"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel," just as the adjutant was about to drive these soldiers into the water, a veteran stood up and said to the adjutant: "We are not familiar with the situation in the swamp. We cannot rush into the water like this, otherwise many people will die if we go in. How many people are there?”
The four soldiers had just walked twenty or thirty meters into the swamp, but by accident, they were quickly swallowed up by the swamp. If we act recklessly now, even if ten times more people go out to explore the route, they will probably end up with no return.
Considering this, the adjutant put away the arrogance on his face and humbly asked the veteran for advice: "Do you have any good ideas?"
The veteran did not immediately answer the adjutant's question. Instead, he picked up a branch on the ground, used a dagger to cut off the branches and leaves, and muttered: "Russia is full of swamps like this. In winter, it is extremely hard, and people can walk through it." Walk over it. In the summer, it becomes a quagmire. People sink into it, and the harder they struggle to get out, the deeper they sink, until they are drowned in the quagmire."
"I know that Russian land is full of swamps like this," the adjutant said to the veteran impatiently, "What I want to know now is how we can get through this swamp."
After the veteran whittled the stick, he handed it to a young private next to him: "Hans, take this stick. It will come in handy when crossing the swamp later."
In full view of everyone, the veteran quickly whittled a wooden stick, raised it high above his head, and said to the surrounding soldiers: "If you want to pass through the swamp safely, wooden sticks are indispensable. Hans, let's explore the path first." Let's do it." Although the adjutant did not designate the veteran to participate in the exploration, the veteran still took the initiative to undertake this dangerous task.
Before stepping into the swamp, he reached out and grabbed Hans' hand and said loudly: "In addition to using wooden sticks when marching in the swamp, it is best to move in groups of two or three. Even if someone accidentally falls into the swamp, , and his companions were able to rescue him in time."
The veteran held Hans's hand and walked forward. As he walked, he kept telling him: "If you want to survive, you must pay attention to the route I took. You can't make a mistake in even a step."
The surrounding German officers and soldiers watched the veteran and Hans step into the swamp. The muddy water quickly reached their waists. Every step they took seemed as if they were stepping on a spring cushion. Their whole bodies were shaking, and they felt like they were falling at any time. There is a possibility of falling.
After the veteran and Hans walked more than twenty meters, they stopped. The veteran turned around and shouted to the officers and soldiers still standing on the shore: "What are you still doing standing there? Why don't you get down quickly?"
Hearing the cry of the veteran, a young second lieutenant stepped into the swamp rashly. Unexpectedly, he lost his balance and threw himself directly into the muddy water. Several soldiers on the shore quickly stepped forward and helped him up.
"It is not a wise thing to cross the swamp empty-handed." Seeing that the second lieutenant fell down as soon as he entered the swamp, the veteran quickly reminded the others, "If you don't want to die in the swamp, you'd better prepare a wooden stick each. , can be used to support your body when crossing the swamp."
Hearing what the veteran said, the officers and soldiers standing on the shore dispersed and looked for wooden sticks to support their bodies. Fortunately, here is the edge of the forest, with various trees and shrubs everywhere. The officers and soldiers pulled out their daggers and began to chop branches and make sticks for crossing the swamp.
The adjutant waited for the soldiers to make wooden sticks, and then picked out three sticks. Keep one for yourself, and give the other two to Holt and Merinjin.
The officers and soldiers made wooden sticks and came to the edge of the swamp. When they saw the veteran and Hans still standing in the swamp, waiting for them, they walked into the swamp in pairs and walked towards the position of the veteran and the others.
The veteran was very patient. He waited until one of the groups of soldiers came to him and said to them: "You stay here and wait for the others. We went to the front to explore the way." After that, he used the wooden stick in his hand to Testing his feet, he cautiously walked forward.
When the German officers and soldiers entered the swamp, they were all very nervous. After all, they all saw with their own eyes that the four soldiers were swallowed up by the man-eating swamp of Russia without even having a chance to call for help. But if you walk along the path that the veteran found out, you won't get stuck in the quagmire even though your feet will be soft.
Since crossing the swamp is a very physically demanding task, the officers and soldiers were all out of breath after walking more than three hundred meters in the swamp.
Hans, who was exploring the road with the veteran in front, was also a little tired and couldn't bear it. He asked tentatively: "I can't walk anymore. Can I rest here for a while?"
"No." The veteran replied without hesitation: "The soil under our feet here is too soft and cannot support anyone. We cannot stop to rest and continue walking forward."
The two of them walked forward for another ten meters. The veteran accidentally turned around and found that many groups of soldiers were stopping in place to rest. He quickly shouted to them: "The soil here is too soft and there is no way for people to stand on it. Everyone is here." Don’t stop, keep moving forward.”
But by the time the veteran shouted, it was already too late. An exhausted soldier tilted his body and fell directly into the mire. The soldier holding hands with him was led into the trap. The two of them were soaked in muddy water. After a while, they started calling for help in unison.
The soldiers who followed quickly stretched out their sticks towards them and shouted loudly: "Grab the stick, grab the stick quickly."
The soldier who fell into the swamp quickly stretched out his hands, grabbed the wooden stick stretched out by his companion, and struggled to climb out of the swamp where he was trapped. But the soldier who fell first was not so lucky. He had already fallen into a deep quagmire and disappeared.
It took the officers and soldiers an hour to finally pass through this wide swamp. Although there were veterans and Hans exploring the way ahead, more than thirty soldiers and officers still lost their lives in the swamp.
Holt and Melinjin were lucky enough to pass through the swamp smoothly with the support of several strong soldiers. The two German generals, who had always paid attention to appearance, were now covered in mud and sitting on a fallen tree trunk without any image, breathing heavily.
"Your Excellency, Commander," the adjutant came over and said to Holt: "It's already dark. Should we find a place to camp and rest?"
"Your Excellency, Commander," Merlinjin was worried that Huote would order them to march overnight, so he quickly reminded him: "Going further, there is another forest. We don't know if there is a swamp in the forest. If we march rashly, we may encounter to danger.”
How could Holt, who had just emerged from the swamp, take risks? After hearing what the chief of staff said, he quickly ordered his adjutant: "Adjutant, order everyone to rest on the spot."
When the adjutant was about to leave, he added: "It is very cold at night in the Russian summer, especially in the forest. Let the soldiers light more fires to keep warm. Don't get cold. There is still a long way to go tomorrow." Woolen cloth."
"Your Excellency, Commander," Merinjin said in horror after hearing Huot ordering his men to stay warm: "If we light a fire here, will we attract the Russians nearby?"
"Don't worry, my chief of staff." Holt had already figured out at this moment that even if there were pursuers, they would be blocked by the swamp they had just passed. No matter how brave the Russians were, they would not dare to pass through unfamiliar swampy areas at night, so he boldly ordered the soldiers to set up bonfires in the forest. "If the Russians wanted to catch up with us, I'm afraid they would have caught up long ago. I think it's because Sokov didn't have enough troops. In order to deal with our main force with all his strength, he couldn't spare the troops to chase us."
In order to find out what the situation was like outside, Holt ordered the communications soldier to turn on the radio and get in touch with Manstein.
As soon as the signal soldier turned on the radio, he received a call from Manstein's headquarters. He quickly reported to Holt: "Your Excellency, Commander, Marshal Manstein is calling us."
"Can I talk to him?" Holt stood up and walked behind the signal soldier and asked.
"The location where we are now is an effective call area, and wireless calls are completely possible."
"I want to speak to Marshal Manstein."
"Your Excellency, Commander," Merlinjin saw that Holt wanted to speak directly to Manstein and quickly came out to dissuade him: "This will expose our location."
"Chief of Staff, we are trying our best to leave this damn place as soon as possible." Holt said displeasedly: "Even if the Russians monitored our calls, they would not be able to come in time. No. By the time they arrive, maybe we will have rejoined the corresponding troops and returned safely."
Hearing what Holt said, Merlinjin shut up. In order to get out of danger as soon as possible, it was indeed necessary to take risks. Now that his group is in the forest, even if the Russians monitor his location, they may have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to get here. By then, he may have reached a safe place.
"Your Majesty Marshal," Huot soon started talking to Manstein: "I am Huot."
"My God, General Hoth, you're still alive." Although the effect of using a walkie-talkie to make a wireless call was not good, Manstein was still secretly relieved when he heard Hoth's familiar voice coming from the earphones. Tone: "Where are you now?"
"I don't know, my people and I are completely lost." Holt looked around. Since it was getting late, he could only see the faint outlines of trees. "We should be in the forest southwest of Oboyan. inside."
Seeing that Holt was unable to tell his exact location, Manstein called a communications staff officer and asked, "Do you have a way to lock the location of General Holt's radio station?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." The communications staff officer quickly replied: "As long as he keeps talking to you, I can lock his specific location within three hours."
Although three hours is a bit too long, Manstein understands that with today's communication technology, it is still very fast to be able to locate Holt's specific location in such a short time. He waved his hand to the communications staff, indicating to the other party to start the matter immediately and find Holt's location as soon as possible.
In order to prevent Holt from shutting down his phone and losing the opportunity to locate, Manstein also specifically told Holt: "General Holt, tell your communications troops not to turn off the radio at any time, otherwise the people I send to pick you up will not be able to Find your place.”
"Understood, Your Majesty Marshal." After expressing his gratitude to Manstein, Holt thought of his miserable armored group and asked tentatively: "I want to ask, how is my army doing?"
"According to the latest report, your Armored Group has successfully returned to Belgorod with two armored divisions and three infantry divisions, including General Herlein's Grossdeutschland Division." Manstein regretted Said: "Although the troops withdrew to Belgorod, they lost a large number of soldiers and almost all technical equipment because they were attacked by Sokov's troops during the retreat."
Hearing what Manstein said, Holt's heart felt like it was in an ice cellar. If he really lost almost all his technical equipment, his armored army would become an ordinary infantry army.
"Your Majesty Marshal," Huot soon started talking to Manstein: "I am Huot."
"My God, General Hoth, you're still alive." Although the effect of using a walkie-talkie to make a wireless call was not good, Manstein was still secretly relieved when he heard Hoth's familiar voice coming from the earphones. Tone: "Where are you now?"
"I don't know, my people and I are completely lost." Holt looked around. Since it was getting late, he could only see the faint outlines of trees. "We should be in the forest southwest of Oboyan. inside."
Seeing that Holt was unable to tell his exact location, Manstein called a communications staff officer and asked, "Do you have a way to lock the location of General Holt's radio station?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." The communications staff officer quickly replied: "As long as he keeps talking to you, I can lock his specific location within three hours."
Although three hours is a bit too long, Manstein understands that with today's communication technology, it is still very fast to be able to locate Holt's specific location in such a short time. He waved his hand to the communications staff, indicating to the other party to start the matter immediately and find Holt's location as soon as possible.
In order to prevent Holt from shutting down his phone and losing the opportunity to locate, Manstein also specifically told Holt: "General Holt, tell your communications troops not to turn off the radio at any time, otherwise the people I send to pick you up will not be able to Find your place.”
"Understood, Your Majesty Marshal." After expressing his gratitude to Manstein, Holt thought of his miserable armored group and asked tentatively: "I want to ask, how is my army doing?"
"According to the latest report, your Armored Group has successfully returned to Belgorod with two armored divisions and three infantry divisions, including General Herlein's Grossdeutschland Division." Manstein regretted Said: "Although the troops withdrew to Belgorod, they lost a large number of soldiers and almost all technical equipment because they were attacked by Sokov's troops during the retreat."
Hearing what Manstein said, Holt's heart felt like an ice cellar. If he really lost almost all his technical equipment, his armored army would become an ordinary infantry army.
