Iron Cross

"My head of state, this cannot continue. We are not going to Russia to do good deeds." Keitel, who learned the news, came over with an anxious look on his face, "These people have restricted a lot of our manpower, material resources, and energy. The troops are still fighting, which will affect the progress of the campaign..."

"What do you think we should do?" Hoffman glanced at him. "Send the SS Special Operations Team to use machine guns to manage?"

"This...this..." Big beads of sweat kept pouring out of Keitel's head, and finally he managed to squeeze out a sentence, "This won't work either."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"How about fending for yourself?"

Hoffman shook his head: "If there was no Russian Liberation Army, it would be okay to do this, but with them, you can't do this."

"Why not? I don't think Vlasov himself seems to agree. Besides, do they dare to object to what you decide?"

"He disapproves and never dares to object, but don't forget that the Russian People's Liberation Army now has more than 400,000 people. Do these 400,000 people think the same as him? Can you guarantee that there are no 400,000 troops among the 700,000 civilians? Relatives, friends, old friends? Let’s not mention that we are here to liberate the Russian people. If we refuse to save them, we will lose our footing. What do you think of the ordinary officers and soldiers of the Russian Liberation Army?” Hoffman sighed. He said, "Russia is so big and so far away from us. Direct rule is not possible. We must have a friendly regime to help us and obey us. If this regime is not rooted in the support of its people but relies purely on force, how long can its rule last?" ?”

"You always think that as long as our troops are here for one day, the situation will not be chaotic... But do you know how much we have invested on the Eastern Front? 80% of the combat troops and more than 70% of the war resources are on the Eastern Front. The war cannot end in one day. We cannot withdraw our troops for just one day of fighting. We have permanently lost at least 1 million people on the Eastern Front. It will be unbearable for the country to lose another 1 million people. We cannot continue to maintain several million troops in Russia and Eastern countries after the war is over. ? Then we are the biggest fools in the world! There is no need to support them in establishing an independent country, we might as well rule directly..."

Keitel thought about it again and again, and had to nod hesitantly, thinking that what the head of state said made sense.

"Then what should we do now?" He cried sadly. "Not only can we not kill, but we have to control it, and we have to pay for food in vain. What's more terrible is that the battle to siege Sakhatov will be affected. This is no longer a military issue. This is a political issue.”

"Let the troops stop the front line first, concentrate on transporting a batch of food, and then move the people to the rear, so that the Russian People's Liberation Army can free up their energy to do this. Whoever does well can get an ideal position in the government in the future. "Hoffman spread his hands helplessly, "Now keep the pressure on Sakhatov, and then continue the military operation in two days. The enemy can't defeat it anyway, so let them hold on for a few more days."

On July 16, a rare scene occurred in the history of war. The offensive troops on the central battlefield of the Eastern Front were all notified to suspend their advance, consolidate and maintain order in the occupied areas, transport Russian civilians back as much as possible, and wait for a few days before relocating. Enter the attack. The hundreds of thousands of Red Army troops failed to stop the advance of the German army, but 700,000 civilians were able to do so. However, the middle and senior officers of the army complained. No one believed that this decision was wrong. The harm of war to civilians is inevitable, but the conscious massacre and looting are disdainful to the conscientious military.

Many soldiers said angrily: "We thought that defeating Stalin was just a slogan. From now on, it is not only not a slogan, but our goal! We must destroy this cannibalistic system and eliminate this unprecedented tyrant!"

But Hoffman obviously underestimated the shamelessness of Comrade Steel. In the following days, groups of people came from all directions to the German positions and refugee camps. Most of them were the real old, weak, sick and disabled, but there were also many Russian partisans were mixed in. The tactics of the guerrillas are also very simple. They do not choose German positions to attack, nor do they confront the enemy head-on. Instead, they hide in dark corners to attack, or pretend to be the Russian People's Liberation Army and cause waves of chaos in the refugee camps; or They spread rumors that the refugee camps are massacre camps and that everyone will inevitably die in the future. In short, they are trying every means to disrupt order.

Of course, the Russian People's Liberation Army, which has suffered many losses, is not a good person. If there is any movement, it will sweep over it with a shuttle, and it will take revenge for personal gain. Most of the time, this method of handling is definitely wrong. Those who die under the bullets will inevitably be civilians. This is another case. This has aggravated the emotional opposition and tension between Russian civilians and the Russian Liberation Army. Two days later, a flurry of telegrams came in from the beleaguered commanders of the army groups complaining.

"Deploy the special forces of the SS." Hoffman had no choice but to find Himmler and explained, "I have ordered the Wehrmacht and the military police to take over all refugee camps. The special operations team is responsible for screening, and the responsible personnel of the Russian Liberation Army For transportation and transfer back, Russian civilians who are honest and do not talk or move around can be used for disaster relief. Anyone who causes trouble or shows signs of resistance will be killed without mercy."

"Does it need to be finally solved? I asked the front line. They are all old, weak, sick and disabled, and they have no value to use."

Hoffman shook his head: "If it is finally solved, then all our efforts will be wasted. We have to send people to the rear no matter what. It doesn't matter if the death rate is higher. They are old, weak, sick and disabled. They will blame the Bolsheviks for this." of."

"I heard that the number is quite large, more than 1 million." Himmler said with a wry smile, "It took us a lot of effort to capture 1 million Jews. To be honest, it is very troublesome to achieve the final solution all at once."

"Collect! All of them!" Hoffman gritted his teeth and said, "Even if it is 2 million, I will settle this account with Stalin in the future."

Hoffman didn't know that Stalin's original plan was 2 million, but the German army advanced too fast and the grassroots party organizations had no time to deploy organizations. Among the people behind the 700,000, there were more than 300,000 who were actually lured by the food and aroma of the German refugee camps. It was not a factor in the plan, but it was enough to keep the Germans busy for a while.

After listening to a lot of disgusting news, Rommel finally reported that the news was extremely exciting: his troops had successfully landed on the east coast of the Caspian Sea and encountered almost no strong resistance. Not only did he send troops to seize the nearby small port, but he also found a large open space to build an airport.

"Very good. Attack quickly and don't give Stalin a chance to breathe. His conspiracy succeeded in the central battlefield. Let's see what he will do here in Caspian."