Iron Cross

"Are Stalin's guerrillas still there?"

"Almost extinct. We felt sorry for them and secretly gave them some food. When the government troops came, we helped them cover up. But later when the land was divided, they jumped out to make trouble and sabotage, and no one supported them... They deserved it... Yes, he was a guerrilla, and then he quit."

Following the direction of the finger, a middle-aged man in his 40s in the crowd smiled embarrassedly.

Hoffman nodded, thinking: As long as the local people do not support the guerrillas, they will definitely not be able to get by. After all, the hardcore Bolsheviks are a minority. Most people are unlikely to take risks as long as they can get by.

"Führer, do you want to try our light beer?"

"Okay." Hoffman agreed, and the diligent Gensher took it and drank a sip first, and then handed it to Hoffman. After the latter took it and tasted it, he found it clear and slightly bitter, with endless aftertaste.

"This wine is good, and it has a different flavor from German beer. Did you make it yourself?"

"Old Shelayev's craftsmanship, but he hasn't been in this business for more than 20 years."

Speer also thought it was good after tasting it, and asked curiously: "Why? I think this wine is okay."

"The Bolsheviks called this the tail of capitalism. Many people were killed in the fight at the beginning. Even if Old Shelayev had three guts, he wouldn't dare to do it. Besides, food has always been tight, so how can there be any extra to brew wine?"

Hoffman laughed: "Now you can brew it freely, build a factory, give it a resounding name, and maybe you can even become a winery owner."

"I don't dare to be a boss..." Old Shelayev smiled honestly, "The head of state must like it. From now on, every year when our village brews good wine, we will give you the best barrel!"

"Do you know where the head of state lives? It's very far away!"

"Why don't I know? The head of state must live in the palace in Berlin..."

The crowd was filled with laughter. Half an hour later, this group of Ukrainian farmers reluctantly sent the head of state and his entourage away.

After the train started again, Hoffman seemed very happy and asked several adjutants: "Did you take pictures of the scene just now?"

"We took pictures of everything, including you drinking." Darges laughed, "This is the first time I saw you drinking in such an occasion. If they have a little business sense and publicize this story, maybe the brand will be popular all of a sudden."

"Then I have to ask them for endorsement fees." Hoffman laughed and said to Speer, "But to be honest, if I were to run for the leader of Ukraine as a general, I would probably be elected."

Speer flattered in a flattering manner: "That won't work. You have to run for the leader of all Europe."

Two days later, on September 21, Hoffman's special train arrived at its destination, St. Petersburg. After the Axis occupied Leningrad, the Russian Liberation Army immediately announced that it would be renamed back to its original name, St. Petersburg, and at the same time determined it as the capital of the new country.

Representatives were being called to discuss the name and constitution of the new Russian state. Although there was a consensus on naming the country the Russian National Socialist Republic, at least the "Constitutional Assembly" scheduled for December 15th had to be held. However, Hoffman did not arrive in St. Petersburg for the Constitutional Assembly, but to deploy the next phase of the Eastern Front campaign.

After the two major battles of Spring Awakening and Castle, even though the Soviet Union and Germany had made breakthrough progress in a separate peace, Stalin did not make up his mind to make a complete peace, but kept delaying time by various means. The delivery of Leningrad delayed the attack to September 5. In the next two weeks, the Red Army released nearly 40,000 Axis prisoners of war, delaying the time to around the 20th. With the end of the autumn harvest, the Red Army received some food, and with the shortening of the front line and the mobilization of troops after the abandonment of Leningrad, the idea of ​​peace was somewhat repeated and wavering.

In this situation, Hoffman was thinking about giving the Red Army a third major blow. Although the German army knew that the Red Army might use excuses to delay time, whether it was resettling refugees, taking over Leningrad, or taking back Axis prisoners of war, it was also an indispensable part of the German military and political offensive, so it also paused. Using this precious time, the German army mobilized various materials and military supplies to the front line on the one hand, and on the other hand, it rushed to complete the transformation of the 1943 type organization. By September 15, more than 50% of the armored divisions had completely completed the transformation task, 40% of the armored grenadier divisions and about 25% of the infantry divisions had also completed the corresponding transformation. The overall pace was faster than the Supreme Command expected - it is expected that by the end of this year, the overall transformation progress will exceed 70%.

In addition to the rapid progress of the transformation tasks, the long-stagnant Panther tank production finally started. Hoffman agreed to convert part of the No. 4 tank production line (monthly output of 500 tanks) to Panther tank production from October 1. Speer estimated that the monthly output of the converted Panthers could exceed 150 tanks/month by the end of the year. Compared with the Panthers that were hastily launched in the past and ended up with many problems, this time the Panthers have undergone repeated trial production and experiments, and have learned from the relevant experience of the Tigers, so their technical indicators and performance have become more stable.

In addition to the Panther, the Armaments Department also reported that the Tiger King, an upgraded version of the Tiger, had also overcome many development difficulties and would produce a prototype for acceptance in January 1944. This progress was in line with logic and intelligence needs. The Armaments Department also paid close attention to the development of the Red Army's tank vehicles. Various situations showed that the Red Army was trial-producing the T-34/85, and it was expected that this new tank would appear on the battlefield in the next few months. Although the Tiger still had an advantage over it, the No. 4 tank would begin to be unable to cope with it. Now the army was waiting to use the Panther to fight the T-34/85.

Keitel had made up his mind that once the Panther had proved itself on the battlefield and gained a significant advantage over the No. 4, he was ready to propose the establishment of the 1944 Armored Division, replacing the No. 4 with the Panther as the tank of the main armored force.

Even if Stalin tried his best to delay time, he had no more means. Although Molotov kept saying that he would continue the talks and hand over more Axis prisoners of war, the General Staff believed that the Red Army had few prisoners of war based on previous statistics. There might be some high-value targets - such as officers at the level of generals and colonels, German personnel suspected of being spies, etc., but the number was at most a few hundred.

Hoffman did not intend to do nothing in this summer offensive and watch Stalin recuperate. If the Red Army recovered, it would be even more troublesome. Therefore, he secretly issued an order in late August, requiring the last offensive time window from September to November to strike Stalin a third blow.