"Combined with the report of Marshal Rommel and the air force reconnaissance, I think the Russians are indeed considering planning a large-scale counterattack in the direction of Central Asia, and the source of these forces is likely to be the enemy heavy army group that cannot be found in the direction of the central battlefield." General Yodel, standing in front of the large map, seemed confident, "This part of the troops should be no less than 40,000-60,000. If the Russians really want to eat our Central Asian cluster, they will at least add another group of troops on this basis."

Thanks to the victory of the war in the past few years, General Yodel, who had been in charge of the major battle plan, was also promoted to general not long ago. After Hoffman traveled through time, he did not make a big furious regarding Yodel's decision to protect Marshal Liszt. Even after Marshal Liszt left because of different opinions on Yuan's purge of Junker's anti-Yuan forces, he still gave Yodel high trust. After awarding the rank of general to the other side, he clearly stated that if the war is finally won, Yodel will have a chance to get the scepter of the marshal's scepter in the future, which made him feel grateful to Yuan.

Of course, Yodel has real skills. Not only can he fully understand Yuan's true ideas, he can also repeatedly transform the imaginative strategic concept proposed by Hoffman into a down-to-earth battle plan, rather than like other senior generals, who either think that Yuan is whimsical or unprincipled. He always keeps in line with Hoffman in general, fine-tune the local details to meet combat needs, and build a bridge between commander and front-line commander. Although Keitel is the position of Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command, most of his work is to coordinate personnel and institutional functions, and the brain that really determines the core and plan of the operation is Yodel. Moreover, Yodel's thinking has few limitations, and he has a very deep understanding of the operation of the 6 navy and air force, and he is not like an ordinary 6th general. This makes Hoffman particularly valued

Hoffmann was much wiser than Hitler. Although he was named a military expert in later generations, he had never really fought a war, served in the army, and had not even accepted regular military academy education. Most of them were research results based on history. His true command level and intuitive understanding of war were far less than Hitler, a corporal who fought from the smoke of gunpowder. However, he knew his weight and would not interfere with the command of the front-line generals most of the time, nor would he randomly interfere in the combat process of the group army level. This was much more reliable than Hitler and easier for generals to accept. So although he is now in the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, no one dared to say that Yuan did not understand war.

"Assuming this inference is correct, what are your suggestions for coping?"

"First, we cannot take the advice of General Zeitzler to move towards Iran. This is completely possible in military terms, but it is very unfavorable in politics, which is not conducive to consolidating our influence on the independent regimes of Central Asian countries; secondly, we cannot retreat to the east coast of the Caspian Sea as Marshal Keitel originally expected. The distance between them is too long and we will not wait for the troops to retreat, but we are afraid that the Red Army will rush over. I bet that in addition to drawing troops from the middle battlefield, they must have hidden from the southern wing front.

The force intends to intercept; then, I do not recommend using Marshal Rommel's opinion to continue to reinforce forces. The principle is the same as the second one. Reinforcements are likely to face interception by the enemy. Once they are trapped in the enemy's siege, we either draw troops from the southern line to support, or let the Central Asian battle clusters be rescued. The former is likely to become a tactic of fuel, and ultimately let us and the Red Army fight a major battle in this less ideal position on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, and the latter may form a siege point to attack aid..."

When Hoffman heard Yodel denied three opinions in one breath, he was a little anxious, but he remained calm and continued to ask: "What is the most appropriate way? You can't do nothing and watch Rommel's troops be finished."

"That's impossible." Yodel thought to himself that Rommel was a confidant general and a war hero built by the Propaganda Department. If he was finished, he would have to lose his skin even if he didn't die. "My suggestion is to learn from previous battles such as the Holm Encirclement Battle."

"Let Rommel stick to the central oasis belt of several Central Asian countries?" Hoffman asked back, "Is it possible to defend it when facing an attack of 60,000 enemy troops?"

"The probability of 8o% is no problem. If there are some targeted adjustments, I think there is a 95% chance to defend it." Yodel smiled. "When Holm encircled, our army had only 6ooo remnants of each unit, and remained unmoved under the attack of three Red Army armies. Finally, it was held until the beginning of spring that reinforcements rushed to counterattack. Now the Central Asian Campaign Cluster has at least 80,000 troops, and they are all brave and warlike elite troops. It is no problem to resist the enemy that is 5-6 times more than one."

"There is no difficulty in winter defense war?" Hoffman immediately thought of the 6th Army in the Stalingrad encirclement in history. There were also examples of Holm encirclement first, so why couldn't Paulus do it?

"There are many difficulties. First, the difficulty of material replenishment is intensifying. As the climate becomes colder, the weather in Central Asia will become harsh. Meteorologists believe that starting from December, there will often be heavy winds and snow in Central Asia that are not conducive to aircraft flight. The probability of occurrence is 6o-7o%, which means that only 7-8 days a month can carry out air transport. This bad weather will last at least until the end of February. Second, the loss of air force advantages. At present, our army has won many battles in Central Asia and has repeatedly won the equipment.

In addition to the strong power of A, air superiority is a factor that cannot be ignored. If the weather turns bad, this advantage will no longer exist and the enemy will narrow the gap with us. If the air superiority is still on our side, I think it is certain to deal with a million troops. The third is the adjustment of war psychology. At present, these armies basically enjoy a well-known elite, which makes them feel uncomfortable when they switch from offense to defense at once. This is a very critical point.

Of course, there are some good news. For example, our army has successfully developed fuel and lubricant for winter cold and freezing, and this time there will be no dilemma of vehicles not being able to use in typhoon battles. If we turn to defense now, there will be at least -40 days to hoard materials, build defense lines, and prepare for wintering. The transport aircraft troops can take several more trips to supplement the troops with enough troops, supplies, equipment and ammunition. We are supported and supported by all ethnic groups in Central Asia, and they can help a lot in defense wars, such as the construction of fortifications, assistance in rations, etc...."

"Another idea is to suggest that Marshal Rommel return to his country to rest. He has been fighting abroad all year round, and he always asked him to go to the most dangerous and difficult places to command troops to fight, so that he has been in poor health..."

Yodel said it very tactfully, but Hoffman heard the smell: he was not optimistic about Rommel's command of defensive warfare, or Rommel's so-called offensive and defensive thoughts were not suitable for the mountains of Central Asia, and the oasis was persistent in fighting, and his health was not good. His real purpose was to change the commander.

Hoffman asked casually: "Who do you think is more suitable?"

Yodel blurted out: "General Ferdinand Scherner, who is currently serving in the Central Army Group, is very suitable. He is the most powerful mountain warfare expert in our army. He has always had relatively outstanding performance and his defensive command in the castle battle is also very effective."

"I understand. You can list the supplies and reinforcements needed to prepare for the defense war. I will give your plan to the Red Party and listen to your opinions."

Yodel quickly said goodbye, hesitated before leaving, and said, "I hope Yuan can have a good talk with him about the transfer of Marshal Rommel. I personally admire him very much. This decision is entirely focused on the overall situation and has no other intentions."

"I understand, I will handle it properly."

The so-called Red Side is the second set of staff system set up by Hoffmann ingeniously. The leader is General Paulus. Paulus was directly attacked by Hoffmann to the Western Front as Chief of Staff by Hoffmann from the position of commander of the Sixth Army, so he was unable to be promoted until he led his troops to capture Gibraltar.

Although Hoffman had different views on Paulus at the beginning because of his historical performance, over time, he was adjusting his views on some characters. Paulus was a very competent chief of staff, but he was a general in the war room and it was difficult to resonate with ordinary soldiers, so he was not suitable to be a general in the front line, especially if he could not bear the position of commander of the Sixth Army. However, he did a great job in the position of Chief of Staff on the Western Front, and was in order. He did not have any thoughts about Hoffman's sudden transfer from the East to the Western Front. He even volunteered to show that he would stare at Longdsted with Yuan. He always believed that Yuan was not at ease with the Junker class.

Because the Western Front is relatively idle, Paulus usually has no choice but to be with the old marshal and other noble officers. In addition, he has no other special hobbies, so he gathers with a group of staff to study the war with any matters, simulates how he is the General Staff of the Red Army to fight the Eastern Front, and is occasionally summoned by Hoffman to Berlin to report his views on the decision-making of the war. Over time, Hoffman simply asked some officers of the reserve army to follow Paulus to form the Red Staff on the Western Front, focusing on studying and discussing the major decisions on the Eastern Front.

It is particularly worth mentioning that when General Hoffmann was exiled to the Berlin Military Academy as director of education, General Halder, was finally found to be involved in the treason group and was sentenced to death, Paulus was ordered to hold the position on the same position. The functions of the Red Army on the Red Army were even more powerful. He not only began to simulate the Eastern Front Red Army, but also began to simulate the decision-making of the US military. He vaguely had the attitude of becoming the second General Staff, and his ideas were more broad (in other words, there was more element of talking about military affairs on paper), but for Hoffmann, this was a rare source of reference opinions, and it would not hurt to listen to other opinions more.

He now wants to know Paulus's disagreement with the idea of ​​the Battle of Yodel. (To be continued.)8
Chapter completed!