The Rise of the Third Reich

"The Imperial Marshal has deciphered the telegram sent by the Soviet Army High Command to the Caucasus Front and the Steppe Front. Zhukov has just been appointed as the commander of the Caucasus Front. In addition, the Steppe Front will be reorganized into the North Caucasus Front. It seems that Stalin intends to bring the Caucasus Front to the Caucasus Front. Consider it your last hiding place.”

Lieutenant General Geiger, director of the Military Intelligence Agency, walked quickly into Hersman's office, a proud smile on his tired face. After raising his hand, he reported to Hessmann a Soviet telegram that had just been intercepted and deciphered by the Military Intelligence Agency.

By the way, because there were too many traitors in the Soviet revolutionary ranks during this period, the German intelligence service obtained a large number of secrets that would have been impossible to grasp. Many of them are information about Soviet secret codes, so now the German Military Intelligence Agency can basically decipher most of the Soviet high command's secret messages.

Although the information displayed in the Soviet headquarters telegram decoded this time was a bit unexpected, Hessman thought about it carefully and felt that it was reasonable. Because of the fruitful results achieved in the "Battle of Moscow Periphery" (the collective name for the Battle of Kalinin-Tver, the Battle of the Triangle, the Battle of Moscow's Western Front and the Battle of the Southern Front to Encircle Moscow) that has now come to an end, it has shaken the Soviet front line. The intensity was beyond the previous imagination of the German Wehrmacht General Staff.

Since the Soviet army adopted a proactive strategy of counterattacking and luring the enemy in-depth to seek a decisive battle in the "Battle of Moscow Periphery", it also gave the German army a large number of opportunities to annihilate the enemy. As of yesterday afternoon, that is, the afternoon of May 13, 1944, more than 3,500 Soviet tanks, assault artillery and armored vehicles had been destroyed and captured in the "Triangle Battlefield" where the battle had just ended! The entire battlefield was littered with twisted and burned metal debris. More than 150,000 Soviet officers and soldiers were killed or captured!

The Soviet army's two "front-level" armored clusters had been basically crushed and lost their combat capability after several days and nights of repeated hard battles. Among them, the remnants of the Soviet Union's Northern Front Armored Group withdrew to the city of Kalinin on the night of the 12th, while the remnants of the Soviet Army's Southern Front Armored Group retreated to downtown Moscow.

At the same time, the Western Front Group of the Soviet Central Front also retreated hastily and returned to downtown Moscow under the joint pressure of the main force of General Huth's 4th Armored Army and the 48th Armored Army.

The remnants of the Soviet 62nd Army defending along the Kalinin-Moscow railway also retreated eastward and fled to the Vladimir Oblast to join forces with the Reserve Front commanded by Konev.

After the Soviet 62nd Army retreated, part of the German 48th Armored Army also crossed the Red October Railway line, and at noon on May 13, at Friazino east of Moscow and the German 1st Armored Army The vanguard troops joined forces. Thus completing the siege of Moscow!

While the Soviet and German armies were engaged in a major battle around Moscow, the Kalinin-Tver battle also reached its climax on May 10. Model and Paulus, who had been impatient for a long time, made an earth-shattering move. Paulus's 6th Armored Army and Tipelskich's 5th Armored Army first worked together to capture May Day Town, which was occupied by the Soviet 8th Guards Division, on May 10, and then on May 11 , launched successive fierce attacks on the 12th and 13th, and recovered Kuvshinovo, Torzhok, and Likuslavl.

After recapturing Likuslavl, Paulus also detached an armored corps to attack southeast, trying to bypass the city of Kalinin and advance all the way to the north bank of the Volga River. Thus, together with Army Group Center, they cut off the Soviet Kalinin Front's retreat to the Yaroslavl Oblast. Although this armored force has not yet reached the Volga River, based on the current analysis of the Air Force reconnaissance situation, it is not difficult to complete this task.

In other words, the Soviet Central Front Army and the main force of the Kalinin Front have been or are about to be surrounded by the German army. Moreover, these two front armies were surrounded even though they suffered heavy losses!

According to the statistical reports of the German Army Group Center and Army Group North, in more than a month since the Soviet army launched its counterattack on the Kalinin frontier on April 5, more than 25 Soviet officers and soldiers have been captured or surrendered. There are as many as 10,000 people (this number is difficult to fake). If you include the Soviet officers and soldiers killed and injured, the Soviet losses may have reached 1 million (this number is estimated to be somewhat watery).

In more than a month of combat, the Germans completely destroyed or captured more than 5,000 Soviet tanks, tank destroyers, assault artillery, and armored vehicles, and shot down or destroyed more than 400 aircraft on the ground. .

It is now absolutely certain that the Soviet Central Front, Kalinin Front and Reserve Front have suffered heavy losses in the battles over the past month. Among them, it is hard to say whether the Central Front Army still has the strength to defend Moscow. It is conceivable that Stalin would consider leaving Moscow under such circumstances.

…

"What? What? Is it possible that Stalin is leaving Moscow?"

Adolf Hitler was in an office of the German Ministry of Defense (now the German Army High Command meetings are held in the Ministry of Defense building, so Hitler and Hersmann both have offices in the Ministry of Defense building) when he heard this... good news , but there was no trace of a smile on his pale face.

"It's possible." Hersmann was sitting in Hitler's office, holding a cup of coffee in his hand and looking like a triumphant smile on his face.

The Soviet Union looks like it's really going to end now! Once the Soviet Union is over, Germany will be invincible. Even if it cannot completely defeat the arrogance of US imperialism, Germany will still be able to maintain its position as the world's number one power.

Hitler, however, seemed very anxious. He looked at Hersmann and asked: "Will there be a stronghold of Caucasianism?"

The so-called "Caucasian GC Socialist Fortress" was promoted by TASS in the past two days. It said that the people of all ethnic groups in the Caucasus were firmly opposed to the Tsarist Russian and German invaders and were ready to follow the Bolshevik Party and the great leader Stalin, relying on the dangerous mountainous terrain. Fight the invading enemy to the end.

However, this set of propaganda was just to fool a half-empty Hitler. Hessmann, who had studied military affairs for half his life, would not believe it.

"Currently, the Caucasus is not a key region that can determine the outcome of the war." Hersman said, "Because our troops are only six to seven hundred kilometers away from Ulyanovsk and Kuibyshev, and less than 100 kilometers away from Ufa. 1,100 kilometers. As soon as the siege of Moscow and Kalinin is completed, the Central Front will advance towards Ulyanovsk, Kuibyshev and Ufa. The Russian tricolor flag will definitely fly in the city of Ufa before autumn. over the sky!”

"Can the Volga-Ural Industrial Area be taken before autumn?" Hitler's face became even more ugly.

Of course he knows that the Volga-Urals Industrial Zone is now the lifeblood of the Soviet Union! Once it is occupied by White Russia, the Soviet Union is likely to completely collapse in a short period of time.

Considering the national cohesion of the Russians, the collapse of the Soviet Union is likely to mean the complete revival of the Russian Empire. All Soviet territory east of the Ural Mountains would become part of Russia.

That means becoming part of the European Community!

There are tens of millions of Slavs living there!

Hersmann did not pay attention to Hitler's expression. He smiled and nodded and said: "It is estimated that the siege of Moscow and Kalinin will be completed by the end of May. In June, let Army Group Center rest and replenish ammunition and fuel. In July, we will send troops to Uri." If Yanovsk, Kuibyshev and Ufa advance, we will definitely capture Ufa before the end of September.”

It must have gone well! Hitler thought to himself: How could it not go well? Army Group Center is so capable, and it also has the legal flag of the Russian Empress Olga. Leningrad has become Petrograd, and Moscow is also surrounded. In this case, how many Russians will die for the Soviet Union and Stalin?

The 1,000 kilometers from Moscow to Ufa was probably just walking and taking over...

"No, it can't be like this!" Hitler shook his head repeatedly and finally couldn't help but intervene in military affairs. "Marshal Reich, the General Staff cannot only consider military affairs without considering politics and economy!"

Hitler stood up from his chair and walked around the office anxiously.

"Military problems are never isolated," Hitler said as he walked. "Military, political and economic issues have always been closely linked. Reichsmarschall, I know you are an expert in politics and economics, and I think you understand now The problem in Europe is not the Soviet Union, but Russia!”

At this point, Hitler became a little excited and waved his arms: "Half Europe is in ruins, and there are still 100 million lazy Slavs who have no jobs, can't farm well, and don't have much to eat. Some of them have become These inferior human beings are now a problem and a burden to Europe and Germany..."

What? Hessmann was shocked when he heard this, thinking that Hitler wouldn't want to put all the Slavs in concentration camps, would he?

"We..." Hitler glanced at Hessmann, the leader of the "Junkers Knights", and took a breath, as if he had swallowed back something. "We cannot let 100 million Slavs turn into 200 million or 150 million, not even 110 million! This is the strongest position of the National Socialist Workers Party, and the economies of Europe and Germany cannot bear it. We cannot feed such people. Do you understand, Russians?”

Hersman understood that Hitler was still troubled by the Russian masters. Although he had great power now, he was not the head of state in history after all. Many things could not be decided by his own temper...