Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

The Battle of Poland was over, but the results were completely different from the original time and space, which made Yannick feel very awkward.

Due to his secret operations, the Great Purge of the Soviet Union in this time and space spread wider and deeper and more thoroughly. As a result, the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army plummeted, and even the defense line of Poland's eastern front failed to be broken.

It seems that there will be no Katyn massacre this time, unless the German army takes the initiative to retreat hundreds of kilometers and cedes the occupied territory to the Soviet Union.

However, Yannick would not spit out the meat he put into his mouth, but he was also worried that there were thorns in the meat and his throat would get stuck if he swallowed it.

"What do you think this is? I gave them a chance, but they didn't take it." Yannick couldn't help complaining to Rundstedt. "Didn't that guy realize why the army was fighting against the five scum like this? Now it's time to clear out another wave. It's really crazy!"

"Your Highness, why are you angry?" Rundstedt smiled slightly. "That's good news for us, isn't it?"

Yannick sighed. "But this is completely different from our original plan. We are now at the doorstep of others." Why Stalin wanted to attack Poland was firstly because he wanted to avenge the Soviet-Polish defeat in the last war, and secondly because he was afraid of Germany. Want to establish the so-called "Eastern Defense Line".

Yannick did not want to get into a tense situation with the Soviet Union for the time being, so he allowed them to build this "Eastern Defense Line"; but he never expected that these unsatisfactory guys only advanced five kilometers.

Now the German front line is only five kilometers away from the Soviet border. If artillery is set up on the front line, it can directly hit the Soviet territory. Can Stalin sleep?

Will the Soviet Union stab the Germans from behind while they fight on the Western Front?

Although in the original time and space, Germany took the lead in executing Plan Barbarossa and attacked the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union also had a "Thunderstorm Plan." Although he did not know whether the "Thunderstorm Plan" was true, Yannick would rather believe it. "We are fighting on the Western Front and have to guard against the Eastern Front. This is not good news."

Rundstedt thought for a while and then said. "Then should we change the battle plan and continue to advance eastward? Then Britain and France will maintain the status quo, right?"

Yannick shook his head. "No, there are too many unpredictable variables. I don't trust the Soviets, let alone Britain and France. I can guarantee that if we attack the Soviet Union, Britain and France will spare no effort to support the Soviet Union. Moreover, this behemoth of the Soviet Union cannot be destroyed by our own efforts. If it cannot be swallowed, it will require the integration of European power to destroy it."

Rundstedt nodded. "Then the Eastern Front can only enter a defensive posture. Fortunately, it seems that the Soviet army's combat effectiveness will not be significantly improved in the short term."

"Yes, this is good news." Another good news is that the German army is full of talents. Not only are they good at attack, but they also have many generals who are good at defense.

Yannick alone knew of three defense masters.

The first is Walter Model. He can always accurately dispatch his troops to the most appropriate position, thereby preventing the enemy's breakthrough at key locations. The Battle of the Rzhev Bulge fully demonstrated Model's talent for defensive command. In this battle, Model beat Zhukov to a pulp, causing Soviet casualties five times that of the Germans, and earned himself the title of "Lion of Defense." reputation.

The second was Hans Günter von Kluge, who served as the commander of Army Group Center at the most critical moment for the German army in the winter of 1941, which was the focus of the Soviet counterattack. Kluge led Army Group Center to smash the Soviet encirclement attempt, maintaining the integrity of the defense line and avoiding the danger of destruction. It is even more commendable to know that Army Group Center held its position despite a serious lack of winter combat equipment. In addition, Marshal Kluge became the commander-in-chief of the Western Front in 44 years and commanded the Battle of Normandy. Although it ended in failure, Kluge once blocked the Allied forces near the coast and was unable to advance. If the Allies had not possessed abnormal weapons, With air superiority, perhaps Kluge can really achieve a good record.

The third one is the out-and-out military all-rounder Erich von Manstein. He not only has a strong offensive strategic talent, but is also a defensive warrior. However, he advocated the concept of mobile defense and used the flexible use of armored forces to prevent enemy breakthroughs. He was not limited to simply stopping the enemy on a certain line of defense, but tried to use defensive counterattacks to severely damage or even annihilate the attacking enemy. To regain the initiative on the battlefield is a typical idea of ​​"replacing defense with offense". In the second Kharkov counterattack, Manstein's performance was remarkable, and his defensive command ability in the battle was obvious to everyone. He not only stopped the Soviet advance, but even regained the initiative on the battlefield, which can be called the most classic example of defensive warfare.

As for who should be sent, Yannick raised the question at a high-level military meeting the next day. "You must have heard the theory of large-depth operations that I mentioned. Today I ask a question, how to defend against the enemy's large-depth operations?" Because it was Yannick who first proposed the theory of large-depth operations and blitzkrieg in this time and space. Known as the "Master of Strategy", of course his various reputations are countless. "If anyone is interested, you can research it, but what I want is real material, not flattery."

Presumably this time the Soviet Union's great purge will not end in a short time, and he has plenty of time. "The time is one week. If anyone thinks of it, they can come to me at any time."

After the meeting Yannick brought up another matter. "Now that the Polish campaign is over, it's time to reward the troops based on their merits."

"!!" The conference room was silent for a moment, and everyone looked directly at Yannick.

Yannick couldn't help but laugh when he saw this. "Don't look at me like that, everyone. The specific promotion list will be released in a few days. I will only mention one person today. Our General Rundstedt will be promoted to marshal."

The conference room immediately burst into warm applause. What an honor it is to be the first marshal of the German army in twenty years!

Rundstedt, whose face was glowing, stood up, saluted Yannick, and nodded around.

After the applause slowly subsided, Yannick continued. "After we conquer Europe, I think we will be able to promote about 20 marshals. Of course, if we break out of Europe and expand to other places, there will be more marshals. But no matter whether we have thirty or forty, in the end The ten best marshals will be selected and crowned as marshals of the empire."

There were a total of 27 marshals in Germany during World War II. If it weren't for the bad relationship between some generals and mustaches, this number would easily exceed 30. However, Yannick felt that there were too many marshals, which made them seem less valuable. Just like VIP can show your distinguished status, but if everyone is a VIP, where can you compare your dignity?

Seeing everyone in the audience whispering to each other, Yannick announced that the meeting was disbanded.