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墨書 Inktalez
May 10, 1925
“Is this the General Staff of the Army of Germany?” Strasser remarked, looking around at the surrounding buildings with a sense of nostalgia.
Although the military strength of Germany was restricted by the Treaty of Versailles, leading to a relatively small number of soldiers stationed at the Supreme Command, the martial spirit left by Prussia still prompted Germany to decide to build this magnificent building.
"I visited here in 1923, at that time it was just a temporary command post with a few civilian houses, but I didn't expect it to develop to this extent in just two years. I have to say, General Siket is quite capable," praised Rommel, with Bock beside him in agreement.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the General Staff of the Army. After explaining their purpose, the soldiers at the entrance briefly checked their documents and let them in.
As soon as Strasser entered the lobby on the first floor of General Staff, he saw the long-awaited General Ludendorff.
"Have you made up your mind? Are you sure you want to choose to fight France?" Ludendorff got straight to the point.
"That's right, trust me, General, we have prepared quite a lot for this." Strasser replied confidently.
"That's right, General Ludendorff. Strasser has taught us a lot of new knowledge these days, things we were never taught at army school. I believe he can lead us to victory," Ferdinand von Bock said. Among the officers present, his aristocratic status was the most distinguished; his father had risen to the rank of brigadier, and his mother came from a military family.
"I hope you really have something new," Ludendorff sighed as he led Strasser and his group into the Operations Conference Room of the General Staff of the Army.
As soon as Strasser entered the room, he saw a gigantic sandbox in the center, far more grand and beautiful than the makeshift one he had seen at the National Socialist Party headquarters. A group of officers dressed in uniforms ranging from Army Brigadier to Army General were bent over the sandbox, studying it intently. The scene was quite wild; Strasser had always thought that German soldiers were as serious and unsmiling as Ludendorff.
"Do you see? The formation I've arranged has no defensive blind spots. There are three layers of defense, and not even a fly could get through, let alone a division," a staff officer with the rank of Major General said proudly.
"I've dug a two-meter-deep trench in the position you've set up, and I've connected them all together while adding reverse slopes to withstand artillery fire. As soon as the battle begins, I'll send troops to start digging. I want to see how Strasser plans to break through the defenses I've established in western Poland," another Army Major General added.
"That's right, this time in the military simulation games, we not only want to win, but we want a decisive victory. That lieutenant actually looks down on us; we need to show him a thing or two," said the oldest Army General.
"What if Strasser chooses France instead of Poland? We aren't prepared for that," asked the youngest brigadier, who was new to the General Staff of the Army.
The generals exchanged glances and then burst into laughter, nearly bringing tears to their eyes.
The Army General laughed heartily while slapping the table and said, "Don't worry, Major General Mark, no one would be foolish enough to choose France as a target. If he does, we can just copy the homework from the European War against France." Strasser looked at the eager generals who were ready to show their authority and felt a bit of sympathy for them.
"I hope they don't explode in anger later," he thought silently.
"Cough, cough!" Ludendorff deliberately reminded the generals present. Seeing no response from them, he suddenly shouted, "General Siket is here!"
"!!!"
"Salute to General Siket!"
The group of staff immediately jumped up, quickly lined up, and saluted towards Ludendorff.
"Hahaha, I'm just kidding with you. It's not time to start work yet. Seeckt that old guy never arrives early."
Ludendorff looked at the group of generals standing still, which was quite funny to him, but they still maintained their salute posture, which made him puzzled.
"General Ludendorff," Rundstedt gently pulled Ludendorff and whispered.
"General Siket seems to have really arrived."
Ludendorff stiffly turned his head and saw General Siket's half-smiling face.
"Good morning, General Siket," Ludendorff forced out a smile uglier than crying.
"Good morning, General Ludendorff. I was born in 1866, so you seem to be a year older than me. How about I call you old man?" Seeckt patted Ludendorff on the shoulder and walked past him.
"I believe Ludendorff has already given you a heads-up about the topic in private. Don't argue; I know what kind of person you are."
Seeckt waved his hand to stop Ludendorff's attempts at rebuttal and addressed the somewhat uneasy Strasser and his group.
"Don't be nervous, I'm not blaming you. To me, it doesn't matter whether I tell you the topic or not. Do you think knowing that you need to prove Goldbach's conjecture will help you solve it?" Seeckt said with a hint of humor.
"So, Lieutenant, what is your choice?"
"I choose to attack France," Strasser answered without hesitation.
"Very good." Seeckt is somewhat satisfied. When faced with difficulties, his first reaction is not to avoid them but to face them head-on, which is very much in line with his requirements for National Defense Forces officers.
"Can you tell me why?"
"It's very simple. I have assured you that Germany can defeat the Anglo-French coalition on its own in future wars, so naturally I want you to believe that, even though Franco-German is not at war now, it doesn't prevent us from achieving it in Military simulation games."
Seeckt nodded,
"Since that's the case, I won't say anything more. Let's get ready to start right away."
Seeckt began to turn a knob-like switch next to the blackboard in the meeting room, and suddenly the entire sandbox in the meeting room rose from the ground, stopping only when it reached waist height.
"I will briefly explain the basic situation of the combatants in the France campaign. Since we The German Armed Forces currently only have one hundred thousand troops, which is far fewer than the French Army, to ensure fairness, I will set the number of troops for both Germany and France at two million, preparing to use their respective peak weapon configurations. Strasser will be responsible for representing Germany in the attack, while the General Staff of the Army will represent the Anglo-French in defense. Is there any problem?" Seeckt asked.
"There is!" said the oldest Army General. "The defending side inherently has an advantage over the attacking side. Winning with the same number of troops is not a real achievement. I request that the number of our troops be reduced to eight hundred thousand."
What they wanted was a complete victory; how could they accept such battle conditions that, even if they won, would hold no real value?
"I have a demand too!" Strasser's words were surprising. "I request to reduce the number of our troops to six hundred thousand."
"Are you crazy?" Ludendorff shouted loudly.
"Don't rush, I have one more condition. I require my troops to be equipped with two thousand tanks and two thousand armored vehicles, and the tank specifications will follow the blueprints I provide," Strasser had already prepared. On the surface, he significantly reduced his troop numbers, but he greatly strengthened his armored forces. In World War II, a German armored division had 336 tanks, so Strasser now had six fully equipped armored divisions along with nearly six divisions of mechanized troops. Coupled with thirty infantry divisions, they could effectively implement Blitzkrieg against eight hundred thousand men.
"What do you all think?"
Seeckt consulted with the General Staff of the Army, and he really didn't care about the tanks that Strasser requested. After all, the tanks tested by the National Defense Forces had little practical value, and how strong could the ones presented by Lieutenant Strasser be?
"No problem."
The Army General rubbed his hands together; the stronger the enemy, the more excited he became. In his view, even if Strasser added so many tanks, it would be of no use. It would be better to exchange two thousand tanks for two thousand artillery pieces.
"Rommel, you go edit the data," Strasser said as he took out the sketches. Rommel immediately understood and walked towards the office room behind the conference room with the tank blueprints in hand. To prevent eavesdropping, both Strasser and the General Staff of the Army were to enter the small rooms on either side of the conference room to issue orders.
Strasser led Bock and his group inside first. Before entering, he took a careful glance at Ludendorff, who looked at him with a gloomy expression.
"Don't worry, General Ludendorff, I will definitely win," Strasser smiled.
Meanwhile, Seeckt was making the final arrangements for the Army General.
"Regarding the strategic issues, I won't instruct you further; after all, there are plenty of existing cases. You must not hold back; losing to a lieutenant is quite embarrassing. You must win, understood?" Seeckt urged seriously.
"Don't worry. No matter what ridiculous ideas Ludendorff has given that kid, they will be useless. Trying to be clever in the face of absolute strength is just a waste of effort," the Army General confidently stated. "In any case, the forces in the battle are eight hundred thousand against six hundred thousand; the advantage is on our side!"
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