Germany does not seek survival

Faust didn't want to miss the Romanian campaign.

It would be foolish of him to do his homework at the Officer Reserve School in Liège while others were making great achievements.

In the following time, Faust first introduced Sorge to Paulus, because Faust himself estimated that he would not stay in Liege for long. Sorge was just an ordinary person and would definitely have to receive two months of training in Liege.

As an instructor, Paulus will spend most of his time in Liege, but later, after Faust is promoted to officer, Faust will find a way to transfer Paulus to the new hunting battalion as soon as possible.

The contents of the exam were actually much simpler than Faust had imagined. He had already memorized the German officers' combat command manual, and most of the exam questions came from the book "Tactical Problems of Moltke the Elder from 1858 to 1882".

The content of this book is very practical, and is somewhat similar in format to "Li Weigong Wen Dui", which is basically presented in the form of question and answer.

Like the "New Book of Effectiveness", it is extremely practical. Moltke the Elder set up a large number of tactical decision-making scenarios he encountered in the German Unification War, and then described the battlefield environment and the troops involved in detail. Finally, he asked students to propose the best course of action and the possible results of different strategies.

Faust didn't know much about the German Unification War. At most, he knew some knowledge about the Franco-Prussian War, but his memory was so strong that he could memorize all the analytical articles written by Moltke the Elder by rote, and engrave them in his brain without missing a single punctuation mark.

The German Army's wartime examination for reserve officers was not strict, and the content was not particularly difficult. With the average person's intelligence level, the pass rate was about half after two months of training. With Faust's ability, he spent two or three days preparing for the exam, and his worry was whether handing in a perfect score would attract too much attention.

Paulus was also surprised. At first he thought Faust was joking, but he didn't expect that after only three days in Liege, Faust actually proposed to take the exam.

Paulus told Faust seriously, "I won't help you cheat. Even if you win the favor of Crown Prince Rupprecht, the German army requires that every promotion must be tested. This is the rule for selecting and employing people. Even Junker nobles have to take exams before they can take their posts."

Faust just reassured Paulus: "I'm just afraid that I'll do too well in the exam, you know..."

Paulus was still very worried, but seeing that Faust was so confident, he really couldn't persuade him to give up, so he had to arrange an exam for Faust.

The specific content of the exam is first a physical fitness test, which requires a 20-kilometer load march carrying 25 kilograms of equipment. This is a piece of cake for Faust.

The second item was an equestrian test. Faust could ride a horse, but his horsemanship was only average. Fortunately, during the war, non-cavalry units no longer tested horsemanship, so there was nothing much to say.

The most important two are the written test and the interview.

The written test is divided into four categories: tactics, military history, engineering mathematics, and logistics mathematics.

The tactical question Faust encountered was how to lead an infantry company to break through the French trenches. He already had experience in this, so it was not difficult.

The question on military history was to analyze the use of Prussian artillery in the Battle of Königgrätz in 1866. Faust answered directly using the article by Moltke that he had memorized.

Engineering mathematics is to calculate the relationship between artillery elevation angle and range, and logistics mathematics is to estimate the daily ammunition consumption of an infantry division while taking into account combat damage redundancy. These are not difficult problems for German college students and they can easily write down the answers.

Finally, it’s the interview.

Before the war, the interview was to be conducted by three active-duty officers, but during the war, there were not so many unemployed officers, so Paulus was directly asked to be Faust's interviewer.

Paulus was still very strict in his duties. He did not give Faust any leeway. However, the interview was not difficult. It was nothing more than an examination of his understanding of "On War".

Faust was able to recite "On War" backwards from the last word to the first word. He also memorized a series of analytical articles on "On War" by famous German military figures such as Moltke the Elder and Count Schlieffen. He naturally answered these questions easily and passed the interview.

After the interview, Paulus finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I was really worried you wouldn't pass the exam, but it's only been three days. What's going on? Did you pay close attention to studying military knowledge while you were at the front?"

Faust laughed. "Haha, yes, of course. I must have spent a lot of time preparing. And then, I have a brain as smart as yours, Captain Paulus."

Paulus was an honest man, but his brain was definitely at the level of a genius prodigy, otherwise he would not have become Hitler's most trusted staff officer.

Faust easily accomplished something that even a prodigy like Paulus couldn't do. He was actually a little discouraged: "Faust, you are a true genius! I have seen many geniuses in the General Staff, and no one can compare to you. This is no longer just genius."

"Faust, you are a genius!"

Chapter 28 Mr. Lieutenant

Faust passed the examination of the Military Academy of Preparatory Officers in just three days. In this way, Faust obtained the official status of second lieutenant. Although his rank was not high, he achieved a gorgeous transformation from a sergeant to an officer, and his future promotion path became clear.

According to German military regulations, second lieutenants cannot enjoy the honorific title of "Your Excellency", but they can already have the legal honorific title of "Mr."

Paulus brought Faust a brand new and neat officer's uniform, still in the classic German field gray color scheme, with uniform poppy red piping on the military jacket, trousers and military cap, just as a special mark of the Bavarian royal family. The military jacket also used nickel silver buttons, two white Roman columns were added to the lower side of the collar, and the coat of arms of the Bavarian royal family, the Wittelsbach family, was also added to the epaulettes.

According to Faust's own aesthetic point of view, the uniforms of the German army in World War I still retained some old styles of the 19th century. They were not yet different from the military uniforms of other European countries and were not as good-looking as the uniforms of the German army in World War II.

However, Faust liked the German II pointed helmet very much. This thing was extremely impractical on the battlefield of World War I. Early German soldiers had to put a layer of extremely ugly gray cotton cloth on the outside of the pointed helmet to prevent the metal reflection of the pointed helmet from turning themselves into sitting ducks.

In the later period, the pointed helmet was completely replaced by the German army's ear-protective helmet.

But aesthetically speaking, the pointed helmet does look good!

The black metallic texture, the towering crane's beak, the exquisite cap badge made of brass and white copper, and the colorful cap badge on the side...

Wearing it really makes people feel like they are back in the Middle Ages.

The pointed helmet of Lieutenant Faust still has the Bavarian royal coat of arms on it, while the cap badge on the side is different from the poppy red cap badge commonly used by the German army. It is a combination of two white circles and one green circle, representing the mountain hunters.

Paulus tapped Faust's shiny peaked helmet and said, "This is the thing that killed tens of thousands of Germans in 1914."

Faust still likes the unique Prussian pointed helmet, but it is indeed no longer suitable for wearing on the battlefield and can only be used as a formal dress.

Faust said, "In a few years, I'm afraid the peaked helmet will be completely replaced by the wide-brimmed hat in terms of formal wear. However, when it comes to military uniforms, it was the French red trousers that really killed hundreds of thousands of French soldiers."

Paulus said: "So the French have now changed their stupid blue shirts and red trousers."

The purpose of military uniforms underwent a major change in the late 19th century. Before that, even on a smoky battlefield, brightly colored uniforms made it easy to distinguish friend from foe, and even the soldier's service department could be clearly identified.

At the same time, the revolutionary development of weapons has completely changed the situation on the battlefield.

If you want to avoid exposing soldiers to enemy artillery fire and making them sitting ducks, you have to hide them. To achieve this, uniforms must blend in with the surrounding environment, camouflaging and concealing the soldier rather than drawing attention to themselves.

In addition to stubbornly retaining the tradition of pointed helmets, Germany was relatively quick to accept the changes of the times in terms of military uniforms. In 1907, it abandoned the traditional Prussian blue uniforms and the entire army changed to the field gray color scheme that influenced the world.

After changing into his new uniform, Faust was about to leave Liege and return to the front line. Paulus seemed a little reluctant to leave.

Paulus shook hands with Faust and said goodbye: "It's a pity that our time together was so short, but in just these few days, I have already felt that you are an extremely intelligent military genius, and you will definitely become a major figure in the future who will affect the fate of Germany."

Faust smiled and said, "Don't say that, Captain Paulus. I don't think it will take too long. Perhaps in half a month, we will meet again in the new hunting battalion."

Paulus said, "Really? Then I also want to fight on the Western Front."

Faust shook his finger. "The Western Front is all plains. The Jäger Battalion is more likely to participate in the battle on the Eastern Front!"

Paulus put one hand on his waist, pointed at the map on the table and said, "Then let us meet again on the banks of the Danube. The Blue Danube will commemorate our friendship."

Faust smiled without saying anything. The puzzle of the National Socialist Party and the first generation of leadership of the Jäger Battalion in his mind had gradually taken shape. Faust would not enjoy this glory alone, but would lead everyone to the new world.

The cold winter wind of 1916 blew Faust back to the Western Front. His first battle after leaving Liege was to return to St. Abel Hospital to bring Hitler home.

When Faust saw the little mustache again, his injuries had healed. Hitler was extremely excited when he saw Faust. It seemed that he was too bored in the hospital. Most of the wounded soldiers here were a little war-weary and did not understand German history, literature, art and philosophy. Of course, they had no common language with the little mustache.

"You're finally back. Now we can return to the front lines together!"

The mustache man was very enthusiastic: "Germany, Germany, wherever you are, you are on the sword of Mr. Faust and me! Nietzsche said that God is dead, but when one sun falls, another will rise. Mr. Faust, there is no greater joy than seeing you again."

Faust said awkwardly, "To be honest, we haven't been apart for that long."

Amidst the joviality of the mustache, there was also a hint of melancholy: "This hospital is so boring. The people here were injured in the battles on the front lines. Somehow, they went from being warriors to being vulgar, cowardly, and lifeless hypocrites."

"There are no atheists in the bomb crater," Faust said. "Under the heavy bombardment, we cannot blame everyone for always having the courage to move forward."

The man with the mustache continued unhappily, "But they always say discouraging things, which affects the morale of the army and makes it seem like Germany can't win this war..."

Faust spread his hands and said, "Adolf, I'm here to take you back to the front. Also, I have good news for you. We will be transferred to a newly formed elite unit. It includes not only us, but also Captain Rommel, Sorge from your 16th Infantry Regiment, and many of your old friends."

The mustache boy then said happily, "God! I hope you didn't lie to me."

Faust said, "I don't have the time... Well, speaking of which, where is Miss Beatrice, who is in charge of your ward? Before I left for Belgium, I asked her to take good care of you."

When Hitler heard the name of Nurse Beatrice, his expression suddenly froze. His eyes avoided Faust and his face looked unhappy, which made Faust feel a little uneasy.

"what's going on?"

The man with the mustache stammered and said, "During this period, a lot of things happened in the town of Saint-Abel. Some Allied prisoners escaped with the help of doctors and nurses, and then a riot broke out. Some of our wounded soldiers were killed by the prisoners..."

Faust sternly asked, "And then? What did the Germans do? And what about Miss Beatrice? She's German."

The man with the mustache slowed down his tone. "In retaliation, we shot some hostages, including some doctors who had participated in the release of Allied prisoners. Miss Beatrice... As far as I know, she didn't participate in the riot, but not long after we executed the hostages, she disappeared without a trace. Her father was from Lorraine, and everyone speculated that she might have fled to France. As you know, most people from Alsace and Lorraine are ungrateful and stubborn, with unrealistic fantasies about France."

At the beginning of the war, the German army had a rule that if the German army was attacked by Allied civilians, the German army would shoot an equal number of hostages in retaliation. This had a disastrous impact politically, but the Germans always felt that public opinion issues were always just minor issues and did not take them seriously.

Faust was briefly relieved when he heard that Miss Beatrice did not participate in the riot and was not killed. However, in today's chaotic world, it would certainly not be an easy thing for a woman to escape from the German-occupied area to the French-occupied area.

The man with the mustache over there was still defending the German army: "Mr. Faust, in East Prussia, the Russians did much more than we did. The Russian army burned, killed, and looted everywhere, not caring whether the other party was a soldier or a civilian, and there was no military reason for doing so!"

Faust sighed: "War is always a terrible thing."

The mustache argued, "International public opinion isn't genuinely committed to upholding the relevant laws of war. It's simply trying to judge Germany for its own sake. Britain and France constantly accuse the German army of enforcing the laws of war in the harshest possible way. Yet, the Russian army does the same, and even worse, yet no one expresses dissatisfaction! Why? Because Westerners are targeting Germany. Since German culture is inherently militaristic and so hateful, any means are permissible as long as it's targeting Germany!"

Faust no longer discussed this issue. He and Nurse Beatrice had only a brief romance. If the nurse was still alive, Faust would have thought of giving her some protection. He just didn't know where the nurse was now?

Chapter 29: Merchants and Heroes

What happened in St. Albert's Hospital was ultimately just a passing cloud for Faust, but Hitler was still brooding over it. The man with the mustache did not have as strong a belief as Faust, and his thoughts were still in a wavering period, so when he encountered such things, he could not help but feel self-doubt.

On the way back to the front line, the man with a mustache brought with him several books, which were the books he read while recuperating in St. Abel Hospital. One of them was Max Scheler's "The Extraordinariness of War" and the other was Werner Sombart's "Merchants and Heroes".

The mustache repeatedly emphasized:

"Our enemies, Mr. Faust, are so confident of their numbers that they imagine that a hurricane from across the Rhine and the Vistula will crush Germany. They imagine that their numbers will crush us, that knowledge, inner virtue, justice, and conscience are of no avail; only numbers determine everything. But they are mistaken, and so are the skeptics among us who imagine that only the side with the most men can triumph, that only the side with the most men is favored by God. In fact, the German people can triumph over the Allies simply by virtue of our superior character."

The man with the mustache is really unable to extricate himself from the influence of idealistic spiritualism.

What the man with a mustache said came from Max Scheler's book "The Extraordinary Features of War". In the book, Scheler believed that international capitalism was a creation of the English-speaking peoples and was not in line with the civilized nature of the Germans. Therefore, Germany's war against the English-speaking peoples was a war to eliminate international capitalism.

Werner Sombart expressed similar content in a different way in his book "Merchants and Heroes".

Sombart said that the English-speaking nation is a merchant nation, while the German-speaking nation is a heroic nation. The essence of a merchant nation is robber, while the essence of a heroic nation is warrior.

The merchant nation is a nation that takes from the world, but the heroic nation is a nation that gives to the world. The disease of capitalism is that the English-speaking nation has assimilated their nation's disease to the whole world. What the Germans have to do is to eliminate the English-speaking nation, which is equivalent to eliminating the disease of capitalism.

Faust asked, "Adolf, what moral changes do you think this war has brought about among the Germans?"

The man with a mustache was speechless for a moment, and could only pick out sentences from the two books he read during his recovery to answer Faust's questions.

"Professor Scheler believes that, yes, after Germany's reunification, during the economic boom, Mammonism did spread, and the golden calf became supreme. However, the war has given the German people a second chance, allowing them to realize that worshipping money is wrong. Germans must abandon their individualistic values ​​and unite again."

The Mammonism that Xiao Huzi mentioned comes from a sentence in the Gospel of Matthew: "No one can serve two masters. For either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon." Mammon is the demon representing wealth, and later it was extended to materialism.

Faust has a different view: "You look down on the 40 years of prosperity after reunification, but Germany's strength today is based on industry, and Germany's industrial advantages all come from the 40 years of prosperity."

The mustache said angrily, "Industry, but it was industry that destroyed Germany. The Germans were rooted in the countryside, but industry shifted the center of Germany from the countryside to the cities dominated by Jewish merchants."

Faust said, "But it is in industrialized cities that what you call German national character is cultivated. The so-called German rationality, German rigor, and all the beautiful words about German virtues are inseparable from the shaping of industrial cities."

The mustache man persisted, "But Germany's army doesn't come from industrial cities, but from the countryside. Economic, cultural, and scientific prosperity all depend on the army to protect it. Our country has suffered for three hundred years since the Thirty Years' War, becoming a battlefield across Europe. Without the German army rooted in the countryside, German culture would have long since vanished from the face of the earth."

Faust smiled and said, "Without Krupp's cannons, without the Berlin Military Academy, relying solely on the rural areas of East Prussia? Don't forget how the Teutonic Knights were defeated by the Poles. To this day, the Germans are truly the least qualified to scorn the power of industrialization."

Faust also found it very strange. In China, regardless of political views, most people have a positive attitude towards the power of industrialization. But in Germany, perhaps because the speed of industrialization in Germany has been too fast in the past forty years, people's ideas have not kept up. Therefore, half-baked intellectuals like Little Mustache generally have a strong skeptical attitude towards industrialization.

"Over the past forty years, the length of German railway lines has tripled. Without this dense railway network, a two-front war would have been impossible. The German army's interior advantages and strategic maneuvers depended on the railway network created by industrial power."

"Over the past 40 years, the number of German cities with a population of over 10,000 has increased from 271 to 576, and the proportion of Germany's urban population has increased to 60%. It seems that cities have long surpassed rural areas and become the majority of Germany;"

"For forty years, Germany has been the largest industrial producer in Europe, with the highest production of pig iron, coal, and steel. In 1880, Königsberg in East Prussia was Germany's third-largest city. Today, it is only Germany's eighteenth-largest city."

"Industrialization changed the fate of the lower classes: they could first attend elementary and middle school, then spend years as industrial apprentices or receive vocational education, and then gradually move up to a middle-class life by joining the military. This is far more important than your romantic fantasy about rural culture. Adolf, without the educational resources brought about by industrialization, would you have had the opportunity to read so many books?"

The series of data cited by Faust really left the little mustache speechless. In terms of data, Hitler was no match for Faust at all and could only surrender temporarily.

But the mustache man still insisted: "Mr. Faust, I grew up in Austria and unfortunately did not receive compulsory education in Germany."

Faust quipped, "So your painting skills are excellent. The only drawback to Germany's rapid industrialization is that the economic growth it brought is still in the accumulation stage and has not yet reached the critical point of being transformed into large-scale cultural creation. Therefore, Berlin is indeed not as authoritative as Vienna in the field of art."

After the reunification of Germany, rapid industrialization brought about a miracle of economic development, but Germany did not experience cultural prosperity as a result.

Of course, Germany during this era also produced Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks, Kandinsky's abstract art, and Wagner's operas...

However, in terms of the quality and quantity of cultural products, Germany's cultural achievements during this period were far inferior to those of Britain, France, the United States and Russia during their period of rapid industrialization.

Taking the novels that everyone is most familiar with as an example, it is easy to cite famous novels from Britain, France, the United States and Russia, but it is difficult to cite a famous novel from Germany.

Cultural products require time to accumulate after a society has reached a certain economic strength. As luck would have it, Germany's cultural and economic accumulation had reached a critical point where a large number of cultural products would be produced. As a result, two world wars broke out in succession, completely interrupting the development momentum of German culture.

This is not only the case in Germany's modern history, not only in terms of cultural products, but also in many other areas. It has always been just one step away from overthrowing the hegemony of the English-speaking nation. Therefore, while we are disappointed with Germany, we cannot help but feel a little regretful.

"Now, it's time for us to report back to the Seventh Company."

The 7th Guards Company was still stationed near Saint-Quentin. In the late winter of 1916, the weather was damp and foggy, but the Allied forces had recently stopped actively launching attacks, so the atmosphere in the company headquarters was very good.

Rommel brought all his soldiers to welcome Faust and Hitler home. Rommel also arranged for the company's cooks to prepare a special meal to welcome them, including bread, jam and pastries.

The ingredients of the kitchen team were all captured from the French army. They also made some Austrian-style hometown dishes for Hitler, which deeply moved the little mustache man and made him feel that he had come to a home where he truly felt a sense of belonging.

As the mustache ate, tears welled up in his eyes. Rommel took Faust's hand and announced to the soldiers of the Seventh Company:

"Faust, the hero of Saint-Quentin, is also the hero of our Seventh Company. He was awarded the Order of the Blue Max by His Majesty the Emperor himself. He also secured a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Seventh Company from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Rupprecht."