Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 32 Prophet
He committed suicide?! Half an hour ago?!

Renningkamp no longer cared about his so-called composure, snatched the telegram from his adjutant's hand, and read it word by word.

"Has the message been verified?!" the general asked in a deep voice.

"Sir! This is the last telegram we received. We have now lost contact with the Second Army," the adjutant replied in a low voice.

It’s over! It's all over!

As a senior officer, Lenningkamp knew all too well what the loss of radio contact meant: it meant that the Second Army's command center had been completely destroyed and had lost its ability to transmit information.

Now, the 23 Russian troops will be deaf and blind, fighting independently, and it's only a matter of time before they are wiped out by their own forces due to the loss of unified command.

Samsonov may be an idiot, but how did he get there so fast?!

and many more!

Lenningkamp suddenly turned to the priest in black. "Father, what did you mean when you said you had glimpsed the risks within the fog?"

"About a few years ago, I had the ability to occasionally glimpse the future, but it was all shrouded in a thick fog and wasn't very clear." The guest's voice was deep, as if he were recalling something.

"This feeling grew stronger as I embarked on my pilgrimage. I came to help the General because I sensed his danger, but unfortunately, I was too late." The black-haired priest shook his head regretfully as he said this.

"You mean you can predict the future?" The general frowned.

"The future is a tangled web of threads, and I can only occasionally touch one of them," the priest in black replied with a smile, indirectly acknowledging the general's problem.

Silence, a brief silence. Renningkamp stood there without uttering a word, while Qin Hao waited quietly to the side.

Finally, the general spoke.

“Father, the content of our conversation is confidential and should not be shared with others for the time being. We have very nice rooms here, please go and rest.”

Then Lenningkamp looked at his adjutant and said, "Take the priest to his resting place and don't let anyone disturb him."

Is he being held under house arrest because they're unsure of my background? Qin Hao glanced at the adjutant who opened the door, offered no resistance, and prepared to leave together. However, he suddenly stopped when he reached the doorway.

The priest in black stood rooted to the spot, staring directly into the general's eyes. The general could even see his own reflection in the priest's deep pupils.
"Your Excellency, I smell the scent of lies in the northern forests. Please be careful."

The priest in black left those words in a low voice, then turned and walked out of the room without looking back.
-
Two days later, the telephones at the First Army's base were ringing off the hook, as countless intelligence reports poured in from all directions.

After the Second Army was trapped, most of the senior officers here believed that General Lenningkamp would immediately send troops to its rescue. The command only kept sending out reconnaissance cavalry to gather information, but showed no intention of setting out.

ba da~
The general opened a pocket watch he always carried with him, looked at the hands, and seemed to be thinking about something.

The Second Army was finished. Scouts approached and saw the entire Ninth Corps on the right flank surrendering to the Germans. The Germans had now finished the main course of this feast and only dessert remained.

The question is whether Hindenburg, this glutton, has any plans for his next competition, and whether he himself still has a good appetite?

Lenningkamp remained unsure of what to do.

Whether he likes it or not, this mediocre general in his sixties is no longer suited for his current position when facing a combination like Hindenburg and Ludendorff, lacking both tactical acumen and the courage to take a gamble at crucial moments.

His outdated tactical thinking and indecisiveness at crucial moments made him like a clockwork that hadn't been wound up, forever stuck in the past.

"Sir! May I come in?" The adjutant's voice rang out from outside the door, interrupting his thoughts.

"Come in." Lenningkamp did not straighten his clothes as usual.

"Your Excellency, breaking news! Our cavalry reports that German tracks have been spotted near the jungle on the Gombinnen side. They show no signs of moving out." "Hmm, I understand." The general nodded. The fact that the Germans were still in the northern Gombinnen region meant they had no immediate intention of outflanking him.

The adjutant was about to leave when a pair of black-eyed eyes inexplicably appeared in Lenningkamp's mind.

"I smell the scent of lies in the northern woods..." That sentence echoed in my ears.

"Wait!" The general raised his hand and called out to his adjutant.

"Which unit reported the message?"

"Scouts from the 5th Cossack Cavalry Regiment," the adjutant reported, standing at attention.

Has it been verified?

"This... I'm sorry, it hasn't been verified yet."

"Send someone to verify it again immediately. I need the news by this morning! Run and deliver the order!"

"Yes, sir!" The adjutant stood at attention and jogged out, where a flurry of commands erupted.

Before noon, His Excellency the General received a startling message—a German division operating on the Gombinnen side had disappeared! And its whereabouts were unknown!

"Sir, it is said that the Cossack squad got lost in the swamp and failed to reach the designated location. In order to avoid punishment, they fabricated false information." As the adjutant reported with his head down, sweat kept streaming down his forehead.

"Damn it! How dare they! How dare they!" The general clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury. He waved his hand...
"Give me that squad..."

The next second he froze, the words of the black-robed priest echoing in his mind once again.

“He actually guessed right…” Lenningkamp stood there muttering to himself, but the next second, he calmed down.

"Vladimir, take notes," the general called out to his adjutant.

"Yes, sir!" The adjutant pulled out a pencil and a notebook.

"A telegram has been sent to St. Petersburg headquarters: Based on the current situation, the 1st Army requests a withdrawal to the east of the Neman River defense line, with the following plan..."

The adjutant faithfully recorded the general's orders, only speaking softly after the general had finished speaking.

"Sir, should we arrange for a rearguard to intercept them?"

Lenningkamp did not answer directly, but looked out the window and thought for a moment. "Vladimir, I heard there are signs of labor movement activity in the army, is that right?"

“This…” The adjutant hesitated slightly. “Yes, sir, there are indeed signs of these troublemakers being active. We have found leaflets they have distributed, as well as small gatherings among the soldiers.”

Which military units have the most serious problem with this phenomenon?

The adjutant lowered his voice and reported the two unit numbers.

"Use these two units as the main force for blocking the enemy, and also incorporate the routed soldiers of the Second Group."

"Also, prepare a new set of clothes for me."

"Sir, are you going out?" the adjutant asked in a low voice.

"Go and see the prophet."

(End of this chapter)