The Rise of the Third Reich

Zossen, Germany, General Staff Headquarters.

When the newly appointed Commander of the High Seas Fleet, Vice Admiral William Machar, and Marshal Redl arrived together, the acting (previously modified, changed to Acting Chief) Chief of Staff Marshal Hersman was signing a large stack of promotion reports. . This is the last official business he needs to take care of before the Eastern Front headquarters is dismissed as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front.

The 12-day Polish campaign can be described as a festival for the officers of the German Army and Air Force. After a great victory, of course, rewards will be given based on merit - Schleicher and Hessmann have always been very generous in matters that can win over the morale of the military.

The first to be promoted were Hessmann himself and Chief of the General Staff Hamerstein, both of whom were promoted from general to marshal.

Then there are the commanders of each army group, the commanders of each group army, the commanders of each army, the commanders of each division, and lower-level unit commanders. All unit commanders who participated in combat and have achieved certain military exploits are generally promoted to one level.

Again, ministerial and deputy positions were promoted based on the recommendation of the chief officer.

Then there are officers and soldiers fighting on the front line, who have more opportunities to get promotions and medals. After a great war, tens of thousands of people were promoted to official positions, and countless medals of various kinds were issued.

At the same time, Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Kesselring and the chief officers of the air forces, aviation divisions and other departments participating in the combat, as well as the pilots participating in the combat. They have also received promotions and medals to varying degrees!

For all promotions above the school level (including major), Hessman has to give instructions - not give instructions one by one, but just sign the reports typed in by each group army.

In addition to these promotion reports, many battlefield log summaries and combat reports for armies, corps, and divisions were sent to the General Staff. It is impossible for a senior general of Hessman's level to go to the front line to understand the situation, and even if he did, he would not be able to stay on the front line for too long. Therefore, we can only understand the situation on the battlefield and discover the shortcomings of the troops through detailed reports.

So these days, Hersman spends his time in Zossen's headquarters, immersed in a pile of documents.

"Marshal," Colonel Hans Speidel (who was also promoted) reported outside the door, "Marshal Redl and Lieutenant General Machar have arrived."

The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and the Commander-in-Chief of the High Seas Fleet are not under the jurisdiction of the General Staff, but now Germany does not have an independent naval department. The military and political affairs of the navy, army and air force are all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense. Marshal Redl and Lieutenant General Machar came to Tsossen on the orders of the Minister of Defense, Marshal Schleicher.

"Okay, invite them in." Hessman put down the report, stood up and went to the door of his spacious office to greet the visiting marshal and vice admiral.

"Marshal Redl, Lieutenant General Machar," Hessman invited the two people into the office and sat them on a sofa, then said straight to the point, "I invite you here to break the responsibilities of the diplomatic fleet. Special mission.”

"Special mission?"

Hersman nodded, "Sinking a few or a dozen British transport ships is not enough to give Germany a strategic advantage, but the activities of German battleships and aircraft carriers in the Atlantic can let people see the possibility of Germany winning the world war. Very big. This is very good for us!”

Battleships and aircraft carriers are "strategic-class" weapons, which are completely different from submarines. The activity of submarines in the Atlantic Ocean only shows that the German Navy has the ability to conduct sneak attacks and sabotage.

And a battleship and an aircraft carrier are wandering in the Atlantic Ocean, and the British have nothing to do with them. This means that Germany is competing with the British for control of the Atlantic Ocean!

As a maritime country and a colonial empire, Britain's loss of sea control meant the collapse of the country.

If the British remain helpless against the German fleet in the Atlantic, then Britain's allies and supporters around the world should carefully consider their future.

And the credibility of the pound as a world currency will be greatly affected - the pound is still the world currency now, which means that British people can buy what they want with the printed paper.

Of course, the pound is obviously not as strong as the dollar now.

"During this voyage, you will need to make stops for fuel and supplies in Iceland, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina."

Hersman said: "This is an event of great political value, more valuable than sinking a 100,000-ton transport ship."

Not to mention Iceland, which is a dependent state of Denmark. If this can lead to the British occupation of Iceland, then the British will be the big bad guy who destroys neutrality and bullies small European countries! This helped Germany peacefully enter European countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway.

And Venezuela, Brazil, Ukraine and Argentina have many friends of Germany - either dictators or dictators-in-waiting. Without exception, they all called themselves "nationalists", and some even established the National Socialist Party and joined the National Socialist International.

There is no doubt that they are "German fans". If the powerful German battleships and aircraft carriers can break through the layers of interception by the British Navy, visiting those countries will greatly boost the morale of the "German fans".

"Of course, all special missions must be carried out while ensuring the safety of battleships and aircraft carriers." Hersman finally ordered.

The capital of the German Navy is still too small now. The only capital ships that can be brought to the Atlantic to show off are two battleships and two aircraft carriers. They cannot afford losses. Even if they suffer heavy losses, they will have a very negative impact on subsequent operations. It will also hit the confidence of "German fans" in Germany around the world.

And confidence is a very important spiritual power. When "German fans" are confident, "British fans" and "French fans" will become demoralized or even change their beliefs.

The same principle of course applies to the Soviet Union!

It took Germany 12 days to defeat Poland. How much time would it take for the Soviet Union to defeat Poland, which was seriously injured?

12 days is definitely not enough!

Because today is October 1, 1939, 16 days have passed since the Soviet Red Army fired the first shot to liberate Ukraine and Western Belarus on the right bank!

White Poland has not yet surrendered, and the resistance of the bourgeoisie and landlord Ukraine continues. And their reactionary determination is still extremely firm!

"Comrade Commander, reconnaissance shows that the Poles have concentrated heavy troops around the Brest Fortress!"

Klimovsky, chief of staff of the Brest Rapid Group, walked into Pavlov's headquarters in Zabinka with a tired look on his face - this is an old church, the only intact one in the small town of Zabinka. large building!

The Poles committed serious crimes in Western Belarus, burning and destroying everywhere. In many towns, only Catholic churches were intact.

In addition to the destruction of towns and villages, railways, roads and bridges all the way from Minsk were also severely damaged. This affected the advancement of the Brest Rapid Group. The journey planned to be completed on the 10th took 15 days. The Rapid Group headquarters only arrived in Zabinka last night. Moreover, some infantry and heavy artillery were left behind, and it would take a few days for them all to arrive.

"Tell me about the situation detected by the Air Force." Pavlov didn't even raise his head. He was writing a review to you and Moscow, the commander of the front army.

Because the task of capturing Brest on October 15th was impossible. Because the Poles had no intention of abandoning Brest, they gathered heavy troops there. Pavlov's vanguard had already encountered them - cavalry against cavalry! The Polish cavalry was very tough and was not demoralized by the defeats on the Western Front. The cavalry of the Soviet Red Army suffered heavy losses in the vanguard battle because of continuous marching and were exhausted. Hundreds of soldiers died heroically!

"Comrade Commander," Klimovsky said, "the Polish White Army is spread out east of the Bug River on both sides of the Mukhavec River, forming an array with its back to the river. The width of the battle line exceeds 17 kilometers and the length exceeds 40 kilometers. Look. The Poles have at least deployed more than five divisions in Brest..."

"Five divisions? Doubling that is almost enough!" Pavlov said. "The Poles gave up all of Western Belarus and only deployed garrison troops in Brest. Obviously they want to hold on to this last position east of the Bug River. Bridgehead.”

"How is it possible to hold it?" Klimovsky said with a smile, "As long as our army crosses the Bug River and launches an assault on Warsaw, Brest, the Polish White Army, will definitely return to support the capital, and then our fortress will be ours. ”

Although this division commander-level chief of staff has a low official position and low seniority, his thinking is not confusing. If Pavlov had followed his instructions, he would have taken Brest in a matter of days.

Because once he marches towards Warsaw, the German army can only occupy the Polish territory west of the Bug River in accordance with the just-signed "Polish-German Armistice Treaty".

But Pavlov didn't dare to do this! Because Stalin did not dare to offend Germany at this time - the sit-in war on the Western Front battlefield was still continuing during this period. The battlefield was quiet and there was no intention of fighting. Politicians from various countries are extremely active and busy trying to bring the two sides to make peace. Mussolini, the Italian leader who sent troops to Abyssinia and Spain to kill people and set fires, seemed to have turned into a fat dove of peace, flying back and forth between Berlin, London, and Paris. Who knows when mediation will be successful?

"Crossing the Bug River is not allowed," Pavlov shook his head. "This is Comrade Stalin's instruction. We should prepare to storm Brest!"

"If we want to attack by force, we must have at least twice the enemy's troops and three times the enemy's firepower." Klimovsky said thoughtfully, "It is not enough to rely on the rapid swarming of 200,000 people. At least Comrade Zhukov's equal The Sk cluster joins forces with us.”

Klimovsky is a top student at the Frunze Military Academy. The way to fight is to use a sea of ​​people and artillery to crush the opponent with overwhelming firepower and troops! However, it will take a long time to mobilize so many troops, and more power will be needed to ensure the transportation of logistics supplies.

This is no longer something Pavlov can decide.