Iron Cross

The generals nodded: This shows that after the two major battles of Spring Awakening and Castle, Summer Thunder will become the main theme of the summer offensive in 1943.

"Has Guderian's army group been mobilized back?"

"The Imperial Division and the 7th Armored Division returned home early to prepare for the 1943-type organization adaptation. They are currently in Italy. The remaining troops are still in Africa to complete the occupation of Tanganyika and Zambia. Marshal Guderian himself is still in Africa." Zeitz I was stunned for a moment, wondering why Hoffman suddenly mentioned the African Army.

"The war in Africa has come to an end for the time being. We are preparing to draw Guderian back and form a new armored group. It will be completed before the end of August and put on the Eastern Front to prepare to serve as a reserve army group. The ground forces of the African Army will send Johannes Flissner The general presided over the armed forces in all African battlefields, including the Middle East, Madagascar and the Seychelles Islands, under the unified command of Marshal Kesselring. "Hoffman thought for a while," and then allocate forces from each division to prepare new troops. Organize 4 Marine Brigades."

Four marine brigades were equivalent to the loss of at least one armored division from the Army. Although Zeitzler wondered why another marine brigade was formed, he still readily agreed. This time Scheer fought extremely well on the island of Ceylon. Hortiyoshi sent a special message of thanks. The head of state was very happy, and the army generals also felt honored - after all, he was the hero of the Holm Encirclement!

"Now let's talk about the overall combat strategy."

Jodl then reported: "The overall plan is to formulate an attack in the early morning of July 6, with a total of four armored groups, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th, as the main assault force, and the SS Armored Group Army as the reserve force. In the assault, the northern line starts from Tambov and strives to capture Saransk. The central line uses Borisoglebsk as the starting point and strives to capture Saratov. The southern front continues to maintain the original situation: if the enemy forces. If we mobilize our troops, our army will attack and contain them; if the enemy does not move, our army will engage in defensive and containment."

"What important changes have occurred in the enemy forces?"

"Reconnaissance shows that Stalin may have once again mobilized troops from the Far East and Central Asia, numbering nearly 500,000. In addition, the density of enemy troops near Leningrad is decreasing, roughly reducing by 200,000 to 250,000 troops. Their whereabouts are unknown. We expect to invest The central battlefield was moved to the central battlefield, but the defense capabilities of Leningrad itself did not decline; in the middle zone, the enemy troops deployed some troops from the direction of Moscow and Stalingrad. After inspection, General Model believed that the conditions for launching a full-scale attack on Moscow were not yet met. But if Stalin continues to draw troops from Moscow, he is determined to attack from the Vyazma front line..."

Hoffman nodded: "There is news for you to know. Stalin made a peace request for the second time through the Bulgarian Tsar. The Tsar himself had a secret talk with me yesterday afternoon."

Everyone quickly pricked up their ears to listen to what was going on.

The Germans made slight adjustments to the conditions: first, the Bolsheviks were required to retreat 500 kilometers from the existing actual control area, which was ruled by the Russian Liberation Army but temporarily occupied by the German army to isolate the two sides; second, the two Russians each Establish an independent country, mutual recognition and non-aggression; third, the Bolshevik army will demobilize and reduce its strength to 1.5 million, and the strength of the Russian Liberation Army will be controlled to less than 700,000; fourth, the Bolsheviks will fulfill their obligation to compensate, and the specific amount will be agreed separately; fifth, agree The Bolsheviks acquired territory in Afghanistan, India, etc. If Stalin was willing to send the Red Army to fight in Africa, he could also give the Bolsheviks a colony in Rhodesia.

Boris III conveyed Stalin’s core counter-demand:

1. The retreat distance is changed to 150 kilometers. The two sides do not station troops in each other, forming a buffer zone. Leningrad can be ceded to the Russian Liberation Army, but Moscow and Stalingrad will not move;

2. The area actually controlled by the Russian People's Liberation Army is renamed the Menshevik Republic, forming a joint state with the Bolshevik Republic in the form of a confederation, maintaining a high degree of independence and autonomy. Leningrad can be renamed St. Petersburg and the Menshevik Republic can be selected as the capital (or the rest of its controlled areas) city ​​capital);

3. The German troops withdrew simultaneously with the demobilization of the Bolshevik troops, and the withdrawal was completed within 3 years;

4. Compensation and prisoner-of-war exchange are acceptable. Details will be discussed separately.

Hoffman said with a smile: "Although the conditions between the two parties are still far from each other, the two parties have initially reached an agreement. The first is the issue of the independence of the Eastern countries. Stalin asked them to fulfill the normal procedures for the republics to withdraw from the Soviet Union and then declare an independent country. The Bolsheviks will The second issue is the status of the Russian Liberation Army. Stalin pinched his nose and admitted that they were a warring group and a political group, but asked them to change their name to Mensheviks, and then form a Russian confederation with the Bolshevik-controlled areas. In this self-deceptive way, he showed that Russia is still a warring group and a political group. Unify the whole.”

"Stalin also made a new request: he hopes that the two sides will first achieve a three-month armistice to facilitate in-depth discussion of the details of the peace talks; during the armistice, the two sides will stop all hostile actions towards each other. To show sincerity, he can first cede Leningrad to our army, and then Release 30,000 prisoners of war from our army.”

Zeitzler blurted out: "Fuhrer, are you prepared to accept the terms of the armistice?"

"An armistice can be considered, but at least we have to wait until the Battle of Summer Thunder is over." Hoffman said with a smile, "Stalin had a beautiful idea. A three-month armistice meant that the seven, eight, and eight months of 1943 were most conducive to the offensive. 9 These three months will be gone, and then the cold winter will come again in November. He will immediately get a chance to breathe, and the cost is only a mere St. Petersburg and 30,000 prisoners of war of our army. "

Everyone agreed.

"I have sent Minister Ribbentrop to Bulgaria to discuss the armistice. He will raise the asking price and delay it until the Battle of Thunder is almost over...so we must achieve significant results on the battlefield." Hoffman paused. Dun said, "I emphasize again that the goal of the campaign is to eliminate the enemy's heavy troop groups and shake the enemy's military morale. It is not to simply occupy here or there. If we can achieve the surrender of an entire front army, our position in the future will be very stable."

Hoffman had different considerations about the terms of the peace talks. Even though the German army had occupied many territories since Barbarossa, most of them belonged to various Eastern countries. The real base of the Russian People's Liberation Army was actually not large in area, and it was particularly Narrow and long, as far as the current land distribution is concerned, the Bolsheviks still control at least 85% of Russia. It is not derogatory to say that Vlasov and others are Mensheviks.

"Also, I remember you proposed a sharp arrow plan last time. Why don't you mention it this time?"

The so-called "Sharp Arrow" plan was actually proposed by Marshal Manstein, which was an overall concept of landing operations in the northern part of the Caspian Sea and sweeping across the Russian hinterland. Last time, Hoffman thought it was too radical, so Yoder and Zeitzler didn't put it in this time.

"We thought the next phase would start..."

"You can move in the first stage. If the Thunderbolt Campaign is launched on July 6, Lijian can take action around July 15. It happens that the enemy's attention is also focused on the front line, and we can give them a surprise blow. This branch line The battle was under the full command of Field Marshal Rommel, and the first batch of forces was invested in 4 divisions: 1 armored division, 1 panzergrenadier division, 1 mountain infantry division (Prince Eugen) and 1 ordinary infantry division. "Hofmann. Looking at the map, he stated his intention, "But the landing location must be changed. Instead of going to the north coast of the Caspian Sea, go to the east coast."

"East Coast?" Others were stunned.

"Yes, the east coast." Hoffman nodded. "The Turkmen and Uzbeks on the east coast are where Russian ethnic minorities gather. We can help the ethnic groups there continue to be independent. In addition, King Pahlavi also hopes to have a big fight. He is willing to send another 50,000 to 80,000 troops from northeastern Iran to cooperate with our military operations. He has a good relationship with Rommel and the troops can fully accept Rommel's command."

After Pahlavi successfully ascended to the throne for independence and took control of Iran, his ambitions rapidly expanded and he agreed with the request to send troops. The only condition was that he hoped to divide Turkmenistan's territory into Iran, because a large part of the Caucasus was occupied by Turkey. The Iranians were resentful that the seizure was too little. Of course, Hoffman was happy to see the results and readily agreed. However, he said that Iran could only annex Turkmen tribes with clear historical origins in Iran and could not hinder the independence of Turkmenistan as a nation-state. Pahlavi immediately agreed to this point.

Keitel immediately applauded: "The head of state's strategy is really wonderful. Not only did we punch Stalin hard in the soft lower abdomen, but we could also further deter Afghanistan and northwest India and divert the attention of the British."

Although Zeitzler does not think that occupying the territories of Cuman, Uzbek or Kazakhstan will have any actual damage to Russia, at least it looks good on the map, and it does not require much troops and supplies. The German army currently has an advantage in the Caspian Sea - mobilized through railways There are a large number of S-boats, and they have control of the air. After thinking about it carefully, I feel that there is no harm.

Keitel's flattery is certainly not nonsense: Stalin has now transferred a large number of Central Asian troops to the central battlefield, and the Central Asian defenses are very empty. He believes that with the prestige of Marshal Rommel, he will be able to win. Marshal Rommel is now the number one amphibious landing expert, and everyone comes to him when it comes to amphibious operations. Everyone believes that if the Sea Lion program is to be implemented in the future, he must be the seed player.

"If nothing happens, the battle plan will be determined." Hoffman smiled, "I will have a secret meeting with Admiral Darlan tomorrow to discuss France's participation in the war against Britain - the French heard that we captured Ceylon and prepared to The news of the invasion of India was very touching, and I was afraid that if I came too late, I would not even be able to get African colonies like Zambia and Rhodesia. Then I also had to accompany Miss Braun to the Eagle's Nest for a few days of vacation, so I didn't want to go there this time. Go and sit on the front line. I believe you will be able to report the good news of victory to me in time."

Everyone showed expressions of deep understanding.

The newly promoted marshals Holt and Kleist expressed their position on behalf of everyone: "We must dedicate the victory of the battle to the Führer as the best engagement gift!"