Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Success and Failure (1)
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The signing of the Korea-China armistice agreement was more than enough to shock the world.
In particular, Germany was gripped by fear at the realization that a massive Korean force had been freed up by this pact.
“If those Korean bastards swarm to the Eastern Front, we’re finished.”
The balance of forces on the Eastern Front was already heavily tilted in the Soviets’ favor.
Hitler felt immense pressure in this situation.
That only amplified his unrealistic expectations for wonder weapons.
“With a wonder weapon that can take on a hundred foes at once, all our problems will be solved.”
In the skies, jet fighters and bombers; on the ground, sturdy new Tiger B and Panther G tanks; at sea, new submarines equipped with snorkels; for air defense, surface-to-air missiles; enemy fleets crushed by Fritz X glide bombs, enemy tanks by Panzerfausts.
The enemy’s morale shattered by the newly developed V-1 missiles.
The weapons the Führer pinned his hopes on each had their merits.
But the generals didn’t share his illusions about wonder weapons.
Heinz Guderian, former Chief of the Armored Corps and now Army Chief of Staff, believed a good weapon was one that offered solid value for money and could be deployed at the right place and time.
No matter how excellent the weapon, if production was insufficient or maintenance issues arose, preventing timely deployment, its value couldn’t be rated highly.
Throughout the meeting, Hitler insisted that sturdy wonder weapons would solve everything, but few truly agreed.
And right now, those wonder weapons weren’t the priority anyway.
Guderian finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up to the Führer.
“Your Excellency, rescuing the 1st Panzer Army is the urgent matter, more than wonder weapons.”
In late January 1944, Soviet forces that had crossed the Dnieper River broke through on both flanks, successfully recreating the encirclement of Stalingrad.
The encircled German forces numbered 200,000.
The 1st Panzer Army, surrounded by the Soviets, was little more than infantry with scarcely any tanks despite its name—an armored army in title only—and couldn’t break out of the encirclement without outside support.
If relief forces weren’t sent in time this time either, it would only repeat the fate of the 13th Corps, encircled and annihilated in the Dnieper bend.
*That would be a catastrophe.*
For manpower-starved Germany, a loss of 200,000 was an irrecoverable blow.
“Is there truly no hope for the 1st Panzer Army to rebuild its defenses on its own?”
Guderian felt deflated at the Führer’s question.
*As if.*
“Impossible. Didn’t Field Marshal Manstein tell you that himself, over and over?”
“The Chief of Staff is too negative about everything.”
“Führer, I stake my position on this: without relief forces, nothing can be done.”
At Guderian’s firm denial, Hitler fell into thought.
Guderian himself might be one thing, but Hitler trusted him quite a bit.
That was why he’d appointed him Chief of Staff.
After much deliberation, Hitler finally spoke.
“This isn’t relief—it’s support to rebuild the defensive line. We can only commit forces under that premise.”
“It depends on how many troops are deployed, Your Excellency.”
Hitler decided to divert a large portion of the forces he’d been assembling in Hungary for the Balkans.
“I’ll hand over command of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps and twelve divisions. Isn’t that enough?”
*Not even close.*
The 2nd SS Panzer Corps was elite, fully equipped and up to strength, but it was still just one corps.
The other divisions were ragged remnants battered by combat.
Pushing back the massive Soviet armies across the Dnieper and rebuilding the line with such forces was a pipe dream.
But openly defying the Führer here wouldn’t do.
“We’ll give it a try.”
Guderian decided to coordinate with Manstein, the on-site commander, and assess the situation.
Of course, it would almost certainly end in retreat.
The moment the meeting broke up, Guderian sent a wire to Manstein.
“The Führer’s approval has come through. The strategic reserve will soon transfer to Army Group South—do as you see fit.”
Manstein sprang into action the instant he received Guderian’s message.
“Not a minute to waste.”
Manstein meticulously devised a withdrawal plan for the 1st Panzer Army.
*The 1st Panzer Army must retreat toward Poland.*
At first glance, withdrawing toward the nearest German front in Romania seemed logical, but it was a trap.
The Red Army had surely massed forces there, anticipating a German breakout.
In Manstein’s view, escaping westward was the best option.
From a strategic standpoint as well, to rebuild the front later, the 1st Panzer Army’s troops needed to hold in the Poland-western Ukraine sector.
Allies over homeland defense? No—homeland defense first.
That was Manstein’s judgment.
“Have the 1st Panzer Army move out first. Once the breakthrough begins, commit the 2nd SS to widen the gap.”
Manstein issued orders to Hube’s 1st Panzer Army to commence withdrawal westward.
The Luftwaffe would supply essentials during the march.
Air supply had spelled disaster at Stalingrad, but this was different.
The German Air Force scraped together what transport strength it had and successfully delivered critical fuel and ammunition.
And there was one more factor smiling on the Germans.
Unlike Stalingrad, the Soviet encirclement wasn’t airtight yet, and the Germans still had the strength to break through.
That difference proved decisive.
“Keep moving. If you have the strength, don’t rest—march. Every step you take today saves your life.”
1st Panzer Army commander Hans-Valentin Hube personally toured the front, encouraging the troops.
When the Germans began their breakout, the Soviets were celebrating victory.
“Stalingrad all over again—the Germans are finished.”
“We’re not safe yet. Just in case they try to escape, reinforce the Romanian sector.”
Marshal Zhukov was convinced the Germans would flee toward Romania.
For them to punch through the shortest distance, Romania was the obvious choice.
Zhukov’s “commonsense” judgment left him blindsided by Manstein’s plan to break twice as far westward.
“They’ll definitely break south. South.”
Due to Zhukov’s stubbornness, the Soviets dismissed the westward breach as a feint.
A few days after the 1st Panzer Army began its breakout, the fully manned 2nd SS Panzer Corps advanced from the Polish sector to link up.
“R-relief from the west?”
Only then did Zhukov realize something was off.
He hastily mobilized nearby units to contain them, but it wasn’t enough to stop the full-strength SS panzer corps’ onslaught.
The German operation was proceeding smoothly, but when Hitler heard, he flew into a rage.
“I said no retreat! Relieve the Army Group South commander.”
The Führer sacked Manstein on the spot.
The field marshal heard the news with a calm expression and issued his final orders to his staff.
“Westward.”
Keep going west.
With that, Manstein was out of the war.
At this point, no order from Hitler could reverse the withdrawal.
On February 20, 1944, the vanguard of the 1st Panzer Army linked up with the lead elements of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps.
For Germany, it was a miraculous breakout success.
But the operation’s success hardly mattered.
With the 1st Panzer Army and other Army Group South units withdrawing en masse, most of western Ukraine fell back to the Soviets.
Now, the only barriers between the Balkan states and the Soviet forces were the modest Dniester River and the Carpathian Mountains.
“Now the Soviet victory is clear for all to see. The General Secretary will want us to make our move.”
“Indeed. Let’s make contact with the king’s side, then.”
The Romanian Communist Party sent Emil Bodnăraș and Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu to reach out to the king’s faction.
The king was startled by the communists’ approach but instinctively sensed an opportunity.
*The country’s falling to the reds anyway. If I stage a coup, I can score points with the Soviets and maybe come out ahead.*
Becoming a Soviet puppet state was tolerable if it meant preserving the monarchy.
The king dispatched Baron Ion Moțoiu-Stărescu to negotiate with the communists.
With aligned interests, talks proceeded smoothly.
“When the Soviets cross the Dniester, we’ll act too. But you must keep your promises.”
“Of course. We haven’t forgotten we’re Romanian citizens.”
Communists and royal retainers shook hands with smiles.
This clandestine meeting should have stayed secret from all.
But German intelligence had long been watching the Romanian palace closely.
*What are these bastards up to?*
With decent intelligence of its own, Germany quickly identified the contacts as communists.
Communists and a powerless royal house.
What scheme could those two groups hatch?
Germany traced the scent back, digging deep around King Michael I.
The result?
*A real coup? Have they lost their minds?*
The agent rushed the intel back home.
The report went through Schellenberg straight to Hitler.
The Führer erupted in fury.
“These rat-like Romanians dare betray the Greater German Reich?”
Let one or two slip away unchecked, and the rest would collapse.
Hitler knew that.
So he had to make an example—the harshest one.
Ion Antonescu, the marshal uninvolved in the coup plot, was unfortunate collateral, but so be it.
He couldn’t leave a fool who hadn’t noticed a coup brewing under his nose in charge of Romania.
At Hitler’s orders, German forces swiftly prepared retaliation.
On March 1, 1944, a formation of German military aircraft landed in Romania’s capital, Bucharest.
Commanding the operation was “the most dangerous man in Europe,” Otto Skorzeny, famed for rescuing Mussolini—Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny.
“Take them all.”
Skorzeny’s commandos overpowered the Romanian guards, then stormed straight into the palace and prime minister’s residence.
Simultaneously, German units stationed in Romania summoned military commanders under pretext of a meeting, detained them, and marched forces on Bucharest.
Romania couldn’t lift a finger against this multidimensional assault.
Skorzeny strode into the palace on muddy boots and stood before the king.
“Wh-what is the meaning of this outrage?”
As the king protested vehemently,
“Your Majesty, had your betrayal succeeded, we’d have lost hundreds of thousands of troops without a fight. Perhaps Romania would have earned Soviet forgiveness for that service. But you should have considered failure too. Did you think we’d sit idly by?”
Ignoring the king’s furious glare, Skorzeny ordered his men.
“Seal the palace. No one in or out without my say-so—not even a rat.”
“Yes, sir.”
In half a day’s blitz, Germany neutralized Romania by force.
It removed a dangerous threat for Germany, but the attack only rattled the Axis allies further.
*Everyone knows Germany’s a sinking ship. Think this from Berlin will change our minds?*
Hungarian Regent Horthy used the incident to steel his resolve to abandon Germany.