New World War II Eagle Strikes the Sky

() To obey Hitler's orders, this is a problem.In Germany, there is no such thing as "will not accept military orders abroad", but in the tradition of Germany, at least in the tradition of the Second Reich, the matter of whether to fight or not, and who to fight with is of course left to the political leaders. However, when it comes to how to fight, the general staff and front-line commanders always have a lot of power.Under normal circumstances, the head of state will not interfere with specific commands.Moreover, even under pressure from above, front-line commanders and the general staff have traditionally been able to withstand these pressures and make decisions that professional soldiers believe are most suitable for the battlefield situation.

When the Third Reich was first established, Hitler, whose foundation was not yet solid, still abided by this tradition.But as Hitler's position became more stable, so did his intervention in the military.However, the German General Staff and officers were able to withstand Hitler's pressure at first.But later, with the increasing weight of the SS directly under the Nazi Party, or to put it more clearly, directly under Hitler in the German military machine, and the continuous defeat of the German army, the General Staff and the front The voices of the commanders were getting lower and lower, while Hitler's voice was getting higher and higher.It can be said that every military failure has strengthened Hitler's right to speak on military issues.

Under such circumstances, coupled with the assassination incident, Hitler has been able to cleanse anyone in the army who dared to resist him at will.Even the old Field Marshal Lundstedt, who didn't take Hitler seriously before and even nicknamed him "Corporal Bohemia" contemptuously, now he can only bow his head to Hitler and publicly express his position, Anyone involved in the assassination, no matter who he is, should be executed.He even served as the chief officer of the military court, and honestly signed the list of those shot.

Marshal Kruger was not a perfect egg when it came to assassinating Hitler.Although he was not directly involved in this matter, it would be untrue to say that he was completely ignorant of this matter.Before launching the assassination operation, the rebel organization had contacted Marshal Kruger. Marshal Kruger’s statement was actually very similar to that of Marshal Rommel. He did not express his support, but he did not express his opposition. This matter is based on an optimistic attitude.To say that there are actually two differences between him and Rommel: the person who did it was not his old subordinate, and the rebels' plan did not intend for him to be the head of the new government.

However, not reporting what is known is treason!Marshal Kruger knew that as long as he was willing to investigate, Hitler's secret police department would definitely be able to find out about his contact with the rebels, and he would definitely be able to obtain evidence.When Himmler dealt with Russian or American and British spies, he was mostly deflated, but it was not difficult at all to investigate him.The question now is not whether Hitler can find out about his own problems, but whether he is willing to pursue this problem.

Now if Field Marshal Kruger blatantly disobeyed, what would Hitler think and what would he do?Marshal Kruger felt that he could deduce Hitler's reaction even if he thought about it with his knees:

"Führer, Marshal Kruger blatantly disobeyed orders. He didn't follow your order to launch a counterattack, and he didn't even hold his position. He voluntarily abandoned his position and withdrew those troops directly to the east bank of the Seine."

"What! How dare he do this! What on earth is he trying to do... Ah, I remembered, he had contact with those rebels, he didn't expose those rebels, he was with them! Those rebels failed shamefully , but their accomplices are still there, and even occupy important positions, and continue to do treason! How merciful I am, I actually believe that these guys will be restrained. These guys should drown in their own blood Here! ([-] sister-in-laws) pick Himmler up for me..."

Yes, Hitler would be furious, he would call himself back immediately, then arrest himself, and then shoot himself for treason, maybe even hurt his wife and children.

However, what would happen if everything was done according to Hitler's arrangement?Obviously, there would be a disastrous defeat. If the guy on the opposite side had his own level of command, most of the two armies in his hands would be surrounded and wiped out.This is simply a replica of Stalingrad, or even a replica of the Battle of Kiev.At that time, what will the Führer do?

The answer to this question is as clear as Field Marshal Kruger.Hitler also had many precedents in which forcible intervention in command led to failure.After these failures, Hitler always blamed his subordinates for not completely following his orders, never caring that his orders could not be carried out at all.If it failed again this time, if there were catastrophic consequences this time, then Hitler's reaction would probably be like this.Under normal circumstances, I might be dismissed like those generals who lost the battle, and then wait until the other generals are also dismissed.However, it is hard to say whether Hitler would still be so polite to him now.If he had been Hitler, he might have taken this opportunity to purge those who were obviously not loyal to him.

This is really a dilemma.How to do it?If he disobeys orders, he will most likely be shot. If he follows Hitler's wishes, there is still a little hope of preservation.Just doing this is a betrayal of the soldiers.But can he really defy Hitler's will?Among other things, as long as Hitler gave an order, the most important SS armored divisions in his hands would never listen to him.And if the Wehrmacht listens to itself and the SS listens to Hitler, the result will be worse than listening to Hitler.Besides, now that he is disobedient, Hitler can throw someone who is willing to mess around with him to replace him the next day, and the consequences of messing around with such a person will definitely be worse.

So Marshal Kruger closed the folder and flung the telegram feebly on the desk.

"Luke, you go and gather the staff, we are going to start formulating a new attack plan." Marshal Kruger said to the adjutant.

The adjutant froze for a moment, but he didn't say anything, then he silently saluted the marshal, and then left quietly, leaving the exhausted Kruger alone in the office.

……

"Everyone, our army's offensive has been very smooth these days, and General Patton's 3rd Army has also entered the battlefield. Now we have formed an effective breakthrough. The resistance in front has suddenly decreased. Therefore, the commander decided to Further speed up the attack tempo to prevent the Germans from reorganizing their defenses. For this reason, we plan to continue our offensive operations at night. In addition, our army's aerial reconnaissance and ground reconnaissance have found that the German armored forces seem to be shifting..." A staff officer The personnel are explaining the situation on the battlefield to the officers attending the meeting.

"Okay, everyone has an understanding of the current situation. Now let's talk about the situation of our team." General Bradley said.

"Although my army has been serving as the main offensive mission, the wear and tear is not small, and the soldiers are also a little tired. However, due to the sharp decline in the enemy's resistance strength, our 7th Army's attack capability is not a problem. We have also prepared for the night attack. Ready. In addition, General Ron gave us a suggestion. When attacking those strong points at night, we can use anti-aircraft searchlights to illuminate them. This thing will make the enemy invisible. We experimented and the effect seems to be Very good. So, we have urgently prepared 50 mobile searchlights mounted on vehicles. I hope to get good results.” General Collins, the commander of the Seventh Army, made a speech first.

Then other troops, as well as logistics officers also introduced the situation of their troops.Finally it was Lu Hang's turn.

"Our reconnaissance planes have spotted the movement of the German armored units. They are all moving at night. According to our reconnaissance, they seem to be gathering towards the Mortain area. We suspect that the Germans may plan to launch a counterattack from here. In our It is difficult for our heavy bombers to provide direct fire support to the friendly forces during the army's night attack. Therefore, I suggest that the focus of the bombing should be on the targets near Mortan and the roads around it." Li Mei first issued a statement on behalf of the bomber force. made a statement.

"Our attack aircraft cannot effectively cooperate with the ground forces at night. Therefore, I suggest that our attack aircraft forces focus their main force on night safari on the road near Mortain. In addition, if the Germans really plan to launch A counterattack, the Luftwaffe may show up again. As far as we know, the Luftwaffe has no shortage of aircraft, but a lack of fuel and experienced pilots. But there is still a lot of cannon fodder. The Germans sent at least 4 armored divisions Withdrew from the front of our attack and shifted to the direction of Mortain. If they really plan to counterattack, then this should be a desperate move. The Luftwaffe will definitely come out to hold back our air power. So the first The Ninth Air Force must also prepare for air combat." Ron continued.

"Well, yes, in fact, our intelligence department has also gained something." General Bradley said, "Kempes, please read the report of the intelligence department to everyone."

"Okay, General." Bradley's adjutant stood up, spread out a document, and read it.

According to this document, according to the German cables they deciphered, the Germans will concentrate all their armored forces and launch a large-scale counterattack to eliminate the gains made by the United States in Operation Cobra and the following weeks, and from Af Lanshi advanced to the coast of the Cotentin Peninsula to cut off the American military units that were already advancing on Brittany.

The news immediately sparked a discussion.

"This one has a lot of appetite, aren't they afraid they'll be overwhelmed?"

"Kruger's command level is not so bad? How is this possible?"

"Brother, what do you think of this matter?"

"General, I think there must be something strange about this matter."

"According to the deciphering of another telegram, Field Marshal Kruger questioned Hitler's plan, but this question was dismissed, and Hitler even sent a senior official to supervise the implementation of this plan."

"Isn't Hitler fooling around?"

"It's not surprising that Hitler did such a thing." Ron said, "I stayed with the Russians for a while. When I was chatting with the Russians, the Russians mentioned that some of the German officers they captured were I mentioned that Hitler likes to command blindly. According to them, those Germans always like to complain unconvincedly, if it weren’t for Hitler’s blind command, we would not have lost anything.”

……

"Whether the plan of the Germans is true or not, we must be prepared. If this plan is true, it is a really good opportunity for us. We must seriously study a plan and surprise Hitler. said General Bradley at last.