After spending a night in the military camp, the next morning, Josh led his team to Hanover to meet Eisenhower.
The entire process went very smoothly.
If Josh was representing only himself, Eisenhower would certainly not have agreed to the mass deployment of Rhine Camp prisoners.
Because after World War II, it was Eisenhower who ordered the establishment of Rhine Camp and forbade all prisoners of war from having any contact with the outside world.
Furthermore, with Eisenhower's status, he didn't have to give Josh any face.
However, now Josh had the backing of the five largest American conglomerates, so the situation was completely different.
Eisenhower was a soldier, but he was also a politically astute politician. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone on to become president, so he understood perfectly what this meant.
After confirming the authenticity of the series of authorization documents Josh held, he decisively issued a series of documents and passes in the name of the Supreme Commander of the European Theater. He even granted Josh the authority to mobilize units below the regiment level and specifically dispatched several logistics officers to assist him.
This is the power of capital conglomerates.
Of course, this was also because Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the European U.S. Army.
If it had been the Imperial General in the Pacific Theater, MacArthur, the situation might have been different. That man was too arrogant and conceited. After winning a small victory, he thought he was invincible and didn't take anyone seriously.
Had it not been for this arrogance, his later years would not have been so disastrous.
With Eisenhower's approval, Josh didn't hesitate. He immediately borrowed a transport reinforcement battalion from Brigadier General Ross and even requested several sets of field shower equipment, along with clothes, food, and soap, to go to the Rhine Camp to bring people back.
Although Josh hadn't been to Rhine Camp himself to assess the situation, Ophelia had already gathered information.
The conditions there were abysmally bad. The prisoners, apart from the clothes they wore when they entered, had no other clothing to change into. And although the camp was located near the Rhine River, the American guards strictly forbade anyone from leaving the camp, so there was not enough drinking water, let alone any clean clothes.
The only aspect that was slightly better than in the original timeline was that the prisoners in Rhine Camp had temporary shelters, rather than being left in the open air.
In the original timeline, Rhine Camp was built in April, when the weather in Germany was already warm, even hot. Therefore, the U.S. Army didn't even provide barracks for the prisoners.
But now, the war had ended before winter came, and the temperature was very low, so it was impossible for the prisoners to stay outdoors. If they did, they would all freeze to death.
But that was the only improvement. Everything else was still as bad as before.
Since Josh planned to bring people back, he couldn't just bring back a group of dirty, beggar-like people.
Moreover, his first target was not the male camp, but the female camp.
Yes, the Rhine Camp did not only hold male prisoners. It also contained civilians who had fought against the U.S. military, government clerks, Nazis, female assistants to the German military, hospital staff, and various others. However, the number of women was significantly fewer than the male soldiers.
The reason for prioritizing the female camp wasn't because Josh intended to exploit them for special services, but rather because the personnel that would be arriving from the U.S. required basic life support.
So hygiene, medical care, and kitchen staff were the most important, and women were obviously more suitable for these tasks.
Furthermore, women in this era were generally more obedient and less likely to cause trouble.
As for the engineers, laborers, and others needed later, once the transport fleet arrived, Josh would just let the American employees choose from the workers. After all, why should Josh do everything himself?
The transport battalion quickly arrived at one of the camps, which was the only female camp among all the Rhine Camps.
After all, most of the prisoners were male, so the number of women was relatively small.
But that "small" number still amounted to more than 100,000.
After checking the documents, the transport convoy entered the camp.
Soon, the U.S. Army officer in charge of the camp came out to meet them. It was a colonel.
"Excuse me, Colonel Ward, we have five trucks with supplies for your unit. Please arrange for someone to help with unloading and distribution," Josh said.
Although Josh's status was extraordinary, and he could easily dismiss a colonel, he understood the importance of diplomacy. Therefore, no matter who he was dealing with, even if it was a low-ranking soldier, Josh always remained approachable.
For situations where cooperation was needed, Josh also prepared small gifts in advance.
It didn't cost much, and it made the other person grateful—why not?
At first, Colonel Ward was a bit displeased with Josh's arrival to take prisoners.
As the officer in charge of the female camp, his life recently had been better than that of an emperor.
If he wanted, any female prisoner would appear in his barracks at night.
If not for the concern about the impact, he could have held large parties in his barracks.
But Josh's actions seemed like taking food from his bowl.
Although Josh wanted a relatively small number of prisoners, only 2,000, his requirements were high.
The prisoners had to be between 18 and 40 years old, and they needed to be medical, clerical, and sanitation personnel. Additionally, Josh needed some teachers and interpreters.
These were the "cream" of the female prisoners, as only city women typically held these skills.
However, upon hearing that Josh had brought five trucks of supplies for their unit, Colonel Ward's dissatisfaction vanished immediately.
Especially when he saw the fresh vegetables, fruits, cigarettes, and even several cases of alcohol being unloaded from the trucks, Colonel Ward couldn't have been happier.
"Mr. Kane, you are too kind. We will certainly help you select the best candidates and meet your needs!" Colonel Ward said enthusiastically while shaking Josh's hand.
It was winter, and fresh vegetables and fruits were extremely rare, even for the well-supplied U.S. Army. The logistics department usually only provided canned fruit.
As for alcohol, with the war just ending, food was scarce worldwide, and alcohol was considered a luxury.
Cigarettes were also in high demand. Even though each soldier received seven packs a week, in post-war Germany, cigarettes were worth more than money and were a highly valuable commodity.
For the U.S. soldiers stationed there, any of these supplies were more valuable than the female prisoners in their barracks.
"Ophelia, it's up to you now. Once the selection is done, take them to the river to wash up and then distribute clothes," Josh nodded and instructed Ophelia, who had brought a group of medical staff along with her.
Even though they were free labor, Josh only wanted healthy individuals. There was no point in taking sick people.
It wasn't that Josh was heartless, but in this era, human life was cheap, especially since they were Germans, a defeated nation.
Josh had no sympathy for them and didn't want to stand out as a "special case."
Ophelia nodded, and with the help of the stationed troops, she began selecting the prisoners while setting up field shower facilities and starting to heat water.
Meanwhile, Josh and Colonel Ward sat at a table under the eaves of a nearby barracks, drinking alcohol, smoking cigars, and chatting, while watching this unconventional "selection."
Especially when the selected female prisoners took off their clothes and entered the shower tents. The scene...tsk, tsk.
It was exactly this kind of scene that made Josh realize why, throughout history, places like prisons and POW camps were the most likely to result in scandals.
In an environment where one could easily control everything about others, it was truly not easy to maintain one's humanity.
___________________________________________
To read 20 advanced chapters you can visit my Patreon:"https://patreon.com/Hiddenfanfics''