Chapter Ten: Longing for the Hometown
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Can't rest, absolutely can't rest! Although the Germans temporarily don't have the strength to deal with me, but as long as they are given a few hours' time, the Germans will definitely reassemble an army and try their best to wipe me out. Because my power has not only been exposed in front of the remaining German armored patrol troops who escaped, but also because I have such a powerful destructive force in the center of the German defense line, they will think of ways to eliminate me.
The only way now is to take advantage of the time when the Germans in Wiltz are still scattered and unable to gather, to continue launching fierce attacks on each other, in order to ensure my life and the lives of these remaining American soldiers. Otherwise, if the Germans gather their strength, I will surely die!
"Brothers! Get up, all of you! Don't pretend to be dead! If you want to die, just stay here and wait for death! I don't have time to accompany you. Although the German armored troops were defeated by us, the Germans still have strength, and when they gather together, it will be our turn to meet God one by one! Only by taking advantage of the Germans being scattered in villages now can we continue to charge forward! Charge! Can we survive this ghost place!"
War does not require civilization, and every person in the face of death at any time will become extremely violent! Officers are also human beings, they try to remain calm in front of soldiers, wanting to establish an exceptionally high image, but officers cannot be like soldiers, tired and shouting tired, bitter and shouting bitter, even when they can't beat the opponent, shouting and scolding their superiors! Officers also need to vent, and need to maintain their command power and military authority, so they will scold people, sometimes even hit people, to warn their subordinates! Those elegant and refined officers are either non-combat personnel or have not experienced war. As a result, the war makes every soldier and officer who survived from the front line more violent in temperament compared to ordinary people, don't blame them, they were never like that before.
To be honest, since I arrived in this war-torn era, after experiencing numerous brutal battles, I miss my own country and wonder what kind of damage it has suffered during these eight years of resistance. I also want to see that Chiang Kai-shek, not that I don't have any curiosity about the one in Yan'an, but rather I admire this Chiang more.
Chiang Kai-shek, in my personal opinion, is actually also a great man of his generation, not inferior to that one from Yan'an. This statement has no political tone, it's just a factual view.
The Anti-Japanese War first broke out in the Northeast, but that was an era of warlord infighting, especially Zhang Zuolin in the Northeast. In terms of comprehensive strength, whether it was military equipment or economy, he was unmatched at the time, even Chiang Kai-shek couldn't compare to him. The Japanese also had a great deal of apprehension towards him, and it can be said that he was the most powerful warlord. Although he cooperated with the Japanese, it was just mutual exploitation, which wasn't unusual for that era. However, if the Japanese wanted to make a move on the Northeast, Zhang Zuolin would absolutely not agree, and might even have clashed with the Japanese to protect his territory. The Japanese understood this, so they manufactured the Huanggutun Incident, and the great warlord Zhang Zuolin died. I don't know what outstanding abilities his son, Zhang Xueliang, had, except for the Xi'an Incident, which was the only notable event in his life. From what I can see, he could only be considered a prodigal son who brought ruin to his family and even caused suffering for all of China's common people. The "non-resistance" order issued by Zhang Xueliang was so puzzling that even Zhang Zuolin's Northeast Army at the time couldn't understand why he would issue such an order.
This order was given by Chiang Kai-shek, and I personally don't believe it. It's absolutely a lie. Although Zhang Xueliang had become the deputy commander-in-chief of the Republic of China, his Northeast Army was not something that Chiang Kai-shek could control, and Zhang Xueliang wouldn't let him interfere either. To preserve his own Northeast Army, Zhang Xueliang didn't want to fall behind in Chiang's group, so he handed over the Northeast to the Japanese, while letting Chiang take the blame. Although this is just speculation, if I were Chiang Kai-shek, I would never give such an order. I'd be happy to let the Northeast Army and the Japanese fight each other, which would result in both sides suffering losses. Then, at the right moment, I could step in and drive out the Japanese, and not only would the Northeast Army's power be eliminated, but my own prestige would also reach its peak nationwide! Who would have thought that Zhang Xueliang abandoned the Northeast for personal gain? What could Chiang Kai-shek do then? If he ordered the Northeast Army to turn back and fight, it wouldn't work. Not only was the morale of the Northeast Army low, but this order would be disobeyed by many. It would be said that Chiang didn't care about the lives of the Northeast Army soldiers, and instead pushed such a powerful force into the hands of the Japanese or Yan'an. This kind of humiliation, where one's teeth are knocked out and swallowed, can only be endured in silence.
In theory, all armed forces in China at that time, whether they were spontaneously organized or led by others, as long as they did not listen to the internationally and domestically recognized central authorities and had independent military power, should be called warlords, including our current central government.
Chiang Kai-shek was indeed a hero of his generation. At that time, except for Chiang's own faction, there were only a few warlords who listened to him. As the nominal president, his orders were hardly obeyed by anyone in the local areas. Even in every small battle, the Central Army had to negotiate with some warlords beforehand; otherwise, they would just fight separately. It was under such circumstances that Chiang Kai-shek relied on his own charisma and only one-third of the national power at that time to resist the Japanese who had already occupied two-thirds of China. Chiang's army of several million men countered more than 90% of the Japanese army. I don't know if anyone else could have borne this heavy responsibility except for Chiang Kai-shek.
I don't want to talk about regimes and countries, as a soldier and officer, all I know is that every bullet and every soldier needs money and manpower. I have no idea how Chiang Kai-shek can afford such a huge burden, ensuring the daily needs of hundreds of millions of troops on the front lines and the enormous war expenses. It's said that Chiang Kai-shek's wife, the First Lady, is seeking aid in foreign countries, personally, I must say, this is so pathetic, isn't borrowing money humiliating? Isn't it degrading? As for increasing taxes and forced conscription being anti-Chiang theories, I believe anyone in Chiang's position wouldn't necessarily do better, and would become a tool for criticizing him. However, the common people have short-sighted views, they won't consider these things. As long as you don't take my people, don't rob my wealth, if you give me something extra, then you're a good person - what a pitiful way of thinking!
Times create heroes, and in fact, whether it's the final victory or defeat, or the historical fate, Chiang Kai-shek's contributions cannot be erased. I admire his personal charm. Fortunately, I crossed over to Europe; otherwise, I would have definitely lost and fled to that small island in this damn civil war. Now that I've returned to this era, I want to go back and take a look at my old homeland, but I still want to escape far away. This butterfly of mine doesn't have the power to stir up the core interests of the world - national interests. The only thing I can consider now is surviving until the end of World War II; perhaps this is just an extravagant hope!
After a night of fighting, the sky had gradually turned white. D Company rallied its remaining strength in this night, and the previous battle results were brilliant. Although the Germans fought very stubbornly, the small-scale resistance scattered by the Germans could not cause significant damage to my concentrated assault troops. However, after the Germans lost several anti-aircraft positions one after another, the Germans immediately concentrated all the German troops in the village on the two defensive strongholds in the west of the village for the final resistance.
This hard shell, like a turtle's, makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I called several lieutenants together, spread out the military map, and discussed whether we could take down this position without suffering heavy casualties. After discussing for a while, they unified every detail before taking action!
The Germans apparently did not consider attacking for the time being, but instead focused all their defensive efforts on making them watertight. The German military strength in the village of Wierre was extremely strong, with just two small pillboxes containing half a company of German troops, four MG42 machine guns guarding them, and an 81mm mortar squad inside, plus the firepower support of quadruple-mounted 20mm anti-aircraft guns, making it a hedgehog-like defense. Faced with such a tightly defensive German force, I had no choice but to retreat without heavy weapons, and if we launched a strong attack, we would have to pay a huge price, and I couldn't break through the German defense system either. It was too difficult! Fortunately, after some discussion among us, we came up with a plan, although it may not be effective, but trying is always good, otherwise, we can only choose to retreat and request reinforcements for the time being.
