Chapter 577: Manstein's Plan

After sending Vlasov back to his post, Akado and the Chief of the Wehrmacht General Staff, Manstein, traveled by car to the Wolf’s Lair. A few days earlier, due to his outstanding performance on the Eastern Front, Field Marshal von Brauchitsch had been promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the German Army. Manstein, who had always been advising Brauchitsch, naturally rose with the tide and was appointed the new Chief of the Army General Staff, completely replacing General von Bock.

The scenery outside the window flew by as the car advanced. Akado, sitting in the convertible, was clearly in a very good mood. He had seen the situation he wanted and was full of confidence for the upcoming war on the Eastern Front.

“The Field Marshal has personally gone to Kiev to inspect the Brovary defensive line. Your itinerary, my Führer, had not yet been finalized before he left, so he could not be here to welcome you,” Manstein said, carefully explaining the reason for Brauchitsch’s absence in Warsaw and also mentioning the rather worrying issue of the Kiev defense.

Akado smiled and waved his hand. “General Manstein, I am not a man who pays attention to minor details. My Field Marshal, fighting and winning the war at the front, earns my respect far more than fawning over me.”

“With all due respect, my Führer. Most of the Dnieper River defensive line is very strong. Our grenadiers and elite infantry are sufficient to withstand a Soviet counter-attack,” Manstein said to Akado after a moment’s thought. “But this defensive line has two rather serious vulnerabilities. One is the area around Kiev and the Brovary region, and the other is the direction of the Crimean Peninsula.”

“Oh? Then, General, how does the Army General Staff plan to address these two shortcomings?” Akado asked casually, raising an eyebrow.

“The opinion of the General Staff is to launch a limited attack, occupy the Crimean Peninsula, destroy the Soviet Black Sea Fleet’s port there, and complete the defensive line,” Manstein said, finally revealing his plan to attack the Crimea. This operational plan could shorten the length of the German defensive line and seriously interfere with the operations of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. However, there was a very serious problem facing Akado now: he did not have weapons like the Gustav Gun or the Karl-Gerät. To attack the Sevastopol fortress, he lacked heavy fire support.

Moreover, the German high command was currently discussing the feasibility of a joint attack with Turkey and Italy on the Balkan countries. The Turkish side was exceptionally active in this plan, even proposing a radical plan to commit 700,000 troops to demonstrate the mighty military power of the Turkish army. At a time like this, if Germany were to show weakness on the Balkan issue, then one could imagine that Turkey’s demands in the region would only increase in the future.

At the same time, the German-Italian allied forces had launched a powerful offensive in the Tobruk area, intending to capture this important military fortress. The Afrika Korps was expanding its forces and was expected to grow into a massive military group with three army groups, including Rommel’s L Army Group, General Schörner’s K Army Group, and the Italian 1st Army Group under Garibaldi. The supply and transport of this legion required a large amount of manpower and material resources. To continue to expand the war on the Eastern Front at this moment was clearly not a wise move.

“General, I know what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. But once we attack the Crimean Peninsula and then capture the Sevastopol fortress, then the Soviets, whom we have already forced back to the negotiating table, will completely abandon any intention of peace talks and will continue to fight us,” Akado said with a sigh, looking at the increasingly dense forest outside the car window.

“…” Manstein, having his own idea rejected by Akado for the first time, was in a predictable mood. He closed his mouth and waited for Akado to continue his reprimand.

Manstein was now one of the top strategists in the Wehrmacht, a rare genius of strategic command. Even his superior, Brauchitsch, was full of praise for his performance. He had even privately compared Manstein to the former Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Schlieffen. He had commented on Manstein to his colleague, General von Bock, who had been sent down to command an army group: “He reminds me of Alfred. If he continues to maintain such wisdom, then one day he will surpass us all.”

But Manstein himself knew that his “Scythe Cut” plan had been proposed at the behest of Führer Akado. It was precisely because of the successful implementation of this plan that the German army had escaped the danger of a two-front war, and that Manstein himself had gone from being an obscure minor corps commander to Brauchitsch’s deputy.

Subsequently, the revision of the Barbarossa plan was also single-handedly orchestrated by the Führer from behind the scenes and had nothing to do with Manstein himself. Now that the situation on the Eastern Front had stabilized, and the German army had gained the upper hand and had reduced its losses to a negligible level, it was all due to the Führer’s inscrutable strategic vision, having foreseen everything in advance.

So Manstein was now apprehensive. He suspected that he was not at all capable of serving as the Chief of the German General Staff, that he was just a puppet of the Führer. So he had stayed up for several days and nights, using his rest time to draw up a complete plan for the attack on the Sevastopol fortress. For this plan, he had even used his authority to consult the intelligence department and had obtained a great deal of intelligence from German spies on the Sevastopol fortress complex.

But to his disappointment, Akado had still rejected this attack plan that was supposed to prove himself. This suddenly made him feel a sense of despair. It seemed the Führer really did just see him as a mouthpiece with no opinions of his own, an echo in the Army General Staff.

The atmosphere in the car suddenly became awkward. Manstein was silent, and Akado also seemed to be lost in thought. Both men were silent. Anna, sitting beside Akado, also said nothing, just gently played with his hand.

“The support I can give you is not much, and it will be several months late. We have invested too much in the Balkan Peninsula and must see a return soon. But once the Balkan issue is over, then I will give you an army group and let you personally resolve the Crimean Peninsula,” Akado suddenly said, breaking the silence in the car. It was clear that Manstein, sitting opposite him, had not expected the conversation to take such a turn, and for a moment he had the urge to cry.

He looked at Akado and listened as he continued, as if talking to himself, “I do have quite a few supporters in the army, and many of them hold high positions because of their absolute loyalty to me. Raeder, Gascoigne, even Kesselring and Dick are close personal friends of mine. In the army, Guderian and Rommel are also my trusted favorites. But I came to you, not because you were obscure, but because I truly felt that when I saw you, it was the same as when I saw Rommel and Guderian; it made my eyes light up.”

“You are the one I am looking for. I have a premonition, just like I had a premonition that Guderian and Rommel could bring me victory. I feel that you will also bring me victory. You will become one of my proudest subordinates, and I have even prepared the position of Field Marshal for you,” Akado said, glancing at Manstein. It was clear that the other man had been frightened by his words. Perhaps the other had never imagined that he would be considered by the Führer as a candidate for Field Marshal.

Of course, Akado could not say this to Manstein: Big brother, in fact, those plans of mine were written by you a few years later. The Field Marshal’s position I plan to give you is also the one that Hitler will inevitably give you after you capture the Crimean Peninsula a few years later. If he said that, he would scare Manstein to death, or be sent back to Berlin for treatment by Anna as a lunatic.

So he had no choice but to continue to play the part of a discerning judge of talent, using the “gift from God” as an excuse to explain his discovery of Manstein. This made Manstein feel overwhelmed with gratitude. After all, he, the Chief of the General Staff, knew all too well how well the few generals favored by the Führer were doing now.

“My Führer…” Manstein, who was already 51 this year, felt the tears welling up in his eyes. He had been through so much in just a few short minutes. He had almost given up and was preparing to fade out of the military command circle, but because of a heart-to-heart talk with Führer Akado, he had decided to fight for him for the rest of his life.

“Submit your plan to attack the Crimean Peninsula to Field Marshal von Brauchitsch. Keep it in reserve as an operational guide for this region. In the future, I will give you the opportunity to prove yourself in the Crimea,” Akado continued. “At that time, do not disappoint me, understand?”

“Yes, my Führer! Manstein will never disappoint you! Long live the Führer, Akado Rudolph!” Manstein replied solemnly.

“Don’t look so dejected anymore, my general. Show me around my Wolf’s Lair. I might spend the whole summer here,” Akado said with some helplessness. “I hope the temperature here is a little better than in Berlin. I hate the heat.”

The car stopped at the first checkpoint. On both sides of the road, SS soldiers stood guard every three steps, every five paces. On both sides of the road was an endless forest, filled with the chirping of birds and the mottled light that shone through the dense leaves of the trees onto the ground. Akado stood up, took off his trench coat, and handed it to Anna, revealing the SS uniform underneath.

He was wearing quite a few layers, mainly to maintain the image of the Führer in public. The weather had not been too hot these past two days, so he had even worn a trench coat to maintain a capable and energetic image. He had a special stylist, and his attire was strictly controlled. This was all Fanny’s arrangement; she needed a perfect image to carry out her propaganda of the German Führer without any flaws.

“My Führer! Welcome to the Wolf’s Lair,” an officer at the checkpoint said, saluting. He then signaled for the guards to remove the roadblock.

Published: 2025-09-07T03:27:30.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-04T19:56:49.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c577-plan-138319696

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