Iron Cross

"The head of state..." Zeitzler was a little anxious, "Are we also giving up the oil resources in the Caucasus? We finally captured Rostov and opened the door to the Caucasus."

"The two strategic priorities on the southern flank of the Eastern Front will make us focus on one at the expense of the other!" Hoffman said decisively, "Our focus is to eliminate Stalin's heavily armed group. Oil resources are not the focus, at least not at this stage. In fact, the Caucasus is a It is a very important strategic pivot, not only because there is oil there, but also because the British and Americans supply blood to the Russians through the Caspian Sea and the Iranian channel, and we must cut off this line.”

"If we all switch to defense, Stalin may get the respite he dreams of and even recover faster." Guderian chose his words carefully, but his anxiety was obvious. "At that time, it will bring us more strength." A lot of pressure.”

"Gentlemen, I know Stalin better than you. Once we retreat, he will not just rest in place. For him, early recovery of the land occupied by us is the only way for him to restore his authority. As long as we have a little If he shows some signs of retreat, he will definitely pounce on us, just like the Battle of Demyansk this spring and the Timoshenko Offensive in the summer." Hoffman smiled coldly, "What's more, we are on the Eastern Front. Going defensive does not mean we do nothing, we will shift our strategic focus in other directions, and then the British and Americans will kick his ass."

"What does the head of state mean?" Guderian and Zeitzler were lost in thought at the same time. Could it be that the head of state wants to resume the "Sea Lion" program, but this is an even more difficult goal to achieve.

"My target is the southern front." Hoffman stood up and pointed out in the habitual tone of the head of state, "In North Africa and the Mediterranean, our troops are too weak, and the poor Italians are even more vulnerable. We can't count on them at all. No, but we are facing the British who are several times more numerous and better equipped than us. What's more, intelligence shows that the Americans are planning to land in North Africa. If we don't want to face a two-front war like the last war , this hidden danger must be eliminated as soon as possible.”

Every day, all kinds of contradictory, vague, and full of loopholes in intelligence are presented to the head of state. Of course, there is no shortage of insights, but most of them are guesses, arbitrary and conjectures. However, since Hoffman is a time traveler, Naturally, we can tell which ones are useful and which ones are out-and-out rubbish - the Battle of El Alamein is imminent, and the "Torch" landing of the US military in North Africa is also close at hand. If we don't adjust, it will really be over. So he took the opportunity to understand the situation, select all reliable inferences, and make strategic adjustments based on them.

Hoffman pretended to smile mysteriously: "There is another great harvest in North Africa. There are oil fields in Libya and Algeria that have considerable reserves and are not difficult to exploit. The British and French had exploration records before the war. Just because of the exploitation The cost was higher than in the Middle East, so we didn’t do it—only the stupid and lazy Italians were kept in the dark.”

"Führer, is this true?" Guderian also stood up excitedly. As an armored group commander, he was very aware of the importance of oil in combat. When he heard such good news, he could not sit still. live.

Zeitzler suddenly realized: He originally thought that the head of state's new North Africa strategy was to open up oil channels to the Middle East and then surround the Russians from the flanks, but now it seems that it is a completely new package plan. If North Africa really has oil as the head of state said and it is not difficult to extract it, then the strategic value of the southern route will be greatly improved. Compared with the direction of Stalingrad, the strategic position will not be so prominent.

"Another advantage of fighting in North Africa is that we can fight the British on land, which they are not good at." Hoffman waved his arms enthusiastically, "It is easier to kill a British guy in the desert than to kill a British guy on an island. many."

"Rommel will definitely cheer for the Führer's wise decision when he knows this news." Although Guderian had a smile on his face, he could not hide the sour taste in any way.

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

"I am willing to serve you, Führer!" Guderian stood at attention with a snap, standing straight with a very excited expression. Although the position of the commander of the African Army Group does not seem to be comparable to the positions of the three major army groups on the Eastern Front, if As the head of state said, it is also exciting to be able to take charge of the North African front.

"Führer, what is my combat goal? How many reinforcements can I get?" After being excited, Guderian felt a little uneasy when he thought of the weak strength of the African Army's current two armored divisions and one light infantry division (both of which were understaffed).

"Considering the need for combat in the desert, I plan to send you two additional armored divisions and three motorized infantry divisions, and strive to have them in place within a month. The specific numbers will be determined after Zeitzler's appointment is issued tomorrow." Since the adjustment has become a key strategic direction, Hoffman has invested a lot of money. "By the end of the year, in addition to gradually replenishing the losses in the battle, you can continue to count on the support of two armored divisions and four motorized infantry divisions. These troops will all be German troops. I have a package plan for the southern front, with corresponding strategic measures at sea and in the air, and corresponding coordination with the Italians. At least you won't let the Italians hold you back. But your goals are also very difficult, there are two in total, the first is to defeat the British North African Corps and occupy Egypt; the second is to repel the possible landing attempt of the Americans. If these two goals can be achieved, we can effectively protect the North African oil fields to be mined from land invasion. "

"Do a good job!" Hoffman patted Guderian on the shoulder, "Rommel won the marshal's baton for taking Tobruk, I believe your achievements will not be inferior to his."

"Yes, Führer! I will do my best for this." Guderian's excitement was beyond words.

"General Zeitzler, your task is also heavy." After explaining Guderian's task, Hoffman instructed, "I am determined to adjust or establish three front headquarters. The Western Front General Headquarters will be responsible for commanding the troops from Norway to France and the mainland. The Eastern Front will be responsible for all troops from Finland to Crimea. The Southern Front will be responsible for Africa, the Mediterranean and the Balkans. All the original conflicting institutional settings and troop affiliations must be readjusted. We must take advantage of the favorable opportunity of the Russian front's transition to offensive defense to complete the reorganization and replenishment of the troops, and make unified adjustments and enrichments to the troop organization. At this stage, it is not appropriate to form new troops. After the adjustment, the minimum standard of our army's combat effectiveness should be improved. One of our divisions should overwhelm a Russian army, and should be able to resist the attack of a Russian infantry army in defensive operations. By the end of this year, more than half of the 180 divisions on the Russian front should have completed the reorganization task, and by 19 It should all be completed by the turn of spring and summer in 1943 - that will be the day for us to settle accounts with Stalin. "

Zeitzler looked embarrassed: "Dear Führer, I can find a way to complete the replenishment of institutions, personnel and materials, but I am afraid there will be a considerable gap in technical weapons, especially tanks and artillery."

"I will let Speer find a way to produce armaments, and we must not delay the reorganization." Hoffman waved his hand, "In my name, notify everyone to hold a strategic meeting tomorrow night, and all army chiefs and above will attend. You will explain the future strategic policy. Once the direction is determined, we must act immediately. Our enemies will not give us too much time."

The dinner ended quickly, and Guderian and Zeitzler realized that they had listened to the Führer's endless speech for more than an hour again. However, unlike the previous boredom and boredom, both of them felt extremely excited - the excitement of being reused.