Chapter 16 Final battle east of the San and Vistula

Although the main force of the enemy in front of the Vistula River has been wiped out in the battle of the Bzura River and the fall of Warsaw.But there were still many battles against the remnants of the enemy in the area of ​​the Fourteenth Army east of Grisia and on the other side of the lower San River.Some of them are also intense.At the same time, the Tenth Army also sent a corps at Dumblin, crossed the Vistula, and entered Uublin.In this battle, we suddenly received an order from the High Command to hand over the city of Lviv, which had just surrendered to the Fourteenth Army, to the Russian army for reception, and to withdraw the entire army group to Ribbentrop's headquarters. Behind the demarcation line drawn by Moscow.This line runs from Uzok to Prizimensl, and then along the San and Vistula rivers to the north of Warsaw.Therefore, for the units of the Army Group in the South, the battles on the other side of the two rivers were actually a waste of energy, but only for the Russians to reap their benefits!

In order to retreat across the San, we must get out of combat with an enemy group whose strength is estimated to still be two or three infantry divisions and one or two cavalry brigades.These forces now showed great courage, though at the same time utterly ignorant of the general situation, in their desperate attack to prevent our Seventh and Eighth Corps from reaching the river.Here again, fierce fighting continued purely because of the protracted political negotiations between the German and Russian governments. The following facts can be regarded as a best proof. On October 1, a new adjustment was made to the dividing line.This time we were ordered to retake Lublin province.So the Fourteenth Motorized Corps crossed the Vistula again to accept the surrender of the last remnants of the enemy, who were putting up heroic resistance in the face of the advancing Russians.

The Polish campaign was finally over.During this process, the Southern Army Group captured a total of 523,236 personnel, 1,401 field artillery, 7,600 machine guns, and 274 aircraft. Ninety-six vehicles, and countless other equipment.There can be no doubt that the enemy's casualties were considerable, for they fought with great valor and with determination to fight to the end even in the most hopeless of circumstances. The loss statistics of our army group are as follows: Officers: 505 dead, 759 injured, 42 missing. Soldiers: 6,049 dead, 19,719 injured, 4,022 missing. On October 5, Hitler held a victory parade in Warsaw, in which all the divisions around the city participated.Unfortunately, there is an unpleasant episode at the end, which is also enough to clearly show his attitude towards the army generals.

The original arrangement was that Hitler should meet with the unit commanders before his flight back to Germany, and for this purpose a table had been arranged in a hangar and food supplied by a field kitchen.When Hitler came in, he saw the white tablecloth on the table and the autumn flowers on display. He turned away immediately and ran outside to sit and eat with the troops.After eating a few mouthfuls of soup and chatting with the soldiers around him, he went directly to the plane that was ready to go.This is a deliberate affectation, indicating that he has a popular demeanor.But I doubt whether his behavior will really win the approval of those soldiers.I dare say that the Head of State, out of respect for all the troops, should have received their commanders when they had won the victory.If so, they will certainly appreciate this gesture greatly.His treatment of the latter can be regarded as an insult.

Before long, the Polish campaign was described as a Blitzkrieg (Blitzkrieg).Admittedly, it is indeed an unprecedented masterpiece in terms of its execution speed and results.It was not until later that the German army launched an offensive on the Western Front that there was a second similar example on a larger scale. However, in order to make a fair evaluation, we must first remember the analysis of Poland in the previous chapter. In fact, the Germans not only have an advantage, but also have many favorable conditions when starting the war. As long as they can better meet the following two assumptions, there should be no doubt that they will win this battle.

The first is that in order to maintain the necessary advantages on the Eastern Front, the Germans must be prepared to take a considerable degree of risk on the Western Front. The second is that Western countries will not take advantage of this opportunity to provide appropriate assistance to the Poles. There is no doubt about it. If the Western countries could launch an offensive on the Western Front as early as possible, the outcome of the battle would be very different.But of course this is accompanied by another assumption, namely, that the Polish high command can have a greater sense of reality.In other words, when it goes to war, it does not disperse all its resources and try to hold what it cannot hold, but instead concentrates its forces on the main points and fights systematically in order to buy the necessary time. It can make the Germans really face the contradictory problem of a two-front war.The Polish troops were valiant enough to hold out to the end, and thus might be able to hold out until the Allies reached the Rhine.As a result, the German High Command can be forced to seriously consider the issue of stopping in Poland.

As Count Schlieffen said, the weaker side makes its own contribution to the victory of the other.That was the case this time.But on the other hand, in addition to the numerical superiority and combat advantages we obtained because of our daring to take risks, it must be admitted that the rapid and complete success of our success in Poland was due to the comparatively strong German combat forces. Good leadership and quality. A major factor in the speed of our success was the unorthodox use of a large self-contained tank force, backed up by a far superior air force.But the really decisive factor, in addition to the bravery and responsibility of the German soldiers, is the spirit of the entire German army.It is true that most of the material achievements of Germany's rearmament should be attributed to Hitler's personal efforts, but numerical superiority alone could not guarantee such a quick and complete victory.

Above all, our small Reichswehr, which at the time was looked down upon by many, was able to revive from the defeat of 1918 the great tradition of German training and leadership.The existing New Wehrmacht (Wehrmacht), to be regarded as the son of the old Wehrmacht, has found a way of preventing war from degenerating into a static war.With the help of new tools, the German army regained true leadership in maneuver warfare.Individual leadership develops to the point where there is no difference, and that is the real secret to our success.Germany's new Wehrmacht has passed its first test with honor.Up to this point, the army's general staff had been completely free to act without outside interference.The military commander retains full command authority.The battle fought by the troops was a purely military one, and for this reason it was possible to preserve in it the chivalry of the ancient knights.

On October 15th, Col‧Heusiger from the combat department of the Army Headquarters visited us and brought good news that at the end of this month, the headquarters of our army group will also be moved to the Western Front.Our present position will be taken over by the Eighth Army.Soon after, I myself was ordered to go to Army Headquarters at Zossen on October 21 to receive new operational orders. I left Rhodes on the 18th, stopping to see my own family and my brother-in-law, who was recuperating in the hospital in Brislaw from a serious wound. So wait to face a new task.