The Rise of the Third Reich

"Comrade Pavlov, have you read the report on the 'German-Polish War'?"

September 13, 1939, Belarus, Minsk, in the headquarters building of the Belarusian Front, Pavlov had just arrived when he met Susekov, member of the Military Commission (political commissar) of the Front.

At this time, the Soviet Red Army implemented a dual-chief system, with the military chief and the political commissar jointly leading the army. However, the level of political commissars (referring to military rank) is generally not high. For example, Susekov, the military commissar of the Belarusian Front, is a military-level political commissar. If he were to be awarded a military rank, he would be a major general. This system is actually quite strange. During the historical World War II, several members of the Political Bureau who served as political commissars on the front line only had the rank of lieutenant general. For example, the famous Khrushchev was a "lieutenant general and political bureau member."

However, among the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, no one would regard the political commissar of a “minor official” as transparent, especially since this political commissar is still a superior.

"Comrade Comrade Comrade," Pavlov gave a military salute to Susekov, and then replied worriedly, "I have already seen the report on this. The Germans achieved overwhelming air superiority on the day the war began. After four days, the Polish army was basically defeated. Their mechanized troops showed great mobility and combat effectiveness..."

While talking, Susekov and Pavlov had already entered the conference room. The deputy commander of the front army Zhukov and the chief of staff Purkayev have arrived, but only the commander Kovalev has not yet arrived.

"The Germans called it 'Blitzkrieg,'" Susekov sat opposite Zhukov, and Pavlov sat next to him. The two discussed the Polish-German War. "Can we have such a 'blitz'?"

"We?" Pavlov was stunned. He realized that Commissar Susekov's words were not said casually.

Although the Soviet Union and Germany were each playing their own tricks for the Polish campaign, the sign of the "Socialist Axis" was still hanging. The Soviet Union and Germany were countries with a "special relationship," and this "special relationship" also included a layer of competition.

It took the Germans more than ten days to defeat Poland. How many days will it take the Soviet Union, which has a superior social system and stronger military power, to defeat Poland, which is already semi-crippled?

"Comrade Comrade Comrade, we can also fight such a 'blitzkrieg'." Pavlov said after considering, "We can also advance 50 kilometers to 60 kilometers every day...Give me a week, and I can fight to Brest. Near the fortress.”

"How many days will it take to defeat Poland?" Susekov immediately asked.

Pavlov and Zhukov, who was sitting across the conference table, looked at each other. Zhukov interjected: "Comrade committee member, the reason why the German's 'Blitzkrieg' against Poland was so successful was related to the wrong deployment of the Polish army. They put The main force was deployed in the border area, thus allowing the German army to easily divide and encircle..."

"Yes, yes, I know what's going on," Susekov said, "But these main forces are gone. Now the main ones facing the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army are militiamen. Their morale is low, their equipment and training are poor, and they have no The plane is available.”

"There are still some main forces," said Front Army Chief of Staff Purkayev. "Currently, the ones that can be identified include the Narew Tactical Group, the Veshkov Tactical Group and the Lublin Tactical Group. They have now been transferred eastward and may be Deployed in Pinsk and Brest."

The problems faced by the Soviet Red Army now are somewhat difficult. If they had followed the original agreement and attacked with Germany on September 1 or a few days later, they would have definitely won a complete victory by now. Because at that time, Poland's main forces were on the western front, and there were only a few divisions of regular troops and a large number of civil defense forces in the east.

But now, the Western Front has ceased fire (the armistice negotiations are still continuing, but neither the German nor Polish armies are fighting). There are 3 Polish army groups, at least 8 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry brigades and 1 tank group (division). Level), about 150,000 regular troops and 200 tanks were mobilized east of the Bug River. Although the number of troops is not large, these units have not been severely damaged by the German army. They are all fully equipped, and the artillery of each division has not been reduced.

What was even more troublesome for people like Pavlov, Zhukov and Purkaev was that when Stalin learned that Poland and Germany had ceased fire, he did not immediately order war and sent planes to bomb the Polish railway lines. Instead, they continued to dilly-dally for 2 days, and have not yet ordered the war (actually Stalin was also anxious, but he had to find out that Britain and France really would not cease war with Germany before he dared to make the final decision).

Therefore, September 11th and 12th, today's 13th, and the following days have become quite critical time windows. The Polish army and the German army basically ceased fire, and the Soviet Union did not go to war. The Polish Army High Command can use these days to casually mobilize the three armies (clusters) that have not been surrounded by the Germans to reinforce the Eastern Front.

And Rez Himigwe, who had been slow to react in the previous battle with Germany, actually showed some military talents in these three days. Completely ignoring the fact that negotiations with the Germans have not yet ended, he will be able to mobilize three of the four armies/groups (the Warsaw Army is just an empty frame) and quickly transfer them to Pinsk and Brest on the eastern front by rail.

Moreover, the deployment of the Polish army on the Eastern Front was completely different from that on the Western Front. Because the battlefield on the Eastern Front was too vast, the Polish army did not have enough troops to deploy a long line of defense, so they adopted a "defend point"-based strategy. A series of fortresses such as Vilnius, Baranovichi, Pinsk, and Brest were established in Lithuania and Western Belarus. When the war started on both fronts and the eastern front was empty, the Polish army concentrated its superior forces in Pinsk and Brest to focus on defending the northern front of the Ukrainian Free State.

For these enemies who are huddled together and have solid positions to defend, it is certainly not difficult to surround them, but it is very difficult to annihilate them. There is no other way except to fight hard.

"Comrade Purkayev, I know that the enemy has increased the strength of the Eastern Front," Duseykov said. "On the Western Belarusian side, 9 divisions (including 1 armored group) and 2 cavalry brigades have been added. This makes the total strength It has reached 11 divisions and 3 brigades, plus some civil defense and border defense troops. However, our troops are stronger, there are more tanks, and our aircraft have an overwhelming advantage compared to the German army on the Western Front. , we have an even greater advantage! So how many days are you prepared to turn such a big advantage into victory?”

"I can capture Pinsk within 20 days." Zhukov already understood what Commissar Ducekov meant, and now he must give a victory timetable that is much faster than the original plan - in the original plan, the attack was carried out step by step. . Besiege first, then mobilize artillery and infantry, slowly carry out shelling and repeated charges, there is no need to rush.

But the situation is different now. The German army on the Western Front achieved a complete victory in just 12 days!

For the Soviet Union, the length of time it took to win was not only a matter of reputation, but also a low-risk risk - who knows how long Germany, Britain and France on the Western Front will fight?

Maybe within a few weeks they'll make peace, maybe in a few months they'll make peace. At that time, the Soviet Union will face great danger!

"Comrade Pavlov, what about you? When will Brest be captured?"

"Capture Brest?" Pavlov was stunned, "But my group did not have the task of capturing Brest in the plan!"

At this time, there was a burst of hurried footsteps from far to near, and then the commander of the front army, General Mikhail Kovalev, was seen walking quickly. As soon as he entered the door, he announced loudly: "I have just received an order from the People's Committee for National Defense. In view of the current changes in the situation, the plan will be greatly adjusted, so the start of the offensive will be postponed to September 15th. Before October 15th, The overall goal of our front is to occupy all of Western Belarus east of the Bug River..."

…

"Minister Baker, our request is very simple. West Prussia, Posen, and the part of Silesia that was originally ceded to you, as well as the port city of Klaipeda in Lithuania, and the original Mamel in East Prussia are all taken back."

On September 13, Adolf Hitler met in Berlin with Polish Foreign Minister Joseph Beck who arrived from London via the Netherlands.

Beck came to discuss the specific terms of the armistice with Hitler. Of course, the big principle has been determined, and Hitler fully agreed - although Poland, an annoying country, still exists, it is obviously a pleasant thing for the Poles to fight to the death with the Russians.

Therefore, Hitler was in a very good mood and his tone of voice seemed very reasonable.

He said to the Polish Foreign Minister who looked very frustrated: "Originally we just wanted to get Danze back, but you chose war. So the situation is different now, and the borders stipulated in the '1918 Treaty' must be restored." If you agree, then we will lift the siege of the two Polish army groups west of the Buchula River and in Radom.

At the same time, your garrison and naval personnel in Danze can also leave, but the Polish Navy ships must be handed over to us. In exchange, we will release the prisoners as soon as possible and return the captured weapons and equipment so that you can use them to resist the Soviet Union. This is the only way we can help Poland at the moment.

In addition, we must temporarily occupy Lithuania and Western Ukraine, otherwise the Soviet Union will annex them! If you are defeated east of the Bug River, we will have to occupy all the remaining territory of Poland. "

Hitler looked at Beck with a very embarrassed look, shook his head and said: "The term occupation is very harsh, but we must use this word, not protection... because we and the Soviet Union have been traditional allies for 20 years. We cannot protect Poland. Falling out with the Soviet Union, after all, we are still fighting Britain and France, so we can only occupy Poland until the war is over, please understand."

Joseph Berg sighed, "Understood, of course I understand. If our country really must be occupied by foreign countries, then it is definitely better to be occupied by Germany than by the Soviet Union."

Hitler smiled and said: "Don't worry, that's only temporary. I don't want Poland... You know, as the German Chancellor, I must let everyone in my people have steak to eat and every household have a car. If Germany There are suddenly 50 million more people, so where can I find so many cars and steaks?”