Chapter 276 The Wind Rises in the Atlantic Ocean 1

Germany, Zossen, the General Staff.

When the new High Seas Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Wilhelm Marshal, and Marshal Raeder arrived together, the acting (the previous text has been modified to acting chief) Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Hessmann, 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 Eastern Front headquarters was abolished.

The 12-day Polish campaign can be said to be a festival for German army and air force officers. After the great victory, of course, they had to reward their merits - Schleicher and Hessmann were always very generous in winning over the hearts of the army.

The first to be promoted were Hessmann himself and Chief of the General Staff Hammerstein, both of whom were promoted from generals to marshals.

Then came the commanders of the army groups, the commanders of the army groups, the commanders of the army, the commanders of the divisions, and the lower-level troop commanders - all troop commanders who participated in the battle and made certain military achievements were generally promoted one level.

Next were the staff positions and deputy positions, which were also promoted based on the recommendations of the chief officers.

Then there are the officers and soldiers fighting on the front line, who have more opportunities to get promotions and medals. After a war, there are tens of thousands of people who have been promoted, and countless medals have been issued.

At the same time, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Kesselring and the chief officers of the various air forces, air divisions and other departments that participated in the battle, as well as the pilots who participated in the battle. They have also received promotions and medals to varying degrees!

And all promotions above the school level (including majors) must be approved by Hersman - not one by one, but just signed on the reports printed by each army group.

In addition to these promotion reports, there are also many battlefield log summaries and combat reports of army groups, armies and divisions, which were sent to the General Staff. It is impossible for a senior general of Hersman's level to go to the front line to understand the situation, and even if he goes, he can't stay on the front line for too long. So he can only understand the situation on the battlefield and find the shortcomings of the troops through detailed reports.

Therefore, these days, Hersman soaks in the headquarters in Zossen every day, buried in a pile of documents.

"Marshal," Colonel Hans Speidel (who was also promoted) reported outside the door, "Marshal Raeder and Vice Admiral Marshal 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 does not have an independent Navy Department. The military and political affairs of the three armed forces are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Defense. Marshal Raeder and Vice Admiral Marshal came to Zossen on the order of Defense Minister Marshal Schleicher.

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

"Marshal Raeder, Vice Admiral Marshal," Hessman invited the two into his office, asked them to sit on a sofa, and then said directly, "I invite you to come here for the special mission of the commerce-breaking fleet."

"Special mission?"

Herssman nodded, "Sinking a few or a dozen British transport ships is not enough for Germany to gain a strategic advantage, but the activities of German battleships and aircraft carriers in the Atlantic can make people see that Germany has a very high chance of winning the world war. This is very beneficial to us!"

Battleships and aircraft carriers are "strategic-level" weapons, which are completely different from submarines. The activities of submarines in the Atlantic can only mean that the German Navy has the ability to launch sneak attacks and sabotage.

And a battleship and an aircraft carrier are wandering in the Atlantic, and the British can't do anything about them, which means that Germany is competing with Britain for the control of the sea in the Atlantic!

As a maritime country and colonial empire, Britain's loss of control of the sea means the collapse of the country.

If the British have been unable to do anything about the German fleet in the Atlantic, then Britain's allies and supporters around the world should carefully consider their future.

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

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

"During this voyage, you need to stop in Iceland, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina to add fuel and supplies."

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

Not to mention Iceland, it is a vassal state of Denmark. If this can lead to Britain occupying Iceland, then Britain will be the big villain who destroys neutrality and bullies small European countries! This will help Germany to peacefully enter European countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.

Venezuela, Brazil, Ukraine and Argentina have many German friends - either dictators or candidate dictators. Without exception, they all call themselves "nationalists", and some have even established the National Socialist Party and joined the National Socialist International.

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

"Of course, all special missions must be carried out under the condition of ensuring the safety of battleships and aircraft carriers." Hessman finally ordered.

The capital of the German Navy is still too small. The main battleships that can be taken to the Atlantic Ocean to show off are two battleships and two aircraft carriers. They cannot afford to lose. Even if they are severely damaged, it will have a very adverse impact on subsequent operations. It will also hit the confidence of "German fans" around the world in Germany.

Confidence 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 principle applies to the Soviet Union, of course!

Germany took 12 days to defeat Poland. How long will it take the Soviet Union to defeat the seriously injured Poland again?

12 days is definitely not enough!

Because today is October 1, 1939. From the first shot of the Soviet Red Army to liberate the right bank Ukraine and Western Belarus to now, 16 days have passed!

And White Poland has not yet fallen, and the resistance of the bourgeoisie and landlord Ukraine is still continuing. And their reactionary determination is still extremely firm!

"Comrade Commander, reconnaissance shows that the Poles have concentrated heavy troops around the Brest Fortress!"

The Chief of Staff of the Brest Rapid Group, Klimovsky, walked into Pavlov's headquarters in Zabinka with a tired face-this is an ancient church, the only intact large building in the small town of Zabinka!

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

In addition to the destruction of towns and villages, the railways, roads and bridges all the way from Minsk were also severely damaged. This affected the advancement of the Brest Rapid Group. The journey planned to be completed on the 10th took 15 days, and the Rapid Group Command only arrived in Zabinka last night. In addition, some infantry and heavy artillery fell behind and it will take a few more days for all to arrive.

"Tell me about the situation detected by the Air Force." Pavlov did not raise his head. He was writing a review to the commander of the front and Moscow.

Because the task of capturing Brest on October 15 was unfinished. Because the Poles did not give up the plan of Brest, they gathered heavy troops there. Pavlov's vanguard had already met them - cavalry against cavalry! The Polish cavalry was very tough and did not lose morale because of the defeat on the Western Front. The Soviet Red Army's cavalry suffered heavy losses in the vanguard battle because of continuous marching, and hundreds of soldiers died heroically!

"Comrade Commander," Klimovsky said, "The Polish White Army deployed east of the Bug River and on both sides of the Mukhavets River, with their backs to the river. The width of the battle line exceeded 17 kilometers and the length exceeded 40 kilometers. It seems that the Poles have deployed at least 5 divisions in Brest..."

"Five divisions? Double it is almost the same!" Pavlov said, "The Poles gave up the entire Western Belarus and only deployed garrisons in Brest. It is obvious that they want to defend this last bridgehead east of the Bug River."

"How can we defend it?" Klimovsky said with a smile, "As long as our army crosses the Bug River and attacks Warsaw, Brest is the Polish White Army that will definitely return to the capital, and then the fortress will be ours."

Although this division-level chief of staff is not a high-ranking official and has little experience, his thinking is not confused. If Pavlov really did it, he would be able to take Brest within a few days.

Because once he marched towards Warsaw, the German army could only occupy the Polish territory west of the Bug River according to the "Polish-German Armistice Treaty" that had just been signed.

But Pavlov didn't dare to do that! Because Stalin didn't dare to offend Germany at this time - the sit-in war on the Western Front was still going on during this period, and the battlefield was quiet, with no intention of fighting. Politicians from various countries were extremely active, busy mediating peace between the two sides. Mussolini, the Italian leader who sent troops to Abyssinia and Spain to kill and burn, seemed to have become a fat dove of peace, flying back and forth between Berlin, London, and Paris. Who knows when the mediation will be successful?

"Crossing the Bug River is not allowed," Pavlov shook his head, "This is Comrade Stalin's instruction. Let's prepare to storm Brest!"

"If we want to storm, we must have at least twice the enemy's troops and three times the enemy's firepower." Klimovsky thought, "It's not enough to rely on the 200,000 people in the rapid group. At least Comrade Zhukov's Pinsk group must join us."

Klimovsky is a top student at the Frunze Military Academy. His way of fighting is to use a large number of people and artillery to crush the opponent with overwhelming firepower and troops! But it takes a long time to mobilize so many troops, and more power is needed to ensure the transportation of logistical materials.

This is no longer something Pavlov can decide.