"How long has it been since the Führer visited the Eastern Front? Two weeks or four weeks? "I've always wanted to tell him face to face that I'm going to resign as commander of the Sixth Army -- it's not right to let the commander of an army group be the commander of an army group at the same time, especially now that I'm so busy." ”

"Six weeks, to be exact." Zeitzler laughed, "After I became Chief of the General Staff, I remembered that the Führer never came to the Eastern Front again. ”

"He can't have forgotten about us, right?"

"Forgot? Of course not...... Otherwise, who do you think issued those orders for the reinforcement of troops, the optimization of technical equipment, and the successive adjustments? Zeitzler wondered, "Are you looking forward to the Führer's specific guidance on your work?" ”

"No, of course not." Manstein said in a joking tone, "It's good now, the commander is like a commander-in-chief, the chief of the general staff is like a chief of the general staff, and I, the commander of the army group, can also play a role." ”

"The Führer only suddenly changed his mind, he no longer tried to interfere with the command of the front-line generals, especially the army groups, as before, and I personally have always had reservations about the behavior that seems to be eager to stretch out his hand to each division, and I wanted to remind him euphemistically, but I did not expect the Führer to change automatically. Many times I wondered if the Führer that Halder and I were talking about was the same person as the Führer I actually came into contact with, and he said that the Führer was unkind, that he said that the Führer was self-serving, that he said that the Führer was so stubborn that it was incomprehensible...... None of this happened after I took office, and when I reported to the Führer, he always listened patiently. And then he said, 'Zeitzler, you do what you want to do, you have to know the details.' I don't need to ask for everything.'" Zeitzler said with emotion, "Although you and I both understand what the so-called 'traitorous bloc' really is, I have to say that there have been too many contradictions and mutual distrust between Halder and the Führer over the years, and this is why the Führer has to interfere in all the policies of the General Staff." Although the Führer has always had a firm grip on the strategic direction, I feel that the Führer is now more interested in the economic system and equipment technology than in going to the front, and I often watch him study stacks and stacks of data and charts. At the same time, I was making some signs that we couldn't read, and there was a beautiful female secretary by my side - a special number for him, if it weren't for the fact that I flew around a lot. The Vinnitsa base camp is closing. ”

"It's invisible." Manstein shrugged his shoulders, "The Führer has indeed changed a lot, how to say it...... More like a commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief than a group army commander. ”

"I've decided to give full marks for your clever sarcastic joke. Do you want me to go back to Berlin and tell the Führer? ”

"Of course not." Manstein smiled. "You might as well tell him how many Protector titles there are, that would be a bit more fulfilling."

"What significant changes have been made in the Soviet army at the front recently?" After the greetings, Zeitzler shifted the topic to the situation on the Eastern Front, "The Führer is very concerned about the situation on the Eastern Front, General Winter is coming, and the home advantage of the Russians will be greatly exerted, he is very worried about whether the troops can withstand it, and at the same time I want to hear your views on the next move." ”

"The Soviets have been moving really a lot lately. After we retreated, they gradually took over the vacated territory, while also trying to launch a counterattack against us. However, the scale was not large, mainly at the division level, and only two armies were dispatched at one time, both of which were repulsed by us, and the price paid by the Russians was not too great. "They are looking for weak points in our lines by means of a tentative offensive, and due to the climatic conditions, they will not be able to maneuver in the short term, and can only rely on infantry and cavalry - so I say that the Cossack and Kalmyk cavalry regiments are of great significance, they obscured the entire battlefield and successfully interfered with the movement of the Soviet troops." ”

In September, the Soviet Union generally enters a period of rainy season, and all roads will turn into mud heaps under the rain, and it will be difficult for vehicles or tanks to move when they are trapped, and it will not be able to give full play to the advantages of the rapid mobility of armored forces, and only in October, especially after mid-October, when the temperature drops, and the roads can be frozen and hardened before they can resume traffic -- then it means that the time has come to attack, and because of the latitude of Army Group South, this change usually occurs about ten days later than in the north.

"Where do you think their main attack will be?"

"Rostov-on-Don." Without hesitation, Manstein said, "Having taken this place they will have no difficulty in dividing our army group into two isolated groups in the north and south, and then their Stalingrad Front and Caucasian Front will be able to flank our Kleist battle group on the southern front from the north and south - they have less than 250,000 men, while the Russians estimate that they can muster 700,000 to 800,000 troops, and at least 300,000 in reserve." And Rostov is not a place where we can give up easily, if I give up, the Caucasus and the Kalmyk steppe will close the door to us, and even the Kerch and Taman peninsulas will be threatened, and I can't afford to risk that. ”

"All you decided to stick to?"

"It's not enough to just defend to the death, you must carefully prepare a counterattack plan." Manstein slyly said, "It is true that Rostov is our strategic pivot that we cannot give up, but this does not mean that we must hold it in our hands all the time." ”

"Sure enough, the Führer guessed correctly, and he said that Manstein must be preparing something unusual."

"As a reward, shouldn't you and the Führer say something? If nothing else, I just want to ask when those new tanks will be available to us? ”

"You mean Tiger Pose?"

"Yes, this has been passed for more than half a year, May said June, June said August, August said October, and now the first week of October is over, whether to give it or not to give it is a good word." Manstein said reproachfully, "When you asked me to hand over the T-34, we were the most handed, and at that time, General Schmund promised us that the first batch of new tanks would be allocated first, and if the other army groups didn't get it, I would have thought he was coaxing me." ”

"This ......" Zeitzler suddenly showed an embarrassed face, "In fact, the first batch of Tiger has been produced, but it can't be given to the Eastern Front, you can only wait for the next batch of ......"

"Why?"

"Only 72 vehicles were produced, and they were organized into two heavily armored destroyer battalions."

"I'm not too little, two battalions are two battalions. Is the new tank good or not, at least it has to be tested in the field, right? Is there a place where I can make better use of my strengths than here? ”

"There really is one." Zeitzler muttered, "You know, General Guderian served as the director of training of the armored forces, and he couldn't hide any new equipment from him, and he was in charge of the Führer's battalion directly, on the grounds that the Führer had taken away his best logistics officer without his consent, and had him die in Britain, and asked the Führer to be responsible for compensating for the losses of the African Army." ”

"You mean Rank? He turned out to be a logistics officer? It's amazing! "Manstein knew about the commando team going on a mission to England.

"Not really." Zeitzler said regretfully, "A very capable man, Schmund knew that I must find a way to get to the Eastern Front, but I didn't expect to die in England." ”

"Then there's at least one battalion left, right?

"The Führer said that Ranke was worth two battalions, so he allocated both battalions to Guderian."

"Bastard." Manstein snorted angrily and said: "Guderian snatched the Great German Division from me last time, and this time he robbed my tank again, and this account will be settled with him next time." ”

"But don't be upset." "Porsche lost the Tiger bid, they had ordered 100 chassis and saw that they were going to waste, and Porsche offered to convert them into powerful anti-tank destroyers, but the idea was rejected by the Führer, who decided that it would be better to convert them into assault guns – you can immediately see a 380mm self-propelled heavy mortar, just in time for the Battle of Rostov-on-Don." ”

“380mm？” Manstein was reminiscing about this caliber, and nodded after a long time, "I'm very much looking forward to this weapon, and it is estimated that it will be very good for street fighting." ”

"What is the main idea of your battle plan?"

"Three steps. In the first step, after the road conditions have improved, I will use the newly replenished armored divisions to launch a short attack at the ends of the two salients in the north and south, and deploy the Russians' forces, but without a specific breakthrough, they can send additional troops to the flanks or not; In the second step, if they send more troops, I will use the center to carry out a centripetal assault and make a posture of re-attacking Stalingrad; If they don't send more troops, I will move forward and build an encirclement; The third step, after the implementation of the second step, the Russians will definitely fight back desperately, I will seize the opportunity to fight and retreat, and after the Russians fall into pursuit and the battle line is extended, I will carry out a pincer counterattack with reserve forces to eliminate the spearhead of the Russians' attack. I expect to face a Soviet force of about 1 million and try to achieve more than 300,000 casualties while maintaining a frontal posture. "But there is a premise that we must have something that will attract Stalin, like the red cloth of a bullfight, so that he will pounce on him desperately." ”

"I've got this stuff for you." Zeitzler took out a ****** from his briefcase entitled "Why I Embarked on the Road of Fighting Bolshevism", "This is the 'masterpiece' of a high-ranking Soviet general, and the Führer is ready to pick him for the leadership of the Russian Liberation Army, his name is Andrei Andreyevich Vlasov, a lieutenant general." ”

"I've heard the name and I'm looking forward to his great performances." After reading the ******, Manstein smiled knowingly. (To be continued.) )