"The enemy would never have imagined that we would launch a surprise attack through the Ardennes Forest with our powerful armoured forces, and then advance to the lower reaches of the Somme, cutting off the retreat of the Belgian army in front of the Somme!" Manstein said emotionally.

More than half of the Ardennes region is covered by forests, the land is barren and the roads are rough, making it a veritable area of natural hazards. Not only did the French not expect the German armoured units to pass through this place, but even many German generals had been reluctant to allow the armoured troops to enter the forest.

There is a classic dogma in the art of war in ancient China, which is called Fenglin Mo Enter. This means that when the troops encounter a forest area, they should avoid it as much as they can, and never enter it easily. Because in the woodland that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, an enemy who has been ambushed in advance can even kill and injure several times of its own troops, achieving the effect of being a man and a man.

In contemporary Germany, this art of war has another meaning. That is, do not drive the armored units into the dense woods, because the tanks will not be able to pass at all in such environmental conditions.

However, as if he did not see the skeptical look on everyone's faces, Manstein continued to talk to himself: "By this means alone, we will be able to encircle them on the northern flank of the battle line, and then completely annihilate this counterattack force, thus creating the preconditions for a complete victory in the French campaign." ”

To illustrate how important this is, Manstein gives the example: "Ladies and gentlemen, in Poland we annihilated their counterattack on the Buzula River, and then completed all the rest of the battle in one fell swoop. In the same way, the French will not be able to withstand the blow of losing the main force of the counterattack and thus collapse completely! ”

Hearing this, someone finally couldn't help but ask. Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht Army, who had drawn up the Yellow Plan at the beginning, finally poured out the doubts that had been squeezed in his heart in one fell swoop.

"Mr. Chief of Staff, did you think about the topographical impact that is crucial in the war when you formulated the specific plan? In the dense forests of the Ardennes, how do you keep the armoured units moving? Brauchitsch asked reluctantly: "In addition, once the Anglo-French forces are properly handled, avoid a decisive battle in Belgium, and at the same time gather forces to launch a large-scale counter-assault on the southern flank of our army to encircle the main forces of our army in Belgium, how should we deal with it?!" ”

Blahsich said solemnly and loudly: "War is not a sand table deduction, if you lose, you can never start again. And the plan you're responsible for making envisions everything as ideal is something I can't agree with! ”

Although Blaschich had gradually accepted the new plan, when he heard that Manstein had chosen the Ardennes Forest for the breakthrough of Army Group B, the responsible commander-in-chief once again stepped forward.

In fact, the question asked by Blahsitch was also something that many of the generals present wanted to confirm. It's just that he was the first to stand up.

Sure enough, these two guys who couldn't get along in history still didn't get along well after meeting each other under their own coordination.

Reinhardt on the side helplessly watched as the two famous players with different styles expounded their views and played games.

Speaking freely, this is the effect he is pursuing. Reinhardt did not favor Manstein because he was his descendant, nor did he dismiss Boulhitch because he knew in advance that the Scythe Harvest would succeed.

"It's natural," Manstein replied to Boulschich calmly, still calm at first, "I don't expect to sit back and wait for the war to end with a plan. ”

Unlike Boulahci's agitated seriousness, Manstein just smiled and began his speech: "First, the Scythe Harvest Plan is not a plan to be taken for granted. Every part of it, I went through multi-party consultation and comparison before making the final decision. ”

"I have asked Lieutenant General Guderian whether the armored forces can pass through the Ardennes Forest, and the answer is - it can be passed." Manstein nodded slightly in the direction in which Guderian was sitting.

"Yes, I have done a good job of understanding the terrain of the Ardennes Forest. Our armored forces are now equipped with tank No. 5, which can break through some small trees that cross there. As for some of the large trees blocking the main road, it is really not possible to clear them with a chain saw. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Guderian responded with a few words: "In short, if the armored forces want to pass, there is no problem in theory." ”

With Guderian, a master of armor, speaking, everyone no longer has doubts about whether the Ardennes Forest can pass through the armored forces. Even if they knew about tanks, could they still compare with an academic expert like Guderian?

Forget it, as far as I know that little bit of fur, I still get held on to it so as not to be ugly.

"Tank Five?" Brauchitsch apparently reacted to Guderian's sudden mention of the new name.

He had heard of tanks No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, and he also knew tank No. 4, which is often referred to as the T3 tank. When was there a fifth tank ?!

Finding that it was not only Brauchitsch, but also Bock, Lebu and other generals with puzzled expressions, Guderian continued as if he remembered something: "Oh, that's right. Tank No. 5 is still under secrecy, and only the 19th Panzer Corps under my command has been reequipped for the time being. ”

Reinhardt's face twitched as he listened. I quietly gave you the good equipment first, why did you still say it?

However, fortunately, the propaganda of the National Socialist Party was in place, and Guderian's fame in the German armored community was still quite large, so no one seemed to feel that there was anything wrong.

"Ahem........ By the way, I'm just going to say that. Afraid that everyone would react and give the first batch of No. 5 tanks to Guderian and miss them, Reinhardt hurriedly changed the subject and said: "This........ The Anglo-French forces in the Ardennes were largely defense-free, because they did not believe that we would attack from such impassable places. ”

"It's all absolutely reliable news, and you can trust it with confidence." Reinhardt made up for his prophet Goldfinger: "We have several high-ranking intelligence agents in the French hierarchy, and they have found the same information on this matter. ”

After Guderian and Reinhardt had finished explaining to themselves, Manstein continued: "Of course, it is impossible for any battle plan to accurately predict every detail of what will happen after the encounter with the enemy. Only a layman would believe that in the course of a battle, a predetermined battle plan can take into account all the details and carry out the original plan from beginning to end of the battle. ”

"Our staff members always leave plenty of leeway for every plan!" Manstein straightened his collar and said with some conceit.

He has conceited capital! That's what everyone at the bottom thinks.