Chapter 135 Bargaining (Revised)

After hearing Hitler's passionate speech, the German generals present at the meeting felt that something was wrong, but in the end no one stood up to refute the Führer's speech.

After all, from the perspective of the actual strategic needs at the moment, Hitler's speech was indeed practical and understandable.

The silence of the senior German generals at the meeting made Hitler even more complacent for a while, and he firmly believed that his strategic arrangement was appropriate and flawless, so that he won the recognition of all the senior German generals present at the meeting.

"Gentlemen, Moscow is certainly a goal we must capture in the future, but we obviously have more important strategic goals to capture first."

"The operational plan for the offensive in the direction of Leningrad in the north and the offensive in the hinterland of Ukraine in the south will soon be formulated by the General Staff. At that time, I hope my generals can implement this operational plan seriously, completely and truthfully."

"When winter begins, we will attack Moscow and Kharkov. With the blood transfusion of Leningrad's heavy industrial base and the supply of Ukrainian grain reserves as a guarantee, our offensive will surely be carried out very smoothly by then."

Hearing that Hitler planned to move the next offensive direction of the main group of the German front line away from Moscow, adjust it to Leningrad in the north and Ukraine in the south, and temporarily adopt a placement strategy for the Soviet capital Moscow.

Realizing that doing so might lose the great opportunity to attack Moscow and give Stalin more opportunities to deploy troops, the anxious Guderian immediately wanted to stand up from his chair in excitement and argue with Hitler again. But the commander of the German Central Army Group and his immediate superior, Marshal Bock, who was sitting next to him, quietly grabbed Guderian's sleeve.

"Although it is necessary to advise the Führer on his decision, at least it is not the time now."

Guderian understood the meaning from Marshal Bock's eyes and realized that Hitler was currently immersed in the complacency of his own plan. Then he suddenly realized it.

It is human nature and the most basic manifestation of communication skills to oppose superiors and leaders in different occasions and times, even in the German army, which has always advocated rigor and rigidity.

Hitler, who did not notice Guderian's hesitation and Marshal Bock's small movements, immediately shifted the focus of the meeting to more detailed tactics and equipment.

"Although Moscow is not our next move for the time being, we still need to keep the springboard and forward fortress for attacking Moscow in the future."

"Guderian, I have learned about the battles launched by your 2nd Armored Group in the direction of Yelnya. Your command ability and the outstanding tactical qualities of the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Armored Group are worthy of praise. But I need to remind you that the Yelnya salient, the springboard for attacking Moscow in the future, must be defended and must not be lost. Perhaps this is our departure gate to Moscow in the future."

Guderian, who mobilized the most elite fist troops of his 2nd Armored Group to fight bloody battles here, naturally supported Hitler's order to hold on to Yelnya.

But as the saying goes, a good cook cannot cook without rice.

Even though Guderian, who is known as the father of German armored forces and the hero of blitzkrieg, has outstanding command abilities that are almost genius, the continuous and worsening battle in the direction of Yelnya City, which has become a mess, has almost caused a number of elite troops in his hands, including the Imperial Division, to suffer heavy losses and lose everything.

The loss of a large number of technical equipment is difficult to be restored in a short period of time through the logistical reinforcement of the army group level. If the combat effectiveness of the elite fist troops is to be restored quickly, the only way is to directly ask for help from the military industrial system in the rear area. At present, directly making demands and explaining the difficulties to Hitler is undoubtedly the best choice for Guderian.

The crying child gets the milk, this proverb from China is naturally the same for Guderian at this moment.

"My Führer, it is our duty as an imperial soldier to hold the Yelnya salient. But I want to emphasize that our armored forces are seriously worn out by the poor and almost non-existent road network in Russia."

"The large-scale strategic maneuvers and cross-country movements around the clock have filled the filters of tank engines with dust. Many tanks of armored divisions have been broken down for repair due to the serious wear of their engines by cross-country dust. The number of tanks available for combat in some division-level units has even dropped to less than 50%."

"If we continue to use armored forces in the next battles this year, these broken-down tanks and destroyed tanks must be replenished in time to restore their full combat effectiveness. Otherwise, our armored forces' next action plan will be greatly constrained and restricted, my Führer."

Among the Wehrmacht generals in 1941, Guderian was one of the few who dared to point out Hitler's mistakes and put forward specific requirements. His character of not fawning on the powerful and being upright and incorruptible is somewhat similar to that of Zhukov, who also dared to speak frankly to Stalin.

As Guderian's mentor and promoter, Hitler himself had long been accustomed to the personality and way of doing things of this subordinate.

His right hand lifted slightly from the table and then waved forward casually. Hitler and Guderian began bargaining like a vegetable vendor and a vegetable aunt in the market.

"Tell me, how many new tanks and engines do you need?"

Guderian, who got Hitler's promise, was not afraid of being full. The shocking words of the lion's mouth even scared Marshal Bock beside him.

"At least three fully equipped armored divisions of new tanks and a corresponding number of spare engine supplies. With these things, I have the confidence to ensure that the combat effectiveness of our armored forces can be maintained until the end of the Battle of Moscow."

Hitler, with an almost frozen expression, stared at Guderian for a long time as if he had turned into a sculpture. After confirming that he was not joking with him, Hitler immediately waved his hand at Guderian like a vegetable vendor who was bargained too hard.

"No! The new tanks coming off the production line need to be used to form new armored units. There is no way to withdraw so many new tanks to hand over to you except for the quota supply. I can allocate 300 tank engines to you. You must use these engines to ensure that the existing combat effectiveness of all armored units on the front line is maintained. Do you understand?"