Chapter 52: The German's Precious Reflective Spirit

  ument.write(

  The happiest thing in a day is to see friends' recommendations and support, and the most exciting thing was a small reward from a friend, but now it has become the past, I don't know when I can have another excitement and feeling like before! Reward, you broke my heart!

  Bullets and shrapnel from explosions fill the air, piercing and tearing through fragile human bodies. The heart-wrenching wails and deathbed moans have numbed everyone in this world, leaving no one with the energy to care about others, not even the deaths or injuries of comrades. All that's left is a helpless wait for the next calamity, muttering a curse at the heavens. Oh, iron-blooded warrior, you may have tears, but they're stained with blood; you may have emotions, but they're bound by death. Countless prayers are in the grip of a ridiculous fate - can a pastor's absolution truly reach heaven? Only time will tell, only time will tell!

  Machine gunner McCaw is dead, he never got used to using his left hand, his overly exposed body was shot by a German sniper, the processed bullet made a big hole in McCaw's forehead, almost blowing off his skull! Brain pulp and blood mixed with mud, if it wasn't for familiar people, no one would be able to recognize who he is.

  "Padre, Macca is dead! Macca is dead!" Machine gunner Macca's good friend Sang Tzu said painfully to the padre.

  The pastor didn't pay attention to Sangzi, and pushed him aside. He had seen such scenes too many times before. He was going to perform his duties, he couldn't let others disturb his work, he would pray ceaselessly for the souls of every dead or living person, because here he was the only pastor!

  "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have long since perished; neither have they any more a portion in anything that is done under the sun. Your spirit returns to God who gave it, you shall return to the Lord with His favor, may the Lord bless you, Amen!"

  The pastor's low voice seemed to have a kind of magnetism, and on this battlefield where shells were flying everywhere, it was as if he was in a world that had nothing to do with him. Perhaps his Lord was really protecting him.

  "Tank, has our tank arrived?"

  "No! Sir!"

  "Damn it, how did I hear the sound of tanks!"

  "Sir, that's not our tank, it's German! He's right ahead!"

  "What? Speak louder! I can't hear clearly!"

  "Sir, that's a German tank, it's ahead of us!"

  The German machine gun and sniper fire suppressed me, making it impossible to organize an effective attack. Although the troops made their greatest efforts, except for Jones' left-wing unit, which took a heavy toll of almost two lives for one in the struggle with the Germans, finally taking down several buildings on the left wing of City Hall, all units were almost unable to move forward!

  At this time, the senior officers in the command center began to urge and scold our incompetence without stopping, making me wish I could say a sentence directly to those high-ranking officers on the phone: "You guys come to the front line and try it!"

  The commanders at headquarters still do not believe that the German troops who resisted in Cherbourg were so stubborn, they think that the German troops retreated throughout the Battle of Cherbourg, and the remnants of the four German divisions that did not have time to escape formed a city defense force, which is impossible to have such strong combat effectiveness, but this is the case.

  The German garrison commander of Cherbourg, Generalleutnant Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben, following the directive from Adolf Hitler to defend Cherbourg at all costs, had built a series of concrete field fortifications around Cherbourg. The Germans also set up various anti-tank obstacles using rivers and canals. In Cherbourg, there were 20 artillery batteries deployed in pillboxes, including 15 heavy guns with a caliber of 150mm. These guns could fire on both sea and land targets, controlling the inland roads. At strategic points along the roads, in addition to machine gun nests and infantry, anti-tank stakes, mines, and hidden anti-tank guns were set up to destroy American armored vehicles and personnel. It can be said that Cherbourg's defenses were extremely well-prepared!

  At least now I not only have to deal with that terrifying Dongfeng self-propelled gun, but also guard against the German army's heavy artillery fire suppression. The German army's powerful heavy artillery support instantly blew me and my horse over, although the US artillery unit quickly counter-suppressed the German artillery, it still caused serious casualties among me and Lieutenant Roberts' men, forcing us to withdraw from our current position.

  "General Headquarters orders us to temporarily halt our advance and immediately consolidate our current position! Wait for the artillery support to be completed, then listen for further instructions!"

  "Yes!"

  On June 22, 1944, during the first wave of probing attacks by three divisions of the US First Army participating in the siege of Cherbourg, they encountered strong resistance from German troops defending Cherbourg. The Allied command immediately ordered bomber groups to continue their comprehensive bombing of Cherbourg, eradicating all living things in every building in the city. On this day, under the escort of fighter jets, 500 sorties of US bombers were dispatched, dropping a total of 1,100 tons of aerial bombs! Cherbourg was now completely shrouded in smoke and flames, with no clear sky to be seen.

  The Germans' desperate breath had already filled the entire Cherbourg with a thick and heavy atmosphere, an invisible force that all American soldiers here felt, though hard to describe, but everyone's heart had become heavier.

  I pulled out a cigarette from the pack, offering it to Jones who looked somewhat exhausted. He didn't take it, so I took a deep drag myself and said, "I smell more bloodshed! I reckon after this battle, not many of my new recruits will make it out alive!"

  Jones nodded and said: "I really don't know what's wrong with the Germans, they're already surrounded, why are they still fighting so desperately!"

  "You don't understand the Germans, they are a nation with excellent character! Whether in desperation or after their rebirth, they will make you admire them!" Looking at Jones who seemed puzzled, I smiled and didn't explain, maybe time would tell him the answer.

  Looking around the world, Germans' memories and understanding of war are undoubtedly the most objective and profound. In the eyes of people all over the world, the bright spot of this nation's personality lies in its rigorous and precise way of doing things. But in my opinion, the attitude and ability of the German people to recognize and think about history is even more precious. They have created the deepest evil, experienced the most painful lessons, and also completed the most thorough historical reflection.

  Germans divide the wars fought by their predecessors into two categories. One type is regular warfare, characterized by the goal of gaining benefits and basically following internationally accepted codes of conduct in combat methods. The other type is war of extermination, characterized by massacring lives as an important means of conquering enemies and gaining benefits, such as the Jewish issue.

  In the war history of Germany, German historians have only given their predecessors two wars the title of "war of extermination", one is the war conducted by Germany on the Eastern European battlefield during World War II, and the other is the war conducted by the German expeditionary force in China to suppress the Boxer Rebellion at the beginning of the 20th century.

  For this, I once specifically consulted a batch of books and materials written by German historians and sinologists about the Boxer Rebellion. Among them, there is a book with a title that can well represent the understanding of the German intellectuals on the suppression of the Chinese Boxers by their predecessors. The title of the book is "I am ashamed to have come to China". Although one book alone cannot prove the attitude of the Germans, as a descendant of the German expeditionary force, it is easy for people to think of the fundamental condition for Germany to reintegrate into the world after World War II, that is, on the basis of the mass credibility of the Germans, the independent and profound historical reflection spirit possessed by German intellectuals.

  In my view, this spirit has four major characteristics. Firstly, it transcends national consciousness, self-interest and political expediency in reflecting on history. Secondly, it uses universal values as a yardstick to judge the right and wrong of history in its reflection. Thirdly, its reflection on war history is not affected by the outcome of war or historical verdicts. Fourthly, its reflection on history has sufficient depth across time. If a society's intellectual elite can guide people to read history in this way, it will be difficult for contemporary behavior to fall into ignorance and confusion. From this perspective, it is easy to understand why the international situation of Germany and Japan after World War II is so different in the eyes of the world.

  The big bombing lasted for a whole day, and on that day, as the commander of the front-line troops, I was called by Colonel Rom to his command post to attend a combat meeting. Before entering the door, I heard Colonel Rom slap the table with a "slap" and scold someone.

  "You son of a bitch, why didn't you die on the battlefield like your soldiers? What are you doing coming back alive? 160 lives were lost in just one meal's time, and you've lost nearly half of my men! You still have the face to come back alive and see me?! You damned son of a bitch! Lieutenant, lieutenant, take this son of a bitch out and shoot him on the spot! I don't want to see him again!"

  Rom seems to be getting more and more furious, finally unable to bear it and jumping up to kill someone! I stood outside the door, neither going in nor leaving. At this time, Lieutenant Colonel John led a military officer out, who turned out to be Captain Morel of Company B.

  Captain Morel smiled wryly at me and didn't say a word. At this time, it's not good to say anything. I just nodded at him, showing sympathy. Lieutenant John saw that it was me and whispered to me:

  "Captain Conte, Colonel Rome is a bit unpredictable about today's attack losses, so he's not in the best mood. Be careful when you go in, and after arranging some combat tasks, I don't think there will be any major issues!"

  "Thank you, John!"

  John smiled at me and said, "No need to be polite! To think of it, I should thank you instead!" He patted my shoulder and turned around with Captain Morel to leave, probably to take a walk somewhere and wait for Colonel Rome's anger to subside.