Iron Cross

"First of all, we must pay attention to this letter. In terms of hierarchy and channels, it is inappropriate for Comrade Volisky to write to me directly, because his direct leader is the commander of the 51st Group Army Trufanov. The leader is Comrade Yeremenko. He bypassed them and reported the problem directly to me, which shows that some of our comrades have a rough and impatient attitude towards the opinions of subordinates. Secondly, we should not take this matter too seriously. After all, this is just a military matter. Long letter, there were 5 front army commanders, more than 20 group army commanders, and more than 60 corps commanders who participated in this battle. In terms of the proportion of people, they are a small number - it is completely normal to have different voices. Yes, Comrade Konstantin and Vasilevsky and I still have different opinions..."

Zhukov could only respond with a wry smile: Stalin said not to take this matter too seriously because it was only the opinion of one-sixtieth of the army commanders. At the same time, he said that it was normal for Volsky to report the problem, and he also said that he could not "take it seriously" with his subordinates. He has a rude and impatient attitude." This was obviously to criticize Yereomenko, but in fact he accused himself and Vasilevsky of "jumping at the slightest touch." Comrade Stalin also frankly admitted that there was "a problem" between himself and his two main subordinates. "Different opinions" - This is all correct, but the problem is that when there are different opinions, it is your opinions that are finally implemented, okay?

Vasilevsky was also very frustrated - the war had been going on for a year and a half, and he thought his nerves were tough enough, but he didn't expect that the top management still showed such a lifeless performance, and everyone was vying to take credit for winning the battle. , show posture, do everything possible to shirk responsibility and clear oneself after losing the war, and when encountering difficult strategies and topics with unclear prospects, they either just speculate on Comrade Stalin's opinions, or try their best to avoid questions and give ambiguous answers. When will the situation be truly reversed if this continues?

Stalin did not seem to notice the strange expressions of his two men, and continued to talk to himself: "...I will personally exchange opinions with Comrade Volisky on this letter. I hope that the comrades in charge of campaign command will not be affected by this; At the same time, I agree with Comrade Timoshenko’s opinion and ask Comrade Zhukov and the General Staff to consider revising the ‘Uranus’ operational plan – our target is still Rostov, but the strategy and approach should be significantly adjusted.”

When it comes to this, Zhukov and Vasilevsky can only agree at the same time.

While the Red Army was licking its wounds and discussing its next response strategy, Manstein was also actively adjusting his ideas for the next battle. Heinrich finally had the time and energy to deal with Manstein's slightly rough plan. The defense plan was revised, and the position construction and defense line layout were carried out in the way he wanted most. Manstein felt relaxed and became the boss when he was happy. However, he did not forget to report the situation to Berlin as soon as possible. Hoffman spoke highly of this battle report with a high exchange rate. Not only did he commend and reward the meritorious personnel of Army Group South in this battle at Manstein's request, he also promised to increase support.

On November 25, the General Staff sent the long-awaited supplement to Army Group South. A total of 26,000 supplementary troops arrived at the front line via sea, land, and air channels (including more than 300 reserve tank crews). ), 193 Type 4 G tanks and an armored battalion entirely equipped with Tiger tanks - the 503rd Heavy Armored Battalion of the National Defense Forces. This battalion has 54 Tiger tanks, and the 501st and 502nd Heavy Armored Battalions that precede this battalion Now he is serving under Guderian.

In addition to replenishing equipment and personnel, the General Staff also adjusted the combat command system based on the actual troop deployment and Manstein's request. General Huot's reputation as commanding the multinational force became instantaneous, and everyone jokingly called him "the United Nations". "Commander-in-Chief of the - Army", now he not only has Italians, Romanians, Croatians, Slovaks, but also Ukrainians under his command - he has received an additional Ukrainian 1st Division as reinforcement, and his appointment has also been adjusted and officially appointed As the commander of the Northern Wing Group of Army Group South (referred to as the Hult Group), General Reinhard took over as the commander of the Fourth Army; General Kleist took over as the commander of the Southern Wing Group (referred to as the Kleist Group). General Berthard von Mackensen took over as commander of the 1st Panzer Army. Manstein remained the supreme commander of Army Group South.

Manstein lamented that the style of the head of state had indeed changed. If it were before, these 26,000 supplementary troops would definitely be organized into two new infantry divisions, making the frontline deployment look more "stronger". But in fact, apart from the increase in number, Apart from psychological comfort, the strength of the troops will not change, and may even be weakened - two new divisions formed entirely of new recruits will not play a greater role than integrating them into existing divisions in terms of strength.

In addition to tanks, the first batch of off-line Stalker destroyers also sent more than 40 vehicles to Army Group South. Now he finally no longer has to compete with Heinrich for equipment, but he found that the No. 3 assault gun was transferred to join Armored divisions have many benefits. The reason why the 16th Armored Division and the Guardsmen Armored Division were able to fight so well and sharply in this battle was entirely because of the additional No. 3 assault gun unit. In addition, Lieutenant General Hube was very keen on the Himmler organ of the SS Division. This time he was also going to a company. Father Hube couldn't wait to incorporate it into his own armored division.

While focusing on heavy equipment, the Southern Army Group also elaborated on the feedback on light equipment and logistics in the report. Heinrich believed that both the STG43 and G43 rifles were good weapons, but there were still some places and details that needed to be modified. In terms of specific equipment, he did not recommend that all infantry squads use STG43, as that would put too much pressure on logistics supply. He believed that the firepower of equipping two STG43 rifles with the G43 rifle was sufficient. In view of the low production of new weapons, he hoped that they could be equipped first to the most advanced and elite armored grenadiers in each unit, so that they could maximize their firepower.

Due to their good performance in this battle, especially the outstanding performance of the reorganized Romanian and Italian troops in the attack of the hard-top Bryansk Front, and the Romanian inland fleet's persistence in the battle in the river bend, which provided great firepower support to the German army, Hoffman was determined to further use the remaining supplies to arm them. In addition to the old French ships promised to the Romanians, he also instructed Manstein to give all 56 Type 3 tanks replaced by the tanks in the 16th Armored Division and Kleist Armored Group to the Romanians. In addition, the quartermaster general Schmont also gave more than 50 37mm anti-tank guns replaced to the Romanians and Italians. Together with the anti-tank guns captured in the assault on Vatutin's rear guard, the anti-tank power of these two armies suddenly made great progress. Now everyone believes that these adjusted and enriched Allied forces are no longer a burden. Although they are still not as good as the Germans in many aspects, their combat effectiveness and mental outlook have been qualitatively improved.

The equipment level of the entire Southern Army Group improved rapidly, and it was basically replaced with the No. 4 tank (except for the latest No. 4G type, there are still some old No. 4 models). It also took the lead in owning the earliest heavy armored battalion on the Eastern Front, which made the Northern and Central Army Groups very envious. Speer reiterated that they would complete the replacement of all No. 3 tanks before the end of the year, and these commanders did not continue to entangle and make trouble.

After the war, the balance of power changed profoundly. The total strength of the German Army and the Red Army changed from 1.6 million: 2.5 million to 1.6 million: 2.3 million - although Stalin tried his best to recruit from many aspects, the overall number of the Red Army could not be restored to the pre-war level. At the same time, the number of tanks on both sides also changed from 1,800: 2,500 to 1,900: 2,200. In terms of overall performance, German tanks completely surpassed their opponents, and the balance of power between the two sides became closer, which was very beneficial for the next stage of operations.

Regarding the next stage of combat policy, the supreme commanders of the three clusters had different opinions. Manstein was determined to carry out the offensive defense to the end, Kleist believed that the local advantage of the Black Sea's sea control could be used to carry out landing operations in the Transcaucasus region, while Hoth believed that the last time of favorable weather (the lower reaches of the Don River had not yet frozen) should be seized to carry out armored assaults, and the priority target was recommended to be the Southwestern Front.

However, there were many unfavorable factors. The three fronts of the Red Army were combined together, with a total force of 900,000, which was impossible to bite in the short term, especially after intelligence showed that the Red Army had prepared 300,000 reserves drawn from Siberia on the other side of the Don River. It became impossible to repeat the exquisite and surgical battle of the Don River Division. The Red Army's heavy troops grouped together were like a curled up hedgehog, which was difficult to bite.

After arguing for a long time, Manstein finally made the decision and obtained the consent of Hoffman and Zeitzler, and insisted on the strategy of solid defense and counterattack. The priority target of the Hoth group could be temporarily moved away from the three heavy troops to deal with the Bryansk Front. However, General Reinhardt, commander of the Fourth Panzer Army, had a strong sense of crisis. He believed that the Red Army's combat spearhead in the next stage might be directed at this group first, especially since Vatutin and the Southwestern Front, who had suffered losses, would never make similar mistakes again.

The Wehrmacht headquarters attached great importance to this possibility, but Hoffman still said that there would be no reinforcements except for supplementation, and hoped that each unit could overcome the difficulties on its own. Therefore, the biggest test for the Southern Army Group is coming...

This volume is over, please pay attention to the next volume "Roaring: Tigers Exodus"