Just when Hitler made the promise to Hoppner, a staff officer hurriedly opened the door and came in with a telegram and reported: "Your Excellency, the Tverskaya Bridge has been lost again!"
Hitler was stunned for a moment, then waved his fist angrily and said: "Let those bastards take it back immediately!"
"In fact, they have already done it!" the staff officer replied: "They recaptured the Tverskaya Bridge. But..."
"but what?"
"In fact, it was the Russians who retreated on their own!" said the staff officer: "They blew up the railway and then retreated!"
Then Hitler understood that the Russians used this tactic to cut off German transportation, which meant that they did not need to occupy the Tverskaya Bridge at all.
"Then let them hold on!" Hitler ordered without thinking: "Block the Russians firmly in the residential area, just like surrounding a pack of wild wolves, so that they cannot break out and bite!"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Head of State!" the staff officer responded, turned around and issued the order.
"I think we have to face this reality, Your Excellency the Führer!" Hoppner said: "We can no longer hold the current defense line because our army has insufficient troops and insufficient supplies. So, under this premise, why don't we
Actively shrinking the defense line to keep it in a straight line will at least reduce our defense line by several hundred kilometers, thereby saving a large number of troops and seizing a more favorable position to seize the initiative?"
What Hoppner said makes sense.
What Hitler said was actually a false proposition, such as that once the army retreats, it will collapse like an avalanche or abandon its equipment, etc.
The crux of the problem is that if you don't retreat proactively, you will be pushed back by the enemy.
If you have to choose one of the two, of course, retreating proactively is more orderly, retaining more equipment and taking the initiative in defense.
On the contrary, being beaten back by the enemy is more likely to lead to the picture Hitler painted.
So in the final analysis, Hitler was not trying to save his troops. He was just unwilling to admit the defeat of the German army and unwilling to face reality. He still dreamed that the German army could still win or at least hold on to the current defense line until the weather got warmer...
...This is the real purpose of his order "Don't take a step back."
Historical facts also prove that Hitler's order was wrong.
Because of Hitler's order, the German army held on to its position and was divided into pieces by the Soviet army. Many places collapsed and a large amount of equipment was abandoned. If Luge hadn't desperately disobeyed Hitler's order and ordered the Fourth Army to break out, the German army would have only
Afraid of a total collapse... This is also the reason why Marshal Luge was dismissed in history.
Of course, many German soldiers among them showed their courage and courage and did not give up the fight even when they were surrounded by the Soviet army, such as Holm.
This prevented the Soviet army from letting go of its hands and feet to pursue.
However, with the quality and discipline of the German army, if they took the initiative to retreat as Hoppner said and straightened the defense line that was now bent like a long snake due to the attack on Moscow, Hitler's depiction might not appear at all.
That way and the loss and lost area will be much less.
"Your Excellency the Führer!" Hoppner continued: "Conducting positional warfare in such an unsuitable climate and terrain will lead to a war of attrition similar to that during World War I. We will lose a large number of officers and experienced personnel.
Soldiers, we will suffer huge losses without any benefit, and these losses will be irreparable!"
This means "leave green hills without fear of burning without materials." Germany's experienced officers and soldiers are the greatest wealth of the army. As long as they can be kept instead of letting them freeze to death needlessly in the ice and snow, the German army will still have the ability to attack Moscow.
Chance.
But Hitler couldn't listen to Hoppner at all.
Hitler approached Hoppner and said coldly: "You have to understand, General! I am the Führer, and I think I have legitimate reasons to ask every German soldier to sacrifice his life. Not for me, but for the great Germany.
!And you, my general, I think you should go back to your post and fight with your soldiers!"
After hearing this, Hoppner knew that this "persuasion" had failed. After saluting, he turned around and left Hitler's office helplessly.
After Hoppner left, Hitler said to his staff: "I failed to convince this man!"
This is somewhat ironic. From Hoppner's point of view, it was him who was trying to persuade Hitler to change his mind, but for Hitler, it was Hitler who was convincing Hoppner to stick to it.
The two people's minds are completely on two different planes, which means they are doomed to fail from the beginning.
But no matter how paranoid Hitler was, the battlefield would not change because of his wishful thinking.
The attack and defense of the Tverskaya Bridge are indeed somewhat different.
Just as Hitler ordered, Colonel Eber wanted to surround the 1st Guards Tank Brigade like a wolf in a circle.
So the Germans laid mines, stretched barbed wire and set up roadblocks in the area from the Tverskaya Bridge to the residential area.
If there was a better way, it would be to build anti-tank trenches, but anti-tank trenches made of ice and snow were vulnerable to tanks, and the ground was too frozen to dig, so we had to give up.
The Germans then deployed their tanks behind these obstacles.
This defense seemed difficult to break through, but it was not difficult at all for the Soviet army.
Several mine-clearing tanks rumbled up, and in just a few seconds the roadblocks and barbed wires were completely rolled into the snow... The triangular pillar-shaped roadblocks might be able to damage the tracks of the tanks, but they had no effect on the giant rollers of the mine-clearing tanks.
resistance.
There was only a "crack" sound, and the roadblock was either broken or sank into the snow and disappeared without a trace.
Not to mention the landmines, each one was detonated like a firecracker.
So once again, the Tver Bridge was occupied by the Soviet army, and the railway that had just been repaired was blown up again.
However, the German army's will to fight is indeed tenacious, and they are still persisting in the fight to this day.
This was especially true for the Fourth Tank Army. The water in their tank radiators froze and their engines burst. Tanks, trucks, and radio communications vehicles were unable to move. Even telescopes, trench scopes, and artillery sights were damaged due to the twisting of the components.
Frozen and unable to operate... Hitler was worried that the soldiers would abandon heavy equipment. In fact, these heavy equipment could not be used at all unless the soldiers could carry them back.
But under this situation, the German soldiers were still blocking the Kalinin Front's attack on the front line, and Hoppner was also doing his best to command.
However, an order came down from the High Command... to remove Hoppner from his post as commander of the 4th Tank Army.