During World War II, German troops swept through the Countries of Europe, and their combat bravery was only matched by the Soviet army. Especially after being brainwashed by Nazi ideology, these soldiers did not care about life and death at all, and every time they went to the battlefield, they were either dead or I died, and surrender was absolutely impossible.
Therefore, at the end of World War II, the vast majority of German soldiers, once they encountered a situation of inevitable defeat, would choose to resist to the death, even if they died, they would pull a cushion back. But one unit was so special that their commander ordered at the last moments that the troops should be disbanded in situ and that they could do whatever they wanted, even if they surrendered. This decision caused the force to surrender without any resistance, causing little casualty to the enemy.
This order came from Modell, who is known as the "Master of Defense", and seeing this, many people must think that this person is greedy for life and afraid of death, but in fact, this is not the case. After giving this order, Modell chose to commit suicide and cut off this life. Why did Modell let the troops disband in place, why did he choose to commit suicide, what happened at that time, and what kind of person was Modell?
Modell was a special man, and in both his personality and origin, he was at odds with the senior German generals. He came from a poor family and did not receive systematic military training from an early age. Even if he later chose to join the army, he was incompatible with the military system.
But it was such a person who repeatedly suffered on the battlefield and repeatedly saved the German army from the crisis.
In 1941, with major setbacks in the Moscow battlefield, the German army began to show its decline, and the Soviet army took the opportunity to launch a counter-offensive. Under the fierce attack of the Soviet army, the German army could only shrink the front line and change from offensive to defensive position.
As we all know, the German army is best known for its unexpected attacks, defeating a country with thunderous speed. However, the defeat under Moscow made the German army begin to doubt its own combat effectiveness, and it was once beaten to the ground. But under Modell's command, the Germans soon woke up and secured the defensive line.
In the face of the Soviet pursuit, Modell gave full play to the concept of "the best defense is the attack", concentrated two battle groups, set up an ambush under the necessary passage of the Soviet army, launched a reverse charge, defeated the pursuing Soviet vanguard, and bought time for the German army to close the remnants and build fortifications.
Encouraged by this victory, the Germans gradually regained their morale and began a massive blockade that inflicted heavy losses on the Soviets. In the Lezhev region, the Germans constructed a 150-kilometer-long "salient" that blocked five Soviet attacks.
The Soviets suffered more than 1.7 million casualties under this line of defense. However, even at such a huge price, the Soviets were unable to break through the German lines and eventually had to return home. This battle established Modell's reputation as the "Master of Defense", but it did not stop the decline of the German army, and soon after, Modell suffered the biggest and last fiasco of his life.
In 1944, the Allies successfully landed in Normandy, and the Germans were in a difficult situation of being attacked on their backs. At that time, Modell was in charge of the defense of the German Western Front, and he built a very strong Siegfried line on the Franco-German border.
At first, Modell organized a defensive operation that shattered Montgomery's proposed battle plan and disrupted the rhythm of the Allied offensive. But this did not fundamentally change the weakness of the German army.
Faced with such a dilemma, Modell proposed to continue to hold the defensive line, unable to shrink and deplete the living forces of the Allies. But Hitler, now in a frenzy, could no longer heed any advice. Under Hitler's orders, Modell could only carry out the so-called Ardennes plan, trying to concentrate forces, interspersed with the Rear of the Allied forces, and annihilate them in one fell swoop.
In the beginning, the German army did achieve some success. But as the weather cleared, the Allied air forces began to show great superiority, making it difficult for the Germans to move. The most fatal thing was that due to the failure to quickly achieve the strategic objectives, the German troops who were deep behind the enemy lost their supplies, their combat effectiveness was sharply reduced, and they could only return to the Siegfried Line.
This failure completely ruined the hopes of the German army to survive. Soon after the German contraction, the Allies again organized their forces and launched an attack on the Siegfi Line. At this time, Modell's men did not have enough troops to support such a long line of defense. Soon, the Allies broke through the defensive line and attacked the German hinterland.
In particular, the Allies and the Soviets had formed a siege, and in order to alleviate the pressure on the Eastern Front, Hitler could only transfer troops from the Western Front. But how can the Western Front hold on? Hitler gave Modell an order that could not be done.
The mad Hitler was so desperate to win that he even ordered Modell to return to Berlin with Army B, where he could loot the population to replenish supplies and even fire on civilians. As a professional soldier, Modell could not go against his conscience and shoot at his countrymen, so he refused Hitler's orders. Where will Modell go next?
After rejecting Hitler's orders, Modell took a look at the B Army he was currently leading. In the face of the fierce attack of the Allies, the main force of the aces, which had been divided into small units, had lost the ability to resist and could only be captured.
Modell understood that the German army was already at the end of the crossbow and could not hold out for long, and in the current situation, surrender was the best choice for the German army. But the Nazis had been brainwashing them so that the idea of resolute resistance was ingrained in their minds. As long as their superiors did not order surrender, these soldiers would resolutely resist to the end and defend the German Empire with their lives.
In order to save these soldiers, but also to avoid more casualties. Modell gave the last order of his life. He ordered Army B to disband in place, and its personnel could choose to continue to resist the Allies, or they could abandon resistance and surrender to the Allies. Under the influence of Modell's order, the German soldiers completely let go of their psychological baggage and chose to surrender to the Allies.
But Modell himself, he came all the way from World War I, experienced the humiliation of Germany after World War I, and also experienced the invincibility of the Nazis in the early days of World War II. Now, once again, he has witnessed a defeat for Germany, and this time it is destined to never turn around. As Hitler's avid seeker, he once indulged in hitler's depiction of the "good world" and also acted as the executioner of this demon, committing countless sins and killing millions of Soviet soldiers on the Soviet-German battlefield.
Now the empire he had built with his comrades had collapsed, and he himself had disobeyed Hitler's orders. But as a soldier, he was born on the battlefield, and naturally deserved to die on the battlefield. The soldier could surrender, he couldn't. Besides, if he chooses to surrender, he will inevitably end up on the guillotine. So, in the end, Modell, accompanied by his entourage, ended his life with a gunshot.
Text/Leyu
References: Master of Eastern Front Defense, Shi Jian