The Rise of the Third Reich

"Marshal, if we get into a bitter fight on the Western Front, it will ruin the current advantageous situation... So I suggest you seriously consider one last time whether to carry out the very risky 'Operation Sickle'. In fact, judging from the current situation , we don’t need to take such risks.”

This night was also a sleepless night for Marshal Hessmann. He was talking to General Halder, the Second Munitions Director (in early 1940, the Deputy Chief of General Staff was renamed the First Munitions Director and the Second Munitions Director), who had doubts about "Operation Sickle" in the General Staff of Zossen.

General Halder's idea was to occupy Belgium and Luxembourg, rather than expand the war into France. After occupying Belgium and Luxembourg, Germany would obtain air bases closer to the Atlantic Ocean, the British mainland, and Paris. The "short-legged" BF-109 can directly escort bombers to Paris, while the "long-legged" Fokker Zero can protect the He-115 and Ju88 to fight in the Atlantic Ocean 1,000 kilometers away. In this way, the diplomatic-breaking tactics of aircraft + submarines can be implemented, which will definitely effectively block the British maritime transportation lines.

Therefore, as long as Belgium is captured, the bombing + blockade strategy can be effectively implemented, thus forcing Britain and France to sue for peace within 12-18 months. With Germany's current strategic material reserves, even if the Soviet Union interrupts supply, Germany can independently support it for 24-36 months. Therefore, the strategy of bombing + blockade is relatively safe in Halder's eyes.

His idea actually turned the fake plan of "bombing Paris" into reality, and he had many supporters among the top brass of the German Wehrmacht.

However, Hersmann was "persuaded" by Manstein, now the chief of staff of the Western Front Headquarters, at the end of 1939, and supported the armored group's plan to conduct a surprise attack through the Ardennes Forest.

Moreover, Hessmann also intensified his proposal of "Operation Sickle" (an amendment to the "Manstein Plan") - making the Allied 1st Army Group deployed on the border of France and Belgium the target of encirclement and annihilation, not Manstein. Tanyin's original plan was to target the French troops deployed on the "Maginot" line of defense.

According to the deployment of "Operation Sickle", the 64 divisions of Army Group A (including 7 armored divisions and 3 motorized divisions) commanded by General Lundstedt will break through from the Ardennes Forest area and then break through The defense of the Meuse River was relatively empty, and finally the main force of the armored group moved northward, rushing all the way to the sea, seizing the ports of Dunkirk and Calais, and completing the encirclement of the main force of the coalition forces that broke into Belgium.

However, Halder and others believe that this plan is too risky.

First of all, it is an almost impossible task to break through a 110-kilometer-long forest zone and penetrate deeply into France in 2 days - there is no problem in breaking through the Ardennes Forest, and the Belgians did not deploy much defense there. But how could it be possible to break through 110 kilometers of forest in 2 days? It will take at least 5-7 days, which gives the British and French forces time to calmly mobilize their troops to block it.

Secondly, it is also a difficult task to break through the Meuse River near Sedan. Although the French army is currently empty of troops near Sedan, the transportation in the Sedan area is very convenient, and it is easy to mobilize reserves to deploy defenses along the Thomas River.

Third, once the German troops were blocked on the Meuse River, the assault would turn into a positional battle. The inconvenient transportation in the Ardennes Forest made it difficult to support as many as 64 divisions to fight against the British and French forces along the Meuse River.

Fourth, because too many troops are placed on the center line, Army Group B (30 divisions, including 3 armored divisions and 1 motorized infantry division) commanded by General Bock on the northern front will be trapped in a bitter battle in Belgium due to insufficient troops. ——General Bock's army group will face at least 30 British and French divisions and 22 Belgian divisions.

"Franz, your worries are unnecessary." Hersman looked at his watch. It was still 3 hours before the ground attack was launched, and less than 2 hours before the air attack was launched.

Hersman said: "It is not 1914 anymore. The pattern of war has undergone profound changes. The most critical factor in determining the outcome of the war is not the number of artillery and infantry, but the aircraft! Now we have 4,600 modern aircraft that can However, after several months of consumption, they only have less than 1,300 relatively modern aircraft left.

This is an overwhelming advantage. It will ensure that the battlefield is one-way transparent to us, and it can also delay the enemy's military deployment with air strikes... So even if there are any loopholes in the plan of 'Operation Sickle', there will be no problem. . "

The power of the German tactical air force was not fully demonstrated in the 12-day Polish campaign - because the Polish army was almost defeated on the first day, and the next 11 days were almost spent lying down and being beaten. Therefore, senior generals like Halder who have not served as commanders in the Air Force or Armored Forces (the Armored Forces often exercise with the Air Force) still have insufficient understanding of the power of air superiority.

Hessman took a sip of coffee, then looked at the worried general, and just smiled easily: "If 2 days can't break through the Ardennes Forest, then 4 days, if 4 days is not enough, then 8 days, there is no problem. If There is no problem if the French army deploys a few more divisions along the Meuse River. I believe that Army Group A will be able to break through. Generals Lundstedt and Guderian will not let us down.

And there is no need to worry about enemy reinforcements. Large-scale air strikes will make it difficult for Britain and France to adjust their deployment. The French mechanized and motorized forces could not mobilize against an attack by 2,500 tactical bombers. Once they fall into the trap, they can never get out. Due to the huge air superiority we have, the British and French forces can only rush into the big trap of Belgium and die there!

So victory is ours and it will be clear in 2 or 4 days. What we need to consider now is not to suspend Operation Sickle, but how to use this victory to build a great and united Europe. Franz, how are the preparations for the "Liberator Plan" now? "

The "Liberator Plan" is a combat plan to seize the French Mediterranean Fleet and French colonies such as French Algeria, French France, and French Morocco. Capturing the French navy's capital ships with Toulon as its home port is the center of the entire plan.

If the operation on the Western Front goes well, General Halder, who is currently serving as the Second Munitions Director, will soon serve as the Commander-in-Chief or Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Front (depending on Mussolini’s attitude), responsible for the implementation of the "liberation plan" formulated by him. plan".

"There is no problem with the plan," Halder nodded. "The navy and air force are very cooperative. The problem now is the determination of the French and the cooperation of the United Kingdom and Italy."

Hersman shrugged and said with a smile: "This generation of French people have little determination, and the Italian leaders will definitely not reject us. As for the British Empire...a dying dragon, what else can't be done?"

He looked at his watch again and smiled slightly: "It's 1:45, there are still 2 hours and 45 minutes, the plane is about to take off!"

Halder knew that it was impossible to convince Hessman. He nodded, suddenly thought of something, looked at Hessman and asked: "Rudolf is going to the battlefield?"

Hessmann hummed: "In 2 hours and 45 minutes, he will fly into the air in the Fokker Zero. This is his first time to participate in actual combat!"

…

"Rudolph, Walter, Prince, before you three rookies go to heaven, I want to say a few last words!"

Lieutenant Heinz Bahr, commander of the 2nd Squadron of the 3rd Group of the 2nd Combat Aviation Regiment of the Naval Air Force, was in the lounge of Limburg Airport in Heinsberg County. The "rookie" pilot called to his side.

These three "rookie" pilots are Rudolf Herschmann, the son of Herschmann, the handsome pilot Walter Novotny from Austria, and Prince Egmund Lipp-Wiesenfeld, who is also from Austria. .

Among them, Prince Weisenfeld was a major Austrian noble. After the Anschluss and the restoration of Emperor William, his father's princely title and annuity were restored. However, because he did not attend a formal officer school or an air force sergeant school, but graduated from the air force pilot school, he is not an officer now, just a corporal.

As for Hersman's sons Rudolf Hersman and Novotny, they both received the rank of second lieutenant because they graduated from the Military Academy and the Air Force Academy (Nowotny only attended the Air Force Academy).

However, in the German Air Force and Naval Aviation, serving as a formation leader does not depend on military rank but on combat experience. Therefore, Rudolf Hessmann and Nowotny were not qualified to serve as captains, they were just two officers with empty military ranks.

Lieutenant Heinz Bahr looked at the three nervous young men and nodded: "I stress again, you must pay attention to covering each other and cooperating in the sky. Now is not the era of one-on-one duels! If you want to use two The planes flew in formation, the prince flew with me, and Rudolph flew with Walter.

In addition, you must keep in mind that our Fokker Zero is a very thin aircraft, so we must pay attention to the ground firepower. The French's ground firepower is very fierce! Okay, I’m done, do you have anything else to ask? "

"Lieutenant, how are the skills of French pilots compared to ours? Can we achieve results today?" Rudolf Hessmann asked a somewhat imbecile question.

Lieutenant Heinz Barr touched his chin and said: "You and Walter are carrier-based aircraft pilots, elites who have gone through the most rigorous selection. Ordinary French pilots cannot compare to you. But can you shoot down a Frenchman?" It’s hard to say about planes. After all, they have far fewer planes than we do. If you don’t have any luck, you might not be able to catch them. So if you want to achieve results, you can start praying now.”