German Red Prince

"Hannah, don't let anyone look down on you, you know?" Guderian also encouraged Hannah.

The two quickly got into the zone, concentrating intently on their thoughts. This pleased Model and Guderian; at least as commanders, they had proven themselves competent.

Both sides were carefully selected; they wanted to simulate large-scale military confrontations between nations.

What is blitzkrieg? It is a blitzkrieg that uses armored forces as the main force, disregards the dangers on the flanks, concentrates all forces to launch a rapid and bold attack on the enemy's rear, achieves a breakthrough through concentrated armored forces, provides strategic air support, and uses the speed advantage of tanks and aircraft to seize victory through a surprise attack.

Having mastered Guderian's teachings, Hannah launched the first attack. Blitzkrieg was all about speed, advancing, and advancing by any means necessary.

Hannah wanted to catch her opponent off guard and deliver a fatal blow before the enemy could react.

Based on mechanized forces, Hannah fully prepared her air superiority and logistical capabilities. She first launched an air offensive against Dudman's unprepared forces, crippling their combat capabilities.

Air power can launch surprise attacks on enemy airfields, disrupt enemy operations, and provide intelligence and near-ground reinforcements to ground troops through aerial attacks and reconnaissance, thereby relieving pressure on ground forces.

Tank units then quickly followed, rapidly breaching Dudman's defensive positions, and, with superior armored forces at full speed, swiftly broke through the enemy lines, cutting off their connection with rear troops.

After breaking through the front line, they did not stop for a moment, but relied on the high mobility of tanks to quickly attack the enemy's heartland. With air superiority, they used a pincer attack to quickly surround the enemy. Before the enemy could react, they used the mobility of armored vehicles to continue advancing, breaking up the remaining enemy forces and dispersing the large encirclement into many smaller encirclements.

After the armored forces surrounded the enemy, motorized units and infantry quickly followed, arriving at the battlefield to fill the lines and eliminate the troops trapped in the encirclement, mopping up the remaining soldiers.

After sweeping away the remaining enemy forces and occupying their positions, the troops continued their pursuit of the enemy forces behind the front lines, intercepting any potential enemy reinforcements. By outflanking and disrupting the enemy, crippling their fighting capacity, the armored units then continued their rapid advance, striking the enemy's rear and completely destroying their defenses.

We must not allow the enemy to find a breakthrough, or it will be fatal. Hannah used the powerful strike force and terrifying speed of blitzkrieg to shatter the enemy's defensive lines.

In simple terms, the armored army group continuously breaks through the enemy's defenses, the air force launches pre-battle attacks to reinforce ground troops, and after the breakthrough, the infantry builds defensive lines on both sides. The armored vanguard at the forefront must always maintain a strong force and keep moving forward.

As the armored forces broke through, the troops on both flanks launched a pincer attack. By the time the armored forces reached their designated positions, the troops on both flanks had already moved in to close the encirclement.

Guderian looked at Model with some smugness. The war had only just begun, and several of Dudman's legions had already been wiped out. Let's see how long he can hold out.

Hannah's armored divisions launched a powerful pincer attack, dividing and encircling several of Dudman's corps.

Strategically, it resembles a scalpel, opening a gap for a deep, high-speed advance. It utilizes a pincer movement to cut and encircle the enemy. By continuously employing this tactic of cutting and encircling, it eliminates massive numbers of enemies.

Hannah's fierce offensive has pushed the front line forward by nearly several hundred kilometers, which has undoubtedly shocked everyone. In the midst of a major war, it often takes them several months to advance just one kilometer.

"It seems the outcome is already decided." Guderian patted Model on the shoulder. "My student is indeed more capable."

"Not necessarily, Heinz." Model smiled as he looked at the strategic map. "Heinz, the best is yet to come."

The enormous sacrifices made at the front were not in vain; during this time, Dudman had already made arrangements for the rear troops.

Hannah's powerful armored forces were about to crash headlong into Dudman's meticulously prepared defensive positions.

Chapter 42 The Art of War (Part 1)

Hannah's three army groups have successfully advanced nearly 300 kilometers, and with her momentum at its peak, she is determined to defeat Dudman in one fell swoop.

"It seems we really are getting old."

Guderian smiled at Model; compared to these young people, even their radicalism seemed somewhat conservative. Guderian was starting to feel overwhelmed by Hannah's sharp strategic deployment.

“They are not like us. They are young. Young people are always willing to accept new things and are not limited by old tactics, so they are much better than the two of us.”

Model observed the deployments of both sides with great interest and answered Guderian in a low voice.

Hannah's command style is commendable; her series of deployments and strategic vision can be described as epoch-making. It seems that she has learned a lot from Guderian.

Dudman's strategic deployment was also commendable. He did not lose his fighting spirit despite the complete annihilation of his frontline troops, and continued to make deployments in the rear with great composure.

Model greatly admired this, after all, Charlemagne had said, "Despise the enemy strategically, but take him seriously tactically."

Dudman now possesses all the qualities of a mature commander.

Dudman's defensive deployment in the rear has been effective, severely hindering Hannah's Army Group North and Army Group Center, preventing the tank formations from operating at full speed as before.

Hannah's offensive was successfully stalled by Dudman, and after a brief moment of deliberation, she decided to abandon the full-scale offensive of Army Groups North and Center.

In the north and central theaters, she shifted from a full-scale offensive to active defense, engaging in small-scale harassment of the enemy. Her goal was to confuse the enemy forces in these two theaters, then commit her main forces to Army Group South, ending the battle with a decisive right hook.

Army Group South will serve as the main offensive force, while Army Groups North and Center will provide containment.

Army Group Center launched a feint attack, its forces heading straight for Dudman's lines, making it appear as if a decisive battle was imminent. Meanwhile, Army Group South began its real offensive, with Hannah's armored vanguard roaring once more.

At this time, Dudman deployed the 87th and 88th Armies on the southern defense line, while Hannah's main offensive force was the 7th Army, which consisted of five main corps and three armored groups, with a total strength of approximately 150,000 to 250,000.

If the defending side wants to effectively resist the enemy's attack, it often needs to deploy a force with a greater advantage. However, in terms of both numbers and strength, the attacking side clearly has a stronger advantage.

Both teachers were on tenterhooks, wondering whether Dudman could successfully withstand Hannah's attack and whether Hannah could win a decisive victory in one battle.

Seeing the fierce advance of Hannah's army, Dudman urgently redeployed three army groups to set up defensive lines along the river. Hannah's Southern Army Group launched a full-scale offensive, aiming to force a crossing of the river and deliver a powerful blow.

The offensive power of the armored forces was terrifying, and Hannah's 7th Army quickly advanced to the river mouth under the charge of the tank units.

She began preparing another pincer attack, dividing the Seventh Army into two offensive spearheads, attacking from the north and south, to encircle Dudman's 87th and 88th Armies and prevent them from retreating to the rear lines. Hannah's plan was to annihilate these two armies at the river mouth.

The northern group initiated an attack on the right flank of Dudman's 87th Army. On the left flank, reinforcements arrived just in time to meet Hannah's southern group's offensive, and fierce fighting ensued.

Signs of rout have appeared on the right flank. The 87th Army has been decimated. Hannah is now tightening her encirclement around the army's rear, and the armored group is approaching the river mouth.

Dudman deployed a tank corps for defense, which was enough to repel the attack from the northern tank forces. The attack launched by the southern group was also successfully repelled.

The frontline defense forces had been decimated, and Dudman was carrying out a rotation of troops in an orderly manner. The frontline army groups returned to the rear to rest and reorganize, while the rear troops were transferred to the frontline for defense, using a war of attrition to wear down Hannah's armored forces.

The Seventh Army's offensive has been effectively stalled, and Hannah can now only advance a few kilometers.

Dudman learned that Hannah's main offensive direction was the south, and he transferred a large number of troops from the Central Theater Command, which were now heading to the Southern Theater Command.

Seeing that she could not break through after a long siege, Hannah adjusted her strategy and reorganized a new tank army group from the rear, forming the Sixth Armored Corps to reinforce the Southern Army Group.

The Sixth Panzer Corps advanced from the right flank from the rear, while the Seventh Army held back the enemy and cooperated with the Sixth Panzer Corps to encircle Dudman's two corps that were defending.

The 6th Panzer Corps lived up to expectations, swiftly breaking through the front lines and advancing rapidly. The 25th Army, which was defending the front of Dudman, was routed, and the 6th Panzer Corps arrived at its designated position on time, quickly advancing towards the enemy's rear.

Dudman consolidated the corps that were under attack from Hannah's Army Group South, and reorganized them into the 34th Army.

Their responsibility was to strengthen the defenses on the west bank of the river mouth and withstand the attack of the 7th Army. The 64th Army was to establish a deep defensive position to resist the 6th Armored Corps coming from their left.

After fierce fighting, Hannah successfully captured the river mouth, and the 7th Army repelled Dudman's 34th Army. The 6th Panzer Corps also broke through the 64th Army's defenses.

Although Hannah ultimately succeeded in achieving her strategic objectives, the losses were the greatest in the simulations, exceeding 70,000.

On the battlefield now, both sides have gradually reinforced their troops, and the actual strength of the two sides is almost the same, with Hannah's advantage gradually diminishing.

Guderian also realized that Hannah was gradually losing the huge advantage she had gained since the start of the war.

The core of blitzkrieg is speed. It involves launching a surprise attack when the enemy is completely unprepared, using tactical deception and speed advantage to quickly occupy the enemy's core area.

Dudman has clearly realized what's happening and is slowly adjusting his plans and launching a targeted counterattack. Guderian has learned a lot of new things from their deductions.

If the enemy has significant strategic depth, the advantages of blitzkrieg will gradually diminish. A deep strategic environment can give the enemy ample time to react, leading to a protracted war where the comprehensive national strength of the two countries will come into play.

“Now the two of us have become students, and they have become teachers.” Guderian chuckled self-deprecatingly. The shortcomings of his theory were fully exposed in this simulation. It seems that he still needs to continue to improve it step by step. This theory still has a long way to go.

“Yes, we’re all old now. The future belongs to these young people.” Model smiled as he looked at the two men deep in thought. In his eyes, two rising stars were emerging.

Hannah successfully captured the river mouth, and the Seventh Army formed the Northern Assault Corps, while the Sixth Armored Corps formed the Southern Assault Corps. She was to continue the offensive from both the north and south and take the salient.

The two army groups, totaling approximately 300,000 men, with three divisions attacking from the front, while their superior forces on both flanks launched a powerful pincer movement against the enemy forces in the salient. Her aim was to encircle and annihilate Dudman's 34th and 64th Armies in one fell swoop.

Dudman continued to tighten his defensive lines, quickly withdrawing from the salient to regroup his scattered troops and strengthen the defenses on both flanks.

Hannah's four divisions have severed the connection between the 34th and 64th Armies and the surrounding forces. These two armies are now surrounded on three sides—north, south, and west—and the encirclement is rapidly tightening.

Although Hannah pressed forward relentlessly, constantly compressing Dudman's defenses, her main forces were firmly tied down by the two army groups, and she was constantly drawing troops from her flanks, weakening her two sides.

Because the fierce fighting in the southern theater had depleted the strength of both sides, Hannah's Northern and Central Army Groups had to halt their offensive, and she was also constantly drawing troops from these two army groups to reinforce them, thus losing the offensive momentum that had been in place since the start of the war.

"Too dangerous."

Guderian frowned. From the perspective of the smaller battlefield, it seemed that Hannah was encircling Dudman's army. However, looking at the entire Southern Theater, Hannah's 7th Army and 6th Panzer Corps were actually in the salient, and her forces were effectively surrounded by Dudman's army on the outside.

“It’s my turn to strike.” Dudman smiled as he looked at the strategic map.

A commander should constantly learn and grow in war. He has already deployed the troops on the outer perimeter. You can launch a pincer attack, and so can I.

Dudman has already assembled two powerful army groups on the outer perimeter: the elite army group in the southwest will launch the main attack and cut off the enemy's rear, while the southeastern front will quickly penetrate and encircle Hannah's Sixth and Seventh Armies.

The Central Theater Command launched a swift and fierce offensive, forcing several army groups that Hannah had sent to reinforce to retreat and defend.

The Southwestern Army deployed its elite forces and launched a general offensive, severely damaging the rear of the Southern Army Group. The Southeastern Army Group also shifted from defense to offense.

A key battle often influences the entire war situation, and Dudman's two iron fists are delivering a devastating blow to Hannah's Army Group South.

Realizing the unfavorable situation, Hannah reacted quickly. To prevent the total annihilation of her army, she prioritized the retreat of armored units, with the infantry following slowly, fighting and retreating simultaneously.

While retreating, the armored forces launched an effective counterattack to cover the ground troops and prevent a large-scale rout.

After the armored forces establish a defensive line in the rear, the army group withdraws in an orderly manner. If the troops at the front are pursued by the enemy, the armored forces can quickly advance from the defensive line to launch a counterattack. After their own troops have withdrawn, they can continue to retreat to defend the rear.

Good heavens, Guderian and Model were completely stunned at this moment.

Now it's Dudman's turn to attack, and Hannah to defend. Dudman uses Hannah's signature pincer attack, while Hannah utilizes Dudman's strength in flexible defense.

From the start of the simulation, Dudman employed an effective flexible defense, trading space for time. Although a significant amount of territory and manpower have been lost, the core of the defenses has not been crippled, and the elite forces have not suffered severe damage.

They have both learned to observe each other's tactics, absorb the opponent's strengths, and learn from the opponent's advantages to improve their own strategic deployment.

Guderian and Model exchanged a glance. "The younger generation is truly formidable," they thought.

Although Hannah reacted quickly and immediately withdrew her troops, thus preserving her elite armored forces, a large number of troops in the 7th Army were unable to withdraw and were firmly surrounded by Dudman's Southwestern and Southeastern Fronts.

Hannah, who seemed to have the upper hand in the early stages, suffered a significant blow in this battle, and the entire situation became unpredictable again.

Can Hannah turn the tide and regain the upper hand? Can Dodman turn the tide and break the current predicament?

In this exciting simulation, who will emerge victorious?

That depends on what kind of deployment the two commanders will make next.

Chapter Forty-Three: The Art of War (Part Two)

"Adolf, what are you writing?"

Goebbels came out of the house and saw Adolf writing something on the desk.

"Hi, Goebbels."

Adolf greeted Goebbels as he came out of the house.

"I'm writing my memoir. Anyway, I haven't been too busy lately, so I'm just writing whatever comes to mind."

Adolf smiled, put down his pen, and closed the notebook. On its cover was written a line in German—"Mein Kampf."

“I left my hometown at the age of twenty-five and came to Germany alone. I love this nation, which is why I gave up my artistic dreams and volunteered to join the army when the war broke out.”

"I spent four years crawling and rolling in the mud on the western front. I thought it was absolutely necessary. In the trenches, I talked with my comrades about the future."

“I say that the future will be a world of lasting peace, and I can sit by the fireplace, and when my grandchildren ask me what I did when I was young, I can rock back in my chair and tell them this story.”

“I would proudly tell him that his grandfather did nothing extraordinary; he was just an ordinary man who fought for Germany.”

"My comrades laughed at me, wondering if I would survive until the end of the war. But I actually did survive. All my comrades who were with me fell in the Somme. Only old Hank and I survived. After I came back, I tried to contact him, but I recently learned that he died at home many years ago from starvation."

Adolf paused after speaking, then smiled at Eva, who was walking towards him. This girl was studying alone in Berlin and was working for him to earn some tuition fees.

Adolf recalled his own experiences when he came to Germany alone, so he took good care of the girl.

He sighed and looked at Goebbels.

"I admit that during the military parade after the war, I and a group of soldiers shouted 'Long live the Emperor!' to Wilhelm II on the platform. At that moment, I was incredibly proud that I could defend the German nation."

"But later, I gradually began to doubt myself: was I fighting for the German people or for the Emperor?"

"Apart from those noble lords, it seems that the entire German nation has gained nothing but victory. The wounded soldiers in the war have not been resettled, and many are still wandering. Mothers are holding their children's death certificates, and the Empire only pays these mothers a meager amount of compensation. They sacrificed for the honor of the Empire, and all they receive is this."

"Paul, I find myself increasingly lost. What am I pursuing? What should I write next in my memoir?"

Goebbels looked at the bewildered Adolf, and in Adolf's eyes he saw a burning flame.

“Mr. Adolf, let me tell you.”

Eva finished her work for the day and returned to her home in Berlin.

Renting an apartment in Berlin is actually very expensive, and she couldn't afford it on her own. Fortunately, Mr. Adolf arranged for her to find an apartment that was not only close to the school but also very cheap.

Because she attends classes during the day, Eva can only help out in the evenings, and it's already quite late when she gets off work.

Fearing she might encounter some danger, Adolf usually escorted her himself, but today Mr. Adolf seemed to have something on his mind and called a car to take her home.

Sitting in the car, Eva thought of Adolf, who would sit at the stage every day writing. She was alone in Berlin, and Adolf cared for her like a father.

Eva respected him as she would an elder, but beyond that respect, she was becoming increasingly infatuated with him. She couldn't distinguish whether her love for Adolf was simply the love of an elder or the stirrings of youth deep within her heart.