The remnants of the Polish army, these scattered soldiers, want to engage in guerrilla warfare, Wilhelm chuckled twice.
He had come from seventy years into the future, during which time the world had seen nearly 500 major and minor wars and local conflicts. Military experts from various countries had meticulously commented on, analyzed, and summarized every detail of warfare, including guerrilla tactics, their application, and countermeasures. There was even a book written by a man named Max Boot called "Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare."
Want to play guerrilla warfare with him? That would be like "selling articles in front of Confucius, brandishing a broadsword in front of Guan Yu."
With the experience and lessons that Wilhelm passed on, which were summarized by countless military experts of later generations, the German army skipped the trial-and-error phase and directly entered a very systematic encirclement mode.
According to the central idea of Max Boot's "Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare," whether conducting guerrilla warfare or counter-guerrilla operations, the fundamental base is the support of the local populace.
The counter-guerrilla side needs to establish and maintain good relations with the local population, for instance, by maintaining order and improving living conditions.
Separating the guerrillas from the local masses helps effectively cut off the supply of recruits and provisions for the guerrillas, reducing political risks from civilian casualties, thereby more effectively combating the guerrillas.
Efforts should be made to undermine the guerrillas from within, enticing wavering members to surrender while resolutely striking those who resist stubbornly.
Before World War II, Poland's industry and agriculture were very developed; it was one of the top ten industrial countries in the world, with all economic and industrial indicators ranking among the world's leaders, boasting a relatively complete industrial system capable of manufacturing aircraft and tanks. Thus, at that time, the Polish people were not living in dire poverty.
Although in this timeline Germany had annexed the entirety of Poland, it is well-known that in the original timeline, Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union.
According to the agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany, Germany was to receive 72,800 square miles of Polish territory and 22 million Polish people; the Soviet Union would gain 77,720 square miles and 13 million people. Among these, the eastern part of Poland that the Soviet Union would gain was a traditional agricultural region, with fertile land and abundant natural resources including oil.
Upon entering Poland, Soviet soldiers were amazed by the level of wealth there; they had never seen such an advanced economy in their homeland. In fact, compared to Western Europe, Northern Europe, or even Western Poland, the eastern region of Poland was considered backward. In Polish towns, every household had electricity, which was unimaginable for Soviet people. For the first time, they saw such an abundance of goods in Polish shops, with dazzling arrays of food, clothing, shoes, and watches. Ordinary people could shop without queuing or needing ration coupons; if you had money, you could buy anything you wanted. This was truly a magical place. Soviet propaganda had always portrayed Polish workers and peasants as extremely poor and miserable.
"We see everyone here is wealthy; even the homes of farmers are beautifully decorated, (even) the poorest people live better than us — their furniture is polished. Every farmer has at least two horses, every household has three to four cows and many chickens." Soviet soldier Georgy Dragunov was full of praise for Poland's "wealth."
Although Germany could not raise the living standards of the Polish people to a higher level in a short time, it was manageable to ensure that the interests of most ordinary people were not harmed.
The German army was known for its strict discipline during World War II, and with Wilhelm's reputation now elevated to almost divine status, his words were like edicts, like the commandments of God; no one would dare to disobey. Moreover, the discipline within the foreign legions was maintained by German military police, so no one dared to act out of line.
After occupying Poland, Wilhelm decisively purged the Polish upper class (after all, they were not there to be good people; they needed benefits), using a small portion of the wealth seized to win over the middle class, appease the commoners with minor favors now and then, while harshly suppressing any resistance forces.
There were many methods to deal with guerrillas. The German army concentrated scattered villages, building new cities and creating no-man's lands to disrupt the living environment of local guerrillas. This method was not used extensively, mainly around mountainous areas.
The German army already had mountain divisions, from which elite troops were selected to form specialized mountain combat units, operating in platoons or companies, using helicopters for rapid deployment, specifically for encirclement and suppression, causing significant losses to Polish guerrilla forces.
Then came the most cunning move: if the Poles had guerrillas, the Germans would dispatch "guerrillas" of their own, staging a scenario of the real versus the fake Monkey King.
These "guerrillas" committed all sorts of atrocities under the guise of fighting for Poland's liberation, robbing food from villages, brutally murdering innocent Poles, or defiling young women in households. Eventually, all sorts of robberies, thefts, and murders were attributed to the guerrillas. The media even started calling the guerrillas "terrorists."
Unofficial rumors were rife, with some saying these so-called guerrillas were not Polish but foreign spies who did not have the guts or strength to confront the German army directly, so they targeted innocent Polish civilians. Even more outrageous rumors suggested these guerrillas were part of a cult practicing dark rituals, using children's organs as sacrifices.
There's a story recorded in "Strategies of the Warring States - Qin Strategies":
Once, Zengzi lived in Fei County, where another man shared his name and surname killed someone. Someone told Zengzi's mother, "Zeng Shen killed someone." Zengzi's mother said, "My son would not kill anyone," and continued weaving calmly. Soon after, another person came to say the same thing, but she continued weaving. Quickly after, someone else repeated the accusation, and only then did she become frightened, dropping her shuttle and fleeing over the wall.
There are many similar anecdotes, like "many mouths can melt gold, accumulating slander can destroy bones," "rumor spreads like wildfire," and "public opinion flies without wings."
Amidst the swirling rumors, these Polish guerrillas gradually transformed from heroes fighting for the country and people into figures that made Poles shudder; they became "rats on the street, everyone shouting to beat them."
After all, most Polish civilians could make a living through honest work under German rule without any threat to their lives, but these guerrillas disrupted their peace, making everyone wish for their disappearance.