William Stemerman's words caused Kenf to fall into silence. He began to wonder whether Sokov would fight his own troops near the bridge while sending other troops to launch new attacks from other areas. attack.
"Gentlemen," Kenf thought for a while, then asked several division commanders: "Can you tell me, will the Russians launch attacks from other directions?"
The commander of the 320th Infantry Division shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, General, I think Commander William Stemerman's judgment is completely wrong. The Russians will not attack from other directions except from their bridgehead." We attack."
After he finished speaking, he immediately received support from the two division commanders of the 168th and 106th Infantry Divisions. They also agreed that it was impossible for the Russians to launch an attack from other directions.
These three German division commanders were all old subordinates of the previous commander of the 11th Army, General Routh, because William Stemmermann replaced Routh at the height of the war, making them feel unfair to their old superior. , so in many ways, they formed an alliance, consciously targeting Wilhelm Stemmermann, resolutely opposing anything he supported; and resolutely supporting anything he opposed.
Everyone's opinions were one-sided, which made Kenfu feel a little embarrassed. To be fair, he also felt that Sokov's opponent was not simple. He would never, like other Russian generals, launch a desperate assault in a direction that was difficult to break through, thus causing a large amount of the troops' effective strength to be consumed.
Before Kenfu could make a decision, several officers quickly walked in from outside. After Kenff saw the person clearly, he immediately stood up from his seat and asked: "General Weller, why are you here?"
The person who came was General Weller, Manstein's chief of staff. He nodded to Kenf, and then said: "General Kenf, I was ordered to take over your post. Now, please hand over to me immediately. .”
General Weller's words stunned everyone present. You know, when the war was in such danger, General Routh was replaced by William Stemerman, which had caused dissatisfaction among several division commanders. Now Manstein has gone even further and directly replaced General Kenff with his chief of staff, General Weller.
"General Kenff, when you hand over to me, I have another important news to tell you. From now on, it will be officially renamed the 8th Army, and I will serve as the commander of the group army."
After Kenf handed over the defense to Weller, he left the conference room in despair.
After the door of the conference room was closed again, Weller sat where Kenff had been sitting not long ago and asked William Stemmerman, who was sitting on the right: "General William, what were you discussing before I came here?"
"General Wheeler," William Stemerman quickly replied: "Not long ago, one of our reconnaissance planes was shot down by a Russian fighter plane. I don't think the Russians would shoot down our reconnaissance plane for no reason. It's what they are doing in the area and they don't want our reconnaissance planes to detect it."
After Weiler waited for William Stemmermann to finish speaking, he asked expressionlessly: "General William, where do you think the Russians will launch their attack?"
William Stemerman stood up quickly, pushed the map in front of him to Weller, and introduced him respectfully: "Your Excellency, Commander, I think the Russians may take some action in this area." In order to give Weller a more vivid understanding, he also deliberately clicked twice with his fingers on the areas where the Soviet army might attack.
Unexpectedly, after reading it, Weller said disapprovingly: "General William, the river in this area is several hundred meters wide. Even if the Russians sneak across, our defense forces can eliminate them in the Oude River. "
The other division commanders immediately agreed with Weiler's statement.
Weiler saw that most of the commanders present supported him, and he couldn't help but feel complacent. He turned to the Chief of Staff sitting on his left and said: "Chief of Staff, I want to ask you, what happened to the 282nd Infantry Division? Why did the entire army collapse just after fighting the Russians, exposing the flanks of the friendly forces? The Russians.”
Hearing Weiler's question, the chief of staff couldn't help but sweat like rain. He took out his handkerchief, wiped the sweat from his forehead desperately, and said with some stuttering: "Your Excellency, Commander, please listen to my explanation. The 282nd Division just came from The officers and soldiers of the troops transferred from France had already become exhausted after a long march.
Due to the danger of the war, they entered the combat area directly before they had time to rest. But their equipment is too poor. Not only do they only have horse-drawn carriages, but the machine guns used by the officers and soldiers are still old-fashioned MG-34s. It is difficult to form an advantage over the Russians in terms of firepower. The anti-tank guns equipped by the troops are They are all 37mm artillery.
You should know that this 37mm anti-tank artillery, nicknamed the "stepping stone", cannot penetrate the frontal armor of the Russian T-34 tank even at a distance of 400 meters. "
"Can poor equipment be the reason for their failure?" Weiler said angrily: "You know, this unit was originally deployed at the junction of the 6th Armored Division and the 42nd Army. It was because they collapsed at the first touch that the Vatu Jing's troops successfully rushed into the junction between the two armies and separated our battle line.
What you have to do now is to organize forces to counterattack the Russians, drive them away from the junction, and regain our lost positions. "
After the chief of staff quickly recorded Weller's order, he asked respectfully: "Your Excellency, Commander, do you have any other instructions?"
"Chief of Staff, I would like to ask whether the tithe law should be reinstated for troops like the 282nd Division, which has disgraced the German soldiers."
"Tithe law!" Hearing what Weller said, William Stemmerman, who had just lit a cigarette, couldn't help but trembled in his hands. The cigarette fell directly onto his knees, and the sparks burned him so hard that he jumped out of his seat. got up.
Weller glanced at William Stemmerman with a displeased look, with a dissatisfied expression on his face: "Yes, the law of tithing, we have to kill every ten people from this defeated army. One person will be killed to serve as a warning to the others. We must let them understand that on the battlefield, no matter whether they are advancing or retreating, they cannot escape the fate of death. As long as you move forward with all your strength, even if you unfortunately die in battle, you will serve your family. Bring honor..."
"Your Excellency, Commander," the chief of staff said to Weller with a panicked look on his face: "According to my statistics, the 282nd Division currently has more than 5,000 people. If we use the standard of ten people killing one, then the division has more than 500 people. Officers and soldiers will be put to death.”
"This is necessary," Weller said expressionlessly: "If these cowards are let go this time, more people will flee their combat posts next time they fight the Russians."
"Your Excellency, Commander," William Stemmerman also realized that Weller's approach was too extreme. After all, the Roman Empire had implemented such cruel military regulations two thousand years ago, but in the end it was too extreme. Cruel and abandoned. "I feel that under the current circumstances, it is not suitable to restore this ancient military regulation. If we really do this, it will be a huge blow to the morale and morale of the military."
Seeing that William Stemmermann was on his side, the chief of staff felt somewhat confident: "Your Excellency, Commander, I think this matter is too relevant. I think it's better to call Marshal Manstein and hear about it." His opinion."
When Weiler made his decision, he was still thinking about restoring the ancient military rule of tithing, which would definitely be approved by many officers. After all, the disastrous defeat of the 282nd Infantry Division caused the 8th Army's defense line to be destroyed. If the Russians break through, they must be severely punished.
When he saw the chief of staff, he reminded himself to call Manstein, which made Weller think it made sense. Now that I have taken over the position of commander, it is necessary to call the marshal and report to the marshal. I can casually tell the marshal my decision to restore the law of tithing, and maybe I can get praise from him. William Stemerman's words caused Kenf to fall into silence. He began to wonder whether Sokov would fight his own troops near the bridge while sending other troops to launch new attacks from other areas. attack.
"Gentlemen," Kenf thought for a while, then asked several division commanders: "Can you tell me, will the Russians launch attacks from other directions?"
The commander of the 320th Infantry Division shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, General, I think Commander William Stemerman's judgment is completely wrong. The Russians will not attack from other directions except from their bridgehead." We attack."
After he finished speaking, he immediately received support from the two division commanders of the 168th and 106th Infantry Divisions. They also agreed that it was impossible for the Russians to launch an attack from other directions.
These three German division commanders were all old subordinates of the previous commander of the 11th Army, General Routh, because William Stemmermann replaced Routh at the height of the war, making them feel unfair to their old superior. , so in many ways, they formed an alliance, consciously targeting Wilhelm Stemmermann, resolutely opposing anything he supported; and resolutely supporting anything he opposed.
Everyone's opinions were one-sided, which made Kenfu feel a little embarrassed. To be fair, he also felt that Sokov's opponent was not simple. He would never, like other Russian generals, launch a desperate assault in a direction that was difficult to break through, thus causing a large amount of the troops' effective strength to be consumed.
Before Kenfu could make a decision, several officers quickly walked in from outside. After Kenff saw the person clearly, he immediately stood up from his seat and asked: "General Weller, why are you here?"
The person who came was General Weller, Manstein's chief of staff. He nodded to Kenf, and then said: "General Kenf, I was ordered to take over your post. Now, please hand over to me immediately. .”
General Weller's words stunned everyone present. You know, when the war was in such danger, General Routh was replaced by William Stemerman, which had caused dissatisfaction among several division commanders. Now Manstein has gone even further and directly replaced General Kenff with his chief of staff, General Weller.
"General Kenff, when you hand over to me, I have another important news to tell you. From now on, it will be officially renamed the 8th Army, and I will serve as the commander of the group army."
After Kenf handed over the defense to Weller, he left the conference room in despair.
After the door of the conference room was closed again, Weller sat where Kenff had been sitting not long ago and asked William Stemmerman, who was sitting on the right: "General William, what were you discussing before I came here?"
"General Wheeler," William Stemmerman quickly replied: "Not long ago, one of our reconnaissance planes was shot down by a Russian fighter plane. I don't think the Russians would shoot down our reconnaissance plane for no reason. It's what they are doing in the area and they don't want our reconnaissance planes to detect it."
After Weiler waited for William Stemmermann to finish speaking, he asked expressionlessly: "General William, where do you think the Russians will launch their attack?"
William Stemerman stood up quickly, pushed the map in front of him to Weller, and introduced him respectfully: "Your Excellency, Commander, I think the Russians may take some action in this area." In order to give Weller a more vivid understanding, he also deliberately clicked twice with his fingers on the areas where the Soviet army might attack.
Unexpectedly, after reading it, Weller said disapprovingly: "General William, the river in this area is several hundred meters wide. Even if the Russians try to sneak across, our defense forces can eliminate them in the Oude River. "
The other division commanders immediately agreed with Weiler's statement.
Weiler saw that most of the commanders present supported him, and he couldn't help but feel complacent. He turned to the Chief of Staff sitting on his left and said: "Chief of Staff, I want to ask you, what happened to the 282nd Infantry Division? Why did the entire army collapse just after fighting the Russians, exposing the flanks of friendly forces to The Russians.”
Hearing Weiler's question, the chief of staff couldn't help but sweat like rain. He took out his handkerchief, wiped the sweat from his forehead desperately, and said with some stuttering: "Your Excellency, Commander, please listen to my explanation. The 282nd Division just came from The officers and soldiers of the troops transferred from France had already become exhausted after a long march.
Due to the danger of the war, they entered the combat area directly before they had time to rest. But their equipment is too poor. Not only do they have only horse-drawn transport, but the machine guns used by the officers and soldiers are still old-fashioned MG-34s. It is difficult to form an advantage over the Russians in terms of firepower; and the anti-tank guns equipped by the troops, They are all 37mm artillery.
"Can poor equipment be the reason for their failure?" Weiler said angrily: "You know, this unit was originally deployed at the junction of the 6th Armored Division and the 42nd Army. It was because they collapsed at the first touch that the Vatu Jing's troops successfully rushed into the junction between the two armies and separated our battle line.
