Chapter 400145Chapter NaN

October 12, 1940

Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany – Rundstedt Army Group Headquarters

Lieutenant Vinrich Behr privately considered himself to have good luck with superiors.

During the Anschluss, his very first operation which he had joined unknowingly, Behr had been wandering around Regensburg searching for his unit when he met his future battalion and company commanders.

Those two were Henning von Tresckow and Dietrich Schacht, the key players of the new government coup.

Tresckow was his battalion commander, so he didn't have many chances to talk with him, but he had played a major role during the coup and was now mentioned as one of the leading candidates for the next Chief of the General Staff.

On the other hand, Dietrich Schacht had been Behr's company commander, so he had spoken with him directly and had been by his side, however briefly.

Though his memories of the chaotic Anschluss were of them scrambling around together, Behr had served as the adjutant to the Vice-Chancellor, who was now arguably one of the most famous men in Germany.

And now, he had become the adjutant to Major Clemens Fleck, a close friend of Dietrich Schacht who had fought alongside him since the Condor Legion.

As a close friend of Vice-Chancellor Dietrich Schacht, he fought with him in the Condor Legion, earned military merit on the Polish Front, and even distinguished himself by suppressing the traitors who sided with the Nazis.

He had imagined a brave, cool, and respectable soldier.

…That was his imagination.

"Hey, Lieutenant Behr."

"Yes, Battalion Commander!"

Major Clemens Fleck called Behr, exuding an aura of gloom, then looked up at the distant sky.

"Tell me. Why would Dietrich do this to me?"

"Uh, yes, sir?"

Even Behr, who had been a complete greenhorn during the Anschluss, had now gained some experience and dignity as an officer, but this was a question he had no idea how to answer.

"Did a guy who's the damn Vice-Chancellor really have to do this?"

Major Fleck's gloomy mumble wasn't loud, but Vinrich Behr's face went pale as he quickly looked around.

The regimental and battalion commanders were all gathered and waiting for a meeting with their Division Commander, Lieutenant General Hans-Valentin Hube, after the ongoing Army Group Headquarters meeting ended.

"B-Battalion Commander, sir. The other commanders are also…"

"I'm screwed, screwed I tell you…"

Regardless of Behr's anxiety, Major Fleck muttered gloomily, looking as if he was about to tear his hair out.

"Where did my cushy rear-area duty go? What happened to my dream of getting an easy job, retiring, and living comfortably on my pension? This is a nightmare. A nightmare, I say…"

Vinrich Behr was at a loss for words as he watched his image of the man shattering to pieces.

Where was the soldier who had braved deathtraps in Spain with the Vice-Chancellor and performed heroic feats against Poland and the Nazi remnants?

Unfortunately, Vinrich Behr's first impression of Clemens Fleck was that of 'a disappointing person'.

---

"Our division will remain in East Prussia to establish a defense line and assume a defensive posture in preparation for a possible Soviet Army offensive."

At Lieutenant General Hans-Valentin Hube's statement after returning from the headquarters meeting, the regimental and battalion commanders, who had been excited about crushing the Soviet Army and earning military merit, wore sullen faces.

"General, isn't this somewhat unfair treatment? While they are earning military merit, we're supposed to be house-sitting…"

Lieutenant General Hans-Valentin Hube gave a bitter smile at his subordinate's grumbling voice.

"It's a job someone has to do. It just happens to be us. For now, we establish a defense line, but we could be committed as reserves if needed, so don't be too disappointed."

"…Understood."

His subordinates seemed quite dissatisfied, but in the military, you do as you're told.

Lieutenant General Hube watched his subordinates, who had been excited at the thought of earning glory, trudge away, then shook his head and let out a soft sigh.

Although he had volunteered for the task since everyone else was just watching, the resentful glares from his subordinates who had been expecting to earn public merit were quite bothersome.

Hube looked up and was startled. He thought everyone had left, but one man was still standing in his spot.

That fellow is probably…

"Ah, Major Fleck. You haven't le—"

No sooner had he called his name than Clemens Fleck's eyes lit up, and he shouted.

"I respect you, General!"

"What?"

Regardless of General Hube's confusion, Clemens rattled on enthusiastically, as if deeply moved.

"I am moved by your dedication, General, for willingly taking on a mission that everyone else shuns but someone must do!"

"Is, is that so?"

Hube was quite flustered, but no general dislikes a subordinate who says they're moved by their decision.

Come to think of it, didn't this fellow serve with Model in Spain? He also remembered that this was the close friend of the Vice-Chancellor, a topic Model often brought up in private settings.

Hube, who had been close friends with Walter Model since before he became a soldier, smiled faintly with a sense of welcome.

"Yes, thank you for saying so. You must have served under Model in Spain, right? He and I are bosom buddies. I'll be sure to remember you."

However, contrary to Hube's thoughts, the smile that filled Clemens' face stiffened at the name 'Model.

'

"I-Is that so, General. Hahaha, General Model is a great man! Truly, yes.

Truly…"

His reaction was somehow strange, but Hube didn't think much of it.

"Then, I will take my leave, General! Loyalty! This Clemens Fleck will establish an ironclad defense line!"

"Uh, y-yes. I'll be expecting great things."

At this point, Hube was also a bit taken aback, but he returned the salute and dismissed him.

A moment later, he heard a voice shout from a distance, but it was so loud it reached him here.

"Long live the rear area! Long live General Hube! Thanks, overwhelming thanks!"

…What a strange fellow, that one.

---

October 14, 1940

Central-Northern Poland, Białystok – Soviet-occupied territory

Early dawn, as the sun was just beginning to rise.

The approval of Poland and Finland's entry into the Allied Powers was announced in Germany, and simultaneously, Germany's official declaration of war was sent to the Soviet Union.

It was the beginning of the German-Soviet War.

Immediately after, the Rundstedt Army Group began its advance, with its armored units in the lead.

"Los, Los, Los!"

"Advance! Hail Germany! Death to the Slav Commies!"

The engine roar of hundreds of tanks filled the forests of the German-Polish border as they began their breakthrough, and the Soviet Army's defense line, which was little more than a facade of border guards, was breached in vain.

"Ha, of course, what can you expect from inferior Slavs who got rid of their own officers with their own hands!"

Major General Hans Krebs, who had been dispatched to the German embassy in the Soviet Union as an officer for military affairs thanks to his fluent Russian, was one of the vanguards of this offensive.

The pathetic reality of the Soviet Union that he had reported was a major factor in Rundstedt's underestimation of the Soviet Army's capabilities.

What he saw was the Red Army floundering after the Great Purge, Stalin's heavy industrialization had yet to show visible results, and public livelihood was in a mess due to the Great Famine in Ukraine, so it was only natural for him to look down on the Soviet Union.

Moreover, the Soviet Army, which struggled sluggishly against the likes of Poland, where the German army had won an overwhelming victory, or Finland, one of the weakest of the small countries, provided sufficient basis for their misjudgment.

"Direct hit! Enemy tank silenced!"

The Soviet Army seemed to be panicking, committing their armored units haphazardly, but they were blown up by the Panzer IVs and StuG IIIs as soon as they charged.

With only light tanks like the T-26, BT-5, and BT-7 being thrown into the fray, there was nothing they could do against the main battle tanks of the German Army.

In the midst of this, as if they lacked vehicles, the Soviet Army sent only hordes of tanks without any motorized infantry units to support them.

The state of them committing only tanks in piecemeal fashion to be destroyed, followed by slow-moving basic infantry who were then panic-stricken by the German armored wave, drew scornful laughs from the German soldiers.

"Puhahaha, ten thousand tanks my ass.

If we count junk like that as part of our forces, we could probably claim 30,000!"

"That's just like those pathetic Slavs, sir."

"Let's take this chance to show those stupid Commies the power of the German army! Charge!"

The German armored units tore through the forest at incredible speed, crushing the Soviet forces.

Sitting in his headquarters, Army Group Commander Gerd von Rundstedt listened to the real-time radio reports from the frontline units and smiled with satisfaction.

"Haha, hahaha. Of course. There's no way those inferior Slavs could stand against us."

Even Rundstedt and the military high command had no intention of making the unreasonable move of advancing into the Soviet mainland with only 600,000 men.

This operation was a plan to break through to Brześć Litewski (modern-day Brest, Belarus) on the east bank of the Bug River, disrupt the rear of the Warsaw encirclement, open a lifeline for Poland, and establish a bridgehead for the recapture of the Sikorski Line.

That alone was enough military merit, and a full-scale offensive could be carried out after the return of the Italian Front Army.

"It would have been better if the new model Panzer IVs were committed as well…"

Rundstedt's expression turned slightly dissatisfied at the words of his Chief of Staff, Friedrich Paulus.

The new model Panzer IV, which adopted frontal sloped armor and a 7.

5cm long-barreled main gun, was magnificent in its power, but due to production limits, it had not yet been fully provisioned to the frontline units.

Thus, most of the initial production was deployed to the Expeditionary Force for Britain or Army Group C on the Western Front, which had to face powerful French tanks, rather than the Italian front where the pre-upgrade Panzer IVs were sufficient.

"Hmph, it's a pity, but we can crush the likes of the Soviet army even without them. If we earn military merit this time, our treatment will change."

The Soviet forces were being shattered while committing their units haphazardly with little resistance, and the German army seemed poised to break through to their tactical objective, Brześć Litewski, within days.

Rundstedt had no doubt of his victory.

---

October 17, 1940

East-Central Poland, Brześć Litewski – Soviet Command Headquarters

Georgy Zhukov sat at his command post desk, chin in hand, staring at the map.

The Germans hadn't properly grasped it, but the Soviet Army on the Eastern Front now had two leaders.

One was Field Marshal Grigory Kulik, and the other was Colonel General Georgy Zhukov.

Field Marshal Grigory Kulik not only blocked the adoption of the T-34 but also prevented the production of submachine guns, calling them weapons that wasted ammunition, and landmines, calling them passive weapons unbefitting the Soviet spirit.

He was truly the main contributor to the Soviet Army's failure to finish off Poland despite its overwhelming military force.

But with the Great Purge long over, a Field Marshal couldn't be eliminated without a proper reason, and this battle itself was a stage set up to remove Kulik.

The General Secretary did not give Kulik the T-34s he so despised and didn't inform him of this offensive even though it was predicted.

No, this entire offensive was a battlefield meticulously lured and prepared by the General Secretary himself.

The discovery that the anti-war protest in Germany had been fabricated by the Soviet Union was an affair staged by the General Secretary to induce Germany's entry into the war before the Italian Front Army fully arrived, while also cutting down one of Beria's loyal servants in the NKVD.

The General Secretary, in consultation with the new Chief of Staff, Vasilevsky, had even sent maximum supplies before the Rasputitsa, halted the Warsaw offensive, and issued orders to preserve as much capacity as possible for a counterattack against the German offensive.

The General Secretary, who had initially been mindlessly pushing the Warsaw offensive, had seen the Red Army's continued disgraceful conduct and Germany's great success, and had properly started to utilize his specialty of management and listen to the General Staff.

Zhukov was impressed by how the situation was unfolding exactly as the General Secretary intended, but he also felt cold sweat trickling down his spine.

Unable to bear the differences of opinion and pressure from Stalin, he had handed over the Chief of the General Staff position to Vasilevsky and gone to the front, where he earned Stalin's acknowledgment of his ability by collapsing the Sikorski Line.

But the oath he had taken, to take responsibility when he released purged officers from the Gulag, would still be valid.

And now, the General Secretary had blatantly opened a battlefield to purge a Field Marshal.

It was as if he were demonstrating that Zhukov himself would be no exception if he fell out of favor.

The Germans were laughing as they charged, annihilating the piecemeal commitment of Soviet light tanks, and it was true that the Soviet commander was panicking and committing units piecemeal.

In reality, the damage being sustained by Field Marshal Grigory Kulik's unit was a blow sufficient to purge a Field Marshal, and his unit was a bait unit, but it was so desperate that the Germans couldn't possibly suspect it.

As a result, the Germans gleefully crushed Field Marshal Kulik and advanced deep into Soviet-intended territory.

Was this not a fitting mission for Field Marshal Kulik?

While Field Marshal Grigory Kulik's unit was being shattered by Rundstedt and pushed back, the Soviet Army's true main force, the armored units of Konstantin Rokossovsky and Enrique Líster, composed of T-34s, had already moved to the German flanks.

Watching the flags of the German armored units rapidly advancing towards his headquarters, Zhukov silently shifted his gaze to the flags positioned on both flanks and opened his mouth.

"Relay this to General Rokossovsky and General Líster."

Zhukov inwardly had goosebumps at the General Secretary's meticulously wicked plan, but a victory was a victory.

The General Secretary, while purging a Field Marshal, had in effect given him, still a Colonel General, a chance to earn merit.

Since Vasilevsky became Chief of Staff and Zhukov began commanding the front, the Soviet Army's capabilities had become incomparably different from before, and the competence of the officer corps, which had been lacking due to the Great Purge, was getting back on track through constant actual combat.

"Commence the offensive. Make those arrogant Germans pay the price.

Soviet Ura!"

"Soviet Ura!"

All that remained was to show the power of the Red Army.