If there is anyone who is the most famous general of the Soviet side on the Soviet-German battlefield, it must be Zhukov, who travels from city to city like a "firefighter" to relieve the crisis and turn the danger into a disaster; if there is anyone on the German side who can be worthy of the great responsibility, it must be Modell, especially in the later stages of the war, he can almost be called "commander of the Eastern Front".
In July 1943, after the defeat at the Battle of Kursk, Modell led his troops to retreat 200 kilometers, and although it inflicted 470,000 losses on the Soviets, the 9th Army also lost 100,000 people. At this time, in the face of the fierce offensive of the Soviet army, the German defense line was full of holes, and Modell had to retreat again and again in violation of the order.
What people did not expect was that he was dismissed from his post with a paper order.
Looking back at this period of history, although Modell retreated all the way, he basically ensured that the defensive line was shifted and retreated, and did not give the Soviet army the opportunity to penetrate and annihilate, which was reasonable and perfect from a tactical point of view. However, the German high command did not see it this way, and they thought that the retreat was rash, even disobeying orders and going their own way, so they dismissed him and transferred him to the reserve.
On November 5, Modell returned home in Dresden, finally able to relax his nervous nerves and enjoy the fun with his family. But what he has always been worried about is that "reserve commander" means "retired" in the German tradition, and for the belligerent Modell, it cannot but be said to be a torture, living all day long.
The 3-month "vacation" made Modell, who was idle at home, extremely uncomfortable, and paying attention to the war situation on the Eastern Front became his daily "compulsory course", and he longed for war. When the opportunity came, the Soviets launched a campaign to lift the siege of Leningrad, and Army Group North was under great pressure, and the troops demanded a retreat, which was rejected by the German high command and replaced by Modell.
On his way to the front, Modell, still swearing and foul-mouthed, ordered the retreat to be forbidden and the defensive line to be held. The generals of Army Group North were both unconvinced and emotionally reluctant to accept the "new arrival" commander, but Modell did not seem to care about this, constantly running among the troops and organizing counter-charges.
Under his strict orders, the fighting quality of the German army was stimulated, and they resisted like crazy, blocking the Soviet offensive and forming a stalemate. But Modell knew very well that now all this was temporary, the Soviet offensive was still ahead, and if a retreat was proposed, he might be relieved again.
"Cunning," Modell thought of the tactic of "enticing the enemy deeper." He explained that the retreat of troops, disengagement from the Soviets, and then the concentration of forces to counterattack suddenly could not only restore the front line, but also annihilate the effective forces of the opponent. The idea was agreed by the High Command, and this "offensive strategy" was appreciated.
In fact, this is the "excuse" that Modell found for the retreat. His real purpose was to take the "broken" Germans to relative safety, preserving what little power they had. As a result, the 200,000 troops began to retreat, and in order to reflect the attack, he repeatedly ordered the initiative to attack, although losing 10,000 people, but saving the entire Northern Army Group.
Modell was recognized by the officers and men and promoted to field marshal.
In March 1944, When Army Group North emerged from an extremely unfavorable situation, Modell was instrumental in becoming the youngest field marshal in the German army, reaching the peak of his military career. From colonel to marshal, Modell took 6 years, although the promotion time is not the fastest, but it is natural to obtain the rank of marshal.
The North has just "stopped", and there is another big crisis in the South. The soviet army of more than 2 million troops on the 4th front broke through the defense lines of Army Groups South and Army Group A in Ukraine, 66 divisions of the 2 army groups were destroyed, 10 divisions were surrounded and annihilated, completely expelled from Soviet territory, and the German army faced a total collapse on the Eastern Front.
The German high command blamed manstein and others for the defeat, dismissed him in disguise, and changed the two army groups to South and North Ukraine, and Modell took over as commander of Army Group North Ukraine. Such an appointment heralded the complete fall of the Wehrmacht's "Juncker Corps".
After Modell's arrival, he immediately set out to rescue the 1st Panzer Army, which was besieged by the Soviets, and after 14 days of hard work, 200,000 German troops broke out of the encirclement and cooperated with the receiving troops, after a long march of 260 kilometers, out of danger. This incident became one of the things that Zhukov later criticized.
In June 1944, with the successful Allied landings in Normandy, the campaign to liberate Europe began. The Soviets on the Eastern Front, having also amassed strength, began a counter-offensive against the German Army Group Center. At this time, the German army could be described as a river, with Army Group Center having less than 600,000 people, but it had to defend a front of more than 1,000 kilometers.
The Soviet army's 24,000 cannons were prepared for 2 hours of artillery fire, and 166 divisions attacked in three ways, encircling 70,000 German troops, and the mission that was originally scheduled to be completed in 8 days was advanced by 4 days. The German High Command also instructed Modell to take command of Army Group Center, one person commanding two army groups, which is unique in the history of the German army.
However, Modell's defensive tactics did not work in front of Zhukov.
As a pragmatist, Modell knew that Army Group Center could hardly make a big difference, and all he had to do was to retreat, preserve his strength until he reached the limit of Soviet supplies, and in the retreat, slow down the Pursuit of the Soviet Army with the tactic of "attacking and attacking". When his old unit, the 9th Army, was besieged, Modell did everything he could to send reinforcements.
However, under the all-round attack of the Soviet Army, the reinforcements only rescued more than 10,000 officers and men, which means that the 9th Army no longer exists. In the face of the Soviet attack, Modell still adopted the "elastic defense" tactic, once the Soviet army broke in, it would use the counter-charge of the attack to disrupt the opponent's pursuit rhythm, thereby strengthening the front defense.
However, after many confrontations, Zhukov has learned the lesson, he no longer conducts tactical reconnaissance, directly launches a full-scale attack, the "elastic defense" loses its "elasticity", and carries out destructive bombardment of the road or retreat behind him, slowing down the speed of the German retreat, thus completing the task of encirclement and annihilation.
The mobility of the German Army Group Center was now far worse than that of the Soviets. Modell had to face a situation of encirclement, breakthrough, and encirclement again and again, retreating 700 kilometers in just 35 days, 28 divisions were destroyed, and 540,000 casualties were inflicted. The German High Command ordered the attack, which Modell ignored and commanded the troops to retreat one by one, shortening the defensive line.
In hindsight, Modell was right. Army Group Center withdrew from Soviet territory and established a new defensive line near Warsaw, Poland. Of course, the Soviets also reached the limits of their campaign and were in dire need of logistical replenishment. As a result, the fight between the two sides came to an end for the time being, and they were preparing for the next attack or defense.
On 17 August, Modell was urgently transferred to France as commander-in-chief of the German forces on the Western Front. Originally from the "7.20 incident", a group of German generals involved in the rebellion were solved, including the former commander-in-chief of the Western Front. Although he was unprepared for the appointment, it reflected the trust that germany had placed in him. This made Modell very useful and eager to try.
From the later stages of the Soviet-German war, Modell always appeared in the most critical moments of the German army, and he became a "firefighter" like Zhukov. Although his foul language and rudeness were controversial among the officers and men of the German army, it is an indisputable fact that with him, the chaotic situation can be controlled and the hope of survival is greater.
What do you think? Discussions and comments are welcome.
bibliography:
"World War II", "Hitler's Firefighter"
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