The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Holm means "hill" in Russian.

It is indeed just a "hill" because the elevation of the entire town is less than 50 meters.

But it is a small hill in a vast wilderness full of swamps and woodlands. In addition, it is the intersection of two rivers. More importantly, it is... the only solid road connecting Old Rusa to major cities in the southwest. Pass through Holm.

Of course, none of this matters.

At least not for now.

The reason is that it is winter and all the swamps and rivers have frozen over, making Holm passable for several kilometers.

But the problem is: once the weather gets warmer, swamps, rivers, and woodlands will be insurmountable barriers for the army. It was then that Holm and the road that ran through it took on special importance.

A reconnaissance force from the 1st Infantry Regiment arrived at Holm first.

This reconnaissance platoon used the ski equipment that Qinchuan seized from the Soviet army... The ski equipment was enough for eighty people. Unfortunately, only fifty people in the First Infantry Regiment knew how to ski.

It can be said that Qin Chuan can skate, but he can only roller skate, so he doesn't join in the fun.

The first thing the reconnaissance force did after arriving at Holm was to report to Colonel Slain via the radio: "Everything went well, we have arrived at Holm. It is still in the hands of our people, but the situation is not optimistic!"

"What do you mean?" Colonel Slain asked.

"Uh..." the reconnaissance force replied: "I don't know what to say, Colonel, you will know soon!"

Half an hour later, when Qin Chuan, Colonel Slain and others arrived at Holm, they understood what "not optimistic" meant: there were dilapidated walls everywhere, and most of the houses had no roofs and were still dark. From time to time, a few beggar-like Russian civilians would poke their heads out of the ruined houses and look at the German troops with horrified eyes; bomb craters several meters deep in the middle of the road could be seen everywhere, so much so that people even built on them. You have to get on a wooden board or other hard object to pass through. What's even more terrifying is that some craters are covered with snow, just like a smooth road. If you step on it...

Several German officers came forward. After exchanging salutes with Colonel Slain, the leading major general introduced himself: "I am Hartmann, commander of the 211th Security Division. Welcome!"

"Colonel Sline, 1st Infantry Regiment, 21st Armored Division!" Colonel Sline replied.

"The 21st Armored Division?" Hartman looked confused.

"We are from the African Corps!" Colonel Slain explained: "We just parachuted into the area not long ago!"

Major General Hartmann couldn't help but suddenly realized: "Rommel's troops...do we look like Africa here?"

The officers around him couldn't help laughing.

Colonel Slaine had no time to talk nonsense with them and asked: "How many of you are there, General?"

Major General Hartmann couldn't help but be stunned, and then said seriously: "It seems that I should ask you this, Colonel!"

"Okay, General!" Colonel Slaine replied, "There are two thousand one hundred and thirty-five of us."

"Uh-huh!" Major General Hartmann nodded with satisfaction.

But what Colonel Slain said next made Major General Hartman stunned on the spot.

"I think you must not know that a group of Soviets is coming in our direction!" Colonel Slain said, "This will soon become the front line!"

Not only Major General Hartmann, but also the officers around him were stunned.

"No, I don't know!" Major General Hartmann replied: "We just retreated from Stara Russa!"

"I knew it!" Colonel Slain replied.

"I have a battalion!" said Major General Hartman, "but they are a police force!"

Of course Colonel Slain knew this. The meaning of the security division was that they were responsible for the security of the rear when the frontline troops attacked forward. If there was any battle, it was to deal with the guerrillas in the rear.

"I'm from the Infantry Regiment!" An officer replied: "The 416th Infantry Regiment, one battalion, but most of them are wounded!"

"I'm from the 1st Company of the 869th Mobilization Battalion!"

"I'm an engineer from the 680th Road Construction Battalion!"

…

The officers reported their numbers one by one, and there were all kinds of people. At last count, there were as many as 60 troops. They were either police troops and engineering troops with no combat experience, or broken troops who had been withdrawn from the front line and suffered heavy casualties and were too late to evacuate. .

Although the total number of people was more than 2,000, it seemed that they could not help much.

"Very good!" Colonel Slain glanced at Qin Chuan helplessly, and then said to Major General Hartmann: "General, it seems we should start making preparations!"

"No no!" Major General Hartmann replied: "Not us. Sorry Colonel, we were ordered to retreat..."

"Captain!" Colonel Slain ignored Major General Hartmann and said to Qin Chuan, "I think it's time to describe the situation to them!"

Colonel Slaine was not a good speaker, so he gave this "difficult" task to Qin Chuan.

"Yes, Colonel!" Qin Chuan responded and jumped onto a nearby shell box, then shouted at the top of his voice to the remaining German soldiers: "Guys, just like the Colonel said, the enemy has a group army, and we It’s a big challenge with only a few thousand people, but I love it!”

The German officers and soldiers burst into laughter.

"You may know better than us!" Qin Chuan continued: "The Soviets have ski soldiers. Their movements are much faster than ours. It is impossible for us to outrun them. If you think it is possible, then you should hurry up now Already..."

As he spoke, Qin Chuan raised his head towards the road heading west from the town.

After waiting for a while and seeing no one move, Qin Chuan continued: "Or, we can only hold on to this town to keep the Soviets out and let them enjoy the breeze outside. Who cares, the Soviets don't look that good. Afraid of the cold, don’t you think so?”

"Hey!" the officers and soldiers responded.

"Let me emphasize one more point!" Qin Chuan said: "This is our only way to survive. Unite and use everyone's strength under the unified command of Colonel Slain! For Germany, for victory, and even more for ourselves. !”

"Hey!" The officers and soldiers cheered in unison.

"Colonel!" Qin Chuan stepped down from the shell box and asked Colonel Slaine to take over.

"Well done, Captain!" Colonel Slaine said as he walked up to the shell box and ordered: "I need you to use the shortest possible time to count the numbers, equipment, supplies, and number of people who can fight in your respective units. Then, it’s time to show the Soviets what we have done!”

"Hey!" The German officers and soldiers cheered loudly, like knights about to go on a battle in the Middle Ages.