Chapter 183 Chapter 29 The Last Counterattack (4)

For Germany, this classic battle was called the "Ardennes Counteroffensive", but for the Americans, it was just the "Battle of the Bulge".By December 28, the third and final phase of the campaign had arrived quickly.At a meeting of senior generals held that day, Hitler admitted that the situation was hopeless, but said that he had never learned the word "surrender" and that he would pursue his goal with the utmost zeal. "I may suffer mentally from worry, and I may break down physically, but I'm going to fight until the odds turn in my favor. Nothing will change my decision."

Therefore, he will launch another counter-offensive in the New Year, code-named "North Wind", and the location will be south of the Ardennes.The future of winning is bright.The troops had assembled; the Allies hadn't noticed, not even planes had been sent to scout the area. "These people don't feel the need to look around. They don't believe at all that it's possible for us to take the initiative. Maybe, they thought I was dead, or had cancer..." As the anniversary of his mother's death (from cancer) approached , He actually mentioned cancer in a wrong way, which is quite interesting.

He went on to say that the first goal was to clarify the situation on the Western Front by means of a counter-offensive. "To achieve this, we have to be fanatical," he said, sarcastically. "Perhaps there are still people secretly objecting, saying, 'Okay, but can it be done?' Gentlemen, the same objection was raised as early as 1939. People told me then, in writing and orally, that the matter It can't be done, it can't be done. In the winter of 1940 I was still being told, 'You can't do this.Why don't we hide behind the west wall? '" His voice hardened. "If we didn't attack them then, what would we be?The situation today is exactly the same as it was then. "

At the military conference that day, Rundstedt made the mistake of urging Hitler to abandon the "autumn fog" and retreat before the Allies counterattacked.Hitler was instantly furious.As soon as the "northern wind" began, he said, he resumed his advance on the Meuse.He pointed to the large map hanging on the wall with one finger - pointing to a place about 100 miles south of the raised land, saying that throughout German history, New Year's Eve has always brought good omens to the German armed forces, and this year's New Year's Eve It will surprise and displease the enemies who have always celebrated only New Year and not Christmas. The inevitable victory of the "North Wind", he said, would "make the threat to the left wing of the Ardennes counter-offensive self-destruct"-he emphasized the following words--"as long as there is any hope of success, the great counter-offensive will start again" .His enthusiasm moved the audience extremely—although, his left hand was shaking and his face was very pale. "At the same time," he went on, "Model will consolidate his position, reorganize the offensive on the Meuse, and launch another powerful attack on Bastoni. Above all, take Bastoni!" In the middle of the night, 9 mechanized and infantry divisions rushed to the city that Hitler wanted at all costs.

"The exercises performed on the sand table model do not show military quality," he said to General Tomale, who was inspecting the armored troops, the next night. "At the end of the day, military quality is shown in persistence, in perseverance and determination. This is the decisive factor in any victory. If it is not based on perseverance and perseverance, genius is but an elusive will-o'-the-wisp That's all. In human existence, this is the most important thing." World history, he said, can only be forged by men with the indomitable determination and courage to live up to their beliefs. "No one can go down in history forever.

We cannot, and neither can our opposite.It's just a question of who can last longer.Whoever can bite can get everything. "If America surrenders, nothing will happen to him; New York will still be New York." But if we say today, 'We've had enough,' then Germany can no longer survive. This is the reason why Hitler stubbornly fought a war that seemed to have failed. For a gambler like him, as long as there is a one-in-a-thousand chance, it is worth touching What seemed pure madness to others was logical to a man of his kind. His chief propagandist is not quite as bloodthirsty as he is—at least in private.At a dinner on New Year's Eve (with the famous "Stuka" pilot Hans Ulrich Rudel present) Joseph Goebbels said bitterly that his title of Ambassador Plenipotentiary for the Reich Total War was empty. "Right now, there's nothing more to implement," he said. "Everything, including the flower shop, was shut down by British bombers."

When Goebbels said this, his wife interrupted him and said something that the guests couldn't believe. "Why don't you tell these veterans that you have rarely been alone with the Führer for three and a half years." Goebbels was embarrassed and told her to stop, but she refused to stop: "These people have the right to Knowing this.” Goebbels turned to Hein Luke—who had warned Goebbels not long after Hitler became Chancellor that many in the SA shared his resentment of Hitler’s commitment to German nationalism. Those who compromised were deeply dissatisfied.This compromise, Luke believed, would eventually lead to the death of National Socialism.Goebbels had angrily accused him then of being an opportunist; now the Minister of Propaganda regrets: "I should have listened to you in 1933." military error.Almost unanimously, all agree that the end is near, with only Rudel claiming that the Führer's new secret weapon will bring stunning victory.

Just before midnight, the Battle of Borei, aimed at removing Allied pressure on the salient, began.The 8 divisions of the German army were unstoppable and rushed out from the west wall.Their goal was to attack the US Seventh Army near the northern border of Alsace.As soon as 12 o'clock struck in the middle of the night, in the Ardennes to the north, the sound of artillery erupted like a volcano.It turned out that George Patton couldn't restrain himself and ordered all the cannons under his command to fire at the same time to celebrate the New Year. Five minutes later, Hitler's voice - harsh but confident - was broadcast throughout Germany.Germany, he said, would rise like a phoenix from the ruins of her cities and fly to final victory.After the broadcast, he entertained his valet in his bunker.Everyone is drinking champagne in a relaxed and happy manner, but the atmosphere is a bit depressed.The most obliging was Hitler - he didn't need strong alcohol to stimulate.He predicted that in 1945 Germany would achieve a great victory.The others listened attentively and remained silent.At first, only Bormann agreed with his prediction; later, because Hitler spoke eloquently for more than an hour, everyone was unconsciously infected by his enthusiasm.

At 4:35 in the morning, the Führer left the party to hear the first news from "North Wind".It started off well, but the "Super" Secret managed to pass on his battle orders to Eisenhower.As a result, Eisenhower quickly shortened the front of the Seventh Army, preventing the Germans from attempting to cut off the salient.Forewarned, the Americans held off the German advance—an advance that stalled after advancing 15 miles. In the Ardennes, the Allies turned to a counter-offensive on January 3, 1945.They attacked from north to south and launched a large-scale attack on the central part in an attempt to divide this large salient into two halves.The Germans resisted tenaciously; every inch of snow was given up at the cost of heavy losses on both sides, and as usual they made full use of the terrain and entrenched themselves.Due to the thick fog, the U.S. military could not get air support and artillery cover was relatively reduced, so progress was slow.On snow-covered roads, tanks and self-propelled guns often slipped and collided back and forth from time to time.

Churchill flew from England by plane to inspect the counteroffensive.It turned out that at the western end of the salient, the British launched a fairly large attack to support this counteroffensive. On January 6, Churchill met with Eisenhower and was later annoyed by the slow and arduous advance of the British and American armies.He asked, can the help of the Russians be enlisted to relieve the pressure on Ardennes?Churchill knew that Stalin was going to launch a new counteroffensive, but he didn't know when it would start. "As soon as we get to the bottom, we will delay again and again," he said to Eisenhower. "However, I know that if I ask him, he will tell me. Would you like to try?" The answer was "yes" - to Churchill's relief.On the same day, Churchill called Stalin and asked him to launch an offensive in January.Moscow responded immediately.Stalin said that he would launch a large-scale counter-offensive no later than the second half of January.

On the morning of January 7, the north-south pincer attack aimed at blocking the convex land began to make progress.The next day, Hitler had to order the withdrawal of the troops remaining in the western half of the convex land because the Allied forces were so close. An hour later, all the armored units that had crossed the Meuse River turned around and retreated towards the east of the Bastogne-Liege highway. Hitler's yellow beam dream ended.The question now is: will the remaining German tanks and self-propelled guns, still considerable in number, be able to cross the road in time?Will it be surrounded?Could this retreat be another Stalingrad? On January 9, Guderian went to the "Eagle's Nest" again.He warned Hitler for the third time: the Red Army is about to launch a large-scale offensive.Today, he came with many maps and charts - these charts were drawn by his intelligence director Galen, and they clearly showed the distribution of forces on both sides.He also brought Galen's advice: If you stick to Berlin, you need to retreat from East Prussia immediately. After Guderian unfolded the maps, charts, etc., Hitler called them "extremely stupid" and ordered the people who drew these charts to be put in a lunatic asylum.Guderian is on fire. "The man who drew these charts," he said, "is General Galen, my best chief of staff. If I had not agreed to draw these maps and charts, I would not have brought them to you. If you Send Galen to a lunatic asylum, and you send me too!" Hitler's anger slowly subsided.He is a guarantee and a compliment. "The Eastern Front," he said, "has never had such reserves. That is to your credit. I thank you." Guderian's anger did not disappear. The "Eastern Front," he said, "is like a house about to collapse. If one part of the front is breached, the whole front will collapse. Because the front is so long, the reserve force of twelve and a half divisions is too small." As usual, it was Hitler who had the final say.He refused to use the reserves of the Ardennes on the grounds that there could still be partial victories there. "Eastern Front," he said finally, "can only rely on itself, and can only use existing forces." When Guderian returned to the Zosen headquarters, his heart was sullen.He understood that both Hitler and Jodl knew that as long as the Soviet Union launched a large-scale offensive, the front that could not receive reinforcements would be broken.Was it because neither of them was born in that region that they turned a blind eye to the impending disaster in the east?For a Prussian like him, it was a dear home - and one that should be defended at all costs. Three days later, Stalin kept his promise to Churchill.On a front stretching more than 400 miles from the Baltic Sea to central Poland, 3 million Red Army troops—more than 10 times more than the Allied forces that landed in Normandy on D-Day—were onslaught on the poorly equipped 750,000 German troops.Under the cover of heavy artillery fire and seemingly endless "Stalin" and "T-34 tanks, groups of Soviet Red Army infantry began to rush towards Guderian's poorly equipped defense line. Due to bad weather, most of the Red Army's air force Unable to dispatch, unable to give tactical support. Nevertheless, by dusk, the first echelon of the Red Army had advanced as much as 12 miles. Germany was now caught between strong forces from the east and the west, as the Allies had also won a considerable victory in the Ardennes on the same day.U.S. infantry divisions—including Vice President Truman's old 35th Division—joined with the Sixth Armored Division to encircle tens of thousands of top German troops east of Bastogne. In "Eagle's Nest," Traudl Jung has just returned from Christmas in Munich, it seems to her.Hitler was very quiet.Over lunch, she spoke somberly of the terrible bombing of Munich.In this regard, Hitt made a promise. "This nightmare will be over in a few weeks' time," he said. "We are mass-producing new types of jet aircraft. By then, the aircraft of the allies will not dare to fly to Germany casually." In mid-January, Hitler and his entourage left the "Eagle's Nest" for their new headquarters in Berlin.On the surface, Hitler was not depressed.He also laughed with the others when someone joked that Berlin was the only place suitable for a headquarters because you could take the subway to both the east and west lines. On the disappearing salient, the Allies launched another north-south attack. On January 16, the two armies met a few miles north of Bastogne.The Allies bit off most of the protruding horns in one bite, cutting off the retreat of nearly 20,000 German troops.This feat was overshadowed by the open and secret infighting between the British and American forces.It had happened a few days earlier: Montgomery, in charge of the northern half of the "Battle of the Convex," had given reporters the impression that he had won the victory himself, that the mighty British forces were helping the Americans recover from their out of the hole.Most American journalists were angry about this.They felt that Montgomery's tone of voice seemed to be benevolent, but in fact, the British army was notoriously small in number, and most American generals felt that Montgomery's cautious tactics were really in the way.In those few days, Hitler's dream of trying to drive a wedge between the two allies, thanks to human nature, seemed to have come true.But Eisenhower, soldier as well as diplomat, was quick to eliminate dissatisfaction in both camps. On January 17, there was nothing Hitler could do.Mantefil's troops joined the general retreat.Only a few infantry remained behind - soldiers who were too young, old and useless.These men, with no reinforcements and no hope, fought a heroic cover instead.Soldiers as young as thirteen or fourteen died in battle, holding rifles in frozen hands; soldiers in their fifties died in cellars, their feet blackened with decay.The retreating German troops were again harassed by planes and artillery.Among those who survived, no one can forget how fierce the artillery fire of the US military was.Groups of trucks, tanks, and self-propelled guns rumbled along the snow-covered roads towards the German mainland. Groups of soldiers who could not see the end were marching hard on the heavy snow—they were both affected Tormented by the weather, tortured by the retreating enemy. The "Battle of the Convex" is over.It left behind two ravaged small countries, destroyed homes and farms, dead cattle, dead souls, dead hearts--and more than 75,000 corpses. "Autumn Mist" crawled back to Hitler like a wounded monster.It reminded many of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.Their feet were wrapped in sackcloth, their heads were wrapped in shawls, dragging their frozen feet, they walked with difficulty in the snow, and they had to endure the biting cold wind as well as enemy bombs and shells.The wounded crawled home with rotting entrails, oozing ulcers, and pus-soothing ears.Feet numb and disappointed, they stumbled eastward.Many of them again fell ill with dysentery, and added filth to the bloody paths in the snow. Their wills are broken.Of those who survived this rout, very few believed that Germany could still win.Almost everyone who came back said that (Germany) would perish, the United States was strong, and Ardennes' terrible weapon: the American fighter plane.The American soldiers who came out of the battle were the best of the American people, the kind that Hitler didn't believe existed.