Chapter 105
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Mainz returned from the capital, he immediately began to gather troops to prepare for the expedition.
After the disarmament, the German army only had two armies and six divisions, including a cavalry division.
Mainz did not hold back and directly notified all the troops to go out together, showing a posture of fighting the Gauls to the death!
"Major Guderian, your First Division is the vanguard, set off now, the target is Dortmund, control this place to stop the French army from continuing to advance eastward!"
Looking at Guderian's excitement, Mainz said sternly:
"Remember, your mission is to stop the advance of the French army. You are not allowed to take the initiative to attack before the follow-up troops arrive. If you disobey military orders, no matter what results you have achieved before, I will send you to a military court, understand?"
Seeing that Major General Mainz said so seriously, Guderian finally put away the excitement on his face and answered seriously:"Yes, I will complete the task!"
"Repeat my command!"
"First Division���Capture Dortmund, block the French army in Tokyo, and never step out of Dortmund without orders!"
"Very good, get ready!"
Mainz nodded, and then let Guderian leave.
The reason why Guderian was asked to take the lead was that Guderian's troops had already begun to prepare for the war before Mainz left Hamburg, so his troops were the most fully prepared at this time and could set off immediately as long as they received the order.
Speed is of the essence in war. Seizing the position one step earlier can stop the enemy's pace one step earlier.
The Ruhr Industrial Zone is very important, and Mainz cannot sit idly by and watch it fall into the hands of the French army!
"Model, the destination of your Second Division is Bocholt, which is the right wing of our army.
Occupying this place can stop the French army from advancing northward.
Unless the French army and the Allied Powers persuade the Windmill Kingdom to join the war, the safety of our army's right wing can be guaranteed.
This task is very heavy.
If I were the commander of the French army, I would send at least one army to attack here and cut off the connection between our country and the Windmill Kingdom.
Therefore, this task is very difficult.
I would like to ask you, are you willing to accept this task?"
Model has a nickname called Mo Bu Gong, which means he is good at defense but not good at offense.
Mainz is also very aware of this characteristic of Model, so he never planned to let Model do anything related to offense, as that would be too much to ask!
However, whenever there is a need to fight a tough battle or a defensive battle, the first person Mainz thinks of is Model!
In the entire German army, no one's defensive talent is as high as Model.
Unlike Guderian's excitement, Model's face did not show too much excitement after hearing Major General Mainz's call.
He even had time to think for a while before he spoke:"General, when our army is arranging defenses, do we need to defend against enemies in the west?"
To the west of Bocholt is the Windmill Kingdom. Logically, the Windmill Kingdom would not participate in the war, but the actual situation is difficult to judge.
The Second Division is short of manpower, and it is already a bit stretched for them to defend the enemy in the south with all their strength. If there is another threat from the west, it will be even more difficult.
By then, even if Model reluctantly forms a line of defense, I am afraid that the line of defense will become paper-mache due to the serious gap in manpower!
Therefore, Model's question is key, and he will directly determine the German army's combat policy and strategic deployment.
Everyone looked at Mainz in unison, waiting for his answer.
Mainz knew that his judgment might directly affect the outcome of the war, but at this moment he could only take a gamble!
Historically, the Windmill Kingdom did not participate in World War I, and was forcibly dragged into the war by the Third Reich in World War II. Before that, the Windmill Kingdom had always had a good relationship with Hans, and even accepted the abdicated German Emperor for political asylum in the Windmill Kingdom, so Mainz felt that the possibility of the Windmill Kingdom participating in the war was very low.
"Don’t worry about the windmill people in the west, your mission is to defend against the French army in the south with all your strength!"
"Yes, General!"
Since Major General Mainz had already made his judgment, Model did not doubt it. After he saluted respectfully, he quickly left the Operations Department and rushed back to his troops to prepare.
"Dietrich, you lead your cavalry division and rush here immediately. Your mission is very simple. Keep exerting pressure on the French troops in the Rhine region from the east and be ready to attack their supply routes at any time. Do you understand?"
Mainz used the baton in his hand to circle an area on the map, and said to Dietrich, the commander of the cavalry division who came from Audili.
Dietrich looked at it carefully for a while, then nodded:"I understand, General!"
Seeing that everyone had received their tasks one by one, the remaining people who had not received their tasks were as anxious as ants on a hot pot.
Especially Kesselring, the commander of the 3rd Division, he hesitated several times and wanted to ask for a fight, but was worried about affecting the deployment of General Mainz.
This hesitant look made Mainz feel very funny, so he opened his mouth and called Kesselring's name.
"Kesselring!"
"General, what can I do for you?"
Kesselring was shocked when he heard his name and immediately stood up and answered.
"The Third Division's mission is here!"
Mainz pointed to a place on the map far away from the Ruhr Industrial Zone with his baton, and said to Kesselring:"Your mission is not difficult, enter Kaiserslautern and show that you are going to attack westward!"
Kesselring scratched his head. This position did not look like there was a battle to be fought!
He was a little confused to put a main division here.
"If you don't understand, think more. By the way, don't rush to leave when you go back. I will have people contact Rheinmetall, Krupp and other factories to send you a batch of equipment for 100,000 people. Take this batch of equipment with you when you leave!"
If Kesselring was just confused about the deployment of Mainz before, then he was completely confused at this time.
Although the 3rd Division is the main force of the German army, the total strength of this division is only 16,000 people. How can a force of 16,000 people be equipped with equipment for 100,000 people?
Although the more equipment the better, this is several times more, which is a bit abnormal!
"What? Are you curious about why you were asked to bring so much equipment?"
Seeing Kesselring's confused look, Mainz was both angry and amused.
"Yes, it’s a bit hard to understand!"
"Humph, if you don't understand, think about it more. By the way, this is Major Manstein from Berlin. He is a staff officer from the General Staff. I will transfer him to you and make him your chief of staff. After you arrive in Kaiserslautern, if you still don't understand, you can ask him!"
After Mainz finished speaking, he waved his hand and told Kesselring to get out. He would definitely explain some things when they should be explained, but Mainz was unwilling to say a word when they shouldn't be explained.
This is not the era of total war, but a possible military conflict. At this time, it is natural to focus on training the officers under his command. Naturally, he can't shoulder all the things by himself. In that case, it will be difficult for them to grow. Mainz doesn't want his people to become a group of machines that can only execute orders. What he wants is a group of generals or even marshals who can stand on their own and deal with various situations!
Kesselring's record in history is very brilliant, which shows that he is very talented, so Mainz has high hopes for him and hopes that he can show his military talents as soon as possible!
For this reason, he specially transferred Manstein to the Third Division, with the aim of letting these two tactical masters learn from each other and discuss more!_Feilu reminds you: Three things to read-