The war in Southampton entered a tragic state from the beginning.
This is a contest between the two ace troops of both sides: Skeleton Lancers - Bloody Rose!
??In fact, in a more sense, the battle has nothing to do with war now. Both sides are more concerned about each other's honor. They can endure failure, but they must not lose the glory that soldiers deserve. This is something no real soldier can endure.
It is precisely because of this mentality that although the war situation has gone against him, Colonel Enrique has no intention of giving up. At this time, Don Tanner, who was commanding the battle in Southampton, made an unforgivable mistake. He rejected the suggestion to send additional reinforcements to Colonel Enrique.
Don Tanner is a very cautious general who uses troops. He will never make a decision easily when the battle situation is not clear. Judging from the battles on the front line, the 36th Brigade was clearly at a disadvantage, and if the main force used to surround Southampton was deployed at this time, unnecessary losses would inevitably be incurred. Instead of doing this, it is better to let Colonel Enrique and his "Bloody Rose" delay as much time as possible and consume as much of the enemy's vitality as possible.
To this end, he specifically issued an order to Colonel Enrique: All positions are allowed to be abandoned if they can no longer hold on!
To be honest, there is not much wrong with Don Tanner's decision, and it cannot be criticized, but as the war situation changes, maybe everything will become different.
Starting from noon, the German army significantly strengthened its offensive. Major Stroup and his "Skeleton Lancers" received new reinforcements, which greatly enhanced their strength. As for Major Stroup's opponents, their strength is still being depleted.
The balance of strength between the two sides has undergone fundamental changes.
The most critical issue is that Colonel Enrique has always adhered to a creed of the "Bloody Rose": "Never retreat until the last minute!"
This is a brave man's declaration, but such a declaration will often cause great trouble to the previous commanders of "Bloody Rose". They must faithfully implement this declaration, otherwise they will be regarded as a violation of "Bloody Rose". "Betrayal.
Especially Colonel Enrique. He is loyal and brave, but also old-fashioned and stubborn. He never doubts the correctness of his predecessors and never tries to change anything. "Never retreat until the last minute", this sentence has taken root in his mind.
Facing the enemy¡¯s fierce attack, he threw in the last reserve team in his hand, and even he himself appeared on the fiercest front line. Can you accuse him of anything? No, you can't blame him for anything. On the contrary, every commander hopes to have such a brave subordinate.
It¡¯s just that it seems that Colonel Enrique¡¯s bravery was used in the wrong place today.
Many positions of the 36th Brigade have been breached, and the entire brigade has suffered extremely heavy casualties. Especially after losing the protection in the air, those hateful enemy planes began to wreak havoc on their positions, and the entire position was wrapped in thick smoke. Smoke and explosions.
The situation became very difficult. But even in such a harsh environment, Colonel Enrique never gave up. He ordered the entire brigade to start shrinking its forces and concentrate them on several important core positions. In his opinion, he could definitely hold on until tomorrow.
In this British land called "Liboston", he is bound to leave a reputation for being brave and good at fighting. £® £® £® £® £®
However, General Jonnar, the commander of the Axis forces at this time, also began to take the initiative to initiate changes. £® £® £® £® £® He ordered the 1st Division of the British Royal Army to detour from the left flank to the rear flank of the Triposton battlefield to complete the encirclement of the 36th Marine Brigade.
Neither Colonel Enrique nor Southampton could detect the Germans' intentions in time. £® £® £® £® £® If the Battle of Tripodon was a tragedy, then this was the beginning of the tragedy. In modern wars, it is no longer possible to win victory for one's country simply by relying on bravery and loyalty.
In order to confuse the enemy, Jonnar even continued to increase troops to the front line. On the front line battlefield, in addition to the German soldiers of the armed SS, soldiers of the Dalian German Wehrmacht also began to appear. And this new situation made Colonel Enrique feel filled with pride again: he was at war with the SS and the Wehrmacht at the same time! Even if you fail, you can leave here with your head held high!
The "Skeleton Lancer" has been very eye-catching from the beginning of the battle, and Enrique also regards it as his main target. He knows the reputation of the "Skeleton Lancer", which is the ace among the German aces. But then??What? Your own troops are also the ace among the aces of the US military!
Ace versus Ace!
Even if he really fails, as long as he can firmly block the "Skeleton Lancers" from the position, he will receive great honor. No, not just him, but also his beloved "Bloody Rose"!
In the honor room of the "Bloody Rose", photos of every commander are hung. Colonel Enrique has not hung his own photo until now, because he thinks it is shameful to hang photos without military exploits there. However, when this battle is over, he can openly hang his photo in the most eye-catching place in the honor room.
The sound of gunfire became more intense, but the blood in Colonel Enrique's heart also burned uncontrollably. £® £® £® £® £®
At 12:30 pm, the "Skeleton Lancers", which had been maintaining a strong momentum, suddenly slowed down their offensive, which was a bit puzzling. There is probably only one answer that Colonel Enrique can give himself: the enemy has also fallen into a period of fatigue.
At 13:00, after a short rest, the "Skeleton Lancers" went into attack again, and at this time, bad news reached Colonel Enrique's ears: enemy troops were discovered on the side and rear of his own troops.
As an experienced commander, Colonel Enrique quickly understood that this was the enemy's attempt to surround him. He now has two options. One is to evacuate the battlefield immediately before the enemy's encirclement is formed. However, this will allow the enemy on the front to pursue him. At the same time, if the enemy on the rear moves quickly, the 36th Brigade may still be surrounded. . The second option is to continue commanding the troops to stay here until reinforcements arrive.
Without much hesitation, Colonel Enrique chose the second option. £® £® £® £® £®
¡°Never retreat until the last minute.¡± The words "Bloody Rose" firmly took root in Colonel Enrique's heart. And he himself feels that the latter option is more feasible.
At this time, the 36th Brigade had suffered nearly one-third of its casualties. Colonel Enrique concentrated all of them into the three core positions of Triposton, and reported the current situation to General Don Tanner, requesting that he be sent to Reinforcements from the Southampton Movement arrived as quickly as possible to complete the rendezvous with themselves.
One-third of the casualties, one-third of the casualties were suffered in just over half a day, which made Colonel Enrique's heart bleed. But he must not show this pain in front of his subordinates. As a senior commander, calmness always comes first at all times. £® £® £® £® £®
However, Colonel Enrique did not know at this time that it was his decision that completely ruined the last hope of "Scarlet Rose"'s survival!
The German offensive suddenly intensified. A large number of armored vehicles and soldiers came up in waves. Planes in the sky and artillery fire on the ground joined in the attack like crazy. In the shortest time, Triposton's The three core positions were all attacked by a large amount of steel. Almost half of the positions were destroyed, and the casualties suddenly increased. By this time, Colonel Enrique began to feel faintly that his decision might not be the right one.
Not only that, the situation in Southampton has also begun to change. The British Royal Navy joined the attack on the city. Up to now, even if Don Tanner wanted to reinforce Colonel Enrique, it seemed that he was unable to do so.
"I don't know if I can continue to hold on" After receiving a call from General Don Tanner, Colonel Enrique became unusually hesitant: "The enemy's attack is very fierce, and our casualties have been huge. It's unbearable, but I'll do my best, General."
I will do my best - in fact, when he said this sentence, Colonel Enrique had probably foreseen his failure.
At 15:00, the 1st Division of the Royal Army loyally and successfully completed the siege of Lipston. At this point, the 36th Brigade of the US Marine Corps, known as the "Bloody Rose", had cut off the last hope of retreat.
Jonnar would never let this mouthful of fat slip away. He quickly ordered the 3rd Reconnaissance Armored Battalion, the 3rd Armored Assault Battalion, and the 3rd Armored Combat Engineer Company of the Skeleton Division to all commit themselves to the attack. , and issued an order to annihilate the "Scarlet Rose" before 22 o'clock.
A large number of German troops appeared on the battlefield, and the addition of fresh troops put the already endangered "Bloody Rose" under unprecedented pressure.
Colonel Enrique has no way to change all this. The only thing he can do now is to hope that he can rely on the bravery of the soldiers to change this passive situation, but this hope seems to beSo slim.
Artillery shells continued to fall on the American positions from the air and the ground, and there were explosions, as if the god of death was roaring there. There were constant things from American soldiers, and blood washed away the position. The splashes of soil and stones buried the lives of young soldiers.
From this moment on, the fate of "Bloody Rose" has been determined.
At 16:00, the 1st Division of the Royal Army under the command of Romeo launched an attack from the rear of the "Bloody Rose". This was fatal to Colonel Enrique and the troops under his command.
But what is admirable is that even at this moment, the "Bloody Rose" still showed strong combat effectiveness and courage. They repeatedly strangled the enemy on every inch of the position. The extremely glorious title "Bloody Rose" has always been a source of motivation for them from World War I to the present!
People can die, but they must not die in humiliation!
As the Axis forces gradually compressed, the "Bloody Rose" positions became smaller and smaller. By 18:00, two of the three core positions had fallen into the hands of the enemy, and the entire brigade suffered casualties and was killed. More than half of them were captured or missing, and the remaining soldiers and wounded could only huddle in the last small position.
The gunfire has temporarily stopped, but every American soldier knows very well that the next time the gunfire rings out, it will be the final battle to judge their fate!
Colonel Enrique saw countless wounded soldiers moaning in pain in the battlefield. They lacked necessary medicines and sufficient doctors. Faced with this situation, Colonel Enrique had no choice. He was not a magician who could conjure up everything the wounded needed.
"Colonel, your phone number came from the Germans."
Colonel Enrique judged that this was a call to persuade him to surrender. The Germans probably underestimated him, and he would never surrender even at the end, but he still took the call because he wanted to hear what was going on. What ridiculous things would the Germans say?
"I'm Major Stroop."
¡°I am Colonel Enrique.¡±
"Hello, Colonel, I must explain that I am not here to persuade you to surrender, because I have heard of the 'Bloody Rose' and your famous saying, and I think you will categorically reject my proposal to surrender."
A smile appeared on Colonel Enrique's face. Yes, although the other party was an enemy, he could still understand him.
"Colonel, I would like to make a suggestion to you. Today's battle has cost us both a lot of losses and a large number of wounded. As far as I know, your wounded cannot receive effective treatment, so I suggest that you Send all the wounded out of the position."
Colonel Enrique almost thought he heard wrongly, but Major Stroup's voice continued: "You can rest assured that we will never detain the soldiers transporting the wounded, and we will temporarily stop the attack for two hours."
"Are you willing to give up your precious time?"
"Yes, time is secondary to life. You don't have to believe me, or you can reject me. But I hope you can consider my suggestion carefully."
"No, I believe you, Major Stroup." Colonel Enrique's answer was very certain: "A person who can make such a suggestion will definitely keep his promise. As an enemy commander, I must Thank you for your gentlemanly behavior and I hope to see you again.¡±
"I also really hope to see you."
The call was hung up. When the American soldiers from the "Bloody Rose" heard the news from Colonel Enrique, they were as unbelievable as the colonel. This is war, and everyone knows what a second on the battlefield means to victory or defeat. However, the Germans were still willing to sacrifice this precious time just to save the lives of their enemies.
Their fighting will to fight to the end began to decrease unconsciously. £® £® £® £® £®
The seriously wounded were sent out of the position, and the Germans kept their promise. Not only did they not detain the American soldiers who transported the wounded out - although this was very beneficial to the next battle, but they also quickly treated the wounded in a timely manner. Treatment.
The U.S. soldiers who returned to the position told their comrades what they had encountered, and their determination, which had begun to weaken, further weakened.
The legend of "gentlemen on the battlefield" has not appeared for a long time, but now the enemy has demonstrated to them what a true gentleman is. What's the point of fighting such an enemy even to the death?
The transport of the wounded had only been carried out for an hour, when Major Stroup's radio?When he arrived again, Colonel Enrique said: "Major, you can attack now. All our wounded have been transported out."
"No, two hours. I promised to attack in two hours." Major Stroup answered very firmly: "A promise made by a gentleman cannot be easily changed, even if it requires suffering very important losses. I am willing too. Colonel, you should take advantage of this time to rest your fortifications and give your soldiers a full rest, because the next attack will be our last!"
Colonel Enrique was completely convinced, and a thought suddenly rose in his heart that he had never thought about before: What is the point of fighting such an enemy? If the other party is a vicious enemy, he swears that he will fight to the end, no matter what price he has to pay. But what kind of enemies are they facing now?
He was silent there for a long time, and then said slowly: "Major Stroup, would it be a shame if I surrendered at this time?"
"No, Colonel, surrendering at this time is not a shame, but your highest honor. You and your troops can no longer save the fate of defeat. If you continue to fight, more people will die, and your decision will save Their lives. Even if it's a bit of a stain on your personal reputation."
Colonel Enrique smiled faintly: "Yes, my personal reputation will be tarnished, but I have already decided. Major Stroup, in an hour, I will lead the 36th Marine Corps The brigade soldiers walked out of their positions and surrendered."
This was the final fate of the "Bloody Rose". Aircraft, artillery and tanks did not make them surrender, but a gentleman's action made them completely give up their determination to resist. Many times fighting on the battlefield is no longer all.
The Bloody Rose unit¡ªColonel Enrique was the first commander to surrender.
But when he walked out of the position, Colonel Enrique didn't feel any shame! (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)