Chapter 733: Someone is Anxious

In a room with one of the few windows in the Wolf’s Lair, Akado sat on a sofa, looking at the man who had rushed to see him, covered in the dust of travel. This man had just fought a hard battle, holding off the attack of two main Soviet fronts with a single army group under his command. He was a truly deserving and fierce general.

“General List, you must be tired. Please, sit!” Akado said with a smile, pointing to the sofa opposite the coffee table. Anna had already poured a glass of red wine for this general who had rushed back to the Wolf’s Lair from the front. List walked to the sofa and sat down, looking at Akado respectfully without speaking.

He knew Akado had much to say, and he also had much to say to Akado. But everything had to wait for Akado to speak first. This was the order of things, not to be disrupted. In Germany, everything had to follow order. Only that which operated in accordance with order could last. This was a habit that was deeply ingrained in the bones of a nation with a fanatical obsession for machinery.

“I know Army Group E has fought very hard, and the entire army group has lost nearly a fifth of its strength. Therefore, I have ordered Army Group F to move south and take over your defense line. Do you have any objections?” Akado did not make List wait long and spoke directly.

“My Führer! Army Group E can still continue to fight! I do not wish for the entire army group to fall into a state of idleness after experiencing a difficult campaign,” List said, starting to rise. Akado stopped him with a gesture. He hesitated for a second, then sat back down and continued, “As you know, Army Group E has always striven to be the best. We are not afraid of losses and are willing to fight for the fatherland to the end!”

Akado nodded. He certainly knew how much Army Group E had contributed to the army of the Third Reich, so much so that Field Marshals von Brauchitsch, von Rundstedt, and Rommel all had high praise for its commander, General List. It could be said that within the army, this commander of Army Group E was absolutely the general with the most real power and the broadest connections—bar none.

And why did so many generals have such a good working relationship with this List? One had to go back to the expansion of the German army. In fact, to train professional command talent, the Wehrmacht had long been sending infantry to Army Group E and Army Group F on the Eastern Front for something like an “internship.”

As a result, Army Group E and Army Group F had become severely overstrength. At their peak, the total number of men in these two army groups exceeded 1 million. If viewed purely in terms of organization, the forces commanded by List had reached or even surpassed the total strength of an entire army group.

But as time passed, after the German army had trained command talent at all levels at the front, Army Group E was split up. This was a bit like the splitting of the 26th Light Cavalry Division during the early expansion of the Wehrmacht. If Rommel’s 26th Light Cavalry Division was the cradle of the Wehrmacht’s armored forces, then Army Group E was the cradle of the German army’s army groups.

In the beginning, due to the need to expand the homeland’s Army Group A, 100,000 soldiers were drawn from Army Group E to form the main body of this new army group. And the commander of this army group was none other than von Rundstedt. The subsequent formation of Hoth’s J Army Group for the invasion of the Balkans also drew 100,000 troops each from Army Group E and Army Group F, which had ensured that the German army could pacify the Balkan resistance in one fell swoop.

Then, to support Rommel’s North African campaign, the High Command had decided to form a new army group, K Army Group, with Schörner as its commander-in-chief. This army group had drawn 70,000 veterans from Army Group E as its backbone, another reduction of almost one hundred thousand.

Immediately after, Manstein was ordered to form Army Group M, and likewise, 200,000 troops were drawn from the nearby Army Group E. That was why Manstein was able to lead his troops to rampage through Crimea, winning one brilliant siege battle after another.

Back and forth, Army Group E had been drawn down by a full 500,000 men, without receiving many new recruits. Most of these new recruits had been assigned to these newly formed army groups, and not many were allocated to the not-so-short-staffed Army Group E.

Looking at the connections between Army Group E and these newly formed units, one can see why List was remembered by so many military bigwigs. And it was precisely for this reason that at the beginning of this campaign, the originally 1.1 million-strong Army Group E under List had only 510,000 combat troops at the start of this battle (some soldiers were on rotation in the rear).

And in this battle that concerned the life and death of the Empire, List’s Army Group E had lost a fifth of its strength and still continued to fight, receiving unanimous praise from all the high-ranking generals of the Empire. And so, nominated by Field Marshal von Brauchitsch and approved by Akado, List was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, in recognition of his tenacious performance in this campaign.

“To have your army group withdraw is not a sign of distrust in the combat effectiveness of Army Group E. It’s just that on the one hand, we need to make way for Army Group A to launch an attack on the front, and your army group also needs time to replenish and rest,” Akado said to List with a smile. “The New Barbarossa Plan has already been launched. When the attack on Minsk begins, your army group will be moved to the front as a main cluster to attack Leningrad, and then to assist Finland in attacking Murmansk.”

“My Führer, if you trust in my ability, please let me command Army Group E to be the main force to attack Moscow. I guarantee I can take that city!” List pledged to Akado. “Compared to Leningrad, I would still rather attack Moscow!”

For the generals on the German Eastern Front, capturing Moscow was perhaps an obsession, and also something like a spiritual totem. The long wait of eight months, the endless small-scale battles that frayed one’s will, the daily shelling, the daily digging of trenches, the daily checking of ammunition reserves, the daily repetition of life at the front—it was all despairing.

So when the large-scale campaign broke out and hundreds of thousands, even millions, of troops were locked in a death struggle, when all the German Eastern Front commanders heard that New Barbarossa had begun, they all had a place in their hearts that had to be erased, and that place was Moscow.

To capture the enemy’s capital would undoubtedly be an affirmation of a commander’s combat ability on the Eastern Front, and also the best reward for a soldier. Without any suspense, List had also placed this honor in his heart. When he heard the Führer was sending him to attack Leningrad, he felt uncomfortable all over.

“First, as the northernmost part of the entire defense line, I need a trustworthy, seasoned general to hold the line. Even if it’s just by the book, he cannot cause any trouble for our subsequent attack plans. I have considered it for a long, long time, and I feel that I can only be at ease if you go,” Akado said to List, his smile gone, his tone solemn. “And I, personally, will compensate you for your loss with other honors.”

He stood up. “I will make Weichs and Model Field Marshals of the Third Reich after the Battle of Moscow is over. This is the first time I have mentioned this idea, so you are the first person to hear these words.”

When List stood up with him in awe, Akado continued, “Since I have left Moscow to Weichs and Model, then I plan to give Guderian his marshal’s baton at Kursk or Smolensk.”

“After Manstein has conquered the entire Caucasus, I will also give him an explanation. I have never been stingy with the marshal’s baton of the Empire. As long as you can follow behind me and complete the rise of the German nation in Europe!” As if afraid that List was not shocked enough, after speaking of Weichs and Model, Akado mentioned Manstein again.

List followed behind Akado, his heart pounding with every step. He knew what Akado was saying now meant that the current commanding generals would all have their destinies arranged by Akado within two years. These generals would achieve fame and success following the Führer, becoming a legendary tale in the imperial military circles.

“And you, General List,” Akado said, turning his head to look at his general, then pointing to Murmansk and Leningrad on the map beside him. “When you have completed your offensive plan, I will promote you to Field Marshal of the Empire. This is my promise. I hope you can understand my painstaking efforts.”

“My Führer! As your most loyal general, I assure you! Army Group E will definitely capture Leningrad and bury this city ruled by evil!” List saluted and pledged to Akado. “Tomorrow I will return to my command post, mobilize my troops, and while resting and refitting, head north.”

“We are all working towards a common goal, my general,” Akado said, looking out the window at the snow-covered landscape. He finally said to List, “Go, for the future of the German Third Reich, go and bring me victory!”

“Yes! Führer!” List turned, straightened his back, and walked firmly towards the office door.

…

Just as Akado was seeing List off from the Wolf’s Lair, in the skies over the Soviet front, as the weather improved, a new round of bombing began. More than 100 “Butcher” bombers, escorted by 40 fighters, flew over Smolensk and dropped about 500 tons of bombs. The entire city was engulfed in a sea of fire, and fear lingered in people’s hearts.

“Why are they in such a hurry to send planes to attack the enemy’s rear? This will alert the Soviets and is not conducive to our further actions,” an air force fighter commander said with a frown, whispering to his colleague.

“There’s nothing to be done. General Kesselring is anxious,” an informed air force general said with a grin. “The army and navy are full of field marshals. If it were you, wouldn’t you be anxious too?”

Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com