News of the defeat of the Romanian 4th Army soon reached the headquarters of Army Group South.
Rundstedt was so shocked that he was speechless for a long time after receiving the telegram.
But another piece of information made him stunned on the spot.
"Your Excellency, Marshal!" the adjutant said, "We have just confirmed that General Schobert hit a mine and died during the retreat!"
"What? What did you say?" Rundstedt could hardly believe his ears.
The adjutant repeated it again, and then added: "The 22nd Infantry Division suffered more than 3,000 casualties..."
Rundstedt did not dare to listen any more.
This is simply a shame for the German army, especially when other fronts are overwhelming.
Then Rundstedt realized that what he had to face was how to explain it to Berlin.
Sure enough, the phone rang soon after, and the adjutant handed the phone to Rundstedt. From his expression, Rundstedt knew it was Hitler who was calling, and the tone was not good.
Rundstedt's guess was correct. He had just picked up the phone and before he could reveal his identity, Hitler's roar came from the other end of the phone:
"You should be ashamed of this battle! When our army defeated the Russians and fled, your command caused our troops to suffer unprecedented, heavy, and horrific casualties..."
Hitler's speech sounded like a speech at all times, even when he was swearing.
Rundstedt knew that his failure was indeed serious this time, so he allowed Hitler to be furious without saying a word.
After scolding for a while, Hitler suddenly asked: "How do you plan to solve this mess in front of you?"
Rundstedt was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "I will try my best to open up the supply line, Your Majesty the Head of State, their armored forces are in Odessa, and the main infantry is guarded in Kiev. The middle part is obviously more vulnerable!"
"But our troops are equally vulnerable!" Hitler retorted loudly: "Army Group South was divided into two parts, in fact three parts: the armored forces were blocked on the east bank of the Dnieper River and could not return, and the main force was surrounded
During the interruption, the logistics troops were blocked from the outside. I think you know what this means! Marshal!"
Hitler said the word "Marshal" through gritted teeth, which shows Hitler's anger towards Rundstedt at this time.
"Yes, Your Excellency the Führer!" Rundstedt replied.
Of course Rundstedt knew what this meant... The logistics force had equipment and ammunition but no combat effectiveness. The main force had combat effectiveness but did not have enough ammunition. If the plan to open up the supply line failed, it was likely to be attacked by the Soviet army.
Counterattack.
And then...and then there was no more.
The main force will be annihilated by the Soviet army due to lack of ammunition. Such a failure is unbearable for the German army.
After a moment of silence, Hitler said: "I know what to do, Marshal! Someone must be responsible for this failure!"
With that said, Hitler hung up the phone, leaving Rundstedt standing there holding the phone in a daze. After a while, he slowly put the phone back.
Rundstedt knew what Hitler meant by "taking responsibility for this failure", which meant that he would leave the position of commander of Army Group South with shame.
In fact, Rundstedt should be lucky, because if a Soviet general heard the words "responsible for this failure", he would probably be imprisoned or even shot.
But this seems to make no difference to Rundstedt... The honor-conscious German general leaves office with the shame of failure, which is probably more uncomfortable than killing him.
Rundstedt's guess was correct. The order came from the High Command in less than half an hour.
Of course, the order fully considered Rundstedt's face and ordered him to hand over command to Marshal von Reichenau on the grounds that he had a heart and needed to recuperate.
Marshal von Reichenau was originally the commander of the 6th Army and a loyal supporter of Hitler. His replacement was expected by Rundstedt.
Then Hitler urgently transferred Manstein, who was in Army Group North, to Army Group South to take over as commander of Schobert's 11th Army.
After that, it can be said that Rundstedt made no further achievements.
If anything was done, it was to build an "Atlantic Barrier" in France to resist possible British and American landing operations. However, due to his negative attitude, power fell to Rommel.
When Hitler punished Rundstedt and made a series of adjustments, the Soviet army on the other side was a different scene.
When the 9th Army entered Odessa, it received a warm welcome from the Soviet soldiers and civilians... Although Shulka knew that at least some of the people were not sincere. As mentioned before, they might prefer the German victory.
But even a fool knows not to show it at this time.
As a result, the whole of Odessa was boiling.
The 9th Army also spent some time preparing before entering Odessa... It is said that this was to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians of Odessa with a better image.
This can be said to be an image project, but this image project is actually effective, because morale is a kind of spirit and motivation. Compared with a military unit with a weak military appearance and wounded soldiers everywhere, the military and civilians of Odessa
There is no doubt that seeing a strong and high-spirited reinforcement force will give them more confidence and deter the reactionaries who are still hesitant.
So, who can say that this is an image project?
On the battlefield, as long as it is useful, even if it is just an appearance, even if it is not true, it is still a good tactic.
At this time, Shulka's mirror and knife came in handy, but other warriors... had to give out cigarettes in exchange for borrowing these things from Shulka.
The actor couldn't help but sigh: "Comrade platoon leader, it turns out that you have thought of this day for a long time!"
Shulka couldn't help laughing. Before this, he never imagined that such a thing would happen, changing history and saving Kiev and Odessa, and even the entire southern theater.
Then they washed their helmets and military uniforms in the lake, and some people even took off their clothes and jumped into the lake to take a bath... In fact, there was no need to jump into the lake at all, the rainwater could wash them clean.
At the same time, the Odessa garrison was also making preparations.
They emptied Odessa's straightest and widest street, "Seaport Boulevard," which is a street that connects the northern railroad tracks and highways and leads directly to the port from north to south.
During the battle, this was the main direction of the Romanian army's attack, so the road was filled with obstacles and sandbags to build a defensive line.
Of course, it was impossible to clear everything. They only had time to clear a passage in the middle that was large enough for two tanks to run parallel.