"From the day we put on this military uniform, our destiny is not in our own hands. Weikert, I think you should know this."
"...."
Strimmermann's tone was as calm as still water, but to Weickert's ears it sounded like a stormy sea.
"It's over, it seems we are still planning to fight to the end."
Does Colonel Weickert want to live?
Of course, who wants to die if they can live?
But at this moment, Colonel Weickert still remembered that he was still a Wehrmacht soldier, and he had to obey the orders of his superiors before following his own personal will. Stromermann held his destiny in his hands.
After saying this, Stummerman no longer stared at the night scene outside the window, but chose to slowly turn towards Weickert. He wanted to see what the subordinate behind him was like at this moment.
An expression.
"Do you think I'm cruel? In just one sentence, I decided the fate of more than 30,000 people and pushed them into the abyss of death."
"...."
Weickert still didn't speak. At this moment, his true heart was entangled in a whirlpool between reason and morality, and he didn't know what to do.
If he only considered his personal thoughts, Weickert felt that his answer should be yes. Stromermann was not qualified to make choices for all the besieged German soldiers. Not everyone wanted to follow the orders of the Führer. He
I even thought about saying this out loud, even if the thought lasted only for a short moment.
But reason told Weickert that he could not do this.
The bounden duty of a soldier is to obey orders, and Strimmermann was just following the duties of a soldier and following the orders issued by the head of state himself. No matter how ridiculous and ridiculous this order may seem now, and it is almost impossible to achieve it, the order is
All the soldiers have to do is execute the order like a machine, it's that simple.
Seeing that Weickert was speechless with a tangled look on his face, Stummermann, who had his hands in his pockets and began to wander alone, took over the words and spoke slowly.
"I will give everyone the power to choose their own destiny. They are not only German soldiers and soldiers of the Führer, but also the sons of their parents, the husbands of their wives, and the fathers of their children. For the sake of the so-called duty and honor, all of this will be forcibly removed from them.
I am permanently deprived of this power, at least I myself do not have this power, and neither does the head of state."
Weickert, who thought he had already thought of what Strimmermann would say, was immediately stunned when he heard this. He never expected that what Strimmermann would finally do was something like this.
"compromise" approach.
"General, this..."
Before Weickert could prepare what he was going to say next, he finished his words and continued to speak without intending to give up his right to speak.
"All besieged troops can choose to continue fighting or break out of the encirclement, or surrender to the Russians. The power will be decentralized to every infantry squad and every soldier. Of course, including you, Weikert, follow your own rules
Make decisions based on your true inner thoughts. From now on, I don’t have any orders for you to execute. You are a truly free person.”
"...."
This should have been the best news that Weickert had been waiting for for a long time. He could decide his own destiny instead of being forcibly tied up. For a man who was about to lose his life on the battlefield, what else could he do?
What can get better than this?
But Weickert was not sure that was what he was really thinking at the moment, and the tone and taste of what came out of his mouth changed accordingly.
"General, what about you? What are you going to do?"
Will Strimmermann surrender?
Maybe, there is a high probability that it will be the case. Weickert knows very well that Stromerman is also a family man, and he also has relatives and family that he cherishes. Since he can give everyone such a self-selected order,
Then there would be no point for him to continue to persevere.
"Me? Well... maybe I need some time to think about it. I don't know what decision I will make."
"..."
Weickert had never felt that he was always speechless like tonight. In the past, he always opened his mouth to express himself with clever words, but now it seemed that he had been thrown out of the sky and no longer existed.
No matter what Strimmermann and Weikert thought in their hearts, the last order issued as the commander of the besieged German army was finally conveyed quickly and informed to everyone and every German soldier.
"Is this true? It's unbelievable! Didn't the general say during the day that the head of state would send an army to rescue us? I thought this was true."
"Army? Where did the army come from? Are you awake or are you dreaming? Clear your head! It's been so many days. If the head of state can really rescue us from here, we don't have to wait until now. What the big shots above said
You have to learn to distinguish and listen. Some of them are just nice words and slogans. I have recognized them long ago, so I can survive until now."
"It's better to wait, brothers, and see how others react. It's still not too late for us to wait and act."
"Whatever you want, anyway, I plan to surrender to the Russians. It's better to work for the Russians as a coolie than to be beaten to death in this hellish place. I still want to go back alive."
Several German soldiers sitting in a low-lying area were discussing the explosive news that they had just learned and that was now being spread and discussed everywhere.
Some people think this is a fabricated lie, but more people still believe it and plan to give up something for their own lives. Even wearing the uniform of the National Defense Force does not mean that you must throw your life away in the army.
Since the moment I joined the army, I have never heard such a necessary statement.
On the completely different side, in the headquarters jointly established by the SS Viking Armored Division and the Walloni Panzergrenadier Brigade, it was also not long after receiving this order from Strimmermann.
Herbert, the commander of the Viking Division, was now furious with his glasses trembling on the bridge of his nose.
"Traitor! Shameless! Isn't he, Stromermann, ashamed of giving such an order?"
"The Führer has just charged up our entire army, and this coward who is afraid of death, Stromermann, actually wants to surrender to the Russians at night! This is impossible! I will never agree to and abide by this order! These traitors of the Wehrmacht
There is never a time to be reliable. They stabbed the Emperor in the back during the last war, and this time they continue to stab the Führer in the back, a bunch of German traitors!"
"We, the SS, will fight to the end, whatever the cowards of the Wehrmacht want to do. Get the troops ready, gather all the remaining armor, and we will break through tonight!"