The Rise of the Third Reich

"The progress of the 1st Armored Army seems to be going too smoothly!"

At the General Staff Headquarters in Zossen, Marshal Guderian, the First Munitions Director, took the telegram just sent by General Mackensen and said to Hessmann: "General Mackensen's troops are just breaking through the Pripyat River. Encountered relatively determined resistance from the Soviet army, and then it was basically smooth sailing. The only thing restricting the advance of the 1st Armored Army now seems to be the supply of oil. "

Hersman stood in front of the giant sand table with his arms folded, watching the staff push the wooden sign symbolizing the 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division with a long pole to Gomel, east of the Dnieper River. Lee was captured by the 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division at noon on May 4. Although Mackensen's 1st Armored Group had to stay near Lechica for a few days to wait for the arrival of the fuel convoy, it could still get out the gasoline by sending several armored grenadier divisions to clear out the surrounding Lechica.

"Is there any movement from the Soviet troops on the Dnieper River defense line in the south?" Hersman asked.

The reason why he and Guderian assigned heavy troops to the 1st Armored Army was because they were worried about the Soviet troops on the Dnieper River defense line going north. In fact, blocking the Soviet troops moving north from the Dnieper River defense line was the main task of General Mackensen's Armored Group Army. This mission now seems unnecessary, because on the fifth day of the battle, the Soviet Southwest Front seems to have made no major moves.

"There is no big movement," Guderian said. "Except for about 10 infantry divisions being transferred to Chernihiv, there is no movement... We seem to have stabbed a knife into the soft underbelly of the Soviets. "

"Where's the Cherikov direction?" Hersman asked again.

Cherikov is the meeting point of the three armored armies specified by Hersman and Guderian - they originally thought that the 1st Armored Army would start a fierce battle with the Soviet Southwest Front troops along the Dnieper River. After defeating the Southwest Front Army, they would move north. After the troops, it was possible to reach Cherikov. Unexpectedly, the Soviet Southwest Front now watched with determination as the 1st Armored Group penetrated the junction between them and the Western Front like a steel knife.

"The cavalry has been sent to test." Guderian looked at the report of the 1st Armored Group Army. "The 1st Cavalry Division, the 14th SS Ukrainian Cavalry Division and the 20th SS Polish Cavalry Division were sent north. Conduct a reconnaissance attack."

The three cavalry divisions sent out by Mackensen were not cavalry or mounted infantry in the traditional sense, but mechanized cavalry. They were not the kind of troops that mixed tanks and cavalry and allowed cavalry and tanks to charge in tandem. It is a lightly armored unit responsible for reconnaissance, security, occupation and maintenance of logistics line security. There are no tanks, but there are many wheeled armored vehicles that are highly maneuverable and low in fuel consumption.

This kind of force cannot be used to deal with the Soviet tank army, but it can be used to scare infantry divisions, cavalry divisions, and militia divisions that are not equipped with tanks.

Moreover, among the three cavalry divisions sent out by Mackensen, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 14th Ukrainian Cavalry Division (originally infantry, which fought in Lviv and Kiev) were both elite. Even if they encounter Soviet tank troops, they can still resist it.

That’s why General Mackensen sent three cavalry divisions to fight as the vanguard when the troops were short of fuel. After all, the previous Air Force reconnaissance did not find any traces of Soviet tank clusters around Cherikov. Even large groups of infantry I haven't even seen it. If it is really an empty door, then simply let the energy-saving and environmentally friendly cavalry occupy it, and don't dispatch the armored cluster that consumes huge amounts of fuel.

"It's about 150 kilometers from Lechica to Cherikov. If everything goes well, we can arrive tomorrow." Hersman scratched his head. "If Cherikov is captured successfully, then the mission of the 1st Armored Group Army is Isn’t it too relaxing?”

"More than just leisure? It's simply a pleasant outing." Guderian shook his head, "Marshal of the Empire, we should find some more work for the 1st Armored Group Army."

Hessmann thought for a while and said: "Go north and attack Smolensk?"

"No need," Guderian said thoughtfully, "The 4th Armored Army has 8 armored divisions, 8 panzergrenadier divisions, 8 motorized infantry divisions, 12 infantry divisions, and 2 French artillery groups. And 1 reserve artillery group (an artillery corps-level unit directly under the Director of Artillery), how can it be impossible to defeat Smolensk? I think the biggest headache for General Hott now is how to deploy so many troops and tanks... In my opinion, The area around Smolensk is now too crowded to accommodate any more armored divisions."

Because there is a railway going south from Velikiy Luki, in the "Purple Plan" that ranks first in "energy and fuel saving", a full 36 divisions plus 3 artillery corps-level clusters were deployed along this route.

Of course, so many heavily armed troops and artillery are not used to deal with Smolensk, but are prepared to fight the Battle of Moscow after the Battle of Smolensk!

Hessmann nodded and agreed with Guderian. Smolensk could not be defended at all. As long as the troops of the 4th Armored Group were in place, it would only take a little effort to defeat it.

The troops in the Belarusian salient include Model's 3rd Armored Army, the 11th Army commanded by General Eugene von Schaubart, and the 16th Army commanded by Ernst Busch, with a total of nearly 800,000 troops. They can still fight. Not coming down?

As for heading east to invade Bryansk Oblast, it doesn't seem to make much sense. If you want to approach Moscow, just go to Smolensk. If we want to take a detour to Ukraine, now is not the time.

Hessmann thought for a moment and found that it was of little use to move the 1st Armored Army west or east. Going south seemed to be the only option.

"How about going south to press Chernihiv?" Hersman asked.

"Imperial Marshal, I think so too." Guderian chuckled, "We can scare the Soviets...perhaps we can attract the Red Army in the middle to go south. In this way, we can rush to Moscow after taking Smolensk. Nearby. And we don't need to mobilize the entire 1st Armored Army, which is too scary and too expensive. I think it is enough to dispatch the remaining troops in Lechica. Once the Smolensk battle is over, they can approach Moscow through Bryansk and Kaluga regions.”

Use part of the 1st Armored Group Army to scare the Soviet Southwest Front Army, contain the strength of this front Army, and at the same time attract the Red Army in the direction of Moscow to move south. In this way, it is possible to create conditions for the Center Group and the Northern Army Group to work together to capture Moscow!

Although Guderian also agreed with Hessmann's general policy of focusing on eastern Ukraine, Moscow and Leningrad still attracted him deeply... In his opinion, what Hessman was fighting for was just a relatively stable place. Victory, and taking Moscow and Petrograd to restore the Romanov dynasty is the truly perfect victory.

Therefore, whenever there is an opportunity, the first munitions director cannot help but want to create conditions for the capture of Moscow.

"Okay," Hessmann did not guess Guderian's thoughts. He nodded and said, "Heinz, you and General Mackensen can discuss the issue of how many troops to send to Chernihiv via telegram. Just go deploy and tell me the results tomorrow afternoon.”

"Tomorrow afternoon?" Guderian was stunned. "Are you leaving Zossen?"

Hersman nodded and said, "Go to Glücksburg with Chloe and Rudolf."

Hersmann's eldest son Rudolf returned to Germany from the Pacific Theater. He was going to the Naval Staff College to study in order to be promoted to major and become a fleet aviation staff officer.

However, the German Naval Staff College is not located in Glücksburg. This castle is located on the edge of the Flensburg Fjord on the Baltic Sea in northern Germany, close to Denmark, and belongs to Schleswig-Holstein-Sondeburg-Glücksburg. The House of Luxburg.

This is an influential dynasty in Europe. Queen Mother Maria Feodorovna, the grandmother of the Romanov dynasty in exile in Europe, was born in this dynasty. Because of the relationship between the Queen Mother, Queen Olga and the Danish royal family were very close. In 1942, this castle was lent to Olga as her official residence in Germany.

Hersmann, his wife and son went to Glücksburg together, of course, at the invitation of Empress Olga, who was also planning to hold a ball at Glücksburg - for Rudolf and the empress. Elena Feliksovna, the adopted daughter of Prince Yusupov and the only daughter of Prince Yusupov, is planning to marry this extremely beautiful girl to the Heinsberg-Hersmann family.

But Hessman knew that this marriage was actually a huge bribe!

Because the Yusupov family was one of the most wealthy families in Tsarist Russia. Apart from the Tsarist royal family, his family was the richest. They owned countless properties, including 7 residences that could be called palaces and 37 lesser mansions, as well as Countless works of art, as well as a large number of coal mines, iron mines, factories and oil fields in Baku!

Of course, these properties of the Yusupov family are now GC'd by the Soviet government and belong to all Soviet people. But once the Soviet Union collapses and the Russian Empire is restored, the Yusupov family will immediately become extremely wealthy again. And this kid Rudolf married someone else’s only daughter, doesn’t that mean he has both wealth and wealth?

The Russian Empress has really spent a lot of money this time in order to be restored - if Hessman hadn't had Chloe and had a good relationship, she would have given herself as a prize.

Although Hessmann is unwilling to accept this "bribe", he cannot refuse Queen Olga outright, because Hessman does not know whether Queen Olga has a "destiny" now, so it is best not to offend others.