, and they became theists, firmly believing that the Führer was their god, and did not dare to disobey them in the slightest. As long as Accardo's eyes look at it, it carries an unparalleled coercion, which makes people have to tell the truth in their hearts.

There are even rumors that the Führer can foresee the future and if he wants, he can find those who go against his will and kill him by casting a spell. In short, these rumors gave Accardo a veneer of godhood and a touch of eerie mystery.

"So I firmly believe that as long as we follow the Führer, as long as we follow the Führer firmly. Germany will one day be revitalized! Even if we sacrifice today, it is God's will, and that is the price that the German nation should sacrifice for God!" Rundstedt nodded and agreed with the words of the Air Force liaison officer: "So even if there is a river of blood, I still hold on to my beliefs, believe in the Führer, rely on the Führer, and the Führer will lead us out of the predicament." ”

"Yes, so our entire empire, everyone is sincerely greeting the Führer and shouting out that long live the Führer. The Air Force liaison officer chimed in: "So I and everyone I know are waiting, waiting for the Führer to go further." ”

Doesn't that seem like a step backwards...... Rundstedt looked at the somewhat fanatical Air Force liaison officer in front of him, and naturally knew what he meant by going further. After all, this kind of call has not been around for more than a day or two, and almost everyone supports Accardo, the German Führer, to go further. Whether he was a vegetable seller or a murderer, just as they wanted William to step down, they now want Accardo to ascend to the throne and become the emperor they want.

In their view, Accardo's proclamation was not a regression of the system, but a progress of the Third Reich in accordance with God's will, a great epoch-making progress of human civilization.