The Third Reich: The Return of the King

Chapter 1114

After Guderian accepted the task, he did not dare to neglect it for a moment, and immediately set off, ready to take the army to Budapest!

Budapest is the capital of Hungary, located at the southern foot of the Carpathian Mountains.

As a country directly bordering Romany, after the Soviet army occupied the entire Romany, they would definitely launch an attack on Hungary next.

Once the Soviet army occupied this place, they would be able to gain a stable foothold, continue to move north, and occupy the entire Central Europe.

Therefore, whether for the Empire or for the bear, Budapest is a very critical place!

Hungary is a small country with a limited population. The country is still mainly agricultural and animal husbandry, and the level of industrial development is relatively low.

Since they cannot produce the weapons needed by the army themselves, most of their weapons are imported from the Third Reich. The funds spent by Hungary on purchasing weapons are exchanged through the export of grain and various livestock products, including mutton, beef and dairy products, as well as leather and wool.

Therefore, for the Third Reich, Hungary is not only a vassal state, an obedient younger brother, but also an important part of the empire’s economic operation system.

If the bear is allowed to occupy Hungary, the empire’s food supply and meat supply will inevitably be affected.

Moreover, the whole world knows that Central Europe is the hinterland of the Third Reich and the sphere of influence of the Third Reich, and these countries in Central Europe have either been annexed by the empire long ago or have long become the protectorate of the empire.

So everyone has a tacit understanding not to intervene in these countries in Central Europe, because taking action against these countries is equivalent to declaring war directly on the Third Reich!

With the current military strength of the Third Reich, no one can get an advantage in fighting with them, so these countries in Central Europe have lived very well in recent years.

With the huge backing of the Third Reich, they enjoy the most reliable and powerful military protection in the world, and can develop their own economy with peace of mind without wasting too much money on war.

Therefore, starting in 1926, Central European countries, including Hungary, began to cut their military spending and control the size of their armies.

After all, they have the protection of the Empire, and they don’t have to worry about being invaded by other countries, so there is no need to waste so much money on the army.

The consequence of doing so is that if they are invaded by the bear at this time, they will definitely not be able to resist it with their own strength!

Therefore, the German army not only needs to go out to protect them, but also needs to appear before the Soviet army enters their capital. Otherwise, once the Soviet army occupies the capital of Hungary, it will be difficult to fight!

Although those people in the Ministry of Defense did not have a high opinion of this group of new troops of the Soviet army, Mainz himself did not despise this opponent.

Since Zhukov dared to make such a risky move, he must have something to rely on.

The special national system of the bear makes it a very terrible existence once they are mobilized.

Although from the perspective of comprehensive national strength, the bear is not as good as the eagle sauce.

However, although the eagle sauce is strong, it has been slow to complete the total mobilization. Before their strong national strength can be transformed into combat effectiveness, they were destroyed by the army of the empire.

The bear is different. Although they are not as strong as the eagle sauce, they have more time to prepare in advance.

Based on Mainz’s understanding of Starlin, this guy may have started preparing for this war when the German army blitzed Poland.

And in more than two years, how well the Soviet army prepared and to what extent they evolved can only be seen on the battlefield!

Since Zhukov led a large number of troops, Guderian’s First Army alone may not be able to kill them all.

Therefore, continuing to send more troops is an inevitable choice, and considering that the German army will dispatch at least nine field armies in the upcoming war against the bear.

So in order to facilitate unified command, Mainz plans to set up three army groups.

The names of these three army groups are the same as in history, namely the Northern Army Group, the Central Army Group and the Southern Army Group, each of which has three field armies under its jurisdiction.

In addition, the empire will also draw a group of troops from the vassal states and assign them to each army group separately to further enrich their troops and assist them in combat.

This Soviet army in Central Europe came from the southern battlefield, so Mainz planned to assign Guderian’s First Army to the Southern Army Group. As for the commander of the army group, Guderian himself would serve concurrently. The southern region of the Soviet Union includes the vast plains of Ukraine, the Caucasus and the Black Sea coast.

The terrain here is flat, which is very suitable for armored cluster operations.

Guderian happens to be an expert in armored warfare, so it is the most appropriate choice to place him here.

The southern theater is rich in resources and has a very important strategic position. If the German army can quickly capture it.

Not only can it cut off the Soviet Union’s granary on the East European plains, but it can also threaten the oil fields in the Caucasus region, cut off the Soviet Union’s oil supply, and further weaken the Soviet Union’s combat effectiveness.

Therefore, Mainz plans to give priority to the formation of the Southern Army Group and send some army groups with stronger combat effectiveness to them.

“Transfer Dietrich’s Seventh Army and Schöner’s Twelfth Army to the Southern Army Group and place them under Guderian’s command!”

The combat effectiveness of these two armies is very good. Although the Seventh Army ranks last among the original seven armies, it is at least the oldest and most established unit, and its combat effectiveness is not comparable to those newly formed armies.

The commander of the Twelfth Army, Schöner, is a young general that Mainz admires very much. Moreover, the Twelfth Army was established earlier than the newly formed armies, and the stationed areas have always been near Central Europe. They are more familiar with the situation in Central Europe, and assigning them to Guderian is the best arrangement.

“”Head of State, how do you plan to arrange the air force?””

It is definitely not enough to have only the army. Modern warfare emphasizes air-ground integration.

Ground forces need the cooperation of friendly forces in the air to maximize their combat effectiveness. Without the cooperation of the air force, the combat effectiveness of the army will be discounted.”

“General Hugo Spell was transferred to command the Air Force, under which the 1st and 3rd Air Brigade were in charge, to fully assist Guderian’s operations!”