German Red Prince

Page 172

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"I approve your battle plan. Germany will only need one emperor, one empire, and one family in the future."

After much deliberation, Crown Prince William approved Hess's war plan, and the entire national machinery sprang into action. After a decade of peace, the whole of Europe was about to be engulfed in war once again.

King Otto and Thorne are in very bad condition. The doctors in the hospital are the top doctors in the Kingdom of Rhine, and they are doing their best to save them.

"How is it? Is Comrade Thorne alright?" Thälmann seemed very concerned. After all, Thorne had already joined the party. If something happened to him, the Communist Party of Germany would lose its biggest force, and they might have to resort to guerrilla warfare again.

"Not very good."

Goebbels frowned. It wasn't just Thorne; the situation in the Kingdom of Otto was also very bad. More importantly, Prince Andreas also knew about this news. He couldn't bear such a shock. If something happened, the royal family would truly be extinct.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

The doctor came out of the operating room looking extremely flustered.

"His Majesty the King is dying."

Goebbels felt a wave of dizziness. The king was dying? What would happen to the kingdom?

Thorne is still unconscious. The kingdom cannot be without its leader for even a day. The news of the king's accident cannot be kept secret for long. Stories are now circulating among the people. This sudden situation has completely disrupted all plans.

"Quickly inform the Queen that Prince Thorne has not yet woken up, and Prince Andreas must ascend the throne as soon as possible."

Everyone knows the principle of ascending the throne as soon as possible, but given the prince's current physical condition, how could the enthronement ceremony possibly proceed smoothly?

Because of the king's accident, the coronation had to be completed quickly, so many tedious steps were omitted. The crown was wrapped in the royal flag, and the ceremony was completed quickly. However, Prince Andreas had just completed his coronation when the accident happened. The king's sudden death and his brother's unknown fate were too much of a blow to him. Not long after the coronation ceremony, the new king vomited blood and fell into a coma.

Upon hearing this news, Goebbels was utterly devastated. What kingdom could withstand the loss of two kings in a single day?

The kingdom's political situation was in complete chaos, which triggered a series of chain reactions. In terms of military deployment, due to the great interference of politics, the front-line deployment was in disarray. Some troops had just arrived in one place and had not been stationed there for long before they were ordered to immediately move to another place.

Goebbels is now focusing all his energy on dealing with political issues. After all, compared to an unpredictable attack from Prussia, if internal chaos breaks out, it would be the end of the world.

Goebbels' idea was quite reasonable. As long as Prussia did not launch a sudden attack, there was still room for recovery. However, Hess was a crazy gambler, and he was so bold that he took the initiative to launch a full-scale attack on the Kingdom of the Rhine.

The northern border between Prussia and the Kingdom of the Rhine is marked by a river. Lochsstadt is a border city of Prussia, very close to the Kingdom of the Rhine. That night, the residents heard the sounds of fierce fighting, followed by the arrival of a large number of soldiers. It wasn't until daylight that they learned what had happened: they had been attacked by soldiers from the Kingdom of the Rhine!

"This is an utterly shameless act. The Kingdom of the Rhine, fearing damage to its power due to the accident involving their king, cruelly launched a disgraceful sneak attack on the Prussian people, attacking us without any preparation. This shameful act should be punished. We Prussia do not wish to provoke war, but we have never been afraid of war. We will give the dead justice!"

Taking this self-directed military operation as an opportunity, Hess officially fired the first shot of the German Civil War. Hess had his men put on the uniforms of the Kingdom of the Rhine army, fired a few shots at random, and then threw a few prisoners to death. The most dangerous thing about this speech was not that Hess provoked the war; they had previously hoped that Hess would take the initiative. It was just that he mentioned the situation of the kingdom in this speech.

The king had an accident, and the Rhine Kingdom suddenly lost one king and two crown princes, which is why they were desperate and resorted to such measures. Hess's words were pretty much accurate. The key issue is that the Rhine Kingdom couldn't come up with an explanation. The king had indeed passed away, and two others were still in a coma. Now they were in deep trouble, even if they weren't in a real mess.

"Feuer!"

The 105mm howitzers that had been positioned on the opposite bank began bombarding the border of the Kingdom of the Rhine. Although the troops at the front were notified until three hours before the start of the war, it was now a race to see who could react the fastest.

The Rhine Kingdom's army had actually been prepared for some time, but no one expected Prussia to launch an attack now. Prussia had united under Hess's speech, while the Rhine Kingdom's support for the war was extremely low, and the people were not even ready for war.

Moreover, everyone learned of the king's misfortune. Although they all hoped it was false, the king did not immediately come forward to refute it, nor did he even show his face, which further proved Hess's statement.

Although wars are generally more favorable to the defending side, the front lines of the Kingdom of the Rhine are in a state of chaos. Everyone knew that Prussia would attack, but no one expected Hess to act so decisively.

After gaining the upper hand in the front lines, the Prussian army began crossing the river. Within five hours of the start of the battle, several border cities had been captured by the Prussians.

In some places, the Prussian army had already collapsed before even firing a shot. This time, Hertz had launched a traditional "blitzkrieg" against the Kingdom of the Rhine.

381. Ambush

"Feuer!"

The 105mm howitzers opened fire wildly on the opposite bank. The Kingdom of Rhine was completely caught off guard; everything was happening far too fast.

No matter how many exercises or news reports there were before, no one ever really thought that Germany would fight a civil war. Germany's next war is actually a civil war!

Not only were the soldiers of the Kingdom of the Rhine caught off guard, but even the Prussian soldiers on the opposite bank were stunned. When they heard the order to fire, they couldn't believe it. Fire? They were actually at war?

Within hours of delivering his national address, Hess launched a swift war. Prussia had already deployed a large number of soldiers on the border, and he was confident that he could catch the Kingdom of the Rhine off guard.

"Feuer!"

The 105mm howitzers unleashed a barrage of firepower, keeping the Rhine Kingdom's army pinned down. This was mainly because they hadn't received any orders. Although they were on high alert, most still thought it was just a routine exercise. The higher-ups had declared martial law, but after a few days of silence, the lower-level troops relaxed their guard considerably.

The Kingdom of Rhine failed to organize an effective counterattack immediately. The government was still overwhelmed with the Kingdom's affairs and had not even issued the order for a counterattack to the front-line troops. Now was the best time to test the overall level of the army, because this is war, and different units must have sufficient adaptability when war comes.

A regiment of grenadier armored division was stationed in Brack, a border city of the Kingdom of the Rhine. Brack was the first city to be hit in this raid. The city was in chaos, and almost no troops could be contacted. The bombing paralyzed the city's communications.

"Quickly assemble the troops for a counterattack! We absolutely cannot let them land!"

Anyone can understand what's going on; the other side is coming to cause them trouble. This intense bombing doesn't look like a mistake at all.

"Commander, we haven't received any instructions from above yet, we..."

"Damn it, we need more instructions? The enemy has already fired several rounds of artillery fire and we're still waiting for instructions? How long are we supposed to wait? Until the Prussians take over Brack? Order the troops to assemble, bring out all the usable equipment, and have Senak take a squad of soldiers to gather more soldiers along the way and organize a counterattack at the river mouth!"

Commander List reacted quickly, immediately making arrangements and donning his helmet. After the Prussian attack, their regiment was the most intact, while the other units were almost completely scattered. They sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime, especially since their unit was the first batch of troops Rommel brought from Darmstadt.

Lister quickly issued the orders. There was no time to inform his superiors in this situation. Weapons were immediately distributed to the front lines for defense. Even if they couldn't hold out, they had to make Prussia feel the pain.

"Commander Lister, what's going on?" Ulrich had run around before finding Lister, and he too had quickly recovered from the attack.

Military judges have now been appointed in most of the Rhine army, enabling them to maintain stability in the army immediately. It seems to be working well, at least in Lister's regiment. Ulrich quickly found Lister to inquire about the situation.

"We've been ambushed by the Prussians. We must immediately set up defenses on the riverbank and prevent their kayaks from crossing."

"There's no time to lose, we must act immediately." Ulrich also strongly agreed with Lister's plan, and they assembled their troops and headed for the riverbank.

"Residents retreat westward, soldiers defend the riverbank to the east!"

Lister ordered his soldiers to run towards the riverbank while shouting that the people there must be evacuated immediately in order to minimize casualties.

Upon arriving at the destination, Lister immediately used his binoculars to observe. He saw that the soldiers on the opposite side were already crossing the river under the cover of artillery fire, and he also saw that many assault boats had already reached the middle of the river.

"Scheisse!"

These Prussians are too arrogant. They clearly think the enemy's defenses have been completely breached, and they dare to cross the river so openly.

"Where are our machine guns? Get them set up! Let these Prussian bastards see the fighting power of the Kingdom of the Rhine!"

Although mass production has only been underway for a short time, the output of the MP28 and MG28 is already quite high. Both of these new guns are very simple to manufacture, and as the new army under Thorne's command, these new weapons were issued to them immediately.

The machine gunners pulled back their bolts; they were already very familiar with their new guns and knew the power of this new weapon. They all aimed at the Prussian troops in the middle of the river.

The opposing side was clearly careless, thinking it was a flawless sneak attack. Moreover, they hadn't encountered any damage while crossing the river, probably because they were shattered by several rounds of artillery fire. The soldiers on the assault boats also relaxed considerably, thinking that as long as they got ashore, it would be a victory.

However, they clearly did not expect that there was an army lying in ambush on the other side. The military reform of the Kingdom of Rhine was no joke. Seeing that their own soldiers were about to land and that the enemy's artillery had weakened considerably, it meant that Lister and his men had their chance.

"shooting!"

At Lister's command, the sound of a cloth-tearing machine came from the bunker. The assault boats opposite were still some distance from the shore, and now was the perfect time to launch an attack. Retreating would not get them very far, and advancing would prevent them from reaching the shore.

The Prussian troops on the ship were clearly unaware of the soldiers lying in ambush. They were caught off guard and two assault boats were instantly destroyed by intense fire. The MG28 demonstrated its deadly rate of fire, proving what a battlefield reaper truly is. The Prussian soldiers on the ship had nowhere to hide; they didn't even know where the enemy was and could only fire blindly.

"Come and see this good fellow!"

Although Thorne was researching RPGs, adhering to the principle that not manufacturing them would be a waste, he still ordered a batch of Panzerfausts to be produced. These were originally intended for attacking tanks, but in the absence of heavy firepower, they were now exceptionally suitable for dealing with infantry that had not yet landed.

With just a short period of training, they could master the use of the Iron Fist. The Rhine soldiers were also very skilled at it and began to call out the names of the assault boats on the river one by one.

Lister ordered Senak to lead his soldiers to organize other troops for defense. There were still no orders from above, so they could only defend for as long as possible and try to get more civilians evacuated.

As Lister led his men in a counterattack, more and more troops joined the battle. Senak organized a considerable number of troops along the way, all of whom rushed toward the riverbank according to Lister's orders. He even contacted the artillery, and finally they were able to bring out the cannons and fire a couple of shots at the other side.

Brac has the Weser River for defense and can hold out for a while, but other places are not so lucky. Hanover is an important Prussian city, and a large number of soldiers have also been gathered there. In less than ten hours, these soldiers have advanced thirty kilometers into the Kingdom of the Rhine and captured Lauenau, making them the fastest advancing Prussian army so far.

During the Great War, troops typically advanced only a few kilometers or a dozen kilometers per day. This time, they advanced thirty kilometers in less than ten hours. The straight-line distance between Hanover and Frankfurt is only three hundred kilometers. At this rate, the Kingdom of the Rhine could be conquered in just ten days.

Such speed would be considered a "blitzkrieg" by ordinary people, the advance was too fast, but the Kingdom of Rhine had undergone long-term defensive training, and the initial shock was only temporary. They quickly reacted, first ordering the front-line troops to react randomly, trying to delay the enemy as much as possible.

Then, other troops were immediately mobilized and organized to quickly establish a defensive line in the rear. Thorne had anticipated that the Kingdom of the Rhine would be unable to react to a surprise attack, so the idea of ​​a "three-line defense" was conceived, with defenses deployed in three sections between Frankfurt and the border.

It was clear that the first line of defense could not be held, so an order was immediately issued to deploy a second line of defense. Before the second line of defense was set up, the troops at the front were not allowed to retreat.

Marshal Schulz of the Kingdom of the Rhine was temporarily put in charge of the overall command of the battle. After all, he had fought in the Polish campaign and was a general with some combat experience before this war. The army that Thorne trained and reorganized was commanded by Guderian. He had previously served in the Kingdom of Prussia and was familiar with the tactics there. The army that Thorne reorganized was mainly composed of armored forces, which was Guderian's forte.

After receiving news of the Prussian attack, Model simply gave a brief notification and headed to the front lines. The kingdom was currently doing its utmost to strengthen the second line of defense, so he was going to take command of the troops on the first line. Even if he couldn't defeat the Prussians, he wanted to inflict sufficient casualties on them.

382. Manstein's Plan

The raid on the Kingdom of Rhine has been exceptionally successful, with breakthroughs achieved in all but a few locations, reaching the designated positions.

The Rhine Kingdom's army was caught off guard in the early stages, so the Prussian army fought very smoothly. The soldiers on the front lines could clearly feel that, unlike the trench warfare of World War I, the current battles were more mobile warfare. Because the start was a surprise attack, the attackers obviously did not need to dig trenches for a standoff and were all charging forward at full speed.

In the Prussian military, Hess's sweeping reforms of the military system ousted many old guard members, and replaced them with middle-aged and young officers who had long been frustrated in the military. Their tactics were more radical and creative than those of the old guard.

Because Hess had promoted them, these officers, though they had only been in office for a short time, were all very proactive and actively engaged in the command of the battlefield. This war was their chance to establish themselves; if they won, they would be absolute authorities in the future army.

Manstein's misfortune turned into a blessing in disguise. Because of his connection with Hindenburg, he had always been one of the ostracized members of the army. However, Hess and Ludendorff were cooperating with him, so during this reorganization of the army, Manstein stepped into the limelight and participated in the plan to raid the Kingdom of the Rhine.

As a staff officer, Manstein did not wield much influence within the army. Therefore, his participation in this plan was limited to offering suggestions and making modifications, rather than truly leading the operation. Due to uncertainty about the military strength of the Kingdom of the Rhine, the operational plan was formulated in a relatively conservative manner.

Now, seeing the news coming from the front lines, it's clear they overthought things. The Kingdom of the Rhine suffered a complete rout in the first phase, with many troops advancing several kilometers without encountering the enemy. This news is enough to make the commanders stationed in the rear extremely excited. They had been so cautious before, only to find that the Kingdom of the Rhine was so vulnerable. So what are they waiting for? They should all rush in and go all in, taking Frankfurt before the Kingdom of the Rhine can react.

While these generals were celebrating together, Manstein poured cold water on their enthusiasm, arguing that the Kingdom of the Rhine was far from being destroyed. In other words, the Kingdom of the Rhine still possessed considerable strength, and Prussia's current victories were only temporary.

The Prussian army lacked motorization, and the soldiers still ran on foot. Some of those with equipment rode bicycles to advance. In order to penetrate as deep as possible into the Rhineland, many transport trucks unloaded their equipment and loaded soldiers to rush forward.

Manstein saw through these battlefield details: the Kingdom of the Rhine was unprepared, and Prussia was even less prepared. Prussia was completely unprepared to face a German civil war, which was a huge strategic mistake. Although it seemed that Prussia was winning step by step for the time being, the Kingdom of the Rhine's strength had not been greatly affected despite advancing so far.

Many Rhineland troops successfully withdrew because the Prussian army lacked effective mechanization; how could they possibly contain such a large force on foot?

The Rhine Kingdom's mistake was merely a tactical one. Manstein knew that the Rhine Kingdom had been preparing for this civil war much earlier than they had. In other words, the Rhine Kingdom had actually been waiting for Prussia to launch this war; they were actually afraid that Prussia wouldn't come.

This sudden attack was clearly unexpected by the Kingdom of the Rhine. Prussia simply does not have enough power to completely annihilate the Kingdom of the Rhine. Therefore, the current priority should not be to think about whether it can swallow the entire kingdom in one go, but rather how to inflict the greatest casualties on the Kingdom of the Rhine, to hurt it so badly that it sets it back twenty years. In this way, Prussia will have enough bargaining chips in its hands when it comes to peace talks.

Manstein devised a battle plan unlike any other: the troops that were charging all the way to Frankfurt were to turn around and charge north toward Papenburg, thus dividing the northern and southern battlefields and encircling the Rhine Kingdom's army in the north.

The army making the fastest progress so far is the southern army. The army in the Hanover direction is the main force of this offensive and the fastest advancing force. They have the most heavy equipment such as trucks and motorcycles among the front-line troops and are one of the few motorized armies in Prussia's hands.

Manstein knew that the closer they advanced to Frankfurt, the stronger the Rhine Kingdom's army would become. He had not yet heard any news of their tank units, which was enough to make him wary. The Rhine Kingdom's tank units were a key focus of their research, and even Prussia's latest tank units were modeled after theirs.

Why hasn't this elite force reacted yet? How can they be so patient?

Manstein planned to send Army Group B in the south north to join forces with Army Group A to encircle the Rhineland. If this succeeded, the Kingdom of the Rhineland would be crippled or destroyed. At that time, in order to avoid French invasion, Prussia would have more conditions to negotiate at the negotiating table. This would be a good outcome and a very stable one.

However, as an ordinary staff officer in the General Staff, Manstein's plan was not taken seriously. Everyone was obviously blinded by the victory before them. The only way to win now was to take Frankfurt before the Kingdom of the Rhine could react.

To be honest, Manstein's plan was very similar to Operation Sickle. Operation Sickle was rejected several times because it was too radical, but Hitler wanted to take a gamble and approved his plan, which led to its success.

Now the situation is exactly the opposite. With the frontline troops advancing triumphantly, Manstein's plan seems somewhat conservative and highly uncertain. Taking Frankfurt and encircling the north in this potentially successful siege is clearly a gamble that everyone wants to take.

After all, at the current pace, the war might be over in a few months. If they were to encircle the north and let Frankfurt go, who knows how long the tug-of-war would last once the Kingdom of the Rhine realized what was happening. Hess was also a gambler in this timeline, even bolder than Hitler in that timeline.

Hitler had at least begun planning and troop deployments long before attacking France, while Hess had far too little preparation time from taking power to invading the Kingdom of the Rhine. It was as if he made the decision on a whim. Hess hadn't originally intended to start the war now; he was waiting for the right opportunity. The derailment of the Rhine Kingdom's special train was clearly a perfect opportunity.

Although he was not ready, Hess believed that the Kingdom of the Rhine was not ready either. The officers below were worried about being too slow, and he was even more worried. Once the kingdom reacted, it would be a protracted war of attrition. Prussia now had to keep winning so that the people would support it.

When a radical army meets a radical leader, everyone goes crazy. Manstein's "Operation Sickle," which aimed to move north, was naturally thwarted. Hess continued to emphasize that Army Group B should rush south and accelerate to capture Frankfurt before the enemy could organize an effective counterattack.

Once the order to continue south was given, Prussia's fate was sealed. If there was still a glimmer of hope if heading north, then advancing south completely blocked that glimmer of hope. The Rhine Kingdom's absolute trump card before the war was all on the southern front, especially Guderian's armored divisions.

Which runs faster, a four-legged horse or a two-tracked tank? How thick is your horse's armor and how powerful is its firepower? Do you dare to engage in a blitzkrieg with Guderian?

notification

Due to the start of the school term, I am very busy with academic work and need to take various certificate exams. As a result, I will not be able to update this book every day, and the update frequency has decreased. I apologize for this.

383. Making dumplings

Prussia's Army Group B was indeed very fast, which shows that Prussia's century-old military spirit has not completely dissipated. Compared with the stagnant Army Group A, Army Group B had a good chance of ending the war within a few months. Because of the performance of Army Group B, the combat missions of Army Group A and Army Group B were also adjusted.

Army Group A's main task has now become providing cover, drawing enemy fire and protecting Army Group B as it continues its southward advance. The Kingdom of the Rhine is not as incompetent as Prussia had imagined.

On the Weser River, taking advantage of the favorable terrain, a large number of Rhineland troops successfully halted the Prussian army's advance, and these defensive counterattacks did indeed cause the Prussian army considerable trouble.

Lister had been defending Brack for five days, using the Weser River as a natural defense. Due to the terrain, it was difficult for the attacking side to launch an effective attack on the opposite bank. Lister led his troops in this way, firing back with weapons when the enemy was about to land, and then hiding in bunkers when the enemy shelled them.

Thorne had previously emphasized the principle of flexible military operations, which is the so-called principle of commanders at the corps, division, brigade, regiment, battalion, company, platoon, and squad levels. If a lower-ranking officer cannot contact his superior, he must be flexible and adaptable. In the battlefield, if an army is reduced to a division, then the commander becomes the division commander; if a division is reduced to a brigade, then the commander becomes the brigade commander. The command of the army must be coherent from top to bottom, but also maintain a certain degree of independence.

However, it was clearly different for Lister. His troops grew larger and larger. The troops initially collapsed because the enemy's attack was too sudden. Later, Lister led his troops to buy enough time, and the other troops also recovered from the chaos. In this way, the troops under Lister's command grew larger and larger.

Brac's garrison was quite large. The Prussian tactics on the other side were very similar to blitzkrieg, and they also attacked by surprise. However, because of the river blocking the northern defense line, his blitzkrieg could not exert its full power. In addition, the Rhine Kingdom's army reacted quickly and never achieved any results.

The Weser River bought enough time for the north to successfully repel the first wave of Prussian attacks and hold the first line of defense. During this time, the kingdom also urgently restored communication with the front lines, ensuring that the troops defending the first line of defense against the Prussian attack have not yet been breached anywhere in the northern defense line.

In Brack, Lister now commands over five thousand soldiers. He has risen from a regimental commander to a brigade commander and is about to become a division commander. He only recently received news that his former unit commander was killed in the first wave of Prussian artillery fire, which explains why he had not received any information for a long time. Lister is now the de facto leader in charge of the area.

The Prussian attack had just been repelled. The soldiers responsible for defense were hiding in their bunkers, some of them already dozing off. Sure enough, just as everyone expected, the enemy shelling started again. But they were used to it and even started chatting.