Mustache stood up and walked back and forth in the conference room with his hands behind his back, thinking in his mind whether he should terminate Operation Fortress or agree to Manstein's suggestion and put the last reserves into battle to end the battle in the Kursk Bulge as soon as possible. of combat.
Goering, who was as fat as a pig, sat in his seat and closed his eyes to meditate. The last time Paulus's troops were encircled, he had promised Mustache that he would use five hundred aircraft to establish an air corridor to provide the trapped troops with enough ammunition, fuel, and military supplies so that they could continue. Fight the Russians. But he was soon slapped in the face by reality. Although the Air Force tried its best, the supplies they provided could not meet the daily needs of the 6th Army. As a result, the Army was running out of ammunition and food. Totally wiped out by Soviet troops.
After the British and American troops landed in Sicily, he also boasted that as long as his air force was dispatched, he could drive the landing enemies into the sea. Who knew that after a day of fierce fighting, not only his air force was defeated by the British and American air forces, but even the Goering Armored Infantry Division responsible for the ground attack suffered heavy losses.
If he spoke at this moment, he would definitely get scolded by Mustache. He would not do such a stupid thing, so he simply closed his eyes and rested, assuming that what happened in front of him had nothing to do with him.
Keitel, the chief of general staff of the headquarters, had the same idea as Mustache. The landing of British and American troops in Sicily was a stab in the back. If troops were not deployed to reinforce the Italian front and drive the invading British and American troops into the sea, the war on the Western Front would become worse.
Keitel's deputy Jodl agreed very much with Manstein's opinion. He felt that if the fortress plan was stopped at this time, it would give the Russians a chance to breathe, and the situation on the Eastern Front would further deteriorate.
He opened his mouth, but when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back. He recalled that Mustache sent himself to the headquarters of Army Group A last year to investigate the reasons for the army's defeat in the southern section of the Eastern Front, focusing on investigating whether the commander of the group army had implemented the orders and instructions of the Supreme Command on the campaign.
After a detailed investigation, Yodel reported to Mustache that the Army Commander had implemented the order of the Supreme Command, but failed due to increasingly strong resistance from the Russians.
It was precisely because of this investigation result that Mustache accused Yoder of deliberately defending the frontline generals who disobeyed orders. Yoder was also a little uneasy at the time. During the dispute, he boldly pointed out the mistakes in Mustache's command, thus Invited ruthless revenge.
Yoder thought to himself: Mustache is bent on ending Operation Fortress. If he chooses to side with Manstein, he will definitely anger the other party, and he will definitely attract crazy revenge.
Chief of Army General Staff Zeitzler stared at the oak table in front of him expressionlessly, but what he was thinking was: There is a group of people who control the fate of Germany gathered in this room. If someone throws a bomb in from the outside, it may be It will cause the subsequent history of Germany to be rewritten.
In this way, no one among the marshals and generals in the room who had their own evil intentions spoke. They could only hear the tapping sound of the leather shoes worn by Mustache as he walked around.
Time passed by minute by second, and Mustache finally stopped. He stood there for a moment, then quickly came to the wall, looked up at the map hanging on the wall, and began to think again.
"General Zeitzler," Mustache turned around, looked at the Army Chief of Staff, and asked aggressively: "I want to hear your opinion. What do you think we should do?"
Zeitzler began to weigh the powerful relationships in his mind. Was it because he insisted on principles and supported Marshal Manstein? Or in order not to offend the head of state, should he agree to dispatch troops from the Eastern Front to reinforce Italy?
Zeitzler didn't speak for a long time, and Mustache became a little impatient: "Chief of Staff, why don't you speak? I'm still waiting."
Zeitzler pretended to flip through the information in front of him, trying to buy himself some time to consider the problem more comprehensively. After he put down the information in his hand, he looked up at his mustache and said respectfully: "My head of state, I think Marshal Manstein can continue to maintain the offensive against the Russians to eliminate as many Russian troops as possible. As for that There is no need for the two reserve troops to be invested in the Kursk area, but to be transferred to the western front to reinforce the Italian front."
Regarding Zeitzler's statement, Mustache felt that it made some sense. After nodding, he continued to ask: "What about Marshal Kruger's Army Group Center?"
"Given the current situation of Army Group Center, we can order Model to command the 9th Army and the 2nd Armored Army to stop the Russian offensive in the Orel area and work to restore the original front."
"Very good, General Zeitzler, you said it very well." Seeing that Zeitzler's proposal was comprehensive and taking into account all aspects of emotions, Mustache nodded in agreement: "Just follow the method you said, the Central Committee The Army Group stopped the Russian attack at the Orel salient and tried its best to restore the lost positions; as for Marshal Manstein, the attack on the Russians could not be stopped and it was necessary to eliminate as much of the Russians' effective forces as possible."
Seeing that Mustache did not mention his reserve force, Manstein asked tentatively: "My head of state, how do you plan to arrange the 24th Armored Corps composed of the 23rd Armored Division and the Viking Division?"
"Transfer them to the Western Front to reinforce the Italian front." After announcing the arrangements for the 24th Armored Corps, Mustache looked at Manstein and asked, "Manstein, do you have anything else to add?"
Keitel, who had always remained silent, finally found a chance to speak. He asked Manstein with a smile: "Marshal, do you have any specific plans for the upcoming battle?"
Manstein glanced at Keitel, then said with a wry smile: "Based on the current situation, I will give priority to replenishing the Flag Guard Division and the Skeleton Division. At the same time, I will order the Kef Combat Group south of Prokhorovka to move closer to me. .
After completing the rendezvous operation, we will achieve three operational objectives: 1. Encircle and annihilate the Russian troops between the 2nd SS Panzer Corps and the Kef Combat Group;
2. Destroy the Russian 5th Guards Tank Army blocking the front of our army;
3. Try every means to seize and occupy Prokhorovka from the Russians. "
"My Führer," Keitel turned to face Mustache after listening to what Manstein said: "I think Marshal Manstein's plan is completely feasible. As long as General Hauser's 2nd SS Panzer Army, If we can join forces with the Kef combat group, it is entirely possible to wipe out the Russian heavy group and seize Prokhorovka."
In the battle in the Dnieper River Basin at the beginning of the year, the Russian troops and equipment were several times that of our own. Moreover, Paulus's 6th Army had just been completely wiped out at that time. The entire army was demoralized and demoralized. Everyone thought this was a losing battle. Some people even suggested in the staff headquarters to withdraw all troops across the Dnieper River and seize the time to build a defense line along the river to block the Russian attack.
Unexpectedly, Manstein not only won the battle in the end, but also won unprecedentedly completely. The commanders of the Russian Southwest Front and Voronezh Front were dismissed by Stalin due to their failure. Therefore, in the eyes of Mustache, Manstein is an invincible God of War. Since the God of War has formulated a new battle plan, he naturally has no objection. Mustache nodded and said: "Fortress Operation The plan can come to an end at this point. The battle in the north is handed over to Model, who must block the Russian offensive towards the Orel salient. As for the south, the second party is assembled according to the plan mentioned by Marshal Manstein. We will use the power of the Guards Panzer Army and Combat Group Kef to annihilate the heavy Russian force group, strive to capture Prokhorovka, and continue to advance in the direction of Kursk."
Having said this, Mustache turned his attention to Kruger: "Marshal Kruger, once Manstein's troops advance to Kursk, your Army Group Center should still follow the original battle plan and face Russia from the north again. After launching an attack on the enemy's defense line and breaking through their positions, they rushed to Kursk to join Manstein, surrounded the Russian troops in the Kursk salient, and completely destroyed them."
"Don't worry, my head of state." Since the beginning of this battle, he felt that the Russians were quite well prepared. Not only had they built solid fortifications, but there were also dense minefields in front of the positions, forming a complete defense system. To break through such a line of defense, the price paid is huge. Now that he knew that he no longer had to attack Kursk and could instead switch to defense on the spot, Kruger felt much more at ease. "We will definitely block the Russian attack and restore all lost positions at the appropriate time."
Compared with Kruger's relaxation, Manstein's mood was particularly heavy, although he used his skills to persuade Mustache and got the other party to agree to continue his offensive on the southern front of Kursk. But he knew very well that without new reserves entering the battle, it would be an impossible task to defeat the Russians.
Sitting on the plane returning to the front line, Manstein closed his eyes tightly and thought painfully: "If the Führer can agree to put the 24th Armored Corps into battle, even if it only takes a day or two, there will be a chance to wipe out the people gathered in Pulau. Russian troops near Khorovka. Now, with the ban, the victory that seemed so close was lost."
