The Third Reich in Desperation

But the results in exchange have always shown that it was worth it.The development of the battle situation went smoothly as he expected. Because the troops moved too fast, most of the counterattacks organized by Timoshenko failed, and the Soviet army was constantly attacked by German tank groups behind them.

At this time, Reinhardt's commendation order also reached the front, and Guderian was awarded the Oak Leaf on the Iron Cross, which is a special honor.Guderian ranks among the top five in the list of Army honors.

On July 7, when Smolensk was still not free from the threat of Soviet artillery fire, Guderian moved his headquarters to Chokrov, west of Smolensk.

It may be because of the expansion of the Oak Leaf Iron Cross. On the same day, Guderian ignored the opposition of the staff and went into the city to inspect it.

Guderian has long heard that the Orthodox Cathedral in Smolensk is a famous historical building, so he specially prepared to visit the "trophy" in the city he had laid down.

His convoy saw the onion-like church dome from a distance, and went to the church under the escort of armored vehicles.

Perhaps because of the protection of the Virgin, the church in the city of Smolensk, which has been baptized by the war, is still intact.

But when Guderian entered the door of the church, he frowned and showed an ugly expression.

Body 760 Land of Germany

It turned out that a large part of this famous church has been converted into an "atheistic museum".The furnishings and arrangements are rough, and they are completely incomparable with the sculptures and icon paintings in the churches influenced by Guderian.

Only the side hall on the right side of the Orthodox chapel in Smolensk still retains its original appearance and is used for religious ceremonies.

Although the local government of the Soviet Union planned to bury the silver altar ornaments and candlesticks in the ground before the arrival of the German army, because Guderian's armored troops came too fast, the pits on the ground had just been dug, but the things hadn't been buried yet. Time to bury.

Looking at these silver altar ornaments and candlesticks, Guderian is not prepared to take them as his own. After all, the German military discipline regulations in this life are stricter, and they are strictly prohibited from looting the items and property of the local people in order to try to buy people's hearts. .

As Reinhardt's confidant generals, Guderian and the others are very clear that Reinhardt's not making these financial ideas is precisely for the greater good.That is, form a large number of People's Liberation Army in the Soviet Union, liberate Moscow together with the Allied forces, and fight Stalin.

Thinking of this, Guderian suddenly discovered a fact.

These days, due to the continuous fierce battles, he only cared about the military arrangements. Until now, when he entered this church and saw these silver products and the pits on the ground, Guderian suddenly discovered that these properties, this church, here Everything already belongs to Germany!

Every time the German army captured a place, the people here became the subjects of Germany.The property here belongs to the state property of Germany.The buildings here are also German buildings.

Yes, why do you want to rob finances?Of course, the soldiers can't be allowed to rob the locals!

They are all citizens of Germany, how can we rob them?

There is also this church, and the silver products here have also been German property since the moment the German army occupied Smolensk.Not to mention that the Soviets planned to bury it, even if they didn't bury it, the German army would not be able to take it away.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hans." Guderian ordered his staff: "Go and inquire about the civilians around you, and try to find a religious local to keep these items."

"Yes, I'll take someone to look for it now." Lieutenant Colonel Hans, who can speak Russian, immediately stood at attention and saluted.

After a while, Lieutenant Colonel Hans, who was extremely efficient, led an old priest with a white beard into the church.

Seeing this, Guderian stepped forward and said to the priest through the interpreter of Lieutenant Colonel Hans: "Mr. Priest, hello. You see, we are all soldiers and cannot manage this place well. I hope that this church All the items in it will be handed over to you for safekeeping. People who believe in religion can continue to celebrate mass here."

After thinking for a while, Guderian then added: "Any German soldier is not allowed to take any items in the church, and soldiers are not allowed to live in the church. In addition, if you think it is appropriate, I can stay Two soldiers, assist you in defending the property and safety here."

Then, in front of the old priest, Guderian asked the staff to draft an order prohibiting Duan Bad from stealing the property of the church, signed his name, and handed it over to the old priest.

In the end, he looked at the old priest who was a little surprised and excited, and said word by word: "God bless you, Father, no war will enter your church."

"Thank you..." After listening to the translation, the old priest looked gratefully at Guderian, the noble occupant who was wearing the general's epaulets and looked like a big man, and said slowly: "It's been a long time since I Hearing that a big man like you still believes in God and respects our faith."

"Before you, taking down government officials either required us to rectify, or oppressed our believers with atheistic slogans." It can be seen that the old priest is very excited, and he hasn't met such an enlightened big shot for a long time: "Some At that time, I really envied you Westerners, you can choose your beliefs as much as you like, and all churches can be respected by the government."

"Then I can congratulate you, Father, you are now one of us." Guderian said with a smile: "You, as well as the people here, can have your freedom just like us."

The priest was stunned for a while, but he hadn't realized the established fact that Smolensk already belonged to German territory.

"Then, Mr. Priest, if you don't mind, I can arrange someone to get your German citizenship certificate later today." Standing aside, the party representative of the SS stood up and said.

Compared with the Soviet Army, Reinhardt creatively arranged a party representative for the German Wehrmacht at the battalion level and above. His role was similar to that of the Soviet Army's political commissar. They were responsible for guiding the emotions of the soldiers and serving as troops ideological work and convey the will of the National Socialist Party.

At this time, in Guderian's headquarters, the party representatives assigned to Guderian's armored army stood up at the right time.

You must know that the identity of this old priest is doomed, and the influence generated by his admission to German nationality.The Orthodox Cathedral in Smolensk is already very famous. The priest who manages the church takes the lead in becoming a German citizen, which will affect many believers' image of Germany, dilute hatred and increase integration.

Winning local gentry and influential figures is a favorite method of occupiers all over the world, and the party representatives in Deguo naturally also like this routine.

"Well, as long as this church and our believers can be protected, it doesn't matter." The old priest didn't know if he had seen the intention of the party representative, so he just nodded lightly to express his agreement.

Perhaps, in the eyes of this old man, these are not important.What really matters to him is the promise Guderian just made to him.

"Okay, let our people withdraw from here and don't disturb this church." Guderian waved to the guards who followed him into the church.

"I should go too. Lieutenant Colonel Hans, you will arrange two people to be responsible for protecting this place. They must understand Russian." Before leaving, Guderian did not forget to explain a few words.

Walking out of the church gate, Guderian immediately opened his mouth and explained to the party representatives around him: "Smolensk is still within the range of Soviet artillery fire. If you want this famous city to achieve complete peace, you must completely eliminate the surrounding enemies. military."

"You are right, General Guderian. You are better than me in the military, and I have no objection." The party representative nodded very kindly, agreeing with Guderian's words.

After all, they have a clear division of labor, Guderian is in charge of the military, and he is in charge of politics.

However, he was a little confused, why did Guderian mention military arrangements to him at this time?

Text 761 machine gunner

On the night of July 7th, in the headquarters of the Soviet 9th Army, the commander of the 19th Army Konev was going to interrogate the first batch of German prisoners they captured.

You know, the Soviet army, which was beaten up by the German army all the way, really didn't have many opportunities to capture prisoners. If it weren't for a small group of German troops who rushed too far this time, and happened to be short of ammunition, they wanted to capture the German army who had the upper hand in the battle. It's not easy.

Not to mention that Konev attached great importance to it, even Stalin sent a report from Moscow after hearing about the capture of German soldiers, saying that he should make good use of this opportunity for propaganda.After all, the Germans in front were all tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of captive Soviet soldiers. It was their turn to capture more than a dozen German soldiers at once, and of course they also publicized them.

In the telegram sent by Stalin himself, the 19th Army must ensure that no accidents will happen to these prisoners. Stalin is still waiting to push them to Moscow and find a way to instigate these German soldiers, just like the Germans used Ukrainian troops to make a fuss. , This time the Soviet Union also used the same method to instigate some Germans to do political propaganda.

"Which division?" Konev asked a tall, blond-haired German machine gunner.

The Heavy didn't answer right away, but stood with his long legs spread aside, closing his brown-lashed eyes contemptuously.

"Repeat the question to him." Konev suppressed his anger and ordered the interpreter.

If he could, he would have dragged the German out and beat him up.However, Stalin had given orders first, and these Germans were the targets of instigation and temptation, and they could not use violence.

"From the 17th Armored Division." Just when Konev's fists were clenched and his face became more and more ugly, the German machine gunner finally spoke: "You don't need a translator, just ask, I can speak Russian."

Seeing that the prisoner opened his mouth, Konev felt that things might be easier to handle, and continued to ask: "Where are the troops of your division stationed?"

"do not know."

Konev just felt that the prisoner was able to communicate normally with him, but the other party immediately gave him another embarrassment.

"Lie!" Konev couldn't help but let out a deep roar.

As a result, facing Konev's roar, the German machine gunner actually let out a "hum" from his nose.

"I'm not lying. I can tell you where we were stationed yesterday. As for today, I don't know where to advance after leaving the army?" The machine gunner opened his mouth, showing a bright smile, and looked at Konev provocatively , One word at a time: "But I can tell you, where will our division be stationed tomorrow?"