Chapter 724: Economic War

They ran when they were told to run, without the slightest hesitation. This was Rokossovsky’s style. His attacks were sharp and ruthless, and his retreats were just as efficient. The Soviet Red Army, having penetrated the German lines, withdrew with the speed of an army being pursued, without even a single thought of turning back for a parting shot.

The large swathes of territory that had fallen into Soviet hands just a few days ago returned to German control as time passed. And soon, the even larger and vaster areas beyond these lands also became German-occupied territory.

Along the line from Korosten to Ovruch, the German army recovered its lost ground. The Soviet soldiers did not defend a single city, as if they had put no effort into taking these places in the first place. In fact, the Soviets had lost over 30,000 soldiers at Korosten and more than 40,000 at Ovruch. At Kalinkavichy, closer to the original line of control, the Soviets had lost over 60,000 soldiers in the suburbs and in the fighting itself. Along the way, the Soviets had lost nearly 200,000 soldiers, while achieving the glorious combat record of killing 90,000 German troops and capturing 20,000.

German soldiers, riding in trucks, hurried past these places that had once been theirs. They saw the shell craters on both sides of the road that had not yet been filled in, and the bodies in the fields, half-covered by the light snow. These Germans and Soviets lay there so quietly on the ground, one next to the other, as if they were friends.

Tiny snowflakes still drifted from the sky, just as on the day the Soviets had attacked. The gray sky was overcast, and the sun was not visible. The oppressive tone of the scene made it hard to breathe. The German soldiers stood on the trucks, passing their former comrades, their expressions unreadable.

List’s defense had made the Soviets pay a heavy price, but this time Germany was not without cost. Nearly 100,000 men had been eliminated by the Soviets. List’s Army Group E had suffered heavy losses and had basically lost its ability to continue fighting. This could be considered the most tragic battle since the beginning of the war for Germany.

Moreover, a series of problems had emerged during the battle that made the German high command uneasy. The first was the improvement in the overall combat capability of the Soviet Union, which showed the German generals the growth of the Soviet army. Unlike in the Battle of Poland, without the interference of political commissars and with the addition of young, talented commanders, the Soviet Red Army showed unprecedented combat effectiveness. This forced the General Staff to re-evaluate the enemy’s fighting ability.

The second was the decline in the combat quality of the German army itself. Since 1925, the pace of German rearmament had never stopped, reaching a terrifying peak recently. About 6 million young German men had gone to the battlefield to become soldiers of the Third Reich. But most of these soldiers had only received five months of training and were by no means comparable to the hand-picked and well-trained veterans of the Wehrmacht who had years of exercises under their belts. What’s more, some of these so-called five-month trained recruits had only been trained for three months before being sent to the front.

This ebb and flow had resulted in a vexing loss ratio in this campaign. The loss ratio between the German army and the Soviet Red Army was as high as 1 to 2, which truly alarmed Field Marshal von Brauchitsch. He knew that although his own General Staff had estimated the Soviet Union’s mobilization potential at 11 million soldiers, the High Command under the Führer had set the Soviet Union’s maximum mobilization potential at 18 million. There was a significant gap between the two figures.

If calculated according to this number, the German army would have to lose at least 5 million men in the Soviet Union to achieve final victory. This was by no means good news for Germany itself. The facts proved that to win the war, the price Germany had to pay seemed to be unbearable for the entire nation.

It was very likely that 5 to 6 million young German men would be laid to rest in a foreign land, and it was still unknown whether the final outcome of the war would be in Germany’s long-term interests. For a general like Brauchitsch, who was “wholeheartedly devoted to Germany,” this was undoubtedly a cruel torment.

“My Führer.” Brauchitsch, who had rushed to the Wolf’s Lair to see Akado, stood before him with his head bowed respectfully. The document he had submitted this time was undoubtedly a challenge to Akado. As a Field Marshal of the Empire, he felt that what he was doing was a betrayal of the Führer.

But he was doing this for the future of the Empire. In the depths of his heart, Brauchitsch felt he had still not done anything wrong. His loyalty to the Führer was personal, while his loyalty to the entire Empire stemmed from being a German soldier. The two could not be confused.

Akado studied the document in his hand. It was a report from the Imperial General Staff, which suggested that the Führer end the war as soon as possible, restore the Empire’s production, and, if necessary, shake hands with countries like the United States and Japan. For Germany, this was in its long-term interests.

“My Field Marshal, your views, while giving much consideration to the German Third Reich, are not truly considering the future of the Empire,” Akado said, placing the document on his desk. He then stood up and said to Brauchitsch, “In the long run, we must leave something for the future people of the Empire.”

“My Führer, with all due respect, what we should leave for the Empire most is its outstanding young men, not vast, empty territories,” Brauchitsch retorted before Akado could launch into a long speech.

Akado glanced at the eager-to-speak Brauchitsch and smiled. The German military was good at fighting; they were better at solving problems with their fists. So, to have them deal with the glib-tongued Hitler, or the even more glib Akado, was a bit beyond them.

And so, after Brauchitsch’s one sentence, Akado spoke, “My Field Marshal, the Empire’s technical departments are researching a secret weapon, a terrifying weapon that can resolve all disputes. This weapon can destroy a city at a time. At that time, the Empire will be eternal! And that will be the best time for us to end the war!”

He threw out the carrot of the Empire’s development of nuclear weapons, which left Brauchitsch dumbfounded. He then began Hitler’s specialty, the war economy theory: “For the future economic prosperity of the Empire, and so as not to hand over the future of the Empire to those despicable opponents, we must control the production areas of rubber, oil fields, grain, and steel! These raw material production areas must be controlled by the Empire and absolutely cannot be given to other countries!”

“The oil fields in the Middle East are too far away from us, and our geographical location ultimately determines that meddling in the Middle East cannot be sustained for long!” Akado said, pointing at the map and explaining his oil economy theory to Brauchitsch. “Moreover, the faith of the Middle East is also a bottomless pit for the Empire. We can only use the Jews to get a piece of the pie there, but we cannot ensure a stable supply of oil resources to the Empire!”

“The reserves of the Romanian oil fields are not large. Our frantic exploitation over the past three years has already made the local people of Romania wary,” Akado said, pointing to the Caucasian oil fields with determination. “The Empire must capture the Caucasian oil fields and manage them as its own stable oil supply base!”

For this purpose, Germany had to capture Moscow and even push to the Ural Mountains line, to destroy the Soviet tank production bases in Chelyabinsk and other areas, to completely destroy the Soviet industrial system. This series of wars was no different from the annihilation of the Soviet Union.

“Moreover, the Soviets will not make peace with us. They are still dreaming of defeating us!” Akado said, waving his arm and loudly intimidating his Field Marshal, Brauchitsch. “Stalin has just delivered a national mobilization speech. He wants to fight us to the death! He said that only when all Germans have gone to hell will the war be truly over.”

Indeed, if Rommel’s Afrika Korps were to charge into the Middle East, then the war with the United States would escalate. And the war for the Caucasian oil-producing regions would also be enough to make the Soviet Union and Germany fight to the death. The situation now was not one where Germany could achieve peace just by wanting it. The specifics would still depend on the reactions of their opponents.

Brauchitsch was an old general. He had held a high position in the Reichswehr era. Because of this, he had also experienced those tragic days when all resources were controlled by others. At that time, for every gun, every tank the Reichswehr hid, they had to plan and calculate for many days. Therefore, Brauchitsch, like Akado, believed that Germany must control most of the raw material production areas and achieve self-sufficiency, which was the minimum standard for the revival of the Third Reich.

And because of this, when Akado declared that he wanted to occupy the Caucasian oil-producing regions, Brauchitsch did not refute him, nor did he want to. In fact, he also coveted the Caucasian oil-producing regions. With them, he could at least double the degree of mechanization of his troops.

“For the Empire, we must win every battle! Let the enemy tremble under our iron hooves! All wars must end only when we say they can end! This is the bottom line! This is the pride we can leave for future generations!” Akado said, pounding the table, and with these words, he concluded the entire conversation.

Brauchitsch basically agreed with Akado’s words. The subsequent topic was based on the development progress of nuclear weapons. After Akado guaranteed that the Empire was doing its utmost to develop this weapon that was sufficient to end the war, Brauchitsch turned to support the continuation of the war.

After leaving the Wolf’s Lair, this Field Marshal of the Third Reich had changed his mind. He had been successfully brainwashed by Akado and had become a proponent of economic warfare. “The Führer’s ideas are consistent with mine. This is not warmongering, but a necessary effort and price to be paid for the future of the Empire!” This was how he evaluated this conversation to his adjutant.

Published: 2025-09-22T03:32:35.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-03-12T19:03:05.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c724-war-139443762

Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com