Chapter 1264 The Lost Victory (Part 2)

Mustache stood up and walked back and forth in the conference room with his hands behind his back, thinking in his mind whether to terminate the fortress operation, or agree with Manstein's suggestion and put the last reserve team into battle to end the war in the Kursk salient as soon as possible. battle.

   Goering, who was as fat as a pig, sat in his seat with his eyes closed. When Paulus's troops were surrounded last time, he had vowed to Mustache that he would use 500 planes to establish an air corridor to provide enough ammunition, fuel and military supplies for the trapped troops so that they could continue to fight. Go on fighting the Russians. But he was quickly slapped in the face by reality. Although the Air Force tried its best, the supplies they provided could not meet the daily needs of the 6th Army. As a result, the Army ran out of ammunition and food. Annihilated by the Soviet Army.

  After the British and American troops landed in Sicily, he also said boldly that as long as his own air force was dispatched, he would be able to drive the landing enemies into the sea. Unexpectedly, after a day of fierce fighting, not only his air force was defeated by the British and American air forces, but even the Goering Armored Infantry Division, which was responsible for the ground attack, also suffered heavy losses.

  Speaking at this moment will definitely attract the scolding of Mustache. He will not do such a stupid thing, so he simply closes his eyes and rests his mind, pretending that what is happening in front of him has nothing to do with him.

   Keitel, the chief of staff of the High Command, had the same idea as Mustache. The landing of the British and American troops in Sicily was equivalent to stabbing themselves in the back. If the troops were not deployed to reinforce the Italian front and the British and American troops who committed crimes would be driven into the sea, the war on the western front would become worse.

   Keitel’s deputy, Jodl, agrees with Manstein’s opinion very much. He feels that if the fortress plan is stopped at this moment, the Russians will have a chance to breathe, and the situation on the Eastern Front will further deteriorate.

  He opened his mouth, but when the words reached his mouth, he swallowed them back. He remembered that Mustache sent himself to the headquarters of Army Group A last year to investigate the reasons for the army's failure in the southern section of the Eastern Front, focusing on investigating whether the commander of the army had implemented the orders and instructions of the Supreme Command for the campaign.

   After a detailed investigation, Jodl reported to the mustache that the commander of the army group had carried out the order of the Supreme Command, but failed due to the increasingly strong resistance of the Russians.

It was precisely because of this investigation result that Mustache accused Yodel of intentionally defending the front generals who disobeyed orders, and Yodel was also a little impatient at the time. During the dispute, he boldly pointed out the mistakes in Mustache's command, thus There was merciless revenge.

  Yordl thought to himself: Mustache wants to end Operation Fortress wholeheartedly. If he chooses to side with Manstein, he will definitely irritate him, and he will definitely incur crazy revenge by then.

Chief of the Army General Staff Zeitzler stared blankly at the oak table in front of him, but what he thought was: this room has assembled a group of people who control the fate of Germany. It will cause the next history of Germany to be rewritten.

   Just like that, none of the marshals and generals in the room spoke, only the knocking sound of the leather shoes worn by Mustache and the ground as he walked.

   Time passed by every minute, and Mustache finally stopped. He stood there for a while, then quickly walked to the wall, looked up at the map hanging on the wall, and began to think again.

   "General Zeitzler," the mustache turned around, looked at the chief of the army's general staff, and asked aggressively, "I want to hear your opinion. What do you think we should do?"

   Zeitzler began to weigh the relationship in his mind, because he insisted on principles and supported Marshal Manstein? Or in order not to offend the head of state, did he agree to transfer troops from the Eastern Front to reinforce Italy?

   Jin Zeitzler did not speak for a long time, and the mustache became a little impatient: "Chief of Staff, why don't you speak, I am still waiting."

   Zeitzler pretended to flip through the information in front of him, trying his best to buy himself some time in order to consider the issue more comprehensively. When he put down the information in his hand, he looked up at his mustache and said respectfully: "My head of state, I think Marshal Manstein can continue to attack the Russians in order to destroy as many Russian troops as possible. As for that There is no need for the two reserve teams to go into the Kursk region, but to be transferred to the western front to reinforce the Italian front."

   For Zeitzler's statement, Mustache felt that it was somewhat reasonable. After nodding his head, he continued to ask: "What about Marshal Kruger's Central Army Group?"

   "In view of the current situation of the Central Army Group, we can order Model to command the 9th Army and the 2nd Panzer Army to stop the Russian offensive in the Orel area and work hard to restore the original front."

"Very good, General Zeitzler, what you said is very good." Seeing that Zeitzler's proposal was comprehensive and took care of several emotions, the mustache nodded in agreement: "Just follow what you said, the Central Committee The army group stopped the Russian attack on the Orel salient and tried to restore the lost positions; as for Marshal Manstein, the attack on the Russians still cannot be stopped, and as many Russian forces as possible should be wiped out.”

  Manstein saw that Mustache did not mention his reserve team, so he tentatively asked: "My head, the 24th Armored Army, which is composed of the 23rd Armored Division and the Viking Division, how do you plan to arrange them?"

   "Transfer them to the western front to reinforce the Italian front." After the mustache announced the arrangement for the 24th Armored Army, he looked at Manstein and asked, "Manstein, do you have anything else to add?"

   Keitel, who had remained silent all along, finally found a chance to speak. He asked Manstein with a smile on his face: "Your Excellency, Marshal, do you have any specific arrangements for the upcoming battle?"

Manstein glanced at Keitel, and then said with a wry smile: "According to the current situation, I will give priority to supplementing the Banner Guard Division and the Skeleton Division, and at the same time, order the Kenf Combat Group south of Prokhorovka to move closer to me." .

   After completing the join forces operation, we will achieve three operational objectives: 1. Encircle and annihilate the Russian troops between the 2nd SS Panzer Army and the Kenf Battle Group;

   2. Destroy the 5th Russian Guards Tank Army that is blocking the front of our army;

  3. Do everything possible to seize and occupy Prokhorovka from the Russians. "

"My Führer," Keitel said after hearing Manstein's words, turned to face the mustache, "I think Marshal Manstein's plan is completely feasible. As long as General Hausser's 2nd SS Panzer Army, If we can merge with the Kenf combat group, it is entirely possible to wipe out the heavy Russian group and capture Prokhorovka."

In the battle in the Dnieper River Basin at the beginning of the year, the Russian army and equipment were several times that of their own, and at that time Paulus’s 6th Army had just been wiped out, and the morale of the entire army was low. Everyone thought it was a losing battle. Even in the staff headquarters, some people suggested that all the troops be withdrawn across the Dnieper River, and seize the time to build a defense line by the river to stop the Russian attack.

   Unexpectedly, Manstein not only won in the end, but also won unprecedentedly thoroughly. The commanders of the Russian Southwest Front Army and Voronezh Front Army were also dismissed by Stalin due to failure. Therefore, in Mustache's mind, Manstein is an invincible God of War. Now that God of War has formulated a new battle plan, he naturally has no reason to object. Mustache nodded and said: "Fortress operations The plan can come to an end here, and the battle in the north is handed over to Model, so that he must block the Russian offensive to the Orel salient. As for the south, according to the plan mentioned by Marshal Manstein, gather the second party With the strength of the Guards Armored Army and the Kenf Combat Group, annihilate the Russian heavy army group, and strive to win Prokhorovka, and continue to advance in the direction of Kursk."

Having said this, Mustache turned his attention to Kruger again: "Marshal Kruger, once Manstein's troops advance to Kursk, your Central Army Group should still face Russia from the north again according to the original combat plan." After breaking through their positions, they rushed to Kursk to join Manstein, surrounded the Russian troops on the Kursk salient, and wiped them out completely."

   "Don't worry, my head of state." Since the beginning of this battle, he felt that the Russians were quite well prepared. Not only did they build strong fortifications, but there were also dense minefields in front of the positions, forming a complete defense system. To break through such a line of defense, the price paid is huge. At this moment, knowing that there is no need to continue to attack Kursk, and can switch to defense on the spot, Kruger's heart suddenly feels more at ease. "We will certainly hold off the Russian attack and, in due course, restore all lost positions."

  Compared with Kruger's relaxation, Manstein's mood was extremely heavy, although he used his skills to persuade Mustache to let the other party agree to continue his offensive on the southern front of Kursk. But he knew very well that defeating the Russians would be an impossible task without fresh reserves thrown into battle.

Sitting on the plane returning to the front line, Manstein closed his eyes and thought painfully: "If the Fuehrer can agree to put the 24th Panzer Army into battle, even if it is only for a day or two, there is a good chance to wipe out the troops gathered in Provincia. Russian troops near Khorovka. Now, with the ban, the easy victory has been lost."

  (end of this chapter)