Germany does not seek survival

The Wehrmacht soldiers advanced over the rubble, their leather boots crushing the glass fragments embedded in the cracks between the bricks. They had just broken through the first line of defense when they quickly retreated and were forced to withdraw.

Gotthard's face was gloomy. He handed a gas mask to Faust and said, "Sir, Noske is stationed inside the police headquarters and has been firing poison gas bombs from time to time. He is so cruel that he dared to use poison gas bombs in Berlin."

Poison gas bombs were also an indispensable part of World War I, but Faust fought on the Eastern Front most of the time and almost forgot how powerful poison gas bombs were in that era.

Faust was not sure whether his body could withstand the poison gas bomb, so he just put on the gas mask handed to him by Gotthard.

At this time, the giant steel police badge on the roof of the Police Headquarters building was also shaking in the fierce exchange of fire between the two sides. Finally, it fell from the roof with a loud bang, smashing a gap in Nosk's fortifications.

Faust raised his head and saw a flock of crows flying away in fright over Berlin, leaving behind only their desolate cries.

"Where did the Peace Army's poison gas bombs come from?"

Gotthard pointed to the top of the building. "On the west balcony on the fourth floor! They're using a 75mm mountain gun to fire poison gas shells. I don't know if the shells are inside the building or right at the clock tower."

Before he could finish his words, another round of poison gas bombs gushed out from the top of the tower. As soon as they hit the ground, they exploded into a lot of yellow-green smoke. Several Wehrmacht soldiers who had not had time to put on gas masks fell to their knees with convulsions, their nails digging deeply into the cracked asphalt road.

Faust stared at the crisscrossing drainpipes on the police headquarters building and put on his gas mask tightly. "Guard the gap and don't let anyone rush out."

His voice was muffled by his gas mask, and he waved to Vasily: "Flamethrower!"

Vasily was surprised: "Sir, this is too risky."

Faust put the heavy flamethrower on his back and said: "For others, it's a risk, but for me, it's easy."

The flamethrower is very heavy. Ordinary soldiers will definitely not be able to run and jump agilely after carrying a flamethrower on their backs. However, this is a small problem for Faust. The craters made by the shells on the wall became natural grips. Faust wore a gas mask, carried a flamethrower on his back, held a submachine gun in his hand, and carried a large bundle of cables, and rushed in through the gap in the first fortification.

On the outer wall of the third floor, a dud was inserted diagonally into the wall. Faust took advantage of the momentum and jumped directly from the flat ground to the second floor. He stretched his hand upwards and exerted force on the crater in the wall with his feet. With one hand, he grabbed the dud at the height of the third floor.

The Wehrmacht officers and soldiers downstairs were all stunned. Vasily and Gotthard knew how powerful Faust was, but they never thought he could do such a thing.

Faust used the force to jump onto the windowsill. All the windows of the Police Headquarters Building had been sealed by Nosk's men. They filled the windows with sandbags. Faust broke the glass with his elbow and kicked it. With a bang, he kicked a hole in the sandbag wall in front of the window and then jumped directly into the towering third floor of the Police Headquarters Building.

The Peace Army soldiers inside had never seen such a scene!

Everyone was so frightened that they had no idea how to react. Faust squatted on the sandbag wall behind the windowsill and activated the flamethrower in his hand. A dragon of fire instantly jumped out and set all the Peace Army soldiers in a corridor on fire.

The entire police headquarters building has a total of eight floors. The artillery position that launches poison gas bombs is located on the balcony on the fourth floor. Faust only needs to go up one more floor to find this artillery position.

You can go directly up from the narrow staircase corridor on the third floor. At this time, the enemy soldiers in the police headquarters also reacted, and several teams rushed towards Faust in a hurry.

There was still smoke coming out of the filter of the flamethrower in Faust's hand, so he continued to fire. A tongue of fire sprayed along the stairs. In an instant, Faust's nostrils were filled with the stench of burnt flesh and poison gas.

Faust walked up the stairs to the fourth floor, spitting fire until the fuel in his flamethrower was almost exhausted. When he reached the fourth floor, he saw many Peace Army soldiers still upstairs and said compassionately, "Those who need to run should run quickly. Those who can't run should jump out of the building. I can't save you."

After saying that, Faust started firing the flamethrower at the small turret filled with poison gas bombs. The blazing flames had engulfed the entire west balcony. The unfired poison gas bombs expanded and deformed one after another. Faust moved forward against the heat wave, letting the burning kerosene splash on his skin. He heard the crisp sound of the shell casings exploding and saw the phosgene transform into a strange mist in the sea of ​​fire.

Both mustard gas and phosgene formed a poisonous mist heavier than air, which began to spread along the ground in the Police Headquarters building. The soldiers and gunners of the Peace Army finally began to run around crying and shouting.

Faust shook his head at them, and he lowered a rope from the fourth-floor balcony, slid down the rope, and easily jumped out of the building. Seeing this, the remaining Peace Army soldiers also rushed forward, vying with each other to climb down the rope.

Downstairs, the Wehrmacht soldiers who were waiting for Faust to destroy the poison gas bombs all cheered. Gotthard quickly rushed in with the commandos. The defenders of the Police Headquarters were frightened and their morale dropped seriously. Especially after many poison gas bombs were burned, mustard gas leaked out and began to spread inside the building. The Peace Army soldiers fled from the building one after another and surrendered to the Wehrmacht.

Faust wiped the blood off his face, and the hot flamethrower in his hand was already crackling.

"Major Gothard, go capture more prisoners and thoroughly interrogate Noske's whereabouts. We need to find him alive or dead. We also need to get Albert's whereabouts from him."

Faust's combat capability is not yet at the exaggerated level of a one-man army, but when dealing with a single fortress stronghold like the Police Headquarters Building, as long as he regards himself as a super elite special forces team, he can often achieve miraculous results.

On the contrary, when placed on a field battlefield, Faust's effect is not so good.

Noske was still trapped on the roof of the Police Headquarters building. Before the Wehrmacht officers and soldiers could wait for the poisonous gas in the floors below to dissipate, commandos wearing gas masks rushed up.

There were still a small number of police officers on the roof. They did not put up any fierce resistance, and one of them directly pointed out Noske's location to the Wehrmacht - he was hiding in the toilet next to the office of the Berlin Police Chief on the roof.

More than a dozen Wehrmacht officers and soldiers rushed into the toilets, opened the doors one by one, and finally found Noske squatting in the corner of the last toilet cubicle.

"Social Democratic Party's razor... what a boast."

Faust sat on the toilet lid with the flamethrower in hand and patted Nosk's head again. "Mr. Nosk, long time no see. Last time in Berlin, your people raided my house. In return, I'm here to raid yours too."

Noske has become a lost dog. He can only call himself the Social Democratic Party's razor and the Republic's lackey when he is in an advantageous position.

When Noske became a prisoner of the Wehrmacht, he did not immediately show the ugly appearance of living a cowardly life, but he was not a hero either. He just had a pale face and was speechless.

Chapter 205: Fierce Battle

Noske also had no idea of ​​Albert's whereabouts.

Faust was suddenly disappointed. The Wehrmacht had only two divisions of troops available near Berlin. Once time dragged on, it would be very difficult for the two divisions to defeat the six-division National Army even with the cooperation of the German Communist Party.

This does not take into account possible further intervention by the Allies!

In Faust's original plan, a rapid advance by the Wehrmacht, capturing or killing Albert, could be a decisive way to break the deadlock in a short period of time.

However, Ebert disappeared at the beginning of the Second Battle of Berlin. From the perspective of the National Socialist Party, this was undoubtedly a major mistake. The Stasi's incomplete intelligence collection was also a very serious mistake.

There was no way around it. Faust had not trusted Sorge, who was pro-KMT, and had given him a leave of absence. Although he had reinstated several other middle-level Stasi cadres to lead the work, it was not as efficient as when Sorge was in unified leadership.

At the critical moment, a loophole appeared in the intelligence. When Faust thought about it now, he couldn't help but punch himself on the forehead. If you doubt someone, don't employ him; if you employ someone, don't doubt him. How could he doubt Sorge's loyalty to the National Socialist Party?

I am such a piece of shit!

Faust dragged Noske back to the General Staff Building, where he met Sorge again. Faust immediately stepped forward to apologize to Sorge: "During the crucial period of preparation for the Second Revolution, I could not open my heart to you. I once doubted your loyalty to the Nazi revolutionary cause. I was wrong, so wrong. I am truly sorry for you and for the sacrifices of thousands of Wehrmacht soldiers."

Sorge was terrified: "Sir, what are you talking about? It's my fault. I haven't been able to stand firm between the National Socialist Party and the German Communist Party. I always wanted to have it both ways. So one wrong step has led to another. If there is a problem in Berlin, I should bear the responsibility."

Faust slapped his cheeks with both hands. The mistake had been made. The most urgent thing was how to save the situation, not to find out who was right or wrong. The city of Berlin was already a scene of chaos and apocalypse. Soldiers were constantly passing by on the streets. Soldiers from the Wehrmacht's Great German Division and the Republican Division were rushing towards Charlottenburg Palace in groups.

In ordinary houses, every household kept their doors shut, only peeking out through the cracks in the sealed windows. Shops closed their iron doors one after another. Berlin, the imperial capital of the old empire and the capital of the republic, had become a chaotic and bewildered world.

The Brandenburg Gate remains majestic, but even Faust, who believes that his thousands of miles of planning have shaped the current situation, does not know where Berlin will slide next.

Faust clutched his hair tightly. "If we can't find Albert, we'll have to confront him head-on. Let's see. These are all elite troops of the old imperial army. Elite versus elite, which one will be stronger, the Wehrmacht guided by revolutionary ideas, or the Nationalist army with its greater numbers?"

Faust said this, but he was already very pessimistic about the prospect of victory. As both were elite troops of the old German army, two divisions against six divisions. The material world was very objective, with fewer soldiers against more, it was a huge disadvantage.

Military affairs are not that magical. The core of all military strategies is nothing more than finding ways to create a situation where more soldiers fight against fewer soldiers. The so-called "concentrating superior forces" to achieve a local victory, and then using the local victory to evolve into an overall victory, is this principle.

Speaking of magical...

Only Faust can be called miraculous.

"Prepare a vehicle... No, a car is too big a target, and the ground is full of craters. A bicycle is also inconvenient. Lieutenant Colonel Model, please prepare a horse for me."

The Red Wehrmacht still used the military ranks of the imperial period, but all Wehrmacht officers were promoted several levels in rank as the Wehrmacht expanded.

For example, Model. Before the Tyrol Uprising, Model was only a captain, but now he has become a lieutenant colonel.

Model hastily called the guards, and soon a tall, clear-coated white horse was brought forward. Faust mounted the horse, holding the reins in his left hand and the pistol in his right, and shouted:

"Except for the regiment defending Potsdam, which remains stationary, all other troops will advance from the presidential palace to Charlottenburg Palace. The battle there will determine the fate of Berlin, and the fate of Berlin will determine the fate of all Germany and even the world!"

Of the six divisions of the National Army, Ludendorff dispatched one division to attack Potsdam in order to cut off the Red Wehrmacht's retreat, and the rest of the main force was deployed to the battlefield of Charlottenburg Palace.

The main road from Charlottenburg Palace to the city center is the widest, with fewer tall reinforced concrete buildings in the middle, which can fully utilize the firepower advantage of the Kuomintang's heavy artillery, so they attacked very fiercely.

On the left-wing coalition side, the sailors of the Wehrmacht and the People's Naval Division, the workers' militia of the Red Guards...

People of all kinds also gathered towards Charlottenburg Palace. The flow of people formed a tide, and the tide merged into a flood, and finally collided head-on with the Wehrmacht, and fierce exchanges of fire continued.

The National Army and the Red Army had different positions, but they were both veterans of the old German army and were experienced, and could easily deal with the bombardment of heavy artillery groups.

The situation of the People's Navy Division and the Red Guards is very bleak!

Most sailors and workers had little experience in this kind of high-intensity combat. Only some core members of the soldiers' committee were veterans who had witnessed such fierce heavy artillery fire on the Eastern and Western Fronts and were able to remain calm and protect themselves.

The People's Navy Division, which lacked land combat experience, suffered the greatest losses.

Many sailors had just arrived at the Royal Louise Square near Charlottenburg Palace and did not know how to use cover to protect themselves. Many of them launched a dense charge directly on the flat, open ground without any cover, just like the Allied forces in 1914, and immediately became sitting ducks for the National Army's machine gun fire.

Then came the heavy artillery shells that fell one after another. Just one shell was enough to severely damage an entire platoon of the People's Navy Division!

Liebknecht was very brave. Luxemburg was responsible for staying behind at the Central Committee of the German Communist Party, while Pieck, Thälmann, Korn, Etzer and others followed Liebknecht to the front line.

Before Faust could reach Charlottenburg, Liebknecht and his men had already arrived. He led the Red Guard's reinforcements all the way to Breitscheid Square, about a thousand meters east of Charlottenburg Palace, and was immediately counterattacked by the officers and soldiers of the Second Division of the National Army. Under the precise and fierce heavy firepower offensive of the National Army, the Red Guard suffered heavy losses.

A group of Red Guards could only protect Liebknecht and a few others as they retreated into the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church near Breitscheid Square.

The interior of this church, built by order of William II, is covered with Byzantine-style mosaic murals on the dome.

When Liebknecht looked up, he could see the military uniforms of Emperor William I, Bismarck, Moltke the Elder and others arranged together on the dome, which was obviously imitating the portrait of Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great.

"The rebels have formidable firepower! Comrade Chairman, it's too dangerous for you to stay here."

Earlier, at the Central Party Headquarters at the Adlon Hotel, Thälmann insisted that Liebknecht go to the front line in person to boost the combat morale of the officers and soldiers.

But when he arrived at the front line, Thälmann realized that the National Army did not care that they were attacking the German capital. They used all kinds of heavy artillery to bombard the city indiscriminately. The front line was too dangerous. If anything happened to Liebknecht, it would be all over.

So now Thälmann changed his attitude and began to persuade Liebknecht to return to the safer eastern district.

Before the Second Revolution, Liebknecht's attitude was the most hesitant, but after the Second Revolution began, Liebknecht's ideas completely changed.

Liebknecht was extremely resolute: "I cannot retreat. If I take even a single step away and shake the morale of the troops, who will be held responsible? The front needs me. I cannot leave. I cannot betray the soldiers fighting so hard at the front."

Thälmann said anxiously, "Chairman, our forces are limited... Before the battle, I never imagined the Nationalist army would be so powerful, nor did I expect the enemy's combat effectiveness to be so much stronger than the Red Guards. Once the battle began, our men lacked adequate training and simply couldn't hold their ground. It would be difficult for us to hold our ground in front of Charlottenburg Palace. You assess the situation and retreat!"

What Thälmann meant was that he not only wanted Liebknecht to retreat, but also wanted all the troops controlled by the German Communist Party to start retreating.

Thälmann was a veteran of World War I, but he was not an officer after all. His understanding of the German Imperial Army was limited to the grassroots level, and apart from the infantry, he did not know much about other branches of the military. This is why he misjudged the combat effectiveness of the National Army.

Only after the real fighting broke out did Thälmann feel that the People's Navy Division and the Red Guards were more than enough to deal with the Peace Army and the Berlin Police, but they could not compare with the most elite troops among the millions of German troops such as the National Army and the Red Army.

In a war of this intensity, if you can't win, you can't win. Relying solely on high morale was proven to be useless by the warring countries in 1914.

Liebknecht, however, still had his persistence.

"We are fighting not only for the KPD, but also for our friends in the National Socialist Party. Even if the entire People's Navy Division and the Red Guards were deployed, they would not be able to stop the rebels. However, as long as we can inflict some casualties on the rebels and hold them back for a while, we can create conditions for the Red Army's counterattack."

Liebknecht was very aware: "The success does not have to be mine! The victory of the KPD and the NSDAP are both victories of the German socialist revolution and victories of the proletariat! Now, I am here. I will not leave, I will not retreat. If the front cannot hold out, I will take the Central Committee members with me to fill in and hold the front."

Liebknecht's words were truly touching, but the situation on the Charlottenburg battlefield had not changed much.

Under the cover of heavy artillery fire, the attack of more than a dozen regiments of the National Army was like an overwhelming tidal wave. They quickly took control of various key points of Charlottenburg Palace. A black, red and white tricolor flag symbolizing the military and a black, red and gold tricolor flag symbolizing the provisional government were both planted on the tombs of Queen Louise and Emperor William I.

If it weren't for a regiment of the Wehrmacht still fighting on Louise Square, the People's Navy Division and the tens of thousands of Red Guards would have almost collapsed under such a fierce offensive.

Hitler was also on the front line. He led the Second Regiment as a fire brigade to maintain the front line. Judging from the current situation of the battle, the situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable.

Chapter 206 He Comes on a White Horse

There are only more than 3,000 Wehrmacht troops guarding Louise Square. No matter how capable Hitler is, it is difficult to resist the rebel attack with such a small number of troops.

"Now we can only grit our teeth and hold on. Comrade Faust will quickly wipe out the Peace Army in the city. Once the main force of the National Defense Army takes control of the central government, reinforcements will arrive soon. The enemy is a traitor, and our army is the orthodox revolution!"

The sound of gunfire came from in front of Louise Square. The secondary positions guarded by the People's Navy Division and the Red Guards had all been lost. The more than 3,000 Wehrmacht officers and soldiers under Hitler's command could only fight to defend the buildings on both sides of the Elector's Street.

The taller buildings on Kurfürstendamm, such as the famous Café de Rome, the Metropolitan Theatre, and the headquarters of the Independence Party's Vorwärts newspaper, were all important strongholds defended by the Wehrmacht.

The National Army's artillery fire was fierce, and they continuously used 150mm and 200mm howitzers to bombard the Kurfürstendamm. This commercial street, which was once the most prosperous in Europe, was now riddled with holes. Hitler was guarding the second floor of the Vorwärts newspaper headquarters. He looked out through the balcony fortifications and saw teams of rebel soldiers rushing into the Kurfürstendamm.

The streets were littered with corpses wearing uniforms of the same color. Some were Wehrmacht officers and soldiers, some were rebel soldiers, some were Peace Army soldiers who had been killed by the Wehrmacht before, and there were also some Red Guards who were not wearing uniforms but only work clothes.

Even if they died in battle, the bodies of both sides were still tangled together. Some Wehrmacht soldiers were still maintaining the posture of their last stabbing when they died. Their bayonets had already penetrated the bodies of the enemies on the opposite side, and they had already stopped breathing. However, the weight of their entire bodies was used on their rifles, and they stood still leaning against the rifles, looking as if they were still alive.

The Metropolitan Theatre is now the place where the two armies are fighting most fiercely. The theatre is originally the most solid and sturdy tall building on the Kurfürstendamm. The heavy artillery of the National Army kept firing, one shell after another, blasting many gaps in the outer wall of the Metropolitan Theatre.

The other smaller buildings on both sides of the theater, including cafes and restaurants, were riddled with bullet holes.

A side door of the Metropolitan Theatre was also blown open, and the walls on both sides collapsed, forming a slope in front of the side door. The rebel soldiers, protected by two A7V tanks, rushed into the theater along this slope.

The sound of fierce gunfire was immediately heard from the theater. The Wehrmacht's machine guns fired intensively, creating a pile of rebel corpses in front of the slope.

Now the entire Kurfürstendamm was ablaze with flames. The rebels also used flamethrowers in the street fighting, setting fire all the way as they advanced. It was obvious that Ludendorff was well prepared.

Ludendorff had long anticipated that the Battle of Berlin would be a tough battle, perhaps even a city street battle that would require mincing meat, so he made full preparations, with everything from super-heavy siege mortars to flamethrowers.

The snowy wind blew coldly from the balcony on the second floor of the Vorwärts newspaper office and blew straight into Hitler's heart. In his command center, even the most valuable and highest-ranking combat staff of the German army had picked up their rifles and were ready to join the battle.

"Comrade Hitler, hasn't the Führer arrived yet? If this continues, we'll lose the Kurfürstendamm. We have too few troops, and this retreat could turn into a rout. We'll most likely lose the Tiergarten, the Triumphal Avenue, the Bellevue Palace, the Hunting Palace... We'll have to prepare for the Battle of the Brandenburg Gate."

Guderian stayed by Hitler's side. Faust was worried that Hitler lacked military combat experience, so he sent Guderian to be his chief of staff. As a result, Hitler was not discouraged yet, but Guderian became depressed first.

Outside the Vorwarts newspaper office, large groups of chaotically defeated soldiers retreated. Hitler saw the red scarves on their uniforms and knew that they were either sailors from the People's Navy Division or the Red Guards.

There was no way. The revolutionary sailors of the People's Naval Division were still sailors of the High Seas Fleet two months ago. They were not good at land combat. Many members of the Red Guards were still working three shifts in factories a few months ago. It was good enough that they could shoot. We could not expect them to fight the rebels for long.

The rebel army had six divisions with many men and new weapons. They were all veterans carefully selected by Ludendorff from the millions of German troops on the Western Front. It was no exaggeration to say that each division was an ace unit that was no less powerful than the Great German Division.

Hitler was very angry. He understood the situation. The People's Navy Division and the Red Guards were both irregular troops. They had performed well by holding on until now and should not be blamed too much. But looking at this group of chaotic fleeing soldiers, the officers had no idea where they had run to and were unable to control the soldiers at all. Hitler became furious again.

Hitler only had a few dozen armed combat staff and logistics personnel left. He picked up a rifle with a fixed bayonet and led these people to block the door of the Vorwärts newspaper office, shouting:

"Without my order, you are not allowed to retreat without authorization. All retreats must follow the instructions of the headquarters. Retreating troops must retreat along a fixed route. I will not allow you to run around!"