September 1, 1939, 8:45 p.m.

The world war had been going on for 16 hours, and the main battle of the first day was almost over - the German panzers would certainly not stop their advance, and they would continue to advance towards their set goals. The 19th Panzer Corps' next target was the Vistula River, the 16th Panzer Corps' next target was the Pilica River, the 15th Panzer Corps' next target was the Nida River, and the 22nd Panzer Corps marched overnight towards the Dunaye River. But there is no organized Polish resistance left on their way, at least not tonight, and probably not tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow.

Now it was not the Poles who really held back the advance of these German armored clusters, but the supply lines behind them.

At least 250,000 people drove in on this night in thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled guns and tens of thousands of vehicles of various kinds.

And they consume thousands of tons of supplies (fuel, ammunition, food, weapon accessories, equipment tents, etc.) every day, and load them in 3-ton Opel trucks, which requires at least 2,000 trucks full of supplies to reach the front line every day.

That's not just 2,000 trucks. Because as the battle line continues to lengthen and guerrillas may appear, the time spent on the road by the baggage trucks will also increase. If a truck takes 2 days to complete the journey (and 2 days to go back), then at least 8,000 trucks will need to be put in to deliver supplies to the mechanized troops on the front line; If the time to complete the journey is increased to 4 days, 16,000 trucks will be needed; If the time to complete the journey is increased to 8 days, then 32,000 large trucks will be needed......

And this figure does not take into account the insurance factor and the consumption of troops required to maintain security along the logistics line.

In other words, the number of Opel 3-ton trucks directly determines how far and how fast the German armored forces can run - this is a real national strength! Not something that "advanced tactical theory" can solve.

In addition, in addition to the logistics of the armored clusters, trucks were also needed to ensure the logistics supply of hundreds of thousands or millions of "traditional" German troops scattered across the battlefield.

As in the case of armored forces, the more trucks the "traditional" units have, the more they are able to maneuver on enemy soil. If an entire infantry division could be made to rely on truck wheels for maneuvering, then this infantry division would be the so-called "motorized" infantry division.

In fact, Germany could play the so-called "blitzkrieg", and the real trick was not to concentrate on tanks, but to have the second in the world and the first in Europe at that time.

Without a large number of vehicles to support the logistics of the armored cluster, the concentrated use of tanks can make a few gaps in the opponent's defense line at most, but they cannot be put into force in time for a large-depth assault.

Germany's adversaries, Great Britain, France, and Poland, had not yet realized on the night of September 1, 1939, how much damage the German panzer cluster would do with "car wheels."

So on the evening of September 1, the political and military leaders of Britain, France, and Poland were relatively sure, and they all agreed that the German offensive would slow down on September 2. Poland had plenty of time to adjust its deployment and prepare for a counterattack.

Now all you have to worry about is the Soviet Union, which took advantage of the fire!

……

"It doesn't seem to be as bad as it seems." These were the words of British Admiral Secretary Winston Churchill to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in the Foreign Office building on Whitehall Street after learning of the Soviet Union's demand for the "dissolution of the Polish Confederation".

"The Soviets didn't deliver an ultimatum, did they?" Qiu Fatzi asked the Foreign Secretary, Viscount Halifax.

"No, not an ultimatum." Viscount Halifax replied, "The Soviets did not say that they would go to war without agreeing, let alone mentioning the time of the final reply, which is obviously not an ultimatum." ”

Stalin was clever and certainly would not easily involve his country in a world war that would be difficult to manage. Although he would have liked to have right-bank Ukraine and western Ukraine (eastern Galicia), it was clearly ideal to get that territory in peace, or to avoid entering a world war.

Moreover, the German Baltic State was also a territory split from the original Russian Empire, and Stalin was equally eager to recover the Baltic!

If Germany and Great Britain, France, and Poland were defeated, wouldn't the Soviet Union be able to take back the Baltics? Maybe even Finland and Lithuania will be able to return to the bosom of their homeland......

"What did the Poles answer?" Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain asked.

"The Poles have not yet replied to the USSR," said Viscount Halifax, "and the Polish Foreign Minister said in a telegram that if it is necessary to cede right-bank Ukraine, then Poland should receive corresponding compensation from Germany." ”

"Where do the Poles want?" Chamberlain asked noncommittally.

"The Free Cities of East Prussia, Polamenia, Silesia and Danzig." Viscount Halifax said, "This was made by Foreign Minister Baker in a telegram. ”

Chamberlain looked at Churchill, "Winston, what do you think?" ”

"The demands of the Poles are reasonable," Churchill said, "but ceding right-bank Ukraine to the Soviet Union ......" he shook his head and did not speak.

"No, not a cession," said Viscount Halifax, "Stalin has already thought of the steps for us. Dissolve the Polish Confederation, let the Ukrainians become independent, and then the USSR itself went to occupy Ukraine. ”

"It makes no difference," Churchill shrugged, "that we still betrayed the Ukrainians." He thought for a moment and asked, "What do the French think?" ”

"Chancellor Faraday thought it acceptable," said Viscount Halifax, "but the Soviet Union had to enter the war against Germany, and they should attack the Baltics." Of course, the Baltic ones also belonged to the USSR. In addition, France supported Poland's occupation of the free cities of East Prussia, Polamenia, Silesia, and Danzig. France also hoped that Czechoslovakia would be restored and Austria would regain its independent status. ”

"And what do they want?" Churchill asked again.

"Saar and Ruhr region." "In addition, Germany must be deindustrialized," Halifax said. ”

Churchill nodded, "I think we can agree, we can't give Germany the slightest chance, and we can even wipe this country off the map completely!" ”

Qiu Fatzi is now the head of the right Pai in the British Conservative Party, and he is a minister who speaks effectively.

"Winston, you mean we should agree to the demands of the Soviet Union?" Chamberlain asked with a frown.

"No, there is no need to agree right away," Churchill said, "and we can delay a little and see how effective the Poles are in counterattack." ”

The Poles also reported the idea of a "great counterattack on the Vistula River" to Britain and France, and at the same time they also reported to Britain and France that they had "killed and captured more than 45,000 German troops". And British and French military experts, after studying the progress of the German army at the front, came up with data on the loss of about 30,000 German troops. At the same time, they believed that the German offensive would slow down on 2 September. Referring to the speed at which the German army broke through from Belgium to the vicinity of Paris in the last world war (the assault after the Belgian campaign) - about 200 kilometers advanced in eight days. This time the Germans, after defeating the Polish Primorsky Army, needed at least 10 days to break through to the vicinity of Warsaw. And the resistance of the Primorsky Army Group was able to pin down the Germans for at least another 5 days.

"Both the Poles and our Imperial General Staff believe that the decisive battle will break out between 16 and 20 September, possibly for 10 days." Neville. Chamberlain thought for a moment, "That is, the war will be deadlocked in October, just as in the last war, and we will reply to the Soviet Union on October 1." ”

He thought for a moment and added: "If the USSR goes to war against Poland before that, then we will go and bomb the Baku oil fields!" ”

"Then when will we declare war on Germany?" Churchill asked again.

"September 3rd." Chamberlain said, "Because if war is declared, there is a risk that London will be attacked by German air, so it will take some time to arrange air defense." He took a deep breath, then let out a long sigh, "so I propose to present an ultimatum to the Germans at 12 o'clock on September 3, demanding that they withdraw their troops from Poland immediately." The French would deliver the same ultimatum at 5 p.m. ”

……

"Your Excellency, this is a statistical report of casualties and disappearances of each army group."

At 9:15 p.m., Admiral Hersman, who was at Naval Fort Stettin, received the latest casualty and missing reports.

Hersman took the report and read it in a low voice, "In the battle during the day today (as of 7 p.m.), Army Group South's losses are counted as follows:

Officers: 38 killed, 62 wounded, 4 missing;

Soldiers: 403 killed, 1,210 wounded, 302 missing.

The losses of Army Group North were counted as follows:

Officers: 28 killed, 55 wounded, 3 missing;

Soldiers: 306 killed, 1,102 wounded, 209 missing.

The losses of the Baltic army group were counted as follows:

Officers: 11 killed, 19 wounded, 1 missing;

Soldier; 103 people were killed, 336 were injured and 35 were missing.

The statistics of the losses of the air and naval aviation of the Eastern Front are as follows:

Officers: 9 killed, 16 wounded, 25 missing;

Soldiers: 16 killed, 33 wounded, 41 missing.

There were no personnel losses in the Baltic Fleet. A total of 4,367 casualties and missing persons were killed or injured in the various departments......"

He put down the report and muttered for a while, "The loss is not small!" ”

Not small? Manstein rolled his eyelids, this was to be replaced by the last world war, that is, the loss of 3 regiments in one day.

"Your Excellency," Manstein decided to say something reassuring, "because of the rush of time, the wounded are not counted differentiating between minor and serious injuries, and it is possible that many of the missing will simply be separated and will soon return to the unit." The actual losses (killed, seriously wounded, and unrecoverable missing) are likely to be less than 3,000. ”

Hersmann smiled a little, "Alright, Erich, report this data to Berlin and attach an explanation." This is our first day of results! (To be continued.) )