World War II: I Conquered the World with Dade Bank

In July 1943, the air along the southern line of Kursk was filled with the pungent smell of diesel fuel mixed with gunpowder. Major Hugo Klaas, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd SS Panzergrenadier Regiment, stood next to the command vehicle. In the field of vision of the telescope, the outline of Hill 234 was distorted by artillery fire. His troops belong to the "Kempf" battle group. In the past few days, they tore apart the Soviet frontline defenses at an alarming speed, and even once occupied a key commanding height overlooking Belgorod. The soldiers' faces were filled with the excitement of victory in the first battle, as if the victory of Operation "Fortress" was within reach. However, the offensive soon descended into a bloody quagmire. The minefields laid deep by the Soviet army were like infinitely extending death traps, and each advance of 100 meters required a heavy price. Major Klaas saw through the telescope that his soldiers fell in pieces like straw under a sickle. When the long-barreled Panzer IV tank, which had been repaired with great difficulty, fired its last shell, an anti-tank mine on the track exploded violently. The jets and fragments easily penetrated the armor at the bottom, followed by another huge explosion, and flames poured out from the top of the turret like water. It seemed that the shell had exploded, but behind the burning wreckage, the infantrymen still bravely rushed towards the Soviet position with their bayonets. Gun smoke mixed with the smell of blood filled the lungs, and the shock waves of the explosion made the earth tremble. The soldiers' eardrums were almost deafened by the continuous roar. A grenadier Lerman, who had just turned eighteen, had been a literature student at Heidelberg University before the war. At this moment, he split the collarbones of Soviet soldiers with a sapper shovel. He felt the resistance of the shovel blade smashing into bones, and when warm blood spattered on his face, he subconsciously recited Holderlin's poem in an attempt to numb himself - "But the poet, create something that lasts forever." However, in the next second, another Soviet soldier's Mosin-Nagant bayonet had penetrated his abdomen. Lerman fell to his knees. The last thing he saw before his vision blurred was a silver pocket watch that fell to the ground. A family photo was embedded in the watch case. The hour hand was frozen at the moment when he secretly tightened the spring before the attack. Klass clenched his fists next to the command vehicle, his nails digging into his palms. He watched the soldiers bite and fight like wild beasts, but there was nothing he could do. One more time! Do it again! We will definitely be able to break through the core position this time. As long as we capture Highland 234, the road ahead should be smooth. Perhaps prayer had an effect. This attack really broke through the core position. Although the defensive force of the Red Army on the opposite side was strong, it could not withstand such consumption. After a long stalemate, they still chose to evacuate. Klass laughed happily, it seems that we are still stronger! But the good times did not last long. Soon, orders came from the rear. Because there was a problem with the radio equipment, the person who came to convey the order was Major Helles, the staff officer of the division, who was also a fellow and friend of Klass. "Why retreat?? I managed to capture Highland 234 with great difficulty! What did the staff think?" Klaas shouted. "It's useless! Everything is useless! The news just came from the army group, the attack on the northern front has failed, and encirclement is no longer possible. According to reliable news on our southern front, the main force of the Steppe Front on the opposite side has also been deployed. Let alone retreat, I think Belgorod will also be lost." Then he hesitated: "There is another thing that you may not know. I will tell you, but you must not tell it. I have a very good businessman friend in Italy. A few days ago, he told me through internal military connections that something might have happened in southern Italy (referring to the Sicily landing campaign), and the head of state is expected to dispatch troops there." When the retreat order was given, Klass's rationality and emotion were violently torn apart. As a commander, he knew that the remaining troops must be preserved; but as an SS officer, retreat meant a betrayal of the creed of "never retreat." Soldiers dragged their festering wounds through the craters, and a sergeant suddenly laughed maniacally as he passed a burning tank - his brother had died in this tank, and at this moment he was unable to even recover the bones. The road to retreat was not easy. The Red Army troops chasing them on the opposite side had very strong technical and tactical skills. The T-34 cluster attacked Klaas's flanks like an iron stream. Several times, the scouts urgently reported that the troops were surrounded on three sides. In order to preserve the remaining troops, he finally had to order all the artillery and damaged vehicles to be blown up in order to make a light breakout. However, he encountered a dive and strafing attack by Soviet IL-2 attack aircraft on the way. When the unit, which suffered more than half of its casualties, staggered back to its starting position, Klaas had less than 40% of the combat troops in his hands. In the headquarters late at night, Klaas was silent in front of the battle map. The coffee delivered by the orderly was already cold, but he didn't even notice. At this time, an urgent message came from the division headquarters: Paul Hausser, commander of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps, personally called to affirm the battalion's "extraordinary courage" on Hill 234 and informed them that they would receive priority in receiving additional troops and equipment. At the end of the message, it was written: "Real steel is always tempered in the strongest fire." These words rekindled Klass's fighting spirit despite exhaustion. He wrote in his diary: "We lost our position, but we did not lose our honor. We must win back the next battle!" However, the readers of this diary page are not fellow German soldiers. In April 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Chernov of the 9th Guards Army of the Soviet Army picked up this diary with curled edges from a pile of captured items after capturing Vienna. He fluently read the last few lines of scrawled words in German - "January 5, 1944, Zhitomir Front... We are still holding on..." - And then turned to the death notice inside: Klass had been killed on the Hungarian battlefield half a year ago. The lieutenant colonel tapped his pipe lightly, and the ashes fell on the spread paper, as if covering this unfinished oath with a handful of loess. After a burst of dazzling white light, Krass struggled to get up and checked his body, only to find that although his body was a little dirty, it was very complete, not at all like the way he had been torn apart by bomb fragments in Zhytomir before. The face of the correspondent beside him was so familiar that Klaas was in a trance. "Are you awake, battalion commander? Then let me report to you the latest battle situation?" "Huh?" "The friendly forces have now opened the railway to Prokhorovka, and we are going up now to help them hold back the Steppe Front!" "Huh???" That's right, Klass traveled to the Kursk battlefield in another time and space. The heart is old, but it welcomes a new battlefield! !

Classmate Xiaoai

War Injury Edition

In Germany during World War II, the most impressive person was not the iron-blooded general, but Oskar Schindler. He used the factory as a refuge, used wealth and wisdom to maneuver among enemy camps, and saved more than a thousand lives. The names on the list are the sparks of hope in despair. Another German soldier, Willy Weidenfeld, secretly delivered food and medicine in the concentration camp. These stories let me see that even in the darkest times, the glimmer of humanity can penetrate the gloom, proving that conscience never dies.

For me, among the German generals in World War II, Rommel was the most impressive. Known as the "Desert Fox", he defeated more with less in the North African battlefield. He used mobile tactics to defeat the British many times, demonstrating his outstanding military talents. Although he is loyal to the NC, he clearly opposes Lao hope's extreme policies, does not participate in the TS, and respects prisoners of war. In 1944, he was forced to commit suicide on suspicion of assassinating Lao hope, with a tragic ending. He is both an outstanding tactician and a soldier's conscience. His contradiction between loyalty and conscience reflects the complexity of human nature in war, and also reflects the helplessness and choices of individuals under the torrent of the times.

In the early stage of World War II, Germany relied on its "blitzkrieg" to achieve a god-level record. However, in the later stage, it failed due to "superiors", "greed for too much" and "mysterious operations". Early stage: Tactical "god-level operation" 1. Blitzkrieg: This is Germany's core "god-level operation". It broke the deadlock of traditional positional warfare, using tank groups to quickly penetrate and cooperate with the precise strikes of dive bombers (Stukas) to complete the encirclement before the enemy could react. Poland and France were quickly defeated by this style of play. 2. Manstein Plan: When attacking France, the main force of the German army did not rush through the Maginot Line. Instead, it unexpectedly passed through the Ardennes Forest, which was considered "impassable for tanks", directly cutting off the main force of the British and French allied forces. It can be called a classic surprise attack in military history. Later period: Strategic "fatal move" 1. Dunkirk "brake": In 1940, German armored forces had besieged more than 300,000 British and French troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. Just when he was about to wipe out his opponents, Hitler suddenly ordered a halt to the attack. This gave the British troops valuable time to retreat and preserved the spark for future counterattacks. 2. Two-front war: Before Britain had surrendered, it rashly launched the "Barbarossa" plan to invade the Soviet Union. As a result, we were caught between the Eastern Front (Soviet Union) and the Western Front (Britain and the United States), which was a taboo for military strategists. 3. Winter in Moscow: Underestimating the Soviet Union's "Winter General". When the German army attacked Moscow in 1941, they did not prepare winter clothing. As a result, a large number of soldiers froze to death and suffered frostbite in the severe cold of dozens of degrees below zero, and their combat effectiveness was sharply reduced. 4. The Stalingrad fight: For the sake of a city, Hitler ordered the city to hold on and not retreat, resulting in the elite 6th Army being completely annihilated, which became a turning point in the entire war. 5. The science and technology tree is crooked: Although black technologies such as V2 rockets and jet fighters were developed, the resources were too scattered and they were put into the battlefield too late, failing to change the situation of the war. Germany's "magic operation" is essentially a contradiction between tactical genius and strategic shortsightedness. They won the battle with the most advanced tactics, but lost the entire war because of a lack of long-term strategic planning (such as resource reserves and alliance management).

As the title says, it's rare for me to give it a try.

Battle reports for several days have been arriving one after another, and the situation is really not optimistic. However, since they have followed the footsteps of Keizer's Monarch Armored Division, they naturally hug their thighs tightly. On this day, Klass, who had been revising for almost half a week, was finally called to the division headquarters by Keizer and received his first mission in the Monarch Armored Division. "What the hell? Are you asking me to transport equipment? Do you have to repair the Tiger and Panther?" Klass was shocked. "Why are you so excited? I congratulate you for getting rich! 20 Maintenance engineers were transferred from my supplementary troops, and I know that you worked as an engineer at Henschel before joining the army before the war, not to mention that your battalion has the largest maintenance personnel." "No matter how big it is, there are only two platoons! The few people I can gather are just compressing the first-line infantry... Division commander, division commander, I kneel down for you, please leave some more for me." "Ke Yunlong! Do you think you have made a contribution, General Hawkman... Marshal Hawkman? You are the destroying dragon flying in the clouds, so you can bargain with me? You are so powerful, why don't you fight with Marshal Hawkman? " "How can I, Commander, I am wrong, I am wrong, I will go now" In desperation, Klass has no choice but to fight. Nye took all the movable vehicles and personnel of the division to the southwest of Prokhorovka. After a long time, he finally saw the person in charge of transporting tank repair equipment of the 42nd Infantry Corps. After a brief handover, Klaas hurriedly led each unit to his location. It was not until three o'clock in the morning that the first half-track tractor entered the city. Klass looked at the street entrance into the city from a distance. It was bright and clear, and a lot of nervous-looking soldiers were standing around. Klass asked his comrades in the 42nd Infantry Army who were handing over, and found out that it was actually Commander Hawkman who was handing over in person, and even Lieutenant General Franz came in person. This scared "Ke Yunlong" to the point where he stuck out his tongue and was about to run away after finishing the matter. As a result, Klaas discovered something was wrong after staying here. The repair equipment here is quite a lot. I guess all the equipment from Belgorod has been pulled over, but... But these things can only repair No. 4 And No. 3. Tigers and Panthers can't repair it. There are quite a few tigers and leopards parked in the repair area of ​​the parking lot. Facing the 3485 on the opposite side, No. 4 Is really weak, not to mention a bunch of 76 and 122.152 Squat anti-tank guns. "Brother Blanche, this equipment is a bit heavy, isn't it? It's okay to repair No. 4, Isn't it a bit difficult to repair the tiger and leopard?" "I know, the heavy equipment is still behind, the lieutenant general didn't even drink water, he hurried back to transport things" "Ouch, then I'm relieved "It's okay if you have the equipment." Blanche looked surprised: "What are you thinking? The battle will start in four hours, at most 5 hours!" "?"

This is an unforgettable World War II story: a German fighter pilot spared a wounded American bomber. More than 40 years later, the two pilots reunited and became close friends. On December 20, 1943, 21-year-old American B-17 bomber pilot Charlie Brown took off from the United Kingdom on a mission to bomb Bremen, Germany. During the battle, the bomber was hit by German anti-aircraft artillery and was severely damaged. One crew member was killed and six were injured. The cabin was filled with blood. Brown was left alone to pilot the scarred aircraft back home. At this moment, a German BF109 fighter jet painted black flew in. Brown's co-pilot exclaimed: "Oh my God, this is a nightmare!" For them, who were defenseless, being shot down was the next moment. But then something incredible happened: instead of firing, the German pilot nodded and gestured to Brown to land, but Brown refused. Next, the German aircraft also piloted it for a while on the sea. It was not until the injured machine gunner stretched out his machine gun to take aim that the German aircraft quickly flew away. As soon as Brown landed, he reported the strange incident to his commander, but the commander strictly ordered him to tell anyone else because the spread of this unusual story would be detrimental to the soldiers' hatred of the Germans. After World War II, Brown returned to China, got married, started a family and lived a peaceful life. But this incident has always been unforgettable. His daughter recalled: "I remember that my father often had nightmares and woke up in cold sweats from time to time." In 1987, more than 40 years after the incident, Brown finally made up his mind to find the German pilot who saved his life, although he did not know whether that person was still alive. Brown tried to place an advertisement in the newspaper, looking for the man who "saved my life on December 20, 1943." Soon, a German living in Vancouver, Canada called, and on the phone he Said: "I am the person you are looking for." This German is Franz Stigler, a German Air Force lieutenant during World War II, an ace pilot who shot down 28 enemy planes, and was shot down 17 times. The two made an appointment to meet, and Brown described the feeling of meeting Stigler: "It's like meeting a family member, a brother you haven't seen for 40 years." As soon as they met, Brown asked: "Why didn't you fire at that time to get yourself a medal for downing an enemy plane?" "I can't fire on someone who is unable to resist. ." Stigler replied, "As I approached the bomber, I could see that the aircraft had a lot of damage. There was a big hole in the fuselage, and there were bleeding casualties inside. The situation was very bad. I made the gesture to hope that you would make an emergency landing in Germany and hope that you would surrender." In fact, Stigler did not kill the Americans at risk, and if he was seen, he might be charged with treason. After returning home, he did not tell anyone about the incident, otherwise he would have to face a military court. Whether it was World War I or World War II, the German Air Force was quite chivalrous. For example, it did not attack enemies who parachuted to escape, took the initiative to bury the remains of Allied pilots, and treated captured Allied pilots well in accordance with the Geneva Convention. Stiegler recalled: "After I enlisted, my squadron leader Rodel warned me: 'Follow the rules of war for the sake of your own humanity. If I saw or heard you shooting a pilot on a parachute, I would shoot you down myself! " World War II was cruel to Stigler. He lost his brother, lived in poverty after the war, and had to emigrate abroad. Sparing the American bomber was the only good thing he encountered in the war, and it was something to be proud of. Because of him, Brown and the crew members survived, and their aftermath As a result, descendants of Brown had the opportunity to be born into the world. There are as many as 25 descendants of Brown, including boys and girls. The two old people became good friends, and their story continued until 2008. Miraculously, they both died at the age of 92 and Brown at the age of 87.

In the underground bunker of the former Soviet Army fuel warehouse, dim lanterns cast swaying light and shadow on the damp walls. Major Klaas saw that "Lieutenant Colonel Keizer", no, not a lieutenant colonel. Look at the flag filled with armored troops and mechanized infantry of at least a division level with high morale. He was at least a colonel, or even a general, but why had he heard of him from Huawei in his previous life? Claes shook his head, refocused his attention, and observed the other party carefully. The opponent was tall and lean, wearing a decent field uniform, but a strange, non-leather lining material was exposed at the frayed cuffs. In his headquarters, next to the map, there was a radio model that Krass had never seen before, and several staff officers were talking in low voices mixed with some abbreviations that he could not understand. "Major Klaas! I read your fire reconnaissance report. It is clean and clear, and the casualty control is better than I imagined." Keizer reached out his hand enthusiastically, with a sincere smile, and there was a strange calmness in his eyes that transcended the anxiety of the current battle situation. "I like commanders who know how to cherish the lives of soldiers. But next, I need you and your battalion to do a more difficult and important thing for the entire group." He pointed to the two fang-like farms on the map: "I need you to launch a real infantry assault on the two farms of 'Youth Regiment' and 'October' at the same time - and without any artillery preparations. Tonight. " " Attacking two strong points at the same time without artillery fire?" Klaas's blood almost solidified, "Lieutenant Colonel... Your Excellency, this is equivalent to letting my soldiers rush to the machine gun position with bare hands. The casualties will be catastrophic, and it will be impossible to achieve any tactical purpose." The smile on Keizer's face faded slightly, but his eyes were still sharp. He did not refute, but took out a folded piece of letter paper from the document bag and gently pushed it in front of Klas. The letterhead is "Kempf Battle Group Headquarters", and below it is the familiar sharp signature of General Adolf Kempf. The order is short and absolute: "The 1st Battalion must fully cooperate with Lieutenant Colonel Keizer's reconnaissance requirements. This order has the highest priority. No questioning." "Soldiers will not sacrifice their lives in vain, Major." Keizer's voice lowered, with an unquestionable power, "What I want is not occupation, not even occupation. Breakthrough. I want you to use your battalion, like a stone thrown into a dark pond, to stir up all hidden ripples. I want every bunker, every anti-tank emplacement, every ambush and reserve gathering place to be exposed tonight. This is the price that must be paid for a greater victory. " Klaas felt a cold weakness. Military orders are pouring in, especially from the group commander himself. He gave a stiff military salute with a dry throat: "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel. Our unit will begin operations after midnight." That night, dark clouds covered the moon. Klass's battalion was blessed by God and had no moonlight. His soldiers were able to complete the approach to the two farms in extreme concealment. The lack of artillery preparation meant that they lost the most important means of suppression and cover, so everything had to be done very carefully. The attacks were launched simultaneously at one o'clock in the morning. In the early stage, we achieved amazing tactical surprise. The small number of assault engineers first used wire cutters to quietly clean up part of the outer barbed wire. Then the leading infantry squad used the night and the terrain with gun marks from previous battles to reach the edge of the first Soviet trench. They even used bayonets and engineer shovels to clear several outposts that were caught off guard. The most promising results came in the direction of the "Youth League Farm", where a platoon once penetrated close to the warehouse complex at the core of the farm. However, the Soviet Red Army's response was swift and deadly. Soon several secret sentries discovered the situation, and several flares suddenly rose into the sky, illuminating the battlefield like daylight. Machine gun fire points hidden throughout (many of which were backup positions that had not fired during the day) spit out crossfire. According to the preset coordinates, the mortar shells accurately landed on the possible attack channels and assembly areas of the German army, blocking subsequent support channels. What made Klaas even more chilling was that from the woods deep inside and on the flanks of the farm, the low roar of the T-34 tank engine and the flash of the main gun firing could be heard again. The battle quickly turned into a brutal close range strangulation. The German soldiers were divided into open areas and ruins under the flares, fighting house by house and trench by Soviet troops relying on fortifications. Klaas was forced to devote all his reserves and even personally led the battalion personnel to block a gap opened by the Soviet counterattack. Signal troops continued to report heavy casualties in various companies and news of dead officers. The hard battle continued until four o'clock in the morning, and the sky was slightly bright. Klaas's battalion was exhausted, consumed huge amounts of ammunition, and completely lost its attack momentum. It was forced to gradually disengage and retreat to its starting position while fighting independently. They paid a price of more than 150 casualties, accounting for almost one-third of the entire battalion's combat strength, but failed to capture any major objectives. But just as Keizer requested, this brutal night attack was like a mirror, reflecting all the details of the Soviet defense system: all exposed and hidden firepower point locations, artillery observation posts, reserve maneuver routes, communication line outlines, and even the possible areas of the command post were clearly marked by Camp Klaas. The next morning, the sun was dazzling, but it could not dispel the haze and anger in Klas's heart. Dragging his almost broken body, with bloodshot eyes and a reconnaissance report soaked in the blood of all the brothers in the battalion, he came to Keizer's headquarters again. He wanted to question what the meaning of this "map" was in exchange for the lives of so many loyal soldiers. In his anger, a burst of familiar white light struck again, followed by another nauseating and dizzy trance. There was a continuous and strange high-frequency roar coming from the direction of the farm outside the bunker. It was not a bombardment, but like ten thousand Stukas diving at the same time. Klass didn't think much, he was filled with thoughts of the faces of his fallen subordinates. Keizer seemed to have been waiting for him for a long time, with that puzzling calm smile still on his face, as if he couldn't hear the weird sounds getting closer and closer outside. "General," Klass's voice was hoarse and cold, and he slapped the report on the table, "You want the 'full details'. My battalion is almost exhausted. Now, please tell me, what did this huge price get in exchange? How should we attack these two damn farms next?" Keizer did not read the report, and looked past Klass. , Threw himself at the observation hole of the bunker, and said with a smile: "The price was not in vain, Major. In fact... The mission has been completed." "Completed?" Klaas was stunned, and then became more angry, "My soldiers are still on the way to retreat! The farm is still in the hands of the Russians!" "Oh?" Keizer tilted his head slightly and made a "Please come and see" gesture. Klaas suppressed his anger, strode to the observation hole, and raised the telescope - the next second, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his whole body froze in place. In the field of view of the telescope, the "Youth League Farm" and "October Farm" that were still indestructible yesterday and made him shed all his blood should be two completely broken ruins that are still smoking. At this moment, it has returned to its previous intact appearance, but there are no gunshots, no moving figures, only dead silence. A complete silence, as if it had been "erased" from the map. "This... Impossible..." Kras murmured, huge confusion momentarily overpowering his anger, "What happened? Army-level artillery bombardment? Air raid? That's not right, there are no traces of explosions of this scale... This is like... Like... Chemical weapons?? It's impossible..." Just when his thoughts were in extreme confusion, Keizer's voice sounded calmly behind him: "A more efficient way to clean up, Major. Your reconnaissance has pointed out to us the coordinates of all targets that need to be 'cleaned'." Klass turned back sharply, trying to see Keizer's expression clearly. At this moment, Keizer's overly calm eyes seemed to flash with an inhuman light. At the same time, a cold, familiar, throbbing white light that seemed to come from the depths of the soul exploded in Klas's mind without warning! This feeling... Is so similar to the feeling at the moment of his "rebirth"! These two memories - the brutal night attack and the strange and easy victory - conflict with each other, but are strangely "glued" together, giving him a splitting headache and unable to tell which one is real and which one is illusory. Keizer turned his head and kept smiling: "It seems that the clearing operation went well, thank you for your hard work, Major Klaas. Your battalion performed heroically and completed the task at a very low cost. I will personally take credit for you. Next, we can continue to advance to the northwest." Klass looked at Keizer, and then at the ruins beyond his comprehension outside the window. A chill that was deeper than when facing any Soviet steel torrent quietly climbed up his back. What secrets are hidden in this Keizer, the "method" he brought, and the incredible results before him? What does this familiar white light foreshadow? What has it got to do with the strangeness of my rebirth and the person in front of me?