After the southern line episode, Guderian also said goodbye to the meeting. He also rushed to North Africa to replace Rommel's command. According to Rommel's plan, the African army will launch an attack on the British army in Alamein in five days. However, everyone in the African army, including Rommel, did not know that the British army on the opposite side had been replaced by the British Army commanded by Montgomery. Not only was the commander's tactical level much higher, but the British ** after receiving reinforcements and supplements, regardless of the number of people.

The equipment was more than one times higher than that of the African Legion. There is no doubt that if Rommel's plan continued, the African army would suffer extremely heavy losses. Originally, Guderian wanted to wait for Zeitzler to determine the number of reinforcements before taking action, but when Hoffman told him the "latest" news, he was shocked and sweated in a cold sweat and pulled the staff team to set off overnight - first take the train to Italy to meet Mussolini, and then fly from Sicily to the front line.

Zeitzler's explanation of the Eastern Front Strategy gradually entered the ***. "In the northern section, our army intends to give up its strategic intention to conquer Leningrad, but it needs to continue to surround the city. We must make this city like a magnet, firmly attract Stalin's reinforcements to come and die continuously by implementing the policy of "siege and attacking aid". After Marshal Manstein was transferred to the southern line, the 11th Army that had been transferred to the north to abandon the Leningrad attack mission and fully respond to the Russian attack... At the same time, in order to shorten the front line and save defensive forces, we consider straightening the front line of the Dymiansk protruding unit."

Hearing that the 11th Army that came reinforced did not have to chew on the hard bones of Leningrad or followed Manstein to the south, and could also give up the "flesh mill" of Jamie Yansk, a "flesh mill" that consumed countless Soviet-German soldiers, Marshal Von Qusiral, the commander of the Northern Army Group, showed a satisfied expression.

"In the middle of the front, our goal is still Moscow, but we do not really want to attack Moscow, but to consume by putting pressure on Moscow, mobilize Stalin's reserve force, and force him to divide his troops from the southern section, so as to give us opportunities to defeat each other."

"I have a problem." Seeing that the new commander of the Central Army Group, General Weix, did not respond, General Model, the commander of the 9th Army Group, stood up, "This strategic goal is a double-edged sword. Shortening of the front line certainly reduces our burden, but it also liberates the enemy and facilitates their calm dispatch. The density of combat forces against us in the next stage will be greatly enhanced. The defensive front of the Central Army Group starts from Dalukin to Orel in the north, and the overall defense width reaches 1,500 kilometers, in the first few months of this year.

During the battle, we used the Lezhev protrusion to cause more than 500,000 losses to the Russians, and our army also suffered losses of 140,000 to 150,000. Especially in the "Tornado" operation, the 2nd Armored Army and the 9th Army commanded by me suffered greater losses. Many infantry regiments have changed commanders, and the highest one has even changed eight. If there is no new force reinforcement, and one armored division and one motorized infantry division must be drawn from the Central Army Group to reinforce Africa, it will be difficult to complete the offensive defense mission in the next stage with current strength."

Zeitzler explained: "The Air Force has formed four fully-filled Air Force field divisions. General Halder was originally planning to put them all in the Central Army Group. I will not change this move."

Model shrugged: "The four air force field divisions, which sound like a large number of people and are well-equipped, but... um... Dear Chief of Staff, you know their combat effectiveness. If I really do go to the front line, I am afraid I will send troops to protect them." As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter around him, and even General Weix, who had been in deep thought, laughed out loud. The atmosphere of the meeting, which was a little restrained just now, suddenly became much more active.

Hoffman smiled: Model is indeed the confidant of the head of state. He dares to make such jokes at such a serious moment, but he still admires this defense master very much. What's more, what Model said is the facts--under the leadership of Hermann Goring, the Third Reich's Air Force, which is only 5,600 aircraft, had more than 1.8 million personnel, and the extra ground staff and idle personnel in the air force department alone reached 200,000. The General Staff of the Army once strongly demanded that these idle personnel be quickly replenished to heavy losses.

The army division was directly rejected by the Imperial Marshal. In order to prevent the replenishment of personnel to the army, he also ordered the formation of a funny air force field division, each division was basically full and equipped with the latest weapons. However, these troops had severely lacked combat training and experience, and lacked non-commissioned officers and officers who had been tested by the war. Therefore, their combat effectiveness was extremely low. Even the newly formed militia division of the Red Army could repel the air division, let alone the guard division! It was recognized in later generations that the Italian army, which was the most favorable to the Axis powers, was a little weaker.

"The strength of the Air Force field division is indeed problematic, but the troops organized by our Imperial Marshal cannot be wasted like this." Hoffman cleared Zeitzler in time. "I authorize you to split the personnel of these four field divisions and then supplement them according to the needs of the army. However, the replenishment plan must be implemented under the unified dispatch of Chief Zeitzler. I will explain Herman."

"The Head of State is wise!" Zeitzler was very grateful for Hoffmann's prestige for establishing himself. The power of all-filled supplementary divisions was quite large. Weix and Model smiled at each other and praised Hoffmann from the bottom of their hearts. Now the Head of State not only liberated the hands and feet of the Central Army Group from the standpoint of "not taking a step back", but also sent four full-filled supplementary divisions, which made them very happy.

Thinking of Guderian's explanation before leaving, Zeitzler struck while the iron was hot to determine the troops drawn by the Central Army Group - the 4th Armored Division and the 25th Motorized Infantry Division. These were all the old subordinates of Guderian when he was commanding the Second Armored Cluster. General Weix is ​​now full of investigation into the treason group. General Rudolph Schmidt, the commander of the Second Armored Cluster, was not on the scene because he was commanding the battle. Model had just made a head for replenishing his troops, and now he did not draw his troops, so naturally he had no objection. The reinforcements sent by the Central Army Group to the African Legion were determined.

"The southern section of the eastern line is the strategic focus of this year. Our army not only concentrated more than half of its forces in this direction, but also has been developing in an offensive situation so far. The head of state believes that judging from the combat results of the previous stage, we overestimated ourselves, and at the same time attacked the two targets of the Caucasus and Stalingrad, which greatly exceeded our strength. But this does not mean that our original plan was completely wrong, because these two directions are two wings that support each other. If we simply tend to attack in one direction, our flanks will easily be exposed.

It is necessary to make strategic adjustments in this southern section. The General Staff is determined to use this unfavorable situation to create an illusion, lure the enemy to attack our flanks and surround and eliminate them. In addition, both Stalingrad and the Caucasus oil fields are attached to each other. Our real goal is to eliminate the Russians' mobile forces... For this reason, we are preparing to restore the Southern Army Group's organization at an appropriate time and uniformly adjust the two armies A and B. The specific combat plan was designed by Marshal Manstein, and the Army Group A was under the command of the Army Group B."

After listening to Zeitzler's explanation, Marshal William Liszt, the commander of the Army Group A, breathed a sigh of relief. He was always dissatisfied with the strategic goal of not only capturing Stalingrad but also launching an offensive to the Caucasus. He had repeatedly stated the reasons for not being able to disperse troops to the base camp. Although it was not as fierce as the quarrel between Halder and the Head of the Head, the differences reached a very serious level. He had heard that Yodel was going to supervise the war on behalf of the Supreme Command, and even the proposal to revoke his post was placed on Keitel's desk. Now the head of state has adjusted his target in time, which shows that he has adopted his opinions in his heart, which has relieved him. As for whether he will be under the command of Manstein in the future, he himself has no big opinion, and does not envy Manstein for obtaining the position of commander of the Army Group of the South.

"According to the proposal of the head of state, the 20th Motorized Infantry Division was drawn from the Northern Operations Group, and the 5th Viking Armored Grenadier Division and the 'Great German' Motorized Infantry Division were drawn from the Southern Operations Group to the North African battlefield." Zeitzler finally concluded, "The policy on the adjustment of combat commands will be issued by the General Staff of the Army after the meeting. I hope you will complete the adjustment immediately according to the requirements of the command."

When Manstein heard that he wanted to draw the Vikings with the Great Germanic Division from the southern wing, he was a little reluctant, but considering the love and expectations of the head of state in this change of duty, he sighed softly and decided to accept it. What he didn't know was that according to the request of the General Staff, the Great Germanic Division was going north to assist Model's 9th Army. Now that the instructions of the Central Army Group have changed, the Great Germanic Division, which is ready to go, can naturally adjust its purpose. Manstein is not clear about this, but Model knows it well. He mischievously squeezed his eyes at Manstein and reminded him not to behave well if he gets the cheaper.
Chapter completed!