In the winter of 1939, the German Army had only six Panzer Divisions, all of which were already in charge, but this was obviously difficult for Hitler, who was the commander of all three armies and determined to stand up for those around him. Since there was no place left, Hitler ordered the formation of a new Panzer Division, and appointed Rommel as the commander of this division.

However, in the eyes of the army leadership, Hitler's actions were completely unbearable. Even if the tank unit is to be expanded, it should be in accordance with the original Basic Law: if you just send a random person to the post of commander of an armored division, can he do a good job? Looking at Rommel's resume, the top brass of the army, led by Brauchitsch, frowned: this man was an infantry company commander for 14 years before 1933, and after being promoted to colonel, he also served as a civilian in military academies, and his highest record of independence was only to command a mountain infantry battalion.

Even though Rommel was a modest figure in the 100,000-strong Army, and received a lot of praise for his book "The Infantry Offensive," Brauchitsch felt that Brauchitsch had overpromoted a man who had only become a major general in June 1939 and made him the commander of an under-established reserve infantry division. Even the front-line infantry divisions with a total of more than 70 are not willing to give them, let alone elite units such as armored divisions!

Despite Brauchitsch's best efforts, the newly promoted major general was unable to command the new mechanized mixed corps of the Panzer Division, but he was eventually forced to give in under pressure from Hitler. In February of the following year, Brauchitsch pinched his nose and appointed Rommel as commander of the newly formed 7th Panzer Division, which was incorporated into the Kleist Panzer Group. Brauchitsch's idea was very clear, if this rookie could not do anything but paddle on the spot, then letting him mix with the large force of 6 armored divisions and 4 motorized divisions in the middle would have less adverse impact on the battle situation than picking up the main beam on the northern front. At most, it is to let the logistics raise an extra waste.

In order not to waste valuable combat resources, and at the same time to find a way to get Hitler back on the ground, Brauchitsch allocated the 7th Panzer Division with personnel and equipment, ranking at the bottom of the 10 Panzer Divisions. Several other armoured divisions had a recruit rate of less than 30 percent, and the 7th Panzer Division had a whopping 70 percent; The main tanks of the other divisions were all 12-ton Lynx, but the main force of the 7th Panzer Division was the 38T type, which was captured from the Czech Republic and weighed only 9.5 tons. The latest Snow Wolf tank, the 7th Armored Division is also equipped with less than 1 company, but the other divisions have 2 companies, and the 4th Armored Division is even more fortunate to be organized into a whole heavy battalion.

In this case, Rundstedt asked Fang Yan to support the 7th Panzer Division, which clearly wanted to offer Fang Yan and Rommel, two people who were valued by the Führer, as mascots, without any expectations. You two can toss as much as you like, as long as it does not affect the normal operation of Army Group A. Fang Yan slandered, but there was no good way for a while: after all, Rundstedt also gave himself enough face on the surface, and with his respect as a general and commander, it was difficult for Fang Yan to say anything more about refusal.

"Who says Rundstedt is a respectable elder and at the same time politically indifferent? This is obviously an old fox, and he has counted everywhere! Fang Yan lamented in his heart, and suddenly felt that he had been deceived by Manstein's memoirs. If you think about it, it is completely reasonable for Rundstedt to have this performance, if he really knows nothing about the current situation, it is almost impossible to become an evergreen in the army!

"And yet...... Old general, you still have a pattern. A faint smile appeared on the corner of Fang Yan's mouth, and he said in his heart. Although Rommel's fame in later generations was exaggerated by the ancestor of Dechui Qiu Zhongtang, he was an out-and-out top general, and this battle of France was his rise battle, and his exploits shocked all those who were not optimistic about him before. This time, Fang Yan was ordered to support Rommel, which was simply lying down and could share the military merits, and it was almost the best place to go in horizontal comparison.

After Rundstedt explained a few more words, Fang Yan took the initiative to leave the headquarters of the group army group. Fang Yan could see that these senior generals didn't really treat him very well, so instead of wasting time on social public relations with little effect, it was better to start directly from the perspective of the soldiers and use real achievements to make them refresh their three views.

That night, Fang Yan first went to the location of his headquarters. At this time, the two aviation regiments drawn from the navy were stationed at several field airfields 20 kilometers west of Kobrenc, and the surrounding barracks were dotted with busy scenes. Unlike on aircraft carriers, carrier-based aircraft units stationed on land, whether they are fuel, ammunition, or maintenance and repair parts, need to be transported by trucks to special warehouses for storage, which somewhat stumps the naval ground crews who are accustomed to taking what they need from aircraft carriers, so that they are still working overtime after dark.

"General Brom, I really didn't expect you to arrive at the headquarters today." Seeing Fang Yan appear, a middle-aged officer saluted with surprise on his face, and his words were full of respect. Fang Yan smiled and shook the hand of the person in front of him, and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Lazar, there is no need for so much courtesy between you and me. How about it, are you still used to working on land, how are the 1st Regiment under your command and the 2nd Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Ammon ready? ”

"The combat units are fully assembled, and the last two maintenance companies will also arrive in Koblenz tomorrow afternoon. It's just that I've never been in charge of logistics on an aircraft carrier, and now I haven't even built a warehouse......" As he spoke, Lazar lowered his head a little ashamedly, not daring to look at Fang Yan's eyes.

As the commander-in-chief of the aircraft carrier of the Zeppelin, Lazar was obviously confident in his own abilities, but he did not expect that the first thing he would do after landing would blind him, and the fuel and parts that were readily available on the aircraft carrier would become so difficult to obtain. Originally, Lazar also wanted to show his face in front of Fang Yan by building a good base, but now it seems that he is very lucky not to be blamed.

Fang Yan said with considerable understanding: "It's okay, it's already very rare that you can make it like what I just saw. Leave it to me. However, I now have a task for you to do, and in two weeks, I am going to temporarily convert three squadrons into reconnaissance planes, which will be equipped with cameras under the belly of the plane, like those planes of the Army Airlines, and the pilots will be free to manipulate them to take aerial photographs of the battlefield. ”

"I will do my best to fulfill your request." Lazar nodded solemnly. He paused, and a little puzzlement gradually appeared on his face: "But general, what do you want this kind of thing for?" Attaching a camera to the belly of the aircraft will take up space where the bomb would otherwise be mounted, while also reducing the load on the aircraft. On the battlefield, our boys will destroy an enemy as soon as they spot it, and even if they miss, they can call in nearby allies to destroy the target. ”

Fang Yan sighed lightly and said, "Lieutenant Colonel, now we are no longer fighting alone like we are on the ocean. We need to cooperate with the army to advance into France, and these reconnaissance planes can gather all battlefield intelligence into the hands of the army commander, including but not limited to the battlefield terrain, fortifications, enemy positions, sizes, numbers, and movements. If we only rely on combat planes to make cameo appearances as reconnaissance planes and make simple verbal reports to land commanders, then there will inevitably be a serious lack of intelligence, and the consequences will be incalculable for the war situation. At that time, it will not only be the honor of our HNA that will be lost, but also the lives of our army compatriots who cannot be recouped with money. ”

Lazar woke up suddenly. He solemnly saluted Fang Yan, and at the same time, the reverence and emotion in his heart became stronger and stronger. The young man in front of him not only has outstanding talent from a commanding height, but also has a compassionate and benevolent heart for the officers and soldiers at the grassroots level that other generals do not have. In the midst of the turmoil, Lazar never thought that these two people might be acting at all, he secretly decided that Fang Yan's talent and virtue must be conveyed to the hearts of every soldier.

Seeing Lazar's awe-inspiring and respectful countenance, Fang Yan spoke again: "In addition, there is one more thing that needs to be informed of our pilot. If they are shot down and parachuting in battle with the coalition forces, then it is important to save their lives first, and in principle I will not hold him accountable for being captured by enemy forces. However, all pilots had to avoid surrendering to the khaki-clad British, as it would be difficult to regain their freedom if they fell into their hands. ”

Lazar listened with reverence at first, secretly saying that General Brom was indeed his own person with a carrier-based aircraft force in mind, but when he heard the last sentence, he noticed that something was wrong, and suddenly raised his head to look at Fang Yan. It would be difficult for the German pilots to be freed if they were captured by the British, so wouldn't it mean that surrendering to the French would have a good chance of returning to the motherland? But no matter which family they became prisoners, their own soldiers could only be locked up in prison and wait for the war to end, could it be that Berlin had reached some secret deal with Paris to release them halfway?

"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, don't think about it. Germany and France have a hatred of the Peace of Versailles and the Ruhr sack, how can there be any compromise with them? It's just that since this war on the Western Front will not last long, it will end in three months at most, so even if any of our pilots are captured, they will be released soon. However, there is a good chance that Britain will continue to resist. If our soldiers fall into their hands, they will have to endure at least another year in prison. ”

Fang Yan saw Lazar's suspicions and pretended to explain profoundly. Now that the battle on the Western Front is about to begin, it is a good time for Fang Yan to show everyone his foresight and gain prestige at the same time. For Fang Yan, who wants to stand on his own, this kind of thing to enhance his fame and aura obviously must be done.