Red Moscow

While Zhukov and others were deploying the counter-offensive for the next day, Manstein, who was sitting on the plane to Berlin, looked gloomy. This calm and observant marshal made a decision based on his consciousness Without judgment, Mustache summoned him urgently at this moment, there is absolutely nothing good.

Like a movie playing in his mind, he reviewed many details since the beginning of the Battle of the Fortress. Although Tansen's Imperial Division suffered another devastating blow, his troops still achieved great results. Perhaps in a day or two, or even tomorrow, the troops massed outside Prokhorovka will succeed in defeating the Russians, who are outnumbered, and will take the city.

Although the Rokossovsky troops north of Kursk are attacking the Orel salient, threatening the retreat of Model's 9th Army, but with Model's strength, I believe he is fully capable of defusing the situation. crisis. Moreover, once one's own troops successfully occupied the city of Prokhorovka, the original strategic intention of detouring from the north and south flanks to encircle the Russian troops in the Kursk salient can still be fully realized.

He shouted in his heart: "If it is true that troops are transferred from Kursk at this moment to reinforce Sicily, then we will lose the victory that is easy to win."

A few hours later, when Manstein came to the wolf's lair, he accidentally saw Kruger, the commander of the Central Army Group, sitting in a spacious room, drinking coffee with a blank face. Seeing Manstein's arrival, Kruger stood up and asked in surprise, "Marshal Manstein, I didn't expect the Führer to call you back from the front line."

"Yes, Mr. Marshal." Manstein said absently while shaking hands with Kruger, "I also left the front line in a hurry after receiving an order from the head of state."

"Do you know why the head of state summoned us?"

"I think this emergency summoning may have something to do with the landing of Britain and the United States in Sicily." Manstein said blankly, "In order to ease the situation there, troops may be deployed from the Eastern Front for reinforcements."

"Drop troops from the Eastern Front?" Kruger said in surprise, "Will this not reduce our strength in Russia?"

"Mr. Field Marshal," before Manstein could express his views again, an SS officer appeared in front of the two of them and said respectfully, "Please follow me to the meeting room. The meeting will be held soon. It's time to start."

The two followed the officers to the conference room, where Manstein saw many familiar faces: General Zeitzler, Chief of the Army General Staff, Field Marshal Keitel, Chief of the General Staff of the High Command, and Jodl, his deputy Chief of Operations. Of course, Air Marshal Goering, who was wearing a white uniform full of medals, must be indispensable.

Regarding the two marshals who returned from the front, the attitude of everyone towards Manstein was obviously much more enthusiastic. After all, the other party was the "Conqueror of Sevastopol", and his feats were enough to cover what Kruger did in Russia. everything.

Not long after the two sat down, they heard an officer shouting loudly at the door: "Your Excellency is here!"

Hearing this shout, everyone stood up in unison, straightened their bodies and turned their eyes to the door. Soon, everyone saw the familiar mustache. He lowered his head, put his hands behind his back, and walked in with a blank expression.

When the generals and marshals present saluted him, he just waved his hands casually. After he sat down, he turned his gaze to the army chief of staff: "Zeitzler, let me introduce the current situation."

Zeitzler, who was named, stood up, walked to the wall, pointed to the map on the wall with the explaining stick in his hand, and said to everyone: "Gentlemen, Britain and the United States implemented the plan in Sicily on July 9th. In addition to landing operations, their operational intentions are to eliminate our and Italian air and sea power from the island, control the Mediterranean Sea and remove Italian Prime Minister Mussolini, and establish a strong offensive starting point for future attacks on Italy.

In order to smash this attempt of Britain and the United States, the Sicilian defenders began to counterattack under the command of Lieutenant General Guzzoni of the Italian Army. My 15th Armored Division was transferred from the west of the island to the east coast to prevent Montgomery's British 8th Army from moving north towards Augusta; The US 7th Army launched a counterattack. In order to ensure the success of the counterattack, the Air Force also dispatched 481 aircraft of various types to provide necessary air support to the ground forces. "

When Manstein heard this, he couldn't help but glanced at Goering, thinking that the big fat man's face must be full of complacency. After all, among the troops participating in the counterattack, not only his air force was dispatched, but there was even a Armored Infantry Division. Unexpectedly, he was surprised to see the other party closing his eyes expressionlessly.

I just heard Zeitzler continue: "Unfortunately enough, our counterattack was not successful. Although our tanks advanced to a position less than two kilometers away from the US beachhead, they were met with crazy counterattacks by the Americans. Even their warships bombarded our tanks with naval guns.

The battle lasted until the evening. After losing a large number of tanks, our army had to choose to retreat, while the US army took the opportunity to occupy the city of Gera. The 15th Armored Division in the east failed to stop the British, and Syracuse fell. "

Hearing Zeitzler's report, Manstein felt extremely heavy. The failure of Sicily's counterattack meant that elite troops had to be drawn from other battlefields to strengthen the defense there. The elite troops were transferred to the most critical areas of the war.

"Marshal Kruger, Marshal Manstein." Just as Manstein was frowning and thinking hard, he suddenly heard the voice of Mustache calling himself and Kruger, and he stopped thinking immediately, stood up and waited for Mustache instruct. Seeing that the two marshals had stood up, Mustache said expressionlessly: "In view of the fact that the British and American coalition forces landed in Sicily, the situation in Italy has become very unstable, and relying on the strength of our ally Italy itself, it is impossible to resist the West." Allied invasion. In order to preserve Italy and the Balkans, I have decided to suspend Operation Fortress and draw troops from the Eastern Front to support the Italian Front."

"My head of state," Kruger said with a smile as soon as the mustache finished speaking: "Your decision is really wise. Russian general Rokossovsky's troops are attacking the Orel salient. , seriously threatening the rear of the Ninth Army. In order to avoid letting General Model's troops fall into the Russian siege, we should indeed terminate the offensive and turn to the defensive on the spot."

"My Fuhrer," Manstein waited for Kruger to finish speaking, and immediately raised objections: "Although our army encountered some obstacles during the offensive, I am grateful for our army's victory in the Kursk salient. Still full of confidence. Today's Russians have already been defeated under the powerful offensive of our army. As long as we persevere a little longer, we will be able to win.

I strongly suggest that the Central Army Group and the Southern Army Group should continue to attack the Kursk salient as planned to achieve their original strategic goals. "

Hearing what Manstein said, Zeitzler had an expression of surprise on his face, and he asked with some gaffe: "Your Excellency, Marshal, what are you going to do next?"

"Now the Russians have invested all their reserves in Kursk," Manstein said in his own way: "And I still have the 23rd Panzer Division and the Viking Division in my hand. As long as these two units are put into battle , can completely smash the resistance of the Russians and enable us to win the final victory."

"Mr. Marshal, you are so optimistic." As soon as Manstein finished speaking, Marshal Kruger jumped out to refute him: "Under the current circumstances, the Central Army Group cannot participate in any plan to continue the offensive, because The Russians are launching an offensive. Once they capture the Orel salient, Model's 9th Army will be encircled, and it will become the second Stalingrad. Therefore, the primary task of our Central Army Group is how to Withdraw Ninth Army safely and any attack will be out of our consideration."

When Kruger mentioned Stalingrad, Mustache's face suddenly turned livid. After Paulus' troops fell into the encirclement, more than one person persuaded him to allow Paulus' troops to jump out of the Russian encirclement, but he ruthlessly refused them all. Now that Model's Ninth Army is also facing encirclement by the Russians, he absolutely does not allow this to happen, so his desire to terminate the fortress operation has become stronger and stronger.

"That's enough, don't talk about it." Mustache interrupted Kruger and said grumpily: "Now we are fighting on two fronts at the same time, so we must not devote the last reserve team to the protracted war. In combat. Therefore, the termination of the fortress operation is necessary, and we must send troops to reinforce Italy as soon as possible."

"My head of state, I do not agree to deploy troops from the Kursk region to reinforce Italy." Manstein understood Mustache's temper very well, and knew that in any dispute with the head of state, if he gained the upper hand, it would be inevitable. provoked merciless revenge. But in order to prevent the easy-to-reach victory from slipping away in vain, he could only bite the bullet and say: "The Russians are almost unable to support them now. As long as we invest in the final reserve team, we can completely crush their resistance." .”

If someone else contradicted Mustache like this, Mustache must have lost his temper long ago. But the person who spoke at this moment was Manstein the conqueror of Sevastopol. When the field marshal was at a disadvantage in terms of strength and equipment at the beginning of the year, he successfully crushed the powerful offensive of the Russians. Since he said that the Russians in the Kursk Bulge could be wiped out, this possibility must exist.