Germany does not seek survival

In the sky, Goering controlled the Fokker D.VII fighter with both hands. His eyes behind the goggles had clearly included Faust in the design goals of the onboard machine gun.

On the snow, Faust lifted the MG08 machine gun with one hand, and he could also see the pilot's face behind the red aircraft canopy glass.

Both of them held their breath, and the distance between them was rapidly shortened in less than half a second. All the Wehrmacht officers and soldiers in the carriage were stunned. Faust in the snow challenged the fighter plane alone, just like Don Quixote charging towards the windmill.

A long trail of fiery red bullets swept across the ground, loosening the snow on the ground, and came closer and closer. The deafening sound of propellers was getting closer and closer. The sound of the engine of the Fokker D.VII fighter plane rushed towards Faust, and the ice dust blown off the snow by the onboard machine gun bullets also splashed on Faust's face.

As Goering's red-painted plane screamed over the snowdrifts, the bullet casings ejected from the large-caliber machine guns were still rolling and jumping on the snow.

Faust kept his composure and fired a long burst of bullets at the enemy plane from the MG08 machine gun in his hand, causing sparks to fly from the muzzle.

"damn it!"

Hermann Goering, sitting in the cockpit, immediately discovered that the right wing of his plane had been destroyed by Faust's accurate strafing.

Goering's Fokker D.VII fighter plane soon began to lose balance in the air. The plane swayed from side to side and was about to stall and fall. Goering gritted his teeth and could only climb out of the cockpit by himself. He made a thrilling jump. At almost the same moment that Goering jumped from the plane, the red fighter plane began to catch fire.

After Goering's plane was shot down, several other German planes were also strafed by Faust and quickly fled in panic.

Faust, standing on the snow, soon saw the parachute slowly descending from the sky. He immediately signaled to the Wehrmacht officers and soldiers, "Major Weidel, dispatch a platoon to the location where the parachute landed and capture the pilot. Don't harm him. He's an excellent pilot and a good soldier."

After a thrilling knight duel, Faust returned to his carriage. In addition to Faust, the carriage also contained the head of the Independent Party's Leipzig branch.

"Oh my God, this is awful, Comrade Faust! I was saying, you invited us to Berlin to help, but you didn't invite us to be sitting ducks!"

The person who spoke was a member of the Central Committee of the Independent Party and Chairman of the Leipzig Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee. She was sitting in Faust's special carriage. In this war-torn era, she was still wearing a light green waisted long skirt and a black gauze hat. She looked clearly like an old woman.

"Mrs. Zetkin, I'm so sorry to have frightened you."

Faust gave Madame Zetkin an apologetic smile. Madame Zetkin was the most famous leader of the women's movement in the Social Democratic Party and the Second International before the war. She had high prestige and fame, and was particularly well-known in Europe and the United States.

After the outbreak of the war, Zetkin also secretly joined the Spartacus League, but because of her high reputation and the fact that Mrs. Zetkin did not openly demand the overthrow of the Hohenzollern dynasty like Liebknecht and Luxemburg, she was not arrested and imprisoned.

When Kautsky separated from the Social Democratic Party and founded the Independent Party in 1917, Mrs. Zetkin became one of the important founders of the Independent Party.

She was born in Saxony, but spent her entire student life in Leipzig. After the revolution broke out in the Leipzig garrison, the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee elected Mrs. Zetkin to lead the revolutionary activities in the Leipzig area.

That is why Faust decided to bypass the hostile Nuremberg and go to Leipzig first, and then use Leipzig as a base to march towards Berlin.

In the carriage, in addition to Mrs. Zetkin, there were several other representatives of the Leipzig Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee, one of whom was Faust's fellow Munich native, named Otto Braun.

Otto Braun had not yet obtained another name that he would be known by in later generations. It was only several years later, after the Communist International sent Otto Braun to China, that he took another Chinese name, Li De, in the Chinese Red Army.

In November 1918, Otto Braun was just a Red Guard representative of the Leipzig Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Committee. He was very worried about the battle that had just occurred.

"General Faust, can your army still lift the siege of Berlin? The revolutionary army lacks heavy weapons, but the German troops surrounding Berlin are a top-notch elite division of the German Imperial Army."

Faust glanced at Otto Braun and told him, "Comrade Braun, don't call me General. Please call me Comrade Faust. My unit, the National Socialist Revolutionary Army, is also a first-class elite force."

Having said that, Faust actually underestimated the strength of the Potsdam troops. Manstein did take away a group of Potsdam troops, but the troops left in General von Seeckt's hands were still quite large in number. More importantly, the German 1st Mobile Division was well-organized, with a large number of weapons and equipment, and the models were cutting-edge. It also built a powerful heavy artillery position on the outskirts of Berlin.

The vanguard of the Wehrmacht, two battalions of officers and soldiers, had launched a tentative attack on Potsdam three hours ago. However, due to the powerful artillery fire blocking the Potsdam troops, this attack did not achieve much effect.

Faust also frowned. The lightly equipped Great German Division really lacked the strength to make the final decision.

The 1st "Greater Germany" Grenadier Division of the Red Wehrmacht and the 1st Mobile Division of the German Imperial Army commanded by General von Seeckt were deadlocked in Potsdam.

In terms of time, the stalemate was actually very beneficial to the National Socialist Party, because the National Socialist Party had a solid base in Bavaria and Tyrol, and the Wehrmacht could continuously transport troops from the rear to provide reinforcements.

In just a few days, the heavy weapons of the Great Germany Division will be delivered to the front line.

Chapter 168: Gambling Moment

However, Berlin might not be able to hold out until the Wehrmacht reinforcements arrived.

In the current situation, Berlin has been surrounded by the Potsdam troops, and the Wehrmacht has reached the outermost edge of the Potsdam troops' positions. As the Nazi reinforcements in southern Germany arrive one after another, Faust is able to encircle the Potsdam troops in turn.

In this way, Berlin, Potsdam and the National Socialist Party will form a double encirclement of "big intestine surrounding small intestine".

The outcome would depend on who could hold out longer, whether the Potsdam troops would enter Berlin first, or whether Faust would lead his troops to rescue it first.

The Potsdam troops failed to cut off Berlin's external communications, so Faust can now learn about the situation in Berlin city through the information channels of Mrs. Zetkin and Sorge.

Faust knew that William II had died suddenly in the chaos of the army. This was part of Faust's plan. It not only eliminated a leader for the German royalists, but also gave them a reason to fight to the death with the Social Democratic Party and other republican right-wingers and to make it impossible for them to form an alliance or cooperation.

Apart from this, the situation in Berlin's urban area is not very optimistic.

Before the Potsdam troops attacked the city, the Social Democratic Party, the Independent Party, and the Spartacus League were forced to form a united front, but all three parties lacked reliable military forces.

The Social Democratic Party controlled the police forces in Berlin, while the Independent Party and the Spartacus League could call on revolutionary workers and a group of sailors. Many of the imperial guards guarding Berlin also defected to the Republican camp, but the number of imperial guards was too small, and the Republican Army in Berlin was still mainly composed of various militias.

Similarly, the Berlin Republican Armed Forces, like the Grossdeutschland Division, are particularly short of heavy weapons.

The Potsdam troops had more than 105mm and 150mm caliber howitzers. Potsdam also had more than 200mm heavy mortars. However, General von Seeckt did not dare to use such exaggerated heavy artillery to attack the German capital.

If the Potsdam troops were to act recklessly and start firing heavy artillery at Berlin, Faust would really worry about how long the defenders in the city could hold out.

Faust admired the revolutionary spirit of Liebknecht and Luxemburg. He knew that these two people were definitely not afraid of death, but what about the other people in Berlin?

Most of the militiamen come from all walks of life, with good and bad mixed together. They have neither received special professional military training nor lack strict organization. There are also fence-sitters like Albert's Social Democratic Party. Once the Potsdam troops use heavy artillery to attack the city, no one knows what will happen under the heavy pressure.

You can't hit a wolf with a stick, but you're afraid of both ends. Faust is a little afraid, and the royalists in Potsdam are even more worried about their current situation.

The Potsdam troops did reach the city of Berlin, but after a day and night of fierce fighting, they failed to complete the main task of rescuing William II. On the contrary, the melee led to William II's death in the chaos!

Crown Prince William almost burst into tears. He cried for several hours. His sorrow was so heartbreaking that it was definitely not just a show.

After learning of the emperor's death, General von Seeckt and other generals asked Crown Prince Wilhelm whether they should support him to ascend the throne directly in Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam?

Crown Prince Wilhelm nearly fainted. "The Allies will hold the German Emperor accountable for his war crimes! You are supporting me to become emperor at this time. Where do you want to put me? You ministers have misled the late emperor, and you want to mislead me too! You are trying to harm me!"

Crown Prince William was not just refusing, he was really worried about the Allied Powers' accountability. Although William II himself was tough in words, the royalists had basically changed their minds and hoped that William II would abdicate, give up the title of German Emperor, and only retain the title of King of Prussia.

Everyone is worried about the Allied Powers. Britain, the United States and France have already publicly stated that the abdication of the German Emperor will be a prerequisite for the Allied Powers to sign a formal peace treaty with Germany.

Crown Prince William was very worried. He had many aristocratic friends in Britain, and he knew very well that the peace treaty would most likely contain clauses that would treat the German Emperor as a war criminal.

William II is dead, and the responsibility for the war has to be borne by the new emperor.

General von Seeckt was also distressed. "Your Highness, the resistance of the Berlin Republican Army is far more intense than we anticipated. Unless we use siege mortars with a caliber of 200mm or above, it will be difficult for us to capture Berlin in a short period of time. The revolutionary army in the south has already reached the outer positions of Potsdam. Your Highness, don't forget that the leader of the southern revolutionary army is Faust..."

When Crown Prince William heard Faust's name, he lost his temper and burst into a rage, "Traitor! Traitor! The late Emperor promoted Faust from private to colonel, awarded him the Order of the Blue Max, the highest honor in the Empire, and even considered making him a baron. Is this how he repays the Empire? How could he be so ungrateful?"

Crown Prince William has made many military achievements in the past four years, which can be called outstanding to a certain extent, but a large part of the credit should be attributed to the responsible staff team under Crown Prince William.

The so-called "Prussian legacy" of the German army, after all, refers to the following figures: Prince Karl and Frederick III during a certain period of time during the German Unification War; Hindenburg and Crown Prince Wilhelm during the First World War.

What these people have in common is that their chief of staff or their command team are all energetic and highly proactive strongmen. Blumenthal, who served as chief of staff to two princes in several periods of time, was a strategic master who dared to point fingers at Moltke and the prince. Hindenburg's assistant was Ludendorff, who was famous for his autocracy.

As for Crown Prince Wilhelm, his staff team exercised the dual powers of army group commander and chief of staff during the war.

Germany's "Prussian legacy", in fact, is that the General Staff found a backup team for the Hohenzollern family or other German princes and nobles to prevent these young men from failing in the process of gilding themselves. As a result, they accidentally created a system that can maximize the subjective initiative of the officer corps.

Crown Prince Wilhelm's military command abilities weren't exceptional, but they weren't terrible either. He was a competent soldier, but that was all. Fearlessness and recklessness were his defining characteristics throughout his military career. While his disobedience during the 1914 Battle of the Ardennes gave the Germans an opportunity to inflict heavy damage on the French Third and Fourth Armies, it also carried significant risks.

In Verdun, it was also because of Crown Prince William's pointless attack on the Meuse Heights that the German army was forced to be involved in a battle that should have shed all the blood of the French.

General von Seeckt, also familiar with Crown Prince Wilhelm's reckless behavior, warned him, "Your Highness, you must understand that the million-strong army on the Western Front is completely controlled by the Allies. Not a single soldier can be mobilized. The two mobile divisions in Potsdam are the last of the Hohenzollern dynasty."

"The royalists only have these two divisions left. Manstein is taking a mobile division to East Prussia, leaving us a way out. But if the 1st Mobile Division is defeated in Berlin, Manstein will be unable to hold on alone. If he suffers a major defeat, the royalists may even lose their homeland in East Prussia."

During the war, the German army had five army group commanders. On the Western Front, there were Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, Crown Prince Wilhelm, and Grand Duke Albrecht of Württemberg, and on the Eastern Front, there were Prince Leopold and Field Marshal Mackensen.

Among the five commanders-in-chief, only Marshal Mackensen was not a royal relative, and his military record was the most brilliant. Since the Battle of Lodz, he had never been defeated and had won every battle. This was certainly related to his personal ability, but a very important point was that Marshal Mackensen had a particularly outstanding chief of staff, General von Seeckt.

The German army is the army with the highest staff status in the world, without a doubt. At least half of Marshal Mackensen's battle achievements should be attributed to Seeckt.

General von Seeckt's abilities were absolutely extraordinary, and the fact that he was called the father of the Wehrmacht in the Weimar era was not due to false reputation.

Seeckt was very thoughtful. "It's only a few days' journey from Munich to Berlin. These few days are almost our last window of opportunity to attack Berlin! Your Highness, besides Faust, there are many rebellious parties supporting the Republicans in Kiel, Leipzig, and Hamburg. They far outnumber us. In a few days, these people will reinforce Berlin. We only have two choices. Use mortars to bombard Berlin today and gamble that we can enter Berlin within a few days. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to withdraw the siege."

Crown Prince William was particularly angry: "The rebels can reinforce Berlin, but what about our people? General Seeckt, Field Marshal Hindenburg, Field Marshal Mackensen, when will their troops arrive in Berlin!"

General Seeckt had to remind Crown Prince William again: "Your Highness, we can't mobilize even a single soldier to the Western Front."

"What about the Eastern Front? What about the Balkan Front? What about the Italian Front?"

Seckt smiled bitterly. "The Italian front? The Italian garrison is Faust's army! Your Highness, please don't be like your father and say such unrealistic nonsense. You can't expect the Balkan garrison to cross independent Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and other countries and return to Berlin."

"But we still have hundreds of thousands of troops on the Eastern Front."

Seckt sighed deeply. "Alas, this is another piece of bad news. Yesterday, the Polish Legion mutinied in Warsaw. Six divisions of the Polish Legion have cut off the German troops' transportation lines back to the country on the Eastern Front."

Just a year ago, the German Empire controlled a vast territory from Belgium to Petrograd, and the core areas of Europe were occupied by Germany. But in just one year, the sphere of influence of the Central European Empire collapsed.

The German army has lost control over a large area of ​​Eastern European countries. The rebellion of the Polish Legion was a fuse. After the rebellion of the Polish Legion, Germany will quickly lose control of Finland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.

The German army on the Eastern Front still has 200,000 very combat-capable troops. They are not monitored by the Allies like the one million German troops on the Western Front. However, this large army is scattered across thousands of kilometers of the front line in the East European plains, and its strength is very dispersed. Once the rear transportation lines are cut off by the Polish Corps, Seeckt is very worried about how many of these 200,000 German troops can be withdrawn in this unfamiliar land of Eastern Europe.

Seeckt could only hope that the German army's operations in Courland over the past year or so had been effective, and that as many of the 200,000 German troops on the Eastern Front as possible could be withdrawn to Courland to preserve the national vitality of post-war Germany.

It is almost impossible for this army to participate in the current German civil war.

Chapter 169: The Peace of Potsdam

A full eight hours had passed since the Grossdeutschland Division began its attack on the German Mobile Division's pre-set positions in Potsdam. The German army was defending with surprising tenacity. The two elite troops of the German Emperor's Army, forged through four years of world war, had engaged in several rounds of bloody hand-to-hand combat.

The German army had heavy artillery fire cover, while the Grossdeutschland Division had more flexible infiltration tactics. In just eight hours, both sides fought a shocking battle in Potsdam. The Grossdeutschland Division was able to mobilize troops in Potsdam. Every time a train arrived at the front line, the officers and soldiers got off the carriages and immediately rushed to the battlefield, launching wave after wave of infiltration assaults to the north.

On the Potsdam side, most of the officers of the German 1st Mobile Division were royalists carefully selected from Crown Prince Wilhelm's Army Group. Lieutenant Colonel von Bock, the commander of the 1st Regiment, was one of the best among them.

Lieutenant Colonel von Bock was a very typical Prussian Junker aristocratic officer. His family had served in the Prussian army for generations. After the outbreak of the war, he became the director of the Operations Department of Crown Prince Wilhelm's Army Group.

Given the prominent position of staff officers in the German army, Lieutenant Colonel von Bock was actually a typical representative of the staff team under Crown Prince Wilhelm. As the commander-in-chief of the army group, Crown Prince Wilhelm spent most of his time during the war reading novels and playing crossword puzzles. His combat command style was mostly from Junker elite staff officers like Lieutenant Colonel von Bock.

Lieutenant Colonel von Bock observed the battlefield through a telescope in his shelter. He gritted his teeth. These South Germans were so fierce! It completely broke Lieutenant Colonel von Bock's stereotype that the Bavarians were not as good at fighting as the Prussians.

All the elite veterans of his First Regiment were deployed here, but the Großdeutschland Division, which lacked heavy weapons, still succeeded in multiple attacks. If it were not for the strong support of the heavy artillery units in the rear, Lieutenant Colonel von Bock would have almost been unable to maintain the front line.

Around the battlefield, the flashes of exploding grenades, the tearing sounds of machine gun bullets, and the shouts of bayonet fighting in many trenches all brought tremendous pressure to Lieutenant Colonel von Bock.

He slammed the telescope onto the table in the shelter. "Germany's finest soldiers are slaughtering another group of Germany's finest soldiers. What would the spirits of Frederick the Great and Chancellor Bismarck think of this? Future generations are incompetent! Future generations are incompetent!"

The Potsdam troops were not very willing to fight against the Grossdeutschland Division. After all, Faust was a first-class hero in the German army and always represented the nationalist thought in the German army.

Even the royalist officers and soldiers in Potsdam felt that the battle with Faust and the National Socialists was a kind of fratricide.

The battle lasted only eight hours, but the trenches outside Potsdam were already filled with corpses. The bodies of officers and soldiers from both sides were intertwined, which really showed how terrible the intensity of the battle was.

If the fighting continued like this, even if the Potsdam troops could withstand the attack of the Grossdeutschland Division, General Seeckt felt increasingly that even if the Potsdam troops captured Berlin, they would most likely not be able to defend it.

"Your Highness, we cannot continue to fight each other with Faust."

Only Crown Prince William remained filled with rage: "My Chief of Staff, what nonsense are you talking about? Faust is a traitor. How can we kill each other if we kill him?"

General Seckt shook his head slightly and sighed dejectedly. At this time, the door of the Hall of Mirrors in Sanssouci Palace was suddenly pushed open, and Lieutenant Colonel von Bock rushed into the Hall of Mirrors with a thick smoke mixed with blood all over his body.

Lieutenant Colonel Bock's eyes were red. He broke through the obstruction of two guards and rushed into the Hall of Mirrors. Then he immediately took out his Luger pistol and slammed it on the table. The other guards around him were all frightened and hurriedly pointed their rifles at Lieutenant Colonel von Bock's forehead.

Lieutenant Colonel Bock angrily shouted, "The frontline troops are almost unable to hold on. Why don't you send reinforcements? The heavy artillery has also stopped its bombardment. General Seckt, where is my ammunition? Our regiment needs ammunition and more artillery support."

Facing Lieutenant Colonel von Bock's accusations, General Seeckt could only sit there and smile bitterly: "Gentlemen, the war situation today is extremely delicate. Even if we can temporarily repel the attack of the Faust troops, can we still withstand the onslaught of revolutionary armed forces across the country?"

Crown Prince Wilhelm was very unhappy and said: "As long as we enter Berlin and restore the authority of the imperial government, the local revolutionary forces will immediately scatter."

"Your Highness, please stop saying stupid things like your father did!"

General Seeckt's patience wore thin. He said bluntly, "You can't be like your father. The late emperor failed because he lost the favor of the Prussian soldiers. The German emperor is a model military leader, not an emperor simply by blood. In other words, only a model leader of the German army can become emperor of the Germans."

"Please be careful with your words and actions, Crown Prince, and learn from your mistakes."

Crown Prince William was so angry at what General Seckt said that his face turned red. He felt ashamed and angry. He didn't want to say anything more to General Seckt and just left in anger.

General Seeckt remained seated, his tone softening as he tried to appease Lieutenant Colonel von Bock. "We can't continue to fight Faust. Based on what Manstein and I knew of Faust, he wasn't a simple socialist revolutionary. Manstein and I disagreed on many points, but it was only on Faust that we could reach a consensus."

"General, what kind of person do you think Faust is?"

General Seckt said quietly, "Faust, if I were to describe him, he would probably be the red Napoleon."

When it comes to evaluating revolutionaries, "Napoleon" is not a compliment, because most of the time when a revolutionary is evaluated as "Napoleon", it is not to praise how outstanding his military talent is, but to imply that this person is likely to rely on the army to subvert the Republic.

Lieutenant Colonel von Bock was stern when he heard this. General Seeckt looked at him and said, "Cease fire. We can't fight Faust anymore. Go to the front and contact the Wehrmacht and tell them that the Potsdam troops are willing to cease fire."

Lieutenant Colonel von Bock was again surprised. "But what are the conditions?"

General Seeckt smiled bitterly. He could only bear the consequences. "We will withdraw from Berlin. In exchange, the Wehrmacht must guarantee our safety during our retreat and ensure that no armed forces pursue us."

Lieutenant Colonel Bock found it difficult to accept such armistice conditions for a while, but he knew very well that the current situation of the Potsdam troops was extremely dangerous. If they really wanted to hold on, if they failed, the end of everyone present might be the gallows of communist rebels.

Lieutenant Colonel Bock covered his chest with his hands. As a staunch royalist, he surrendered to the Republican camp at this time. Only he knew the torment and pain in his heart.

The intensity of the fighting on the front began to drop sharply after this. The Potsdam troops voluntarily abandoned a trench, but they did not stop the heavy artillery bombardment.

Faust sensed a change in the enemy's attitude, and sure enough, less than half an hour later, a car with a white flag drove up to Faust's special train.