In the outskirts of Königsberg, at the headquarters of German Imperial Army's 8th Army Corps, a military meeting related to the upcoming decisive battle is being held.
Oscar sat in his seat, listening to the general's report and arrangements for the upcoming war.
"Gentlemen, according to the exact information we have received, Russians has formed Northwestern Front Army, including thirty Infantry Division and eight cavalry divisions, with a total strength of more than half a million people. And we only have ten Infantry Division and one Armored Division's total strength is only about 180,000. It can be said that the Russian army's strength is nearly three times that of ours! Of course, Russians's troops are just here to die. I believe we will be able to deal with them." Oscar said with a smile.
All the generals also laughed.
"Crown Prince, based on the Staff Department's analysis, we plan to implement Plan No. 2. That is, the plan to lure the enemy deep. The Russian army has much more troops than us. If we attack rashly, we will fall into Russians's trap or be surrounded. On the other hand, if we fight within our borders, we can lay traps and wait for Russians to attack. In this way, we can gather our superior forces and defeat them in one fell swoop." Major General Ludendorff said.
Oscar nodded. He did not interfere with the specific command of the troops, nor did he want to interfere. He believed that those professionals were obviously more professional than this wild guy like him. If you leave it to them, there will be nothing wrong.
"Colonel Manstein, please introduce the battle plan to everyone!" Major General Ludendorff said.
"Yes, General." Colonel Manstein took over.
Manstein is now the deputy minister of 8th Army Corps Operations Department, an extremely young Colonel. At the age of only 27 years old, to be able to become Colonel from the Imperial Army is already an exceptional improvement. Of course, there are two young Colonel like Manstein, and there are two more in 8th Army Corps, namely the 26-year-old Colonel Guderian and the 23-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Rommel. Guderian is now the acting division commander of 8th Armored Division, while Rommel is the deputy division commander and concurrently serves as 1st Regiment Regimental Commander.
Although many people were dissatisfied with them for obtaining such high military ranks at such a young age, no one dared to show it. Because everyone knows that the three of them are Oscar's favorite generals. Now Oscar's status within 8th Army Corps is also increasing day by day, and no one dares to question him anymore.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, generals. From the information we have obtained, we can analyze that the Russian Northwest Front is divided into two armies, the 1st Army led by General Lennekamp, including twenty infantry divisions and two cavalry divisions, stationed in Vilna. Samsonov, Colonel The 2nd Army led by the general, including ten infantry divisions and six cavalry divisions, is stationed in Warsaw. Once the Russian army launches an attack, the 1st Army will attack from the east, and the 2nd Army will attack from the south to carry out a pincer attack on East Prussia.
When they heard that the 500,000 Russian troops were divided into two fronts from the southeast to attack East Prussia, most of the generals' expressions changed. Although, they all know that 8th Army Corps's combat effectiveness is no longer what it used to be. However, they were still not sure whether they could withstand an attack from an enemy three times their size.
"Our specific tactics are to deploy 17th Corps in the East to block Russian 1st Army Corps. Through layer-by-layer blocking methods, we will continue to lure the enemy deep into the area and retreat to the Masurian Lakes area. The river network and swamps there are dense, and the traffic remains unchanged. Once Russians's large regiment falls into it, it will be difficult to escape."
"Yes!" 17th Corps Commander Lieutenant General Seeckt stood up and replied. Although, it is very difficult for a 17th Corps with only 3 Infantry Division and more than 50,000 people to block a Russian 1st Army Corps with 20 Infantry Division and two cavalry divisions with a total strength of more than 300,000 people. However, Lieutenant General Seeckt is still confident to complete this task. Anyway, it's not like 17th Corps is going to fight the Russian army head-on, it's just about letting them block it at all levels.
"11th Corps, go to Tannenberg in the south to set up defenses. 8th Armored Division will cooperate with 11th Corps in combat. Build a position there and wait for the Russian army."
"Yes!" 11th Corps Army Commander Lieutenant General François and 8th Armored Division Acting Division Commander Colonel Guderian both replied.
"20th Corps, go south to stop Russian 2nd Army Corps, lure them to Tannenberg, cooperate with 11th Corps and 8th Armored Division, and annihilate them in one fell swoop!"
"Yes!" 20th Corps Commander Lieutenant General Mackensen replied.
"Generals, our specific Operations Department deployment is to defeat or even encircle and annihilate Russian 2nd Army Corps at Tannenberg, then transport it by rail, and turn around at Masurian Lakes encircled and annihilated Russian 1st Army Corps, eating up the main force of the Russian Northwest Wind Front in one fell swoop!" 8th Army Corps deputy chief of staff and Operations Department commander Brigadier General Hofmann also said.
Brigadier General Hofmann is also a very talented person, and he was also famous in another time and space. Therefore, after Oscar took over 8th Army Corps, Hofmann was also particularly reused.
"Do you have any questions about this battle?" Oscar asked.
"Your Highness, if you want to lure the enemy deeper, it will definitely cause certain damage to our land. The people must evacuate first. Otherwise, it will bring unnecessary harm to us." Lieutenant General François reminded.
"Well, the evacuation of the people has already started before. Now, it is almost completed. The war is our soldiers' business, and we must do it as little as possible to harm the civilians. As for destroying their homes, there is no way. War is inherently destructive. The only thing we can do is to help them rebuild their homes after the war is over." Oscar said.
Lieutenant General François nodded and said nothing more. He also knew that there was no way around it.
"Everyone, our battle is about to begin. From now on, all troops must be prepared for battle. We must win this battle. Otherwise, our land will be ravaged by Russians, and our people will be massacred by them." Oscar said.
"We must win! Empire must win!" All the generals roared firmly.
After the combat meeting ended, 8th Army Corps's various departments began to move to the scheduled destination in accordance with the scheduled Operations Department deployment. A large amount of combat supplies are also being transported to the front line via railways and roads to ensure battle consumption.
8th Army Corps Oscar This carefully prepared force has already shown its fangs.