After Colonel Michel Gabermeier visited the Mannerheim Line of Defense, he came to the conclusion that the so-called Mannerheim Line of Defense was just a general fortress defense system. The Soviet army was currently suffering heavy losses, not because of this. The defense line is impregnable, but there is a problem with the combat effectiveness of the Soviet army itself.
Before Colonel Michel Gebermeier finished his visit, he was immediately called to the high command headquarters set up here in Finland for a meeting.
Inside the headquarters, the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army, Carl Gustav Mannerheim, who is now fully responsible for the war against the Soviet Union, is also here. Seeing Colonel Michel Gabermeier walking in, General Mannerheim said quickly, "Everyone is here. First, let me introduce Colonel Michel Gabermeier, the commander of the German Volunteers. Officer, thank him and his soldiers for coming all the way to help us." It was a helpless move for Mannerheim to first introduce the identity of Colonel Michel Gabermeier. Hundreds of thousands of troops from both countries gathered here, and the identities of Colonel Michel Gabermeier and the Northern Combat Group. Even if you want to hide, you can't. Instead of letting your soldiers discover these people wearing Finnish soldier uniforms, the Finnish army might as well tell them first to avoid any barriers when they cooperate in the future.
Bang bang..., contrary to General Mannerheim's expectation, he did not find any dissatisfaction among the Finnish officers present. On the contrary, when these Finnish officers heard that the 10th Finnish Division was originally composed of Germans, they only felt a little bit on their faces. Surprised, he immediately responded with warm applause. Everyone can see that they definitely sincerely welcome the arrival of Colonel Michel Gabermeier.
Feeling the sincere greetings of these Finns, the indifferent Colonel Michel Gabermeier also showed a slightly excited expression on his face. As a soldier, Colonel Michel Gabbermeier certainly hopes that the work he has done , can make people sure. But now Germany cannot fall out with the Soviets, so Colonel Michel Gabermeier's troops are destined to be in the dark. Although Lin Wei promised that once the time comes, they will recognize their achievements, but who knows how long it will take. .
Now that he felt the sincere greetings from the Finnish officers, Colonel Michel Gebermeier was moved and said in a rare move, "Everyone, I deeply sympathize with the plight that Finland is currently suffering from, and I believe that the same is true for my motherland, the German Empire." , It’s just that we can’t lend a helping hand to you due to the non-aggression treaty, but I believe that you can get through the difficulties with your own strength!” After speaking, Colonel Michel Gabermeier solemnly addressed these people The Finnish officer saluted.
Seeing that everyone was getting along very harmoniously, General Mannerheim coughed lightly and said, "No matter how powerful the Soviet army is, we must understand that Finland will never surrender, and peace-loving people all over the world will stand by our side".
"Long live Finland, long live freedom..." All the officers in the headquarters shouted, their voices seeming to open the ceiling.
Colonel Michel Gabermeier looked at these people coldly and found a word to describe them psychologically, that is, "the spirit is commendable", but his spirit alone would definitely not be able to defeat the steel-armed Soviet army.
When everyone's joy finally passed, Colonel Michel Gebermeier slowly stood up and said seriously, "General Mannerheim, I just visited the defense facilities of the defense line, but I discovered that This defense line cannot be called a successful defense line at all, it can even be called a defensive fortress group. The construction materials are old and the defense hub is completely inadequate. If the Soviet army launches a general offensive, the consequences will be very serious."
"Colonel Michel Gebermeier," General Mannerheim said thoughtfully, "With Finland's national and financial resources, it is certainly impossible to build a defense system like the French Maginot Line. This is already our best effort. The result of all our efforts. The real Mannerheim Defense Line," General Mannerheim pointed at these Finnish soldiers, "is composed of Finnish soldiers."
"But, General Mannerheim," Colonel Michel Gebermeier pointed to the Soviet camp outside the defense line, "there are at least 400,000 Soviet troops outside now. From Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland, this short stretch The border has completely become a Soviet army camp. Now if you look up, all you see are Soviet Red Army soldiers. On our side, Finland's second largest city, Vipuri, has been captured by the Soviet Red Army. All we can do is It is to defend the Karelian Isthmus and defeat the Soviet ambitions to annex Finland. However, this task is also very difficult, because so far, the enemy is still strong and we are weak, and the snow has begun to melt. This is a nightmare for the Soviets. The ordinary winter is about to end, General Mannerheim, if you cannot stop the Soviet army here, you know the consequences better than I do."
"Yes, of course I understand," General Mannerheim said solemnly. As early as the summer of 1939, Stalin announced: "I understand very well that you Finns want to remain neutral, but you have to believe that this is impossible. Very simple, the major powers Will not agree." At that time, General Mannerheim knew that it was impossible for the Soviet Union and Finland to continue in peace.
Facing such a behemoth, General Mannerheim certainly knew that his probability of victory was very slim. However, for Finland, General Mannerheim must stand up and let the world see that even a small country has its own dignity.
General Mannerheim knew that perhaps Stalin was worried about Britain or Germany attacking the Soviet Union through Finland. In fact, Germany's current actions in Finland also showed that Stalin's worries were not unreasonable, but General Mannerheim still could not tolerate his motherland. Being invaded.
"I wonder if Germany can send more troops to fight?" After thinking for a long time, General Mannerheim decided to talk about some practical issues.
Colonel Michel Gebermeier replied, "General Mannerheim, do you think this is possible? Sending more troops means that Germany will go to war with the Soviet Union, but we don't understand it at all. The Soviet Union, I don’t know how many troops they have, but according to my own guess, their military power is far stronger than that of the current German Empire. Even if we engage in a full-scale war, we are not sure of victory." Michel Gerber Colonel Meyer still remembered the expression on his leader's face when he answered this question. This was the only time Colonel Michel Gabermeier saw a look of lack of confidence on Lin Wei's face.
General Mannerheim thought for a while and felt that this proposal was not realistic, so he said, "Okay, now let's discuss the main issue, how to defend the Karelian Isthmus." Even if he didn't back down at this time, General Mannerheim did not repel the Soviet attack, but turned to defense.
"The Soviet army has a large establishment. There are currently more than 20 divisions and 400,000 Soviet troops outside, which is three times our number. Their weapons and equipment are far inferior. According to conservative estimates, there are at least 2,000 Soviet troops outside. "Multiple tanks," a staff officer analyzed, looking at Colonel Michel Gebermeier as he spoke, "In terms of organization, it will be the same as our German volunteers."
"The organization of my troops is also different from that of the regular German Wehrmacht," Colonel Michel Gebermeier replied meticulously.
The staff officer smiled kindly and continued, "The Soviet army in front of our defense line is the most powerful group army among the Soviet offensive forces. The troops of the Seventh Army. The first offensive echelon has three divisions, namely the 24th Division, which has 7 divisions. , 168, 274 regiments, 160 artillery regiment, 246 howitzer regiment, 315 tank battalion. 43 division, under the jurisdiction of 65, 147, 181 regiment, 162 artillery regiment, 200 howitzer regiment, 369 tank battalion. 70 division, under the jurisdiction of 6 8,252 , 329th Regiment, 221st Artillery Regiment, 227th Howitzer Regiment, 368th Tank Battalion."
"And the core of the Mannerheim Line of Defense is right here." The staff officer pointed at the map. Everyone followed the staff member's finger and saw a row of small characters written on that place on the map, Suma Village. The staff officer cleared his throat and said, "Suma Village is the core of the entire Mannerheim Line of Defense. It is impossible for the Soviet army not to discover this place, so the pressure here may be the greatest at the beginning of the battle."
General Mannerheim also looked there, gritted his teeth for a long time and said, "Colonel Michel Gebermeier, I hope you will be stationed here. I don't know if it is not beautiful."
"General" all the officers stood up. In the eyes of these officers, letting a group of Germans guard the core of the Mannerheim Line of Defense was a distrust of them. General Mannerheim waved his hand, "You guys We must believe in our friendly forces, and in terms of combat effectiveness, Colonel Michel Gabermeier's troops are indeed the most combat effective among you, and you must think about Finland."
As for whether the Northern Combat Group would retreat at the critical moment and turn its back on the Finnish army, General Mannerheim was not worried at all. He was a soldier, but he was indeed a soldier who understood politics. He fully understood why the Germans would help Finland fight the Soviet Union. Military invasion. So even if the Finnish army retreats, these Germans will not retreat.
"Okay, Lieutenant General Osterman." General Mannerheim issued the appointment: "At present, I have decided to organize the Finnish army here into two armies. Lieutenant General Osterman, you will serve as the leader of the second army. commander".
"Understood, General" Lieutenant General Osterman stood at attention.
"And Colonel Michel Gebermeier, based on President Kallio's suggestion, I appoint you as the honorary major general of Finland! I hope you can help us resist the Soviet aggression together," General Mannerheim said with a smile. He took out a set of major general uniforms of the Finnish army and gave it to him personally.
Michel Gabermeier wore the epaulettes symbolizing the major general.