Chapter 8

After the incident on the southern front, Guderian also bid farewell to the meeting. He was in a hurry to go to North Africa to take over command from Rommel. According to Rommel's plan, the African Army was to launch an offensive against the British forces at El Alamein in five days. However, no one in the African Army, including Rommel, knew that the British forces opposite them had been replaced by the 8th British Army under the command of Montgomery. Not only was the tactical level of the new commander far superior, but the British forces, after receiving reinforcements and replenishments, outnumbered and outequipped the African Army by more than double. Without a doubt, if Rommel's plan were allowed to continue, the African Army would suffer catastrophic losses. Guderian originally intended to wait for Zeitzler to confirm the reinforcements before taking action, but when Hoffman told him the "latest" news, he was so shocked that he broke out in a cold sweat and immediately set out with his staff—first by train to Italy to meet with Mussolini, and then by plane from Sicily to the front lines.

Zeitzler's explanation of the Eastern Front strategy gradually reached its climax, "In the northern sector, we plan to abandon the strategic goal of capturing Leningrad, but we need to continue the encirclement of the city. We must make this city a magnet, attracting Stalin's reinforcements to their doom through the 'encirclement and annihilation' strategy. After Field Marshal Manstein was transferred to the southern front, the 11th Army, which had been redeployed north, has abandoned the task of capturing Leningrad and is now fully focused on countering the Russian offensive... At the same time, to shorten the front and economize on defensive forces, we will straighten the line at the Demyansk salient."

Upon hearing that the 11th Army would neither have to tackle the tough task of capturing Leningrad nor follow Manstein south, and could even abandon the Demyansk salient, a place that had consumed countless Soviet and German lives, Field Marshal von Küchler, the commander of the Northern Army Group, showed a satisfied expression.

"In the central sector, our goal remains Moscow, but we are not really planning to attack Moscow. Instead, we aim to pressure Moscow to exhaust and mobilize Stalin's reserves, forcing him to divert forces from the southern sector, thereby creating opportunities for us to defeat them piecemeal."

"I have a question," said General Model, the commander of the 9th Army, standing up abruptly when he saw that the new commander of the Central Army Group, General Weichs, did not react. "This strategic goal is a double-edged sword. Shortening the front certainly reduces our burden, but it also liberates the enemy, making it easier for them to redeploy. In the next phase, the density of enemy forces against us will significantly increase. The Central Army Group's defensive line extends from Velikiye Luki in the north to Oryol in the south, covering a total width of 1,500 kilometers. In the battles of the past few months, we inflicted over 500,000 casualties on the Russians in the Rzhev salient, but we also suffered 140,000 to 150,000 casualties. Especially during Operation Typhoon, the 2nd Panzer Army and the 9th Army under my command suffered heavy losses, with many infantry battalions changing commanders multiple times, up to eight in some cases. Without new reinforcements, and with the need to transfer one panzer division and one motorized infantry division to Africa from the Central Army Group, it will be very difficult to carry out the defensive offensive in the next phase."

Zeitzler explained, "The Air Force has formed four fully equipped field divisions, which General Halder originally intended to deploy entirely to the Central Army Group. I will not change this decision."

Model shrugged, "Four Air Force field divisions, they sound numerous and well-equipped, but... well... respected Chief of the General Staff, you know their combat effectiveness. If they are deployed on the front lines, I might have to send troops to protect them." This remark elicited a burst of laughter from the surrounding officers, even General Weichs, who had been deep in thought, laughed. The previously tense atmosphere of the meeting suddenly became much more lively.

Hoffman smiled: Model was indeed a close confidant of the Führer, daring to make such jokes in such a serious moment. However, he still greatly admired this master of defense, and more importantly, Model was speaking the truth. Under the leadership of Hermann Göring, the Third Reich's Air Force, with only 5,000 to 6,000 aircraft, had over 1.8 million personnel, including 200,000 excess ground crew and idle personnel in the Air Force. The Army General Staff had strongly demanded that these idle personnel be quickly transferred to the heavily depleted Army divisions, but the Reichsmarschall had directly refused. To prevent these personnel from being transferred to the Army, he had even ordered the formation of the ridiculous Air Force field divisions, each fully equipped and armed with the latest weapons. However, these units severely lacked combat training and experience, and were short of combat-tested non-commissioned officers and officers, making their combat effectiveness extremely low. Even the newly formed Red Army militia divisions could repel the Air Force divisions, let alone the Guards divisions! In the future, they would be considered even weaker than the notoriously weak Italian Army of the Axis powers.

"The Air Force field divisions do have issues, but we cannot waste the forces that our Reichsmarschall has painstakingly organized," Hoffman promptly came to Zeitzler's aid. "I authorize you to disassemble the personnel and equipment of these four field divisions and reallocate them according to the needs of the Army, but the reorganization plan must be coordinated under the unified command of Chief Zeitzler. I will explain the situation to Hermann."

"Long live the Führer!" Zeitzler was grateful to Hoffman for bolstering his authority. The power to allocate four fully equipped reinforcement divisions was significant, and Weichs and Model exchanged smiles, genuinely praising Hoffman. The Führer had not only freed the Central Army Group from the "not a step back" stance but also sent four fully equipped reinforcement divisions, which made them very happy.

Zeitzler, recalling Guderian's instructions before his departure, took the opportunity to confirm the units to be transferred from the Central Army Group—the 4th Panzer Division and the 25th Motorized Infantry Division. These were Guderian's old subordinates from when he commanded the 2nd Panzer Army. General Weichs was preoccupied with investigating the treasonous group, and the commander of the 2nd Panzer Army, General Rudolf Schmidt, was not present as he was commanding a battle. Model had already spoken up about reinforcements, and now that his units were not being transferred, he had no objections. Thus, the reinforcements for the African Army from the Central Army Group were confirmed.

"The southern sector of the Eastern Front is the strategic focus for this year. We have concentrated more than half of our forces in this direction and have been on the offensive so far. The Führer believes that from the results of the previous phase of operations, we overestimated our capabilities. Attacking both the Caucasus and Stalingrad simultaneously was beyond our strength. However, this does not mean that our original plan was entirely wrong, as these two directions are mutually supporting flanks. Focusing on one direction alone would easily expose our flank. Therefore, a strategic adjustment is necessary in the southern sector. The General Staff has decided to use this unfavorable situation to create a false impression, luring the enemy to attack our flank and then encircling and destroying them. In addition, both Stalingrad and the Caucasus oil fields are secondary objectives. Our true goal is to destroy the Russian mobile forces... To achieve this, we plan to re-establish the Southern Army Group and unify the A and B Army Groups. The specific operational plan will be designed by Field Marshal Manstein, with the A Army Group under the command of the B Army Group."

After listening to Zeitzler's explanation, Field Marshal Wilhelm List, the commander of the A Army Group, breathed a sigh of relief. He had always been dissatisfied with the original strategic goal of capturing both Stalingrad and launching an offensive into the Caucasus, and had repeatedly argued to the High Command that forces should not be dispersed. Although his arguments were not as intense as those between Halder and the Führer, the differences were still very serious. He had heard that Jodl was to represent the High Command to oversee and hold him accountable, and even a recommendation to remove him from his post was on Keitel's desk. Now that the Führer had timely adjusted the goals, it was clear that his opinions had been adopted, which reassured him. As for whether he would be under Manstein's command in the future, he had no strong feelings and did not envy Manstein's position as the future commander of the Southern Army Group.

"According to the Führer's proposal, the 20th Motorized Infantry Division will be transferred from the Northern Army Group, and the 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division 'Wiking' and the 'Großdeutschland' Motorized Infantry Division will be transferred from the Southern Army Group to the North African front," Zeitzler concluded. "The guidelines for adjusting the operational orders will be issued by the Army General Staff after the meeting. I hope you will immediately implement the adjustments according to the instructions."

Upon hearing that the highly combat-effective Wiking and Großdeutschland divisions were to be transferred from the southern flank, Manstein was somewhat reluctant. However, considering the Führer's favor and expectations in this change of command, he sighed lightly and decided to accept it. What he did not know was that, according to the General Staff's original plan, the Großdeutschland division was to be sent north to reinforce Model's 9th Army. Now that the Central Army Group's orders had changed, the Großdeutschland division, which was already prepared to move, could be reassigned. Manstein was unaware of this, but Model knew it well and playfully winked at Manstein, reminding him not to be ungrateful.

However, Zeitzler's task was not yet complete. The next afternoon, a higher-level strategic meeting would be held at the Eagle's Nest, with all party and state leaders in attendance. He and Field Marshal Keitel, as Chief of the General Staff, would attend along with Field Marshal Raeder of the Navy. The Führer had given a clear order that the Eagle's Nest and the Wolf's Lair would serve as the headquarters of the Supreme Command and the Army High Command, fully responsible for war command. Given the current situation, he would have to stay at the Eagle's Nest for some time.