Chapter 273: Missed Opportunity
Inside the German President's Office, José leaned trembling against the door.
In front of Jörg, he looked like a primary school student who had made a mistake, constantly staring down at the floor, not daring to meet his eyes.
"Mr. José, I am very curious."
Jörg looked at José's much larger figure, his tone calm but cold.
"Where is that shrewd general from a few years ago?"
He had originally intended to reprimand him harshly, but the words stopped at the edge of his mouth.
José was, after all, the President of Spain.
Scolding him too severely would be detrimental to diplomacy.
Diplomacy could sometimes be this troublesome.
Even when an idiot was standing right in front of him, Jörg could not openly treat him as one.
After a moment of silence, a helpless smile appeared on Jörg's lips.
While telling José to leave, he still gave him a dignified way down.
"Mr. José, take a plane back now."
"Without you, Spain's Army and government will fall into chaos."
"Leave military matters to your subordinates. Leave them to your generals."
Seeing that Jörg had given him a way out, José quickly seized the reprieve.
"My apologies, Herr von Roman. I will return immediately."
He lowered his head, his voice full of forced sincerity.
"Spain will always be Germany's ally. As long as Germany exists, this will never change."
Compared to Berlin, London was undoubtedly extremely satisfied with the situation on the Spanish battlefield.
Churchill even happily drank a glass of brandy while enduring yet another round of German missile attacks.
Their original plan had merely been to raid Germany's tungsten mining area, but the expeditionary force had given them an enormous surprise.
They had achieved unimaginable progress in the offensive.
They had even fought all the way to Ávila, directly threatening Madrid.
"Immediately inform the media of this news."
Churchill's voice carried rare excitement.
"This is the only good news we have received since we began the war against Germany."
"I want everyone in London to know that Germany is not invincible."
"In front of Britain's guns, they will still bleed, and they will still suffer defeat."
After finishing half a bottle of brandy, Churchill continued giving orders.
"Order the Air Force to fully reinforce the Spanish battlefield."
"I can tolerate London being bombed for two days."
"But if we miss this excellent opportunity for an offensive, I will regret it for the rest of my life."
Under the firm stance of the wartime cabinet, Britain's attention on the Spanish battlefield reached an unprecedented level.
The Far East Fleet was mobilized almost entirely to transport the Army, trying every possible method to weaken Manstein's offensive.
For this effort, two destroyers were sunk by German submarines.
The Air Force was also fully deployed, providing air support for the attack on Madrid.
But Germany simultaneously swung its right fist.
The Air Force previously sent to strike Britain was completely withdrawn, and Kesselring focused all his attention on the Spanish battlefield.
Just as the conflict in Spain was about to intensify, Hobart's armored divisions encountered a new problem.
Should they continue the offensive and push this war of speed to its limit?
Or should they consolidate Ávila, the gateway to Madrid, and wait for follow-up reinforcements before making further plans?
Hobart's idea was naturally to continue the attack.
In his military philosophy, waiting meant uncertainty.
Although they had recently achieved good results, even capturing Ávila, Hobart believed that luck accounted for a considerable portion of their success.
If they failed to strike while the iron was hot, the situation that followed would definitely be ten times more difficult than the one before them now.
But this time, Hobart could not act according to his own wishes.
Because of the attention coming from the mainland, Montgomery could no longer vouch for such a dangerous operational plan as continuing the offensive.
Since the matter had escalated to this degree, continuing the attack was no longer something the expeditionary force could decide on its own.
After deliberation by the British General Staff, headquarters still issued a conservative order.
Consolidate the positions.
After reading the order word by word, Hobart tore the paper to shreds.
It was the first time his adjutant had seen the old general so furious.
He quickly advised, "Sir, I think headquarters issuing this order may actually be a good thing."
"The 1st and 3rd Armored Divisions are already extremely exhausted, and our gasoline supplies are also running low."
"If we force a march toward Madrid and fail to achieve results, we could easily lose everything we have already gained."
Hobart tossed his hat aside.
"The Spanish battlefield is not static."
"We stop, but Germany is moving."
"The faster we attack, the more we can catch them off guard."
"If we wait for Germany to react and for the Spanish Army to regain its fighting spirit…"
His voice grew heavier.
"Then the advantage will become a disadvantage."
"And that is something weapons, equipment, and air support cannot recover."
"Immediately send a telegram to headquarters."
"If they do not agree to the attack, I will resign."
Since the matter had escalated to this point, the adjutant could not say anything more. He could only truthfully report Hobart's order.
As a meritorious officer, Montgomery actually wanted to withhold Hobart's telegram.
Because he knew that the decision to attack would almost certainly not be approved.
After all, the military command had finally achieved some battlefield success.
They would rather confront Germany at Ávila forever than take the risk of losing everything.
But after careful consideration, Montgomery still decided to take a gamble.
He reported Hobart's request to the General Staff.
This news was also leaked to several cavalry officers who had previously suppressed Hobart.
Seeing Hobart slap their faces with his actions, these officers, who still held some influence in the Army, became deeply uneasy.
They feared that Hobart would win a great victory and elevate his prestige to the level of Britain's savior.
Even more, they feared that once Hobart was promoted, he would initiate a purge against them.
Therefore, they spread rumors through the Staff Department, claiming that Hobart's overly aggressive decision would ruin the hard-won achievements on the battlefield.
They also claimed that Hobart was senile and had been blinded by victory.
This foul wind was inevitably noticed by the General Staff.
But replacing a general on the eve of battle, especially replacing the meritorious officer who had led the offensive, was not an order the General Staff dared to issue lightly.
In the end, they neither supported Hobart's attack plan nor accepted his resignation request.
They allowed Hobart to remain commander of the 1st and 3rd Armored Divisions.
But fearing that Hobart might launch a private attack, they temporarily sent an additional military commissioner from headquarters to supervise him.
This behavior, neither supporting him nor allowing him to be relieved, made Hobart feel extremely uncomfortable.
Watching an opportunity slip past his eyes was a hundred times more painful than the years when armored warfare had been ignored and he himself had been sidelined.
After thinking through the entire night, Hobart still could not accept this outcome.
He spoke to the commissioner.
"This is my final request, Mr. William Knoll."
"Headquarters cannot force me to make military decisions I despise while simultaneously vetoing my military proposals."
"If headquarters still does not approve my request for an offensive before tonight, I will cease all command plans."
Knoll threatened him coldly.
"General, disobeying orders and privately halting command will lead to a court-martial."
"I would rather face a court-martial than watch this opportunity slip away before my eyes."
Hobart extinguished his cigarette.
"Either attack, or accept my resignation."
After saying this, Hobart left the barracks without looking back.
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