Tsosen, Germany, Grand General Staff.

When the new commander of the High Seas Fleet, William. When Vice Admiral Machar and Field Marshal Raeder arrived, Field Marshal Hersmann, Acting Chief of the General Staff (changed to Acting Chief-General) was signing a large stack of promotion reports. This was the last official business he needed to take care of as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front before the abolition of the Eastern Front headquarters.

The 12-day campaign in Poland was a holiday for the officers of the German Army and Air Force, and a great victory was of course followed by a reward for meritorious deeds - Schleicher and Hersmann had always been very generous in what could win the hearts and minds of the army.

The first to be promoted were Hersman himself and the chief of the General Staff, Hameststein, both of whom were promoted from general to marshal.

Then there are the commanders of the army groups, the commanders of the armies, the commanders of the armies, the commanders of the divisions, and the commanders of the lower ranks.

Again, he was a shogunate and a deputy, and he was also promoted on the recommendation of the chief.

Then there are the officers and soldiers who are fighting on the front lines, and they have more opportunities to be promoted and delegated. After a big war, tens of thousands of officials were added to the knighthood, and countless medals were issued.

At the same time, the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Kesselring, and the commanders of the air units, aviation divisions, and other units participating in the operation, as well as the pilots who participated in the battle. They have all been promoted and medalized to varying degrees!

For all promotions at the rank of colonel or above (including majors), Hersman had to give instructions -- not one by one, but only to sign the reports of the various army groups.

In addition to these promotion reports, there were summaries of battlefield logs and operational reports of a number of army groups, corps and divisions, which were sent to the General Staff. It is impossible for a high-ranking general of Hersman's level to go to the front line to understand the situation, and even if he goes, it is impossible to stay on the front line for too long. Therefore, it is only through detailed reports that we can understand the situation on the battlefield and discover the shortcomings of the troops.

So these days, Hersman spends his days in Tsosen's headquarters, immersed in a pile of papers.

"Field Marshal," Hans. Colonel Speidar (who was also promoted) reported outside the door, "Field Marshal Raeder and Lieutenant General Machar have arrived. ”

The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and the Commander of the High Seas Fleet were not originally under the jurisdiction of the General Staff, but now Germany did not have an independent Admiralty. The military and political affairs of the navy, army, and air force were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and Field Marshal Raeder and Lieutenant General Machar had come to Tsosen on the orders of Field Marshal Schleicher, Minister of Defense.

"Okay, please let them in." Hersman put down his report and stood up to the door of his spacious office to greet the visiting marshal and vice admiral.

"Marshal Raeder, Vice Admiral Mashaal," Hersman said, after inviting the two into his office and having them sit on a couch, "I have invited you here for the special mission of the Broken Fleet. ”

"Special mission?"

Hersman nodded, "Sinking a few or a dozen British transports is not enough to give Germany a strategic advantage, but the activities of German battleships and aircraft carriers in the Atlantic can show that the possibility of Germany winning the world war is very large." This is very beneficial to us! ”

Battleships and aircraft carriers are weapons of the "strategic class", and submarines are not at all the same thing. The fact that submarines are active in the Atlantic can only show that the German Navy has the ability to sneak attack and destroy.

And a battleship and an aircraft carrier are dangling in the Atlantic, and the British have nothing to do with them, which means that Germany is competing with Britain for sea supremacy in the Atlantic!

As a maritime state and a colonial empire, the loss of sea supremacy meant the collapse of the country.

If the British had been helpless with the German fleet in the Atlantic, then Britain's allies and supporters around the world should think carefully about their future.

And the credibility of the pound as a world currency would also be greatly affected - the pound is still the world currency, which means that the British can buy what they want with brushed paper.

Of course, the pound is now clearly not as strong as the dollar.

"On this voyage, you'll need to make stops in Iceland, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina to refuel and refuel."

"This is a very politically valuable event, more valuable than sinking a 100,000-ton transport ship," Hersman said. ”

Not to mention Iceland, which is a vassal of Denmark. If this can trigger the British occupation of Iceland, then Britain will be the big bad guy who destroys neutrality and bullies small European countries! This helped Germany to peacefully move into European countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway.

Venezuela, Brazil, Ukraine, and Argentina have many of Germany's friends – either dictators or alternate dictators. Without exception, they all called themselves "nationalists", and some of them simply founded the National Socialist Party and joined the National International.

There is no doubt that they are "German fans", and if the powerful German battleships and aircraft carriers can break through the layers of interception of the British Navy and go around those countries, it will greatly boost the morale of the "German fans".

"Of course, all special missions must be carried out in the context of ensuring the safety of battleships and aircraft carriers." Hersman finally commanded.

At present, the capital of the German Navy is still too small, and the capital ships that can be taken to the Atlantic Ocean to show off are two battleships and two aircraft carriers, which cannot withstand losses, and even if they suffer heavy losses, they will have a very negative impact on subsequent operations. It will also hit the confidence of "German fans" all over the world in Germany.

And faith is a very important spiritual force. When the "German fans" are full of confidence, the "British fans" and "French fans" will be demoralized and even change their beliefs.

The same applies to the USSR, of course!

Germany took 12 days to defeat Poland, and how much time did the Soviet Union need to take to defeat the seriously injured Poland again?

12 days is definitely not enough!

Because today is October 1, 1939, and 16 days have passed since the Soviet Red Army fired the first shot to liberate Right-Bank Ukraine and Western Belarus!

And White Poland has not yet fallen down, and the resistance of the bourgeoisie and landlords in Ukraine continues. And their reactionary resolve is still extremely strong!

"Comrade commander, reconnaissance shows that the Poles have concentrated heavy forces around the Brest Fortress!"

Klimovsky, the chief of staff of the Brest Rapid Cluster, walked into Pavlov's headquarters in Zabinka with a tired look - this is an old church, the only intact large building in the small town of Zabinka!

The Poles committed serious crimes in Western Belarus, burning and destroying everywhere, and in many towns only Catholic churches were intact.

In addition to the destruction of towns and villages, railways, roads and bridges along the way from Minsk were also badly damaged. This affected the advance of the Brest Rapid Cluster, and the planned journey to be completed on the 10th took 15 days, and the Rapid Cluster Command arrived in Zabinka only last evening. And some infantry and heavy artillery were left behind, and it would take a few more days for them all to arrive.

"Tell me about what the Air Force has detected." Pavlov does not raise his head, he is writing a review to the commander of the front and to Moscow.

Because the task of capturing Brest on October 15 will not be completed. Because the Poles had no intention of abandoning Brest, they gathered heavy forces there. Pavlov's vanguard had already met them - cavalry against cavalry! The Polish cavalry was very hard and did not demoralize from the defeat on the Western Front. And the cavalry of the Soviet Red Army suffered a big loss in the vanguard battle because of the continuous march and the lack of men and horses, and hundreds of soldiers died heroically!

"Comrade commander," said Klimowski, "the Polish White Army spread out east of the Bug River, on both sides of the Mukhawitz River, in a line with a width of more than 17 axioms and a length of more than 40 kilometers. It seems that the Poles have at least 5 divisions or more in Brest......"

"5 divisions? Twice as much as that! "The Poles abandoned all of Western Belarus and deployed defenders in Brest, apparently to defend the last bridgehead east of the Bug River." ”

"How can you hold it?" Klimowski smiled and said, "As long as our large army crosses the Bug River and makes a surprise attack on Warsaw, Brest is the capital of the Polish White Army, and then the fortress will be ours." ”

Although this chief of staff at the division commander level is not a big officer and does not have deep qualifications, his thinking is not confused. If Pavlov had really done so, then he would have been able to take Brest in a matter of days.

As soon as he marched on Warsaw, the Germans would have to occupy Polish territory west of the Bug River in accordance with the Polish-German Armistice Treaty that had just been signed.

But Pavlov didn't dare to do that! Because Stalin did not dare to offend Germany at this time - the sit-down war on the Western Front continued during this time, and the battlefield was quiet, and there was no intention of fighting. Politicians from various countries are very active, busy brokering peace between the two sides. Mussolini, the Italian leader who sent troops to Abynesia and Spain to kill people and set fires, seems to have turned into a fat dove of peace, flying between Berlin, London, and Paris. Who knows when the mediation will be successful?

"It is not permissible to cross the Bug," Pavlov shook his head, "this is the instruction of Comrade Stalin." Let's get ready to storm Brest! ”

"If you want to attack, then you must have at least twice the enemy's strength and three times the enemy's firepower." Klimovsky pondered and said, "It is not enough to rely on 200,000 people in a rapid cluster, at least let Comrade Zhukov's Pinsk cluster and our division." ”

Klimovsky is a top student of the Frunze Military Academy, and the way to fight a war is to increase artillery with a sea of people and crush the opponent with overwhelming firepower and troops! But it will take a long time to mobilize so many troops, and more forces will be needed to ensure the transportation of logistical supplies.

This is no longer something that Pavlov can decide. (To be continued.) )