Germany does not seek survival

Faust smiled bitterly: "How much more blood does the General Staff want to shed on the Western Front!"

Manstein said: "Until we win, or until the Germans can no longer endure it."

Faust said: "If the German army insists on fighting to the last German, then after the defeat, General Ludendorff will have to bear the responsibility for the defeat."

Manstein said: "I will try to persuade the General Staff to keep more Germans in Courland instead of sending them to die on the Western Front..."

Faust was skeptical: "Captain, who can you convince?"

Manstein was very confident: "Don't forget that my uncle is Field Marshal Hindenburg. Half of the Prussian generals are related to my family. I am sure I can convince them."

Manstein came from one of the most powerful Prussian Junker families, so he had the confidence to say such a bold statement as "Half of the cadres in the entire army were promoted by my family."

Ludendorff's plan was too big and would definitely burst the German army's stomach. Faust was concerned about the Polish-Lithuanian separation wall and the situation east of the wall. Faust believed that no matter how Ludendorff planned, the German army would sooner or later face defeat, and Ludendorff's careful planning would eventually turn into a mess.

Chapter 69 Activity Group

Ludendorff tampered with Faust's Eastern Master Plan at random, but it was harmless. The core part of the Eastern Master Plan: the Polish-Lithuanian separation wall, was not affected.

Moreover, Manstein brought Faust another particularly favorable piece of good news.

"General Ludendorff has decided to establish a new Eastern General Planning Activity Group within the Operations Department of the Eastern Front High Command."

"Who is the leader of the group?"

Manstein replied: "The nominal head of the Eastern General Plan Activity Group is Major General Rüdiger von der Goltz, but the actual person in charge is me."

Major General Goltz was born into a wealthy Prussian Junker family. His uncle was the "Pasha" Goltz Sr., who was once on par with the German Chief of the General Staff Schlieffen. Last year, when Goltz Sr. was serving as the chief adviser of the Turkish army, he led his troops to successfully encircle the British and Indian Corps in Iraq. Ten days before the British and Indian Corps surrendered, Goltz Sr. died of typhoid fever.

Major General Goltz had previously served as the commander of an infantry division on the Western Front and performed very well. He was later transferred to Ludendorff's command and fought in Lithuania as the commander of the German Army's 11th Reserve Division.

The General Staff chose Major General Goltz Jr. to be the leader of the Eastern General Plan Activity Group, probably because the Goltz family had marriage ties with many Baltic German nobles.

Manstein said: "Major General Goltz has an aunt who married in Riga. This is his only connection with Courland. In fact, Major General Goltz knows nothing about Baltic history, so the team is actually entirely under my charge."

Manstein patted himself on the shoulder, and Faust noticed that Manstein had been promoted to major in just one trip back to Berlin, and had the same rank as Faust.

However, Faust's rank was an ordinary army major, while Manstein was a noble combat staff major. Although the ranks were the same, their value was very different. A major-level combat staff of the General Staff, once assigned to the troops, could, like Major Rundstedt, command an army's battles and be very powerful.

Manstein returned the favor to Faust: "You can pick a few people, and I will help you arrange them to the Eastern General Planning Group. They can serve as liaisons between you and me in the future."

Faust thought for a moment. There weren't many people in the National Socialist Party who were qualified for intelligence work. He immediately thought of Sorge. "Sorge has passed the officer reserve exam and is now a second lieutenant. Could he be assigned to the Eastern General Planning Group?"

Manstein said, "In addition to Major General Goltz and myself, the Eastern Group will also have several other teams, including those for intelligence, mapping, language, and communications. I can assign your personnel to the Intelligence Section, which has a large staffing base, and the rank of second lieutenant is just enough."

Sorge was originally the liaison between the National Socialist Party and the left wing of the Social Democratic Party. He was not a complete National Socialist. If there was a conflict between the National Socialist Party and the left wing of the Social Democratic Party in the future, Faust would find it difficult to guarantee which side Sorge would stand on.

However, most members of the National Socialist Party were pure military personnel, and few of them had experience and talent in underground activities like Sorge. Apart from Sorge, there was indeed no other more suitable candidate.

Deep down in Faust's heart, he was willing to hand over such an important position to Sorge, which probably meant that Faust himself did not want the National Socialist Party to have a head-on conflict with the left wing of the Social Democratic Party, that is, the future German Communist Party.

Manstein gave Faust enough face and promised: "After your people arrive at the Eastern Group, I will report their achievements to the General Staff as soon as possible. I will quickly promote Sorge to lieutenant, so that he can directly become the head of the Intelligence Section."

Faust shook hands with Manstein. Manstein was so friendly to him, certainly not because Faust was handsome, but because this nobleman from the Junker family must have ambitions for Germany's post-war structure.

The two young ambitious men hit it off immediately, and Manstein smiled broadly: "I can sense that, Major Faust, we are of the same kind."

Faust did not want to be the same kind of person as the king of shifting the blame, "Manbuqun", but he had to admit that Manstein's intelligence and talent were incomparable to ordinary people. His shrewd vision had surpassed Ludendorff at such a young age.

Moreover, although Manstein came from a wealthy Junker family, he did not have the stubbornness and conservatism of the Prussian Junkers. On the contrary, Manstein showed himself to be a cunning and fickle person in every way. In short, he was an extremely smart and extremely un-Junker nobleman.

It seems that Manstein came from a prominent family, but he was not a biological son. Instead, he followed his mother's remarriage into the Manstein family and was adopted. The former gave him a high level of education and broad knowledge, and his military career was relatively smooth with less torture and hardship. The latter made Manstein lack a sense of security and developed a cunning character that was almost the opposite of that of the Junker nobles.

It is difficult for people with this kind of personality to gain true friendship, but Faust has to admit that when dealing with people like Manstein, it is very comfortable, at least at the beginning, because he can help you consider all aspects of the details.

As they parted, Manstein flashed another sly smile. "Major Faust, your dealings with the Poles are a bit too close. I have a suggestion. The Grossdeutschland Regiment should prepare an additional surveillance log and submit it to the Eastern Front Commander-in-Chief in case of an investigation."

Faust was shocked. Everyone said that Rommel was a fox, but Rommel was only as cunning as a fox on the battlefield. He was not like Manstein who applied his cunningness everywhere.

The National Socialist Party should pay more attention to the discipline of confidentiality in its future actions...

After this, Faust again emphasized the issue of confidentiality to the members of the National Socialist Party. In the past, because the entire Greater German Regiment was controlled by the National Socialist Party, the activities of the National Socialist Party were almost the same as being completely open.

When in Romania, the Greater German Group had more opportunities to act independently, and its superior, the 22nd Army, also had a friendly relationship with the Greater German Group. No matter how blatant the National Socialist Party's activities were, no one cared.

The situation was completely different in Königsberg. Even though most Germans were now skeptical about the General Staff's strategy, Königsberg, as the capital of East Prussia and the base camp of the Junker aristocracy, had its ears. If one was not careful, it would sooner or later attract an iron fist.

A few days later, the two Polish divisions under Piłsudski also arrived in Königsberg by car. The number of Poles increased. Colonel Sikorski reported several times that by the time the Polish army arrived, there were 20,000 Polish soldiers available to fight with the Grossdeutschland Regiment.

Piłsudski, accompanied by Colonel Sikorski, came to the Wilhelm Barracks to meet Faust.

Piłsudski was still wearing his French jacket. Apart from Colonel Sikorski, he had no attendants with him and acted in a very humble manner in front of Faust.

Faust smiled reservedly and said in a friendly manner, "I heard that Mr. Piłsudski was a member of the Polish Socialist Party before the war. What a coincidence! Before the war broke out, I was also a member of the German Social Democratic Party."

The atmosphere in the William Barracks was serious. The officers and soldiers of the Grossdeutschland Regiment, as well as the soldiers of several Polish divisions, were now on high alert and very strict, because the German Eastern Front High Command had issued an order that a new combat operation was imminent, and the Grossdeutschland Regiment and the Polish Corps were about to rush to the front.

Piłsudski followed Faust on a leisurely walk until they reached the Lutheran chapel in the Wilhelm Barracks. Piłsudski spoke calmly about the Polish Socialist Party and the German Social Democratic Party, but his words were blunt:

"Like the German Social Democratic Party, the Polish Socialist Party was originally founded for the purpose of revolution. However, as the party expanded, it absorbed all kinds of people from all walks of life, which gradually changed its nature. In Russia, the Polish Socialist Party split into the Young Faction and the Old Faction. The Old Faction, which is my faction, insisted on using force to fight against Russia, while the Young Faction changed its mind and hoped to fight for the rights of the Poles through legal means in the Duma."

Earlier, Piłsudski's elders were obsessed with violent activities, but due to lack of troops, they could only cooperate with the Russian Narodnaya Volya Party to carry out bomb assassinations. Piłsudski's cooperation with Lenin's brother took place during this period.

It is no wonder that the young wing of the Polish Socialist Party has changed its stance. Terrorist attacks and violent assassinations cannot push history forward. Instead, they have given the Polish independence movement a very bad atmosphere.

But after the outbreak of the war, the young wing of the Polish Socialist Party was completely treated as a chamber pot by the Tsarist government. It was used to decorate the facade during conscription, and was immediately discarded after the conscription. If anyone dared to complain, they would be accused of various treasonous crimes, followed by bloody suppression.

At this time, history proved that Piłsudski's line of armed struggle was the correct path.

In addition to historical opportunities, Piłsudski himself also made a lot of efforts. At Piłsudski's call, the veteran faction of the Polish Socialist Party gave up the assassination activities that caused heavy casualties several years ago and turned to secret military education and armed training. Only then did they have enough talent reserves to form a highly independent Polish Legion after the outbreak of World War I.

Chapter 70: Lessons from Population

In ancient times, the city of Königsberg was under the influence of Poland for a long time. Many places, historical sites and attractions in the city still have traces of the Polish rule era.

After arriving in Königsberg, Piłsudski looked around along the way, reminiscing about the past and exploring the mysteries of history. The thousands of years of history between the Germans and the Poles were condensed into the city of Königsberg, like a scroll that slowly unfolded.

The feelings of the Poles are incomprehensible to outsiders!

"The Polish Socialist Party has spent ten years gathering strength and learning lessons. Since the split between the Young and Old Factions in the 1990s, we, the Old Faction, were driven out of Russian Poland by the Tsarist government and gathered in Krakow and Lviv under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. For over a decade, we have endured hardships, preparing for war and doing everything we can to one day retake Warsaw."

Piłsudski has been engaged in the revolutionary cause for twenty years now. His dedication, patience and execution ability are truly far superior to those of other leaders of small nations in Eastern Europe.

For example, Beneš of the Czech Republic, Smetona of Lithuania, and Petliura of Ukraine could not even compare with him. Looking at the vast Eastern Europe, it seems that only Lenin, who was a close relative of Piłsudski, could match his execution ability.

Faust gave up judging Piłsudski from a historical perspective. He also felt that it was necessary to re-evaluate Piłsudski. He was truly an extraordinary person to be able to revive Poland, a country that had been lost for more than a hundred years between the three major powers.

Faust nodded and smiled. "Lviv, we Germans still call this city Lemberg... You're right, sir. It takes ten years of accumulation and ten years of training. Although our paths may be different, we have set our sights on a goal, then we stick to it and persevere. This attitude is worth learning from!"

Outside the small chapel of the William Barracks, there were guards from the Great German Regiment standing in a solemn line, not allowing outsiders to approach at will and affect the meeting between Faust and Piłsudski.

This made Piłsudski feel that Faust and the Greater German Regiment were not the true subjects of the German Emperor, just as Colonel Sikorski had reported.

Piłsudski also wanted to befriend Faust, so he took the initiative to hand over the detailed military preparation reports of the three divisions of the Polish Army to Faust. The reports recorded the strength, equipment, ammunition, supplies and training status of the three divisions of the Polish Army. The data was clear, and Faust knew there was nothing hidden after just a quick glance.

"All three divisions of the Polish Army, totaling 28,000 men, will be fully assembled in Königsberg starting next Monday. We will obey the orders of the German Eastern Front High Command and accept guidance from the Großdeutschland Regiment wherever we are deployed."

Piłsudski had no expression on his face, but his words were very weighty. Faust was satisfied. It would be more accurate to say that the Pole's statement gave Faust some unexpected gains.

"The Eastern Front High Command always regarded the Polish Army as an elite unit," Faust said. "According to German standards, the Polish First Division could be classified as an excellent attack division, and the Polish Second Division could also be considered a good attack division."

The German army has always divided the combat effectiveness of its troops into five levels, namely "excellent attack division", "good attack division", "good ordinary division", "ordinary division" and "general division".

According to some inside information revealed by Manstein to Faust, of the three divisions of the Polish Legion, the veteran First Division was a "good attack division", the Second Division was a "good ordinary division", and although the newly established Third Division had better soldiers, all of them were Polish youths of appropriate age, their training level was low and it could only be regarded as a fourth-tier "ordinary division".

The Polish Army's ace 1st Division could not be ranked among the German Army's first-tier "excellent attack divisions". Faust deliberately raised Piłsudski's rank to a higher level to make the Poles happy for a while, but also to confuse them.

"Regarding the Polish Legion's operations, the Eastern Front High Command has other orders. Generally speaking, the main operations will be in the Courland region," Faust continued. "What we Germans refer to as Greater Courland includes Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia."

Piłsudski did not want to fight the Lithuanian troops in the Russian army, as that would hurt the feelings of the future Polish-Lithuanian federation. However, if the Polish Legion could gain more autonomy in operating in the Lithuanian region, it would certainly be of great benefit to the future federation.

Faust knew very well what the Poles were thinking, so as long as the Eastern Front General Headquarters threw out the bait, there was no need to worry that the Poles would not actively take the bait.

Faust lowered his voice again. "The Greater German Legion fully supports the Polish Legion's activities in Lithuania. The Polish army should demonstrate good discipline and style in Lithuania. This is the only way to truly win the hearts and minds of the Lithuanian people. Outside of Lithuania, the main targets are Riga and Tallinn, where the Livonian War between the Poles and Ivan the Terrible took place four hundred years ago. The German army also believes that since Sigismund II and Stefan Batory were able to defeat Ivan the Terrible four hundred years ago, Germany certainly has reason to believe that the Poles can achieve a major victory in 1917, just like they did in 1581."

Faust had no right to directly decide the deployment of the three divisions of the Polish Army, nor did he have the right to directly command the Polish army. But since Piłsudski did not want to be directly commanded by the German Eastern Front High Command, the Poles would of course rather cooperate with the ambivalent Faust.

Anyway, everyone will rebel against the German Emperor in the future, so the basis for cooperation is still very solid.

Piłsudski did not directly point out the National Socialist Party's ambitions. However, through Colonel Sikorski's report, he understood some of Faust and the National Socialists' ideas and said:

"Whether in Lithuania, throughout Greater Courland, or even further east across the Narva River to Pskov, where Stefan Batory once captured it, the Polish Legions are at your command! Sir, we have only one request, and that is that the Polish Legions be provided with the same recruitment standards and logistical treatment as the regular German and Austrian troops as soon as possible."

Faust understood: "I will apply to the General Headquarters on your behalf for all these issues."

Faust has not met Prince Leopold, who is now in charge of the German Eastern Front Headquarters. In the past few days, Crown Prince Rupprecht has called Königsberg many times. Prince Leopold is the Crown Prince's uncle. With the guarantee of Crown Prince Rupprecht, Prince Leopold must regard Faust and the Great German Regiment as his own ace troops.

After Piłsudski's discussion, Faust wanted to invite him to dinner at the Wilhelm Barracks, but Piłsudski declined. He was austere, saying simply, "I must return to my unit. The soldiers are waiting for me to dine with them."

Faust admired: "To share the joys and sorrows of life and to live together is an extraordinary heroic act."

In view of the history of Poland's fall, the clear hierarchy and disparity in standards between aristocratic officers and civilian soldiers had led to repeated defeats, and this was a drawback that must be eliminated.

Piłsudski himself had no favorable impression of Germany. In his eyes, Germany and Tsarist Russia were birds of a feather, except for the slight anthropomorphism of Austria. However, regarding the treatment of officers and soldiers, Piłsudski also admitted:

"Most Russian officers came from the aristocracy or upper-middle class, and there was a clear class gap between them and the soldiers. Officers used silver tableware and enjoyed red wine and desserts, while the soldiers only had rye and potatoes. Over a hundred years ago, Poland was the same. Germany, starting with Prussia's Soldier King and Frederick the Great, emphasized equality between officers and soldiers. As a result, Poland perished, while Prussia grew stronger and unified Germany. The lessons of history are deeply engraved on the Poles."

After the meeting, Faust soon received another summons from the Eastern Front General Headquarters. He and Manstein went to the General Headquarters Operations Department to visit Prince Leopold and Chief of Staff Max Hoffmann, the actual person in charge of the Eastern Front.

Prince Leopold is tall and slender, with snow-white silver hair and a pair of blue-gray eyes. He looks cold and calm, and has a reassuring white beard.

He participated in the decisive Battle of Königgrätz in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, and is truly a living fossil witnessing the history of the German army.

The Operations Department of the General Headquarters was covered with maps. The largest military map covered the entire Greater Courland region, and the Gulf of Riga was specially marked. Prince Leopold drew three red arcs in the Gulf of Riga with a pencil. This was the axis of the German attack.

In stark contrast to Prince Leopold's aristocratic temperament, Max Hoffmann is a typical elite of the General Staff. He is short in stature, always hunched over, and his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses always have a scrutinizing sharpness. His uniform is wrinkled, his tie is crooked, and his trouser legs are stained with mud from the front line. He looks like an unkempt university professor.

Moltke the Elder once divided soldiers into four categories: lazy and smart, diligent and smart, diligent and stupid, and lazy and stupid.

Chief of Staff Hoffman's character is typical of being lazy and smart. He hates tedious paperwork, but can work without sleep for several days and nights at critical moments. His judgment is also incredibly sharp. During the Battle of Tannenberg, it was Chief of Staff Hoffman who accurately predicted all the actions of the Russian army based on an intercepted unencrypted telegram and his understanding of the grievances of Russian generals.

Chief of Staff Hoffmann was not kind to Manstein. He was Hindenburg and Ludendorff's closest assistant, but once the two pillars of the empire left the Eastern Front, Chief of Staff Hoffmann could no longer hide his boredom with Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

The Victory of Tannenberg made Hindenburg and Ludendorff the "symbols of victory" of Germany, while the real battle planner, Chief of Staff Hoffmann, became an "invisible staff officer", modifying the Courland battle plan while smoking a cheap cigar.

Chapter 71: Gulf of Riga

Prince Leopold and Max Hoffmann were like two mirror images of the German military machine during World War I.

The former represents the sense of honor and responsibility of the old aristocracy, and pursues chivalry and aristocratic honor on the battlefield; the latter is a product of the modern bureaucratic system, using data, codes and probability theory to reshape the form of war, and to win victory at all costs and by any means necessary.

Prince Leopold's current role in the Eastern Front General Headquarters is exactly the same as that of Marshal Hindenburg before him, that is, to act like a big Buddha, saying nothing, and relying only on his seniority to keep the situation under control.

After Ludendorff left the Eastern Front, Chief of Staff Hoffman's personality, which had been suppressed by Ludendorff for a long time, completely erupted. He drank water and chewed dry whole-grain bread, but when he saw Faust, his mouth started talking like a machine gun.

"You're Werther Faust? War hero, hey, let me guess, how much of the Miracle of Saint-Quentin was actually a real victory, and how much was just some fabricated fabrication inflated by His Royal Highness the Dauphin?"

Chief of Staff Hoffman's face was grim. "In the spring of 1916, we only had 100,000 men, building a long defensive line along Riga-Dvinsk-Vilnius-Pinsk-northern Ukraine. This was clearly insufficient. Furthermore, Mackensen took one of his most capable troops south to the Balkans, and Falkenhayn demanded that the entire Eastern Front, except for the Riga theater, be put on the defensive in order to free up excess manpower and resources for Verdun. As a result, the Battle of Verdun, to which Germany had committed all its strategic resources and forces, failed. The Eastern Front also nearly collapsed due to negligence and underestimation of the power of the Brusilov Offensive."

As the most outstanding Russian commander in World War I, General Brusilov of Tsarist Russia not only improved the Russian army's devastating morale and poor training, but also assembled a million troops in the Ukrainian war zone by hiding during the day and moving at night. This two-month vacuum period deceived almost all the Allied commanders on the Eastern Front.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff were both to blame. Chief of Staff Hoffman proved that he had a better vision than stubbornness on this issue, because Hoffman firmly judged that the Russians would inevitably launch an attack, and would not choose the "roadless period" in spring, but would definitely choose summer to attack the most vulnerable junction between the German and Austrian armies.

As the junction of the German and Austrian defense lines, the Linsingen Army Group stationed in Lutsk was attacked like a tide as Hoffman expected. Even so, the German army did not collapse instantly like its allies. The German army used machine guns, light weapons and bayonets to resist the two Russian armies, thus avoiding the complete collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Hoffman stood in front of the map, picked up a pencil and randomly drew marks for each unit. Prince Leopold next to him remained indifferent, completely unconcerned about Chief of Staff Hoffman's overstepping of authority.

"Before Falkenhayn resigned, he finally transferred six divisions from the Western Front to us, sent the Grossdeutschland Regiment, and allowed the Polish Legion to expand. This gave us enough strength to challenge General Brusilov."

Chief of Staff Hoffman's personality is actually a replica of Ludendorff. He is a completely smaller version of Ludendorff, stubborn, genius, unkempt and arrogant, but Hoffman still has great respect for Russian General Brusilov.

Even though General Brusilov had a huge numerical advantage, he was able to lead the Russian army, which was already very broken and exhausted in 1916, to suddenly launch the Brusilov Offensive, a large-scale offensive that was far more perfect than all the offensives of the British and French forces.

"Now, the vast forests of Lithuania, the vast plains and swamps of Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine are all open to us. We are strong enough to challenge Brusilov, and the first priority is Riga."

Riga is the capital of Latvia and the largest city in Russia on the Baltic coast. In 1917, Riga's urban population was larger than that of Kiev and Warsaw.

Prince Leopold and Chief of Staff Hoffman had prepared a large number of troops for the Battle of Riga and sent some of the best generals on the Eastern Front - Oscar von Hutier, the inventor of the artillery waltz tactics, and "Breaker" Müller - to command the battle.

Riga was the strongest fortress city on the Baltic coast of the Russian army's northern front. The Dvina River provided a natural barrier for the garrison. Chief of Staff Hoffman briefly explained the German army's next military deployment:

"We will assemble thirteen divisions in Courland and concentrate all our artillery to destroy the Russian defenses on the west bank of the Dvina River. We will use artillery to protect the German army as it crosses the river, and then we can attack Riga from the flank."

Chief of Staff Hoffman's plan for the Battle of Riga did not mention the missions of the Grossdeutschland and the Polish Corps. Faust asked:

"What mission will the Greater German Regiment be responsible for?"

Hoffman replied: "To serve as a mobile reserve."

Faust wasn't entirely satisfied with this answer. Manstein, staring at Chief of Staff Hoffman's deployment map, suddenly proposed a new idea: "Chief of Staff, what about Estonia? If we only attack Riga, the Russian army can continue to organize a new defense line in Estonia. However, after our main force crosses the Dvina River, it can only attack Riga along an axis on the left wing. This won't prevent the Russian 12th Army from fleeing to Estonia if it becomes apparent that they are losing."

Manstein believed that Hoffmann's plan could be slightly modified. In addition to Riga, the German army should also attack Estonia at the same time.