The generals nodded: this shows that after the two major battles of Spring Awakening and the Castle, summer thunder will become the main theme of the summer offensive in 1943. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"Has Guderian's army group returned?"

"The Imperial Division, the 7th Panzer Division, returned home in advance, ready to accept the reorganization of the 1943 type, and is currently in Italy, and the rest of the troops are still in Africa to complete the occupation of Tanganyika and Zambia, and Marshal Guderian himself is still in Africa." Zeitzler paused for a moment, not understanding why Hoffmann suddenly mentioned the African Army Group.

"The war in Africa has come to an end for the time being, and it is ready to draw Guderian back and form a new Panzer Army, which will be completed and put into the Eastern Front by the end of August to prepare for the reserve army group. The ground forces of the African Army were headed by General Johannes Friesner, and the armed forces of all African theaters, including the Middle East, Madagascar and the Seychelles, were under the unified command of Field Marshal Kesselring. Hoffman thought for a moment, "Then draw forces from each division and prepare for the formation of four new Marine Brigades." ”

Four Marine brigades are equivalent to the army having to take away at least one armored division, and Zeitzler, although he wonders why he has formed another Marine brigade, readily agrees. This time Sher fought very well on the island of Ceylon, and Horikichi sent a special message of thanks, and the Führer was very happy, and the army generals also felt honored - after all, he was the hero of the Holm encirclement!

"Now let's talk about the overall operational thinking."

Jodel then reported: "The overall plan is to attack in the early morning of July 6, with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th Panzer armies as the main assault force, and the SS Panzer Army as the reserve, to launch a short assault forward, with Tambov as the starting point on the northern front, striving to take Saransk, and the central line taking Borisogrebsk as the starting point, striving to take Saratov. The southern front continues to maintain the same situation: if the enemy forces are deployed, our army will attack and contain it, and if the enemy does not move, our army will defend and contain it. ”

"What are the important changes in the enemy army?"

"Reconnaissance shows that Stalin may have again transferred troops from the Far East and Central Asia, numbering nearly 500,000, and in addition, the density of enemy forces near Leningrad is decreasing, roughly reducing by 20-250,000 troops, the whereabouts of which are unknown, we expect to be put into the central battlefield, but Leningrad's own defense capability has not decreased; In the center, the enemy forces were drawn from Moscow and Stalingrad, and General Moder decided that the conditions for a full-scale attack on Moscow were not yet in place for the time being, but if Stalin continued to draw troops from Moscow, he was determined to attack from the Vyazma line......"

Hoffman nodded: "I have information for you to know that Stalin made a second request for peace through the Bulgarian Tsar, and the Tsar himself had a secret conversation with me yesterday afternoon. ”

Everyone hurriedly pricked up their ears and listened to what was going on.

The German side made slight adjustments to the conditions: first, it demanded that the Bolsheviks retreat 500 kilometers from the area under their current de facto control, which was ruled by the Russian Liberation Army but temporarily occupied by the German army to isolate both sides; Second, the two Russias were independent of each other, recognizing each other and not violating each other; Third, the Bolshevik army was demobilized and reduced to 1.5 million, and the Russian People's Liberation Army was controlled within 700,000; Fourthly, the Bolsheviks fulfilled their obligation to pay compensation, the exact amount of which was agreed upon separately; Fifth, it was agreed that the Bolsheviks would acquire territory in Afghanistan, India, etc., and if Stalin was willing to send the Red Army to fight in Africa, he could also get a colony in Rhodesia for the Bolsheviks.

Boris III conveyed Stalin's core counter-demands:

1. The retreat distance is changed to 150 kilometers, the two sides do not garrison each other, forming a buffer zone, Leningrad can be ceded to the Russian Liberation Army, but Moscow and Stalingrad will not move;

2. The area actually controlled by the Russian Liberation Army is renamed the Menshevik Republic, and the Bolshevik Republic is formed in the form of a confederation to form a united state, maintaining a high degree of independence and autonomy, and Leningrad can be renamed St. Petersburg and the Menshevik Republic can be selected as the capital (or the rest of the cities in the area under its control will be the capital);

3. The German army withdrew synchronously with the demobilization of the Bolshevik troops, and the retreat was completed within 3 years;

4. Compensation and exchange of prisoners of war are acceptable, and will be discussed separately.

Hoffman said with a smile: "Although the conditions of the two sides are still far apart, the two sides have reached a preliminary agreement, the first is the question of the independence of the Eastern countries, Stalin asked them to fulfill the normal procedures for the union republics to withdraw from the Soviet Union and then declare independent statehood, which the Bolsheviks will openly recognize; The second is the question of the status of the Russian Liberation Army, in which Stalin pinched his nose and admitted that they belonged to the warring and political groups, but demanded that they change their name to the Mensheviks and then form a Russian confederation with the Bolshevik-controlled areas, in a way that showed that Russia was still a united whole. ”

Stalin also put forward new demands: he hoped that the two sides would first achieve a three-month truce so that the details of the peace talks could be discussed in depth; During the armistice, the two sides ceased all hostilities against each other, and as a sign of sincerity, he could cede Leningrad to our troops first, and release another 30,000 prisoners of war from our army. ”

Zeitzler blurted out: "Führer, are you ready to accept the terms of the armistice?" ”

"A truce can be considered, but at least until the Summer Thunder campaign is over." Hoffman smiled, "Stalin had a beautiful idea, a three-month truce meant that the three months of July, August, and September, which were the most favorable for the offensive in 1943, would be gone, and then the cold winter would come again in November, and he would immediately win a respite, and all he paid was a mere St. Petersburg and 30,000 prisoners of war." ”

Everyone agreed.

"I have sent Minister Ribbentrop to Bulgaria to negotiate an armistice, and he will raise the asking price until the Battle of Thunder is almost there...... Therefore, it is necessary to achieve significant results on the battlefield. Hoffmann paused, "I emphasize once again that the goal of the campaign is to destroy the enemy's heavy army group and shake the enemy's morale, not simply to occupy here or there. ”

Hoffman has different considerations about the terms of peace talks, don't look at the fact that the German army has occupied a lot of territory since Barbarossa, but most of them belong to various eastern countries, and the basic territory that really belongs to the Russian People's Liberation Army is actually not large, and it is extremely long and narrow, as far as the current land distribution is concerned, the Bolsheviks still have at least 85% of the Russian-controlled areas, and it is not derogatory to say that Vlasov and others are Mensheviks.

"Besides, I remember that you proposed a sharp arrow plan last time, why didn't you talk about it this time?"

The so-called "sharp arrow" plan was actually the overall idea of Marshal Manstein's landing operation in the northern part of the Caspian Sea and sweeping through the Russian hinterland. Last time, Hoffman thought it was too aggressive, so Jodl and Zeitzler didn't put it in this time.

"We thought the next phase would start ......"

"The first stage is ready to move. If the Thunder Campaign had been launched on July 6, the Arrows would have been able to move around July 15, and the enemy would have been able to take them by surprise as the enemy's attention had been on the front line. The feeder campaign was under the full command of Field Marshal Rommel, and the first forces were committed to 4 divisions: 1 Panzer Division, 1 Panzergrenadier Division, 1 Mountain Infantry Division (Prince Eugen) and 1 General Infantry Division. Hoffman looked at the map and said his intentions, "But the landing site should be changed, not on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, but on the eastern shore." ”

"East Coast?" The others were stunned.

"Yes, East Coast." Hoffman nodded, "Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on the east bank are all places where Russian minorities gather, we can help the ethnic groups there continue to be independent, in addition, the Pahlavi Shah also wants to make a big move, and is willing to send another 5-80,000 troops from northeast Iran to cooperate with our army's actions, he has a good relationship with Rommel, and the troops can fully accept Rommel's command." ”

After Pahlavi successfully ascended the throne and became independent and seized power in Iran, his ambitions swelled rapidly, and he raised his hands to agree to the request to send troops, the only condition was that he hoped to divide Turkmenistan's territory into Iran, because a large part of the Caucasus direction was occupied by Turkey, and the Iranians were angry about grabbing too little.

Keitel immediately applauded: "The Führer's strategy is so brilliant that we will not only punch Stalin in the soft underbelly, but will further intimidate Afghanistan and northwestern India and divert the attention of the British." ”

Although Zeitzler did not feel that the occupied territories of Cumen, Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan were of substantial lethality to Russia, at least they looked good on the map, and they did not need to spend many troops and supplies, and the German army currently had an advantage in the Caspian Sea -- a large number of S-boats had been mobilized by rail, and they had air supremacy in the air.

Keitel's boast was certainly not nonsense: Stalin was now transferring a large number of Central Asian troops to the central theater, and the Central Asian defenses were very empty, and he believed that he would be able to win it with the prestige of Field Marshal Rommel. Field Marshal Rommel is now the number one amphibious landing expert, and everyone thinks that if the Sea Lion program is to be carried out in the future, he must be the seed player.

"If nothing changes, the campaign plan is so determined." Hoffman smiled, "I will have a secret meeting with Admiral Darlan to-morrow to discuss the entry of France into the war against the British—the French were very touched when they heard that we had conquered Ceylon and were preparing to march into India, and feared that they would not be able to find even the African colonies of Zambia and Rhodesia if they came too late." Then I had to accompany Miss Braun to the Eagle's Nest for a few days off, so I won't go to the front this time. I am sure that you will be able to report the good news of victory to me in time. ”

Everyone looked deeply understanding.

The two marshals Hult and Kleist, who had just been promoted, said on behalf of everyone: "We will definitely dedicate the victory of the battle to the Führer as the best engagement gift!" (To be continued.) )