The more the troops moved forward, the more houses on both sides of the road. Gradually, civilians began to appear on both sides of the road. They held various welcome banners and shouted, "Long live the Führer! Long live Germany! Long live the People's Will Party! "Long live the Wehrmacht! Long live the SS!".
"God, I didn't think I would be blocked and shouted long live one day!" Fogel stared blankly at the crazy people in front of him.
"We abandoned them once, and I didn't expect them to come back without any resentment." The squad leader sat in the seat of the co-pilot of the infantry fighting vehicle and said with a wry smile, "I just told the company commander that I was ready to greet the cheers as a joke, I didn't expect that. There really is…"
After hearing the squad leader's bitter tone, everyone fell silent. Most of them were less than five years old in the military, and the "advance to the Rhine" happened more than ten years ago. They didn't understand the helplessness of the veterans who participated in that operation.
The squad leader is a veteran with more than ten years of military experience. He was one of the first soldiers to return to the Rhine. He has experienced the feeling of being a soldier, but having to abandon the person he protects.
"Squad leader, I've always wondered, when we 'March on the Rhine', our vanguard had already reached the German-French border, why did they retreat later?" Hans asked in confusion.
"Well, this issue is very complicated. I have to start from the beginning. I was not a member of the SS at that time. I was a recruit of the First Army and belonged to the Central Army." The squad leader fell into memory, "I remember we were training as usual that morning. Suddenly, the siren representing the first-level combat readiness sounded. All of us thought the Frenchman had attacked us. Everyone panicked and hurriedly stopped what we were still doing. If you have something to do, run back to the room to sort out the gear, and rush to the playground to gather."
"As soon as everyone was assembled, the voice of the head of state who was still a general was heard on the radio. He told us that the French did attack us, but at sea, a destroyer of the Navy Brothers was sunk in our territorial waters. "
"We all stayed, half because of anger and half because of fear. Don't laugh, it's really half because of fear. You group of 'recruits' didn't understand how bad the situation in our country was at that time. There was a war with France, and I can't think of a month before Berlin would become the front line. So we were all scared, who wouldn't be afraid of dying?"
"But the speech of the head of state later made us all understand that death in battle may be our best choice rather than being bullied to the door and not daring to say a word."
"So, after listening to the speech, we got on the troop truck, and the entire Central Army of 100,000 people was marching toward the Rhine Demilitarized Zone. Our regiment is the spearhead of the entire army, and it is the first group to step back into the demilitarized zone. German soldiers on Stuttgart soil."
"At that time, the people of Stuttgart cheered like they do today. They held banners, took food, and welcomed us on both sides of the road. At that time, we should not mention how proud we were."
"We didn't stop at Stuttgart, we continued on with the other two infantry regiments until we got out to Strasbourg and faced the French on the opposite side. The situation was bad and we only had three steps on our side. The corps has more than 10,000 people, but the French army opposite has two divisions with more than 36,000 people. It's really exciting to think about it now. Our number is less than one-third of the number on the opposite side, and we dare to spray garbage with the French army on the opposite side across the river. talk!"
"After two days of trash talk, we received an order from the war department to evacuate from the Rhine demilitarized zone. Many people were stunned when they heard the order. We were along the German-French border to resist the French attack. After digging a trench more than ten kilometers long, and then running away without firing a shot, what is this?"
"However, complaining is complaining, and the order is still enforced. In this way, more than 10,000 of us have run so far, we came over and spat with the French for two days, and then walked away in despair. God, I am now I can't forget the way the people looked at us when we left, the disappointment mixed with resentment, as if we had betrayed them."
"Well, we did betray them."
"Many of us did not understand the intentions of the War Department and attributed this 'failure' to them. It was not until a longer period of time that we understood how superb the Fuhrer's retreat was. How much strategic space it has brought us. To be honest, if we fought the French that time, maybe Germany would not be called Germany. Although we unde.
The squad leader glanced at Hans and said with a wry smile: "You are very smart, yes, we are afraid that we will be accused of being a traitor from now on. Abandoning what we protect is not in line with the glory of the Germans!"
"You can rest assured now." Hans pointed to the crowd of people outside the car, "They are obviously very smart, and they can understand the good intentions of the Führer."
The squad leader smiled and nodded. Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by a voice from the car radio:
"Everyone's attention, the guys in the Air Force have detected signs of a large-scale gathering of French troops on the line from Thionville to Colmar, France. They ordered us to speed up our journey to Strasbourg, and prepare for battle!"
Hans pulled the bolt of the G41 to make sure that everything was working properly, then patted the squad leader on the shoulder and said, "Squad leader, I think you can make up for the last regret this time."
The squad leader also quickly adjusted from his memories. He checked the equipment and resumed the tough style of the offensive and defensive battle in Barcelona. He said coldly: "I hope the Frenchman can be more courageous. I swear, I will let the people of the Rhineland. Witness the greatness of the soldiers of the motherland!"
He is indeed qualified to say such a thing, because this time, there are no longer only three infantry regiments entering the Rhine demilitarized zone like last time. This time, there are five divisions that enter the Rhine demilitarized zone with nearly 80,000 people. !
These five divisions include the SS 17 "Belisingen" Panzergrenadier Division and an Armoured Grenadier Division (actually a Light Infantry Division), the Wehrmacht's 6th and 7th Panzer Divisions and new The 71st "Clover" Infantry Division was formed.
The combination of these five divisions dare not say that they have assembled the strongest fighting force in Germany, but they are definitely elites. If France really dares to violate the German border, then these five divisions will definitely be enough for France to drink a pot.