Dietrich? Lin Wei was thinking about how to use this person. Because of his origin, Dietrich had no regard for ordinary SS soldiers.
Welfare is very caring and easy to communicate with soldiers. He even usually eats in the soldiers' canteen. In the evaluation of his subordinates, he is nicknamed "Dad", which is unusual in the hierarchical German army. However, according to the German military tradition, the lack of ability of the chief officer is not necessarily a big problem, as long as there is a very capable and trusted chief of staff. For example, during World War I, Hindenburg was a prestigious figure, but his chief of staff, Ludendorff, was actually in charge.
However, under Lin Wei's men, even if the worst outcome occurred and the war lasted for several years, Dietrich could only become commander of the army at best. As for becoming the SS's first group army commander in history, Lin Wei could only say two words, don't even think about it...
Bang bang..., Lin Wei clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention to himself, and said seriously, "The following orders must be completed within one month. All weapons, supplies, and everything that can be used in the war Items, the staff immediately plans the march route and recruits railway lines along the way! Everything must be completed by mid-July, and one month later, all troops of the Waffen SS must arrive at the designated location! As for our main attack direction?" said Lin Wei paused for a moment, picked up the pointer, walked to the giant map hanging on the wall, and whispered two words, "Southern Line!"
"Southern Front? Ukraine, is Marshal Rundstedt's attack direction?" Paul Hausser said dumbly, "Shouldn't we concentrate the main force to attack in the central direction? Cooperate with the Central Army Group to attack Moscow as soon as possible to achieve a rapid defeat. Is it the Soviet Union’s purpose?”
"Marshal Bock's Army Group Center has an overwhelming advantage against the Soviet Red Army in the same direction!" Lin Wei slowly explained, "Although Army Group Center is not the largest among the three offensive forces, it is indeed the most powerful. Yes, Marshal Rundstedt's Army Group South has many Romanian soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is not very reassuring! Furthermore, Army Group Center has Marshal Guderian's Second Armored Group, the armored force of the Wehrmacht Army Group Center. Sixty percent of the hits, and with the command of Marshal Guderian, we don’t need to worry about the central direction for the time being!”
"The Army Group South led by Rundstedt faces a very powerful enemy, which is the Soviet Southwest Front in Ukraine! With Marshal Rundstedt's Army Group South, it is difficult to completely defeat the Soviet Southwest Front. , he must need assistance. When Army Group Center is advancing in full swing, it is better to mobilize the Armored Group Army to support the southern front. How about we help Marshal Rundstedt!" Lin Wei did not take long to explain clearly why he was on the southern front. , instead of attacking the Soviet Union from the center.
"If Army Group Center poses too great a threat to Moscow, Stalin should mobilize the Southwest Front Army to return to Moscow's aid, right?" Paul Hausser thought for a moment, felt it was still inappropriate, and asked another question.
"I even think that Stalin will defend Ukraine!" Lin Wei said with certainty. Without Moscow, Stalin can continue to direct operations elsewhere. Without Ukraine and the Caucasus, the Soviet Union cannot survive for a day, without food and oil. , The place where it originally had an advantage was gone. Why should the Soviet Union continue to fight Germany? Is it really just relying on numerical superiority? Lin Wei believed that Stalin would not let him down. One million Red Army troops lost Ukraine without firing a single shot. Stalin could not afford to lose this man, so Stalin would definitely have a head-on battle with the German army in Ukraine.
"But not all troops will go to the southern front. I also think Army Group Center needs to be strengthened?" Lin Wei touched his chin and said, "The Soviet Western Front has about 700,000 people. Although Army Group Center has advantages, But it’s not obvious!”
"So which unit does the leader think is more appropriate to help Army Group Center?" General Paul Hausser narrowed his eyes and said with a smile.
"Me?" Lin Wei showed a sinister smile, glanced at it, and suddenly said seriously, "General Paul Hausser, General Lex Stanell, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Dietrich!"
Bang..., there were several loud sounds of military boots hitting, General Paul Hausser, General Lex Starner, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Dietrich stood up one by one. Lin Wei said proudly, ; "The Imperial Division, the Viking Division and the Guardsmen are all the most elite units of the SS. The offensive route of Army Group Center is not wide, so this mission can only be participated by small and elite units. I will soon Report to the High Command and organize your troops into the 1st SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of France!"
"Yes, leader!" The voice was not loud, but the voices of several people were full of confidence.
"As for the choice of military commander!" Lin Wei hesitated after looking at the three people, "Deputy Commander Dietrich, you don't have as much combat experience as the two generals. You should listen to the opinions of the two generals!" After Dietrich When Li Xi thought he had no hope, Lin Wei changed the subject and said, "You will temporarily command the First Armored Corps, but you must fully listen to the opinions of the two generals!"
Ignoring Dietrich's grateful expression, Lin Wei continued, "General Lex Stanell will serve as chief of staff, and General Paul Hausser will temporarily serve as deputy commander, with specific command of operations!" Looking at the three As a personal choice, Lin Wei finally chose Deputy Commander-in-Chief Dietrich, who was not outstanding in ability. This was because the relationship between General Paul Hausser and General Lex Stanell was not good, and the empire The relationship between the division and the Viking division was also tense, and Lin Wei could not make an obvious choice between the two. However, the situation of Army Group Center requires Lin Wei to provide assistance there, because compared with the historical Battle of Kiev, Germany's victory in the Battle of Minsk was not so huge, and it is necessary to send armored divisions there to carry out necessary reinforcements. Yes, the most suitable one to search for in Germany is the Armed SS. The 700 Panther tanks equipped by the Imperial Division, Viking Division and Guardsmen can help them quickly break through the defense lines of the Soviet Red Army.
As for making Dietrich the army commander, Lin Wei thinks there is no problem. Anyway, in the German military circles, it is not a big deal if an army commander is mediocre, as long as the chief of staff is capable. What's more, although Dietrich is not capable enough, he can be a military commander. The military commander is still not a big problem, but Dietrich can only stop here. He might never get a position above a military commander in his lifetime, unless Lin Wei discovered that Dietrich's commanding ability had made significant progress.
"Then, General Paul Hausser, General Lex Starner, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Dietrich, you will set off immediately. The Soviet Red Army faced by Army Group Center is not far from the border. If you are late, you will Nothing will happen without you! What you need to remember is that after Marshal Guderian surrounded the Western Front, once he found that the encirclement was not tight, he must make appropriate adjustments. If necessary, he could ignore the objections of the Wehrmacht!" Lin Wei weighed it up and finally gave pertinent advice.
"If there are no problems, the meeting is over!" Lin Wei looked around and said, "Remember, one month! May God bless Germany, long live victory, and long live the head of state!" While speaking, Lin Wei raised his right arm. , made a polite gesture of raising hands that had not been used for a long time.
Everyone was stunned when they saw Lin Wei raise his hands in a familiar but unfamiliar gesture, but they immediately reacted and returned the gesture with different expressions. Lin Wei solemnly said, "Bring out the armed party." The Guardsmen, who have always been enthusiastic about war, go and join the war. See you in the Soviet Union in one month!"
The whole of Germany was in a hurry because of Wilhelm II's declaration of war. The Germans were no stranger to this situation. The Germans had been involved in the last war because of Wilhelm II's order more than 20 years ago. However, Unlike last time, this time the Germans were full of confidence in the war. In their opinion, the Soviet Union will soon fall like France, and the current German army is already invincible. The results of the war across Europe are demonstrating this, and the Soviet Union is naturally no exception.
An order from the Ministry of Economic Affairs was quickly issued, requiring German women to enter factories to provide winter clothing for the German troops on the front line. Propaganda Minister Goebbels personally mobilized on the radio all day long, asking the German people to fight for this life and death war. Contributing their own strength, the government departments uncharacteristically paid unprecedented attention to the war with the Soviet Union, allowing some people who were blindly optimistic to finally regain their senses. However, they were still confident of the victory of the German army. And be willing to make due contributions to the soldiers.
"From France, Yugoslavia, oh no, Yugoslavia no longer exists, it's the Balkans!" Dr. Schacht introduced, "Sheepskin and wool from France and the Balkans have entered Germany, but I really can't believe it, Pétain The marshal actually provided so much help to our war with the Soviet Union. If he didn’t really exist, I really don’t believe that France was the country we defeated just a year ago!”
Ahem... Lin Wei was very dissatisfied with Dr. Schacht's digression at the critical moment. Perhaps aware of Lin Wei's dissatisfaction, Dr. Schacht continued, "Mobilizing half a million women into the factory seems a bit fussy. In fact, I I think that as long as German women make a winter coat for each soldier on the front line and send it to the front line a month later, there is no need to mobilize at all! Dr. Goebbels may be a little too cautious!"
"That's not what you say, doctor!" Lin Wei said, "Of course the empire's soldiers cannot let women go to the battlefield, but it is still okay to let them produce some supplies for the empire's soldiers. Except for children in school, I don't think anyone can escape from this. Obligation to enter! Finally, I would like to add that men and women are equal... "
"Okay, let's change the topic!" Dr. Schachter asked, "When are you going to leave?"
"In mid-July, after the troops are assembled!" Lin Wei quickly replied, "Doctor, I think the rotation system of the Krupp family factory can be extended to the whole country. After three shifts, each shift lasts eight hours, Now the Krupp family's tank production has increased by 30% while ensuring quality! And my father is planning to expand the production line to increase the production of new tanks to 600 vehicles per month, and at the same time ensure that the fourth The output of tanks!" Lin Wei obviously didn't want to let Dr. Schacht go. Although the fastest mobilization would make people's lives a little harder, it could end the war as soon as possible. With such obvious benefits, Lin Wei didn't believe Dr. Schacht. Can't calculate.
"Okay, let's promote it in some big factories first. As for the whole country? We'll wait and see!" Dr. Schacht said with his hands in a surrender gesture.
At this time, large-scale battles were fiercely carried out in three strategic directions: central, southern, and northern. In the north, 230 miles north of Memel to Suwalki is the German Army Group North commanded by Field Marshal Loeb. After an hour-long indiscriminate bombardment of the Soviet forward positions, Army Group North began to advance. The Soviet defensive forces were unevenly deployed, but the Germans still suffered some hardships in their attacks on certain areas. A few minutes after the start of Operation Barbarossa, the 7th Company of the 51st Infantry Regiment launched a charge against a Soviet position north of Klaipeda. A platoon leader of the company, Lieutenant Werowski, was captured by the Soviets. He was killed by a machine gun bullet fired from a bunker disguised as a farm wagon, becoming the first German casualty on the Eastern Front. The regiment continued to push forward hard, and although many young commanders were killed, they rushed towards the most immediate goal in front of them - the bridge over the Mitua River.
For the German army, the current situation is relatively optimistic. As of 6 a.m., although the 121st Infantry Division was still fighting fiercely in the village of Kebaltai, the units of the 16th Group had penetrated 3 to 12 kilometers into the Soviet Union, and the 4th Armored Group had advanced 12 kilometers. During this period, although the 291st Infantry Division under the 18th Army was trapped in Kretinga and engaged in fierce house-to-house fighting, the 61st Infantry Division still occupied the bridge near Gargezhde.
By the end of the 22nd, Army Group North had advanced 35 kilometers from Shaoliangfang, where the armored forces assaulted, to 35 kilometers northwest of Kaunas. Man River. In this way, on the first day of the war, the German army began to successfully separate the 8th Regiment Army and the 11th Army Group on the front line of the Soviet Northwest Front.
On the right flank of Army Group North, the German 2nd Army repulsed the 5th and 33rd Infantry Divisions of the Soviet 16th Infantry Army. The immediate target of the German army was the Lithuanian city of Kaunas. About 18 kilometers away from the city, the German army encountered tenacious resistance from the Soviet army and slowed down its attack. However, the city's indigenous people rose up against what they saw as Soviet invaders and occupied the radio station. At 19:30 on June 23, a representative of the "Lithuanian Army Command" gave a radio speech, imploring the German High Command to directly attack the city of Kaunas occupied by the Soviet army and deal a heavy blow to the retreating Soviet troops. .
One day later, the arrival of the German vanguard force, the German 290th Infantry Division, entered the territory of the original Lithuania and was warmly welcomed by the people of the Baltic countries, who regarded the German army as liberators. The Lithuanian people shouted enthusiastic slogans to welcome the German Wehrmacht into the city and presented flowers to the German troops. They piled milk, coffee, eggs, bread, butter and other foods on the table in front of the house. German soldiers also learned to thank them in local languages and accents.
German Army Group Center was given the task of attacking Moscow from Poland via the Bialystok-Minsk-Smolensk axis. It was commanded by Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. Army Center consisted of the German 9th Army and the 4th Army. Its armored forces are Hermann Holt's 3rd Armored Group and Heinz Guderian's 2nd Armored Group. The 2 infantry armies have a total of 33 infantry divisions and the armored group has a total of 9 armored divisions. There are 6 mechanized divisions and 1 cavalry division. Army Group Center is provided with air support by the 2nd Luftwaffe of the Luftwaffe. Facing Army Group Center is the Western Front Army, which the Soviet Union renamed from the Western Special Military District, led by Colonel Dmitry Pavlov. The generals on the front line include the Soviet 3rd Army, 4th Army and 10th Army. The 13th Army serves as a reserve and can only be mobilized by the Supreme Command. The Western Front has a total of 25 sniper and cavalry divisions, 13 tank divisions and 7 tank divisions. A motorcyclist.
The 47th and 24th Moroccan armies of Group 2A crossed the Bug River from the north and south of the fortress respectively. The initial target of the German attack was Morozov's 11th Group of the Northwestern Front. The entire Western Front commanded by General Pavlov in Belarus. The Western Front Army has the 3rd Regiment Army, the 10th Regiment Army and the 4th Regiment Army deployed on the border. Each group army has a mechanized corps under its jurisdiction. In addition, there is a mechanized corps and a cavalry corps in the front army reserve.
At this time, Pavlov, who was in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where the headquarters was located, could not contact the frontline troops at all. When he came to the headquarters of the 10th Army in Biliastok, what he saw was a mess. Major General Grubev, commander of the group army, complained: telephone lines were interrupted, oil depots were blown up, and tanks were obsolete.
Pavlov conveyed an order from Moscow that he himself thought was outrageous: requiring the 10th Army to launch a counterattack and capture Osowitz, Vesna, Bielsk and other places. At this time, Pavlov did not realize that his troops were in danger of being surrounded and annihilated, so he still mobilized his troops according to Moscow's "counterattack" order. Not only did he not order the troops of Villastok's 3rd and 10th Army to retreat to establish a new line of defense, he instead ordered the reserves of all group armies and front armies to be moved forward, resulting in increased depth, empty rear defense, and even more Many troops entered the salient.
"Eh..." Guderian, who was traveling, used the Air Force's precise reconnaissance to learn about Pavlov's actions. Guderian was full of confusion about Pavlov's actions, but immediately, Guderian realized This is a God-given opportunity. The order was, "Contact me General Hermann Hoth of the 3rd Armored Army!"
"Hot, this is a God-given opportunity..." No one knows what Guderian said, but some people have already realized the fate of the Soviet Western Front.