Chapter 2005 Take Him Away!

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Manteuffel will never forget the two SS officers who laughed at him and ridiculed him as if he were air. He will never forget that he had clenched his fists at that time, but he did not have the courage to go up and argue with the two SS officers, let alone beat them up on the spot.

I am really confused and stupid!

I can't blame others for laughing at me.

Ask yourself, if you can leave and return to the team immediately after being discharged from the hospital, and return to the front line to continue to command the Great German Division, can you avoid this tragic tragedy? Can you do something that Colonel Otto Bauer did not do or did not consider to turn the tide and change the fate of the Great German Division?

Colonel Otto Bauer is very good, but he is too young after all.

As a chief of staff, he lacked the courage and experience of a military commander to take charge of a situation. Although he was well-organized in overall management, it really did not mean that he would be able to command the troops well, not to mention that this was his first time to be the commander of a division.

Everything was irreversible. It was meaningless to question Model and the Central Army Group why they failed to judge the strategic intentions of the Soviet Army and why they did not send troops to rescue the Grossdeutschland Division in time.

Manteuffel, who was disheartened, was ready to end his military career and return to his hometown to enjoy his old age.

But he did not expect that the Führer would personally request the reconstruction of the Grossdeutschland Division, and it would be implemented as the first priority. It was necessary to equip it with high-quality technical weapons and experienced officers and soldiers as much as possible, and do its utmost to restore the combat effectiveness of the Grossdeutschland Division.

The top brass of the Wehrmacht were also happy to see this happen. It would be better to keep those precious heavy equipment for their own use rather than let the SS take it away. Moreover, rebuilding the Great German Division was not only of military significance, but also of political significance. It could also consolidate the morale that was on the verge of breaking. Why not do something that had only benefits and no disadvantages?

What Manteuffel did not expect was that just two days after he submitted his resignation and went home, when he was thinking about how to write his memoirs, he suddenly issued an order to continue to give him the command of the rebuilt Great German Division.

Surprise and surprise lingered in his heart at the same time, but more of it was the firm will of "not disappointing the head of state's high hopes and trust".

So, Manteuffel took office.

Commanding the Great German Division II, which had just completed reconstruction and basic running-in training, to go to the battlefield, the first battle target was Poland, which had been violently bombarded by the Russians.

The order Manteuffel received was to stop the enemy's offensive at all costs and prevent it from continuing to advance. After all, if Poland is lost, then there is no need to say more about where to fight in the future. This is almost an unimaginable nightmare.

So no matter what, the Russians must be stopped in Poland. This is the last strategic defense line to defend the country. At least Manteuffel himself firmly believes so.

At the beginning of the battle, everything went smoothly and it can be said that it developed according to the expected plan.

The Russians rushed too fast, the troops were too scattered, and the logistics could not keep up. There was a serious disconnect between the vanguard and the main force in the rear, and the reconnaissance troops of the Great German Division captured this important situation in time.

Seizing this opportunity, Manteuffel commanded the troops to attack decisively, and did not shrink back or look back because this was the first battle of the Great German Division II.

Manteuffel firmly believed that even if the Great German Division II was just put together with experienced German troops, it was definitely better than the Soviet vanguard troops who were greedy for merit and rushed too hard and messed up the rhythm.

As long as the command is proper and there are no major problems, there is a great hope of winning this battle.

Even the Russians probably wouldn't have guessed that the retreating German army would suddenly organize such a powerful counterattack, and it was in the suburbs of Warsaw and the Vistula River, where the enemy was approaching the city.

Manteuffel, who acted as soon as he said, quickly took action. A wave of counterattacks severely beat the Soviet vanguard troops that stretched the line too long, and sent highly mobile armored troops to cut off a wave of enemy retreat. The two Soviet brigades, which were attacked from both sides, panicked for a while and made serious strategic misjudgments. They mistakenly thought that they had fallen into the encirclement carefully prepared by the German army, and they were about to repeat the mistakes of 1941.

Later, the front line collapsed and the will to fight was completely lost. They were beaten and fled directly, running nearly 20 kilometers in one breath and barely stopped after meeting up with the main force.

But the truth is that Manteuffel neither took the initiative to build an encirclement nor thought about annihilating the Soviet army. He did not have enough troops nor enough time.

The risk of trying to stop and eat these two Soviet Guards Brigades was too great. If he was not careful, he would be counterattacked by the Soviet follow-up forces that accelerated after learning the news, and the whole thing would capsize.

The best result is to win precious time after repelling the Soviet vanguard, immediately withdraw the troops to strengthen the defense, make advance deployment, and be fully prepared to meet the next wave of Soviet offensive.

After all, the rebuilt Great German Division itself rushed to the battlefield and kept going all the way. After hastily switching from a movement posture to a combat posture, it made simple preparations and hastily launched this active attack.

If Manteuffel really wants to evaluate himself, in fact, the risk is still very high and there are many loopholes. The main reason for winning is that the Soviet army on the opposite side is more greedy and aggressive, and performs worse.

Yes, this is actually a battle of worse, and Manteuffel himself thinks so.

The result is that the Soviet army, which is worse than the German army, lost, it's that simple.

But what Manteuffel didn't expect was that when he organized defense, waited for the arrival of reinforcements, and prepared to meet the opponent who had been defeated once and rushed again, fate played a big joke on him.

Not long after, the enemy who came back and launched another attack was indeed the Soviet army, but this "Soviet army" was not the same "Soviet army". From equipment to people to tactics to command style, except for the uniforms on their bodies, almost everything else was different.

The difference in actual combat effectiveness was even more huge, and it was not much different from killing the Great German Division in one blow.

The Great German Division had no chance of winning at this point in the battle. Manteuffel knew this very well and had made a decision.

This time, he would command the troops to fight to the end, and live and die with the Great German Division.

Manteuffel never wanted to return to the rear in such a humiliating manner again, enduring the ridicule and contempt of others but being helpless. That kind of feeling was really more painful than death.

But no matter what Manteuffel thought, some things were not "whatever you thought, you could do". For example, the newly transferred chief of staff, who had just met Manteuffel, would not sit idly by and watch Manteuffel do this.

"Guards! Take the general away! Mark, you lead the escort team and escort him to the second line of defense headquarters! Leave this to me, quickly!"

"Yes!"

"What are you doing!? Claire, what are you doing!? This is disobeying military orders, let me go! Let me go! This is an order!"

Manteuffel, who had just recovered from a serious illness and had just come back from the gates of hell a few months ago, was lifted out by his arms. How could he compete with these strong men? He was lifted out while struggling and shouting.

But at this moment, the communications staff who had been sitting in front of the telegraph machine and was so busy that he didn't even look back, suddenly stood up in an instant, holding the freshly baked telegram in his hand and turned around excitedly.

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