Chapter 205: The Remnants of the Defeat
By the time Mościcki realized that the German Army had already reached the gates, he had prepared an aircraft for his escape.
Yet he had no intention of abandoning the war just yet.
While organizing the defense of Warsaw, he gathered the remnants of the two shattered fronts, along with two cavalry brigades, along the banks of the Bzura River.
His purpose was simple.
He wanted to prevent the German Army from fully encircling Łódź while launching a counterattack at the same time.
This movement was soon detected by German reconnaissance aircraft and delivered to Jörg's desk in Berlin.
Looking at the incoming battle report, Jörg stood over the map for a long time before finally asking his adjutant, "Can Paulus break through on the Łódź front?"
"Commander in Chief, General Paulus sent a telegram ten minutes ago. The siege of Łódź has already begun," the adjutant replied. "The vanguard consists of the Street Fighting Blood Wolves Infantry Division, two attached siege divisions, and a Spanish unit, an elite division that took part in the street fighting in Madrid."
Jörg shook his head.
"Why deploy so many elite units if the objective is merely to encircle Łódź?"
He tapped the map with his finger.
"We can break through them head on. The Blood Wolves chewed through hard bones like Prague and Danzig. A juicy target like Łódź will be swallowed whole by them."
Jörg's gaze shifted toward the Bzura River.
"I suggest that the armored forces no longer treat the encirclement of Łódź as their primary objective. Instead, they should focus on enclosing the Bzura River region. Contain them, but do not rush to attack."
"This is Poland's last army, and these are their most determined soldiers. Holding them there will reduce the number of resistance forces in Warsaw."
After a short pause, Jörg continued, "Furthermore, armored forces are of limited use in street fighting. But on the plains around the river, supported by artillery and air strikes, they will become an insurmountable nightmare for the Polish Army."
He lifted his teacup and took a slow sip.
"Tell Paulus that the ultimate goal is the capture of Warsaw. Everything must serve that objective."
"Once Warsaw falls, they will have no supplies, no command center, and no political heart. Even with the strongest will to resist, they will have no choice but to surrender."
"There is no need to waste time in a place like this."
Jörg's judgment did not come from tactical considerations alone.
More importantly, it came from political caution.
He did not dare gamble on whether Soviet Russia would truly abide by its agreement. Controlling Warsaw would directly and swiftly end most organized Polish resistance.
The sooner the resistance collapsed, the sooner the army could be stationed along the Polish and Soviet border, instead of wasting precious time on unnecessary offensives.
Jörg's orders were quickly relayed to the domestic operational command camp.
Paulus, who had already achieved an initial breakthrough on the Łódź front, read the Führer's suggestion word for word before exchanging opinions with Rundstedt through telecommunication.
Both men reached the same conclusion.
The Führer's judgment was correct.
The Eighth Armored Division and two infantry divisions first moved to secure the Bzura front, with Płock serving as the spearhead.
The next day, while the capture of Łódź was still being completed, Paulus dispatched another armored division and two infantry divisions to close the left flank of the Bzura.
On the right flank, Rundstedt's armored forces had already taken position, while two infantry divisions began moving in from the rear to complete the encirclement.
The Polish Army, having only just arrived on the banks of the Bzura River, completely underestimated the German Army's speed of advance.
Nine infantry divisions, three cavalry brigades, and sixty thousand remnants withdrawn from the front and rear battlefields.
A total of one hundred and eighty thousand soldiers stepped into the hunters' trap almost at the same time the German Army completed its deployment.
Two days later, seeing that Germany had still not launched an assault, Brigadier Konorow, commander of the Greater Poland Cavalry Brigade, began to grow restless.
The silence was too strange.
It made him uneasy.
He was not the only one who felt that way.
At General Headquarters, a group of senior Polish officers gathered around the map.
"I think Germany may be short on supplies," one officer said. "Fighting all the way to Łódź must have consumed an enormous amount of gasoline. We can use the cavalry stationed in the Bielawy area to launch a probing attack."
"Should we confirm the situation in Warsaw first?" another officer asked.
"I believe we can do both at the same time," Frontline Commander Konorow said after a brief silence. "First, dispatch the Greater Poland Cavalry Brigade stationed in Bielawy to conduct a probing attack."
"If the offensive goes well, it means Germany really has fallen into a supply crisis. We can then seize the opportunity to attempt an attack on Łódź."
"But if we discover that Germany is merely resting temporarily, the cavalry can still rely on mobility to avoid excessive losses."
The staff officers exchanged glances, then nodded.
Soon, the finalized operational plan was delivered to Brigadier Konorow.
Receiving a definite order finally calmed the uneasiness in his heart.
He picked up the telephone receiver, intending to contact his subordinate units and order them to assemble.
Then the scream of bombers tore through the tranquility of the sky.
Konorow looked up at the black shadows sweeping overhead, but he did not panic.
He knew Germany's usual method.
First came leaflets.
Only then came bombs.
He signaled the messenger to report this information back to the frontline headquarters, then continued lifting the receiver.
Boom!
A bomb exploded outside the camp.
The blast shook his eardrums and rattled the walls.
At the Polish frontline headquarters, Konorow frowned as he read the telegram.
The German attack meant they had no supply pressure at all.
That was not good news.
Before he could arrange the next stage of defensive countermeasures, his adjutant rushed in and shouted, "Sir! Our Tenth Infantry Division deployed in the rear has encountered the Germans! Aircraft and artillery are forcing them out of the woods!"
"What?"
The telephone rang almost immediately.
Konorow snatched it up.
"Is this Konorow?"
"General Konorow! The Germans have begun their attack! We are under artillery fire!"
Bang!
Through the receiver came the thunder of a nearby howitzer shell.
Then there was nothing.
Only dead silence remained on the line.
Konorow stared at the map on the table and began drawing and marking frantically.
The front and left were already under German control.
Now new German units had appeared on the rear and right.
They were trying to encircle and attack?
Unfortunately, Konorow had guessed wrong.
After Rundstedt's army secured the forest in the rear, Konorow initially thought they would face a German armored assault.
In reality, they did not even see the German Army.
More importantly, the German Army had changed its usual bombing and shelling strategy.
Every village and riverside town that might contain supplies was subjected to saturation bombing.
The Germans did not withdraw from advantageous terrain to organize an attack.
They did not even advance.
A full day passed.
The Polish front lines had not moved.
But their stored supplies had already fallen by twenty percent because the villages where they were hidden had been burned into scorched earth.
Only then did Konorow understand the German Army's true intention.
They were not attacking to seize control of the Bzura region.
They were using only part of their forces to trap them here.
On the other side, in Warsaw, at the wartime command center, Army Commander Szymon Kamotola was roaring at his adjutant.
"Why have the units in the Bzura region not returned to defend the capital?"
The adjutant hurriedly explained, "Sir, the German Army has formed a complete encirclement around the Bzura River. If they force a breakthrough, the army will suffer extremely heavy casualties!"
.....
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