Chapter 12 Mud
"One, two, three, push!"
"One, two, three, push!"
Colonel Brauchic stood in the drizzle, shouting loudly over and over again, directing several people to push out the car stuck in the mud.
"Buzz! Buzz!" The engine roared heart-breakingly, but it still couldn't bring the several-ton bulletproof car out of the muddy pit. The lines on the wheels that were originally used to increase friction have been filled with mud. It is flat, and after rotation and friction, it becomes as smooth as polished, without any effort at all.
Rommel wiped the rain off his face and couldn't help complaining. "Have the brains of these Slavic bears been soaked in mud? This kind of place is also called a road? I think this is a living swamp." His pants have been badly stained by the splashing mud, and the original black fabric has been It turned into a dirty khaki color.
Guderian next to him smiled bitterly. "I really admire Napoleon for being able to reach Moscow in such an inaccessible place." He felt like there was a piece of candy stuck to the sole of his boots. It took a lot of effort to pull them out, but he saw that only his feet came out. The shoes are still buried in the deep mud. Sighing, he could only step on the cold mud and bend down to take out his shoes.
"Hey, what are they doing?"
Under the astonished eyes of several Germans, a group of Soviet soldiers began to take off their military uniforms under the orders of their commanders and put them under the wheels.
Looking at the Soviet soldiers shivering in the cold rain wearing only a thin vest, Manstein couldn't help but muttered. "Let me go, they treat the soldiers like animals. Are these soldiers pigs? If you have this skill, you might as well chop down the branches on the roadside to put them under the wheels."
Rommel and Guderian's eyes widened immediately. "Then didn't you tell me earlier?"
Manstein rubbed his nose innocently. "I came up with this idea just to see when these Slavic gray beasts would start to wake up. Now it seems obvious that they are much stupider than I thought. It's a good sign. I really hope they can stay like this. . Don’t you think so and that’s why you didn’t tell me this method?”
Rommel and Guderian looked at each other, nodded, and said in unison. "Of course, that's what we thought too, so we didn't say anything."
If it were a German highway, this distance would definitely take less than an hour, but it actually took them five or six hours to reach the next station. Except for Yannick and the driver, everyone in the group was in an extremely miserable state and was reduced to a pile of mud from exhaustion. Colonel Brauchitsch even lost his voice and spoke in a hoarse voice.
Fortunately, the Soviets arranged for everyone to take a hot bath comfortably and change into clean clothes before boarding the train.
Yannick called them into the carriage where he was and poured a few glasses of wine for them himself. "Are you all exhausted?"
Rommel asked curiously. "Why doesn't Your Highness take a plane to Moscow?"
Yannick smiled. "Why, blame me for being too willful?"
Rommel shook his head hastily. "Don't dare."
Yannick explained casually without delving into it. "The reason why I went on this journey is to give you a personal experience of the road conditions in the Soviet Union. I believe you are already impressed, right?" These people will be the main force in the attack in the future, and I hope this trip will give them a deep understanding Travel to the vastness of the Soviet Union and the various difficulties you will encounter.
Everyone nodded. "Yes, this can't even be called a road. The drainage ditches in the German countryside are much better than this. I don't understand why these people don't repair the road. Don't they find it troublesome?" Although no one has raised the idea at this time. Slogans such as "If you want to get rich, build roads first", it is obvious that building roads will at least facilitate your travel. Don't these Slavs even understand this simple truth?
"Perhaps this kind of road blocking is their national defense project? After all, whoever wants to attack them will definitely suffer a lot on such a bad road, or even fall on such a bad road." French Emperor Napoleon's conquest of Russia ended in a disastrous defeat , this kind of muddy road also made him suffer a lot.
Yanik knew that road maintenance in the Soviet Union was now several times more troublesome than in other places due to climate reasons, so dirt roads were mainly used on non-main roads far away from the city. He lowered his voice and asked seriously. "Everyone, if we imagine that we are going to attack the Soviet Union, what would we do if we encounter this situation?"
"..." Everyone couldn't help but look at each other, wondering why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would ask such a question. Attack the Soviet Union? With Germany's current national conditions, self-protection is a big problem, and it is even more impossible to imagine attacking other countries. Finally Colonel Brauchitsch spoke in a low voice. "His Royal Highness, I think there are only two ways. Either let them repair the road, or we can only avoid the rainy season." After saying this, he felt that the first way was a bit nonsense. His Highness is the Crown Prince of Germany and not the Soviet Union. Yes, why did the Soviets obediently build the road?
But Yannick nodded slightly. "It's not impossible to let them build roads. Avoid the rainy season..." That would be easier. Germany in the original time and space could have arrived in Moscow before the rainy season had it not been dragged down by Italy's pig teammate. At that time, the German army assembled more than 5 million troops and prepared to attack the Soviet Union in April 1941.
As a result, everything was ready in Germany. Italy was repeatedly beaten by the British troops in southern Europe. Mussolini, who could no longer hold on, asked Hitler for help.
It was already the end of June after the German army defeated the British army in Greece. The German top management ignored an important factor, which was the rainy season in the Soviet Union. July and August every year is the rainy season in the Soviet Union, and road traffic in the Soviet Union is not very good. The road will then become very muddy, which will affect the German advance. On June 22, the German army launched a massive attack on the Soviet Union. Although the German army achieved an initial victory, they subsequently encountered a troublesome rainy season.
At this time, Yannick had no intention of forming an alliance with Italy, at least not Italy led by Mussolini.
"Ger, go ask the Soviets if they can set off tomorrow morning." He did not take the four beautiful secretaries with him on this trip, but found a reliable agent from the intelligence office who was also a secretary and bodyguard. translate.
Soon Geer came back to report. "Your Highness, the Soviets have agreed, and the train will start at 8 a.m. tomorrow."
"Oh, the Soviets are really responsive to all requests." The Soviets originally arranged for a plane, but after Yanik's words, the Soviets immediately switched him to a special train. But just now Yannik at the Soviet-Polish border did not transfer directly to the Soviet special train, but asked to take the bus to the next train station and then board the train. Although the excuse was that they wanted to appreciate the Soviet border scenery, the Soviets still agreed without hesitation and suffered a lot on the way. And now the departure time has been changed according to his request.
Being so courteous to the crown prince of a capitalist imperial country is really not like the style of a certain big brother! !
"To show your courtesy for nothing is to be either an adulterer or a thief!"