Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2334 The Last Junker
At Gumenlak Airport, a Ju-52 transport plane affectionately called "Aunt Junker" by German soldiers was belching black smoke from its tail and was struggling to land on the runway.

Dozens of German soldiers quickly surrounded them, and the cabin door opened. The soldiers were disappointed to find that instead of the bread and sausage they wanted, there were boxes of cold grenades.

"We have a total of six planes. We were surrounded and killed by Russian warplanes on the way. Two of them were shot down by ground anti-aircraft fire. My plane was also shot. God bless, I have been praying that the ammunition in the cabin will not explode, otherwise We will have no bones left—" The pilot trembled when he was lifted out of the cockpit, his eyebrows were covered with frost, and the protective cover of the cockpit was also broken.

Gumenlak is the only operational airport in Volgograd. The German army has been transporting supplies to the besieged German army and transporting the wounded through Gumenlak Airport in the past few months.

"Take a break and drink some hot water, sorry, this is all we have left now-" A German lieutenant brought a cup of hot water to the hungry pilot, who arrived in Volgograd after a few hours of flight. .

When the time came to January, the 6th Army also ran out of ammunition and food. The Germans ate up all the edible food. A piece of bread mixed with sawdust, bark, and moldy could cause German soldiers to loot.

What the 6th Army needed most was food, and a telegram allowing the 6th Army to surrender.

Most of the supplies sent by the base camp were guns and ammunition, and even very little medicine. It was obvious that the base camp hoped that the 6th Army would persevere until the last soldier died.

"Thank you, the situation is very difficult now, let's proceed to—" the pilot hesitated to speak.

The lieutenant was silent, he knew what the pilot wanted to say.

All the officers and soldiers of the surrounded 6th Army have realized that they have no way to retreat and can only perish with the Russians, and there will be fewer and fewer "Aunt Junkers" who will be able to reach Volgograd.

While the lieutenant was chatting with the pilot, the ground crew was removing the ammunition from the transport plane, completely emptying the cabin, and stuffing in as many wounded people who had to be transferred to the rear for treatment.

Getting on the plane does not mean that you will be able to escape. "Aunt Junker" will still face the hunting of Russian fighter planes on the return journey. In order to increase the chance of escape, "Aunt Junker" will take off at night, and the remaining It all depends on the mood of God.

In a department store not far from the airport, General Schmidt, chief of staff of the 6th Army, was persuading Paulus, the head of the army, to leave Volgograd early.

Mustache is right. No field marshal has ever been captured in the German army before, and Schmidt does not want Paulus to be the first.

Even if you die on a plane, it is still considered a death on the battlefield.

"No, I won't go, I want to be with my army, no matter what the outcome is." Paulus was expressionless, even if he fled back to Berlin, Paulus would inevitably be liquidated.

Mustache didn't want Paulus to die, let alone see Paulus as a deserter.

Mustache wants Paulus to create a miracle and lead the 6th Army to victory.

Even the Italians can break out amazing fighting power in a desperate situation, why can't the Germans?
If it can't be done, it must be Paulus' problem, and it has nothing to do with Mustache.

The entrustment is not human.

"Marshal, this is not an evasion of responsibility. You have done everything you can. The Fuehrer will understand you. You can still serve the Fuehrer—" Schmidt is already determined to die, and someone must be responsible for the failure of the 6th Army .

"I'm not working for someone anymore. I'm working for the empire. If you want to leave, the plane is at the airport. I will never leave Volgograd." Paulus's hatred for Mustache was beyond words.

The current mustache is no longer the savior who filled the German tables with bread and milk.

From this point of view, the Germans are also untrustworthy people. They chose a lunatic as the head of state in a difficult situation, and now they have to pay for this mistake.

The battle should never have been fought like this.

If Mustache had listened to Halder and Zeitzler's persuasion and voluntarily given up the attack on Volgograd, then Germany would not have suffered such a big loss, leaving the green hills without worrying about firewood.

If Mustache can allow the 6th Army to retreat, then 26 German troops can be saved, and they will not be besieged by the Russians in Volgograd.

If Army Group A and Manstein were more determined, the outcome of the battle might be rewritten——

If these are meaningless now, there are more than one million Russian troops besieging the 6th Army, but Mustache has no reserves in his hands, and all the troops are exhausted and unable to launch an attack in the severe winter.

Like the Battle of Moscow last year, Winter once again became the biggest opponent of the German army.

No, the situation is more dangerous now than last year, when at least the Germans were not short of fuel.

"Aunt Junker" was seriously damaged. There was a big hole in the tail and multiple bullet holes on the wing. The ground crew who tried to repair it felt that they had no way of doing it. Fly.

Not to mention crossing the Russian blockade.

Major General Goretzka, who is in charge of airport operations, is worried about "Aunt Junker" running out of fuel.

After the "Aunt Junker" landed, the fuel was almost exhausted, and it had to be replenished to fly back.

"The fuel stored at the airport is seriously insufficient, and we don't have enough fuel." Colonel Cross, the logistics director of the airport, was at a loss.

"There will never be enough fuel, add as much as you can, at least ensure that you can fly out of the encirclement—" Major General Gretzka tried his best to cut off the hopes of the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Army.

As long as there are still planes that can land at the airport, the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Army will not lose hope.

The battle was brutal and fierce, and the positions of the two sides were intertwined. Now many ordinary officers and soldiers of the 6th Army do not know the fact that the 6th Army has been surrounded by Russian troops. Only senior officers know how serious the situation is.

Senior officers such as Paulus and Schmitz can have the will to die, and not all officers and soldiers are willing to die in Volgograd.

If the real situation is announced, a mutiny will be triggered immediately. Even if only part of the German troops on the defense line surrender to the Russians, the defense line will collapse instantly.

"There is still oil in the fuel tanks of the tanks of the 14th Army—" Colonel Cross hesitated. Now as long as there is oil, nothing else is important.

Major General Gretzka was silent. This shit is drinking poison to quench thirst. The 14th Army is the garrison of the airport. If the plane cannot take off, then the airport has no meaning.

The Russians also know the importance of the airport to the 6th Army, and they send bombers every day to bombard the airport indiscriminately.

The airport ground staff kept the airport running as much as possible. After the bombers left, they cleaned up the rubbish on the runway as quickly as possible and repaired the runway. This work was repeated every day.

The situation around the airport is also very bad. Almost all buildings have been destroyed. The German anti-aircraft firepower is scattered in the ruins. Half a meter of snow has become the best camouflage for tanks. Russian bomber pilots look down from above. It was all white, and the bombing efficiency was not high.

Because of this, the airport can still be maintained until now.

Major General Gretzka took the initiative to find Major General Franz, the commander of the airport security force.

Major General Franz's command post is in the basement of a building. In the severe cold weather, Major General Franz's command post is as warm as spring. There are some oil drums thrown in the room at the door of the basement. Don't ask, Major General Franz is here Use precious fuel for heating.

Major General Gretzka looked at the oil barrel with a gloomy expression.

The fuel oil at the airport is already so tight, but the armored troops are using fuel oil to keep warm. Why don't you all freeze to death!

"We don't have much fuel left. There is really no extra fuel for you. You should know that if the armored troops run out of fuel, they will lose all their combat capabilities." Major General Franz probably just had dinner, and the room was still filled with With the smell of grilled sausages, the red wine glasses on the table have not had time to clear away.

Of course, this may also be because Major General Franz used red wine glasses more frequently.

"General, the only task for you and me is to ensure the smooth operation of the airport. This is the hope of all of us." Major General Gretzka suppressed his anger and patiently persuaded Franz.

"Hey—hope! We're besieged in this damn place right now. The Russians have ten times as many troops as us, and they're still increasing. We're powerless to attack, we're powerless to break through, and we're powerless to maintain our defenses. You Tell me where is my hope? Do you pray that God will defeat the Russians?" Major General Schmitz blushed and his uniform was stretched tight.

"As long as we haven't lost, we can't lose hope. As a soldier, you shouldn't say such a thing, you shouldn't even think about it!" Major General Gretzka is determined, even in desperate situations, he must maintain the glory of soldiers .

"Ha, it's the damn Junker tradition again. Our country is ruined by you damn guys. You only think about war, victory, and glory every day. The whole country is dragged into the abyss by you. You should do it for All of this is responsible for—" Major General Schmitz was full of alcohol, talking nonsense.

The Junker aristocracy suffered heavy losses in the last world war, but still has a huge influence in Germany.

When Mustache came to power, he reached a compromise with the German Junker nobles and received the support of the Junker nobles. Major General Gretzka is a member of the Junker nobles.

Schmitz was born in a civilian family, and his mustache allowed the Junker nobles to enter the army, but he would not allow the Junker nobles to control the army. A new group must be fostered to balance the Junker nobles' control over the army.

"Be sober, Schmitz, this is not what you should say." Major General Gretzka's face was frosty, and his hands were already on the holster around his waist.

"Ha, what do you want to do? Do you want to enforce military law on me? I'm sorry, you don't have the right to do so. This is my command post, not yours—" Major General Schmitz looked up to the sky and laughed wildly.

Major General Gretzka turned around and left. He really did not have the authority to deal with Schmitz, but Paulus had the authority.

Paulus didn't care about Schmitz at all.

The attack of the Don River Front Army was very resolute, and every step was closed, gradually reducing the living space of the Sixth Army.

From the perspective of tactical literacy, the veterans of the 6th Army are still much better than the recruits of the Don Front Army.

The gap in other aspects is too great. The recruits of the Don Front Army can at least have enough to eat, but the soldiers of the 6th Army are hungry. The group army was trapped to death.

The Russians' hatred for the aggressors is immeasurable, and even if they pay a huge price, they will not let the aggressors live even one minute longer.

Compared with the Russian army at the end of last year, the current Russian army has greatly improved.

Last year, the Russian army was not only recruits, but also lacked weapons and ammunition, and the number of tanks was seriously insufficient.

The situation has improved a lot this year. A steady stream of aid from southern Africa and the United States has arrived in Russia. Russia has finally passed the most difficult stage through industrial relocation. Industrial production has begun to resume. Hundreds of brand new T34s arrive every day On the battlefield, the 6th Army had nothing to do with the T34 due to the lack of shells for its anti-tank guns.

Molotov cocktail?
Sorry, you need gasoline to make a Molotov cocktail.

If the Germans had enough gasoline, they would not have fallen to where they are today.

Under the frenzied attack of the Don Front Army, the 6th Army's defense line is collapsing.

The Russians have learned to be smart now, and give full play to their advantages in weapons and equipment. If they encounter tenacious resistance from the German army, they will either use tank troops to attack, or call for artillery support, and will not give the German army a chance to fight hand-to-hand.

More and more German officers and soldiers died of diseases, and long-term malnutrition caused many German officers and soldiers to suffer from snow blindness. Some German soldiers even took the initiative to walk out of the bunker because of hallucinations, and were exposed to the sight of Russian snipers.

During the Battle of Volgograd, Russia produced countless excellent snipers. The best sniper killed 224 German officers and soldiers within three months.

On the 19th, Paulus sent a telegram to Mustache again, clearly expressing his hope that Mustache would allow the 6th Army to surrender.

Mustache refused again, and called back stating: Surrender is impossible, and the 6th Army should fulfill its heroic responsibility in Volgograd until the last man.

On the 22nd, the Don River Army occupied Gumenlak Airport, and the supplies of the 6th Army were completely cut off.

On the 31st, the Russians attacked Paulus' headquarters in the department store. Paulus sent a final telegram to Berlin and ordered the headquarters staff to surrender.

The battle was finally over, and the Russians captured a German Field Marshal, 23 German generals, 2000 officers below the field level, and 91000 German soldiers.

(End of this chapter)