Germany does not seek survival

Rundstedt shook his head. "We only have a few thousand Germans at most. The rest of the Czechs, Croats, and Turks are behaving so poorly that one wonders if they're agents of the enemy."

Rundstedt pointed to the officers and soldiers of the Großdeutschland Battalion, who were marching in column at the train station, and said, "You have over a thousand of us! I hear you're all very professional mountain hunters. This is a great help on the Romanian battlefield."

Faust brushed the snow off his hat and said, "The Romanian army alone has 500,000 men, and the Serbian and Greek armies number several hundred thousand. Then, Britain and France have organized an Eastern Army of 120,000 men in Salonika. So, the total Allied strength in the Balkans must be close to a million men! Against a million-man enemy, how can a 1,000-man Großdeutschland Battalion actually make much of a difference?"

Upon hearing this, Major Rundstedt's humble tone suddenly became filled with pride. "Of course, because you are not just anyone else, you are over a thousand German soldiers. That is a powerful force that can play a decisive role in the Balkans."

Faust immediately looked up to the sky and laughed heartily: "Major! With your kind words, may the Greater German Camp triumph!"

Faust is not interested in the political struggle between the German high-ranking officials, Hindenburg's Eastern Front faction and Falkenhayn's Western Front faction. He is also not concerned about the command struggle between Falkenhayn and Marshal Mackensen. What the Great German Battalion needs is to be deployed to the battlefield as soon as possible and gain military merits by attacking the weak Romania.

Then Faust had the opportunity to turn the Greater German Camp into the Greater German Regiment, climbing up step by step and continuing to expand the influence of the National Socialist Party until the moment of Germany's inevitable defeat came, which was the prelude to the National Socialist Party's embarking on the revolutionary ladder.

Faust asked Major Rundstedt in detail about the battle situation on the front line. Of course, he did not need to know the situation on the entire front line. He mainly wanted to know the situation on the Schuduk Pass front line where the Grossdeutschland Battalion would be involved next.

"The mountains here are very high, at least one thousand or two thousand meters high. The Romanians have a huge advantage in manpower. I'm not exaggerating. At all the mountain passes, the Romanian army has an advantage of about ten times ours. Moreover, you must know that our troops are entirely made up of Czechs and Croats, who have little combat effectiveness at all."

Major Rundstedt outlined the various problems facing the front, saying, "Logistics is also very difficult. Gentlemen, all the ammunition has to be shipped from Germany to Romania. Each of our divisions often only has a base amount of ammunition available. The Austrians can ship some artillery shells from Prague, but we have to procure rifle and machine gun ammunition ourselves."

"The Czechs are prone to desertion, and the Croatian soldiers might even mutiny when engaging the Serbs. Without reliable helpers, when the 22nd Army first attacked the Vulkan and Skuduk Passes, we ran out of food within two days and were unable to continue the fight."

"Also, the Russians. Although they suffered a defeat in Kovel and are currently unable to launch another offensive, they have sent some smaller, elite units to support Romania. Furthermore, the Russian, French, and British air forces have all managed to send numerous aircraft to Romania, which has also greatly increased our difficulties."

Chapter 38 Tito

After Rundstedt talked about a lot of difficulties on the front line, Faust became more confident of victory, because the arduous training of the Great German Camp was originally designed to deal with complex battlefields like Romania.

On the contrary, in the rigid and stalemate trench warfare on the Western Front, no matter how hard the Großdeutschland Battalion tried, it was difficult to achieve any military achievements that would amaze the world.

Rundstedt was still exaggerating the terrifying power of the Allied Air Force. The German Air Force was superior to the Allied Powers in both aircraft equipment level and pilot driving skills. However, in Romania, a secondary battlefield, the General Staff only gave Falkenhayn and Mackensen dozens of reconnaissance planes, while Romania received reinforcements of hundreds of aircraft from Britain, France, Russia and Italy.

Even with these dozens of German planes on the Western Front, they were not enough for "Red Baron" Richtofen to kill indiscriminately.

There were more than a thousand people in the Grossdeutschland Battalion, and they had hardly any rest at this time. Major Rundstedt originally intended to invite Faust and others to go to the headquarters of the 22nd Army to rest, but Faust declined Rundstedt's invitation and proposed to go to the front line first.

The Grossdeutschland Battalion formed a single column and advanced towards the German mortar positions in front of the Carpathian Mountains.

Along the way, Faust also saw many ethnic minorities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including Czechs, Croats, Slovenes, Hungarians, Slovaks... all of them, and they all seemed to have low morale.

These Austrian soldiers blocked the roads. Their uniforms were not neatly worn and their logistics relied entirely on carts. The roads were often blocked by the chaos of soldiers.

In order to hurry on his way, Rundstedt had to teach Faust a method, which was for the vanguard to drive away the aimless crowds blocking the road with bayonets.

As a result of the German army's actions, except for the Austro-Hungarian Empire's direct German troops, the other minority soldiers looked at the Germans with unfriendly eyes, or rather, with a hint of hatred.

Faust sighed inwardly. The Germans had been managing Central Europe for a thousand years, and their assimilation work had actually achieved great results. Before the Industrial Revolution, the Czechs, Slovenes, and Croats in Central Europe had all achieved a high degree of Germanization.

However, after the Industrial Revolution, nationalism emerged. The Germans and the ruling Germans in the Austro-Hungarian Empire used nationalism as a weapon. The various ethnic minorities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire also resorted to nationalism and demanded independence.

After reaching the mortar position, Major Rundstedt pointed to the snow-capped mountains ahead and told Faust, "Right over there, behind that is the main battle line. If someone can capture the Skuduk Pass, we can encircle and annihilate at least 100,000 Romanian troops. The battle will be almost over. However, the terrain of this pass is difficult and complex, and the Romanian defenders are numerous. They also have an airfield behind the pass. As long as there are some Allied aircraft, the Skuduk Pass will be impregnable."

On the mountain, sparse fir and birch trees stretched out, appearing silent and dark against the backdrop of white snow and the semi-black purple sky.

Faust pondered, "That is, as long as we can find a way to get behind the Shkuduk Pass and destroy the Allied airfield, the German army can capture the Shkuduk Pass and we can win the Romanian Campaign."

Major Rundstedt nodded. "That's what I said, but it's not that easy to do. The mountains here are too dangerous."

Rundstedt was very pessimistic about the prospect of the German army breaking through the Schuduk Pass in a short period of time, but Faust did not think so. On the one hand, he believed that the mountaineering training received by the Grossdeutschland Battalion was enough to conquer the Carpathian Mountains. On the other hand, of course, it was also because of Faust's presence that even the Himalayas could not stop Faust, let alone the Carpathian Mountains with an average altitude of one or two thousand meters.

Faust made only one request of Rundstedt: "Give us some guides, some who know the country well, and then, Major, you will be ready to march the army through the Schudok Pass in a leisurely procession."

Faust asked Rundstedt for a dozen Austrian guides, who in turn reported to Faust their names, positions, and how long they had stayed in the Carpathian Mountains. The name of one of the guides soon caught Faust's attention.

"You? Your name is Josep Broz?"

"It's me, Herr Lieutenant. My name is Josip Broz, I'm Croatian, and I spent several years in the Carpathians."

The man who answered was a distinguished figure, and Faust's name had impressed him more than Rundstedt's: "What's your nickname? Corporal Josep Broz."

"Hmm?" the respondent said, a bit puzzled. "Yes, I have a nickname. People like to call me in the Croatian dialect. Everyone likes to call me Tito."

Faust couldn't help but clap his hands. "Tito! What a down-to-earth name! You will be our messenger and help us get familiar with the Carpathian Mountains."

The battlefields of World War I were full of hidden dangers. Faust couldn't help but think of the influential figures who later influenced the world, such as Churchill, MacArthur, Tukhachevsky, Zhukov, Guderian, Manstein...

There are many other characters who are probably squatting in trenches somewhere on the battlefield of World War I.

Tito had a good memory, drawing skills and language expression ability. Although he was a Croatian, he had lived in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, which was highly Germanized, for a long time, so he spoke German fluently and had no problems communicating with the officers and soldiers of the Grossdeutschland Battalion.

Faust also quickly memorized the terrain of the Skudok Pass. He circled a location called Hill 1794 on the terrain sketch drawn by Tito.

Hill 1794 is a mountain with a height of 1794 meters. There is a Romanian position on it, which can be used to scout the situation in Museru and Prislop on the south side of the Skudok Pass. Faust proposed to occupy this place first, and Rommel also agreed after looking at the topographic map.

Scherner and Kesselring both stepped forward, wanting to lead the team themselves, but Thomas said, "Looking at today's conditions, the weather won't be very good. We should choose a good day."

The guide Tito also said immediately: "Yes, sirs, looking at the shape of the clouds in the sky, it will definitely snow soon, or it may rain, which will make the situation worse."

Faust grabbed his hat and said, "The weather is getting worse, and the Romanians will be complacent. We should take advantage of the bad weather to launch a surprise attack."

However, Faust also knew that it would not be easy to raid the top position of Hill 1794 in rainy and snowy weather.

Faust said, "I will lead the team myself. I can guarantee that no matter how bad the weather is, we can successfully capture Hill 1794."

Rommel certainly believed in Faust's strength, but the other three company commanders of the Grossdeutschland Battalion still had some doubts.

Kesselring also said: "It is better to wait a few more days until the weather is better."

Faust refused: "It has to be now; the Romanians are unfamiliar with us, and the first surprise attack will be most effective."

Of course, there is another consideration behind Faust's eagerness to attack.

In a few days, Colonel Epp will rush to the front line from Munich. By then, Faust will no longer be able to sideline Colonel Epp, and the command of the Great German Battalion will fall into the hands of this noble officer.

Rommel supported Faust's proposal, and Faust said that he would only take the first company's assault troops. Seeing this, the remaining three company commanders said no more and temporarily agreed with Faust's idea.

Before Faust set out, Rommel was still a little worried: "Rain mixed with snow, the mountains will become particularly dangerous."

Faust assured him, "With me here, there won't be any problems."

All the candidates for the commando team of the Grossdeutschland Battalion's first actual combat operation were carefully selected by Faust himself. Hitler and Sorge were both included, and the guide Tito was also to participate in the operation.

The other members of the commando team were also active activists in the Faust and Mustache campfire speeches during this period.

Because Faust was very confident, he was sure to achieve military merit if he led the team in a surprise attack.

The primary credit for the Great German Camp should naturally be given to the National Socialist Party's own people.

"Action... Let's get started. Our slogan is, scale new heights!"

Chapter 39 1794 Heights

It was raining heavily, and the rain drifting in the cold winter wind mixed with the falling snow. The sleet turned the already very steep Skooduk Pass into an insurmountable chasm.

The sky was getting darker and the rain was getting heavier. In a short while, the Romanian soldiers patrolling on Hill 1794 were soaked. The Romanians therefore hid in the outposts with roofs.

The Romanians put down their wet weapons, wrapped themselves in blankets, and sat in groups of more than ten people around the stove to warm themselves. On such a night, time seemed particularly long, and in the biting cold wind, no one thought that the German army would launch an attack at this time.

The mountain road outside was wet with rain and snow, and it must have been extremely muddy and difficult to walk on. The temperature on the top of the mountain was low, and there was vast snow all around, with very low visibility. There was no windproof wall, fire for heating, or food to fill the stomach. If you stayed in the wind and snow in wet clothes, you would definitely get frostbite in less than half a day.

Maybe you will even freeze to death.

There was only one Romanian sentry still patrolling outside the post. He was shivering in the rain and snow, wondering whether he should hide in the post to keep warm like his other comrades. Soon, the sentry heard a bang, which sounded a bit like a pistol firing.

A flare hissed toward the top of the mountain, trembling in the air, forming a white spotlight hanging high above the sparse birch and fir trees, casting black streaks of branches on the snow.

The Romanian sentry was stunned. He didn't realize what had happened and didn't think that this was a surprise attack by the German army.

Because the terrain of Hill 1794 was easy to defend but difficult to attack, the surrounding area was very steep, and the northeast and north directions were almost at a 90-degree angle, the Romanian army set up three outposts nearby and built a circular fortification on the hill.

Logically speaking, even if the German army wanted to launch an attack on Hill 1794, they should at least make artillery preparations first, right?

Without artillery preparation, it is definitely not a real offensive, at most it is just a reconnaissance activity.

On the mountain wall in the wind and snow, a row of German soldiers were climbing up with Faust. Faust first climbed up the steep 90-degree cliff with his bare hands, and then used a climbing rope to pull up more than ten German soldiers in one breath.

Even though the officers and soldiers of the Großdeutschland Battalion had witnessed Faust's abilities in previous mountain training, they couldn't help but look stunned when they saw this scene on the battlefield.

Tito, who had just witnessed Faust, an Aryan superman, for the first time, slapped himself twice in the face. After confirming that he was not dreaming, he sighed, "No wonder the German army is the world's number one army..."

"Come up, everyone, come up, follow me, climb up."

The Romanian garrison consisted of an understaffed battalion with a total strength of about 700 to 800 men, while the vanguard assault team of the Grossdeutschland Battalion had more than 100 men.

Faust could pull fifteen or sixteen people up the cliff at a time. In about ten minutes, more than a hundred commandos were pulled to the top of the mountain by Faust. After Rommel and Hitler went up the mountain along the cable, everyone was together.

The Roman army on the top of the mountain was still confused. Faust nodded to Hitler, and the man with a mustache fired a magnesium flare from his pistol. The commando team of more than 100 people from the Great German Battalion followed the light and rushed towards the Roman army's outpost.

Faust took the lead and rushed to the front. He saw a Romanian sentry standing behind a snowdrift. He immediately raised his rifle and fired a bullet. Before the Romanian sentry could even shout, blood spurted from his head and he fell to the snow.

There was chaos on Hill 1794. Rommel and his men set up machine guns on the side of the Romanian outpost and opened fire, firing two short bursts of shots. Immediately afterwards, there was a series of continuous machine gun fire. On the left, another machine gun from the Großdeutschland Battalion also joined in.

Faust stood upright in the shade of the trees on the top of the mountain, like a bystander, with a calm face and indifferent to everything happening before his eyes.

"Hide! Get down on the ground! Mr. Faust!"

The man with the mustache shouted loudly. He was already lying flat in a shallow pit in the snow. The Romanians' counterattack also began. Romanian soldiers in some outpost houses opened fire back. Their firepower hit the trees on the top of the mountain. The bullets crackled and knocked down many snowflakes from the firs.

"Give me some grenades."

Faust shouted softly, and then the man with the mustache immediately plucked up his courage. He jumped out of the shallow pit in a few steps, quickly came to Faust, and handed all the grenades to Faust.

Faust pointed across and said, "Adolf, Rommel has suppressed the Romanians on the top of the mountain with machine guns. You and Sorge will lead the men to fire on that side. Don't give the Romanian mortars a chance to fire."

Amidst the mountain wind, snow, and hail of bullets, the man with the mustache stretched out his arms: "Hey! Mr. Faust, leave it to us!"

Faust hung a large number of grenades on his body and then ran out. He jumped over several windbreaks in front of the Romanian outpost and leaped lightly at a time, covering a distance of at least seven or eight meters, as if there was no gravity on the top of the mountain.

Many Romanian soldiers who rushed out of the outpost were shocked, but something happened soon that shocked them even more.

As Faust rushed forward, he threw grenades at every outpost he passed by. Explosions were everywhere on the top of the mountain, "Boom, boom, boom..." The explosions continued. When he encountered a slightly higher bunker wall, Faust simply did not dodge at all. He just hit his face against the wall of the Romanian bunker!

Then, with a loud bang, Faust knocked a human-shaped hole on the solid concrete bunker. The Romanians in the bunker looked at each other, and before they could react, they were knocked out by Faust who rushed forward like a dump truck.

Faust detonated a grenade inside the bunker, and the aftermath of the explosion followed the gap created by Faust's body, expanding the gap to a larger area.

It was not until this time that Faust touched his cheek. There was a trace of blood on his hand and his face was slightly painful. It seemed that even if the Aryan Superman used his face to smash open the concrete bunker, he would still suffer some flesh injuries.

Faust's face is not a 150mm howitzer.

At most it's a 75mm shell.

The Romanian army's defense on Hill 1794 had quickly collapsed. The sentries were originally scattered in many outposts, and only a few had time to take up arms and organize resistance. Most of the Romanian soldiers were captured by Little Mustache, Sorge and their commandos before they could even pick up their rifles.

Rommel commanded several machine gun teams and completely tore up all the roads leading to the Romanian army's mountaintop positions. The Romanian soldiers could only hide in the outpost houses and fight on their own, unable to support each other.

With the addition of Faust, they easily broke through the Roman army's mountaintop bunker with their faces. The more than 100-man assault team of the Great German Battalion occupied Hill 1794 at almost no cost.

They also captured almost a battalion of Romanians.

This is actually nothing special. For ordinary German troops, a company often has to take on the task of fighting against a Romanian battalion. As the ace elite of the German army, the Grossdeutschland Battalion defeated a Romanian battalion with an understaffed company, which was actually a normal performance of the German army.

The main difficulty lies in the terrain.

The terrain of Hill 1794 was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and with the weather being so bad today, the Romanians completely relaxed their vigilance, with even the sentries leaving their posts and returning to their houses to keep warm.

Normally, if the German army wanted to attack such a 90-degree cliff position, it would have to deploy at least a mountain hunting battalion. In addition, it would have to provide artillery support from at least a mortar battalion.

The results of it?

Excluding the time spent on the mountain march, Faust led the assault team of the Great German Battalion. Except for the overly excited mustache who was injured, the troops completed the difficult task of defeating a battalion of the Romanian army and occupying Hill 1794 in just one hour without any casualties.

Tito looked at the hundreds of Romanian soldiers on the top of the mountain with their hands raised high, and muttered to himself: "This is too exaggerated, too exaggerated. Is this scientific? This is not scientific. Faust, Faust, the Germans are not really superior to other races!"

Tito even let Faust make him doubt his values.

Chapter 40 Ploiesti

The Romanians did have some fighting power. After the failed invasion of Transylvania, they were still able to hold the Skuduk Pass, which proved that Romania was at least a qualified European army.

Whether it was due to weather reasons, terrain reasons, or logistical difficulties, the Romanian army did inflict losses on the German army in the Battle of Shkuduk Pass. The 22nd Army of the German-Austrian coalition attacked for two consecutive days and nights but failed to make any progress on the Shkuduk Pass line.

result.

As soon as Faust and the Great German Battalion arrived, they immediately captured Hill 1794, which was of extremely high strategic value on the Skudok Pass line.

No army could break the deadlock, but as soon as Faust arrived, a battalion immediately broke the deadlock.

The victory came too quickly, and even Major Rundstedt found it hard to believe. Rommel had already sent someone to inform the 22nd Army Headquarters, ordering them to send reinforcements to take over the top position of Hill 1794.

By setting up artillery on this hilltop position, the Germans could directly threaten the Romanians' core defensive position in the Skuduk Pass.

On the top of the mountain, the sleet continued to fall. Faust could neither sit nor lie down in his wet clothes. The branches were also wet, and he couldn't even start a fire.