Along the border between Germany and Poland, Soviet artillery fire cascaded over German positions like an endless deluge. Even the German officers who most despised the Slavs had no time for contempt now.

While the barrages were intensely fierce, the Red Army’s fire was more organized, scientific, and massive than anything the Wehrmacht had encountered thus far.

A current full-strength Soviet infantry division numbered over 14,000 men. Beyond its three infantry regiments, it directly controlled two artillery regiments (one cannon, one howitzer), an anti-tank battalion, and an anti-aircraft battalion. Each infantry regiment possessed its own organic artillery: a company of six 45mm anti-tank guns and a mortar company with four 120mm pieces. The three battalions within each regiment had their own support as well: an anti-tank platoon with two 45mm guns and a mortar platoon with four 82mm mortars. At the company level, each unit was equipped with three 50mm mortars.

This "Grand Artillery" doctrine was the Soviet equivalent of the Chinese "Grand Infantry" doctrine, and it had become a living nightmare for the Wehrmacht. Although the Red Army lacked the battlefield mobility and total air superiority of the Chinese, they compensated with overwhelming firepower that delivered crushing blows to any German unit they engaged.

Before the infantry ever stepped off, the Red Army commenced fire preparation with several times the intensity of the German return fire. In this phase, any German position not built to the most exacting standards was reduced to fragments along with its garrison. Once the infantry advance began, regimental artillery swept away any point of firm resistance. As the combat closed to near distance, the battalion-level guns continued the destruction at point-blank range.

No matter how much higher the German level of training was compared to the Soviets, flesh and blood could not resist high explosives. German lines were torn apart by the pitiless Soviet fire, their positions rendered unrecognizable. Then, the Red Army, sworn to the destruction of Nazi Germany, charged into the remains of the trenches and bunkers, engaging the Germans in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

By this point, the Wehrmacht had reached its limit in both numbers and morale. Faced with close-quarters combat against an enemy that outnumbered them several times over, they were utterly routed, even in bayonet charges.

Assessments of Soviet combat effectiveness varied depending on one's perspective, but in the Second World War, the Red Army had indeed found a mode of warfare that suited it. Sustained by the USSR’s immense production and organizational capacity, the forces plunging into Germany moved like a steamroller, crushing everything in their path.

Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht was suffering from a functional internal split. The forces in the North facing the Soviets and those in the South facing the World People's Liberation Army operated with zero coordination.

Field Marshal Walter Model, commander of the southern German forces, spat in disgust before throwing the latest battle report under his desk. The papers fluttering to the floor contained the news from the North, which Model could easily imagine. A fully matured Red Army should indeed be capable of such power, and as a master of defense, Model knew there was nothing he could do about it. His only concern now was commanding the southern forces against the pincer movement of the WPLA from the east and west.

By the third day of the engagement, a sallow-faced Model was waiting for the counter-attack he had so anticipated. Compared to the Red Army’s lack of mobility due to its heavy reliance on artillery, the Chinese-led WPLA, utilizing its technical equipment, displayed staggering maneuverability. In the WPLA, the elite units were organized exactly according to the table of organization of the Chinese National Defense Forces.

Every infantry squad was equipped with an infantry fighting vehicle. Beyond specialized roles like snipers and riflemen, every soldier was trained to operate not only a rifle but also RPGs, 60mm mortars, and recoilless rifles.

Overhead, the aircraft had shifted from jet fighters to propeller planes. While propeller aircraft were at a disadvantage against jets, they were the superior choice for ground support, where their lower stall speeds allowed them to maximize their destructive power.

Finally, Model received the report. The counter-attack units were in position, but the data made him wonder if his eyes were failing him. Twelve divisions were assigned to the strike, and the report confirmed that units bearing those twelve designations had reached their jump-off points. But the actual numbers were absurd. The best-performing unit consisted of two regiments that, combined, did not even equal the strength of a single full regiment.

The worst-off units consisted of only two "battalions" in name only. The rest had been lost to the relentless Chinese air strikes during the march. The armored units in particular had been annihilated in entire columns by Chinese propeller fighters.

Model felt the urge to curse. Although he knew it was not entirely Manstein’s fault, in his state of extreme despair, he wanted to scream at that "prodigal son" for exhausting the Wehrmacht's mobile reserves in the Polish campaign.

"Mobile reserves" refers to forces that can be pulled from the line at any moment to form a temporary strike group. An armored division can only exert its full power when at full strength. In normal combat, units are rarely full; it is a dynamic flux where equipment is destroyed and then repaired. But once the numbers fall below a certain threshold, an armored unit loses its inherent combat effectiveness.

Manstein had dealt the Red Army a heavy blow with his incredible counter-attack in Poland. But the Soviets had not been broken; they were still capable of throwing mountains of tanks, guns, and men into the next battle. The Wehrmacht, by contrast, had seen its industrial efficiency plummet under Chinese firebombing. Frontline losses could not be replaced. Manstein’s counter-attack, while brilliant, had left every panzer unit with less than a third of its nominal strength.

Once those remaining tanks were gone, the panzer troops could only fight as infantry. But every branch has its specialty; panzer crews cannot be transformed into effective infantry divisions overnight. Furthermore, the very design of this counter-attack was predicated on the rapid mobility and breakthrough power of armored divisions. Utilizing them as infantry made their participation a farce.

Regret was useless. Field Marshal Model decisively ordered the plan into execution. It wasn't that he wished to send his men to their deaths, but rather that since they had already suffered such losses on the march, recalling them would only invite a second round of strikes and further wasted sacrifice.

Model possessed absolute confidence in German training and command. These fragmented, battered units were small, but their sudden appearance might achieve an element of surprise.

He was right. The sudden appearance of numerous small units did indeed cause significant confusion within the WPLA.

The WPLA had fought many bitter campaigns against Rommel’s Afrika Korps in North Africa. When they were suddenly struck from the flank by a German force, the officers and men naturally assumed this was merely the vanguard of a much larger offensive.

To deal with these Germans, the rapid advance ground to a halt. The WPLA shifted to a defensive posture, calling for air support and aerial reconnaissance.

At least on the first day of the counter-attack, April 16th, the WPLA's advance was stalled. The German offensive seemed bizarrely top-heavy—a group of elite troops charging in like moths to a flame, with no follow-up. The frontline officers were convinced a larger conspiracy was at play.

At dawn on April 17th, after reviewing the battle reports, Marshal Cheng Ruofan, Director of WPLA Logistics, issued a new order: "Comrades, the Wehrmacht cannot conjure troops out of thin air. After the heavy blows we have dealt them, this counter-attack is but a spent arrow. It is nowhere near enough to halt our progress.

"Therefore, I order all units to continue their advance according to plan. Wherever you encounter a German attack, launch a full counter-strike on the spot. Once the immediate enemy is annihilated, resume the advance.

"Comrades, the end of the Nazi army is in sight. So long as we maintain our planned assault, the Wehrmacht will soon be utterly destroyed!"

With these orders, the WPLA units resumed their all-out push. The battle unfolded exactly as Cheng had predicted: once the immediate German units were crushed, no follow-up appeared. The Germans before them were like small stones—smelly and hard, yet easily pulverized under the WPLA’s treads.

Once the offensive regained its momentum, the German strikes appeared pathetic. By the afternoon of April 18th, the general offensive had returned to its smooth cadence. The distance between the eastern and western wings of the WPLA shrank rapidly: 280 kilometers, 230, 180. The air crews conducting shuttle missions could see both vanguards of the pincer within fifteen minutes of flight.

Model had fallen into total despair. The German southern lines were like paper, disintegrating under the WPLA's hammer blows. He had always known that a shell fired from the same gun had the same power, regardless of whether a Black or white man pulled the trigger.

Yet Model now realized his understanding of this fundamental rule had been flawed. He had always believed in Nazi racial theory—that there was a natural gap between Black and white. That the same weapon in Black hands would be less effective than in white ones.

China had always opposed this ideology. When the Chinese government attacked racism, they explained that the perceived "white advantage" was merely a result of longer training and more equipment. If Black and white men were given the same training and education, racial differences would yield no significant disparity in combat.

The gap between a brilliant commander and a mediocre one was unrelated to race. command capability varied wildly within the same nation and ethnicity. The combat power of a trained soldier and an untrained civilian differed just as greatly.

To link the advantage of early industrialization with racism was a shameful sophistry and a fraud. Only by shattering this deception could humanity enter a new civilizational future.

Previously, Model had viewed these Chinese arguments as mere political propaganda. Now, after personally suffering at the hands of a Black army, he finally realized the Chinese government was right.

Given his pride, although the proportion of Black officers in the WPLA was not high—most senior commanders were Chinese or Asian—Model did not feel he had been defeated by Chinese officers alone. In the current WPLA, the proportion of Black soldiers was nearly two-thirds. Model acknowledged that if Black people were inherently inferior, an army composed of two-thirds Black men would have been shattered by the Aryan Wehrmacht, regardless of their equipment.

Instead, the Black soldiers he faced not only operated their gear with expert skill but executed complex military orders and thoroughly defeated his own troops. This proved that with the same training, a Black man could become an elite warrior on par with any white man.

With this admission, the very foundation of Model’s Nazi ideology collapsed.

Seeing the Field Marshal so despondent, his adjutant, Major Bell, attempted to encourage him: "Marshal, we can still continue the fight in the Ruhr."

Model looked up at the anxious young major, seeing his own younger self reflected in those eyes. He stood and sighed, "I lead my men to fight with valor, yet I serve a government that has committed political crimes."

Major Bell was stunned. There was no shortage of officers cursing the Nazi government now that defeat was imminent. But the senior leadership had always maintained a veneer of loyalty and decorum. Never before had a high-ranking officer spoken of the government committing "political crimes."

Just then, Model walked to the center of the command post and shouted: "Attention! Begin execution of orders!"

The staff, Major Bell included, snapped to attention and faced the Marshal.

Model pulled out his pocket watch. It was a precise piece, a prize he had found in an old Parisian clock shop after the city fell. While not ornate, the shop owner had sworn with French theatricality: "This may not be the most precise watch in the world, but it is certainly among the most precise."

Model hadn't quite believed him then, but he wanted a souvenir of the conquest. That was five years ago. He hadn't expected the man's boast to be the truth.

"It is currently 19:43 on the evening of April 18, 1945. All personnel will synchronize their time to this mark!" Model commanded.

Once the staff had adjusted their watches, they looked back at him.

Model continued loudly: "All radio stations will now transmit using the fourth code set. The 23rd Army will disengage from the enemy and move southeast toward the Ruhr. The 1st Division of the 29th Army and the 2nd Division of the 33rd Army will serve as rearguard, leap-frogging to delay the enemy.

"Upon reaching the Ruhr, the 23rd Army will establish defensive positions to receive the rearguard.

"The 88th Corps will leave the 58174th Regiment as a rearguard and withdraw to the west..."

Even in defeat, Model’s command remained meticulously detailed. Had he not possessed the ability to direct units down to the company level, he would have been destroyed in the Soviet salients long ago. Directing at the regimental level was, for him, child's play.

Seeing their commander so composed, the officers at the headquarters felt a surge of renewed confidence. The orders were flashed out, and for the German troops suffering at the front, they were a reprieve from on high. They immediately began to move.