Iron Cross

Marshal Kesselring described what happened during the parade of prisoners: several of the British prisoners who participated in the parade not only understood but also spoke Italian. They were originally resentful of being handed over to the Italians by the Germans and believed that the other side It was his own men who were defeated. If the Germans and Guderian weren't so powerful, Italy's few troops would have been wiped out by the 8th Army. After listening to Mussolini's self-proclaimed propaganda, they all agreed to make a fool of him. Everyone pretended not to know Italian, but when reporters went to the prison camp to interview them, they suddenly threw away the translator and reported all the actual situations in Italian. He said it once, and then ridiculed the leader for being deceitful. By the time the military police reacted and dragged them away, everything that needed to be said had been said. Many reporters had heard it, and the atmosphere at the scene was extremely embarrassing. In order to settle the matter, Count Ciano, the foreign minister and Mussolini's son-in-law, issued a temporary silence order and strictly ordered no newspaper to publish the true situation. That night, all journalists participating in the event were given a Swiss gold watch. , ask them not to reveal this matter...

"I was not present at the time. Everything was told to me personally by our ambassador to Italy. The ambassador said that he also got a piece." Kesselring stated in a serious tone at first, but later he couldn't hold himself back. laughed.

"Hahaha! It really made me laugh. Mussolini..." It turned out that the Italians had started playing the "gold watch incident" so early. Hoffman was overjoyed, and the others also laughed, "How can you say Well, it's so interesting. It's a pity that he doesn't want to be a clown... Well, Count Ciano is also really, why did he expose him so well? He should have been allowed to continue to explain and refute the rumors in front of reporters the next day. , let’s see what different things he can say this time.”

"The Italians are so happy. Not only do they have a good leader, but they also have actor skills for free. I really want to get his autograph."

"Bowman, don't worry. The Serbian meeting will be held in three days. The Italian leader and Count Ciano will come in person. You will have plenty of opportunities to see their skills."

"I hope Comrade Ribbentrop has a more appreciative eye than I do."

The awarding ceremony soon began. Hoffman delivered a speech, speaking highly of the Air Force's rapid ridding of the negative influence of the "traitorous group" and its recent great contribution in supporting the Army's operations and countering British and American air strikes. He also praised Alamein. The importance of the battle was affirmed, and then Marshal Kesselring introduced the award-winners to him one by one.

The first recipient of the honor was Marseille, Star of Africa. Hoffman personally hung the knight's cross with diamonds, oak leaves and double swords that shone brightly under the light on his collar, and then patted the other person's head affectionately. He liked this handsome, handsome and outstanding young man very much, and specially sent him a plane. To him, it was said that he changed history and saved the other party's life - of course Marceiu would never know all this.

"How about it, have you read all the love letters that General Jeshunek gave you?" Hoffman joked, "Are you spoiled for choice? It's still too late to change your mind."

"This..." The young man scratched his head in embarrassment, "My fiancée Harelis helped me handle it, and we agreed to hold a wedding this Christmas."

"What a pity! Young man! You gave up the entire forest for a tree!" Hoffman teased him, "As long as you didn't knock over the vinegar bottle, will you invite me to your wedding?"

"Very, very honored!... Head of state, you will be the most distinguished guest, but..." The young man seemed to have remembered something and counterattacked slightly, "You must agree to bring a female companion."

Now it was Hoffman's turn to be speechless. Marceiu was a smart man and immediately changed the subject and asked: "Führer, I see that you and all the leaders are smiling very happily. Can you let us know too?"

"Um..." Hoffman thought for a while and decided not to make Mussolini look ugly outside. The Italian leader's face still had to be maintained, so he smiled and said, "We all thought of a joke made by the Italian leader and teased him a few times. sentence."

The young man did some tricks and took out a gold Omega pocket watch from his pocket. It was exactly the same as what Marshal Kesselring mentioned just now. He asked mischievously: "Are you talking about this?"

"Did Count Ciano give it to you?"

Marceiu nodded: "I went to Rome before returning to China, and the leader also gave me a medal. Head of state, I was also present on the day of the reporter's interview, and I know exactly what happened!"

"This is top secret. We must keep it secret to prevent the British from eavesdropping." Hoffman said seriously.

"Yes!" The young man himself couldn't help but laugh.

"Dear head of state, thank you very much for the plane you gave me. I can't find any other gift for you, I only prepared this." Marcelo brought a delicate leather box from the side, "This is a gift for you." A gift for you.”

"What's inside?" Not only Hoffman, but also other people's curiosity was aroused.

The attendant quickly opened it, and everyone came forward to take a look. The golden velvet was neatly arranged with compasses of different shapes, colors, and sizes. The strange thing was that none of them looked new.

"This is this?" Marshal Kesselring recognized it and exclaimed, "These are all compasses on the plane, but they are all different."

"This is the compass of all the downed enemy aircraft I can find, one for each type of aircraft." Marceiu pointed at each one and introduced, "Look, this one is a fire-breathing one, and this one is a hurricane one. This is an American P-40, this is a P-38, and this is a handsome British soldier..."

"Very good! I like it very much!" Hoffman laughed and accepted this unique gift, pointing to the circle of big shots around him, "Next time, remember to give a set to all the other leaders."

Marceiu nodded confidently: "I understand, please give me another year."

The second in line is Hermann Graf, who is one year younger than Marceuil. He has just been transferred from the combat wing to serve as a senior staff officer at the Air Force Headquarters. After Marshal Kesselring read out his achievements, Hoffmann solemnly awarded him the Knight's Cross of Iron Cross with Diamonds, Double Swords and Oak Leaves, and shook hands with him warmly.

This equally handsome young man seemed very embarrassed because Marceiu carefully prepared gifts for the head of state, but he did not - even though he also received a plane as a gift from the head of state. He felt very regretful. Why didn't he think of preparing some special commemorative gifts for the head of state before leaving?

Hoffman didn't care about this, but said with a smile: "I heard that you are a very talented football player? Are you very fond of football?"

"Yes, Führer. Before the war, I played for FC Horn, and later I was drafted into the army and became a pilot." When talking about football, Hermann Graf's mind opened up, and his previous restraint disappeared. Hermann Graf formed a football team called "Roten-Jaeger" during the war, many of whom were members of the German national team (including Sepp Herberg, Fritz-** ****, etc.), he personally served as a goalkeeper and performed on tour to promote the Air Force. He used his special status to build momentum for this team, taking a bunch of football players with him wherever he went.

"The Italians won the last World Cup (1938). The Italian leader was very proud in front of me. He originally planned to take revenge this year, but unfortunately there was no chance because of the war." Hoffman looked at the airman with a smile. The hero and goalkeeper asked, "How is it? Do you have the confidence to play against the Italian team again to prove who is the best football team in the world?"

"Of course, we are the best. We just let the Italians get away with it last time. Whether it is airplanes or football, we are better than the Italians." When Hermann Graf heard this, he almost shouted with excitement. , "Führer, how do you compare?"

"Simple, the Italian leader will be here in two days. I'll ask him to bring the football team and you can compete." Hoffman said with a smile, "The Italians lost face on the battlefield. I guess they really want to be on the field." Get it back."

"Don't even think about it! They can't do it in the war, and they still can't do it on the court!" Hermann Graf was extremely happy. "Then I'll gather the players to prepare. We can donate the ticket sales to the disabled soldiers."

"After the game, remember to sign the game ball and give it to me as a souvenir." Hoffman smiled and helped the goalkeeper.

Subsequent medals were awarded to their respective recipients one by one.

The last person in the crowd was Captain Rank. He had just been promoted to major three days ago and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Although he was still far away from the honors of Marceliu and others, considering him He was the only decorated representative of the African Army this time. After careful consideration, the headquarters decided to include his award at this ceremony and asked him to receive the medals of other members of the African Army. Today he felt as if everything was a dream. Seeing everyone in front of him receiving medals one after another, his excited heart almost jumped out of his chest. He had just received a large number of medals, and only the last one was his own.

"I heard that you led the commando to destroy the artillery positions of two enemy regiments, opening the way for the entire army to move in smoothly?"

"Ah, no, no, no!" Rank seemed flustered, and it took him a long time to say, "Dear Head of State, this was commanded by someone else. I just led the way."

Marshal Kesselring was afraid that Hoffman would be angry, so he immediately gave him a supplementary introduction. Not only did he tell about Rank's special historical origin, he also praised: "This is the best logistics officer in our African Army, bar none. This time he He volunteered to join the commando team, pretended to be a British lieutenant colonel, and deceived the enemy. He made great contributions to the final defeat of the enemy's two armored divisions and successfully transferred them to Tobruk. Although the head of state did not know how to drive any tank. , His performance this time is worth an armored battalion."

After hearing this, Hoffman suddenly stood there without saying a word, and the atmosphere fell into a terrible silence...