Chapter 722: The Führer's Lackey

On October 30, 1882, a boy was born into a military family in Poznań, Prussia. His father had once been promoted to lieutenant general in the old German army. From a young age, this boy was steeped in military matters by his father and aspired to become a great soldier.

In the blink of an eye, it was 1901. This young man had already graduated from military academy and had become a second lieutenant in the artillery of the German Empire. A good education and a background in a military family allowed this boy to rise through the ranks, and he was eventually transferred to the military academy for further studies. At this time, the current Führer of the Empire, Akado, was still an unknown child, just beginning to learn to read and write. In 1912, he graduated from the military academy and was assigned to the General Staff. During the First World War, this boy served as a staff officer in various corps and division headquarters. He was also seriously wounded in combat at Verdun in October 1918.

Then, the paths of two different lives intersected. In 1919, after the end of the First World War, this young man was recruited into the newly formed German Reichswehr and later served in the 3rd Military District. At the same time, the unknown soldier Akado Rudolph was also selected by the new Reichswehr to continue serving Germany. In 1921, this boy was promoted to major. In 1924, he was transferred to the Army Training Department of the Ministry of Defense, where he also met a younger officer, Akado, who was already a field-grade officer.

From then on, this boy became a close friend of the still-young Akado Rudolph and an early potential force for Akado within the military. In terms of unwavering loyalty, he was even a step ahead of Rommel and Guderian at the time.

In 1926, he was arranged by Akado to be the commander of an artillery regiment. In 1927, he was promoted to colonel. In 1928, he was transferred to be the chief of staff of the then-famous 26th Cavalry Division of the Reichswehr, where he worked with the now-famous Desert Fox for a short period. This was also the era when the 26th Cavalry Division was a galaxy of rising stars. The youthful faces of many of the Empire’s future famous generals could be found in a group photo of the division’s officers.

In 1930, he was reassigned as a major general and commander of an infantry division. In 1932, he became the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division. In 1933, he was exceptionally promoted once again by Akado to lieutenant general. From then on, he was labeled as Akado’s confidant and became the Inspector General of the Signal Corps. And the secret rearmament created the conditions for this already-risen general to be promoted further. In 1934, with the rank of lieutenant general, he began to command an infantry corps, successively serving as the commander of the 6th and 16th Infantry Corps, as well as the commander of the military district where they were stationed. In 1936, he was promoted again to General of the Artillery. This miraculous speed of promotion was generally a sign of a commander from the Führer’s faction. All the generals who had risen so rapidly were, without exception, Akado’s most trusted spokesmen in the military.

By the time 1937 arrived, and the German army launched its military attack on Poland, the 55-year-old general was appointed by Akado as the commander-in-chief of Army Group F, and concurrently the commander-in-chief of the garrison in Poland. This military bigwig, who nominally had authority over powerful generals like List and Model, had been labeled “the Führer’s lackey” for a full five years.

In the army, he was despised by the powerful generals, who believed he had obtained such a high position by flattering the Führer, Akado. Most generals, including Rommel and Guderian, who were also from the Führer’s faction, did not have a high opinion of this general with a mediocre combat record. His long posting on the Eastern Front had meant he had had no opportunity to perform in campaigns like the defeat of France, the expedition to North Africa, or the pacification of the Balkans. Even the Soviet Red Army opposite him called him the “Peace General.”

This general with an unremarkable record was the commander-in-chief of Army Group F on the Eastern Front, the Führer’s spokesman, tasked with supervising all the army group commanders on the Eastern Front, Günther von Kluge—a commander whom both his opponents and his own colleagues considered to be of no great ability.

At this very moment, this “lackey” of the Führer was in his command post, listening to a powerful symphony. The record, paired with a beautifully designed 1877-model gramophone, filled the small space with inspiring music. General von Kluge, sitting in the very center of the room, was beating time to the music with his eyes closed.

“General!” Perhaps because the sound of knocking could not reach the general’s ears, the aide at the door simply called out. When the music inside the room stopped and Kluge’s voice gave him permission to enter, he pushed the door open and walked in.

“Heil Führer!” Among all the army groups in the entire army, perhaps only the soldiers of Army Group F were required to greet the Führer, Akado, whenever they met. This could be considered one of Kluge’s unique characteristics in commanding his troops. The other army groups laughed at this gesture, calling Army Group F the “main force of ass-kissing.” But Kluge seemed to not care in the slightest, continuing to enforce this order with a meticulousness that bordered on harshness.

“General! General Student’s paratroopers have arrived at Malyn. According to your orders, the army group’s organic 3rd Panzer Corps and the independent 5th SS Panzer Division have all assembled in the designated area,” the deputy reported, standing at attention, on the latest developments. He then asked, “The next step… are we still to remain inactive?”

Kluge smiled. It seemed to be a happy smile, but also seemed to be mocking certain people and things. He walked from the gramophone to the map in front of him, pointed to the stockpiles of supplies and the assembly areas of the troops, and ordered his aide, “Record my orders… Order the 16th Infantry Corps, in coordination with the 3rd Panzer Corps, to begin an attack to the northeast, to pin down the Soviet 1st Guards Front! Second order, to the commander of the 5th SS Panzer Division, order him to launch an assault eastward along Route 44, to put as much pressure as possible on the Soviet forces opposite!”

“General… are we finally entering the battle?” the deputy asked, looking at Kluge in front of him with an incredulous expression, his voice filled with excitement.

Kluge glanced at his aide, a warm smile always on his face. He spoke slowly, as if talking about something that had little to do with him. “Do you know which of the Führer’s sayings I like the most? When he was drinking with me back then, he said something, a famous saying from the distant East. I found it very interesting.”

He turned around, walked to his aide’s side, and tapped his aide’s empty chest. Unlike the other combat-ready army groups, whose soldiers’ chests were usually covered in shining medals, he said, while tapping his aide’s chest, as if reminiscing about the past, “The Führer said that in the distant land of China, there is a famous saying: ‘A biting dog doesn’t bark.’ When I took this position, I considered myself one of the Führer’s dogs, a biting dog! For the revival of Germany, for Germany to become the most powerful country, I am willing to stand in front of Akado, not barking, but whoever gets in my way, I will bite them to death!”

“Do you understand now? As the commander of Army Group F, I did not get to this position by flattering. The Führer doesn’t need a fawning pet, but a dog that can bite,” Kluge said, squinting his eyes. “Today, we are going out to bite! Within a year at the latest, I will have your empty chests covered in enviable medals!”

“General!” For some reason, the aide, who had been working under Kluge for three years, felt a lump in his throat. His several predecessors had all used their posts in Army Group F as a stepping stone to higher positions. They had come and gone in a hurry, always with a sense of inferiority. The entire Army Group F was like a forgotten corner of the Third Reich’s army, just a government agency rather than a combat unit.

But these people had all forgotten one fact, an obvious fact. Even though they had not been through any major battles, Kluge’s training had always been highly praised by the other army groups. The officers and soldiers who came from Army Group F were regarded as precious talents by the other army groups. And Kluge himself, who had studied infantry and artillery coordination for a full ten years, was one of the few masters of infantry offensive tactics in the German army.

It was just that in the era when the German armored forces were shining brightly, the German infantry had only played a supporting role. Even the elite grenadiers were just a supporting cast for the tanks, let alone a traditional infantry unit with no special features. Kluge’s specialty, the infantry offensive, seemed dispensable in the face of an armored assault, and his fame was overshadowed by a large group of armored commanders with brilliant combat records.

“In the army, they call me one of the Führer’s faction, and I admit that I was promoted to this position by the Führer all the way,” Kluge said as he put on his greatcoat, pulled on his leather gloves, and then walked to the door. He stopped, turned his head to look at his aide, who was still standing there stunned, and finally said, “But there are many in the army who are from the Führer’s faction. Rommel, Guderian, Raeder, Kesselring, Dick, Dönitz… even Lütjens could be considered half a one. But have you ever thought, with so many capable people, why is there a good-for-nothing Kluge among them?”

After speaking, he got into the armored command vehicle that was already waiting at the door with his guards. At the same moment, in the center of the German line, the unmoving Army Group F began to move.

Far away in the Wolf’s Lair, Akado was smiling as he faced a group of traditionalist army generals, swirling a glass of red wine in his hand. He squinted his eyes at a group of red-faced generals and finally said, “You call them the Führer’s faction? Are you envious? Only now do you know that the men I, Akado Rudolph, have chosen, which one of them is not a general who can stand on his own?”

On January 10, 1939, Kluge’s Army Group F, to everyone’s surprise, sent out all its elite forces and, after 14 hours of fierce fighting with the 1st Guards Front commanded by the famous Soviet general Konev, was victorious, advancing 20 kilometers.

Published: 2025-09-22T03:31:32.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-03-11T16:19:47.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c722-fuhrers-139443719

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