Chapter 1051: Two Marshals

The first Field Marshal of the German Army, his promotion ceremony was personally presided over by the Führer Akado. The second, Rundstedt, also had a very respectable promotion ceremony. Rommel had even flown back to Germany from distant North Africa for his marshal’s baton.

But Manstein’s promotion ceremony was handled rather hastily. He did not return to Berlin to accept his promotion, nor did he invite countless media to take any self-satisfied photos of this promotion. He had just hurried back to Kiev, the political center of Ukraine, and there, from the hands of Brauchitsch, he had received his marshal’s baton.

Although the ceremony was hastily presided over by another marshal, this did not mean that the weight of Manstein’s baton was any less important. On the contrary, this marshal’s baton had decided that in the highest military rank of the German Army, the status of the Führer’s faction had finally risen with the tide.

In terms of numbers, at least Rommel and Manstein were, in fact, the Führer’s confidants. And Rundstedt, whose position was not so firm, was another who leaned towards the Führer. Even the original representative of the aristocracy, Brauchitsch, was questioning Akado’s decisions on core issues less and less. As for Grand Admiral Raeder of the Navy, it went without saying. This man was a complete mouthpiece for Akado. He would carry out all of Akado’s orders without hesitation. So these bigwigs of the German military now seemed to have completely resigned themselves to their fate, because in the future competition for the high-level leadership of Germany, they really had no way to counterbalance the Führer’s faction.

The Air Force could be said to be a branch of the military that had been born along with Akado’s rise. There was no question that Kesselring and Dick were completely loyal to Akado. The Navy, even more so, had completed its rise due to a series of the Führer’s decisions. The dream of several generations, to defeat Britain, had been realized in one fell swoop. This prestige had made Lütjens, Dönitz, and the others even more subservient to Akado.

If the three branches of the military were to begin promoting marshals, then the number of Akado’s trusted followers who were stuck at the rank of general, but who had the prestige to be promoted, was simply too great. Not including the four mentioned above, in the Army alone, Akado’s confidants included Guderian and Kluge, two men who could be promoted at any time. And the rest, like List, Model, and Keitel, had all been promoted by Akado. They all, more or less, had Akado’s shadow on them. So the traditional aristocratic faction simply couldn’t produce a few competitive high-ranking generals.

This was also one of the reasons why Brauchitsch was in such a hurry to send General von Bock down to command P Army Group. He hoped that this old partner of his could win military merit at the front and leave a person who could speak for the future German aristocracy in the military.

“Congratulations, Marshal Manstein! You have conquered such a vast territory for the Empire. You have truly earned this marshal’s baton!” Field Marshal von Brauchitsch said with a smile in an auditorium in Kiev, as he handed the baton, which represented the highest military rank and the highest honor of a German soldier, to Manstein.

The Führer’s special envoy had arrived here first. They had had a very well-fitting German Field Marshal’s dress uniform custom-made for Manstein. Of course, at the same time, they had also brought a Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, set with diamonds. All of this had made Manstein extremely excited. After all, this was something he had always dreamed of as a German soldier. He had once dreamed of what it would be like to receive a marshal’s baton, but he found that today’s feeling was even better.

The materials of this marshal’s baton were actually not too precious. In fact, it should have been made of precious gold and inlaid with gems. But in order to save on unnecessary waste, the core of this baton was weighted steel. Only the surface was gold-plated and inlaid with gems. Because of the deal with General Fkuman in South Africa, there were still plenty of gems. On the surface of the baton were a full 24 golden eagles, and 24 Iron Crosses. Its full length was 50 centimeters, with a circular cross-section of 3.4 centimeters in diameter. The color of the grip of the Army Field Marshal’s baton was red, to distinguish it from the navy’s white and the air force’s blue.

Manstein smiled as he took the baton from Brauchitsch’s hand. He then stood at attention, gave a German salute, and shouted the slogan, “Long live the great Führer, Akado Rudolph!”

“Heil Akado Rudolph, my Führer!” Brauchitsch also stood at attention, raised his hand, and returned the salute to Manstein. He then lowered his arm and, walking shoulder to shoulder with Manstein down the steps, he asked, “I hear that in the Caucasus region, there are still many areas with frequent partisan activity. The laying of the oil pipelines is still facing certain difficulties?”

“To completely clear out these Soviet partisans, it is estimated that we will need to commit another 150,000 to 300,000 troops,” Manstein said, his hands behind his back, playing with the marshal’s baton that represented his power as he spoke to Brauchitsch. “If we had 200 to 300 helicopters, we might be able to save about 50,000.”

Field Marshal von Brauchitsch couldn’t help but frown when he heard Manstein say this. He knew that the partisan activity in the mountainous regions was indeed difficult to wipe out, but for the situation to be so severe was indeed a bit of a headache for him.

“We can first build the pipeline from Ukraine to Saint Rudolph, where the security is relatively stable, and then we will have time to deal with those troublesome partisans,” Manstein said, stating his own thoughts. After all, he was the commander-in-chief in charge of the oil field’s security.

As he walked, he considered his wording. After all, this was not the first day he had been thinking about this problem. What Akado wanted was Baku’s oil, not that stretch of barren mountains. “If the Soviet defenders on the main front continue to be routed, then these local partisans will not be able to get supplies or weapons and ammunition… In that case, it will be easier for my troops to clean them up.”

“Your strategy is correct! This is the most effective way to clear out the partisans. If their motherland has already ceased hostilities with us, then they will have no reason to continue to fight us, will they?” Brauchitsch was quite satisfied with Manstein’s answer. He nodded, then said with a smile, “From the time you were my chief of staff, I could see that you had a great strategic vision. For the Führer to place you in the Caucasus, he has his reasons.”

The two of them thus walked down the steps and towards the entrance. Their entourages and guards could only follow from a distance. After all, this was the highest-level meeting in the Imperial military, apart from the Führer himself.

“The news of your appearance in Kiev has probably already reached Berlin by now,” Brauchitsch suddenly said, bringing up a topic that seemed to have nothing to do with the current war situation. “The Baku oil fields are very important. As a soldier of the Empire, I do not wish to see such an important resource fall into the hands of those businessmen.”

Manstein was in complete agreement with Brauchitsch’s view. He also felt that the Ministry of Industry of the Empire should directly manage the Baku oil fields. After all, this was the first large-scale oil field that Germany itself controlled. If those greedy businessmen were allowed to run amok in Baku, it was possible that it would truly shake the foundations of the German army.

“I quite agree with your view,” Manstein said. “I believe the Führer also means this, which is why he carried out the work of receiving Baku with such strict secrecy.”

“Unfortunately, in this world, there is no such thing as a wall that doesn’t leak! No matter how strict the secrecy, you can’t seal everyone’s mouth. Now, in Berlin, there must be an undercurrent. At least that prosperous city is not as peaceful and quiet as it looks on the surface,” Brauchitsch said with some concern.

“So what?” Manstein laughed, then looked at Brauchitsch and asked in a very humorous tone, “Will you agree with those people, to do something foolish to our Führer that violates your oath? And then to let that group of people who have never even been on a battlefield, to pick something that can’t even speak human language, to sit in the Führer’s position? That won’t win the war, Your Excellency, Marshal. So I will not stand on the side of that group of idiots.”

Brauchitsch glanced at Manstein, and then the worried expression on his face eased a little. “I hope that group of idiots doesn’t really think they will get the support of the army. At the very least, the powerful army of Germany, the invincible 7-million-strong army, has, from the beginning to the end, stood on the Führer’s side. This is beyond doubt.”

“You see, now we know who will surely win this power struggle… At least I have never doubted that the Führer would be driven from power by a group of idiots,” Manstein said, patting Brauchitsch on the back with his marshal’s baton. He made a gesture of invitation, letting the other be the first to walk out of the hall. “We just need to carry out the Führer’s orders and win the war.”

The two marshals got into their respective cars, and one after the other, they drove in the direction of the train station. Manstein had no time to admire the scenery of Kiev. He had to rush back to Baku to organize a new round of work to annihilate the Soviet partisans. There were many, many things that required his personal attention. After all, he was now a Field Marshal of the German Third Reich, wasn’t he?

“Marshal! Have you really chosen to stand on the Führer’s side?” in the swaying car, Brauchitsch’s adjutant asked with some hesitation.

“I stand on the side of the victor!” Brauchitsch replied coldly, without turning his head, as he watched the scenery recede outside the window. “And now, even you and the people behind you can’t change anything, because the Führer is the one who will inevitably win…”

A day later, Field Marshal von Brauchitsch personally sent his own adjutant to a military tribunal. That afternoon, this high-ranking officer was sentenced to death for the crime of possessing a large amount of property of unknown origin.

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