Chapter 1784 Echo From Moscow (Part 2)
Save the Grossdeutschland Division? Don't be ridiculous. Read
The Russians on the other side have stockpiled heavy troops from three fronts and are pursuing us relentlessly and attacking us swiftly. We can't even hold our strategic defense line, so why should we save anyone? We should mobilize some troops to show our support, so that we can give an explanation to our colleagues in Berlin afterwards. Who would be so stupid as to send one division after another into the pockets of the Russians? Anyway, I, Model, won't do this.
Model mobilized troops and responded to orders, but the mobilization of those troops was to re-establish a new strategic defense line, to stabilize the position by taking advantage of the precious time when the Russians slaughtered the Grossdeutschland Division and delayed the continuation of the assault, and to quickly fill the holes in the defense line.
The orders issued to combat units at all levels were indeed to rescue the Grossdeutschland Division, but this did not mean that they really had to rescue it. It was a trick that Model and the high-ranking officials of the Wehrmacht deliberately played in order to get back on track afterwards.
It is true that the troops below set out according to the rescue order, but Model and the Wehrmacht high-level officials have guessed that the Great German Division will be killed by the Russians before the rescue troops arrive. The battle reports sent back by the Great German Division from the front line are full of chaos, madness, and endless requests for help. The overwhelming Russians rushed towards them like flies crawling on rotten meat in the wild.
It is meaningless to talk about rescue at this time, especially under the premise that the strategic pressure on the front is extremely high, all fronts are tight, and the defense line is full of holes. It is even more meaningless and unrealistic, and there is no need to implement it at all.
It can even be said that if the Great German Division is really rescued, it will be in line with the appetite of the Russians, and the side will definitely lose the battle that is already hopeless. This must be clear.
When the front-line troops were almost halfway, the news that the Great German Division was completely wiped out came "pop", which just stopped the troops halfway to establish a second strategic defense line and began to defend on the spot.
Doing so can not only make it clear after the fact, but also correspond to the strategic defense plan that really needs to be implemented next and meet the actual combat needs. Where can you find such a good thing? Isn't it wonderful?
In the final analysis, whether it is the head of state or the commanders of the combat troops at the division and brigade level or even the army level, they were actually kept in the dark and played around. The only people who knew the truth were Model, the decision maker of the combat, and the senior Wehrmacht officials in Berlin who were specialized in "obeying in public but disobeying in private". This is the so-called routine.
Also "suspected of fraud" is Model's reply telegram to the Grossdeutschland Division. Strictly speaking, the telegram was not actually for the commander of the Grossdeutschland Division to see, but was specifically left for the head of state to see afterwards.
It is said that human hearts are actually very complicated things. The actual routine depends on how you operate.
If a group of people who know how to play routines come together, then naturally "this routine is really fucking dirty." Even if you know that something is wrong and there is something fishy going on, you just can't find the key to reason with it, because the actual execution process of the order seems to have no problems and no flaws.
The result of this is naturally "incompetent rage" with nowhere to vent, and scolding the unfinished task as "lip service", which is what the Führer is like.
The blame for the annihilation of the Great German Division is too big and heavy for one person to bear, enough to crush a person instantly and kill him.
Since one person can't bear it, all the high-level officials of the Wehrmacht should bear it together. You can't pull all the generals out and shoot, right?
This is one of the many purposes of the routine. You can also say that this is a mutual protection among officials, and there is nothing wrong with saying this.
But doing so actually has a more important meaning. At least it retains the best result for the Central Army Group in the worst case, avoiding meaningless troop losses and casualties, and is more conducive to the next war. This is the most important one among many purposes.
Because the whole thing was too complicated and involved too many twists and turns, the Ministry of Internal Affairs responsible for investigating the matter was also confused in the Berlin intelligence network, and it can only be said that it was barely not confused.
The confirmation intelligence that was finally sent back to Moscow only mentioned that the high-level officials of the Wehrmacht privately tampered with the order, and the German troops on the front line also implemented it in various ways. In short, they did not follow the original version of the order and followed their own ideas. This confirmed the truth that "the enemy currently has two sets of command systems", which requires a deep understanding to taste the "inside taste".
When the report was handed over to Comrade Stalin, the father who was good at leadership immediately understood some of the deep meanings in it, which was not difficult for Stalin to understand. After all, he did consider this aspect when he carried out the Great Purge. Although he overcorrected and misjudged the situation, he still achieved certain results.
Now that such a serious problem has occurred within the enemy during the war, Comrade Stalin, who was happy in his heart, naturally understood how great good news this was for his side.
It is no exaggeration to say that the good news of annihilating several enemy armies in one go could not have made Comrade Stalin more ecstatic than this good news.
Thinking of the above newly learned information not long ago, Comrade Stalin, who was holding a pipe with smoke coming out of the corners of his mouth, smiled and continued to speak to Beria.
"That's good. The intelligence from the front line shows that the next war will develop in a direction that is more favorable to us. This is foreseeable. Tell me what you found out in Berlin. We agreed to tell you later."
"Yes, Comrade Stalin."
Beria nodded and took out the second report from his briefcase. This report was even more important to Beria personally than the first one. Because the situation in it has already involved his duties and responsibilities, it may cause a big mess.
The report was handed to Stalin and he spoke again, but this time Beria's expression seemed quite worried.
"This incident has caused a great earthquake in Berlin, Comrade Stalin. SS chief Himmler is mobilizing all the forces at his disposal to do the most crazy things in Berlin. Now even the sewers in Berlin are almost turned upside down by him. People who are related, unrelated, or even unaware of this matter can hardly escape the investigation openly or secretly, and some have been imprisoned."
"We have reason to believe that Himmler has obtained the highest authorization. It must be because of suspicion that he wants to find out the true truth of the whole thing."
"This sudden black terror has affected our comrades in Berlin. Several contact points have lost contact. Some informants planted in the enemy have also been arrested on irrelevant charges. They have never done anything related to this matter. Those Gestapo are really They are arresting people randomly, and they happened to sweep away our people who they didn't even know about. "
"But the corresponding good news is that more people who have nothing to do with this have also been arrested or taken away for investigation. They all hold important positions in various systems or departments of authority and have their own roles. Regardless of the final result, the absence of these people will make the enemy's entire system and brain more confused, suspicious, and doubtful of each other, losing their original intelligence and efficiency. "
"The disadvantages outweigh the advantages, Comrade Stalin, this is my personal final opinion after studying this matter. But even so, I think we still can't ignore the damage this will cause to our intelligence network. Considering future developments and actual needs, we still have to take action this morning to prepare. "