Chapter 18 Chapter 17 The Decline of Hitler

Before the end of June 1940, Germany was running rampant across the European continent like a giant.It completely controls all of Western, Central and Southeastern Europe, with the only exception being the tiny British Isles on the western edge.In addition to the barriers beyond this continent, there was another factor that severely limited Hitler's hegemony, and that was the existence of Soviet Russia.Soviet Russia casts a thick shadow over Germany's northeast border.Hitler went through a period of triumph.His victory seemed to guarantee him complete domination of Europe, and perhaps even the conquest of the whole world.However, five years later, his dream of a summer night finally turned into a terrible nightmare.

Hitler's decline first began in the field of grand strategy.This is the root of all his serious mistakes.If Hitler had known how to lessen the fear his victories aroused, and convince his neighbors that his new order was a benevolent government for their benefit, it would have been possible, perhaps, that he would have been able to survive Napoleon's defeat. To succeed where it failed, to really unite Europe into a commonwealth under German leadership, and to develop its forces to such a degree that it could destroy foreign powers.However, what Hitler did was to dig his own grave.His political line can be said to be too direct.His political skills are clever enough to intimidate people and cause disputes in neighboring countries, but they cannot make people virtuous, but instead increase people's resentment.In his so-called National Socialist Theory, he overemphasized nationalism, which made socialism completely lose its appeal.If this is not the case, socialism may not be able to attract some working people in other countries.His iron fists were too revealing, and the outer flannel gloves were too tattered to hide what was inside.It is not only clumsy but also illogical for him to take appeasement measures after he has conquered his neighbors.As new ventures failed again and again, Hitler piled up his mistakes one by one, until his final downfall.

Hitler's first and most serious failure was the failure of his plans to subdue the British Empire after defeating the rest of the West, including his attempt to make peace with it.As long as Britain stood and resisted, Hitler's supremacy over the West could never be consolidated, and it was impossible not to feel himself insecure.Of course, there is only one Britain, and without the assistance of the allies, it is impossible to do anything big, at most it can only hinder him from collecting the fruits of victory.British resistance and interference alone could only shake Hitler's will and force him to make some concessions in order to obtain peace.Moreover, the United Kingdom has absolutely no power to destroy Hitler's strength and cannot drive the German army out of the occupied countries.However, this possibility finally appeared. Hitler, who was driven to a dead end because he was full of troubles, actually turned eastward in June 1941 and started the war of aggression against Russia.

The decision to attack Russia shows that Hitler abandoned the indirect route in the direction of grand strategy.For him, the consequences were unthinkable.Soon after, in his impatience for victory, even the indirect line of strategy was dismissed and entirely abandoned by him.This change is of great significance, because before that, he had attached great importance to the use of the indirect route. Even when fighting against a relatively weak enemy such as Greece, he also used the indirect route seriously. conquer the balkans German troops invaded Greece in April 1941, when a small British reinforcement landed at Thessaloniki.At that time, the German army had already assembled in Bulgaria, so the configuration of the Greek army was mainly focused on defending the mountainous defiles on the Bulgarian border.However, since the expected route of the German attack would be the valley of the Struma River (50 kilometers northeast of Thessaloniki), it turned out to cover another, more indirect route.The mechanized column of the German army turned west from the bank of the Struma River, marched along the valley of the Strumica River (a tributary of the Struma River) parallel to the border, and then entered Yugoslavia through the defile in the mountains South of the Valdar valley (about 25 km west of Thessaloniki).It was here that they assaulted the junction of the Greek army and the Yugoslav army, and with rapid offensive operations developed victory, advancing along the Vardar River valley, heading straight for Salonika.The German maneuver was successful and cut off the retreat of most of the Greek forces, which were still stranded in Thrace.

After the German army completed this assault, it immediately implemented a new roundabout maneuver.This time, they did not attack directly to the south, instead of starting from Thessaloniki and passing through the fortified Olingsp Mountains by the British army and then attacking south, they turned straight west, passed through the Monastre Division, and continued to attack. Rush west.This maneuver reached as far as the western coast of Greece, thereby cutting off the Greeks still in Albania, and turning around the British flank, threatening the retreat of the remnants of the Allies in the rear.In this way, all resistance in Greece collapsed quickly and completely.

invade russia In the initial stage of the invasion of Russia, Hitler still adopted the indirect route as much as possible in terms of operations. Coupled with favorable geographical conditions, he had achieved considerable success.A front of almost 3,000 kilometers in length, with few natural obstacles, afforded the attacker full freedom both in terms of penetration and maneuver.Although the Soviet Red Army has a large number, it is distributed on such a long front, and the density of troops is of course very small. Therefore, the mechanized troops of the German army can easily find unprotected areas and can conduct roundabout maneuvers to penetrate deep into the enemy's rear.At the same time, there are very few cities in this vast space, and the roads and railways connecting these cities are also limited, so the attackers have the convenience of freely choosing their assault targets.In this way, the German army finally deceived the Russians, making them confused about their real attack direction and unable to resist the German assault.

In the early days of the war, Germany used this method to win huge victories, but later, because it was difficult to determine in which direction to develop the victory, the German army gradually lost this dominant position.Differences of opinion existed between Hitler and the German High Command in the early days of the planning of the war against Russia, and, unable to be reconciled in an appropriate manner later, there were always differences of opinion. Hitler's attempt was to seize Leningrad first and make it his main objective in order to secure his Baltic flank and link up with Finland.In his view, the capture of Moscow was of no particular importance.However, knowing the huge role of economic factors, he is also very interested in the granary in Ukraine and the industrial zone in the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, hoping to occupy them at the same time.The distance between Leningrad and Ukraine necessitated the German offensive in two separate strategic directions.In this way, the Germans' strategic maneuvers lost their flexibility, and it was impossible to carry out a campaign attack in the center while threatening several targets at the same time.

Brauchitsch and Halder advocated concentrating the main force in the direction of Moscow. Their purpose was not only to seize the enemy's capital, but also to have more opportunities to destroy the basic group of the Russian army in this direction.They expected the Russians to defend the approach to Moscow with a large force.However, Hitler believed that it was too risky to take such an offensive action, because it might just press the Russian army back and make them retreat to the east in an all-round way, but it would not destroy them.Of course, Brauchitsch and Halder didn't have to make themselves take risks, so they expressed their support for Hitler's decision-making, and Hitler also adopted some of their opinions, and decided to use encirclement to annihilate the main force of the Russian army.Thus, the question of the next target was delayed until the end of the first phase of the invasion.

Brauchitsch always avoided arguments and put himself in danger in his dealings with Hitler.With regard to the problem of attacking Moscow, he decided to adopt a policy of delay. The results went from bad to worse, and by the middle of the campaign, he was in an extremely difficult situation. It was decided that in the first stage the main force should be concentrated in the area of ​​​​the Polk Army Group, and the offensive would be carried out along the Minsk-Moscow road in the area north of the Pinsk swamp.Indeed, the Germans concentrated the bulk of their armored tank forces in this direction.Polk's left neighbor is the Loeb Army Group.Starting from East Prussia, they attacked several small countries on the Baltic coast.At the beginning of the war, they acted as a cover for their adventurous attack on their right neighbor, the Polk Army Group.In addition, the Lundest Army Group was on Polk's right, attacking south of the Pinsk swamp.As a result, it made it difficult for the Russian High Command to determine the main direction of the German assault.

According to the original plan, the goal of encircling the main force of the Russian army should be achieved within the offensive zone of the Polk Army Group.The method is to adopt two enveloping maneuvers at the same time: use Guderian and Huot's tank troops to form the external front of the encirclement, and they start from the two wings respectively, and attack along the centripetal direction pointing to the Minsk area; The infantry corps of the Fourth Army and the Ninth Army formed the inner front of the encirclement, achieving the purpose of encircling Belostok. On June 22, the Germans launched an offensive.This was exactly one day before the day of Napoleon's invasion.Guderian and Huot's tank troops quickly broke through the Russian army's line, rushed forward rapidly, and joined forces in the Minsk area on the sixth day.At this time, they had penetrated 320 kilometers into Russia.Behind them, several infantry corps also joined forces near Slonim.However, they failed to prevent the retreat of the main force of the Russian army. The Russian army rushed out of the pocket of Belostok and retreated backwards.As a result, the German army proposed the next step, which was to encircle the main force of the Russian army near Minsk.This time it was successful, capturing 300,000 Russian officers and soldiers, although a small part of the Russian army slipped away before closing the encirclement.The achievements of the siege immediately caused a wave of optimism, and even some generals, who were apprehensive about Hitler's invasion of Russia, began to change their minds.Halder once wrote in his diary on July 3: If I say that within the next fourteen days, the war against Russia will end, it does not seem to be an exaggeration.

Unfortunately, however, the German offensive stalled.The armored tank troops were ordered to stay in place and stop advancing until the besieged Russian army group was wiped out.According to the original plan, they should not delay, but continue to advance beyond Minsk, leaving only a small number of tanks to assist the infantry army in completing the encirclement task. However, thanks to Guderian's decisive actions, the Germans once again won the lost opportunity.Before the Russian army had time to mobilize reinforcements and did not wait for the arrival of the Fourth Army, he rashly crossed the wide Dnieper River.Judging from the results, his estimate was correct.He used the dark night to concentrate his forces covertly, and on July 10, under the cover of a smoke screen, he crossed to the opposite bank of the river simultaneously at three positions where the enemy had not yet fortified.He then proceeded straight to Smolensk, arriving there on the sixteenth.At this time, the German army had penetrated more than 640 kilometers into the hinterland of Russia, and it was only 320 kilometers away from Moscow.Being able to make the breakthrough depth so far away shows that the speed of the German attack is indeed very high. After Hott reached the area north of Smolensk, he adopted a new encirclement maneuver, the purpose of which was to cut off the retreat of a large number of Russian troops between the Dnieper and Desna Rivers.When the armored tank units attacked, these Russian troops had been bypassed and fell behind.However, due to the harsh terrain conditions, it was difficult to pass, and the road was filled with mud, the movement of the German army encountered great difficulties. After all, the encirclement circle was not completely sealed, and a considerable part of the Russian army was able to slip away.Despite this, the German army captured as many as 180,000 Russian troops in the Smolensk area. Guderian has repeatedly insisted that when the Russian army retreats steadily, it must continue to exert pressure, so as not to give them the opportunity to gain a foothold in a certain area.He was convinced that as long as he didn't waste time, he could lead his own tank force to attack Moscow.He believes that a direct attack on the heart of the country, which is related to the life and death of the country, will surely disintegrate the resistance of the entire Russia.His point of view was not only endorsed by Holt, but also supported by Polk. Hitler, however, made a different decision.He believed that now was the time to realize his original plan, which was to occupy Leningrad and Ukraine.In his opinion, this is the main goal, and it is more meaningful to compare these two goals with Moscow.In fact, he did not, as most of his critics imagined, focus solely on the economic and political implications of these two goals.It seemed clear that Hitler wanted a repeat of the Battle of Cannes, but on a larger scale.He believed that the threat to Moscow had drawn Russian reserves there.This made it easier for the German forces on the northern and southern flanks to complete their task, which was to capture Leningrad and Ukraine, two strategic targets on the Russian flank.Hitler's wishful thinking was: After capturing two targets, he would start from there and attack Moscow in a centripetal direction.At that time, Moscow seemed to fall into his hands automatically, like an overripe apple.This is a brilliant and great plan.However, the time factor affected the completion of this plan, because the Russian army put up stubborn resistance.And the bad weather exceeded the expectations of the German army.At the same time, various differences of opinion arose among the generals of the German army.The result, of course, is to worsen the situation.Every general wants to give priority to his own area, and hopes to concentrate the main force on his own side.This tendency points to the increased danger of major disagreements on strategic issues during the second phase of Hitler's program. On July 19, Hitler issued an operational order for the implementation of the second phase of the offensive.According to this order, the offensive should begin immediately after the sweeping battle between the Dnieper and Desna Rivers is over.Therefore, part of Polk's rapid force had to roll south to support Lundest and destroy the Russian troops in front of him.At the same time, another part of the rapid force should roll north and destroy the communication line between Leningrad and Moscow, so as to support Loeb to attack Leningrad.In this way, only a few infantry armies were left in Polk's hands to continue the frontal attack on Moscow. This time, Brauchitsch was very vacillating again, not daring to argue with Hitler in order to change his plan.He just argued repeatedly that armored tank units must have time for repairs and replacements before starting a new campaign.Hitler agreed to give the necessary rest time.At that time, among the upper echelons of the German High Command, discussions were going on about which direction to take next, and the discussions were not yet over after the Panzer Tank Corps fully resumed its offensive.On August 21, 1941, Hitler finally rejected Brauchitsch and Halder's request for an offensive in the direction of Moscow and issued a new order.The basic content of this order is similar to the one a month ago. The only difference is that the Leningrad side is not as important as before, and more attention is placed on the south, on the front of Lundest , counting on the encirclement and annihilation of the Russian army in the Kiev area.Only after this campaign was carried out could Polk resume his attack on Moscow.At the same time, Lundest had to launch an offensive southwards, the purpose of which was to cut off the industrial regions of Russia from the oil base of the Caucasus. During the long-term debate, the development of events just proved that Hitler's decision was correct.The Sixth Army of Rechnau, acting as the left flank of Lunds, was held up in front of Kiev, and a large number of Russian troops, covered by the eastern end of the Pripyat Marshes, continued to threaten its left flank, as well as Polk's. right wing.Kleist's tank group, on the other hand, achieved remarkable success with a surprise maneuver.At the end of July, near Baicerkeva, south of Kiev, finally broke through the Russian defense line.Kleist then turned to attack south, advancing along a corridor between the South Bug and the Dnieper.This sudden maneuver by Kleist not only opened up a passage for the Germans to Ukraine, but also threatened the rear of the Russians who were deploying against the Romanian front along the Black Sea coast.During August, German troops reached Nikolayev and Kherson.This is the port at the mouth of two great rivers.Although the Russian army was in a dangerous situation, some of them retreated before the German army closed the encirclement.Kleist's far-reaching breakthrough caused the Russian army's resistance system in the south to shake and completely collapsed. The confluence of these circumstances is enough to prove a possibility: if Kleist immediately turned to attack to the north, and drew a large part of Polk's army to advance to the south, so that the two groups would attack in a centripetal direction, then, Not only can the tenacious resistance of the Russian army be destroyed around or near Kiev, but it is also possible to encircle the entire Russian army, or even wipe it out.Once this move is successful, the German army will not have to worry about the Russian army launching a counterattack from the south when it attacks Moscow in the next step.For all these reasons, Hitler made up his mind to first carry out the battle of Kiev, and then attack Moscow. Hitler was not alone in holding this view.Naturally, Lundest would fully agree with this point of view.He certainly welcomed the arrival of reinforcements from the north to help him with the difficult task before him.At the same time, he would naturally welcome the encirclement and extermination of a large number of enemy troops, which is the dream goal of every general. From a strategic point of view, there are also good reasons to say that before launching an attack on Moscow, this southern flank should be relieved of any worries and the threat of a Russian counterattack from this direction should be eliminated.In addition, although the Russian army was still quite large at the time, its mobility was very limited, which again benefited the German army.It can move large numbers of rapid forces from sector to sector without much risk, and thereby destroy Russian army groups one by one.However, the time for such maneuvers was limited for the Germans, and they were not prepared for a winter campaign. The Kiev campaign carried out by the German army surrounded and annihilated a large number of Russian troops and achieved a huge victory.At that time, the field armies of Rechnau and Weicks pinched a large number of Russian troops from the front. Guderian penetrated deeply to the south and surrounded the enemy army from the rear, while Kleist attacked from the north. The great bend of the Dnieper advances south.The two tank units joined forces 240 kilometers east of Kiev and closed the encirclement.This time, very few Russian troops escaped from the encirclement, and the Germans finally captured more than 600,000 prisoners.However, by the end of the Kiev campaign, the time had come to the end of September.At that time, the road conditions were quite poor and the weather was quite bad. Although it did not hinder the completion of the encirclement mission by the German army, it reduced the speed of encirclement maneuvers. Since then, Hitler has taken the development of Ukraine's victory as his main goal and concentrated his forces for this purpose.In this way, one of his original two goals, the capture of Leningrad, became a secondary goal.Although an attack on Leningrad was launched while the Ukrainian campaign was being carried out, and a sufficient number of troops were concentrated in the direction of Leningrad to surround the city, the results were not satisfactory and the Russian army failed to suffered a decisive defeat in this area.The number of German troops in this direction gradually decreased, because although Hitler rejected the proposals of Brauchitsch and Polk and did not resume the attack on Moscow as soon as possible, but at the same time catered to their intentions and agreed to send the Russian army to Kiev after destroying the Russian army. Moscow direction as focus. The victorious outcome of the defeat of Kiev dazzled Hitler and his top generals, reinforced their optimism, and further encouraged their scattered forces.Hitler had already decided to launch an autumn offensive against Moscow, but then made another decision, which further complicated the situation and further dispersed the forces.Because he really couldn't resist the temptation of victory, he refused to give up his attack on Moscow and wanted to continue to expand his victories in the south.Therefore, he proposed an extremely huge new task to Lundest: to clear the enemy on the Black Sea, capture the Donets industrial area, and advance to the Caucasus. The attack on Moscow was long overdue, but it finally started. Its strength was three infantry armies and three armored tank corps, one of which was Guderian's tank corps, but at this time it had been expanded into a tank army .On October 2, 1941, the offensive resumed.The German army once again completed the encirclement maneuver, besieging 600,000 Russian troops in the Vyazma area.However, when the Battle of Vyazma ended, winter had already arrived, and the German army could not expand its results, because the road to Moscow had been completely blocked by mud. The vast majority of German generals wanted to stop in the area they arrived and choose a favorable position for defense in order to survive the winter.They all knew what happened to Napoleon's army here.Many of them are still re-reading Callancott's harrowing account of the War of 1812.Among those at the top, however, among those farther from the front lines and the muddy trenches, there was another opinion.Moscow is like a powerful magnet, which is very attractive to them, and it also makes them grow overly optimistic, thinking that capturing Moscow is not too difficult.But, contrary to the prevailing opinion, Hitler himself was not so active in resolving the question of continuing the attack on Moscow.From the beginning of the war, Moscow had always been in his eyes a goal of lesser importance.Although he approved the plan to attack Moscow in October, he still doubted whether it was the right step to take.However, Polk's eyes were always fixed on Moscow, and he was already full of ambitions to conquer this famous city.He strongly advocated the continuation of the offensive, and repeatedly argued that when both opponents are on the verge of exhaustion, the side with the superior will often wins the initiative and wins in the end of the battle.Both Brauchitsch and Halder supported Polk's opinion, because they had long advocated concentrating on attacking Moscow.But they also knew that the chances of success in continuing the offensive were quite slim, and they were unwilling to admit this now only because they had spent a lot of effort in persuading Hitler to make the decision to attack Moscow.Londst and Loeb were against the attack on Moscow.Lundest even made a suggestion that he should retreat to the starting position of Poland.However, their point of view has not attracted much attention, because they are fighting in another direction and have no direct bearing on Moscow's offensive. As a result, the Germans resumed their massive offensive in November 1941.However, because the Germans' attempts and their assaults in the centripetal direction were not kept secret, the task of the Russians' defense was simplified. It was only necessary to gather the reserves and block the German breakthroughs one by one.In early December, the German offensive was thwarted and then forced to retreat.The Russian army began to turn to the counter-offensive.Hitler removed Brauchitsch as commander-in-chief of the army and assumed direct command of the German army himself.This action of his had a double effect: on the one hand, Brauchitsch made him the lamb of atonement, and on the other hand, he took the opportunity to take the military power into his own hands more comprehensively. In southern Russia, the German advance culminated on November 23 with the capture of the city of Rostov on the Don.This is the gateway to the Caucasus.However, during the offensive, because the troops could only move along the muddy road and almost ran out of fuel, a week later, when the Russian army launched a counterattack from the far flank to attack the German communication line, the German army entered Russia. Tove's vanguard had to withdraw in a hurry. What was the main reason for the defeat of the German army in the campaign of 1941?The most appropriate judgment may be said to be the cause of natural conditions that contributed to their failure.Their forces spread out in several different directions.The reasons for this were, on the one hand, the lack of unity of opinion among the highest ranks, and, on the other hand, the consequences of blind optimism, which, at the beginning of the offensive, had resulted in victories in all directions, which put them in a situation where they could not stop.This makes them not choose a single line of operations to threaten several targets at the same time, but try to attack in several directions separately.Moreover, the attacking object in each direction is too obvious, so that it is relatively easy for the defender to cover and defend.Not only that.Whenever the assailant's direction became apparent, their supply lines were generally in greater danger. Russian War Situation in 1942 In 1942, the resources at the hands of the Germans prevented them from launching the large-scale offensive of the previous year.However, Hitler still refused to listen to the advice of some generals, unwilling to change to the defensive to consolidate the areas he had won, let alone adopt the suggestions of Lundst and Loeb, and absolutely refused to retreat to Poland. Strategically it made sense, but for Hitler it was tantamount to admitting defeat: too much to digest.In order to save lost face, to satisfy his own personal ambitions, and in accordance with his instinctive feelings, Hitler insisted on attacking to solve the problem.Although the tools in his hands are already limited, he still seeks to obtain more results. Due to the lack of troops, it was impossible to launch a full-scale attack on the entire front. He decided to concentrate his forces in the south direction. The purpose was to seize the oil in the Caucasus and cut off the Russian oil supply line.If this was a decision taken out of necessity, showing that Hitler had given up his attempt to destroy the main groups of the Russian army near Moscow, then Hitler's desire to destroy the Russian resistance by indirect means was still obvious, which was to cut off the Russian resistance. Their Caucasus oil base.This calculation can be said to be brilliant, and it was almost completely successful, but in the end it was defeated. The attack started well and was very successful, not only attracting a considerable part of the Russian army in this direction, but often threatening several targets simultaneously.But later, the German army asked for trouble again, and because it dispersed its forces and advanced along four independent combat lines, and each direction pursued a goal, it encountered great difficulties.The main reason for the failure was to divide the troops into two ways to attack, and the reason was that the opinions of the German High Command could not be unified.When the chief of the general staff, Halder, focused on the banks of the Volga River when formulating the battle plan, he wanted to fight in the Stalingrad area, consolidate his positions, build a strategic barrier there, and put the main force of the Russian army on the ground. Cut off from its oil supply base.Hitler's plan was to directly attack the Caucasus as quickly as possible, but he did not tell Halder about this, but only ordered the commander in this combat direction to take the Caucasus as the main target.As a result, it is natural to weaken the offensive force in the direction of Stalingrad.Later, a change of heart and a change of heart in Hitler, driven by his desire to take the city bearing the Stalin surname, all led to failure, as the German army openly focused its fire on this all-too-immediate goal, And desperately made a too direct attack. In the spring of 1942, the Russians launched a counter-offensive against German-occupied Kharkov.This just facilitated the start of the German offensive.However, this counterattack by the Russian army was completely direct, so it had to lead to failure.Moreover, the counterattack lasted for a long time, which made the Russian army exhausted the reserve team.When the Russian army penetrated deeply in the direction of Kharkov, the German high command got a good opportunity to assault the Russian army's flank.At the end of June, the German army launched a further offensive, which seemed to be counter-offensive. In fact, the enemy's situation at that time was already very dangerous and harsh. The original axis of attack of the German army was exactly parallel to that of the Russian army, but in the opposite direction.They set out from the Kursk region north of Kharkov, cut through the flanks of the salient area held by the Russian army, and then rushed for 170 kilometers to the upper reaches of the Don River, reaching the vicinity of Voronezh.Voronezh is an important junction station on the main Moscow-Caucasus railway line.The Russian army concentrated a large number of troops here, the purpose of which was to stop the German army from continuing to advance eastward. As a result, the German army turned to the southeast and carried out an assault, rushing into the area between the Don River and the North Donnetz River in one breath. The corridor area between.Since the Germans had already made a relatively deep wedge on the south side of the Kharkov salient, their maneuver was also indirectly supported. Surrounded by the Germans, the Russian resistance began to crumble.Therefore, the mechanized troops of the German army increased their speed as much as possible, using the Don River and the Donets River to cover their flanks, and galloped in the corridor between the two rivers.In less than a month, the southern end of the corridor was reached and the Don River was crossed in the area north of Rostov.In this way, the Germans opened the way to the oil fields of the Caucasus and brought the whole campaign to a critical juncture.At that time, Russia seemed soon to be paralyzed, because the mobility of the German army was still growing, and it was almost to cut off the oil supply line of the Russians. success. However, when the German army crossed the Don River and continued to develop their offensive, they gradually lost their original strategic advantage.Prior to this, they moved forward without compromising their strategic concentration. They always maintained a deep deployment of troops in the direction of advance, and enabled this direction to threaten several targets at the same time. The Russian army has always been in a very difficult position. In such a difficult situation, the enemy's intentions cannot be determined.The Germans, on the other hand, were able to find weak links in the opponent's defense and attack there.However, after crossing the Don River, the German army was forced to split into two groups and advance along two centrifugal routes, all the way south to attack the Caucasus and all the way east to attack Stalingrad. In the corridor between the Don River and the Donets River, the Russian army suffered extremely serious blows.At that time, the Fourth Tank Army, attacking in this direction, would have taken Stalingrad and held down the Volga as early as July if it had not turned south to assist the First Tank Army across the Don.Moreover, the support of the Fourth Tank Army was really unnecessary. By the time it turned around and headed north, the Russian reinforcements had already arrived in the Stalingrad area and were ready for battle.It was far easier for the Russians to reinforce this region than the Caucasus, because it was close to the central region and had a good network of railways and roads, making it easy to mobilize reserves.Subsequently, the German army suffered successive defeats on this front, which made the significance of Stalingrad's spiritual factors continue to increase, and because its name surpassed the strategic value of the city itself, it further contributed to the role of spiritual factors.In this way, the German army had to concentrate more attention and forces on the direction of Stalingrad, which made them miss the opportunity to seize the Caucasus oil base.Due to the withdrawal of some troops to support the direction of Stalingrad, the First Tank Army attacking the Caucasus gradually weakened. It was originally planned to deploy other corps and troops to supplement this army, that is, to supplement and transfer to the Stalingrad front. The resulting shortfall, but the plan did not materialize. 當德軍對斯大林格勒的第一次進攻被擊退以後，德軍往這個方向輸送生力軍的速度，就比俄軍在此集中兵力的速度慢起來了，而俄軍得以開始準備擊退德國人的正面進攻。因此，德軍已不可能在斯大林格勒方向上保持兵力的優勢。對德國人來說，這是他們在戰略方面應該付出的代價，因為他們放棄了原來的戰略，放棄了分散敵人兵力兵器的手段。他們愈是死死地包圍著這座城市，則其進行戰術機動的範圍就愈小，所以就更加難以擊潰敵人的抵抗。 對於俄軍來說，戰線縮得愈短，則在防禦體系中對任何一個遭受威脅的地點機動戰術預備隊的可能性也就愈大。德軍曾經多次突破斯大林格勒的防禦正面，但是每一次都被俄軍堵塞住了突破口。這個經驗證明，防禦的正面愈縮小，則防禦者進行防守的有利條件也就愈多。 隨著實施機動的空間的縮小，進攻方面所遭受的損失自然也就逐漸增大。每前進一步都要付出更高的代價，而收穫卻反而遞減。這一消耗過程很快就暴露出一個問題：德國人手中的物質資源，現在已比一九四一年少得多了。首先是坦克不足，調撥給每一次突擊用的坦克數量越來越少。其次是飛機缺乏，因而使空中的優勢越來越小。由於兩種主要的技術兵器不夠，步兵的負擔也就日益加重。因此，每爭取一個局部的小勝都須使用大量步兵，使得勝利的代價昂貴，兵力的消耗激增。 由於交通線的過分遙遠漫長，德軍在戰術上的過度消耗就變得更加危險了。總參謀長哈爾德極力主張減少損失，建議及時停止進攻，而選擇一個有利的地區轉入防禦，以便度過嚴冬季節。可是，希特勒斷然拒絕了他的忠告，並且將他撤離崗位，委派了比較年輕而且富於激情的澤特勒爾接替他擔任了總參謀長。無論如何都要攻克斯大林格勒的願望，強烈地影響著希特勒，正像去年秋天他想攻佔莫斯科的情況一樣。而且，他仍然獲得了不少擁護這種主張的軍官。可是這一次進攻的後果，則比進攻莫斯科的慘敗還要嚴重。那些直攻斯大林格勒的德軍，因為向前推進太遠，其進攻的正面很窄，結果遭到了合圍的威脅。 十一月，俄軍開始反攻，於是危機成熟，合圍的威脅變成了現實。這時，無論從精神方面來說，還是從戰略形勢來說，被圍德軍的失敗實際已成定局。俄軍的這次反擊，不僅在物質的路線上具有巧妙的間接性，而且和所有的反攻都天然地具有被壓縮的反作用力一樣，對德軍是一個致命的打擊。當時，希特勒使用羅馬尼亞和意大利的部隊掩護著德軍斯大林格勒集團的綿長側翼，而俄軍反攻的突擊矛頭正好指向了這兩支部隊的防禦地段，並獲得了成功。結果，俄軍切斷了絕大部分進攻部隊的退路，因而第一次俘獲了大量的敵軍部隊。 俄軍繼續向前推進，向南面方向進行了一系列的突擊，以不斷擴張戰果，並進而威脅著高加索地區的德軍後方和交通線。為了說明德軍所面臨的危險，可以舉出下面這個簡單的事實：一九四三年一月，德軍在羅斯托夫以東，已經前進了六百四十公里；而在此時，俄軍在頓河下游，沿著河流實施進攻，已經達到離城只有六十五公里的地方。對於高加索的德軍來說，羅斯托夫正是咽喉要地，它掩護著德軍交通線穿過其中的一條走廊。儘管德軍在相當長的時間裡控制住了這條通道，使其部隊逐漸撤退出來，沒有遭到合圍，但是，這不僅使它放棄了高加索，而且在被合圍的威脅之下，被迫退出了頓涅茨工業地區。 一九四三年二月，德軍加快了退卻的步伐，於是，俄軍緊踏著他們的足跡進行追擊，達到並越過了德軍在一九四二年發起夏季攻勢時的出發地區，越過了他們的原出發線。俄軍收復哈爾科夫，抵近了第聶伯河。但在二月底時，德軍實施了一個反突擊，重新搶奪了哈爾科夫，並在一段時期以內使俄軍喪失了平衡。一九四三年初的俄軍正好也和一九四二年夏季的德軍一樣，向前伸展得過度了，拉長了自己的交通線，不停地跟蹤退擊，使補給品一時接濟不上來。德軍則好像滾雪球一樣，向著自己的基地和補給方向退去，因而使自己的力量得以恢復和加強。 德軍在哈爾科夫城下的反突擊是一個明顯的例證，足以說明間接路線戰略中的一種防禦攻勢的形式，其辦法是採取誘惑性的機動把敵人誘入陷阱，而這一次則是造成了一個超級規模的陷阱。這一次行動的設計和執行者是曼斯坦元帥。他在第一個冬季作戰時充任隆德斯特集團軍群的參謀長，一九四○年五月使法軍覆滅的阿登戰役的計畫，就是他的傑作。德軍的大多數將軍都把曼斯坦看成是他們中間最有才能的戰略家，但是希特勒本人對他並不怎麼欣賞。一九四二年十一月，當鮑羅斯的第六集團軍在斯大林格勒城下遭到合圍以後，希特勒為了避免全軍覆沒，才委派曼斯坦來擔任頓河集團軍群的總司令。儘管時機已經太晚，不可能扭轉斯大林格勒的危局，但是，曼斯坦還是對俄軍進行了相當時間的牽制，使其不能遮斷羅斯托夫走廊，而把高加索境內的德軍救了出來，並且在阿速夫海和北頓涅次河之間沿著米烏斯河重建了一道防線。 這時，俄軍已經在北頓涅次河以北地區突破了由義大利軍和匈牙利軍扼守的防線，在北頓涅次河與沃羅涅什城之間擴大突破口，使其正面達到了三百二十公里，並且急速向西挺進，迂迴到了曼斯坦的翼側。他們在北頓涅次河的上游渡過了該河，重新收復了哈爾科夫，並向西南方向挺進，直抵第聶伯河的大彎曲處，而那個地區正是曼斯坦的補給來源地。一九四三年二月二十一日，俄軍的先頭部隊到達了紮波羅日耶，該城位於河彎拐彎之處，曼斯坦的司令部剛剛從那裡撤走。在這個極其緊張的形勢之下，曼斯坦表現得頭腦特別冷靜，神經非常鎮定。早些時候，他拒絕了希特勒的要求，沒有把自己有限的預備隊用去從正面進攻哈爾科夫，現在他又拒絕了指示，不肯用這些兵力來扼守第聶伯河之線。他看到，俄軍向西南方向進攻，給他提供了一個良好的機會，可以向其側翼實施一個殲滅性的突擊。因此，儘管俄軍的挺進將要威脅到他的基地，他還是決定讓俄軍深入得更遠一些。 這時，曼斯坦忙著調整自己的兵力部署。他把三個已經殘缺不全的坦克群（軍）從米烏斯河地區撤退下來，面向西北方向構成一道反正面。直到二月二十六日，他才開始向俄軍的翼側和後方發起進攻。這正和一九四○年在色當的情況一樣。德軍一刀插向了俄軍的接合部。一個星期之內，原來向西南進攻的俄軍紛紛潰退，漫無秩序地逃過了北頓涅次河，一共損失了六百多輛坦克和一千餘門火炮。於是，曼斯坦繼續向北進攻，打擊著從哈爾科夫和別爾哥羅德向西進攻的俄軍的後方。這裡的俄軍也同樣遇到了失敗，被迫放棄了這兩個城市，匆忙地實施後撤。當時，德俄雙方的兵力對比，以師的數目來計算是一：八。在這個對德軍不利的條件下實施的戰役中，曼斯坦採取了一連串的間接路線行動，因而取得了非常突出的成果。如果曼斯坦不是過於缺乏兵力，那麼這次戰役很有可能像色當戰役一樣，會取得決定性的結果。可是，俄軍在兵力上的優勢實在是太大了。這也是一個不樣之兆。 德軍預備兵力的來源已經枯竭。在兩年以來的各次進攻戰役中，德國方面幾乎把所有的預備隊都消耗乾淨了。與此同時，俄軍的新編師卻是有增無減，源源不斷地開上前線。儘管在哈爾科夫實施的反突擊取得了勝利，暫時解除了俄軍的威脅，但是在兵力的對比上，俄軍已完全佔有了優勢。 太平洋戰爭 從一九三一年起，日本人不斷侵略中國，並在亞洲大陸上擴張他們的立腳點，以排擠美英兩國在亞洲的利益。當時，中國由於國內鬥爭而遭到了削弱。就在這一年，日本人侵佔了中國的東北地區，並把它變成了自己的附屬國。一九三二年，他們繼續侵入中國內地。但是，一旦著手在這個遼闊的區域內建立起控制權，他們馬上就感覺到了，自己已經陷入在遊擊戰爭的泥沼當中。日本人為了擺脫這個困境，尋找一條出路，決定採取南進辦法，既進一步擴張地盤，也隔斷中國人的外貿市場，斷切其獲取外援的路線。希特勒打敗法國以後，日本人隨即利用了法國當時孤立無援的困境，派遣軍隊進佔法屬的印度支那地區，強迫他們承認對於這一地區的保護佔領權。 一九四一年七月二十四日，美國羅斯福總統要求日軍撤出印度支那。為了加強這個要求的份量，他決定從二十六日開始，凍結日本在美國銀行中的一切存款，並且禁止向日本輸出石油。英國首相邱吉爾隨即予以回應，決定採取同樣的措施。二天以後，在倫敦的荷蘭流亡政府也被勸加入了這種行動。這樣，誠如邱吉爾所說的，由於這一打擊，日本人最重要的石油來源就被斷絕了。 早些時候，人們曾經認為，由於遭受到這種癱瘓性的打擊，日本人只有兩條出路：或者進行宣戰，這是擺脫困境的唯一出路；或者放棄他們原來的政策。值得注意的是，日本人用了四個多月的時間來避免戰爭，力圖通過談判的途徑以換取石油的進口。但是美國政府決不讓步。它提出的條件是，日本不僅要從印度支那撤軍，而且要從中國撤軍，否則就不能解除禁運。這不要說是日本，就是世界上的任何一國政府，都不會接受這種屈辱性的條件，絕不會那樣不顧面子。這樣一來，從七月底以後，太平洋上的戰禍也就迫在眉睫，隨時都有爆發的危險。不過，日本人還是等待著，他們遲延了四個月才發起進攻。這對於美英兩國來說，實在是一件可幸的事。但他們並沒能很好利用這個機會，在此時間內所進行的防禦部署，是沒有多大成效的。 一九四一年十二月七日淩晨，由六艘航空母艦組成的一支日本海軍兵力，對美國夏威夷群島的海軍基地珍珠港，進行了一次閃電式的空中襲擊。這次具有毀滅性的突擊，是在正式宣戰之前實施的，是不宣而戰。這也和過去進攻旅順港的情況一樣，日本人那次進攻俄國艦隊，也是採取先下手為強的手段。 直到一九四一年年初為止，日本人所擬定的對美戰爭計畫，都是想把他們的海軍主力用在南太平洋上，並且同時向菲律賓群島實施進攻，其目的是要阻止美軍艦隊去援助他們的菲律賓駐防部隊。美國人的心目中，正好也是估量著日本的這種行動路線。而在戰爭前夜，日本又不斷向印度支那發展，這就加強了美國人的信念。可是，就在這個時候，日本海軍上將山本五十六卻制定了一個新的作戰計畫，預期對美國的海軍基地珍珠港進行一次突然襲擊。擔負這次奇襲任務的日本艦隊，採取了一條非常大的迂迴路線，經過千島群島，由北向南，在美國人不知不覺之中，從北面偷偷靠近了夏威夷群島。當艦隊抵達距離夏威夷群島四百八十公里的海域時，三百六十架飛機從航空母艦上起飛，在日出之前飛臨到珍珠港上空，突然地進行了空中襲擊。停泊在港內的八艘美國戰列艦，四艘立即被擊沉，四艘受了重傷。只花一個小時多一點的時間，日本人就奪得了太平洋上的控制權。 在這樣一擊之下，日軍經由海上侵入馬來半島的道路就完全打通而毫無阻礙了。當日軍海軍的主要突擊兵力已經抵近夏威夷群島東北的時候，海軍的其他兵力也護送著運輸艦船開進了西南太平洋。差不多就在空襲珍珠港的同時，日軍也分別在馬來半島和菲律賓實行登陸。前者以英國人在馬來半島的巨型海軍基地新加坡為目標，可是，他們並不打算從海上去攻佔這個基地，因為該要塞面向海上的防禦工事是極其堅固的。但日軍這次採取的行動有著極大的突然性。它首先在馬來半島的東部海岸上選擇了兩個登陸點，派出部隊從那裡登陸，奪取飛機場，以此吸引了敵人的注意力，而以主力在半島的最狹窄的部位上登陸，那裡地屬泰國，在新加坡以北約八百公里。從那裡開始，日軍部隊沿著半島的西海岸實施進攻，連續迂迴繞過英軍企圖阻止他們前進的各道防線。由於選擇了這樣一條困難的行進路線，英國人對此是完全沒有料到的，而在厚密的叢林當中，有著許多實行滲透的機會，這就使日軍獲得了很大的好處。英軍部隊差不多實行了六個星期的連續退卻，終於在一月底被迫撤離大陸，退到了新加坡島上。一九四二年的二月八日夜間，日軍開始強渡那個只有大約一公里半寬的海峽，向新加坡島進攻。他們在許多點上都登陸成功，於是沿著一個寬廣的正面發展新的滲透行動。 守軍的兵力實際上要比實施進攻的日軍部隊多一倍以上，但是日本方面都是一些特選的精兵，他們受過在叢林和狹窄地段上進行機動作戰的良好訓練。至於守軍方面，卻是一批雜牌部隊，其中多數都是沒有經過訓練因而技術不熟練的新兵。他們實施堅決的反機動的能力很差。在戰役的過程中，他們總是害怕側翼力面的威脅。守軍的這種弱點，本身已夠相當嚴重，他們還缺乏空軍的掩護，無法對付日本空軍的不斷威脅，於是情況更加嚴重。所以，扼守該地的英軍很快就發生了動搖，喪失了平衡。當時，後方的居民陷於一片混亂，他們再要恢復自己的穩定性已很困難。這樣，英軍部隊不僅沒有一個穩定可靠的基地，而且背後所依靠的竟是一個人口眾多的混雜的城市，加上敵人已經控制住了城市面前的海洋，糧食和水源都有隨時被切斷的威脅。當地政府又決定實行焦土政策，下令焚燒油庫，結果弄得黑煙滾滾，彌天漫野，造成了一種非常恐怖的景象，使多數人的神經遭到了打擊。這在心理方面說來實在是大錯而特錯了。二月十五日，也就是下一個黑煙滾滾的星期天，守軍終於全部投降。 在菲律賓的最大一個島，即呂宋島上，日軍最早是在馬尼拉北面實施登陸的，隨後，他們又在首都的後方進行了登陸。出於面臨著遭受合圍的威脅，美軍放棄了這個島的大部分土地，在十二月底以前，撤退到了小小的巴丹半島之上。在那裡，日軍只能在一個極其狹窄的空間內對美軍實施正面的攻擊。因此，儘管敵人在兵力方面擁有絕對的優勢，美軍還是在這個半島上堅守了很長的時間，直到一九四二年四月才被日軍攻克。 早在巴丹半島陷落以前很久，甚至還在新加坡淪陷以前，日本人那股搶奪土地的浪潮，從入侵馬來半島開始，已經席捲了其他許多地區。一月二十四日，日軍分別在婆羅洲、蘇拉威西相新幾內亞各個島上登陸。三個星期以後，他們開始向荷屬東印度的核心爪哇島實施進攻。當時，這個島已經處在兩翼都被隔絕的孤立地位。三個星期以內，整個爪哇島就像是一個熟透了的蘋果，落到了日軍的手裡。此後，澳大利亞即面臨著遭受日軍入侵的威脅，但是，它卻有幸沒有直接遭受這個厄運。日軍把它的主力轉向西進，用去攻佔緬甸了。他們在曼谷到仰光的廣闊地面上，採取著直接挺進行動。這對於實現他們在亞洲大陸的主要目的，即癱瘓中國的抵抗力來說，可以算是一種間接路線。仰光是滇緬公路的出海口，美英兩國援助中國的一切軍用物資，都是通過這條公路運進中國去的。同時，日軍的這次進攻還追求著一個良好的理想，那就是從西面把通向太平洋的一切陸路都加以佔領，並在這些主要的交通線上建立起堅固的壁壘，使美英盟軍將來無法利用這些交通道路來對付日軍。三月八日，仰光陷落。在以後的二個月時間裡，英軍被完全逐出緬甸境界，越過山地，退到了印度。這樣一來，日軍的西邊翼側就有了很可靠的天然障礙作掩護。盟軍要想進行反攻，勢必遭到極大的困難，而且必須經歷一個非常緩慢的程式。 經過了很長久的時間以後，美英盟軍才籌建了一支足夠數量的兵力，以來收復被日軍搶奪去了的失地。這一工作是從東邊開始的。由於保全了澳大利亞，盟軍獲得了不少益處，因為這是一個巨大的基地，而且直接靠近著日本的前哨防線。 一九四二年八月，麥克亞瑟將軍發起了第一次進攻。進攻的目標是瓜達爾卡納爾島。這是所羅門群島中最南端並靠近澳大利亞的一個大島。攻佔該島的作戰行動一直延續了六個月。直到一九四三年六月底，美軍才進到了這個群島中的下一個大島新喬治亞島。收復該島的作戰又延續了三個多月。 這時，澳大利亞部隊已在新幾內亞島的東南角上奪得了一個登陸場，並從那裡發起了進攻。可是，新幾內亞島上的作戰行動發展得非常遲緩，而且吃夠了苦頭。這是因為，那裡的條件極端困難，日軍又進行著極頑強的抵抗。從奪得新幾內亞島東南一角起，差不多經過了一年，到一九四三年九月，才最後攻克了萊城。 由此看來，從這裡通向菲律賓的道路還是漫長的，而要到達日本，其途徑更是極端遙遠。可是，到了一九四三年的秋天，由於採取了迂迴繞過一些島嶼的方法，突進的速度便大大地加快了。這也可以說是間接路線戰略的另外一種形式。這一方法的實質，是美軍利用海運前進，在比較靠近日本本土的一些島上登陸，而把日本週邊圈上的島嶼拋在後面不管，使其島上的守軍孤立無援，無法獲得補給，換句話說，就是把他們圈禁在那裡，陷入在戰略包圍之中。 一九四四年十月，美軍進行了一個長距離的躍進，又回到了菲律賓。在此以前，他們對菲律賓南北兩端兩個最大的島，即綿蘭老島和呂宋島，進行了強烈的空中突擊，毀壞了那裡的港口和機場。很自然，這些空中突擊引起了日本人的警惕，使他們想到美軍必定會在島上某一地點實施登陸，但是真正的登陸地點將在哪裡，他們卻又猜不出來。後來，麥克亞瑟將軍的海軍艦隊卻突然在萊特島附近出現了，並在那裡實行登陸。這個島正好位於兩個主要大島的中間。這樣，好像是一斧子砍到了菲律賓的腰上，美軍深深楔入到菲律賓各島嶼的中心部位了。如果範圍放大一些，從戰略上更廣泛的背景來看，那就是美軍在日本與其太平洋佔領區（荷屬東印度）之間打下了一個楔子。 為了繼續實施進攻和完全攻佔菲律賓，美軍必須集中起足夠數量的兵力，而在此以前，不可避免地要有一個新的間隙期間。然而，最後成功的保證卻是美國人結合使用兩種戰法：首先攻佔靠近日本本土的一些島嶼，在整個戰區內奪得制海權和制空權；同時把日軍佔領的一些島嶼拋在後方，加以孤立，以後再去實行攻佔。此外，由於所奪占的基地靠日本很近，美軍得以持續不斷地發動強有力的空中襲擊。美軍下一個巨大的躍進是繞過臺灣進佔沖繩島，這是琉球群島中最大的一個島嶼，正好位於臺灣與日本的中間。 在整個後期的作戰中，有一個顯著的特點值得注意。美軍在每一次採取越島躍進的迂迴機動的，總是在目標的選擇方面迷惑敵人，使其無法判明他們的主攻方向，同時又能利用敵人防禦中的弱點來發展自己的勝利。這樣一來，他們的每一次突擊行動都在戰略上具有間接性，保障了作戰的勝利。 日本人那股侵略浪濤所波及的地區，實在是太大了，因而給他們自己帶來了嚴重的後果。他們的軍隊不得不過分分散。這樣，當海空軍的實力一旦發生變化而使美國人奪得優勢以後，美軍就得以自由利用廣大海域，向任何一個地點實施登陸，使日軍到處陷入孤立無援的境地。侵略者本身現在也要遭受侵略了。這個反作用推倒了軍事上的一種教條：攻擊就是最好的防禦手段。事實恰巧相反，日軍的進攻，在最初時候取得了巨大的成功，以致伸展過度，所以到後來，他們的防禦力量也就過於單薄，不得不經受極度的緊張。德軍的情況與此相似，開始時，進攻發展得很順利，到後來，卻遭到了毀滅性的打擊。