Mud

"One, two, three, push!"

"One, two, three, push!"

Colonel Brauchitsch stood in the drizzling rain, shouting loudly over and over again, commanding a few people to push the cars stuck in the mud.

"Brrr! Brrr!" The engine let out a heart-wrenching roar, but still couldn't pull the several-ton armored car out of this muddy pit. The treads on the wheels, originally designed to increase traction, were filled with mud, making them smooth as if polished, rendering them completely useless.

Romel wiped the rain off his face and couldn't help but complain. "Are these Slavic bears brain-dead from the mud? They call this a road? I think it's a damn swamp."

His pants were already in a sorry state, splattered with muddy filth, turning the originally black fabric into a dirty yellow color. Guderian next to him smiled bitterly. "I really admire Napoleon, managing to fight all the way to Moscow in such difficult terrain." He felt like his boots were stuck to a piece of candy; it took a great effort to pull them out, only to see his feet come out, while the shoes remained buried deep in the mud. He sighed and could only step on the cold mud, bending down to retrieve his shoes.

"Hey, what are they doing?"

To the astonished gaze of several Germans, a group of Soviet soldiers, following their officer's orders, began to take off their uniforms and place them under the wheels.

Looking at the Soviet soldiers shivering in the cold rain, wearing only thin vests, Manstein couldn't help but mutter. "Damn, they're treating soldiers like animals. Are these soldiers pigs? They might as well use tree branches from the roadside to support the wheels."

Romel and Guderian widened their eyes in surprise. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

Manstein innocently touched his nose. "I wanted to see when these Slavic fools would come up with a solution, so I thought of this idea. Now it's obvious they're even dumber than I imagined. It's a good thing, really. I hope they stay like this forever. Didn't you both think the same, which is why you didn't mention this method?"

Romel and Guderian looked at each other, nodded, and said in unison, "Of course, that's exactly what we thought, which is why we didn't say anything."

If this were a German road, this distance would definitely not take an hour, but they spent a full five to six hours to reach the next station. Everyone, except Wilhelm and the driver, looked extremely disheveled, covered in mud, and Colonel Brauchitsch had even lost his voice from shouting, speaking in a hoarse voice.

Fortunately, the Soviets arranged for everyone to take a comfortable hot bath and change into clean clothes before boarding the train.

Wilhelm gathered them in the compartment he was in and personally poured drinks for several people. "You must be exhausted, aren't you?"

Romel asked curiously, "Your Highness, why didn't you fly to Moscow?"

Wilhelm smiled. "Why, do you think I'm being too stubborn?"

Romel quickly shook his head. "Of course not, Your Highness."

Wilhelm didn't pursue the matter and casually explained, "The reason I took this route was to let all of you have a firsthand experience of the road conditions in the Soviet Union. I believe you have all been deeply impressed, right?" These people will be the main force in the offensive, and he hopes this experience will allow them to truly understand the vastness of the Soviet territory and the various difficulties they will encounter.

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Yes, this can't even be called a road. Even the drainage ditches in German countryside are better than this. I don't understand why these people don't fix their roads. Don't they find it troublesome?" Although no one had yet proposed slogans like "Build roads to become prosperous," it was obvious that fixing the roads would at least facilitate their own travel. Don't these Slavic people understand such basic reasoning?

"Maybe this roadblock is their defense project? After all, anyone who wants to attack them would definitely suffer greatly on this terrible road, and some might even meet their downfall on this wretched path." Napoleon, the French Emperor, ended his campaign against Russia in a disastrous defeat, and this muddy road gave him a lot of trouble as well.

Wilhelm knew that maintaining the roads in the Soviet Union was several times more challenging than in other places due to the climate. Therefore, the rural roads far from the cities were mainly unpaved. He lowered his voice and asked seriously, "Gentlemen, let's imagine that we are going to attack the Soviet Union. How would we deal with such a situation?"

The people couldn't help but exchange glances, not knowing why the Crown Prince would ask such a question. Attack the Soviet Union? It was already a significant problem for Germany to ensure its own defense under the current circumstances, let alone imagine attacking another country. Finally, Colonel Brauchitsch spoke in a low voice, "Your Highness, I think there are only two options. Either make them fix the roads or avoid the rainy season." He himself felt that the first option was a bit ridiculous. The Crown Prince was the heir to the German Empire, not the Soviet Union. Why would the Soviet people obediently fix the roads?

But Wilhelm nodded slightly. "Making them fix the roads is not impossible. Avoiding the rainy season..." that would be even easier. In the original timeline, if it weren't for the nuisance caused by Mussolini, Germany could have arrived in Moscow before the rainy season. At that time, the German army had more than five million troops ready to launch an attack on the Soviet Union in April 1941.

As a result, Germany was fully prepared, but Italy, being repeatedly defeated by the British in Southern Europe, couldn't hold on and sought help from Hitler. By the time the German army had driven away the British from Greece, it was already the end of June. The German high command had overlooked an important factor, which was the rainy season in the Soviet Union. The months of July and August were the rainy season in the Soviet Union, and the road traffic in the country was not very good. By then, the roads would become extremely muddy, which would hinder the German advance into the Soviet Union. On June 22, the German army launched a massive attack on the Soviet Union. Although they achieved initial victories, they soon encountered the troublesome rainy season.

At this time, Wilhelm had no intention of forming an alliance with Italy, at least not under Mussolini's leadership. "Guderian, go and ask the Soviets if we can depart tomorrow morning." This time, he didn't bring the four beautiful secretaries with him, but instead chose a reliable agent from the intelligence department to serve as his secretary, bodyguard, and translator.

Soon Guderian returned with a report. "Your Highness, the Soviets agreed. The train will start tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock."

"Hmm, the Soviets are really accommodating." The Soviets had originally arranged for a plane, but as soon as Wilhelm made a request, they immediately changed it to a special train. When they reached the Soviet-Polish border, Wilhelm didn't directly transfer to the Soviet train but instead requested to travel by car to the next train station before boarding the train. Although he claimed it was to appreciate the border scenery of the Soviet Union, the Soviets still readily agreed and even faced difficulties on the road. Now, they have changed the departure time according to his request.

Being so considerate to a capitalist imperialist country's Crown Prince, it's really unlike the style of a certain ideology's leader!

"Showing unnecessary kindness is either a ruse or a theft!"