Iron Cross

As for the arrangements for the offensive campaign, due to the lull in the summer campaign, each army group has communicated more frequently with the General Staff Headquarters, and relatively speaking, there are no big tricks. However, not everyone is optimistic about the overall campaign. Guderian, who had just returned from Africa, frowned thoughtfully after seeing the overall plan, but this time he did not start rashly. Several years of ups and downs have made him mature a lot. He knows that his relationship with most of the main officers on the Eastern Front is very average, and speaking casually may cause unnecessary trouble.

"Heinz, please share your opinion. Among so many people, you are the only one who has been busy fighting in Africa and has not yet fully participated in the formulation of the campaign. Perhaps you have unusual opinions." Hoffman turned his attention to Guderian.

"Führer, I don't have any unusual opinions..." Guderian smiled bitterly, "I'm just vaguely worried. I hope I'm overly worried."

"Tell me about it?"

"Please see, the Voronezh-Tambov line is not only the starting point for our army's large-scale offensive, but also the main storage point for logistics supplies. It is also a key node that connects and communicates the northern and southern battlefields. It is located exactly in the center of the entire front - It is less than 500 kilometers away from Moscow and about 520 kilometers away from Stalingrad. Assume that our army advances on the central front first and successfully captures Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Kuibyshev (the capital Samara) and other areas on the right bank of the Volga River. At this time, our frontline is more than 500 kilometers away from the rear base. If I were Zhukov," Guderian glanced at everyone, "I would make a last-ditch effort and send troops from both the north and south of Stalingrad and Moscow at the same time. Attacking and intercepting important strategic points in our army's center will not only force our army's center offensive group to return for rescue, but may also reverse the current passive situation."

Everyone below nodded. The routine of advancing from the north to the south and attacking from the center was in line with Guderian's taste. Although everyone does not think that the Red Army has such a sharp offensive capability, at least such a response strategy is wiser than simply transferring troops from the north and south wings to fill the gap in the central battlefield. During the Battle of the Castle, the Axis forces continued to attack the central front. The Red Army was unable to establish a solid defense line at all, and the deployment of troops from the north and south wings was quickly eliminated in the continuous attrition.

Hoffman smiled slightly and asked: "Apart from Tambov and Voronezh, what other nodes do you think are likely to suffer a heavy blow from the Red Army?"

"It could also be Kharkov, but it's a bit far away. It's more than 600 kilometers away from Moscow and Stalingrad." Guderian looked at the map again, "There are at least three lines of defense of our army in front of Kharkov. , I think it is extremely unlikely that the enemy will attack 700 kilometers long distance and destroy three lines of defense in succession.”

Hoffman nodded with satisfaction, and the rest of the crowd immediately became active, consciously or unconsciously switching their positions to the Red Army's standpoint and perspective to look at the problem. However, after much discussion, they found that apart from Guderian's method, there seemed to be nothing special. Brilliant method.

Marshal Weikes emphasized: Army Group Eastern was originally the overall strategic reserve on the Eastern Front, and now it is also used on the front line. Although each army group has prepared at least one reserve for the army, he hopes that the General Staff will at least prepare enough Strategic Reserves - For such a large-scale battle involving an attack of 3 million people, it is impossible not to have reserves of the size of a battle cluster.

The smile on Zeitzler's face grew wider, and then he revealed the answer to the mystery: "According to the request and instructions of the Führer, the General Staff has the reorganized First SS Armored Group as its backbone, plus the 5th and 8th Wehrmacht Armies. , jointly formed the Shuguang Army Group and served as the general reserve for this battle. The commander of this army group was Marshal Guderian, and it was declared as the reserve army group."

Everyone whispered among themselves that the cost of this reserve army group was quite high. The First SS Armored Group Army was a newly established unit this year. It had four armored divisions including the Guardsmen and the Reich that had completed the organizational adjustments and additions in 1943. 2 Panzergrenadier divisions and 4 Waffen SS divisions are stronger than any Wehrmacht armored group army. With the addition of the other two group armies, the strength cannot be underestimated. If the Russians were deceived by the "reserve" name of this army group, they would be in trouble.

"The reserve army group is deployed on the front lines of Kharkiv, Voronezh and Tambov, with Voronezh as the core."

Only then did Guderian suddenly realize why Zeitzler had been looking at him with a smile just now: it was not that the General Staff had not considered this possibility, on the contrary, they were fully prepared. And he happens to be able to assume and perform the role of commander.

The overall meeting policy was finally determined, and now there was less than 24 hours left before the launch of the offensive campaign.

Just as the German army was intensively advancing the campaign, in the Kremlin, Stalin was also listening to reports from the General Staff and Molotov, "Judging from the intelligence we have, the German army seems to be launching a new round of offensive soon, and the direction is Still on the central battlefield.”

Stalin nodded noncommittally and asked, "Is there any way to stop them?"

Vasilevsky hesitated for a moment, and finally said frankly: "It is very difficult. The enemy has equipment advantages, the troops have rich combat experience, and..."

Stalin waved his hand: "I understand what you emphasized. What I'm asking about is the method. Do you and Comrade Constantine have the same opinion?"

"This..." Vasilevsky hesitated for a moment, and then said, "It's inconsistent. I mean to continue to retreat and further expand the German army's logistics supply line."

At yesterday's situation analysis meeting, Zhukov made the next strategic deduction, believing that the German army is likely to repeat the tactics of the last battle, attacking and continuously breaking through the central battlefield, forcing the Red Army to withdraw troops from both wings for reinforcement. Once the two wings are weakened, the German army will take the opportunity to attack one of the wings. He believes that he cannot be led by the Germans and must take the initiative. Therefore, he proposed a strategy of luring the enemy deep into the center, widening the distance between the German army, and implementing a north-south advance in December to cut off the German army's retreat and force the enemy to retreat.

Zhukov knew the gap between the Red Army and the Axis, and did not pin his hopes on the power and effectiveness of the offensive campaign, nor did he believe that the Red Army had the ability to encircle and annihilate the German heavy troops. He only hoped to force the German army to stop advancing and create opportunities for the Soviets to win a winter respite period.

But this time Vasilevsky had a different opinion. He was not optimistic about Zhukov's tactics of attack as defense. He suggested further retreat. Not to mention the right bank of the Volga River, if the German army wanted, they could be allowed to attack all the time, even to the Ural Mountains.