The Third Reich: I Became Emperor

On the Eastern Front, at the headquarters of the German Fourth Army, Field Marshal Model looked at the telegram in his hand. His expression gradually relaxed from the initial frown. Then he smiled and said:

"Finally, there are supplies."

His Fourth Army Group is no longer the same army group as it was back then. It has low combat effectiveness, insufficient troops, and low fighting spirit.

In fact, Model didn't care about these. When he first took over the Ninth Army, it was a real mess.

The Ninth Army should have 260,000 troops on paper, but less than 60,000 were actually able to fight. Of the 165 armored vehicles in the battle sequence, only 4 Type III assault guns and 1 Type III tank were left. The long and weak defense line was torn into pieces by the Soviet Kalinin Front's multiple assaults.

This is not the key point. The most important thing is that the Soviet 39th Army broke into the German defense line from Olenino 100 kilometers deep, and the two subsequent armies surrounded the German 23rd Army, which was holding its position.

And the Ninth The other two armies of the army resisted the siege of 16 Soviet divisions near Rzhev, and even a group of Soviet troops had reached a few kilometers away from the army headquarters.

It is said that Zhukov was very upset when he learned that the assault unit had reached the Ninth Army Headquarters. As long as he made a little more effort, he could have killed Model and there would not be any trouble later.

At that time, Model had just been promoted to the commander of the Ninth Army. When he arrived at the army headquarters, he saw desperate and depressed faces.

Operations staff officer Braulok briefly introduced the situation to the new commander. Model immediately pointed on the map and planned to cut off the Soviet supply line from here and counterattack the Soviet flank from there.

At that time, Braulok asked,"How many troops did you bring for this time?"

Model laughed,"Just one person."

And this time, Model still did not despair at all, or rather, he was always full of confidence.

Now seeing that the Supreme Command began to use large transport planes to replenish supplies, he was even more ambitious.

He believed that this time he would definitely teach the Russian bear a lesson.

During this period, since the Fourth Army had no defensive missions, one of the armies began to re-equip itself.

Both divisions were equipped with AK-47 assault rifles, and even G-43 semi-automatic rifles.

They were equipped with a lot of them, and their combat effectiveness was at least doubled compared to before.

Not only that, but artillery was even distributed to infantry squads.

Basically, each squad had a 40mm mortar, not to mention the bazooka rocket launcher, and its combat effectiveness was unprecedentedly strong.

Model looked at the troops after the re-equipment, and his heart was full of infinite pride. He wanted to fight the Russian bear immediately. Fortunately, reason told him that it was time to master weapons and equipment.

Originally, his Fourth Army wanted to complete the re-equipment because supplies were needed everywhere on the Eastern Front, but August specially dispatched 20 C-130 transport planes to transport supplies to his army separately.

It was when he saw the content of the telegram that , Model was in a very good mood. He believed that with these supplies, even if the Russian bear attacked now, he had absolute confidence to stop the enemy's attack.

During this period of time, he had been letting veterans lead new recruits and master new weapons.

For these veterans, the new weapons took only a few days to master, and many of them could even disassemble them with their eyes closed.

Because they were easy to maintain, these soldiers loved these weapons.

The most important thing was that this time they got a lot more grenades, and it seemed that they no longer had to worry about the problem of insufficient ammunition.

As a result, many veterans were covered with grenades. Although the recruits were very confused, they still listened to the veterans' instructions and covered themselves with grenades.

After seeing the telegram, Model learned that the Russian bear had turned its target to them, and he was not angry at all. Instead, he was very excited. If it were before, Model would probably be very angry. It was simply too much. Is this picking on the soft?

He had long wanted to try the power of the new weapon, and the Russian bear happened to hit the muzzle. Although the Supreme Command ordered them to retreat, Model felt that there were also ways to retreat, and it was a good opportunity to test the performance of the new equipment.

""Commander, there are a lot of new weapons in the Empire recently." The chief of staff next to him asked with some surprise.

"There are quite a lot, so we can test out new weapons."Model said with a smile

"The telegram also said that the Empire also wants to test new weapons?" the chief of staff asked doubtfully.

"Yes, I don't know the details. Anyway, don't ask too much. Just retreat to the designated location at the designated time."Model didn't care.

"Well, the telegram also said that we should receive a batch of armored vehicles and change the infantry division into a mechanized infantry division." The chief of staff looked at the order at the end of the telegram and said with a little excitement.

Hearing this, Model's face showed a hint of joy, and then it dimmed again:"Will it be that old-fashioned armored vehicle again? The speed is slower than that of a person walking, will it be used as a target for others?"

"That shouldn't be the case, right?" The Chief of Staff said hesitantly.

"Never mind, let the three divisions under the 43rd Army go for reorganization, just in time for them to rest." Model didn't care too much and said casually:"I just don't know if there is enough fuel."

"yes!"

"What about the order to retreat?" the chief of staff asked hesitantly.

"Execute it! But you can teach the bear a lesson."Model thought for a while and said

"Got it!"

In the rear, somewhere, the 131st Infantry Division of the 43rd Army was training at its base. Many soldiers were looking at the convoy in the distance, and some high-ranking officers were discussing in the corner.

These people came here after receiving the order in the morning. It was said that new equipment was delivered, and their infantry division was reorganized into a mechanized infantry division.

Just from the name, you can tell that they are a mechanized unit, isn't that the same as a motorized unit?

"Aren’t mechanization and motorization the same thing?"

"It seems to be the same meaning, I don't understand this operation at all"

"Never mind. I don't want to be a traditional infantryman. It's too tiring. My legs break every time I march."

"What new weapons do you think they will have this time?"

At this time, the commander of the 131st Infantry Division, Frank, frowned as he listened to the escort officer's explanation.

"Isn't this the Panzergrenadier Division?" Frank's words choked the officer in charge of the escort.

The officer touched his head, thought for a while and said,"It seems to be similar, but the Supreme Command wants to name it a mechanized infantry division."

Looking at the wet paint on the armored vehicles, Frank had a mixture of helplessness and excitement. When he received the order to reorganize, he thought it would be a hard job, but when he saw these hundreds of brand new armored vehicles, he was immediately excited.

"There are self-propelled anti-tank destroyers? Aren't they equipped for the armored forces? Are they also distributed to us?" Frank asked in surprise, glancing at the self-propelled anti-tank destroyer not far away.

"The armored unit is no longer needed, so it is just right for you to take it."The officer in charge of the escort said nonchalantly.

"My God, when did the Empire become so generous in logistics that they don't even want such good weapons?"Major General Frank was even more surprised. Originally, his infantry divisions were equipped with 37mm caliber anti-tank guns, and they were all towed. Now they have been replaced with self-propelled anti-tank destroyers. This is simply a replacement of a shotgun for a cannon.

"Who knows? Anyway, General Guderian's newly formed armored group doesn't like these things. It just so happens that the Supreme Command has assigned the anti-tank battalion to the mechanized infantry division, so this batch of equipment is in your hands."The officer in charge of the escort obviously knows more.

Hearing that it was equipment that others didn't want, Frank was even more shocked. What kind of weapon could make Guderian not want this batch of self-propelled anti-tank destroyers?

"Could it be that General Guderian was equipped with Tiger tanks? When did the Empire have a free supply of fuel?"Major General Frank felt that he was a little ignorant. What happened to the Empire in just a few months?

"It's not a Tiger tank, but it's several times more powerful than a Tiger tank. The muzzle is said to be 100mm in caliber, and a single shot can knock down a Tiger tank. The telegram just received said that the 1st Armored Division led by Guderian annihilated the Third Guards Armored Army of the Soviet Union and destroyed nearly a thousand tanks."The officer in charge of the escort was also a chatterbox and said a lot.

Upon hearing this, Frank opened his mouth so wide that he could swallow an egg. He hadn't received the telegram yet, so he didn't know about these situations.

Looking at Frank's expression, the officer in charge of the escort looked as if he understood, and continued:"So don't be surprised why they don't want these equipment. They don't think highly of them. Everything on the list belongs to you. Get ready for reorganization."

Upon hearing this, Major General Frank had nothing but a wry smile left. He said nothing and silently accepted the reorganization.

��It's like replacing a shotgun with a cannon." Major General Frank sighed.