The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Qin Chuan didn't say anything, pulled Alexander aside, and then asked in a low voice: "Colonel, before that, I want to ask if there is another possibility!"

"What's possible?" Alexander asked.

"I think you should know how the Afrika Korps retreated all the way to Algeria and got into a stalemate with the Allies!"

"Of course!" Alexander replied, and then he immediately understood what Qin Chuan meant: "You mean... let my father be like General Rommel..."

"Yes!" Qin Chuan replied: "Is there any way you can convince him?"

Alexander thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "I don't think he will agree. The reason is that he is not sure, Major!"

Qin Chuan understood what Alexander meant. The battlefield is changing rapidly and nothing is certain. To put it simply, even at this time, the staff and Paulus could not say that Hitler must be wrong and that he must be right if he seizes the time... They are not like Qin Chuan, who is "experienced" and is sure that this will happen in the future. What.

Paulus, Alexander, etc. were all among them. They would be thinking: Maybe Hitler has some more important information, or maybe Hitler has a better strategy. If Paulus does not act according to Hitler's orders, If he did, not only would he be removed from his post and sent to a military court, it might also undermine Hitler's entire strategy.

Therefore, at this time, when the Soviet army had not yet launched an offensive, it was definitely easier to obey Hitler's orders and the responsibility and risk were minimized.

On the contrary, disobeying Hitler's orders, such as withdrawing troops desperately like Rommel, is not only meaningless but may further worsen the situation.

The reason is simple. The situation on the Eastern Front and the African Corps are different:

The African Corps led by Rommel can be said to be as high as the sky and far away from the emperor, and the troops he led were relatively small and could have little impact.

The Eastern Front, especially the Stalingrad front, had a total troop strength of millions, and what was even worse was the remote command of Hitler's "Werewolf" not far behind. If Paulus disobeys the order... the most likely thing is that his position as commander of the army group will be lost before his order is implemented.

From this aspect, the main responsibility for this matter really does not lie with Paulus.

"Then, we have only one way!" Qin Chuan said.

"What method?" Alexander asked, his eyes full of hope.

"Actually, it's the first plan you mentioned, to convince the head of state!" Qin Chuan replied.

Hearing this, Alexander couldn't help but show a hint of disappointment in his eyes: "But as we said before, we can't convince the head of state!"

"That's because we failed to produce evidence!" Qin Chuan said.

"evidence?"

"Yes!" Qinchuan replied: "Let me put it this way, from the perspective of the head of state, the reason why he insists that there is no danger on the eastern front or that our existing troops can block the enemy's attack is because he may have the There is more credible information!”

Alexander nodded in agreement. Hitler would definitely have much more information than the 6th Army.

"And the information we reported to the head of state..." Qin Chuan continued: "For example, the mobilization of Soviet troops and supplies, the reconnaissance of the Soviet army, etc., these are actually speculations, and even a considerable part of this information comes from Romania. Army, the head of state doesn’t believe what they say! If we can get reliable evidence to prove our guess, then I believe it will attract the head of state’s attention and change his mind!”

Alexander couldn't help but nodded in agreement.

In this battle in history, the reason why Hitler insisted on holding on to the end was actually related to his personal face... Hitler did not realize that he had misjudged at first. When he realized that he had misjudged, it was already too late. At the same time, Hitler was unwilling to admit his mistake. , so I walked all the way to the dark side.

Although it cannot be said that Hitler continued to make mistakes because of this, it at least affected Hitler's command: On November 8, Hitler made a special trip from the front to Munich to gather with a group of old friends and classmates in a beer hall where riots had been launched. .

(Note: The Beer Hall Riots were launched on November 8th, and the gathering at this point also commemorates this day)

At this time, Hitler was of course in great glory. He had been arrested because of the failed coup, and today he returned to this place as the head of state. It is no wonder that Hitler flew back from the Eastern Front battlefield to participate in this almost meaningless implementation. party.

At the party, Hitler repeated the speech he had made here: "I have four bullets in my pistol. If they won't cooperate with me, leave three for them and the last one for myself! If by tomorrow If we don’t succeed this afternoon, I don’t want this life anymore!”

People around him applauded. At this time, someone asked Hitler: "Your Majesty the Führer, will we withdraw our troops from Stalingrad?"

"No, never!" Hitler replied without thinking: "There is nothing on earth that can make us evacuate Stalingrad! It belongs to us!"

Hitler made a firm promise at the party. When he returned to "Werewolf", he immediately received news that the Soviet army was dispatching troops to prepare for a counterattack.

It is conceivable that if you agree with this information immediately, you will undoubtedly slap yourself in the face.

Therefore, at this time, Hitler actually brought his personal feelings into strategic decision-making and made a subjective and biased judgment on the war situation.

It was October, and Hitler had not yet attended the party that would put him in a difficult position.

If Qin Chuan could get solid evidence that the Soviets were gathering on the other side of the Don and Volga rivers and had a counterattack plan, then Hitler had no reason to let his hundreds of thousands of elite troops fall into danger.

After all, the German army had already captured Baku and won the Battle of Stalingrad. Its strategic goal of using "Stalingrad" to hit the morale of the Soviet army had been achieved. It was not a shame to withdraw from Stalingrad on its own initiative, but rather a kind of ridicule to the Soviet army.

After thinking for a while, Alexander said: "The problem lies in the evidence, Major, what strong evidence can we come up with?"

"Of course, Colonel!" Qin Chuan looked around and lowered his voice and said: "For example, we can capture a Soviet officer. Of course, this officer must be of a high rank, a colonel or a general..."

"You are crazy, Major!" Alexander said: "Soviet officers, they are not so easy to be captured, even if we have the Brandenburg troops!"

"I didn't say we would use the Brandenburg troops to carry out this mission!" Qin Chuan replied.