Section 04 The Soviet Army's Unexpected Counterattack

  Li De raised his hand to stop the commotion, he didn't scold anyone, but instead advised everyone to be kind to others: "In the Rom affair, thanks to Himmler. He lived a simple life, was good at planning, had a mind for strategy, and was an organizational genius, it's just that he was too extreme in terms of race."

  He burst out laughing: "In this war-torn autumn, he actually sent experts to the Himalayas to investigate the origin of the Aryan people, just because the local Tibetans also say 'yeah.'"

  In German, the answer to "yes" is "ja", which might be a coincidence, and Tibetan language is the same. However, just based on this point, to link Hans from Central Europe with Ahliu from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau together, only Himmler's watermelon head could think of it, unless someone wants to find relatives so badly that he goes crazy.

  After ridiculing Himmler for a while, the Führer's expression changed, and he pointed at Goebbels: "You're just as bad. Are you being too strict in cultural matters? I simply don't believe that one book, one song, or one film can bring down a nation."

  "Goebbels hastily reported: 'Lili Marleen has already been broadcast all over Germany and the occupied territories.'"

  Gorin was overjoyed and opened his mouth wide, the Yuan Shou immediately turned to him: "You are very realistic, very smart, but too vain, too greedy for pleasure, working sometimes tight sometimes loose. If a hunting department is established, you would be the best candidate for the minister."

  Gollum's large face was split in two: the left side smiled with joy, the right side suffered pain.

  Bormann brought tea to the Fuehrer, and Hitler pointed at Bormann and said: "Even he is an ambitious man." Bormann almost spilled the tea on the floor.

  G?ring and Goebbels exchanged a knowing look; they understood the Führer's innuendo: everyone had their weaknesses, don't just criticize Himmler.

  Himmler appeared and people who had just been competing with each other to splash dirty water were now competing with each other to greet him.

  Himmler reported to the Fuehrer in a matter-of-fact tone: "I just looked into what happened last night. The SS Storm Troop Captain has been demoted and will probably be brought before the court. The man who smashed the infant to death was a soldier of the Ukrainian Home Guard, afraid of punishment, he ran away early this morning."

  "Oh, so it was a temporary worker who did it." Li De sneered.

  Himmler finally softened, solemnly declaring to the Führer that from now on the SS would follow the Party's call, guaranteeing the Party's absolute leadership, and obeying only the Führer's commands. At this point, Speer, who had not yet spoken, carefully eased the tension: "Comrade Leader of the Empire, the Führer is always right, take for example the recent encirclement of Leningrad, joining forces with Finland, switching to defense..."

  "Shut your stinking mouth, you're just a real estate developer, who are you to lecture me?" Himmler vented his anger on him. Speer's stinking mouth was so angry that he couldn't speak.

  Li De, after a big outburst of temper and criticism, picked up the sugar cubes and said some encouraging words. A few sentences made everyone listen with joy and fear: "From now on, you several people need to extricate yourselves from mundane affairs. For example, Himmler, you can focus on party construction, including the examination and evaluation of party cadres at all levels, and the SS only needs indirect management."

  Himmler took a deep breath and said with self-deprecation, "I remember a comrade saying earlier that the SS is the party's armed force, not my private army. Even if one day the party no longer needs me, I can still raise chickens."

  He stared at Bowman for a moment, with a hint of revenge in his tone: "Secretary Bowman can continue to be a farm owner, after all, you and I are about the same, not like others who are both ace pilots and doctors. So, you're a phoenix, and I'm a peacock; you're a turtle, and I'm a tortoise, neither of us is better than the other."

  "The Russians, British and Americans will not let us retire in peace." Li De retorted, shivering with cold.

  ……

  Just as Manstein was deploying his troops for the assault on Sevastopol, no one expected a Soviet counterattack.

  The Soviet army has declared the city a fortress, gathering strong forces. Admiral Oktyabrsky is appointed as the commander of the fortress, and General Petrov's Coastal Group Army directly defends the city, including the 25th, 91st, 172nd, and 421st Infantry Corps, the 2nd, 40th, and 42nd Cavalry Divisions, the 7th and 8th Naval Infantry Brigades, and the newly arrived independent tank 11th Brigade, which is tasked with leading the counterattack, with the independent tank 81st Heavy Tank Battalion serving as the vanguard.

  When the head of state and his entourage were engaged in a heated discussion, a loud screeching sound suddenly pierced through the air, a 210mm shell landed heavily on a small slope not far from them, causing the earth to shake violently, several people were thrown off the ground and fell back down.

  Then another shot rang out, and the mountain shook. The soldiers around the bullet hole had their ears bleeding, noses flowing with blood, eyes wide open, and fell to the ground, shaken to death.

  The next shell burst into a thousand pieces, Li De led the party and state leaders to run into Manstein's command post. A shell exploded next to the headquarters, large chunks of earth fell from the ceiling, the room was filled with smoke, everything that could move jumped up, maps on the wall, steel helmets, belts or towels, water bottles, all rushed to leave the wall. The leader looked dejectedly, the leader fell to the ground, people trampled back and forth.

  "Quickly into the basement, quickly."

  Another bomb exploded at the entrance of the command department, and the combat director who had just rushed outside was thrown back into the house by the blast wave, heavily hitting the hand-cranked generator. Explosions were everywhere, with debris and human bodies flying up and down indiscriminately, and the pale white sun had turned a deep purple.

  In the courtyard of the sugar factory, several abandoned tanks were parked. Underneath them was a cleverly camouflaged underground bunker. A staff officer led them quickly inside, and the sound of artillery fire became less deafening. Schmundt estimated that the thick concrete above the bunker could withstand 1000 kg aerial bombs.

  The shelling lasted for 20 minutes before stopping, and the Soviet bombers also came to add insult to injury, tossing it around for half an hour before calming down.

  The high-ranking officials of the Third Empire crawled out like groundhogs, looking dull and dusty. Bormann sneered at Himmler: "Every day you look at the scenery like a picture book, eat top-notch caviar, and feel carefree - did you experience that feeling just now?"

  "Too dangerous, just one shell and the elite of the Third Empire will be gone. From now on, let's not gather in front lines, everyone scatter quickly, the Soviet army is about to counterattack."

  The guests were sent to the car, and as soon as the car started, Li De ran a few steps and shouted at Goebbels: "Tell Ribbentrop not to let the Japanese Foreign Minister come here, it's dangerous."

  Li De and the commander sent the cadres out of the Soviet sugar factory, and several people rushed to the airport like they had been pardoned.

  Now, the original team is left: Li De, Bao Man, three pairs of young men and women, plus a class leader guard. The temporary prime minister's office was changed to the temporary command center of the 11th German army group, because Manstein's original cave was hit by a 500-kilogram aerial bomb, if not for sending the Führer to the basement...

  An hour later, the scene here changed dramatically: towering antennas, gasoline-powered generators, and busy military officers; due to the radio station being repaired, several Type 232 communication armored vehicles were parked in the courtyard, with their huge frame-shaped wireless antennas particularly eye-catching.

  In the midst of continuous shelling and air raids, that huge map remained intact, a real miracle. Li De and Manstein stood in front of the map, planning their strategy:

  "Tell 42nd Army Hipponic, dispatch a division to make a feint towards Yalta, creating the appearance of supporting 30th Army."

  Weichs saluted and had just turned around when Manstein called out: "Come back, get in touch with General Dumitrescu of the Romanian 3rd Army Corps at once and tell them to be on their guard against an enemy landing from the rear."

  The Chief of Staff, Wehle, walked towards the armored communication vehicle after receiving the order. The communications officer called out: "Eagle calling Chick, Eagle calling Chick, respond if heard, respond if heard."

  A moment later, Veer took over the spare headset and issued orders into the microphone:

  "Grandma fell ill, Margarita sent her second daughter to ask after..."

  At the same time, Manstein held the phone:

  "132nd Regiment, report on enemy movements in front of you, repeat once more, over..."

  "54th Army, don't be intimidated by the enemy's momentum. What? The enemy has heavy tanks? Is your command post going to relocate?"

  Manstein spoke into the mouthpiece, sometimes shouting loudly, sometimes speaking in a friendly manner, and sometimes threatening with temptation.

  He put down the phone and stared at the leader in a daze: "The enemy's heavy tanks have broken through the defense line and are rushing towards us."

  Manstein suggested that the army group headquarters be moved back to the Soviet naval base at Nikolaev on the Bug River estuary. Lee knew Manstein was worried.

  Lee was confused, the German 132nd Infantry Division had just occupied the highlands south of Bierberek River Valley, Simferopol was at least 60 kilometers away from there, how could Soviet tanks come so suddenly? Were these tanks invulnerable to swords and guns?

  The harsh reality was that the Soviet Black Sea Fleet had brought in heavy tanks of the Soviet Union, and the 81st Independent Tank Battalion of the Soviet Army had been fully equipped with 17 invincible KV heavy tanks. Now these giant bodies have appeared on the distant horizon south of Simferopol.

  The Soviet Union began to develop a series of light tanks in the 1930s, such as the T-26 and BT tank. However, on the battlefield in Spain, these tanks were no match for the German-made 37mm anti-tank gun, one shot would make a hole. After efforts, Kotin, the son-in-law of the then People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov, developed a single-turret tank - KV tank, and named it after his father-in-law.

  The KV1 tank weighed 45 tons, with frontal armor up to 106 mm thick and a top speed of 35 km/h. It was equipped with a single 76mm gun. The KV2 was armed with the even more formidable 152mm howitzer, intended to support infantry in breaking through enemy fortified lines. Alongside the T-34 tank, it made the German army's eyes widen in surprise. In comparison to these two tanks, Germany's most advanced Panzer IV seemed like a toy for children.

  At the beginning of the war, a KV tank stopped the German Sixth Panzer Division for two days. The stunning combat performance of the KV tank cast a heavy shadow in the hearts of German officers and soldiers, so the following tanks were eliminated by the Germans, but these giants kept coming.

  The staff had already rolled up the map, Li De scolded: "It's just a few iron clumps that don't know life or death, and are deeply entrenched alone. What's the panic? Everyone take their positions. That lieutenant, who told you to take down the map? Hang it back up."

  Looking at the calm and composed leader, everyone's confidence doubled. However, having only confidence cannot destroy tanks. The first batch of tank shells fell around them, and everyone prepared their Molotov cocktails.

  This was Li De's first time seeing the actual tank, and it turned out to be even bigger than he had imagined. The tank drove into a depression, leaving behind only wisps of black smoke drifting in the wind, giving people the illusion that it had vanished for a moment.