Red Moscow

William Stemmelman's words made Kenf fall into silence. He began to wonder whether Sokov would engage his troops near the bridge while sending other troops to launch new attacks from other areas. attack.

"Gentlemen," Kenfe thought for a while, and then asked several teachers: "Tell me, will the Russians attack from other directions?"

The commander of the 320th Infantry Division shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, I think Commander William Stemmerman's judgment is completely wrong. The Russians will not attack from other directions except from their bridgehead. We attack."

After he finished speaking, he immediately got the support of the two division commanders of the 168th and 106th Infantry Divisions. They also agreed that it was impossible for the Russians to attack from other directions.

These three German division commanders are all old subordinates of the former commander of the 11th Army, General Rouse, because William Stemmelman replaced Routh when the battle was at its height, which made them feel aggrieved by their old superiors Therefore, in many ways, they have formed an alliance, consciously targeting William Stemmelmann, resolutely opposing as long as he supports; and resolutely supporting what he opposes.

Everyone's opinions are one-sided, which makes Kenfu a little embarrassed. In all fairness, he also felt that Sokov's opponent was not simple, and he would definitely not carry out reckless assaults in directions that were difficult to break through like other Russian generals, which would consume a lot of the effective strength of the troops.

Before Kenfe could make a decision, several officers quickly walked in from the outside. After seeing the person coming, Kenff immediately stood up from his seat and asked, "General Wheeler, why did you come to my place?"

The person who came was Manstein's chief of staff, General Weller. He nodded at Kenff, and then said: "General Kenff, I was ordered to take over your position. Now, please hand over to me immediately." .”

General Wheeler's words stunned everyone present. You must know that when the war was so critical, General Laws was replaced by William Stemmelman, which had caused dissatisfaction among several division commanders. Now Manstein has done even better. He actually directly used his chief of staff, General Weller, to replace General Kenff.

"General Kenff, when you are handing over to me, I have another important news to tell you. From now on, it will be officially renamed the Eighth Army, and I will be the commander of the army."

After Kenf handed over the defense to Weller, he left the conference room in a daze.

When the door of the meeting room was closed again, Weller sat in the position where Kenff sat not long ago, and asked William Stemmelman who was sitting on the right: "General William, what were you discussing before I came?"

"General Wheeler," William Stemmelmann quickly replied, "not long ago, one of our reconnaissance planes was shot down by a Russian fighter plane. I don't think the Russians would shoot down our reconnaissance plane for no reason. It's what they're doing in the area that they don't want our surveillance planes to find out."

Weller waited for William Stemmelmann to finish speaking, and asked blankly, "General William, where do you think the Russians will launch their attack?"

William Stemmelman got up quickly, pushed the map in front of Weller in front of him, and introduced him respectfully: "Your Excellency, Commander, I think the Russians may take some action in this area." In order to let Weller have a more vivid understanding, he deliberately tapped twice with his finger on the area where the Soviet army might attack.

Unexpectedly, after reading it, Weller said disapprovingly: "General William, the river in this area is several hundred meters wide. Even if the Russians try to sneak in, our defense forces can wipe them out in the Oud River. "

Regarding Wheeler's statement, the remaining division commanders immediately agreed.

Seeing that most of the commanders present supported him, Weller couldn't help feeling complacent. He turned his head and said to the chief of staff sitting on the left: "Chief of staff, I want to ask you, what happened to the 282nd Infantry Division? the Russians."

Hearing Wheeler's question, the chief of staff couldn't help sweating profusely. He took out a handkerchief, desperately wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stammered, "Your Excellency, please listen to my explanation. The 282nd Division just came from The troops transferred from France, the officers and soldiers had already become exhausted after a long march.

Because the war was in danger, they entered the combat area before they had time to rest. But their equipment is too poor. Not only do they only have carriages, but also the machine guns used by officers and soldiers, or the old-fashioned MG-34, it is difficult to form an advantage over the Russians in terms of firepower; and the anti-tank guns equipped by the troops, They are all 37mm guns.

You should know that this 37mm anti-tank artillery has the nickname of a stepping stone. Even at a distance of 400 meters, it cannot penetrate the frontal armor of the Russian T-34 tank. "

"Can poor equipment be the reason for their failure?" Wheeler said angrily: "You know, this unit was originally deployed at the junction of the 6th Armored Division and the 42nd Army, and it was because they were about to collapse at the first touch, causing Vatu Jing's troops successfully charged into the junction between the two armies, splitting our front line.

What you have to do now is to organize forces to counterattack the Russians, drive them away from the junction, and regain our lost positions. "

After quickly recording Wheeler's order, the chief of staff asked respectfully, "Your Excellency, Commander, do you have any other instructions?"

"Chief of Staff, I would like to ask whether the law of tithing should be restored to the 282nd Division, which has disgraced the German soldiers."

"Tithe law!" Hearing what Weller said, William Stemmelman, who had just lit a cigarette, couldn't help shaking, and the cigarette fell directly on his knees, and the sparks made him jump from his seat up.

Weller glanced at William Stemmelman with displeased eyes, with a dissatisfied expression on his face: "That's right, the tithe law, we have to take every ten Take one person out to be executed to warn others. We must let them understand that on the battlefield, no matter whether you are advancing or retreating, you cannot escape the fate of death. As long as you go forward desperately, even if you die in battle unfortunately, you will also serve your family Bring on the honor..."

"Your Excellency, Commander," the chief of staff said to Wheeler with a look of panic, "according to my statistics, there are still more than 5,000 people in the 282nd Division. If we follow the standard of ten people killing one person, then the division has more than five hundred people." Officers and soldiers will be executed."

The rest of the officers present were also shocked when they learned that Weller planned to restore the cruel law of tithes in the ancient Roman army. They felt very confused. If this order was really implemented, what would happen What effect does it have on the troops.

"This is necessary," Wheeler said blankly. "If these cowards are spared this time, then when we fight the Russians next time, more people will flee from their combat positions."

"Your Excellency, Commander," William Stemmelman also realized that Weller's approach was too extreme. After all, the Roman Empire had implemented such cruel military regulations two thousand years ago, but in the end it was because of being too extreme. Cruel and abandoned. "I don't think it is suitable to restore this ancient military regulation under the current circumstances. If we really do this, it will be a huge blow to the morale and morale of the army."

Seeing that William Stemmelmann was standing on his side, the chief of staff felt more confident: "Your Excellency, I think this matter is too important. I think it's better to call Marshal Manstein and listen to him. His opinion."

When Wheeler made his decision, he was still thinking about restoring the ancient military rule of the tithe law, which would definitely win the approval of many officers. After all, the disastrous defeat of the 282nd Infantry Division caused the defense line of the 8th Army to be shut down. For the Russians to break through, they must be given a severe punishment.

Seeing that the chief of staff reminded himself to call Manstein, Weller felt it made sense. Now that he has taken over the post of commander, it is necessary to call and report to the marshal, and casually tell the marshal of his decision to restore the tithe law, and maybe he can still get his praise.

After the call was connected, Manstein asked in a low voice: "General Weller, have you taken over General Kenff's position?"

"Yes, Your Excellency Marshal." Weller said quite proudly: "I have officially taken over the post of commander of the Eighth Army."

"Very good, General Wheeler." Manstein told Wheeler on the phone: "The situation in Kharkov is very bad for our army, and the 11th Army is facing Soko, who is known for his cunning. Husband, you must be vigilant and be careful not to fall into his trap."

"Your Excellency Marshal, you can rest assured about this." Weller has learned about the deployment of the 11th Army, so he said to Manstein confidently: "Although his troops have established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Oude River, the frontal It is too narrow, no matter how many troops he invests, he will not be able to break through our army's arc defense."

After listening to Weller's report, Manstein was a little worried, and confidently questioned the specific situation of the arc defense line. What Weller knew was immediately stated unequivocally; as for those questions that had not been clarified, the chief of staff was asked to answer Manstein's inquiries.

After some cross-examination, Manstein felt that the arc-shaped defense on the east bank of the Ud River was fully capable of blocking the Soviet attack, and he felt more at ease. Just when he was about to put down the phone, he heard Weller say something that shocked him: "Your Excellency Marshal, in order to punish the 282nd Infantry Division defeated by the Russians, I intend to restore the law of tithing. Kill one out of every ten people in the defeated army, as an example to others, and warn those who are greedy for life and afraid of death, if they just run away on the battlefield, these people will end up with them.”

"General Wheeler, do you know what you are doing?" Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Manstein became very angry: "Although the 282nd Division is vulnerable to the Russians, if you use such cruel weapons Dealing with them according to the old military regulations will shake the morale of the army. You must know that the Russians are pressing forward step by step. more unfavorable."

Manstein's words made Weller realize that he was a little too reckless, and he quickly asked for instructions: "Your Excellency, Marshal, what should I do? Should I just turn a blind eye and ignore this matter?"

"It's absolutely impossible to ignore it." Manstein said: "In any case, the disastrous defeat of the 282nd Infantry Division caused our army's defense line to be split by the Russians. A lesson I will never forget."

"What lesson do you teach them?"

"Immediately remove all officers above battalion level from the division, and send suitable candidates to replace them."

"What should we do with the dismissed officers?" Hearing that Manstein didn't mention how to deal with the dismissed officers, Weller asked tentatively, "Do I need to send someone to send them to you?" ?”

"What do I want these cowards who are greedy for life and fear of death?!" Manstein ordered in an unquestionable tone: "Shoot them all on the spot, and let the officers of other troops understand that if they don't fight the Russians with all their strength on the battlefield, It will be the same fate as them in the future.”

Although Manstein didn't want to kill too many people, killing a group of officers of the 282nd Infantry Division could also act as a deterrent to troops who had no fighting spirit. After Weller understood the other party's intentions, he immediately replied loudly: "Understood, Your Excellency Marshal, I will arrange this right away."

After Weiler put down the phone, he returned to the conference table and said to the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, Your Excellency the Marshal just said that all officers above the battalion level of the 282nd Infantry Division will be dismissed and suitable candidates will be dispatched to replace them." their duties."

"Okay, Your Excellency, Commander." The chief of staff thought to himself that there are some officers without real power in the group army, and it is enough to send them directly to the 282nd Infantry Division to take over the corresponding positions, so he readily agreed, and he finally asked : "How should those dismissed officers be dealt with?"

"Your Excellency the Marshal said," said Wheeler through gritted teeth: "These cowards who are greedy for life and fear of death are a disgrace to our German soldiers. They can only wash away such shame with their own blood. After new officers take office, put these All the dismissed officers were shot without leaving a single place.”

The chief of staff was shocked by Wheeler's order, but after thinking about it, the performance of the 282nd Infantry Division on the battlefield was indeed too shameful. The division was stationed at the junction of the 6th Armored Division and the 42nd Corps. According to the plan, they were supposed to hold the Russians there for two to three days to ensure that the troops on the left and right flanks could crush the Russian attack. But with the defeat of the 282nd Infantry Division, this intention failed, and the Russians split the front. It is simply unreasonable not to kill such a culprit.

After thinking about this, the chief of staff agreed loudly, then turned and walked out of the meeting room, went to the communication room to contact officers of other units, and went to the 282nd Infantry Division to take over the vacated position.