"Please take a seat, my armored hero, General Guderian, and my chief of general staff, General Zeitzler. It is a pleasure to have dinner with you two." Hoffmann tried his best to adapt to the speaking style of the head of state.
"Chief of the General Staff?" Guderian looked surprised and turned to Zeitzler and asked, "Are you going to succeed Halder?"
Zeitzler apologized: "To be honest, I just received a verbal notification from General Schmont. The specific situation is unknown."
Guderian was puzzled. From the words of the head of state just now, he was sure that he would be reactivated, which gave him high expectations. Although he did not dare to expect the position of chief of general staff, a group army commander was always indispensable. Now it seems that the situation is far more complicated than I thought. A junior like Zeitzler can be the chief of general staff, why can't he Guderian? He glanced at Zeitzler with a complicated expression, and suddenly became worried about gain and loss.
Zeitzler was no less puzzled than Guderian. If it weren't for the clear command telegram sent by the base camp, he would not have flown from France to have dinner with the head of state. As we all know, the head of state lives a poor life, and his diet and daily life are very simple, which makes senior officers who are used to enjoying themselves uncomfortable. What's more terrible is that the head of state often makes long speeches during meals, peddling those commonplace things, which makes people listen. My ears are almost calloused, but I still have to pretend to be listening. As soon as the head of state summoned him and he had to have dinner with him, Zeitzler had a headache, but he had to come. I originally thought that the head of state just wanted to know the specific situation of the Battle of Dieppe, and he had made full preparations. Unexpectedly, after getting off the plane, Schmundt vaguely informed him that he was about to take over as the chief of general staff. Although he did not know this close friend A friend recommended it to the above, but such shocking news made him still feel a little frightened.
"General Zeitzler, the Battle of Dieppe was fought very well, but..." Hoffman paused, "I want to hear your views on the current situation on the Eastern Front."
Zeitzler was stunned for a moment. Is the head of state ready to listen to my ideas? But I am not prepared for anything!
He thought for a moment, carefully selected his words, and said slowly: "Führer, as you know, I only received the telegram this afternoon and came here. In fact, until yesterday, I served as the chief of staff of Army Group D on the Western Front. I am busy dealing with the follow-up work of the Battle of Dieppe, and my understanding of the Eastern Front is completely limited to the battle reports sent from the base camp, and my understanding is relatively superficial..." Zeitzler still can't figure out Hoffmann's trump card and dare not speak casually. He was afraid of offending the head of state, who was said to have become a little nervous recently. But he couldn't just lay down his hands and say he didn't know - this would only aggravate the Führer's resentment, and might even implicate Schmont.
Hoffman interrupted him mercilessly: "Don't be modest, talk about the important points!"
Zeitzler's expression was a little embarrassed, but he was also experienced in the world and quickly adjusted his mentality.
"The overall situation on the Eastern Front is relatively——" Zeitzler thought for a long time and finally choked out one word, "Positive! In the northern section of the front, facing Army Group North, we surrounded Leningrad and defeated the Red Army's attack. Demyansk's offensive; in the Rzhev salient in the middle of the front, under the leadership of General Model, we firmly held the defensive position and inflicted a large number of casualties on the opponent; in the southern section of the front, our army had cleared the enemy The remnant enemies of the Limu Peninsula firmly controlled Sevastopol and the Kerch Peninsula. After defeating Timoshenko's attack attempt, we won the victory in Kharkov. Le's powerful deterrent... Of course, there are also many problems. The first is the serious shortage of troops. After last winter's offensive and this summer's defense, the strength of many divisions has been almost exhausted. I can't see it on the Western Front. The shortage of troops that had been adjusted and recuperated from the Eastern Front was very serious, even one-third to one-fourth of the shortage. These forces could not be used again until they were replenished; secondly, the forces were too dispersed, marching towards the Caucasus and towards Stalinger. I agree with the strategic direction of the Le March, but the current strength of the eastern front is far from enough to support such a strategy."
As Zeitzler spoke, he quietly observed the Führer's expression. To be honest, he personally had great doubts about the Caucasus strategy, but Schment had warned him in advance not to attack the southern wing, which was the Führer's favorite. Strategically speaking, he decided to comply after considering it, but he still had to give tactful opinions.
"General Guderian, what do you think?" After hearing Zeitzler's speech, Hoffman was noncommittal and showed no inclination. He just turned to Guderian with an indifferent expression, which surprised the latter—— When did the head of state become so calm?
"Dear Head of State." Guderian put down the knife and fork in his hand, "Frankly speaking, I have been away from the front line in the past few months. Although I have learned some things, they may not be in line with the actual situation. Therefore, my judgment... "
Hoffman knew his concerns, smiled and waved his hand, "This is not a formal combat seminar, and there are no meeting minutes that need to be distributed afterwards. It is completely the supreme commander who is listening to the advice, so you don't have to have any scruples. It seems straightforward. Even better - this time last year, if my generals hadn't done one thing to my face and another behind my back, maybe we would have been discussing post-war reconstruction now."
Guderian's face turned red. Of course he knew what the head of state meant by "one thing in front of the other and another behind the scenes": before the Battle of Moscow, the goal of the commanders of the Eastern Front armies was Moscow, but the goal of the head of state was first Ukraine and then Moscow. , he requested that Guderian's armored group be sent to Army Group South to support the operation. As a result, Army Commander-in-Chief Brauchitsch, Chief of General Staff Halder, and Marshal Bock, commander of Army Group Center, all opposed it and discounted the Führer's order through overt and covert means. On the one hand, the armored units of Army Group Center prepared to advance into Moscow. On the one hand, it divided its troops to support Ukraine. The result of this was that the troops neither went straight to Moscow as the generals envisioned, nor did they seize Ukraine as soon as possible and then turn around and attack Moscow as the head of state envisioned. The five weeks with the best weather were spent in meaningless debates. It slipped away quietly, and then there was the defeat in the Battle of Moscow. Then, Brauchitsch was fired as Army Commander-in-Chief, Bock was fired as Commander of Army Group Center, Guderian was forced to transfer to the reserve force, and now it was Halder's turn.
"Now when I look back and think about it calmly, the head of state's original decision was wise, but it's a pity that we made deviations in communication and execution." The commander of the armored forces at both ends at that time was Guderian himself, but from now on There was no complaint in his words. Zeitzler couldn't help but give him a thumbs up in his heart. The past few months of reserve service were indeed not in vain. Guderian, who had always been annoying, now speaks at a level as good as Seemed better.
Guderian continued: "As for the next strategy on the Eastern Front, my thoughts may...may be a bit negative - I think we should accumulate strength this year, focus on offensive defense, consume the Russians' effective strength, and wait for more One year to launch an all-out attack."
Zeitzler was surprised, but Hoffman nodded slightly: "Tell me your reasons."
"The reasons are mainly two points. The first is the troop strength issue that General Zeitzler just mentioned. Our army strength on the Eastern Front is about 3 million. Adding the strength of the allies, the maximum is 3.5 million. But the enemies we need to face are at least 3 million. There are 4.5 million, and we still have 1 million troops on other fronts such as the Western Front, the Balkans, and North Africa, but they face more British and Americans. Stalin estimates that he can have more than 2 million reserves, and there is no need to worry The Japanese behind him; the second is the issue of equipment. Regardless of artillery or armor, the number of Russians is at least half more than ours. Although they are clumsy when using it, this numerical advantage is difficult to ignore, and it is even more fatal. Yes, not only do we not have a quantitative advantage in the crucial armored force, UU Reading www.uukanshu.comｍWe have even lost a qualitative advantage - it is very difficult for us to deal with the Russian T-34 and KV-1. I heard that 5 The development of the No. 6 tank (Leopard) has been basically completed, and the No. 6 tank (Tiger) has also been successfully manufactured. If there can be a year for a large-scale replacement, the empire's armored forces can regain the upper hand, and the same is true for air power." Derian finished his point of view in one breath, and then anxiously waited for Hoffman's sentencing.
"I would like to correct one thing. Based on the intelligence collected on the front line and my judgment, the Russian frontline strength is not 4.5 million as you estimated, but between 5.5 and 6 million. The estimate of 2 million reserves is also logical. ; in addition, the Russians' numerical advantage in armored vehicles and artillery may be greater than you think - not only do they surpass us in manufacturing quantity, but they also have British and Americans to supply them - In the first half of this year alone, Stalin got no less than 1,000 tanks from Churchill and Roosevelt, so." Hoffman said unhurriedly, "We have eliminated 400-500 of Stalin's divisions, but he still has at least 500. division. I think your judgment is correct. We should shift to strategic defense. The offensive in the Caucasus and Stalingrad can be selectively stopped. If necessary, several salients in the northern and middle sections of the eastern front can also be stopped. It can be leveled and used to save troops."
"What?" Now it was Zeitzler and Guderian's turn to be surprised. Is this still the head of state who has always persisted to the end and refused to give up any inch of acquired land? This kind of adjustment almost reversed the strategic direction determined at the turn of summer and autumn, and the intensity made them a little stunned.
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