"My Führer…" Zeitzler was a little anxious. "Are we also giving up the oil resources in the Caucasus direction? We finally captured Rostov and opened the door to the Caucasus."
"Two strategic focal points on the Southern Front of the Eastern Front will make us unable to attend to both!" Hitler said decisively, "Our focus is to eliminate Stalin's heavily armed Army Group; oil resources are not the priority, at least not at this stage. In fact, the Caucasus is a very important strategic pivot, not only because there is oil, but also because the British and Americans are resupplying the Russians through the Caspian Sea and Iran corridor, and we must cut off this line."
"If we go on the defensive along the entire front, Stalin might get the breathing room he has been dreaming of, and he might even recover faster." Guderian chose his words carefully, but his anxiety was obvious. "That will put even more pressure on us."
"Gentlemen, I know Stalin better than you. Once we retreat, he will not rest honestly in place. For him, recovering the land we occupy as soon as possible is the only way for him to restore his authority. As soon as we show the slightest sign of retreat, he will pounce on us and attack, just like the Demyansk battle this spring and Timoshenko's offensive this summer." Hitler sneered, "What's more, our going on the defensive on the Eastern Front does not mean we are doing nothing. We will shift our strategic focus to other directions, and then the British and Americans will kick his butt."
"Does the Führer mean?" Guderian and Zeitzler simultaneously fell into thought. Did the Führer want to resume Operation Sea Lion? But that was an even more difficult goal to achieve.
"My goal is the Southern Front." Hitler stood up and pointed in the Führer's habitual tone, "In North Africa and the Mediterranean, our forces are too weak. The poor Italians are even more vulnerable and completely unreliable, while we face the British, who outnumber us several times and are even better equipped. What's more, intelligence indicates that the Americans are already planning a landing in North Africa. If we don't want to face a two-front war like the last great war, we must eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible."
Every day, various contradictory, vague, and flawed intelligence reports were presented to the Führer. Of course, there was no lack of true insight, but more often it was speculation, arbitrary judgment, and fantasy. However, since Hitler was a transmigrator, he naturally knew what was useful and what was outright garbage, the Battle of El-Alamein was imminent, and the American Torch operation to land in North Africa was also close at hand. If he didn't adjust now, it would truly be over. So, he took the opportunity to understand the situation, selected all reliable deductions, and based his strategic adjustments on them.
Hitler smiled mysteriously: "North Africa also has a great gain. In Libya and Algeria, there are oil fields with considerable reserves and easy extraction. The British and French had exploration records before the war, but they didn't exploit them only because the extraction costs were higher than those in the Middle East, only the stupid and lazy Italians were kept in the dark and knew nothing."
"My Führer, is this true?" Guderian also stood up excitedly. As a commander of an Army Group, he knew too well the importance of oil for combat. Hearing such good news, he could no longer sit still.
Zeitzler suddenly realized: He originally thought the Führer's new North Africa strategy was to open up an oil passage to the Middle East and then encircle the Russians from the flank, but now it seemed to be a completely new comprehensive plan. If North Africa truly had oil as the Führer said and it was easy to extract, then the strategic value of the Southern Front would be greatly enhanced. Compared to the Stalingrad direction, its strategic position would not be as prominent.
"Another advantage of fighting in North Africa is that we can fight the British in land warfare, which they are not good at." Hitler waved his arms enthusiastically. "It's much easier to eliminate a British in the desert than to eliminate a British on an island."
"Rommel will surely cheer for the Führer's brilliant decision when he hears this news." Although a smile hung on Guderian's face, the sour taste could not be concealed no matter what.
"Not him, but you!" Hitler was beaming, his voice full of temptation. "Rommel has been suffering from stomach problems recently, and I have decided to let him rest for a while. I want to appoint you as the commander of the reorganized Imperial African Army Group, with full command of all land operations in the Africa and Mediterranean theater. Are you willing?"
"I am willing to serve you, My Führer!" Guderian snapped to attention, standing ramrod straight, his expression very excited, although the position of African Army Group commander seemed less prestigious than the positions of the three great Army Groups on the Eastern Front, if he could truly take charge on the North Africa front as the Führer said, it was equally promising.
"My Führer, what are my operational objectives? How many reinforcements can I get?" After his excitement, Guderian remembered the weak strength of the Africa Corps, which currently had 2 armor divisions and 1 light infantry division (all under strength), and felt a little uneasy.
"Considering the needs of desert operations, I plan to add 2 armor divisions and 3 motorized infantry divisions for you, and strive to have them in place within a month. The specific designations will be arranged after Zeitzler's appointment is issued tomorrow." Since it was adjusted to a key strategic direction, Hitler also invested heavily. "By the end of the year, in addition to continuously replenishing combat losses, you can also continue to count on the support of 2 armor divisions and 4 motorized infantry divisions. All these units will be German units. I have a comprehensive plan for the Southern Front, with corresponding strategic measures at sea and in the air, and corresponding coordination with the Italians. At the very least, the Italians will not hold you back. However, your goals are also very challenging, there are two of them. The first is to defeat the British North Africa Army and occupy Egypt; the second is to repel possible American landing attempts. If these two goals can be achieved, we can effectively protect the North Africa oil fields that will be exploited from land incursions."
"Work hard!" Hitler patted Guderian's shoulder. "Rommel won his Field Marshal's baton by taking Tobruk. I believe your achievements will be no less than his."
"Yes, My Führer! I will do my utmost for this." Guderian's excitement was evident.
"General Zeitzler, your task is also very heavy." After assigning Guderian's task, Hitler instructed, "I am determined to adjust or establish three front headquarters. The Western Front Headquarters will be responsible for commanding troops from Norway to France and the homeland. The Eastern Front will be responsible for all troops from Finland to Crimea. The Southern Front will be responsible for Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Balkans. All original conflicting institutional settings and troop affiliations must be readjusted. We must use the favorable opportunity of the Russian front transitioning to offensive defense to complete troop reorganization and replenishment, and to unify and strengthen troop formations. At this stage, it is not advisable to form new units with new designations. After the adjustment, the minimum standard for our army's combat effectiveness should be raised. One of our divisions should be able to overwhelm a Russian corps, and in defensive operations, it should be able to resist the attack of a Russian infantry Army Group. By the end of this year, more than half of the 180 divisions on the Russian front should have completed their reorganization tasks, and all should be completed by the spring and summer of 1943, that will be the day for us to settle accounts with Stalin."
Zeitzler looked troubled: "Respected Führer, I can find ways to complete the organization, personnel, and material replenishment, but there may be a considerable shortage of technical weapons, especially tanks and artillery."
"I will have Speer find a way for armaments production; it must not delay the reorganization." Hitler waved his hand, "Notify everyone in my name that a strategic meeting will be held tomorrow night, with personnel at the level of Army Group Staff Officer and above attending. You will explain the future strategic policy. Once the direction is determined, we must act immediately. Our enemies will not give us much time."
Dinner ended quickly. Guderian and Zeitzler then realized that they had once again listened to the Führer speak volubly for over an hour. However, unlike the usual feelings of annoyance and boredom, both of them felt incredibly invigorated, the excitement of being entrusted with important tasks.