Chapter 1045: A Good Position

Don’t underestimate the nation of Germany. Among all countries, it is perhaps only this nation, born of Prussia, that has a military history longer than its national history. The original emperor of this country was one who led his army to capture the French emperor, fought his way to the French capital of Paris, and was crowned emperor in the French Palace of Versailles.

Now everyone knows why the contents of the Treaty of Versailles were so debilitating to Germany. In it, there was, more or less, an element of revenge from all of Europe against the rapid rise and expansion of the German Empire. Of course, now Akado had torn up the Treaty of Versailles, and Paris, France, had become a German city. The Germans had, in twenty years, washed away their own shame and completed their revenge.

From the days of the Teutonic Knights, the German sword had been fighting for the German plow. And now, the German sword had been submerged in the long river of history, and the Teutonic Knights had swapped their warhorses for new King Tiger tanks produced by the Porsche company. These warriors, armed to the teeth with modern technology, were conquering a vast territory that their ancestors had never even dreamed of, with a speed they had never possessed.

From the cold North Atlantic and the island of Britain in the west, all the way to the gates of their neighbor’s capital, Moscow, the territory this empire now possessed was so vast that it inspired a strange sense of awe in all who looked at the map.

Now, Manstein stood on the top floor of a church on the Baku plain, observing the one after another of black smoke plumes rising in the distance through his binoculars. His artillery was bombarding the Red Army’s defense line. Even though a negotiating representative from the other side had already arrived, trying to discuss a peaceful handover of the Baku oil fields, he still had not paused his offensive. In fact, for certain reasons, he had even made the attack more intense.

The place where this general was located was still very decently arranged. The table was covered with a clean tablecloth, and on it was a cup of warm coffee. It was rare to see such a refined general on the front line, but on the other hand, Manstein’s requirements for his military plans were just as meticulous. He demanded that his troops complete their combat objectives with the same precision and punctuality as a clock. That was why his battles were so orderly, and his victories were seen by others as a natural and inevitable result.

He did not want his marshal’s promotion ceremony to be held after a peaceful surrender ceremony. After all, he was a German general and could not tolerate his promotion being obtained through a negotiation. In his heart, he was more eager to build his career through combat. This was the professional pride a soldier should have.

Moreover, Manstein could not tell whether the other side had come to negotiate to genuinely seek a way out, or if they were intending to stall for time. He even suspected that the Soviets were lacking the explosives to destroy all the facilities in Baku in a short time, which was why they were trying to buy time to plan a more perfect destruction.

So he had not left his opponent any time, but had, while the negotiations were still ongoing, opened the prelude to the attack on the defensive lines around the Baku oil fields. For Manstein himself, this was just an extremely ordinary order as the commander-in-chief of M Army Group. But for the soldiers of M Army Group, this was a bloody battle.

After a round of shelling, swarms of soldiers leaped out of their foxholes and charged at the enemy’s positions. Machine gun bullets flew densely in the open ground between the two armies. Dust and blood were flying everywhere. Any such battlefield could be described as a hell on earth, and it would not be an exaggeration at all, because this was a real hell.

Before the artillery barrage had completely lifted, and while the smoke was still lingering, the German troops, under the cover of a dozen or so assault guns, had already charged into the Soviet soldiers’ trenches, and the two sides had begun a brutal trench warfare. There was no trickery here, just a struggle for one corner after another, a sacrifice of one life after another.

In a dozen or so minutes, the German side had lost about 100 men, but they had broken through a two-kilometer-wide gap in the wide frontal defense line. The grenadiers were desperately trying to widen this breakthrough. Once it was widened, the armored units that the German army would commit next could charge through this gap, rush to the small town behind the Soviet army, and, using that as a node, launch an assault on the Soviet flank and rear.

“Order the direct-support artillery to open fire on the main Soviet defensive positions on both flanks. One full ammunition quota. Cover our infantry as they expand their gains,” Manstein said, lowering his binoculars. He turned to the side and ordered his attendants, “Have the 8th SS Panzer Division advance towards the breakthrough. Don’t waste any time.”

As he gave these orders, he tossed his binoculars to an adjutant behind him, and then, somewhat unenthusiastically, he walked down the spiral stone staircase inside the church’s highest steeple. His leather boot heels tapped on the stone steps, making a clicking sound.

The battlefield before him did not arouse any interest in him. Having seen the German army’s battle in France, having seen the classic encirclement battle that the German army had fought on the vast Ukrainian plains, and having personally commanded the bloody and drawn-out battle for the Crimean peninsula, the current battlefield was like a child’s game, with a sense of naivety.

If this battle was to be the decisive one for his promotion to Field Marshal, he himself felt it was a bit too much of a child’s play. He knew the importance of the Baku oil fields to the German army, and he also knew just how significant it was for the entire Empire that his army group had opened up the situation in the Caucasus. But he was still a little regretful, regretting that those respectable opponents had, one by one, gloomily left the stage of this world war.

Walking down the spiral staircase, Manstein even felt a sense of desolation and helplessness. The war was proceeding step by step, and although Germany’s victory made him, as a general, feel happy and fulfilled, there would still be a day when it would come to an end. He was worried about the arrival of that day, a little afraid of his life in peacetime.

Manstein did not stop until he had reached the entrance of the church. The entrance was filled with guards who were protecting the army group’s commander. This small town was garrisoned by at least 1,000 German officers and men. Some were the army group’s staff, and some were the guards responsible for security.

Dozens of German guards, standing around the church with their rifles slung behind their backs, saw their commander come out and immediately stood at attention. The few officers in the lead raised their right hands and gave a German salute. Manstein waved his hand, signaling everyone to be at ease, and then he once again asked the people around him, “Are the representatives from Baku all arranged? Have the personnel responsible for the negotiations all been selected?”

“General, as per your instructions, the entire conference hall has been sealed off. It is impossible for the people inside to get the results of the negotiations out. Whether it’s war or peace, Berlin, apart from the Führer, will only get the news a few days later,” an aide replied softly to Manstein.

This matter had been personally ordered by the Führer, so of course, the entire M Army Group was treating it as a top priority. Manstein had found excuses to send many of the aristocrats and not-so-loyal personnel who had been assigned to the army to the front. Even the junior that General von Brauchitsch had placed by his side had been sent by him to the rear to supervise transport.

In the end, he, Manstein, was still Führer Akado’s man. He knew better than anyone how terrifying the Führer was, and he also knew better than anyone that everything he had had come from Führer Akado’s promotion and trust. Compared to Rommel and Guderian, who were generally recognized as the Führer’s confidants, he had a better understanding of just how terrifying that man far away in Berlin was. If he had to choose, he would rather face Zhukov and all of Stalin’s generals at the same time than to go against Führer Akado.

He was the only one who knew that the “Scythe Cut” operation had actually been a strategic deployment thought up by the Führer. He was the only one who knew how long the Führer had been preparing for the counter-attack in Ukraine. He was the only one who knew what kind of seeds that man, who seemed to never meddle in the army, had planted for the German army.

“This matter must be kept completely secret. All telegrams sent back to Berlin must be strictly vetted. All letters sent back to Germany must not mention the negotiations for the Baku oil fields. Do I make myself clear?” Manstein, thinking of this, already felt a cold sweat on his back. He was the person in the entire German army who understood Akado best, and so he was also the most loyal to him. Of course, there were others who were also very loyal, such as Kluge of F Army Group.

After speaking, he continued to add, “If you don’t understand, then let me tell you, you are to personally go and deploy this work, and to supervise that it is strictly completed. If these things are not done well, then the one who will deal with you is me, and the one who will deal with me is the Führer…”

He looked at his subordinate, then touched the Iron Cross hanging on the other’s chest with his hand, and slowly stated his thoughts, “I am afraid of being resented by the Führer, so I will deal with you first. As for how to deal with you…”

“General! I understand!” The aide quickly stood at attention and replied in a slightly trembling voice, “I will immediately go and strengthen the guard around the negotiation site. Three times… no! Five times! And I will supervise all the radio stations and personally check the content of every telegram!”

Manstein finally nodded with satisfaction, and then walked towards his car. “Go, and don’t disappoint me. If you succeed, I will get you a good military administration position in Baku…”

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