Manteuffel will never forget that the two SS officers mocked him like air, and he will never forget that he had already clenched his fists, but did not have the courage to go up and confront the two SS officers.
It's a bit of a theory, let alone beating someone up on the spot.
I am really confused, so stupid!
I can't blame others for laughing at me.
I would like to ask myself, if I could return to the army immediately after being discharged from the hospital, and quickly return to the front line to continue commanding the Grossdeutschland Division, would this tragic tragedy have been avoided? Could I have done something that Colonel Otto Boss did not do, or did not consider?
To turn the tide and change the fate of the Grossdeutschland Division?
Colonel Otto Boss is very good, but he is too young after all.
As a chief of staff, he lacks the courage and experience of a military officer to take charge of his own affairs. His overall management is in an orderly manner, which really does not mean that he will be able to command the troops well.
What's more, this is the first time that he has sole control of the teacher.
Everything is irreversible, and there is no point in asking Model and Army Group Center why they failed to judge the Soviet army's strategic intentions and why they did not send troops to rescue the Grossdeutschland Division in time.
The disheartened Manteuffel was ready to end his military career and return to his hometown to enjoy his old age.
But he did not expect that the Führer would personally request the reconstruction of the Grossdeutschland Division, and that it be carried out according to the first priority. It should be equipped with high-quality technical weapons and experienced officers and soldiers as much as possible, and try its best to restore the combat effectiveness of the Grossdeutschland Division.
The top brass of the Wehrmacht were happy to see this happen. It would be better to keep those precious heavy equipment for their own use than to be taken away by the SS. What's more, rebuilding the Grossdeutschland Division not only has military significance, but also political significance, and it can also consolidate an army.
The morale is on the verge of being broken. Why not do something that has only benefits and no harm?
What Manteuffel didn't expect even more was that just two days after he submitted his resignation and returned home, and when he was thinking about how to write his memoirs, his superiors suddenly issued an order to continue handing over the rebuilt Grossdeutschland Division.
An order for oneself to command.
Surprises and surprises lingered in my heart at the same time, but more importantly, I still had the firm will to "live up to the high hopes and trust of the head of state."
Ever since, Manteuffel took office.
Commanding the Grossdeutschland II, which had just completed reconstruction and basic running-in training, they headed to the battlefield. The target of the first battle was Poland, which had been violently bombarded by the Russians.
Manteuffel's order was to block the enemy's offensive at all costs so that it could no longer advance further. After all, if Poland was lost, then there would be no need to say more about how to fight there in the future.
This is an almost unimaginable nightmare.
Therefore, the Russians must be blocked in Poland no matter what. This is the last strategic line of defense to defend the country, at least Manteuffel himself believes so firmly.
At the beginning of the battle, everything went smoothly, and it can be said that it developed according to the expected plan.
The Russians, who were advancing all the way, rushed too fast, the troops were too scattered, and the logistics could not keep up. There was a serious disconnect between the vanguard troops and the main forces in the rear, and this important incident was captured in time by the reconnaissance troops of the Grossdeutschland Division.
Condition.
Manteuffel, who seized this opportunity, commanded his troops to attack decisively. He did not shrink back and look forward and backward just because this was the first battle of the Grossdeutschland Division II.
Manteuffel firmly believed that even the Grossdeutschland II, which had just been cobbled together with experienced German troops, was definitely better than the Soviet forward troops who rushed forward too aggressively and disrupted the rhythm.
As long as the command is proper and no major problems occur, then there is a high chance of winning the battle.
Probably even those Russians would not have guessed that the retreating German army would suddenly organize such a powerful counterattack, and it would do so on the outskirts of Warsaw, on the banks of the Vistula River, where the troops were about to fall.
Manteuffel did what he said and quickly took action. A wave of counter-assaults beat up the Soviet forward troops who had stretched their troops too long, and also sent highly mobile armored units to cut through a wave of enemy rear.
Road. The two Soviet brigades, which were attacked from the front and back, were completely panicked for a while, and they made a serious strategic misjudgment. They mistakenly thought that they had fallen into a large encirclement carefully prepared by the German army, and were about to repeat the mistakes of 41 years.
After that, the battle line collapsed and the fighting spirit was completely lost. After being beaten, they threw away their armor and fled. They ran nearly 20 kilometers in one breath and could not stop until they met up with the large army.
But the truth is that Manteuffel neither took the initiative to build an encirclement, nor did he intend to annihilate this group of Soviet troops. He neither had enough troops nor sufficient time in his hands.
The risk of trying to stop and capture these two Soviet Guards brigades is too great. They might be counterattacked by the large follow-up Soviet troops that speed up after learning the news, and the whole boat will capsize in the ditch.
The best result is to gain valuable time after repelling the Soviet forward troops, immediately withdraw the troops to reinforce defenses, make advance arrangements, and be fully prepared to face the next wave of Soviet offensive.
After all, the rebuilt Grossdeutschland itself rushed to the battlefield in a hurry, non-stop all the way, hastily shifted from a sports posture to a combat posture, and after a brief preparation, hastily launched this proactive battle.
If Manteuffel really wanted to evaluate it himself, in fact it was still very risky and full of loopholes. The main reason for winning was that the Soviet army on the opposite side was more greedy and aggressive and performed worse.
Yes, this was actually a worse battle, and Manteuffel himself felt so.
The result was that the Soviet army, which was even worse than the German army, lost, it was that simple.
But what Manteuffel didn't expect was that when he was organizing his defense, waiting for the arrival of backup troops, and preparing to meet the opponent who had been defeated once and pounced again, fate would play a huge joke on him.
It didn't take long for them to come back again, and the enemy who launched the attack again was indeed the Soviet army, but this "Soviet army" was not the other "Soviet army". From equipment to people to tactics to command style, except for the military uniforms they wore, almost everything else was the same.
Everything is different.
The difference in actual combat performance is even more huge. It is not much different from killing the Grossdeutschland with one stick.
At this point in the battle, the Grossdeutschland Division had no chance of winning. Manteuffel knew this very clearly and had already made a decision.
This time, he will command the troops to fight to the end and live and die together with the Grossdeutschland Division.
Manteuffel never wanted to return to the rear in such a humiliating posture, enduring the ridicule and rolling eyes of others but having no choice but to do anything about it. That feeling was really more uncomfortable to live than to die.
But no matter what Manteuffel thinks, some things are not just "what you think will happen". For example, the chief of staff, who is also newly transferred and has only known each other for a short time, will not sit back and watch Manteuffel do this.
.
"Guard! Take the general down! Mark, you come to lead the escort team and escort him to the second line of defense headquarters! Leave this to me, quickly!"
"yes!"
"What are you doing!? Claire, what are you doing!? This is disobeying military orders, let me go! Let me go quickly! This is an order!"
A few strong guards carrying stg44 assault rifles grabbed his arms and carried him out. Manteuffel, who had just recovered from a serious illness and had just walked away from the gate of hell for a few months, could compete with these individuals.
The young men, who were as big as cattle, were competing for strength, and they were all being carried out while struggling and shouting.
But at this moment, the communications staff officer, who had been sitting in front of the telegraph machine and never looked back, suddenly stood up and turned around with a fresh telegram in his hand, extremely excited.