Steel Soviet Union

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Manteuffel will never forget that the two SS officers mocked him as if he were air, and he will never forget that he had already clenched his fists at that time, but did not have the courage to go up and confront the two SS officers. Let’s talk about the theory, let alone beat them up on the spot.

I am really confused, so stupid!

I can't blame others for laughing at me.

I wonder if I could have avoided this tragic tragedy if I could have returned to the team immediately after being discharged from the hospital and quickly returned to the front line to continue commanding the Grossdeutschland Division? Is it possible to do something that Colonel Otto Boss failed to do or did not consider to turn the tide and change the fate of the Grossdeutschland Division?

Colonel Otto Boss is very good, but he is too young after all.

As a chief of staff, he lacks the courage and experience of a military officer to take charge of his own affairs. His overall management is in an orderly manner, which really does not mean that he will be able to command the troops well. What's more, this is the first time that he has sole control of the teacher.

Everything is irreversible, and there is no point in asking Model and Army Group Center why they failed to judge the Soviet army's strategic intentions and why they did not send troops to rescue the Grossdeutschland Division in time.

The disheartened Manteuffel was ready to end his military career and return to his hometown to enjoy his old age.

But he didn't expect that the Führer would personally request the reconstruction of the Grossdeutschland Division and implement it as the first priority. It is necessary to equip it with high-quality technical weapons and experienced officers and soldiers as much as possible, and do its best to restore the combat effectiveness of the Grossdeutschland Division.

The top brass of the Wehrmacht were happy to see this happen. It would be better to keep those precious heavy equipment for their own use than to be taken away by the SS. What's more, rebuilding the Grossdeutschland Division not only has military significance, but also political significance. It can also consolidate an army. Bo's morale is on the verge of being broken. Why not do something like this that has only benefits and no harm?

What Manteuffel didn't expect was that just two days after he submitted his resignation and returned home, and when he was thinking about how to write his memoirs, his superiors suddenly issued an order to continue handing over the rebuilt Grossdeutschland Division. The order of his own command.

Surprises and surprises lingered in my heart at the same time, but more importantly, I still had the firm will to "live up to the high hopes and trust of the head of state."

Ever since, Manteuffel took office.

Commanding the Grossdeutschland Division II, which had just completed reconstruction and basic running-in training, went to the battlefield. The target of the first battle was Poland, which had been violently bombarded by the Russians.

Manteuffel was ordered to block the enemy's offensive at all costs so that he could no longer advance further. After all, if Poland is lost, then it goes without saying that we should fight there in the future. This is almost an unimaginable nightmare.

Therefore, the Russians must be blocked in Poland no matter what. This is the last strategic line of defense to defend the country, at least Manteuffel himself believes so firmly.

At the beginning of the battle, everything went smoothly, and it could be said that it developed according to the expected plan.

The Russians, who were advancing all the way, rushed too fast, their troops were too scattered, and their logistics could not keep up. There was a serious disconnect between the vanguard troops and the main forces in the rear. This important incident was captured in time by the reconnaissance troops of the Grossdeutschland Division. Condition.

Manteuffel, who seized this opportunity, commanded his troops to attack decisively, and did not shrink back or hesitate just because this was the first battle of the Grossdeutschland Division II.

Manteuffel firmly believed that even the Grossdeutschland II, which had just been cobbled together with experienced German troops, would definitely be better than the Soviet forward troops who rushed in too aggressively and disrupted the rhythm.

As long as the command is proper and no major problems occur, then there is a high chance of winning this battle.

Probably even those Russians would not have guessed that the retreating German army would suddenly organize such a powerful counterattack, and it was still on the outskirts of Warsaw and on the banks of the Vistula River, where the troops were about to fall.

Manteuffel did what he said and quickly took action. A wave of counter-assaults beat up the Soviet forward troops who had stretched their troops too long, and also sent highly mobile armored units to cut through a wave of enemy rear. road. The two Soviet brigades, which were attacked from the front and back, were completely panicked for a while and made a serious strategic misjudgment. They mistakenly thought that they had fallen into a large encirclement carefully prepared by the German army, and were about to repeat the mistakes of 41 years.

After that, the battle line collapsed and the fighting spirit was completely lost. After being beaten, they threw away their helmets and armor and fled. They ran nearly 20 kilometers in one breath and could not stop until they met up with the large army.

But the truth is that Manteuffel neither took the initiative to build an encirclement, nor did he intend to annihilate this group of Soviet troops. He neither had enough troops nor so much time.

The risk of trying to stop and capture these two Soviet Guards brigades is too great. They may be counterattacked by the large Soviet follow-up troops that speed up after learning the news, and the whole boat will capsize in the gutter.

The best result is to gain valuable time after repelling the Soviet forward troops, immediately withdraw the troops to reinforce defenses, make advance deployment, and be fully prepared to face the next wave of Soviet offensive.

After all, the rebuilt Grossdeutschland itself rushed to the battlefield in a hurry, non-stop all the way, hastily shifted from a sports posture to a combat posture, made simple preparations, and then hurriedly launched this proactive battle.

If Manteuffel really wanted to evaluate it himself, in fact it was still very risky and full of loopholes. The main reason for winning was that the Soviet army on the opposite side was more greedy and aggressive and performed worse.

Yes, this was actually a worse battle, and Manteuffel himself felt so.

The result was that the Soviet army, which was worse than the German army, lost, it was that simple.

But what Manteuffel didn't expect was that when he was organizing his defense, waiting for the arrival of backup troops, and preparing to face the opponent who had been defeated once and pounced again, fate would play a huge joke on him.

It didn't take long for the enemy to come back and attack again. It was indeed the Soviet army, but this "Soviet army" was not the other "Soviet army". From equipment to personnel to tactics to command style, almost everything else is different except for the uniforms they wear.

The difference in actual combat effectiveness is even greater. It is not much different from killing the Grossdeutschland with one stick.

At this point in the battle, the Grossdeutschland Division had no chance of winning. Manteuffel knew this very well and had already made a decision.

This time, he will command the troops to fight to the end and live and die together with the Grossdeutschland Division.

Manteuffel never wanted to return to the rear in such a humiliating posture, enduring the ridicule and rolling eyes of others but having no choice but to do anything about it. That feeling was really more uncomfortable to live than to die.

But no matter what Manteuffel thinks, some things are not just "what you think will happen". For example, the chief of staff, who is also newly transferred and has only known each other for a short time, will not sit back and watch Manteuffel do this. .

"Guards! Take the general down! Mark, you come to lead the escort team and escort him to the second line of defense headquarters! Leave this to me, quickly!"

"yes!"

"What are you doing!? Claire, what are you doing!? This is disobeying military orders, let me go! Let me go quickly! This is an order!"

A few strong guards carrying STG44 assault rifles grabbed his arms and carried him out. Manteuffel, who had just recovered from a serious illness and had just walked away from hell for a few months, could compete with these individuals. The young men, who were as big as cattle, were competing for strength, and they were all being carried out while struggling and shouting.

But at this moment, the communications staff officer, who had been sitting in front of the telegraph machine so busy without looking back, suddenly stood up and turned around with the freshly baked telegram in his hand, extremely excited.

[At the beginning of the chapter, I asked you to read it silently three times. Do you remember? Share on Facebook and there may be surprises]