Iron Cross

On the evening of November 12, all the German camps that received the order to attack were busy and full. The armored divisions had the heaviest task. The spearheads composed of tanks as the core mobile force had to penetrate the entire Red Army group and be responsible for segmentation. The infantry divisions also had a heavy task. They had to immediately penetrate and hold the passages opened by the armored divisions. Otherwise, the gaps torn by the spearheads would be easily blocked by the Red Army who reacted. That would not only fail the opportunities created by the armored divisions with great effort, but also make the armored forces fall into the vast sea of ​​enemy forces and be unable to extricate themselves.

All infantry divisions received clear attack positions, and the 44th Infantry Division, composed entirely of Austrians, was the second wave of attack forces. They were the troops that followed closely behind the armored divisions. Unlike the usual imagination of blitzkrieg, the German army's mechanization level was not high at that time. Except for a very small number of vanguards that were responsible for rapid reconnaissance and assault missions, whether it was the scorching sun in summer or the biting cold wind in winter, the main force of the infantry divisions could only choose to use their two legs to solve the transportation problem most of the time. Not only because the limited vehicles and livestock carts had to be used for equipment and material transportation first, but also because of the low density and low quality of Russian roads, mechanization could not be used. November was a rare good weather for mobile operations. If it was April when the ground thawed and the ground turned muddy, one foot would usually fall into 30-40 cm deep mud and be difficult to extricate. Wheeled vehicles could not pass at all, and half-track armored vehicles would often get stuck in the mud.

Under such mobile conditions, the maximum advancement speed of the infantry divisions could still reach 30-50 kilometers per day, which seemed insignificant, but considering that these army prides completed this feat while carrying about 25 kilograms of military equipment, no one dared to underestimate it. These equipment included helmets, rifles, ammunition and tools for digging trenches - most of the time it was an engineer shovel, and a small number of people carried pickaxes. In addition, they also carried a tent and a leather bag full of things, which contained canned food and lunch boxes for one meal, a stove for outdoor heating or cooking, a set of aluminum lunch boxes, cleaning equipment, spare clothes, accessories for setting up tents, field uniforms, sewing supplies, razors, soap and Vulkan-Sanex condoms - although it had long been ordered to prohibit having sex with local women, condoms were still a regular item for infantry.

The key task of this campaign was to divide and eliminate the heavy Red Army troops in front of them. Rapid assault was the key point of the top priority. Considering that the overall time window for the campaign was only 3 days, the Southern Army Group had high requirements for the mobility of the troops. The advancement speed of 30-50 kilometers could not meet the wishes of Manstein and his staff. They were eager to expect the troops (especially the front-line troops like the 44th Infantry Division) to advance at a speed of more than 70 kilometers a day. In order to achieve this goal, the command racked its brains to improve the mobility of the troops. On the one hand, the staff and logistics agencies mobilized sufficient mobile forces for the infantry divisions at the farthest end and closely following the armored forces. On the other hand, they required all infantry divisions to reduce their burdens as much as possible and go into battle lightly. All materials needed for long-term field life, such as stoves, kitchen utensils, tents, and clothes for changing, were no longer applicable. All non-essential civilian personnel were also required to stay in the garrison to avoid slowing down the pace of combat. The combat order made it clear that this was a quick raid, with the purpose of destroying the Red Army's living forces only, rather than conquering or occupying certain places. If the Russians wanted the Don River Bend, they could still give it to them after the battle. Finally, after repeated consideration and determination, except for ammunition, combat and first aid tools and food, all other items were arranged in the original camp, and the average weight of each soldier was reduced to 17 kilograms.

Unlike Hitler, who was obsessed with training new troops and liked to directly intervene in the front-line operations, Hoffman knew his own abilities and was not very interested in either of them, but he attached unprecedented importance to logistics. In the past few months, he not only urged bureaucrats at all levels to prepare sufficient winter equipment, but also attached great importance to the updating and design of field rations. According to Germany's original logistics standards, the most important thing during combat was to carry food. They usually had a set meal prepared by the cooks of each unit. The soldiers on the march received 3-4 sets of food per day, including 700 grams of rye bread, 200 grams of frozen meat or cheese, 60 grams of butter, 9 grams of coffee or 6 grams of black tea, and 10 grams of sugar and 6 rolls of tobacco. These foods were usually wrapped in cans or paper and carried in cartons.

After Hoffman came to power, he proposed the requirement to update the ration system. At his request, German nutrition experts and logistics departments launched special foods that met combat requirements and did not require cooking earlier than in history. The characteristics were that they were easy to carry and contained high calories. These field rations were divided into two categories: large-scale combat food (Grosskampfpaeckchen) and close-range combat food (Nachkampfpackchen). They were only supplied to front-line combat troops. For example, the No. 1 ration used by battlefield troops included 700 grams of bread, 136 grams of fresh meat with bones, 7 grams of soybean powder, 30 grams of fish (headless), 250 grams of vegetables and fruits, 320 grams of potatoes, 80 grams of asparagus, 20 grams of pudding powder, 25 grams of condensed milk, 15 grams of salt, 1 gram of spicy food, 60 grams of cream and fat, and occasionally a little red wine. These foods were placed on supply vehicles in quantitative packaging, and then distributed and eaten by the commander during combat. Considering that it was difficult to supply in fierce battles, officers usually asked soldiers to carry a day's worth of food with them. The Southern Army Group was fortunate to have priority in obtaining a large-scale new field ration system, and Manstein implemented it immediately without hesitation.

According to the standards and requirements set by Germany, Western European countries, especially the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, received many orders for the production of field rations. At first, domestic capitalists were not satisfied, believing that the production of such products had no technical content. The large outflow of orders made these countries earn money in vain and lost the sales of domestic products. However, with the advancement of large-scale military manufacturing, domestic consumption of living materials began to increase, and concerns about unsalable agricultural products completely disappeared. The light industrial capitalists in Western European countries who received benefits and benefits first began to support Germany's order policy, and then farmers in various countries also expressed their satisfaction, especially the French peasant class, which had traditional power in politics and increased their favorability towards Germany. The Axis brothers, who have always been prominent in agriculture, including Bulgaria, Romania and other countries, have made every effort to take over material orders, and Italian capitalists are also eager to try.

Under Hoffman's full mobilization and clever design, not only the heavy industry of Europe, but also the light industry and civilian industry have begun to be deeply involved in the war. All countries have benefited from Germany's war boom and developed, making people feel that the common development of the European Union proposed by Germany is not an empty slogan. The only thing that worries people is probably Germany's ability to pay. Germany pays a small part of these bills with arms and other equipment, and another part with precious metals such as gold. The rest is mostly paid with German bonds recorded in Reichsmarks. Most of these bonds will be eliminated every year - the occupied countries have to pay occupation fees and pay for the redemption of prisoners, but a small part is still retained in the form of pure national debt. Hoffman is not worried about this debt, and the top leaders and capitalists of various countries are also very confident - Germany has won the war, so why is it afraid of not having money to pay the bills? Now the only countries that still insist that Germany must pay in full with foreign exchange or precious metals and have a large trade volume are Sweden, Spain and Portugal. Swedish iron ore is indispensable to Germany, and Hoffman has nothing to say. Portugal is biased towards Britain and the United States, and this approach is also in line with its position. Only the behavior of Spain, this ungrateful wolf, has always made Hoffman hate it.

Of course, the logistics department still has concerns, fearing that these military supplies are poisoned, but after repeated spot checks and inspections, it is finally determined that these foreign rations are basically qualified-there is no deliberate poisoning at all.

Now, Manstein, Heinrich and others are chewing these new field rations in the headquarters to command operations. This is not only the supreme commander's claim to share the joys and sorrows with the front-line officers and soldiers, but also can empathize with the supply and hunger status, which is more conducive to judging the continuous combat capability of the troops.

Heinrich saw Manstein's plan on the first day he got off the train. He knew that this marshal who was good at using surprise troops and clever strategies would never foolishly fight a positional battle with the Russians. He knew that he was brewing a big plan from his action of retreating without fighting and abandoning the bend of the Don River. However, he still held different opinions on some specific command strategies.

He asked Manstein: "Are you really not going to prepare artillery fire?"

"No need, this is a surprise attack, artillery fire preparation will alert the Red Army..." Manstein looked up at his watch, "Wait until the troops are in place tomorrow morning before it is a good time to prepare artillery fire. I hope our battalion and regiment commanders are smarter and don't foolishly run to the wrong position and be hit by their own artillery fire."

"This is inevitable." Heinrich shook his head lightly, "I just hope the losses are not too great."

"Yeah..." Manstein also sighed, "In order to achieve a high exchange ratio, I have killed countless brain cells to design this plan. If this doesn't work, then we can only defend the trenches and fight another positional battle."

Chief of Staff Weller looked up at the wall clock, and the minute hand ticked to the designated position, and all the attacking units finally began to move!