Soul to the Rhine

Chapter 127 The Longest Day

Soon, Christmas will come.

The Allied Forces' "Overlord Plan" has also entered the stage of history. Germany's land on the Eastern Front continues to shrink. Almost anyone with some common sense can see that they have reached the end of their rope.

Loudspeakers in the streets and alleys of Minsk are broadcasting the latest news. Hitler issued "Order No. 51" to the German troops on the Eastern Front, ordering the German troops to withdraw from the Soviet front line, although the troops referred to in the order were only on the front line. A batch, but this broadcast still made many German soldiers feel extremely subtle.

"The struggle against the Bolsheviks has been difficult and costly. Soldiers have been involved in it for two years, and now a greater crisis has arisen in the West."

Hitler's explanation for his order was to relocate troops and weapons to Western Europe to resist the Allied landings.But according to Rosia and some people familiar with the matter, his real intention in declaring the threat of Allied landings was that he wanted to cover up the fact that the German army was defeated on the Eastern Front, and he was just using this as an excuse.

But Germany's front in the Soviet Union was too long. The war did not happen overnight, and it was impossible to withdraw just by saying retreat.After an extremely dull Christmas, the Minsk garrison was still dispatching to resist the Soviet troops advancing more and more northward.

Even though it is far away from the Eastern Front battlefield, it is still affected by the situation on the front line all the time. The most obvious thing is that the number of soldiers returning to rest is getting smaller and smaller.When a battalion of people goes out, half of them usually come back, which is considered good.

Several companies that had been beaten almost to pieces regrouped together again. They didn't even know whose army numbers they were using. After a war, those who survived could change their numbers to five or six, but even so, they Still holding on.

Various tombstones have appeared in some small towns in Minsk.Heavy snow has covered this city, which is as cold as the Soviet Union, and the number of patients with frostbite in the hospital has also increased linearly. But what Rosia heard most was not the whines and complaints, nor the analysis of the battlefield situation, nor the cowardly talk. .It is an oath made from the heart.

My honor is loyalty.

More and more people are mentioning this sentence and keeping it in their hearts.

Because everyone has a premonition of the outcome of this war. Even though Berlin's propaganda machine still makes the future look like a scene in a fairy tale, they already feel despair in their hearts. In order not to collapse in the middle of the night, they can only do it again and again. Reaffirm your definition over and over again and strengthen your beliefs to support your body and continue to struggle in this cruel and cold country.

Time entered 1944.

It was like a fleeting moment, and Rosia could hardly hold on in this hurried and tense atmosphere.

A few days later, she sent away all the soldiers in the ward under her jurisdiction. They had not yet recovered, but for the sake of the war, they had to stand up and rush to the battlefield with guns in hand.

Rosia has been taking care of these people for two months, and she usually doesn't say anything. On the contrary, the soldiers are very friendly towards her.They even said goodbye to her before leaving.

"It's nice to meet you, doctor."

A 15-year-old child named Mars said goodbye to her with a gun. Rosia didn't want to cry, but looking at such a childish face, she couldn't help but feel soreness in the corners of her eyes.

"These antibiotics may allow me to survive on the battlefield." He shook a small medicine bottle with a smile on his face: "I am so lucky. Seeing you is like meeting my mother, very warm."

Rosia reached out and touched his head, holding back tears: "Do you miss her?"

"I think of her all the time, but my dad is here, and we will fight for the motherland together until the last moment." Mars was too young, and he didn't even understand what war was. The only thing he knew clearly was to follow his beliefs and fight for the sake of his heart. Faith blocks life.

"You will live." Rosia could hardly hold back the tears in her eyes, but she squeezed them back and sniffed: "You will definitely survive, you will. When the time comes, you can go Look at my motherland, it’s very beautiful there.”

"Yes!" Mars nodded, his eyes became a little deep, and the boy gently took off her hand from his head: "Thank you, doctor, don't cry, and...goodbye!"

Rosia wiped away her tears, stood up, and watched him leave.

Several large trucks have been parked in front of the hospital, and many soldiers she is familiar with are sitting in the vehicles at the moment, staring into the distance calmly, numbly, or numbly, waiting for the vehicles to drive out of this relatively peaceful place.

Rosia looked at it quietly for a moment, and suddenly felt that this battle should be over.

Two days later, she received a package from the front line.She didn't dare to open it when there were many people during the day, but she didn't dare to open it until she was alone in the dormitory at night.The package is heavy and cold to the touch,
There is no doubt that the package that came from the front line could only be from Heinrich. As soon as she opened it, she saw a piece of paper with flying German words on it. There were not many words, only a few sentences, asking her to Keep the things here for you.

Rosia took out the small box from the package, opened it, and was stunned for a moment.It was filled with military badges, which were shiny. At a glance, there were almost hundreds of them.

She stretched out her hand tremblingly and pulled the military cards, revealing a little white at the bottom of the box.She reached out and dug inside again, and saw a thick stack of envelopes on the bottom. She picked up the top one and saw that the address and zip code were posted on the cover, and they were all destined for Berlin.

The letters were not sealed, so Rosia took out one and took a look at it.

"My dear mother, by the time you read this letter, I will be dead."

As soon as she saw the beginning of the sentence, Rosia was startled. Her hands shook and she almost threw away the letter. This turned out to be a suicide note.

"I asked the commander to send this letter to my home after my death. I hope that my home was not bombed and that the air raid shelter is still as strong as when it was first built.

I have killed too many people on the battlefield, and my hands are stained with the blood of the Soviets. I cannot enter heaven, but I hope that my dear mother, you can live a happy life.Everything I have done so far has been for the survival of my motherland.

But I'm sorry, I can't protect you anymore.

I don’t understand why the war happened or why I did this, but I have to prove my loyalty to the Führer and that all sacrifices for the Third Reich are worth it.

……

Mom, don't cry, Mom, I love you! "

This suicide note was very brief. It was written in a hurry during the temporary truce on the battlefield. It even had dark marks on it and was soaked with the smell of gunpowder smoke.

Rosia held the thin piece of paper and remained silent until the cold invaded her heart a little bit. Then she folded the letter, stuffed it back in, and pressed it inside.

There were many suicide notes in this box, but she didn't want to touch them anymore.

Heinrich's favor will make her life uneasy even after the war.

A few days later, the radio brought new news that the Soviet army had reached the outskirts of Leningrad. On January 1, Leningrad, which had been surrounded for more than 27 days and nights, was relieved.The Soviet Union immediately started celebrating, but the German side became extremely calm.

In the following days, the situation changed again and again, something new happened every day, and the broadcast almost never stopped.If it was a Soviet victory, the announcer would read it out in a very formulaic tone.If Germany were victorious, he would announce it countless times in a passionate, cadenced, sonorous and powerful voice, and then use an extremely contemptuous tone to despise Bolshevism, preaching the greatness of fascism and saying that the world is a fascist state.

Although Rosia felt pained listening to such broadcasts, at this time, she could also understand the intentions of these propaganda machines.The morale of the German army on the Eastern Front continues to be low, and the situation is getting worse and worse. The soldiers may not survive this winter. Therefore, regardless of whether this is really the case, in order to cheer up the soldiers on the front line, they have to choose the right one. .

The war is changing day by day. The Allied forces are constantly dragging the German army in Western Europe. The Soviet army on the eastern front has been entangled. Germany is burdened by the enemy. Coupled with the lack of resources and the extreme lack of fuel, its territory in the Soviet Union continues to decrease. The Soviet army moves step by step. Push westward and liberate the country.

Contrary to Germany's lack of human resources, the advantage of the Soviet Union's large number of soldiers was gradually revealed.

Rosia has heard others analyze why the Chinese people can win the war before. One of the reasons is the ability to survive.The larger the population, the greater the number of soldiers available.The same is true for the Soviet Union. Although they are poor, have backward equipment, and have barren land, they have a lot of people.Germany's population is already small. Because of this war, almost all young people went to the front line. Now even children and the elderly are fighting together.Germany emphasizes on letting women go away in war, but female assistants have appeared in some places, which is enough to show what kind of situation Germany has reached now. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the end of the road.

There has been no news from Heinrich since he asked logistics to deliver the package. Rosia asked logistics to send a letter back to him at his address and received no response.But this is normal. The phenomenon of the army being disrupted and reorganized is so common now that the logistics may not even be able to find people.

So when I saw him again, it was already the summer of 44.

The summer of 44 was a time when fate changed.

June 6, D-Day.

This can be regarded as the longest day in the history of war.

Even though no one in this era knew it, Rosia had already remembered this day firmly in her heart.The Normandy landings had a domineering name among the Allied forces, called "Operation Overlord."The largest amphibious operation in history was officially implemented, and the Allies' campaign to liberate Europe began.

At this time, all the broadcasts on the radio were about the Allied forces' landing on the beach, various disputes and battles, from morning to night, until late at night.All the medical staff in the hospital stopped what they were doing and gathered around the radio to listen anxiously.

Fierce resistance and defense, attack and retreat are constantly unfolding in Western Europe. Just listening to the radio is thrilling.By late night, even though all the Germans were shaking hands and praying, the Allies still succeeded. They succeeded in seizing the beach, and 15 Allied troops had landed on the French coast.

Although Germany resisted tenaciously and fought to the death, their miscalculation of the Allied landing site caused them to lose their air superiority and the mobility of their war machine was unable to be used.During this longest day, the elite SS and Wehrmacht troops in Caen and other places suffered heavy casualties, and even their opponents who fought frantically could not escape the fate of being captured.

Regarding the issue of the Allied landing site, Rosia still remembered it being mentioned slightly in the middle school textbook.

When the Germans were sure that the Allied forces would land in Western Europe, they began to speculate on where they would land in order to prepare the strongest defense.They excluded the steep fjords of Norway and the rugged coast of Northern Europe, as well as the flat terrain of Belgium and the Netherlands, and finally settled on Calais and Normandy in northern France.

Calais actually had a better landing advantage than Normandy. It was only 20 miles away from the southern coast of England. Most people in the German High Command, including Hitler himself, believed that the Allied forces would land in Calais.But this was indeed a British conspiracy, and except for a few people including Marshal Rommel, no one discovered it.

Normandy succeeded. No matter how much the Germans hoped and prayed, 5 German soldiers were killed in the subsequent battles of the landing, and more than 20 were captured by the British and Americans. Many German soldiers fled, leading to the German army's retreat.

The defeat of the German troops on the Western Front directly affected the progress of the Eastern Front. The war in the Soviet Union became increasingly hasty, and more and more soldiers became pessimistic about the war situation.

But this has nothing to do with Rosia. Working here as a Chinese national, she and some French-Polish people suffered isolation and neglect. Sarcasm and ridicule were commonplace, and sometimes even the canteen refused to give them food. She managed to get better, at least with the secret help of Ilana. Those French people had been dragged out and beaten several times by the tough German woman.

It was also her misfortune. If the news of the successful Normandy landing had been heard in France, she would have stood at the street corner of Paris with Aunt Mesa and Pino to greet the arrival of the Allied forces.Even in Poland, grand cheers could be heard, and no matter how bad she was in the Soviet Union, she would not have fallen to this point. However, she heard this "tragic" news among the Germans, and it was simply non-negotiable not to be excluded.

Thinking of this, Rosia was also heartbroken. She tried every means to escape from France because she was afraid of being retaliated by the French. But when she got here, there was still no good result. To describe it in modern terms, it was simply shameful.

The following days were almost like various liberation movements in the Soviet Union. The German troops were constantly eliminated and captured during the breakout, and then retreated, retreated, and kept retreating until war broke out in Minsk.

Early in the morning on July 7, before it was time to go to work, a shrill air defense siren sounded over the entire Minsk. It was a Soviet air raid.

In the past few days, the Soviet army has been attacking Minsk. The German Fourth Armored Army has been guarding here and has been resisting tenaciously.At first, in order to reduce the casualties of civilians in the city, the Soviet army did not use this indiscriminate attack method. They could not hear the sound of war in the hospital.But now, both sides are fighting like crazy, and the Soviet army doesn't care anymore. The bombers are coming directly. Anyway, this is already outside the Soviet Union. Whether they are Belarusians, Germans, French, or other people from other countries, as long as they see many people, they will Start dropping bombs down.

Transportation is the most important lifeline of a city. On the first day of the air raid, Minsk's stations and transportation hubs were blown up, and the last bus left before Rosiya could even react.Although this place is close to Poland, if she wants to escape at this time, unless she has the courage to use her legs, she will have to wait until the Soviet army liberates Minsk.

After the destruction of transportation, military bases and barracks followed, and then other buildings in Minsk.Regardless of whether they were a righteous party or not, the bombing was not on their own territory, so they used their hands and feet very widely. The bombings continued one after another, and the Red Cross could not survive such a crazy attack.The bombing came early in the morning.

Rosia is very familiar with this situation.After experiencing too much war, some subconscious reactions had become instinctive. Anyway, when she came to her senses, she had packed up her things and was just waiting to escape.

The situation in Minsk has been changing in the past few days. Not only medical staff, but also deserters have begun to increase. Although there are chain dogs that will shoot them, they still cannot stop the escape.

The Soviet Air Force did not have the Stukas that screamed and roared when they dived, but their bombers still made this blank city full of dangers, and their buzzing screams were like the scythe of death, constantly hovering overhead.

In a short period of time, soldiers are already approaching the city.

From the west of the city to where she stayed, everyone was bombed. The hospital immediately became unsafe. The glass on the doors and windows was shaken and the medical staff fled like crazy, running around aimlessly.

Rosia had already gained experience in escaping like this. After going out, she staggered the bombing route and prepared to find a nearby air-raid shelter to take shelter temporarily. People can never be faster than an airplane, and blindly escaping can only lead to self-destruction.

She walked across the street carrying a small bag. After walking a few steps, she suddenly thought of Elana. When she looked back, she saw that behind her were people running away in panic, and there was no sign of Elana at all.

"Elana, Elana!"

Rosia turned around anxiously and shouted a few words. Someone raised his head and glanced at her, then hurriedly lowered his head and ran for his life.

"Ilana!"

Rosia shouted to the hospital again, but there was still no response. She looked up at the bombers in the distance, gritted her teeth, and ran back quickly.

The door of the hospital had already been knocked down, and there were a lot of cracks on the wall. Rosia screamed a few more times in the hall, and the last few nurses struggled to pass her with their feet sprained.

There was no one inside, maybe Ilana had already run out.

Rosia turned around and ran out again. At this time, the sound of bombers outside was very close, dust fell from the top of her head, and the whole hospital was crumbling.She originally wanted to throw away the small bag in her hand, but when she thought about the military badge and suicide note inside, she didn't let go. She gritted her teeth and rushed out of the hospital at a crazy speed.

Before going out, a piece of gravel fell from the top of her head. She quickly blocked it with her hand. The back of her hand was scratched by the sharp stone, and blood dripped instantly. She wailed in pain and inhaled hissingly.

A tank has appeared at the end of the street, and the front barrel is slowly turning, looking for the bombing target. The behemoth rumbles over, making people scared at the sight of it.

This is no longer the rear area. The war machine walked in and instantly became the front line.Rosia held her head and ran frantically across the street, passing through the alley between two houses. Without looking ahead, she bumped into a man wearing a slate gray military uniform.

"Ouch!" Rosia's forehead hit the silver button on the military uniform, and it hurt her heartache.But she quickly reacted and apologized: "I'm sorry, sir."

"Rosia!" A familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from above the head, and someone grabbed his shoulder.

Rosia raised her head blankly and saw a familiar figure, frowning and glaring at her: "Idiot, when are you still here? Are you crazy?"

　Why did I post it so late? Because I wrote more~
　　If the amount of extra updates is not enough, consider it a small extra update.

　　You should be able to tell that I really have to explain my funeral affairs next. I have to go home and explain the follow-up of several main characters, find people, and arrange for prisoners.

　　In addition, the transitions in these chapters are so great that I cannot cover everything. Some of the plots pay homage to historical books, postwar soldiers’ memoirs and movies. If there are any similarities, please remember that I am paying tribute!

　　Ha ha!It's really about to end

　　
　
(End of this chapter)