William Stemmerman'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 William 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 was not an easy opponent. He would never launch a desperate assault like other Russian generals in a direction that was difficult to break through.
As a result, the effective strength of the army was greatly consumed.
Before Kenff could make a decision, several officers quickly walked in from outside. After Kenff saw the people 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 Wheeler's words stunned everyone present. You must know that when the war was in such danger, General Routh was replaced by William Stemmermann, which had caused dissatisfaction among several division commanders. Now Manstein
What he did even more brilliantly was to directly replace General Kenff with his own chief of staff, General Wheeler.
"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, with me 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 discover 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 Stemmerman 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 wipe them out in the Oude River."
"
The other division commanders immediately agreed with Weiler's statement.
Seeing that most of the commanders present supported him, Weller 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's going on with the 282nd Infantry Division.
Why did the entire army collapse as soon as we fought against the Russians, exposing all the flanks of the 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 without having time to rest. However, their equipment was too poor. Not only did they only have horse-drawn carriages for transportation, but the machine guns used by the officers and soldiers were still old-fashioned MG-34s.
It has an advantage over the Russians in terms of firepower; and the anti-tank guns equipped by the troops 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, causing 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 have disgraced the German soldiers."
"Tithe law!" Hearing what Wheeler 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 among the people is killed to alert 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 executed."
The rest of the officers present were shocked when they learned that Weiler planned to restore the cruel military regulations in the ancient Roman army - the law of tithing. They were confused. If this order was really implemented, they didn't know what would happen.
What impact will it have on the troops?
"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 Stemmermann 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.
It was 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 Majesty, Commander, I think this matter is too relevant. I think it's better to call Marshal Manstein and hear about it.
Let’s give him 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. Weller thought it made sense. Since he had taken over the position of commander, it was necessary to call the marshal and inform him of his decision to restore the law of tithing.
Marshal, you might even get praise from him.
After the call was connected, Manstein asked in a low voice: "General Weller, have you taken over General Kenff's position?"
"Yes, Your Majesty Marshal." Weller said proudly, "I have officially taken over as the commander of the 8th Group Army."
"Very good, General Weller." Manstein warned Weller on the phone: "The situation in Kharkov is very bad for our army now, and the 11th Army is facing Soko, who is known for his cunning.
Husband, you must be more vigilant and be careful not to fall into his trap."
"Marshal, you can rest assured of this." Wheeler had learned about the deployment of the 11th Army, so he confidently said to Manstein: "Although his troops have established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Oude River, the front
It is too narrow, and no matter how much troops he invests, he will not be able to break through our army's arc defense."
After listening to Weller's report, Manstein felt a little uneasy, and confidently asked about the specific situation of the arc defense line. What Weller knew, he immediately stated it in no uncertain terms; as for those things that were not yet clear,
If the question arises, let the chief of staff answer Manstein's inquiry.
After some interrogation, Manstein felt that the arc-shaped defense on the east bank of the Oude River was fully capable of blocking the Soviet attack, and he felt much more at ease. Just as he was about to put down the phone, he heard Weller say
A sentence that shocked him: "Your Excellency, Marshal, in order to punish the 282nd Infantry Division that was defeated by the Russians, I plan to restore the law of tithing. One out of every ten people in this defeated army will be killed to set an example and warn others."
Those who are greedy for life and afraid of death will suffer the same fate if they just run away from the battlefield."
"General Weller, do you know what you are doing?" Unexpectedly, Manstein became extremely angry after hearing this: "Although the 282nd Division is vulnerable to the Russians, if you use such a cruel weapon
Using ancient military regulations to deal with them will cause the morale of the military to be shaken and morale to be low. You know, the Russians are pressing harder now. If we do something that shakes the morale of the military at this time, I am afraid that the next war will have a negative impact on our army.
Even more disadvantageous.”
Manstein's words made Weller realize that he was a little too reckless, and he quickly asked for instructions: "Marshal, what should I do? Should I just turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye to this matter?"
"It is definitely not possible to ignore it." Manstein said: "In any case, the disastrous defeat of the 282nd Infantry Division caused our army's defense line to be separated by the Russians. This is an indisputable fact, and must be given to the
Learn a lesson you will never forget."
"What lesson should you teach them?"
"Immediately remove all officers of the division above the battalion level and send suitable candidates to replace them."
"What should we do with those dismissed officers?" Weller heard that Manstein did not mention what to do with the dismissed officers, so he asked tentatively: "Do you need me to send someone to send them to you?
?”
"What do I want from these cowards who are afraid of death?!" Manstein ordered in an unquestionable tone: "Shoot them all on the spot and let the officers of other troops understand that if they do not fight the Russians with all their strength on the battlefield, they will
I will end up like them in the future."
Although Manstein did not want to kill too many people, killing a group of officers of the 282nd Infantry Division could also act as a deterrent to the troops who had no fighting spirit. After Weller understood the other party's intention, he immediately replied loudly:
"Understood, Your Majesty Marshal, I will arrange this immediately."
After Weiler put down the phone, he returned to the conference table and said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, the Marshal just said that all officers above the battalion level of the 282nd Infantry Division will be removed from their posts and suitable candidates will be sent to replace them.
their duties."
"Okay, Your Excellency, Commander." The chief of staff thought that there were many officers without real power in the group army, so he could just send them to the 282nd Infantry Division to take over the corresponding positions, so he readily agreed and asked one last question.
: "What should be done with those officers who have been dismissed?"
"Your Excellency, Marshal, said it," Weiler said through gritted teeth: "These cowards who are greedy for life and fear of death are a shame to our German soldiers. They can only wash away this shame with their own blood. After the new officers take office, these
All the officers who were dismissed were shot without leaving any trace."
The chief of staff was shocked by Wheeler's order, but then he thought about it. The performance of the 282nd Infantry Division on the battlefield was indeed too embarrassing. The division was stationed at the junction of the 6th Armored Division and the 42nd Army. According to
According to the plan, they should hold the Russians there for two to three days to ensure that the troops on the left and right flanks could crush the Russian attack. But with the defeat of the 282nd Infantry Division, not only did this intention fail, but also allowed the Russians to
The battle lines are divided. It is simply unreasonable not to kill such a culprit.
After thinking about this, the chief of staff agreed resoundingly, then turned and walked out of the conference room, went to the communications room to contact officers from other units, and went to the 282nd Infantry Division to take over the vacated position.
This chapter has been completed!