The Rise of the Third Reich

The demonstration of the 501st Heavy Tank Battalion was of course very successful. After all, the two projects VK4001 and VK5001 have been in progress for 6 years, and without any interruption or slowdown in the middle, they have always been the highest priority research and development projects. . So by May 1942, the Tiger tanks and Panther tanks that Hersman saw were already mature products. Regardless of the power system, armor defense and firepower system, they have all reached a satisfactory level and fully meet the conditions for large-scale equipment.

After completing all demonstration projects, the 501st Battalion, led by battalion commander Major Rudel, boarded the train to Brest. According to the plan, they will arrive at the Eastern Front on May 15 and be incorporated into the Eastern Front General Reserve, waiting for actual combat testing in the war against the invasion of the Soviet Red Army, and by the way summarizing their battlefield application experience.

After the inspection, Hessmann did not go back to Berlin to chat with the visiting Molotov. Instead, he went directly to Poland and began to inspect the Barbarossa Line of Defense on behalf of the German Emperor Wilhelm III. The main purpose of his trip was to provide The Polish Defense Forces stationed on the Eastern Front cheered.

Because in this time and space, Germany did not destroy Poland on the surface, but made the German Emperor concurrently serve as the King of Poland. Although the common-kingship alliance was often the first step in the merger of two countries in the long history of Europe (this is a merger that is relatively easy for people to accept), after all, the merger has not yet been completed. Poland and Germany are still two countries in theory. nation. Therefore, the "independent" Kingdom of Poland also has its own army-the Defense Force of the Kingdom of Poland, commanded by King William III (the German Emperor William III).

In the upcoming anti-Soviet war, the Polish Kingdom's Defense Forces will be cannon fodder at the forefront!

"How is the morale?" Hessmann asked Marshal Guderian who was riding with him on the way from Sedelce (an important city east of Warsaw) to inspect the Trespol Ring Fortress on the Bug River.

"It's a bit worrying!" Guderian smiled bitterly, "Poles are Poles after all. Although most officers have common interests with us, the morale of ordinary soldiers is generally not high..."

Guderian is now the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, and his headquarters is located in the city of Danze, which belongs to the German Empire. However, most of the time, he was not at Danze headquarters, but inspecting various parts of the Barbarossa defense line. Among them, Poland is the top priority of the inspection, not only because the relationship between Poland and Germany is always a bit special - among all the German allies, Poland has the strongest will for independence, and it also fought a vigorous war with Germany. . In addition, Poland must be the focus of the Soviet Red Army's offensive!

Although the border between the Soviet Union and Europe (European Community) is now very long, more than 3,000 kilometers. But not all locations are suitable to be the focus of breakthroughs. For example, the northernmost Soviet-Finnish border cannot become the main battlefield - even if Stalin captured all of Finland, the blow to Germany would not be very big.

The Baltic States and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, across the sea from Finland, are not suitable to become major breakthrough points. Because that area is covered with forests, it is not conducive to the entry and exit of large troops, and the geographical location close to the Baltic Sea is conducive to the deployment of troops by Germany, which has sea control. In addition, Germany has been operating in the Polish state for many years, and its roots are deep and difficult to shake.

Western Ukraine on the southern front is not suitable for a breakthrough, because Ukrainians have a blood feud with the Soviet Union and are very pro-German and completely side with Nazi Germany. Therefore, the Germans organized hundreds of thousands of defense forces in Western Ukraine, and built Lviv, the capital of Western Ukraine, into a fortress city that could be held for a long time. Western Ukraine is a big piece of Ukrainian bones that is difficult to crack.

Romania further south is "soft" enough. When the thunderstorm plan was first drawn up, the Red Army General Staff wanted to use Romania as the main direction of attack and seize the Ploiesti oil field to cut off Germany's oil supply and paralyze it. Germany's war machine.

However, Germany took over the Middle East in 1941. After one year of hard work, oil production in the Middle East was completely restored. The oil production in the Middle East is now several times greater than that of Romania, and taking Romania is no longer enough to cut off Germany's oil supply.

The Soviet Red Army that breaks into Romania is likely to be blocked in the mountains of Transylvania, making it difficult to quickly sweep through Central Europe, and their retreat will be cut off by German armored groups attacking from Poland and Western Ukraine.

Therefore, Romania cannot be the main direction of attack. The remaining area that can be used as the main attack direction is the vast plains of Poland. It is only 660 kilometers from the Bug River to Berlin, the capital of the German Empire, and they are all undefensible plains. They are the most suitable battlefield for armored forces.

In addition, ethnic conflicts between Poles and Germans have always existed. Although Germany has now organized a Polish Defense Force with more than 500,000 people in Poland, everyone knows that these Poles will not fight the Soviet Union like the Ukrainians.

…

"Marshal Imperial, what you are seeing now is the Tresbol Ring Fortress."

On the banks of the Bug River, across the river from the Brest Fortress, the car Hersmann was riding in was driving slowly on a ring road. Guderian pointed to the empty and desolate place on the inside of the road, with countless large and small "mounds" scattered around, and said to Hersman.

"The outermost is a minefield and barbed wire, surrounding Tresbol with tens of thousands of anti-infantry and anti-tank mines buried. The minefield covers defensive positions arranged in a deep echelon. The main body of the defensive position is 5 mutually exclusive lines. There is a trench system 250-300 meters apart, and there are a large number of anti-tank support points scattered between these trenches. These support points are independent company-level circular defense positions and have excellent shooting visibility. It can form a dense firepower network together with other support points.”

Guderi paused and then said: "The front of each support point is about 1,000 meters and the depth is about 700 meters. Usually 3-5 artillery pieces are deployed, usually 2 38-type 50mm caliber anti-tank guns and 2-3 75mm infantry gun. In addition, it is also equipped with 2-5 mortars, a large number of Panzerfaust anti-tank grenade launchers and MG42 machine guns. Type 40 75mm caliber anti-tank guns will also be deployed at certain key anti-tank support points. . Most of the artillery and machine guns are placed in reinforced concrete permanent fortifications, which can withstand the bombardment of 152mm grenades, and a large number of anti-tank trenches and anti-tank minefields are arranged around these supporting points.

And 3-4 such support points are connected to each other by communication trenches, which will form a battalion-level defensive position that can be independently supported. There are 4 battalion-level defensive positions surrounding the Trespol Ring Fortress. Under these four battalion-level defensive positions is a huge core ring position, which is the Tresbol Ring Fortress. Main position. The Trespol Fortress Brigade's brigade headquarters, artillery bunkers, material and ammunition storage warehouses, and the airstrip responsible for maintaining external traffic in the event of a siege are all within the core circular position..."

What Guderian took Hessmann to visit today was the so-called "ring defense fortress", which is actually a brigade-level defensive position that can stand independently when surrounded and can effectively resist attacks by armored forces.

The reason why such a position is deployed is because the Polish defense forces responsible for serving as cannon fodder on the front line are weak and do not have the ability to deploy a long and deep defense system on a front that is more than 400 kilometers long.

Guderian's solution was to deploy dozens of independently maintainable ring defense fortresses behind the first line of border defense (which was only used to prevent illegal immigration), with each fortress holding a brigade of troops. . Equipped with sufficient anti-tank weapons, ammunition and supplies, these "cannon fodder brigades" can persist for days or weeks under the siege of the Soviet Red Army - if the defending Polish cannon fodder is willing to fight to the death, with these ring fortresses With its strong fortifications and weapons, it is not a problem to defend it for several weeks.

At the same time, these ring fortresses are all set up near traffic arteries, which can delay the advancement of Soviet mechanized troops. Moreover, these dozens of ring-shaped defense fortresses are not lined up in a row, but are arranged in a deep and stepped manner. A fortress area about 150 kilometers wide was formed east of Warsaw.

"The fortifications are very strong, but are the guards reliable?" When Hessman asked, he had already got out of the car. Guderian and the Polish Defense Forces Brigade Commander Carol von Rommel Accompanied by Major General Baron, he visited various parts of the fortress and saw with his own eyes the ring fortress that was later called the "Polish reactionary fortress" by the General Staff of the Soviet Red Army.

"Of course it's reliable!" Major General Carol von Rommel spoke fluent German. He was a Polish-German, and the Rommel surname was passed down from his ancestors. If you look up the family tree, you can still be related to General Rommel, the current commander-in-chief of the Middle East Front.

"Every officer of the Trespol Brigade is a noble of the Kingdom of Poland, some are imperial nobles, and most of them are landowners who own manors." Baron Rommel said, "And more than 80% of the officers and Master Chief both joined the Solidarity Party."

It was Hersman's idea to establish the Polish Noble Officer Corps following the model of the Prussian Junker Knights. All officers of the Polish Defense Forces are reactionary aristocratic landowners! The Solidarity Party was founded by Natalie and several traitors from the Polish Bolshevik Party who came out of prison. The current Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Poland, Count Walecki, is the chairman of the Solidarity Party - the Third International characterized him as Traitors, traitors, scabs, in short, they are completely reactionary characters. If they are caught, they don’t need to be reformed, they can just be shot!

The officers and sergeants of the Trespol Brigade (most of the platoon commanders are sergeants) are naturally all kinds of counterrevolutionaries and reactionaries. If they are caught by the heroic Red Army soldiers, a 25-year reform through labor in Siberia is necessary. …