At dawn, Manstein did not order the Third Armored Division to continue its advance toward Danzig.
Instead, he ordered the entire division to halt and rest in place.
The n had fought through the night, and the machines had been pushed to the edge of their endurance. Engines needed inspection, ammunition had to be redistributed, fuel had to be checked, and exhausted crews needed at least a few hours to steady their hands. A chanized spearhead was terrifying only when it remained sharp. If it charged blindly until its gears shattered, it would beco nothing more than a pile of burning steel on foreign soil.
Manstein himself did not rest.
He spent the entire night bent over maps beneath a dim field lamp.
Their current position was Młynary. Ahead of them lay Elbląg, a Polish transport hub where four roads and two railway lines converged. Whoever controlled Elbląg controlled the arteries leading toward Danzig.
According to Karafl's confession, Elbląg was defended by only one infantry regint. Originally, the Polish Sixth Infantry Division had intended to retreat in that direction, regroup, and use the city as a defensive anchor.
Unfortunately for them, Manstein had broken through too quickly.
Destroying the regint in Elbląg would not be difficult.
The real problem lay beyond it.
Past Elbląg, three Polish infantry divisions had established defensive positions along the river. The riverbanks were wide, the ground was treacherous, and the dense thickets on both sides would severely restrict the movent of tanks. If the Third Armored Division tried to force a crossing, the battle could easily turn into a grinding contest of attrition.
That was the worst possible outco.
The division's ammunition and food reserves could only sustain ten days of high intensity combat at most. If the Poles managed to pin them along the river, the armored division's greatest advantage, speed, would beco aningless.
Manstein stared at the blue line of the river on the map.
How could he make the enemy abandon the river line on their own?
His fingers brushed over his beard.
Then, almost naturally, his mind returned to the exercises at the Roman Military Academy.
If Danzig was difficult to relieve directly, then what about Warsaw?
Elbląg had only one infantry regint defending it. More importantly, the Poles still did not know the true size of the German force that had broken through from East Prussia.
Why not send part of the army to seize Elbląg first?
Let Warsaw believe that Germany's main force intended to use Elbląg as a springboard for a large scale offensive toward Danzig. Once they believed that, they would inevitably send reinforcents to stabilize the front.
And once Warsaw's surrounding forces were drawn away…
The mobile units could advance directly toward the Polish capital before the enemy understood what had happened.
The thought settled in Manstein's mind like a blade sliding into its sheath.
He lifted his gaze from the map and said to his adjutant, "Bring the radio. I will personally send a ssage to General Headquarters."
Then he paused.
"Also, have the prisoners revealed their radio codes?"
The adjutant shook his head, but quickly pulled a wrinkled codebook from his pouch.
"They refused to speak, sir, but I still found this."
Manstein's eyes brightened.
"Excellent."
With the codebook in hand, his confidence in the operation rose considerably. Being able to transmit false information to Warsaw ant he could place a veil over the enemy's eyes and lead them by the hand into the wrong battlefield.
"In a mont, send a ssage to our Polish President," Manstein said calmly. "Tell him the Germans have committed five divisions to the attack. Say that the Sixth Infantry Division, after a brief engagent, has withdrawn toward Pasłęk."
He tapped the map with one finger.
"Tell them we are advancing toward Elbląg and intend to use the city as a center for a major offensive toward Danzig."
The adjutant imdiately saluted.
"Yes, sir."
Then, realizing his superior's intention, he could not help but smile.
"And, sir, what about the prisoners?"
Manstein's eyes returned to the map.
"Keep them useful."
Two days later.
Warsaw.
Inside General Headquarters, Piłsudski held the telegram from East Prussia, his expression grave.
The first attempt to secure Danzig had failed.
Worse still, according to the latest report, the German Army had dispatched five more divisions from East Prussia toward Danzig.
Five divisions.
That number weighed heavily on the room.
Yet to Piłsudski, it also revealed sothing else.
If Germany had truly committed five divisions from East Prussia, then the German border facing the Polish main front was not a feint. It was genuinely hollow. Germany had staked everything on the East Prussian front.
That ant opportunity.
As long as the Polish forces at the front could withstand the offensive of those five German divisions, Poland could not only retake Danzig, but also achieve a breakthrough along the German border.
Perhaps…
Perhaps even Berlin was not impossible.
The thought stirred sothing hot in Piłsudski's chest.
More importantly, Britain was watching the war closely, but had not intervened. At least not yet.
If Polish troops reached Berlin, then Danzig would no longer be the only bargaining chip on the table. He could demand far more.
Perhaps even all of East Prussia.
General Dakwinczyk, who was responsible for General Headquarters operations, asked carefully, "Mr. President, should we send more troops to Elbląg?"
"Of course," Piłsudski said without hesitation.
"There are only three divisions in the Danzig direction. Judging by the engagent with the Sixth Infantry Division and the timing of the German advance, those five German divisions must be their elite forces."
His finger pressed down on the map.
"To stop them, we must put more weight on the scale. Send five more divisions. I want them not only to reach Elbląg before the Germans, but to counterattack and push them all the way back into East Prussia."
Dakwinczyk hesitated.
"But Mr. President, we no longer have enough troops available for such a deploynt. We would either have to withdraw forces from the German border region or from the Soviet Russian border. If we do that, ti will be extrely tight. And the Russians have good relations with Germany."
He lowered his voice.
"Public opinion is also currently favoring Germany. If…"
Piłsudski fell silent.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the six divisions stationed around Warsaw.
After a long mont, he said, "Then withdraw four more divisions from the capital."
anwhile, Elbląg had already beco a battlefield waiting to ignite.
General Headquarters had not approved Manstein's proposal to split the Third Armored Division in two. Instead, they temporarily transferred the less elite Ninth Infantry Division from East Prussia to seize and hold Elbląg.
Their orders were simple.
Buy as much ti as possible for the Third Armored Division.
At any cost.
To accomplish this, the captured Polish prisoners and local residents were forced into mobilization at gunpoint. Streets were torn open. Mines were buried beneath cobblestones. Intersections were blocked with barricades. Railway lines were destroyed. Windows were turned into firing slits, and rooftops beca observation points.
For two long days, Elbląg was transford from a transport hub into a fortress.
Inside a residential building near one of the main roads, two machine gunners in German uniforms smoked one cigarette after another. Their hands moved with nervous precision as they checked the MG 34, stripped parts, wiped chanisms, and reassembled them.
One of them muttered under his breath, reciting lines from the training manual as if they were prayers.
"Watch the barrel temperature. Always be ready to change barrels. Do not maintain sustained fire longer than necessary…"
An old soldier nearby was wiping down his G43 semi automatic rifle. Hearing the muttering, he gave a dry laugh.
"Enough chanting, university boys. Set up your firing position properly."
He checked the chamber and glanced toward the street below.
"I have a feeling the war is about to begin."
The words had barely left his mouth when thunder rolled from the distance.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Several heavy explosions echoed across the city.
The old soldier imdiately knew what had happened.
Polish vehicles had reached the outer minefields.
At most, they had half an hour before the main force entered the city.
Damn it.
He hoped those tank drivers were fast.
With a group of recruits who had courage but little training, he could hold for a week at most. Perhaps less, if the Poles were willing to drown the city in bodies.
Click.
A bounding mine on the first floor triggered.
Boom!
A Polish infantryman who had just slipped inside was blown apart before he even realized what had happened.
The rest of his squad fared little better. n fell screaming, legs torn open by steel fragnts. Two soldiers who had suffered lighter injuries crawled forward, trying to drag their comrades out.
The old soldier raised his rifle.
The gunfire outside had already erupted into a storm. He leaned out from the stairwell in one smooth motion.
Tat tat tat.
The two Polish soldiers had barely stretched out their hands before they were riddled with bullets.
One wounded man, his body pierced by tal fragnts, collapsed crookedly against the wall. With the last of his strength, he pulled out a pistol and fired wildly toward the stairwell.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
The wooden railing splintered, throwing yellow gray sawdust into the air.
A mont later, a stick grenade rolled down the stairs.
The old soldier ducked back.
Boom!
The Polish squad that had still been alive monts earlier beca a heap of flesh and torn uniforms at the doorway.
Scenes like this repeated across Elbląg.
The Polish Third Infantry Division had launched its attack too early.
Because General Headquarters feared causing excessive harm to civilians, artillery had not yet been authorized for full use. Without heavy bombardnt to clear the streets, Polish infantry had to advance building by building, alley by alley, window by window.
They paid for every step in blood.
Machine guns fired from upper floors. Snipers waited behind curtains and broken shutters. Tripwires turned alleys into graves. Mines hidden beneath streets swallowed vehicles whole. Barricades split formations apart and forced soldiers into killing zones.
Elbląg did not fall.
It devoured.
The Polish Third Infantry Division beca a sacrifice to rcy, caution, and misjudgnt.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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