Chapter 164 The cooperation between Rundstedt and Manstein
Manstein took out the battle plan and checked every detail in it again.
Although this plan came from him, and although everything has been developing according to the plan so far, this is only the first time he has planned such a large-scale operation, and it is inevitable that he will be nervous.
From troop strength, firepower, terrain, logistics, combat units to local intelligence, every point has been repeatedly confirmed by him and his staff team. To this day, he is still a little uneasy and can't help but compare it over and over again.
right.
The war has begun, and the situation on the front line is even smoother than expected. Battle reports show that the Polish troops on the border did not have any delay at all. They were panicked when they faced the first wave of German charges.
Just like the situation when the Soviet Union launched a surprise attack, the poor response speed of the Polish army on the border was completely unable to adapt to local surprise attacks, and could only passively allow the enemy to be divided and eliminated.
The difference is that the Polish army deployed more intensive troops on the Polish-German border, resulting in the German army's first round of victory being much greater than that of the Soviet army in the east. The German army's concentrated use of armored forces and the tactics of quickly rushing into the hinterland of Poland were even more
The Polish High Command lost the area originally planned as the second line of defense before they could establish a new line of defense. In this regard, the German army was much better than the Soviet army that was slowly advancing.
"What? Come to check the original plan again." The speaker was the commander of Army Group South, the German veteran General Lundstedt.
Although the old general had differences with Reinhard on the deployment of troops on the Western Front, this did not affect him from completing his duties as a German general on the Eastern Front.
Reinhard, who knew this, was very magnanimous in appointing this old general who boldly put forward opinions as the commander-in-chief of Army Group South, and placed Army Group South, the huge German main force, under the command of Rundstedt.
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At this time, seeing that the old general was concerned about himself, who was labeled as Reinhard's confidant, Manstein also responded respectfully: "Commander, it is a good thing that the front line is going smoothly, but we should not relax at this time. Once this happens,
At this time, due to some small mistakes, the success fell short, which is a serious dereliction of duty on my part as the Chief of General Staff!"
"The plan you made is very good, you have to have confidence in yourself." Lundstaeder waved his hand and said: "Of all the staff officers I have ever seen, you are the boldest and most cautious one.
Personally, I think that no one in the Polish High Command can be your opponent."
Lundstedt's words were simply the greatest encouragement to Manstein, who was just starting to formulate a grand army combat plan. Who was Lundstedt? He was the most experienced person in the German army today.
Army General. It would be an honor for every staff officer to be praised by such a war expert.
In fact, at first, Lundstedt was biased against Reinhardt's arrangement of Manstein to work with him. He thought this was a way for Reinhardt to mix things up with him and install direct descendants.
Due to this mentality, Lundstedt initially looked down upon Manstein, who became the chief of staff of Army Group South through connections.
But later, after Manstein led his staff team to formulate an almost perfect marching strategy, Lundstedt began to look at him with admiration.
As the supreme commander of the Army Group South, Rundstadt witnessed with his own eyes how Manstein had not touched the ground in the past few days, and he led his staff to plan a specific march route without sleeping or eating. And this march plan was developed in Rundstad.
Under Stadler's vicious eyes, he couldn't find even the slightest loophole!
This combat line, which even Lundstedt could find no fault with, is as follows:
The 14th Army marched from Upper Silesia, through Moravia, directly towards the Corpathian Mountains. This far-reaching advance paved the way for the main force of the Polish army to encircle Galicia, and used a rapid straight-line attack to cover up the encirclement and annihilate the Polish army.
The real intention of the main force.
Among them, the 8th Army was to break through the Polish fortresses in Silesia and then advance toward Krakow along the north bank of the Vistula River.
At the same time, the 17th Army left Moravia and, after defeating the Polish army on the border, advanced toward Krakow along the south bank of the Vistula River.
The other 22nd Armored Corps attacked from the Orava Gorge to the west of the Korbachian Mountains and launched an assault on Cracow from the south. The 18th Mountain Army passed through the Boprad Gorge and passed through Novi Songci to Krakow.
March north and threaten Cracow from behind.
The four-pronged march seemed to have its own purpose, but in fact it was linked step by step, pointing from four directions to the Polish army's heavy troop assembly point in Krakow, trying to break the backbone of the Polish army on the southern front in one fell swoop.
The 10th Army, which has a relatively strong armored force, will cooperate with the relatively weak 8th Army to destroy all the Polish garrisons and their reserves in the two provinces of Lodz and Posen. Prevent the Polish army from using these troops to retreat.
Organize a new defense line behind the Vistula River.
The new line of defense mentioned in Manstein's strategy was actually the best defensive line proposed by Berlant of the French Army to the Polish High Command. Unfortunately, Marshal Smigre of Poland did not adopt it.
And Manstein was also prepared to give him a chance to make corrections.
It can be said that although the overall goal of Manstein's plan is bold, it reduces risks by setting small goals for individual units. It is simply perfect!
In this marching strategy, tactics are just details and basic tools. The great thing about Manstein is that he formulates the tactical goals at each point as part of the overall battle goal, even at a certain point or a few points.
If the points are not in place in time, the remaining points can still independently support the overall trend of the battle!
Lundstedt has been fighting for so many years, but he has never seen that staff member make such a detailed and thorough plan!
In Lundstedt's view, if Reinhardt had reused him regardless of the gap before, it made him feel a kind of overlord's broad-mindedness. Then Reinhardt discovered that he reused an inconspicuous man like Manstein.
The genius staff officer shows a kind of hero’s wisdom in understanding people!
Together with Rommel, the young Spanish general who defeated more with less, and Guderian, the armor master of Austria's lightning advance, Manstein was already the third extraordinary talent Reinhardt boldly promoted! Lundstedt was a little surprised
, it seems that the cronies in the army promoted by the head of state so far are all genuine generals who can stand the test, and are not the kind of incompetent people who are flattering and clinging to power.
Over and over again, it is no longer a coincidence. All phenomena point to a possibility, that is, the head of state has never placed cronies at the top of the military, but promoted some capable talents to the top!
Lundstedt was in a daze. Judging from this situation, he might not be sure that the Führer really had extraordinary foresight. Then wouldn't it be possible for him to strip down to just his underwear and run naked on the streets of Berlin in the future?