USSR 1941

While the Soviet army was recuperating, the German army seized the time to reorganize the command system of the Army Group South.

As soon as Reichenau took office, he immediately summoned the commander of the 11th Army, Manstein, who had just flown in from Leningrad to take office.

The reason was that Reichenau knew that Manstein was resourceful and capable of fighting... In fact, there were not many people in the German army who did not know this at this time.

For example, he formulated the Schlieffen plan to attack France, which enabled the German army to force France to surrender and the British army to withdraw to the island within more than a month.

Another example is that the assault gun proposed by Manstein has also been proved to be effective in actual combat.

In addition, not long ago, Manstein served as the commander of the 56th Armored Army in the Northern Army Group. The 56th Armored Army he led rushed into the Soviet Union within 4 days of the war. The progress reached 200 kilometers, and the Soviet army was caught off guard.

Its style of play is quite similar to that of Rommel fighting the British army on the African battlefield, so it was also appreciated by Hitler.

"General!" Reichenau simply shook hands with Manstein and then got to the point: "I think you already know the situation, the Southern Army Group is in trouble, just like the head of state said, we are almost defeated The enemy is divided into three sections!"

"Yes, I have learned some information!" Manstein replied, and he carefully read the relevant information on the plane that arrived.

"To be honest, I was surprised by the outcome of this battle!" said Manstein. People's Southern Front. But the defeat of just one battle...results in the loss of everything!"

"Yes!" Reichenau nodded in agreement: "Although I know it may not be appropriate to say this, I think there is nothing wrong with Marshal Lundstedt's command, at least in my opinion. But We still lost!"

"The Russians are much smarter than we thought, Your Excellency the Marshal!" Manstein said: "Or it can be said that the Russians in Ukraine are smarter!"

"We hear that this man is at work!" Reichenau handed Manstein a document.

Manstein was taken aback after opening the document, looked up at Reichenau in doubt, and asked, "A sergeant?"

"Yes, a sergeant!" Reichenau replied: "They called him the 'runaway hero', who fled from the Brest Fortress with skirmishers all the way to Kyiv and then to Odessa, from the beginning of the battle to It now spans almost the entirety of Ukraine."

Manstein couldn't believe it. He was a nobleman, and a nobleman who had been a general for generations. He had received a good military education since he was a child, and he thought these things were very important. Uneducated people talking about war are nothing but empty talk.

And the sergeant in front of him... If he was a sergeant, it is impossible for him to have received military education.

Looking through the documents, Manstein was even more convinced of this point, because he saw that this sergeant named Shulka was a private before the war broke out.

In other words, not only has he not received advanced military education, he may even fail basic military training.

"Your Excellency the Marshal!" Manstein asked while flipping through the documents, "Could this... be a way for the Russians to deceive us?"

"What do you mean?" Reichenau asked.

"They are worried about attracting our attention!" Manstein said: "For example, our assassination, so they pushed some unworthy soldier to the front of the stage!"

"No, General!" Reichenau denied Manstein's words without even thinking about it: "We also had similar ideas, but after we tracked down the Battle of Brest Fortress in detail..."

Speaking of which, Reichenau leaned forward, turned back a few pages of the document in Manstein's hand, pointed to a few paragraphs and said: "These suggestions I marked are confirmed to come from this 'runaway hero'. Mouth!"

"Confirmed?"

"Yes!" Reichenau replied: "We interrogated every prisoner,

And the people we put inside them! What's more, the highest-ranking commander of the Brest Fortress is only a major, and I don't think they need to do this to hide a major! "

Manstein couldn't help but nodded when he heard the words, and then he carefully read the description in the document.

The more he watched, the more surprised he was. Some of these suggestions should not have happened in Manstein's opinion, but it did happen.

For example, as if he knew what was going on, he moved the German troops surrounding the Brest Fortress around.

Another example is the layers of defensive tactics and camouflage tactics used on the front line in Kyiv. Would a sergeant have such talents?

What surprised Manstein the most was that the strategic estimate of the anti-encirclement of the German Army Group South was also made by this "escape hero"...

"It's impossible!" Manstein said, "Have you checked the origin of this sergeant? He graduated from school, family, and other information!"

"Of course I checked!" Reichenau spread his hands: "But it's nothing special, a peasant family, only received elementary school education!"

"Elementary school?!" Manstein shook his head: "Either the information is wrong, or this guy is a military genius!"

Of course, Manstein did not know that there was a third option, that is, Shulka did not need to be educated in this time and space to have even richer, even advanced, proven knowledge and experience than him.

"Let's put this 'running hero' aside!" Reichenau said: "The Fuehrer is more concerned about how we can solve the predicament in front of us!"

"I don't care about that!" replied Manstein.

"What?" Reichenau couldn't help being taken aback when he heard the words: "What do you mean?"

"Our concern has always been Moscow, Your Excellency Field Marshal!" Manstein explained: "That is the heart of Russia, the political and military center, and the transportation hub. It is more important to win it than everything else. If the head of state If the plan is to successfully encircle Kyiv, we probably won't have enough time to attack Moscow... You know, it's only a few months, and winter is coming!"

"You mean..." Reichenau asked, "we give up the Ukrainian battlefield?"

"Not completely!" Manstein replied: "They did cut off our supply lines from Romania and Poland to Kyiv, but our 1st and 2nd Armored Groups defeated the Russians on the east bank of the Dnieper River. The Southern Front Army and the Bryansk Front Army captured a large amount of materials and equipment. In addition, they also joined forces with the Central Army to obtain supplies from the Central Army. So, why do we only think about withdrawing the main force of the Southern Army to the west instead of simply Let them cross the Dnieper and continue their attack?"