Germany does not seek survival

The wet branches were just smoking, without any heat at all. Although the rain subsided afterwards, it was replaced by a biting cold wind. The wet clothes stuck to their bodies, and the soldiers of the Großdeutschland Camp felt like they were going to freeze to death. They stamped their feet to keep warm beside the fire, which only produced smoke but no fire.

Some soldiers only discovered that their clothes and backpacks were covered with ice after the battle. There were limited houses in the outpost on the top of the mountain, so the German army drove all the Romanian prisoners into the largest wooden house in the outpost.

Faust asked the man with a mustache to lead his men down the mountain first and report the situation here to Major Rundstedt. After learning about the situation on the top of the mountain, Rundstedt was also shocked. He did not expect the Great German Camp to make progress so quickly, nor did he expect the conditions on the top of the mountain to be so bad.

After the man with a small mustache led a dozen people down the mountain, his mustache was covered with white ice chips.

"Major Rundstedt, we urgently need reinforcements. Lieutenant Faust said we've captured over ten Romanian mortars. There's a well-placed emplacement on the top of a hill with a good field of view. We'd better send an artillery battery up the hill immediately. From Hill 1794, we can cover the entire Skuduk Pass with artillery fire."

Rundstedt pondered, "Is it very cold on the top of the mountain? The military will immediately dispatch military doctors and service personnel up the mountain. They will also send additional artillery up the mountain as you requested."

Rundstedt asked again: "Does the Romanian army have the momentum to counterattack?"

The mustache-faced man replied swiftly, "No! The weather is terrible, and the main force of the Roman army hasn't reacted yet. We already have an entire company controlling Hill 1794. The enemy won't be able to retake the position anytime soon."

The more Rundstedt thought about it, the more bizarre it seemed. "You've come all the way from Bavaria. God, the Great German Battalion has only been off the train for a day, and they've already achieved immediate success. I have to say, I've never seen such a capable unit on the Eastern Front."

The man with the mustache smiled brightly: "Major, you have seen it now. Believe me, with Mr. Faust here, you will witness more miracles."

Rundstedt waved his hand. "I will dispatch reinforcements immediately. Please return to the front and tell Acting Battalion Commander Rommel and Lieutenant Faust that the 22nd Army will meet all the requirements of the Grossdeutschland Battalion and look forward to your further victories."

Finally, Rundstedt added, "The military will commend you."

The victory of the Battle of Hill in 1794 was resounding. After the Romanian defenders collapsed, Faust led his men to live in the mountaintop outpost to avoid the cold. In addition to more than ten mortars, the Great German Battalion also found two telephones and more than a hundred mules and horses on the top of the mountain. There was also rye bread, butter and milk in the outpost houses that could feed hundreds of people.

Rommel also started a fire in the wooden house. He put his hands in front of the stove. The flames burned the firewood, crackling and sending out sparks.

"Is Romania really that rich?" Rommel said unhappily. "Even their food is better than the Germans."

Captain von Thoma, a descendant of the lowest class of knightly nobility, looked at the officers and said, "I visited Romania before the war. The country was quite well developed, but compared to Germany, its economy was far behind."

Faust said coldly, "But now, the Romanians are richer than us. Our soldiers' food quotas are not even as much as the Romanians', and the poor military families in the rear are even more hungry."

These words made all the officers in the wooden house fall silent. Rommel threw a piece of firewood into the stove. The flames quickly burned the new firewood into black, and the fire became slightly brighter.

"The German people are like this pile of firewood. The price of light and warmth is that the German people are burned to ashes."

Faust folded his arms over his chest and said, "Gentlemen, in my opinion, no matter how great our victory is, it will be of little significance. Haven't you noticed? You have all served on several different fronts, and on each front, the German army's supply situation was not optimistic."

Kesselring asked: "Lieutenant, are you going to say those words again? Send the front-line troops to Berlin and confiscate the property of the nobles..."

Faust smiled and said, "I'm not saying that now, Captain Kesselring, but apart from this, how else can we make up for the serious shortage of supplies in Germany?"

At this point, Faust said no more. He simply said, "You should now understand that if I have the ability to lead you to victory, I will also be able to lead you to greater success."

Faust put his hand into the fire in the stove. He seemed not to be afraid of the high temperature of the flames. He took out a half-burned piece of firewood from the stove, then used the burning firewood as a torch for lighting, and walked out with the fire in his hand.

In the previous fierce battle, the Grossdeutschland Battalion suffered few casualties, but there were still a few missing people. They must have slipped while climbing the cliff and in the subsequent fighting, and it was unknown where they fell in the valley.

Faust braved the wind and snow again, lit a fire and went out to search for the missing soldiers. In such a low temperature, if he didn't find them quickly, they would be frozen to death.

In addition, there are some soldiers who are not afraid of the cold, and they join Faust in searching for the missing soldiers. The soldiers now admire Faust even more. In addition to Faust's incredible fighting style, they are also impressed by Faust's care and concern for his comrades.

By noon, all the troops sent by Rundstedt to reinforce the Grossdeutschland Battalion had arrived.

In addition to cannons, the reinforcements also brought more horses, firewood and other supplies, and the weather also improved. At this time, Faust found the previously missing soldiers on a hillside in the south.

Eight soldiers from the Grossdeutschland Battalion fell down the hillside and were buried in the snow. Faust was the first to find them. He then shoveled away the snow with his bare hands and quickly rescued them all.

Among the eight soldiers, seven recovered after treatment, and only one died of hypothermia.

This soldier became the only soldier of the Grossdeutschland Battalion killed in the Battle of Hill 1794.

Faust, along with Sorge, Tito and others who were searching for the missing soldier, stood on the snow and saluted the soldier's body:

"Poor fellow, you left the Grossdeutschland Battalion in such a hurry before you could even see the sunrise. But we promise you that the remaining soldiers of the Grossdeutschland Battalion will not let your sacrifice be in vain."

Afterwards, Rundstedt hoped that the Grossdeutschland Battalion would have a few days to rest and recuperate. These days would be just the right time to wait for the Grossdeutschland Battalion's real commander, Colonel Epp, to arrive.

Faust tentatively agreed, and only one company of the Grossdeutschland Battalion was left to garrison on Hill 1794, while the rest of the troops returned to the 22nd Army's base to rest and replenish equipment, ammunition, and logistical supplies.

Over the next two days, the 22nd Army used Hill 1794 to cover the Skuduk Pass with artillery fire. The Romanians attempted several small-scale counterattacks, but were easily defeated by the Germans.

Faust also obtained more news about the Romanian battlefield here at the headquarters of the 22nd Army.

It turned out that during this period, the Romanians had gathered a large number of soldiers in Ploiesti. It was estimated that they were preparing to attack Germany in Kronstadt in the direction of Bucharest, but they did not know that the main force of the Danube Army Group led by Marshal Mackensen was also preparing to attack Ploiesti and Kronstadt.

As a result, the two large forces of the German-Austrian coalition and Romania collided directly with each other while on the move. As expected, the German-Austrian coalition won the victory with fewer troops.

Marshal Mackensen took advantage of the situation and captured Ploiesti. The city had built its first oil refinery as early as 1857. Later, with the development of the Prahova oil field, it became the oil industry center in Eastern Europe. Its oil field was the largest in Europe.

During World War I, the importance of oil was far less than that of World War II, but by the end of World War I, Germany was increasingly using internal combustion engine trucks to transport supplies, so the capture of Ploiesti was still considered a major victory.

Chapter 41 Airport Plan

It is said that Marshal Mackensen also seized 9 million tons of oil and a large number of livestock from Romanian warehouses in Ploiesti. The spoils were extremely rich.

This victory also greatly boosted the morale of the 22nd Army. However, according to Major Rundstedt, due to the limited manpower of Marshal Mackensen's Army Group, they were unable to continue to expand their victory after capturing Ploiesti and were temporarily unable to advance into Bucharest, the capital of Romania.

"But we estimate that a large number of Romanian troops will now be tied down to the northeast by Marshal Mackensen."

In the headquarters of the 22nd Army, Major Rundstedt was pointing at the map with a baton in his hand. In addition to Rundstedt, Lieutenant General Galwitz, commander of the 22nd Army, was also here.

This military map was of a particularly large scale, with extremely detailed details drawn on it. Rundstedt had also made at least thousands of pencil marks on it. The officers of the Großdeutschland Battalion, and even Faust, could not read all the densely packed content on the map at once.

Only a capable professional staff officer like Paulus could immediately understand the massive amount of markings made by Rundstedt.

Commander Galwitz of the 22nd Army was also a typical Prussian Junker soldier.

The classic Wilhelm Hu, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a straight military uniform, and a face that is old-fashioned and serious, can be seen at a glance that he has a bad temper, but he welcomes this group of South German officers from the Grossdeutschland Camp.

General Galwitz was very optimistic about Faust. He had previously told Rundstedt that he personally requested to see Faust. Now, upon seeing his true appearance, he praised:

"How handsome! Siegfried of Saint-Quentin, do you know how many long poems have been written about you in Berlin, at the General Staff?"

In front of General Galwitz, Faust snapped the young man to attention, standing straight, in the most standard and rigid Prussian military attire.

"Commander, all the officers and soldiers of the Grossdeutschland Battalion have heard of your great feat in capturing Belgrade. We have come to Romania to serve under your command and obey your orders. May God bless you and may you achieve more glorious achievements."

Commander Galwitz stroked his Prussian beard and laughed uncontrollably: "Hahahaha, if I had a daughter, I would definitely consider marrying her to you. That way, Faust, you would have the opportunity to join the ranks of the Junker nobility."

Rundstedt stood in front of the map board, coughed lightly a few times, and quickly brought the subject back to the topic. "General Falkenhayn will arrive at the front with three additional German divisions next week, forming a new army group with our 22nd Army. Considering that Marshal Mackensen has tied down all the Romanian reserves to the northeast, once the new army group is formed, we only need to capture the Skuduk Pass and then advance on Bucharest from the west."

General Galwitz picked up a pipe and puffed away. "That fellow Falkenhayn is so arrogant. We're in trouble if we have to work with him. He's not very popular in the General Staff. Otherwise, the defeat at Verdun wouldn't have kept him in office. It's quite humiliating to have a Chief of the General Staff serving as an army group commander."

Faust did not want to get involved in the power struggle at the highest level of the German army. He acted like a fawning lackey to all his German superiors, from William II and Crown Prince Rupprecht to Commander Galwitz in front of him.

But Faust didn't want to give them anything except a flattering face.

Rundstedt said, "The three German divisions brought by General Falkenhayn will greatly strengthen our strength. We estimate that after half a month, when all the new reinforcements arrive, we will be able to break through the Skudok Pass."

Commander Galwitz pointed at the group of the Grossdeutschland Battalion and said, "I heard that you just arrived at the front and captured Hill 1794 in the Schuduk Pass."

Faust said: "Yes, this is entirely because the 22nd Army's previous offensive has accumulated enough factors for victory."

General Galwitz asked Rundstedt, "Any other progress?"

Rundstedt replied, "After the Grossdeutschland Battalion captured Hill 1794, our artillery could cover several Romanian positions around the Skuduk Pass from here. In the past two days, we have captured the heights along the line from Prislop, Sepilu to Gruba Meir, and we have repelled all Romanian counterattacks."

General Galvez stroked his beard as he pondered. "We still have a few days before Falkenhayn arrives," he mused. "If we can break through the Skuduk Pass first, Falkenhayn won't be able to reap the fruits of Romania's victory."

Commander Galvitz stood up from his velvet chair, lost in thought. He walked around the headquarters several times before finally stopping and asking everyone, "Do you have any ideas?"

Faust is definitely no match for the genuine German officers in terms of tactics. Rundstedt has no good ideas for the time being, so Faust is even more helpless.

Paulus, who was always timid, raised his hand and wanted to speak.

Paulus was the combat staff officer of the Grossdeutschland Battalion and the only staff officer with the right professional background in Faust's group. Commander Galwitz nodded and allowed Paulus to speak.

Paulus looked around at the crowd. Seeing that everyone was staring at him, his face immediately turned red and he began to stutter:

"Le Sului, that, that... that is a commanding height. From Grubba Meir Heights we can attack Le Sului Heights. Occupy it, General. If we occupy Le Sului Heights, we can outflank and outflank from the east. Outflank, outflank the Skuduk Pass. The enemy will never expect us to attack from the east."

As soon as Paulus put forward this strategy, Major Rundstedt and officers such as Rommel, Kesselring, Scherner, and von Thomas from the Grossdeutschland Battalion all lit up their eyes.

Only Faust, who became a lieutenant purely by rote memorization, has not yet reacted.

Major Rundstedt picked up his command post, tapped it on the map board, and said, "If we can successfully capture Les Sou-Louis Heights, we can threaten the Schudok Pass from the east. The enemy will hardly imagine that we are going to attack from a distance instead of close by. Moreover, from my observation, the foothills from Les Sou-Louis Heights to the Schudok Pass are densely wooded and covered with dense forests. After the snow falls, it becomes a vast expanse. Even if an entire division moves, the enemy will have difficulty detecting it."

Major Rundstedt agreed with Paulus's plan of action, but he added: "The only concern is that the enemy has a field airfield behind the Skudok Pass, where there are a large number of Allied aircraft. These reconnaissance aircraft may discover our movements and destroy the suddenness of the surprise attack."

Faust scratched his chin and looked at the map for a long time before he slowly understood that the places Major Rundstedt and Paulus mentioned were all there.

Faust suddenly said, "Major Rundstedt, if it wasn't a whole division, but just a battalion, would the enemy planes be able to detect it?"

Rundstedt seemed to understand something and said, "No, the mountains are covered in snow and the Carpathian forests are vast and boundless. Relying solely on aircraft reconnaissance, they wouldn't have enough time to locate the specific whereabouts of an entire battalion in such a short time. The enemy wouldn't expect us to go far away, so they certainly won't send many aircraft to scout this area."

Faust's eyes immediately fixed on the location of the Allied airport marked on the map:

"From Les Sulouis Heights, we can just send the Grossdeutschland Battalion. We'll be responsible for crossing this... well, it's called Koshna Mountain. The Grossdeutschland Battalion will cross this and directly destroy the Allied airport."

Commander Galvez said gravely, "Will this alert the Romanians and make them aware of the direction of our attack?"

Major Rundstedt immediately said, "Sir, I don't think so. The airfield is located to the rear of the Skuduk Pass, in the opposite direction of our attack. The Romanians will think this is just a sabotage operation to infiltrate the rear, and they will not expect us to launch a large-scale offensive in the opposite direction from the Lesului Heights."

Commander Galwitz continued, "The Grossdeutschland Battalion only has a battalion of just over a thousand men. Do you have the confidence to infiltrate the Koshna Mountains and destroy the Allied Ptolemin Airfield? Britain, France, Russia, and Italy—those four damned nations—have provided Romania with over 300 aircraft, half of which are parked at Ptolemin Airfield. You can imagine how heavily defended the airfield must be."

Chapter 42: Bad Intentions for Good Results

Faust was full of confidence in the surprise attack on Ptolemine Airport. This was not because Faust was superstitious about the power of the "Aryan Superman", but because after the battle of Hill 1794, Faust had a clearer understanding of the combat effectiveness comparison between the German and Romanian armies.

Romania was originally just a small country in the Balkans. After declaring war on Germany, it hastily mobilized 500,000 troops to join the war. It is conceivable how poor the training and equipment levels of these soldiers were.

The Grossdeutschland Battalion killed or wounded more than 200 Romanian soldiers on Hill 1794 and captured 500 Romanians.

Faust has organized several interrogations of prisoners and obtained a lot of intelligence, which Faust himself thinks is very useful. The main force of the Romanian army is still concentrated in front of the Skuduk Pass, and the Romanian army does not seem to believe that the German army will attack the Carpathian Mountain defense line in winter, so the defenders of Hill 1794 are so lax in their vigilance.

Faust's expression was calm. "Sir, even after the defeat at Hill 1794, the Romanians will undoubtedly think this way. We won't storm the Skuduk Pass until the German reinforcements arrive. Or perhaps the Romanians are more inclined to believe that the Dobrudja line is the focus of our offensive, as it's closer to Russia."

Commander Galvitz's eyes lit up and he asked, "What else do you need from the military to capture Tolemin Airport?"

"We need more mortars, grenades, and explosives so we can destroy all the planes and the facilities at the airport," Faust said.

Upon hearing this, Commander Galwitz pondered for a moment, then suddenly strode towards the headquarters entrance, saying, "Major Rundstedt, give the Grossdeutschland Battalion everything they need. The 22nd Army will first prepare to attack the Les-sur-Louis Heights. Transfer the Württemberg Mountain Hunters Regiment as well to concentrate our forces. When the weather improves, we will attack the Les-sur-Louis Heights."

Seeing that General Galwitz had approved the Grossdeutschland Battalion's plan, Faust immediately struck while the iron was hot: "When the weather improves, the Romanian army will likely increase its vigilance. We should attack the Les Sului Heights immediately, either tomorrow or today. I think today is a good day to launch the attack, as the weather, while not bad enough, is not so bad that a large force cannot move."

Commander Galwitz hesitated for a moment, but Major Rundstedt supported Faust's idea. "Commander, there is indeed a significant gap in the Romanian defenses on the Les Sulouis Plateau. When the weather improves, perhaps the Romanians will close this gap. This opportunity is fleeting, and we cannot afford to lose it."

Commander Galvitz asked, "How sure are you?"

Faust and Major Rundstedt took a half step forward and said in unison: "We are absolutely sure!"

What Faust and Major Rundstedt said made sense, but before the Grossdeutschland Battalion arrived at the battlefield, Galwitz himself had already commanded several offensives against the Roman defenses in the area of ​​​​Skuduk Pass. As Rundstedt had previously told the Grossdeutschland Battalion, the 22nd Army's multiple offensive attempts had ended in failure.

In another week, Falkenhayn, who has resigned as Chief of the German General Staff, will arrive at the front line. If this attack fails, Falkenhayn may use this as an excuse to deal with Galwitz after he takes office.

As an old subordinate of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, Falkenhayn, who was ousted by Hindenburg, certainly had no good face towards Galwitz.

According to the German military system, the staff is responsible for the actual command of the troops. During most of the combat, it is actually the combat staff like Rundstedt who command the entire army. However, the most important responsibility of the chief officer is to make the final combat decision at this moment.

Commander Galwitz frowned and thought hard for a long time, but he still couldn't make up his mind. Faust and Rundstedt only needed to consider the front-line issues, and their ideas were relatively simple, but Galwitz needed to consider the political issues of the German high-level officials.

What a dilemma! If he wanted to achieve neither merit nor fault, he could just wait until Falkenham arrived next week. However, if he did that, Galvitz wouldn't have enough military merit, and would be in a more passive position when facing Falkenham.

Faust's idea is actually exactly the same as Galvitz's.

Galwitz was thinking about Falkenhayn, while Faust was thinking about Colonel Epp, the real commander of the Great German Battalion. Faust's idea was to lead the Great German Battalion to win enough military merits before Colonel Epp took office.

The best thing would be that the National Socialist Party led the Grossdeutschland Battalion to fight the Romanian battle directly before Colonel Epp arrived at the front!

With this military achievement in hand, Faust has enough ways and reasons to resist Colonel Epp. At that time, Colonel Epp is not at the front line at the critical period of the army's combat, and then the army wins the battle under this circumstance. The grassroots officers of the Great German Battalion who have been won over by the National Socialist Party will be able to resist Colonel Epp.

After resisting Colonel Epp, of course the commander of the Great German Battalion was replaced by a member of the National Socialist Party.

Faust, observing Captain Galwitz's expression, could fully grasp his thoughts. He knew that Captain Galwitz was struggling to decide between the benefits and the risks, so he chuckled and said, "Commander, please trust the Grossdeutschland Battalion. We will replicate the victory we experienced at Hill 1794 at Les Sulouis Hill and Ptolemin Airfield."

After repeated persuasion from Faust, General Galwitz made up his mind: "Then mobilize the Württemberg mountain troops immediately. Major Rundstedt, I demand that we launch an attack on the Les Sulouis Heights in six hours."

Rundstedt immediately stood at attention and said, "As you command!"

Faust also obeyed the order, and the officers of the Grossdeutschland Battalion left the headquarters of the 22nd Army and returned to the Grossdeutschland Battalion's base at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains.

The base was in a Romanian village with many farmhouses. A school building was converted into the headquarters of the Grossdeutschland Battalion. There were still many Romanian civilians in the village who had not evacuated. There were very few men, almost all of them were women and the elderly, and there were also a few children.

As soon as Faust and his men, who were wearing German officers' uniforms, came over, the Romanian women all turned their eyes to them. They liked to stare at the handsome German officers, and their attitude towards the German occupiers also made Faust feel unexpectedly intimate.

Captain von Thoma, who had been to Romania as an officer before the outbreak of World War I, explained:

"Romania's first king after independence, Carol I, was from the Hohenzollern family of Germany, so our two countries had very close relations before the war. In fact, at that time, most people believed that Romania would join the Central Powers. Moreover, before the war, Romania was one of our largest grain importers. Most of the grain produced by Romanian farmers was purchased by German merchants. From what I learned during my travels, the prices offered by German grain importers were far higher than the market price of grain in Romania. So it's no surprise that Romanians have a good impression of us."

Romania's first king, Carol I, came from the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family of Germany, which was considered a branch family of the German royal family.

Therefore, since independence, Romania and Germany have had a close relationship, and Carol I has a very high prestige in Romania. He received a complete Prussian officer education and demonstrated excellent military command skills in the Battle of Pleven against the Turkish army, winning the support of the local Romanian people.