As one of the founders of blitzkrieg, it was more difficult for Guderian to give up his familiar blitzkrieg tactics and switch to steady advancement than to ask the head of state to give up his hobby of speaking. Before the front line, Guderian's idea was still a blitzkrieg, to appear unnoticed behind the Chinese army. Now, only a few days have passed, and there has been no large-scale battle with the Chinese army. Guderian actually He changed his mind. In the past, this seemed a bit unbelievable and inexplicable to Schweppenberg. But now, after Guderian pointed out the reason, this emotion disappeared in his heart, and was replaced by shuddering.
The shudder may be a bit exaggerated, but it is true that Schweppenberg did not dare to think deeply.
There is no doubt that German soldiers have one of the strongest sense of honor among the armies of all countries in the world. Therefore, what the Japanese Peace Army gave them was not only a failure, but also a humiliation. The Germans are no strangers to the Japanese army. , this is also the fundamental reason why they dare to look down on the Japanese army. However, it is such an army that they despise. In Sabi, in the northwest region of Sabi, the elite Thirteenth Army was humiliated. In view of the lack of confidence in the strength of the Thirteenth Army Understand that Schweppenberg does not think this is just the failure and humiliation of the Thirteenth Army and Rundstedt, but the failure and humiliation of the entire German army and their senior generals, because just like Rundstedt, the war Before, they did not pay enough attention to the Japanese Peace Army, and even regarded it as a joke, a breakthrough point sent by the Chinese. Then, if any of them were to replace Rundstedt, they might not be able to change it. Decayed into magic, special attack tactics were once despised by the Germans because they felt that it had no skills at all and showed a disregard for life. Now, they are glad that the Japanese invented this tactic, otherwise it would not be enough. Explaining the outbreak of the Japanese Peace Army.
"But Your Excellency, how do you explain to Marshal Manstein? He gets several telegrams every day, and the battle situation on the front line is not optimistic."
This was a hurdle that Guderian could not avoid. After all, they now belonged to Army Group A and were under the command of Manstein.
Guderian was silent, and after a while he said quietly: "Schwepenburg, what do you think Manstein will be doing now?"
What is Manstein doing now? He is sitting in a bunker in Osa City in a daze in front of the sand table.
Oh, he is not in a daze, he should be strategizing. However, considering that he only has about one brigade of reserves left in his hands, and the Soviet defense line opposite has not loosened at all, the Second Armored Group Army has not been able to appear on the battlefield for a long time. , he actually has no power to change the current battle situation, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is in a daze.
Manstein felt very tired and irritable now. The fatigue was because the war was more stalemate than expected. Originally, he thought that as long as Rundstedt could block the Chinese Far East Expeditionary Force in the southeastern area of Sabi, then the main force of the group army could Completely defeat Timoshenko's troops, thus achieving a staged victory in the decisive battle of Ossa. In the sand table exercise, once the Soviet army was defeated and driven off the battlefield, the Chinese army could only retreat in order to avoid being encircled and annihilated. Even if the main force of the group army cannot quickly defeat the Soviet army, then because of the addition of the Second Armored Group Army, the imperial army can also form a strength advantage over the Chinese army in the Sabi area. As long as the Chinese army dares to give up the decisive battle in order to preserve its strength, then the next step He can gather troops to encircle and annihilate the Soviet Russian army... In that case, even if he cannot completely annihilate the Soviet Russian army, he can still explain it to Berlin. But now, if the Thirteenth Army was attacked by the Japanese and suffered a heavy loss of combat power, it is a lie. It was an accident that the Second Armored Group was sniped at Mount Larbu and was unable to enter the battlefield. Then, the main force of the army was unable to open up the situation and was tightly entangled by the Soviets. It cannot be covered up by accidents.
Manstein also thought about whether he had missed something, but after much thought, he could not figure out the key. This made his mood gradually become irritable and difficult to calm down, and the war threatened to reach a stalemate. Considering the danger, considering that the weather will get colder and colder, which will become more and more unfavorable to the visiting army, Manstein has now begun to pessimistically think about how to get out of this war.
"Even if victory cannot be achieved, it would be good to take the main force of the group army away from this ghost place. After all, the Soviets have lost most of their heavy military industrial bases. In a short period of time, they will not be able to pose a threat to the empire at all..." Such thoughts once occurred in his mind, and at this critical moment, such pessimistic thoughts naturally made him more and more irritable.
"Report, General Dyer called. They were discovered by the Russians in the Linguo area and a fierce battle broke out. He asked for instructions. Since the sneak attack has been exposed, the troops should be brought back immediately..." The words of the communications staff machine rang in his ears, and Man Stein slowly exhaled a breath, forcing himself to come out of his daze.
Manstein never gave up taking the initiative to change the situation of the decisive battle in Ossa, but unfortunately he has been unable to make progress. "Please tell General Dyer that I agree with his suggestion." He replied loudly, trying to appear energetic. .
The decisive battle in Osa was definitely the toughest battle that Army Group A had fought since it entered Soviet Russia. In view of the signs of instability in the morale of the troops, Manstein now attached great importance to his own image, hoping that through his courage and determination Boost troop morale.
Why the Soviet Russian army suddenly became tenacious has something to do with a small piece of news circulating among the top brass of Soviet Russia.
"As everyone knows, the German elite Second Armored Group rushed over at the beginning of the war. Yes, it was Guderian's armored force. Why didn't they see them? This is a good question. Let me tell you. Ah, I heard from the Supreme Command that the Second Armored Group Army has been lured to Chernushka by the Chinese. You are so smart. Indeed, there is no armored force in Chernushka, let alone the Chariots composed of thousands of tanks have gathered. Hehe, we have reason to believe that our Chinese friends have pushed the German tanks into the numerous rivers in Chernushka... The Chinese are here to help us , they performed so well, how can we justify it if we don’t make some achievements, comrades, keep working hard.”
War can be such a child's play sometimes, and I don't know where an unbelievable rumor came from, but it actually changed the situation on the Osa battlefield.
Stalin was also extremely surprised by this, and because the rumor came from the Supreme Command, he made a special investigation on the matter, only to find that the rumor came from outside, which made him confused. Question: Who is it that came up with this great way to boost morale?
(Old poisoner: My colleagues will be having a treat tomorrow, so drinking will be inevitable. Please take a scheduled leave first. Please bear with me.)