Although some positions outside the city were lost, the situation in Tver's war under the command of Kuznetsov and Xu Rui has stabilized, and the German offensive has gradually become exhausted.
In Bologoye, Manstein was still making a last-ditch effort to capture Tver. However, Manstein was surprised to find that the number of Soviet troops on the opposite side was getting larger and larger. Intelligence showed that there were more and more Soviet troops on the opposite side.
The more Soviet divisions joined the war in Tver, Manstein felt unsustainable. Manstein needed more soldiers, tanks and artillery. With these, Manstein could
We are confident enough to capture Tver.
Manstein tried several times to insert himself behind the Soviet army, but because the Soviet army had a large number of troops and good defense in depth, his plan could not be realized. However, the German head of state was about to arrive in Tver, so Manstein did not dare to give up.
I can only support it with difficulty.
It was already April. April in the Soviet Union was still covered with ice and snow, but there were signs of spring. The plane of the German head of state finally arrived over Bologoye.
This was the first time that a German head of state appeared on the battlefield in the Soviet Union. Senior generals including Commander of German Army Group Northern von Loeb, Chief of Staff Manstein and other senior generals came to the airport to greet him.
Dozens of escort fighter jets were constantly circling in the sky. The plane of the German head of state slowly landed, and the door opened. The German head of state, Goebbels, who was in charge of propaganda, and the new chief of army general staff Guderian and others slowly walked out of the plane.
Von Loeb immediately came to greet him with Manstein and other senior generals. The German head of state ignored von Loeb and went straight to Manstein, which made von Loeb feel very embarrassed.
The German head of state came to Manstein and said: "General Manstein, I have heard about your achievements. I am proud to have such an outstanding general like you. If all the soldiers of the Third Reich were like you,
, then we can definitely defeat the Soviet Union and Britain."
Manstein said: "I just did what I could do, served the German Empire and served the Führer."
The German head of state said: "Very good, I like your non-irritable character. This is the character a soldier should have. General Manstein, I will leave the Northern Front to you."
"I am willing to serve the Führer!" Manstein said.
The German head of state was very happy after hearing what Manstein said. He touched his mustache with his hand, then turned to von Loeb, who was ignored by him, and said: "Let's go, I want to go to your headquarters to see you."
look."
Upon hearing this, Von Loeb did not dare to neglect, and quickly came to the side of the German head of state, and kept telling the head of state the situation of the troops and the situation they were facing...
Along the way, the German head of state listened carefully to von Loeb and Manstein's reports on the progress of the battle. Generally speaking, the German head of state was positive about the previous stage of the operation of Army Group North, but he was not convinced about the current stage of the operation.
Satisfied, the German head of state believed that the morale of the German troops on the front line must be boosted. He decided to hold a grand military parade in Bologoje to boost the morale of the German troops in the form of a battlefield parade.
After hearing the words of the German head of state, von Loeb was shocked. The German head of state wanted to hold a battlefield military parade. This was really too dangerous. He strongly discouraged the German head of state.
"My head of state, this is too dangerous. If the Soviets find out, they will do everything possible to destroy it. Your life and safety will also be in extreme danger."
The German head of state said stubbornly: "I want all the soldiers to know that I am with them, and I want to see them win the war with my own eyes."
Goebbels, who was in charge of publicity, limped over and said: "Führer, if we can hold a grand military parade in Bologoje, its impact will be unprecedented and it will greatly boost the morale of the army. I think
This is very necessary.”
Von Loeb gave Goebbels a hard look, thinking that this damn cripple would only flatter the Führer. If a grand military parade was really held, if something went wrong, it would surely lead to a huge disaster.
But at this moment, Chief of General Staff Guderian also said: "I also agree with the head of state's point of view. In order to boost the morale of the army, a military parade is undoubtedly a good way."
Guderian had a very high prestige in the German army, so he was appointed by the German head of state as the new Chief of Army General Staff. His words were very weighty. When Guderian opened his mouth, the generals were immediately speechless.
The German head of state glanced at Guderian with satisfaction, his eyes full of approval, and then turned to ask von Loeb: "Loeb, how long will it take you to prepare for this military parade?"
Seeing that the overall situation had been decided, von Loeb could no longer object. He thought for a while and said, "I need half a month."
The German head of state touched his mustache after using it and said: "I don't have that much time. I will only give you five days. After five days, the military parade must be held. After the military parade, I will fly to the Crimean Peninsula."
"Five days?" Von Loeb hesitated, but Manstein on the side pulled the corner of his clothes and signaled him to agree.
Von Loeb gritted his teeth and said: "My head of state, in five days, I will definitely prepare a military parade for you that will shock the world."
After sending the German head of state to his hotel, von Loeb asked Manstein privately why he agreed to hold a military parade within five days. You must know that in peacetime, military parades require long preparations. Although it is wartime, there is no such thing.
It is impossible to complete preparations in ten days and a half.
Manstein said: "Because the war is not going well, the Führer is not in a good mood. We don't want to fight with him. Besides, the Führer's first priority is to improve morale, not the orderliness of the military parade. Therefore, we directly
Just bring the combat troops to participate in the military parade. It only requires a few days of intensive training, five days is enough."
Von Loeb added: "If the head of state wants to have a military parade, safety will be a big problem."
Manstein said: "Bologoye is just a small town. As long as all the Soviet residents in the city are cleared out, and the air force continues to patrol in the air, the safety of the head of state can be completely guaranteed."
"Well, if it's like what you said, that's fine. General Manstein, you can organize this military parade."
"Okay." Manstein nodded, and then said: "I need three thousand Soviet prisoners of war, especially Soviet officers."
"What do you want prisoners of war for?" Von Loeb asked.
Manstein said: "I will form a team of captured Soviet officers to walk through the military parade. In this way, the head of state will be very happy."
"What a great idea, Manstein. I'll leave the parade to you."
"Yes!" Manstein smiled and strode away.
Not long after Manstein and von Loeb left, a German officer walked out from behind the wall, with deep eyes thoughtfully. The officer came to a deserted place, lit a cigarette, and looked around.
Seeing that no one was passing by, he threw the half-smoked cigarette butt on the ground and walked away.
A few minutes later, a girl in a nurse uniform passed by, picked up a cigarette butt from the ground, opened the cigarette, read it once, and then swallowed the note...
The cold wind howled, and several small ice flowers bloomed stubbornly from the ice and snow. White and yellow flowers bloomed. On the outskirts of Bologoye, a little girl of thirteen or fourteen squatted down to pick the ice flowers and put them on the ground.
Playing with it in your hands, the white and yellow flowers look so beautiful in the faint sunshine...
A smile bloomed from the corner of the little girl's mouth, but then, several tall figures walked towards the little girl, and a leather boot stepped on the remaining ice flowers under their feet.
The little girl raised her head and saw clearly that several German soldiers were surrounding her.
"Go back to the village immediately!" the German soldiers shouted, and then they led the little girl towards the village.
This is a small village located on the outskirts of Bologoye, with about dozens of families. At this time, more than a hundred people in the village were gathered in the square by the Germans. A girl of ten, seventy or eight years old was tied up in a
On a wooden pole.
Seeing the villagers being brought in one after another, a German officer said: "Listen, all of you, this woman is a prisoner that the German army wants to arrest, and everyone who helped her will be punished!"
Two villagers were pressed up, and the German officer said: "These two people are secretly hiding criminals. I will shoot them now!"
The German officer took out his Gru pistol, pointed it at the back of the head of two villagers, and shot them twice. The two villagers fell to the ground, their brains bleeding all over the ground.
More than a hundred Soviet villagers who were escorted by the German army began to commotion when they saw this scene. This included the little girl of thirteen or fourteen years old.
"What's your name? Who is your superior?" the German officer asked the girl tied to the stake.
The girl looked at the German officer with contempt and said, "I have no superior."
"How old are you, no more than twenty? Tell me who your superior is and what information you want to send, and I can let you go home." The German officer tempted.
"I said, I have no superiors, and I have no organization. My superior is myself!" the girl said with her head raised.
"Little girl, if you don't tell the truth, then I will have to kill you." The German officer threatened.
"Then kill me, the Soviets will never stop killing me!" the girl said.
The German officer smiled coldly and said: "Just two days ago, a nurse fled from Bologoye Hospital. There is definite intelligence to prove that this nurse named Zoya was placed by the Soviets in Bologoye.
Spy, and you are the escaped nurse!"
"I don't know what you are talking about." the girl said.
"Your name is Zoya. Your grandfather is an Orthodox priest. Your father was a top student at the Moscow Theological Seminary and became a teacher. When you were six years old, your family was exiled to Siberia because of your criticism of the Soviet regime."
The girl closed her eyes and ignored the German officer.