Chapter 62: Iron and Blood, Golden Freedom (2)
Translated by Vine | Proofread by Lust
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< German Civil War – Iron and Blood, Golden Freedom (2) >
November 15, 1939
Northern Germany, Berlin, Armed Forces High Command
“Report from the 2nd Military District defenses! Enemy armored units advancing towards Stettin!”
“Manstein, that damned bastard thinks I’m a fool!”
Franz Halder jumped to his feet, shouting in frustration.
“Composition of the enemy armor?”
“According to the report, they have Panzer Is, IIs, IIIs, and IVs. We haven’t ascertained the exact numbers yet!”
Halder frowned.
“Is that their entire armored force, or…”
Was it a deception by Manstein? He had already planted misinformation. Was this the main attack? Or a double bluff?
Halder felt a cold sweat trickling down his back. This was a crucial juncture. Their armored units were already stretched thin, with little capacity for replenishment. They needed a decisive victory in this battle.
The morale of the Wehrmacht was already low. As much as it galled him, Halder had to admit that Dietrich Schacht’s speech had significantly impacted the soldiers’ morale.
“The only armored reserve force capable of countering the enemy armor is the LSSAH.”
Franz Halder pondered Alfred Jodl’s words.
With the Wehrmacht’s morale at rock bottom, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), the Waffen-SS elite division equipped with Czech tanks and every other operational tank they could muster, was their only hope.
While the New Government, with control of the Ruhr, would have increased their tank production, the original disparity in strength remained. The LSSAH should be able to secure a victory. But what if this was a feint?
Surely Manstein, aware of the difference in strength, wouldn’t be this careless? Halder clenched his sweaty fists.
“Chief of the General Staff, you must make a decision.”
Franz Halder chuckled bitterly at Alfred Jodl’s words.
“I feel like I’ve already lost before the battle even began. I have no cards I can trust.”
Even if the LSSAH defeated the flanking force in the north, he wasn’t confident that the 10th Army could hold against an attack from another direction.
Brauchitsch and Reichenau wouldn’t betray him, surely. But what about the troops under their command? Even he had been shaken by Dietrich Schacht’s speech. Who could he trust?
He regretted his actions during the Munich Agreement. Fear of being discovered by the Führer had led him to distance himself too much from the Schwarze Kapelle (Black Orchestra).
While they still held a numerical advantage, he had no confidence in victory.
While the Führer had assumed the role of Commander-in-Chief of the Army, he had suffered a severe seizure after his speech and delegated operational command to Halder. The responsibility for every decision now rested solely on his shoulders.
“Damn it…”
And the one who had driven him to this corner wasn’t even Manstein, but that mere captain he had dismissed… No, he couldn’t accept that!
“Inform SS-Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich! The LSSAH is to repel the flanking force in the north!”
“Yes, sir.”
Halder gritted his teeth as he watched Alfred Jodl pick up the phone.
Defeated before the battle even began! He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Greater German Reich. Having completely alienated the New Government, he had nowhere to retreat.
“Inform Army Group South! The 10th Army is to prepare for a flanking attack from Dresden!”
“Yes, sir!”
Halder was almost certain that Manstein wouldn’t be satisfied with just one flanking attack. Even if he couldn’t trust his subordinates, he had no other choice.
The New Government would want to avoid a prolonged civil war and would likely launch an offensive towards Berlin. Being on the defensive gave him an advantage.
However, even as he reasoned this way, Dietrich Schacht’s words kept echoing in his mind, tormenting him.
–
November 16, 1939
Northern Germany, 2nd Military District, Stettin – Western outskirts of Pomerania
With a deafening roar, a Panzer IV’s turret spat fire, silencing a Panzer I, offering virtually no protection against the heavier tank’s gun.
“My proud SS soldiers! Sweep away the traitors who have dared to rebel against the Führer of Greater Germany!”
[Yes, sir! Heil Hitler!]
SS-Obergruppenführer Josef “Sepp” Dietrich, riding in his command vehicle, enthusiastically urged his troops forward via radio.
The sight of destroyed enemy tanks along the way lifted his spirits.
“Good, very good!”
He was immensely satisfied to see his unit, which had been a mere armored regiment preparing for the invasion of Poland in August, now a full division, equipped with Panzer IIIs, IVs, and Czech tanks, pursuing the enemy.
The LSSAH, comprised of the most fanatically loyal members of the Waffen-SS and equipped with the best equipment, was pushing back the New Government’s Reichswehr flanking force relentlessly.
Or rather, it was more of a pursuit than a push. The SS Panzer Division was chasing the enemy, and the number of destroyed enemy tanks was surprisingly low.
[General, the enemy continues to retreat!]
“Good! Pursue them to the end and annihilate them! For the Führer!”
General Sepp, excited by the report, shouted into the radio. However, his adjutant spoke cautiously.
“General, the number of enemy tank losses seems unusually low, considering the distance we’ve advanced.”
“That only proves those cowardly traitors are running scared! Our orders are to annihilate them completely, and I intend to do just that!”
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Josef Dietrich, known affectionately as “Papa Sepp” in the Waffen-SS, was a courageous soldier, but his military experience had only reached the rank of sergeant, and he lacked formal officer training.
“With all due respect, General, I’m concerned they might be luring us into a trap…”
The adjutant spoke with a worried expression, but General Sepp dismissed his concerns.
“Nonsense! We’re chasing them, and they’re running. Of course they’re avoiding combat!”
After the capable and popular Paul Hausser surrendered, there was no one better than General Sepp to rally and boost the morale of the shaken SS. However, his simplistic thinking was a liability in this crucial situation where he commanded a key armored unit.
“No, General. I apologize.”
“Don’t worry so much! Haha! Our division is much stronger than theirs!”
At this point, even his adjutant fell silent. General Sepp was undoubtedly charismatic, but like Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the Prussian “Marshal Forwards” who faced Napoleon, he was impulsive and simple-minded.
But Blücher had ultimately defeated Napoleon and become a hero. They could only hope Sepp would do the same.
The problem was, the enemy strategist was as cunning and devious as Napoleon, who had outmaneuvered Blücher on several occasions.
–
November 17, 1939
Northern Germany, 11th Military District, Hanover, New Government Reichswehr Northern Army Headquarters
Erich von Manstein sat in the smoke-filled command room, legs crossed, puffing on his cigar.
He stared at the pieces on the operational map and moved the yellow and red flags, representing his forces, from Stettin slightly towards Hamburg.
“A bit clumsy, but…”
General Hammerstein-Equord, an infantryman, was essentially a novice in armored warfare, and his command of the tanks was far from proficient.
It was a limitation of the newly formed Reichswehr, which still lacked experienced generals. Hammerstein-Equord, despite being instructed to engage the enemy just enough to lure them in, had been retreating at full speed.
“Well, the enemy has taken the bait, so everything is going according to plan.”
The enemy armor had been successfully lured into a pursuit, which was all that mattered. Whoever was commanding them was an idiot.
The enemy had more and better tanks. The advanced blitzkrieg doctrines introduced by Oswald Lutz and Heinz Guderian were common to both sides, so a head-on confrontation would be a guaranteed defeat.
However, tanks weren’t known for their range without refueling. American trucks, positioned along Manstein’s carefully calculated pursuit limit lines, were ready to refuel his tanks. The enemy, on the other hand, would have to rely on horse-drawn supply units when their fuel ran out.
The further they chased, the further they would be separated from their main force, and their resupply would become increasingly slower.
“Now, for the next move…”
Manstein moved a flag, representing his forces, positioned behind Dresden, between Reichenau’s 10th Army stationed in front of Berlin and List’s 14th Army stationed in Sudetenland, to the right.
“This is where the real battle will be fought.”
Manstein grinned and picked up the phone.
[Lutz speaking.]
“General, it’s your turn.”
[Haha! Time to show them what real tank warfare looks like!]
Unlike Hammerstein-Equord’s unit, equipped with a few Panzer IIIs and IVs to deceive the enemy and deliberately placed at the forefront, this was the real deal.
Unlike the Berlin Race at the beginning of the civil war, fought with outdated light tanks like Panzer Is and IIs, General Oswald Lutz’s panzer division, composed of proper main battle tanks, launched its offensive from Dresden.
“Now, Halder. Do you have enough reserves?”
Manstein chuckled, as if he had Halder seated before his chessboard—the operational map.
–
November 18, 1939
Northern Germany, Berlin, Armed Forces High Command
Upon receiving the report of enemy armor advancing towards Dresden, Halder frantically ordered Sepp Dietrich’s LSSAH to return, but they were already too far from Berlin, having spent the last three days on a wild goose chase.
“Damn it, blast it!”
To cover that distance in three days, they must have been driving non-stop. What was that idiot of a division commander thinking?!
Halder, feeling his breath catch in his throat, picked up the phone with trembling hands. The time it took for the operator to connect the call felt like an eternity.
[Brauchitsch speaking.]
“General! An armored unit is flanking us towards Dresden! What are our defensive preparations?”
Halder practically shouted into the phone, but only silence came from Brauchitsch’s end.
“General?”
[We are preparing, but the soldiers’ morale is so low that we’re making little progress. At this rate…]
“You had three days! Three whole days! What has Walther Model been doing?”
[…I can’t reach Model. He’s not at his post.]
“What?!”
Halder felt the world tilting. The Chief of Staff of Army Group South, a crucial position, abandoning his post at such a critical time? What was happening?
“General, as you know, we’re finished if that damned New Government wins.”
[I know…]
“Then stop them! I’ll buy you time, but you must hold them back!”
Halder slammed the phone down and immediately requested another connection.
There was only one unit left that could buy him time.
–
November 18, 1939
Northern Germany, 2nd Military District, Stettin – Outskirts of Eastern Pomerania, Army Group North Headquarters
General Heinz Guderian, commander of XIX Army Corps, was on his way to General Günther von Kluge’s office, commander of the 4th Army.
Until now, Army Group North had remained largely a bystander in the escalating German Civil War.
General Küchler’s 3rd Army, stationed in East Prussia, was effectively isolated by the sea and Poland. Guderian’s 4th Army, under Kluge’s command, had remained in place, ostensibly to guard against potential Polish incursions, under orders from Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group North.
Guderian himself preferred it that way. After his mentor, Oswald Lutz, who had transformed him from a signals officer into a panzer officer, was forced into retirement due to internal military politics, he had been ostracized as a radical proponent of mechanization.
It was Hitler who recognized his potential and promoted him, paving the way for his blitzkrieg doctrines to be adopted. While Guderian didn’t associate closely with Nazi Party members or other high-ranking officials, he felt a deep sense of gratitude towards Hitler for his support and maintained a personal relationship with him.
Even he, however, had lost much of his loyalty to the Nazi regime after listening to the broadcasts by the New Government, led by Dietrich Schacht, an officer who had attended his blitzkrieg lectures at the War Academy. He hadn’t known Schacht had it in him.
Still, he was reluctant to choose between the New Government, which included his mentor, Oswald Lutz, and his personal loyalty to Hitler.
As he entered the office, Guderian’s eyes widened, and he closed them tightly. The time to choose had come.
“Welcome, General Guderian.”
At Colonel General Günther von Kluge’s greeting, Guderian slowly opened his eyes and saluted.
“Commander.”
All the high-ranking commanders of Army Group North, specifically the 4th Army, were present. Colonel General Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group North, Günther von Kluge, commander of the 4th Army, General Adolf Strauss, commander of II Corps, and General Kurt Haase, commander of III Corps.
The reason he had been summoned last became immediately apparent due to the presence of the only young man in the room.
Count Blumenthal, the perpetrator of the Reich Chancellery attack, the man who had shot Hitler and was now a wanted fugitive, was standing beside Fedor von Bock.
He had wondered how Blumenthal had managed to vanish so completely after shooting the Führer in the heart of Berlin. It seemed he had been under their protection all along.
Count Blumenthal was a close friend of the Emperor’s eldest son, and General Fedor von Bock was acquainted with Wilhelm III. Guderian smiled bitterly.
“Guderian, we have decided to pledge our loyalty to the Kaiser and the New Government, instead of Hitler. What is your decision?”
Guderian remained silent for a moment. Excluding Rommel, who had gained favor after the Reich Chancellery attack, he was one of the few in the Wehrmacht who had a close relationship with Hitler.
That was probably why he had been the last corps commander to be summoned. If he refused, he would be arrested, and his military career would be over.
While Hitler was a cruel and ruthless dictator, he had been a mentor to him.
However, his deliberation, much to his own surprise, was brief. Perhaps he had already made his decision during the civil war.
“I cannot point my gun at my mentor. I will join you.”
His decision was undoubtedly a betrayal of Hitler.
However, he also understood that while the Führer had been good to him, he was also a ruthless dictator to others.
While he still felt a measure of sympathy for Hitler, he also didn’t want to throw away his hard-earned military career.
“Oh…”
“With this, the 4th Army is unanimously in agreement.”
As Guderian pondered his decision and the other generals rejoiced, the phone rang.
Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group North, answered.
“Bock speaking.”
As everyone watched him, Bock listened to the voice on the other end, his usual gruff expression on his face, and then spoke, “Ah, Halder. You want me to stop the offensive from Dresden? Well, I do have General Guderian’s panzer units here.”
While they couldn’t hear what Halder was saying clearly, they could tell he was speaking agitatedly.
“But I’m afraid I have no units to spare at the moment. Someone wants to have a word with the Führer, so please put him through.”
Bock scoffed and handed the phone to Count Blumenthal before Halder could respond. Count Blumenthal, with a charming smile, spoke into the phone, “Hello, Chief of the General Staff Halder. This is Lieutenant Hans Jürgen von Blumenthal. I trust Hitler is recovering well from his gunshot wound? Please send him my regards.”
Halder’s last words, echoing from the phone, were a mix of scream, wail, and rage.
< German Civil War – Iron and Blood, Golden Freedom (2) > End
ⓒ Carcassonne
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