69novels Chapter 450
Chapter 450
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In April 192, several military generals who participated in the Battle of Jake returned to Berlin and were preparing for a victory parade.
Although this war did not last long, it was of far-reaching significance to Hans, no less than the German-Polish War four years ago!
If the German-Polish War was a sign that Hans had completely broken through the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and officially moved from a defeated country to a normal country!
Then the Battle of Jake represented that Hans had completely controlled Central Europe and solved his own worries. From then on, they would change from a strategic defensive position to a strategic offensive position!
Therefore, even though this war did not last long and was not large in scale, and there were not many large-scale battles that broke out, Mainz still held a grand victory parade!
This celebration is also in preparation for the grand parade for the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Weimar Republic next year!
Of course, the generals who participated in the war this time will be promoted according to their military exploits, which is definitely true.���It won’t be until next year!
Although the awarding ceremony has not started yet, the military ranks of various generals have basically been determined!
After the end of this war, Manstein and Model were promoted to lieutenant generals for their merits, Dietrich and Rommel were promoted to major generals, and a large number of generals in the German army were also promoted.
The newly formed Air Force basically did not receive any military merits because it did not participate in this war.
Guderian’s First Army did not participate in the war, so it did not receive any military merits, but Mainz awarded him an Iron Cross Knight’s Medal, which was in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the field of armored warfare.
With this medal, Guderian’s mind was finally not so empty, and he could happily chat and laugh with everyone!
“Have you heard?”
“What?”
The well-informed Rommel came over and said to the military leaders who were chatting.
Rommel had just been promoted to major general, and he was considered to have entered the ranks of the top generals of the German army, but his qualifications were still relatively shallow. Compared with Guderian, Manstein, Model and others, Rommel could only be regarded as a rising star.
However, after he was promoted this time, he finally had the opportunity to mix into everyone’s circle and chat and laugh with everyone!
So Rommel worked hard to find out some news, and wanted to discuss it with everyone to deepen the relationship between each other!
“I heard that the Gauls have just withdrawn their troops stationed in the Ardennes Forest area. It is said that they are mobilizing these troops to return home to quell the rebellion!”
Rommel’s news immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Gaul has always been one of Hans’s main imaginary enemies in Europe, so any news about Gaul is likely to attract the attention of the German high-level officials.
“Is the news reliable?”
Manstein frowned and asked. He was unwilling to discuss some unrealistic gossip. If the news was unreliable, there was no need to waste his breath.
“It should be reliable. I have heard this news too!”
Guderian has been stationed in the Rhine region for a long time after all, and he still has a lot of intelligence in the Rhine region.
Since he said so, the news is basically true!
“Why did the Gauls do this? Aren’t they digging a hole for themselves?”
From a defensive perspective, Model couldn’t understand Gaul’s decision. Although Gaul’s Maginot Line was highly praised, it was not so impregnable. It must have loopholes.
The loophole in the Maginot Line lies in the three low-lying countries of Benelux!
This point has long been discussed within the German army.
They thought the Gauls could see this, so after he built the Maginot Line, he should extend it to his flanks to strengthen the protection of the Benelux countries.
But the result surprised them. The Gauls didn’t seem to realize that there was a problem with the defense line here. Not only did they not strengthen the protection here, but they withdrew the 300,000 troops stationed here!
What does this mean?
Do they think that Hans would not dare to use force against them because he withdrew the First Army?
“This is a great opportunity for us!”
Subconsciously, almost everyone realized this!
The Gauls’ Maginot Line is indeed a very troublesome existence. It is very difficult to bite off this bone from the front!
However, as long as the Maginot Line does not protect the entire Gaul border, it will always have loopholes. At this time, the Gauls destroyed the city walls and took the initiative to withdraw the troops from the Low Countries. This is equivalent to opening the door wide and leaving Hans completely defenseless!
“The opportunity is indeed a good one, but can we seize it?”
Model was not so optimistic. He glanced at everyone and said,”Gaul is not Jake or Poland. They are a large country with strong national strength. If we want to defeat this country, we must carry out large-scale military mobilization. We must prepare a large number of weapons and ammunition in advance and mobilize more than half of the country’s troops to participate in the battle.
In addition, we also have to prepare a large number of medicines, daily necessities, and logistical support items, etc. These things cannot be completed overnight. If we prepare these things, Gaul and the British intelligence departments will definitely discover our actions at the first time. At that time, will they still ignore the defense loopholes in the Benelux Low Countries?”
When it comes to defensive battles, no one knows more than Model, so his words made everyone calm down.
This is indeed an opportunity, even���It can be said to be a pleasant surprise, but whether they currently have the ability to seize this opportunity is a question mark!
“Perhaps, we can ask the general what he thinks about this matter!”
……
As the Chief of the General Staff, Manstein quickly led everyone to find Mainz. After reporting the matter to him, everyone was waiting for Mainz’s statement.
“What are your opinions?”
Mainz received this intelligence yesterday. The Gauls withdrew the 300,000 troops stationed in the Ardennes Forest and its surroundings, which was somewhat unexpected for him.
It can only be said that the Gauls are really bold. They can do such things, as if they are not worried about being attacked at all!
Could it be that they thought that the German army was going to gnaw at the Maginot Line because of the previous German military exercises against the Maginot Line?
If they really thought so, then their actions can be understood! However
, the German army is not so stupid. There is no benefit in nibbling at the Maginot Line. The German army has no reason to do so!
“We believe that if we want to use force against Gaul, now is the best time!”
Several generals expressed their opinions very eagerly, fearing that they would lose this opportunity!
Mainz nodded. The army of any country is hawkish, because they must fight if they want to be promoted, so provoking a war is a basic operation for soldiers of any country!
“Manstein, what do you think? Is this an opportunity?”
Mainz saw that his brother Manstein had not expressed his opinion yet, so he asked with great interest.
“It’s hard to say, but from a purely personal perspective, this is indeed an opportunity!”
“However, if we look at it from the perspective of the country, I don’t have some information, so I can’t make an accurate judgment!”
Manstein’s words disappointed everyone. You are the leader of everyone!
How can you be cowardly at this time?
If you are cowardly, then this matter will be hopeless, right?
Mainz glanced at the expressions of the crowd. They all wanted to replace Manstein and express their opinions on his behalf. Fortunately, Manstein was not affected by them, which made Mainz very relieved.
“What information do you want to know? I’ll let Secretary Baumann give it all to you!”
Mainz said with a smile. Manstein looked at the problem from a different angle than everyone else.
This has proved that his talent in the military field has surpassed everyone else and reached a higher level.
The generals present are all excellent generals who have been tested in actual combat. Each of them has real materials and can be called a good general!
However, if thinking and vision are limited to the military field, then it is destined not to become a real famous general.
Clausewitz once said that war is the continuation of politics.
Fighting a war cannot just focus on the war itself, but on the political will behind the war or even the national will.
To fight or not , how to fight and when to fight are all determined by political needs!
The opportunity did appear at this time, but is it really a good choice for Hans to take action now?
Manstein could not make an accurate judgment on this point, because his position limited his access to more intelligence. Many decisions involving the core of the country were currently beyond his control!
But this time, Mainz intended to inform him of this information!