Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 155 The Special Ticket

Huge swastikas hung down from both sides of the Champs-Élysées, creating a sense of oppression under the low-hanging sky, while the one hanging on the Eiffel Tower was particularly eye-catching.

On June 14, German troops entered the city of Paris.

Riding boots crunched through the horse chestnut petals on the Champs-Élysées, armored vehicles rolled forward, and soldiers wearing M35 steel helmets passed under the Arc de Triomphe.

The streets were deserted, and citizens along the Seine quietly opened a crack in their windows to secretly observe the scene outside.

Somewhat surprisingly, only a small number of soldiers and armored vehicles entered the city, at most a thousand or so. Compared to the grand scale of the Paris Provisional Government's operation, the Germans, as the conquerors, seemed rather stingy.

On a building some distance from the Arc de Triomphe, Manstein was watching the events unfolding below the Arc de Triomphe through his binoculars.

"Your Excellency, everything has been done as you wished. We have only selected a small number of elite troops to complete the entry ceremony, while the other soldiers are on alert for any possible emergencies." Commander Choltitz of the 87th Infantry Division stood at attention and saluted.

Although the two did not belong to the same army group, Manstein was personally appointed by the Führer to come to Paris for a "vacation," which carried a bit of the connotation of an imperial envoy.

Choltitz was happy to give this favorite of the Führer ample face within the bounds of his power.

“General, occupying Paris is only one step in the strategy. The war is far from over. Do you understand what I mean?” Manstein looked ahead.

"Of course, Your Excellency! Under the wise leadership of His Majesty, we will soon usher in the next victory." The division commander was full of confidence at this moment.

Setting foot on Parisian soil should be the highest honor for a German soldier, but Manstein found it rather dull at that moment.

He turned to leave.

"Your Excellency, please wait!" Scholtitz called out to the Chief of Staff.

"Is there anything else?" Manstein turned around.

Click! Click! Click! Click!
The sound of military boots hitting the floor rang out, and SS soldiers entered the room carrying several covered items.

Choltitz stepped forward and pulled down the covering cloth.

An oil painting was displayed before the general's eyes.

In the picture, two girls are intently reading the sheet music on a piano. One girl is sitting, looking up at the music, while the other stands beside her, one hand resting on a chair, looking down at the sheet music. The soft lines and color scheme create a sweet and innocent atmosphere throughout the scene.

"What does this mean?" Manstein frowned slightly.

"Sir, this was captured by the troops during the battle. It is not of much value to me. Please take it back to Berlin."

Manstein frowned even more. As a member of the old Junker aristocracy, although he only had a slight interest in painting, he recognized it at a glance as Renoir's classic masterpiece, "Girl Playing the Piano".

This kind of thing isn't something you can just casually capture on the battlefield; it's clearly something looted from a collector or museum.

The fact that German troops looted artworks from occupied territories to give away privately made Manstein slightly unhappy.

However, he did not directly show his displeasure.

“Thank you for your kindness, General Choltitz, but I will not be returning to Berlin for the time being, so please keep these things safe.” After saying this, Manstein nodded slightly, then turned and left the room, leaving the others standing there.

That evening, the adjutant knocked on Manstein's door; the chief of staff was still studying the map on his desk.

After giving a brief report on the recent situation, Captain Stallberg considered for a moment, then bowed his head and said...
"Your Excellency, there is absolutely no need for you to be angry about what happened during the day. General Choltitz is simply unaware of the situation."

"Hmm?" Manstein sensed a hidden meaning in his subordinate's words. "Go on!"

"Your Excellency, it is said that Marshal Göring dispatched special personnel to Paris and has already taken away two batches of artworks, all in the name of the Ministry of Defense. General Choltitz's actions today were not intended to offend you."

“Göring…” Manstein shook his head helplessly. If there was anyone in Berlin he couldn’t get along with, this Air Force Marshal was definitely one of them.

He was mediocre in ability but ambitious and eager for quick success. He was not only greedy for wealth but also a drug addict. Ironically, this was the person who followed the leader the earliest and was also the most trusted.

While the release of 30 British and French troops at Dunkirk was certainly an order from the Führer, it was also inextricably linked to Göring's exaggeration of the capabilities of his air force.

If Göring was not punished for such a major military blunder as Dunkirk, then such acts of looting artworks were probably even less important in the eyes of the Führer.

The great Third Reich is now at its zenith, and the German army is advancing rapidly on all fronts. However, in the shadows of this glorious era, lurking parasites are already wriggling within.

But there wasn't much he could do in front of that "close comrade-in-arms of the leader."

"Starberg".

"Your Excellency, I am here!"

"Get ready, we're leaving in three days. This 'vacation' should be over," the general commanded in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Excellency, but the weather has been very bad these past two days, so the plane may not be able to take off normally."

Are there any other means of transportation?

"Sir, how about taking the train?"
-
"You want to take the train out of Paris?!" The caretaker looked over in surprise; the man in front of her had never mentioned this plan to her before.

"Yes, I just thought of that too." Qin Hao nodded and pointed to the train station on the map.

"Many of the resistance workers work at the train station, so it wouldn't be difficult for us to sneak in. Once we leave here, we'll have many opportunities to go south."

“Sir, there might be a problem here.” The foreman stepped forward.

"While we can certainly help you sneak onto the train, these days the trains are mostly used by Germans, and locals will be subject to strict checks. It's difficult for this lady to keep her identity a secret forever."

Anna, who was standing nearby, heard people talking about her. She looked up, then quietly lowered her head and picked up the storybook in her hand.

The little girl is innocent and cute, but it must be admitted that she looks quite different in the eyes of most people.

The worker put it very tactfully, but the general idea was that with Anna's appearance, it would be almost impossible for her to get on the train without being questioned.

"Hmm...it's not entirely without a chance," Qin Hao said after a moment's thought.

"I once heard a saying: If you don't want others to cause you trouble, the best way is to become a trouble yourself."

"Now that the Germans have just taken control of Paris, tens of thousands of people are pouring in at the same time, and the management is bound to be chaotic, and this chaos will be all-encompassing."

"On the train, there are all sorts of people: the Wehrmacht, the SS, the Gestapo, the military police. People from different systems may not know each other. Let's sneak onto the train first, and then try to stay in a place that no one else wants to go."

"You mean..." The administrator suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Don't misunderstand." Qin Hao turned to look at her. "Do you think anyone would risk the trouble of inspecting a piece of art belonging to some important person on the train?"

(End of this chapter)