On the evening of 12 November, all the German camps that had received orders to attack were busy and full. The task of the armored divisions is the heaviest, and the spearhead composed of tanks as the core mobile force must penetrate the entire Red Army group and be responsible for dividing it, and the task of the infantry divisions is not light, they must immediately follow the passage opened by the armored division to intersperse and hold on, otherwise the gap that the spear tip is struggling to tear is easily blocked by the Red Army who react, which will not only fail the opportunity that the armored division has worked so hard to create, but also make the armored troops fall into the sea of enemy troops and find it difficult to extricate themselves.

All infantry divisions were given clear sortie positions, and the 44th Infantry Division, composed entirely of Austrians, was the second wave of attack, and they were the forces that followed closely behind the Panzer Division. Except for a very small number of vanguard troops that served as rapid reconnaissance and assault missions, whether it was the scorching sun in summer or the cold wind in winter, the main force of the infantry division could only choose to use two legs to solve the traffic problem most of the time, not only because the limited vehicles and livestock carts should be given priority to the transportation of equipment and materials, but also because of the low density of roads in Russia and the low quality of the grade, mechanization could not be used. November is already a rare good weather suitable for sports operations, if it is in April, when the ground thaws and the ground turns over, it is usually difficult to extricate yourself from the mud at a depth of 30-40 cm, wheeled vehicles are difficult to pass, and half-track armored vehicles are often stuck in the mud.

Under such maneuvering conditions, the infantry divisions can still advance at a maximum speed of 30-50 kilometers per day. It may seem inconspicuous, but considering that these army prides accomplished this feat while carrying about 25 kilograms of military equipment, no one dares to underestimate it. These include helmets, rifles. Ammunition and tools for digging trenches - mostly sapper shovels, a small number of people carried pickaxes, in addition to a tent and a leather bag full of things, stuffed with enough canned food, lunch boxes, a stove for heating or cooking in the field, a set of aluminium lunch boxes, cleaning equipment, a change of clothes. Accessories for setting up tents, field uniforms, sewing supplies. Razors, soap and Vulkan-Sanex condoms - condoms were still a regular item for the infantry, although it had long been decreed that sexual relations with local women were prohibited.

The key task of this campaign was to divide and eliminate the heavy forces of the Red Army in front of them, and a rapid assault was the most important point. Considering that the overall time window of the campaign is only 3 days. Army Group South placed high demands on the mobility of its troops, and the 30-50 km advance speed did not meet the wishes of Manstein and the staff officers, who eagerly expected the advance of the troops, especially those such as the 44th Infantry Division, to advance at a speed of more than 70 km a day. In order to effectively achieve this goal, the command headquarters racked its brains to improve the mobility of the troops, and on the one hand, the staff group and the logistics organs mobilized sufficient mobile forces for the infantry divisions at the farthest end and closely followed the advance of the armored units, and on the other hand, they demanded that all infantry divisions reduce their burdens as much as possible and achieve light loading, and all the materials needed for long-term field life, such as stoves, kitchen utensils, tents, and a change of clothes, were not applicable. All non-essential civilian personnel were also required to remain in the field so as not to slow down the pace of operations. The combat order was clear, it was a quick run. The aim was only to destroy the living forces of the Red Army, and not to conquer or occupy certain places, and the meanders of the Don River would have been relinquished to the Russians after the battle, if they wanted to. In the end, after much deliberation, it was determined that all items except ammunition, combat and first aid tools, and food were arranged in the original camp, and the average weight of each soldier was reduced to 17 kilograms.

Unlike Hitler, who was obsessed with the formation and training of new units and preferred to intervene directly in front-line operations, Hoffmann knew where his abilities lay and was not interested in both, but he paid more attention to logistics than ever before, and for several months he not only urged bureaucrats at all levels to prepare adequate winter equipment, but also attached great importance to the renewal and design of field rations. According to the original German logistics standards, the most important thing in the battle was to carry food, they were usually prepared by the cooks of each unit a day, and the soldiers on the march received 3-4 portions per day, including 700 grams of rye bread, 200 grams of frozen meat or cheese, 60 grams of butter, 9 grams of coffee or 6 grams of black tea, and 10 grams of granulated sugar and 6 rolls of tobacco, which were usually wrapped in cans or paper and carried in cardboard boxes.

Hoffmann came up with a request to update the ration system, and at his request, German nutrition specialists and logistics departments introduced special foods that met the requirements of combat without cooking earlier than in history, characterized by portability and high calorie content, and these field rations were divided into two categories: large combat food (Grosskampfpaeckchen) and close combat food (Nachkampfpackchen), which were supplied only to front-line combat units, For example, the No. 1 ration used by the field troops includes 700 grams of bread, 136 grams of fresh meat with bones, 7 grams of soybean flour, 30 grams of fish (without head), 250 grams of vegetables and fruits, 320 grams of potatoes, 80 grams of asparagus, 20 grams of pudding powder, 25 grams of condensed milk, 15 grams of salt, 1 gram of spicy food, 60 grams of cream and fat, and occasionally a little red wine. The food was packed in rations and placed on supply trucks, which were then ordered to be distributed by the commander during the battle, and given the difficulty of supplying in the heat of battle, officers often asked soldiers to carry one day's food with them. Army Group South had the privilege of receiving a large-scale new system of field rations on a priority basis, which Manstein did not hesitate to implement immediately.

In accordance with the standards and requirements set by Germany, Western European countries, especially the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, got a lot of orders for the production of field rations, and at first the domestic capitalists were not satisfied, believing that the production of such products did not have technical content, and a large outflow of orders made these countries make money in vain and also lost the sales of domestic products, but with the advancement of large-scale military manufacturing, the consumption of domestic living materials began to increase, and the concerns about unsalable agricultural products completely disappeared. The light industry capitalists of the Western European countries who had benefited from the benefits and benefits first began to support Germany's order policy, and then the peasants of various countries also expressed their satisfaction, especially the French peasant class, which had a traditional political power and increased its favorability towards Germany, and the little brothers of the axis, including Bulgaria and Romania, who had always given prominence to agriculture, did their best to take over the material orders, and the Italian capitalists were also eager to try this.

Under Hoffmann's full mobilization and ingenious design, not only the heavy industry, even light industry and civilian industry in Europe have begun to be deeply involved in the war, and all countries have benefited from Germany's war boom and developed, making people feel that Germany's proposal for the common development of the European Union is not an empty slogan, the only thing that worries people is probably Germany's ability to pay, and a small part of these bills are paid by Germany with arms and other equipment, and some are paid with precious metals such as gold, Most of the remainder was paid in German bonds booked in the Reichsmark, which wiped out most of them each year - the occupied countries had to pay for the occupation and the ransom of the prisoners, but a small part remained in the form of pure national debt. Hoffmann was not worried about this debt, and the top leaders and capitalists of various countries were also very confident - if Germany won the war, he was afraid that he would not have the money to pay the bills? The only countries that still insist that Germany should pay in full with foreign exchange or precious metals and have a large trade volume are Sweden, Spain and Portugal, and Swedish iron ore is inseparable from Germany, Hoffman has nothing to say, Portugal is biased towards Britain and the United States, and this approach is also in line with its position, but the behavior of Spain, a white-eyed wolf, has always made Hoffman hate itchy.

Of course, the logistics organs still had concerns, fearing that these military rations would be poisoned, but after repeated spot checks and inspections, they finally found that the rations supplied from abroad were basically qualified -- there was no deliberate poisoning at all.

Now, Manstein, Heinrich and others are gnawing on these new field rations in the command headquarters to direct operations, which is not only the supreme commander's claim to share weal and woe with the officers and men on the front, but also to empathize with the state of supply and hunger, which is more conducive to judging the troops' sustained combat capability.

Heinrich saw Manstein's plan on the first day he got out of the car, and knew that this marshal who was good at using surprise troops and clever tactics would never be stupid enough to fight the Russians in a positional battle, and from his move to retreat and abandon the bend of the Don without a fight, he knew that he was planning a big plan, but he still had a different view on some specific command strategies.

He asked Manstein: "Is it true that there is no preparation for artillery fire?" ”

"No, this is a surprise attack, and artillery preparation will remind the Red Army ......" Manstein raised his eyes and looked at his watch, "It will be a good time to prepare for artillery fire when the troops are interspersed in place tomorrow morning, and I hope that our battalion and regimental commanders will be smarter and not stupidly run into the wrong position and suffer from their own artillery fire." ”

"It's inevitable." Heinrich shook his head slightly, "I just hope the loss is not too big." ”

"Yes......," Manstein sighed, too, "in order to achieve a high exchange ratio, I calculated that countless brain cells were killed to devise this plan, and if this is not enough, then the only way to do this is to defend the trench and fight another positional battle." ”

Chief of Staff Weller raised his eyes to look at the wall clock on the wall, the minute hand ticked to the designated position, and all the attacking units finally began to move! (To be continued.) )