"Führer......" Zeitzler was a little anxious, "will oil resources in the Caucasus direction also be abandoned?" We managed to take Rostov and open the door to the Caucasus. ”

"The two strategic priorities on the southern flank of the Eastern Front will allow us to take care of one and lose the other!" Hoffman said categorically, "Our focus is on the elimination of Stalin's heavy military group, and oil resources are not the focus, at least not at this stage." Actually, the Caucasus is a very important strategic fulcrum, not only because there is oil there, but also because the British and Americans replenish the Russians through the Caspian Sea and Iranian passages, and we must pinch off this line. ”

"If we go on the defensive on all fronts, Stalin may get the respite he dreams of, and even recover faster." Guderian was cautious in his words, but the anxiety was palpable: "When the time comes, it will put more pressure on us." ”

"Gentlemen, I know Stalin better than you do, he will not rest honestly once we retreat, for him the only means to restore his authority is to recover the lands we occupy as soon as possible, and if we show the slightest sign of retreat, he will surely pounce on us and attack us, as was the case with the Battle of Demyansk this spring and the Timoshenko offensive in the summer." Hoffman smiled coldly, "What's more, our move to the defense on the Eastern Front does not mean that we are doing nothing, we will shift our strategic focus to other directions, and then the British and Americans will kick his ass." ”

"What does the Führer mean?" Guderian and Zeitzler pondered at the same time whether the Führer wanted to revive the Sea Lion program, but this was an even more difficult goal to achieve.

"My goal is the southern front." Hoffman stood up and pointed in the Führer's customary tone, "In North Africa and the Mediterranean, our forces are too weak, and the poor Italians are even more vulnerable and cannot be counted on at all, while we are facing the British, who are several times more numerous than us and more well-equipped, not to mention the intelligence that the Americans are planning to land in North Africa, and if we do not want to face a two-front battle like in the last war, we must eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible." ”

Every day, all kinds of contradictory, vague, and flawed information are presented to the Führer, which of course is full of insight, but more is speculation, arbitrariness, and conjecture, but since Hoffman is a crosser, he can naturally distinguish between what is useful and what is outright garbage -- the battle of El Alamein is imminent, and the "torch" operation of the US landing in North Africa is also close at hand, and if it is not adjusted, it will really be over. So he took the opportunity to understand the situation, picked out all the reliable inferences and made strategic adjustments based on them.

Hoffman smiled mysteriously: "There is also a great harvest in North Africa, there are considerable reserves in Libya and Algeria, and there are oil fields that are not difficult to exploit, and the British and French have a record of exploration before the war, and they did not start it only because the cost of exploitation is higher than that of the Middle East - only the stupid and lazy Italians are kept in the dark and unaware." ”

"Führer, is this true?" Guderian also stood up excitedly, as a commander of an armored group, he knew too well the importance of oil for warfare, and when he heard such good news, where could he sit still.

It dawned on Zeitzler: what had been thought to be the Führer's new North African strategy was to open up oil routes to the Middle East and then encircle the Russians from the flanks now seemed to be a completely new package. If North Africa really has oil, as the Führer said, and it is not very difficult to exploit it, then the strategic value of the southern front will be greatly enhanced, and the strategic position of the Stalingrad direction will not be so prominent in comparison with it.

"Another advantage of fighting in North Africa is that we can fight land warfare with the British, which they are not good at." Hoffman waved his arms in high spirits, "It's much easier to kill an Englishman in the desert than it is to kill an Englishman on an island." ”

"Rommel knew that this news would have rejoiced at the Führer's wise decision." Although Guderian had a smile on his face, the sour taste could not be concealed in any way.

"It's not him, it's you!" Hoffman smiled, and his voice was full of temptation, "Rommel has been suffering from stomach problems recently, and I am determined to let him rest for a while, I want to appoint you as the commander of the reorganized Imperial 'African Army', with full command of all land operations in Africa and the Mediterranean theater, are you willing?" ”

"At your service, Führer!" Guderian "snapped" upright, stood up straight, and looked very excited -- although the post of commander of the African Army Group did not seem to be comparable to that of the three major army groups on the Eastern Front, if it really took the lead on the North African front, as the Führer said, it was equally desirable.

"Führer, what is my combat goal? How many reinforcements can I get? After the excitement, Guderian remembered the weak strength of the Afrika Army's current 2 armored divisions and 1 light infantry division (both of which were less than a force), and felt a little uneasy.

"Considering the needs of operations in desert areas, I am ready to send you 2 additional armored divisions and 3 motorized infantry divisions, and strive to be in place within a month, and the specific numbers will be dispatched after Zeitzler's appointment is issued tomorrow." Since it has been adjusted to the key strategic direction, Hoffman's capital is not small, "By the end of the year, in addition to successively replenishing the battle losses, you can continue to count on the support of 2 armored divisions and 4 motorized rifle divisions, which will all be German troops." I have a package plan for the southern front, and there will be corresponding strategic measures at sea and in the air, and there will be corresponding coordination with the Italians, at least the Italians will not hold you back. However, your objectives are also very difficult, there are two in total, the first is to defeat the British North African Army and capture Egypt; The second is to repel a possible landing attempt by the Americans. If we can achieve these two goals, we can effectively protect the North African oil fields that will be exploited from onshore intrusion. ”

"Good job!" Hoffman patted Guderian on the shoulder, "Rommel received the Marshal's Scepter for taking Tobruk, and I believe that your merits will not be inferior to his." ”

"Yes, Führer! I will do everything I can for this. Guderian's excitement was palpable.

"General Zeitzler, your task is also very heavy." After explaining Guderian's tasks, Hoffman instructed, "I am determined to reorganize or organize a three-front command, the General Command of the Western Front is responsible for commanding troops from Norway to France and the mainland, the Eastern Front is responsible for all the troops from Finland to the Crimea, and the Southern Front is responsible for Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Balkans. We should take advantage of the favorable opportunity of the Russian front to switch to offensive and defensive to complete the reorganization and replenishment of troops, and to make unified adjustments and substantiation of the troop establishment. After the adjustment, the minimum standard of our army's combat effectiveness should be raised, and one division of our army should overwhelm one of the Russian corps, and it should be able to resist the attack of a Russian infantry army group in defensive operations. By the end of this year, more than half of the 180 divisions on the Russian front should have completed their reorganization tasks, and by the turn of the spring and summer of 1943 they should all be completed -- the day when we and Stalin will settle accounts. ”

Zeitzler's face was embarrassed: "Honorable Führer, I can find a way to complete the replenishment of institutions, personnel and materials, but I am afraid that there will be a considerable gap in technical weapons, especially tanks and artillery." ”

"I will let Speer figure out a way for the production of armaments, and the reorganization must not be delayed." Hoffman waved his hand, "In my name, I will inform you that a strategic meeting will be held tomorrow evening, with the participation of personnel at or above the chief of staff of each group army, and you will explain the future strategic policy, and if you determine the direction, we must act immediately, and our enemy will not give us much time." ”

Dinner was soon over, and Guderian and Zeitzler realized that they had once again listened to the Führer's rambling for more than an hour, but in contrast to the usual boredom and boredom, both of them felt invigorated—the excitement of being reused.