After carrying out these adjustments in one fell swoop, Hoffman finally felt much more at ease. His level of "role-playing" had reached a new level; at the very least, these old comrades of the Nazi Party could no longer detect anything unusual about him, and he could still command them with ease.
"Everyone should be clear about the current military situation and strategic adjustments by now."
Hoffman's expression was grim and his demeanor exceptionally serious. "From the current perspective, the war has inevitably become a long-term struggle, and we must be mentally prepared for this."
"The Russian reserves are still very sufficient, and it may not be possible to defeat them in a year or two. And after the Americans joined in, the British will also resist to the end."
"As for the war on the Eastern Front, the army also has the intention to continue accumulating strength and preparing to deal a fatal blow to the Russians next year."
"To avoid fighting on two fronts, and in accordance with the principle of tackling the easy before the difficult, I have decided to shift the strategic focus to the Southern Front, while the Eastern Front will enter a relatively moderate offensive defense."
"We must effectively use this year of adjustment time to comprehensively improve the strength of the empire. Our armament production, material procurement, and personnel mobilization must all undergo a different transformation. Therefore, I order that—starting from September 1, 1942, the empire will fully transition to a wartime system. All decrees and policies that conflict with this system are null and void. Consumer industries must gradually be converted into armament industries, and major armament enterprises must change from the current one-shift system to a three-shift system. It is imperative to improve production efficiency and increase output to lay a reliable material foundation for achieving total victory."
This was another shocking decision. Although those present had not yet reacted, Hoffman knew clearly in his heart that in history, the Third Reich only conducted total mobilization after the failure of the Kursk "Citadel" battle, and then military production reached its peak in 1944, by which time the strategic bombing by the US and UK had already turned Germany upside down.
Currently, Germany was still immersed in the dream of "not interfering with the normal lives of citizens." Preparations for the long-term and cruel nature of the war were very inadequate, the military industry was still leisurely executing a one-shift system, and the economic management system was in chaos, only because the problems were covered up by the continuous victories on the front lines.
Armaments Minister Speer understood what Hoffman meant, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he interjected: "Führer, I fear there will not be enough labor force if we do this."
"Labor force?" Hoffman glanced at General Jodl, Chief of the Operations Staff of the OKW, and asked, "Haven't we captured nearly 3 million Russian soldiers on the Eastern Front over the past year? They can all participate in labor."
Jodl looked awkward, his expression not very pleasant.
Speer shrugged dismissively: "As far as I know, more than 500,000 people have already died in prisoner-of-war camps due to malnutrition and harsh treatment. Others were taken by Eastern Front troops, ostensibly as volunteer auxiliary personnel, but in reality, they are used as slave laborers. Even worse, some prisoners have taken advantage of troop movements and the tension of the war to escape control and return to the embrace of Stalin."
"This won't do." Hoffman flared up and said to the several Wehrmacht giants, "Russian prisoners are also an important resource. They must be placed on equal footing with other captured materials and cannot be wasted easily."
After a pause, he added, "Depending solely on prisoners of war may not necessarily meet production demands. I believe that educated women of the empire at an appropriate age should also enter military service, and we should expand the proportion of female employees in factories, social organizations, and government agencies..."
Göring's eyes were about to pop out: "Führer, you want to let women join the army? We are not Russians; the army hasn't become so cowardly that it has to rely on women to fight."
"Idiot, who told you to let them pick up weapons and go to the front line?" Looking at the blockheaded Göring, Hoffman was furious. "Just like in the Air Force, can't women serve as telephone operators and telegraph operators? Can't women serve as radar operators and anti-aircraft searchlight operators?"
"Oh, my God!" Keitel, having finally seized an opportunity, mocked, "Comrade Göring's Air Force already has surplus personnel. If women are added to it, I fear it will be even more overcrowded. I'm not worried about women serving; I'm just afraid that people will follow the example of their superiors, and even the men in normal service won't be able to complete their tasks."
This was a clear stance stating that Göring, the leader of the Air Force, was a philanderer with a pile of scandals, which served as a counterattack to Göring's earlier sarcasm that only the Air Force was loyal to the leader.
Seeing that Göring was about to explode again, Hoffman stopped him and said, "Don't be in a hurry. I won't let Air Force personnel be idle; the Air Force has other tasks. The guarding and escorting of these prisoner-of-war camps will all be handled by the Air Force. If the Air Force field divisions can't beat the Russians, surely they can at least manage prisoners well, right?"
Göring's eyes rolled, and he felt that if the prisoners were put to work as the Führer said, it would inevitably lead to competition among major enterprises, which was a very profitable thing. His own steel and metal companies were lacking labor, so he readily agreed.
Seeing that the two Chiefs of Staff, Keitel and Zeitzler, were about to protest again, Hoffman retorted directly: "Aren't you complaining that there are not enough troops on the front line? I am handing the prisoner-of-war camp matters to the Air Force. You only need to handle battlefield prisoners, which can free up tens of thousands of field troops for the front line."
"Moreover, after the prisoners are escorted back to the country by the Air Force, they will not occupy the army's food and supplies, which is beneficial to all of you. From now on, all prisoners on the Eastern Front will be handled in this way."
Seeing that Göring had snatched the prisoner-of-war job, Speer looked at Hoffman eagerly, hoping he would allocate some workers to him for forced labor. Unexpectedly, Hoffman gave a brand-new solution: Captured enemy troops cannot simply be allocated for labor. First, they must be screened, especially to identify Bolshevik elements. Soldiers and officers must be detained separately to prevent officers from using their authority to incite and organize.
Officers and Bolsheviks will all participate in forced labor. As for ordinary soldiers, it is not recommended to put them directly into military industrial production—it is inevitable that there will be work slowdowns, strikes, and secret sabotage, which will cause great harm to the quality of munitions. By the same token, the armament industry currently in the occupied territories of the empire cannot be safely left to other countries to produce; it must be kept under our own control.
"My suggestion is this: we will transfer all consumer industries to the occupied territories, and relocate their military industries to the empire's homeland. This way, even if they play tricks on the products, it will not cause harm to our weapons, and at the same time, it can weaken their national defense capabilities and prevent them from producing weapons for resistance organizations."
"I think Russian prisoners should be settled in East Prussia and the General Government of Poland, letting them mainly engage in agricultural and mining production—especially agriculture. We should have an incentive policy: as long as the settled prisoners can meet the production quotas for the imperial government, they can dispose of the remainder themselves."
"Doesn't Stalin like to run collective farms that plunder all surplus materials? We can also borrow this model and let them experience what true National Socialism is. Thanks to the food products they provide, the imperial residents who were originally engaged in agricultural production can devote themselves to large-scale industrial production."
Hoffman stood up excitedly at the crucial point, "Gentlemen, we won't have to worry about them playing tricks then. Passive slowdowns and reduced output will have no benefit for them; it will be completely going against their own stomachs. If these segregated and controlled prisoners perform well enough, and we can provide treatment superior to Stalin's collective farms, we can even let them bring their family members over in the future, distribute Polish land to them, and let them serve the empire wholeheartedly."
"In a word, the empire's production capacity, especially heavy industry and the armament industry, must be significantly improved. We must integrate the resources and production capabilities of all of Europe to confront the three countries of Britain, the US, and the Soviet Union—this principle was already clearly expounded by General Ludendorff in 'Total War'. If any of you are still unclear, I suggest you find it and read it carefully; it will be good for you."
"Clap, clap, clap!" Goebbels took the lead in applauding, "The Führer spoke very well. Not only did he expound on the necessity and importance of the empire conducting total mobilization and fully transitioning to a wartime system, but he also pointed out the direction for future economic work and industrial and agricultural production. No matter how high-minded the evaluation, it would not be an exaggeration."
Others could only follow suit and clap. Göring muttered "Sycophant" in the direction of Goebbels with dissatisfaction, which was naturally ignored by the latter.
"Therefore," Hoffman walked slowly behind Speer and patted him on the shoulder, "Your task is heavy. After implementing the wartime system and production reforms, the system needs to be reorganized. I demand that the production of major technical weapons such as tanks, artillery, and aircraft must double in a short period of time, and basic industrial products such as steel, aluminum ingots, and synthetic oil must also have a significant increase."
"After completing the integration thoroughly in 1943, strive to double it again on the basis of doubling it this year. Of course, you don't have to worry. Since I have given you the task, I will also grant you the corresponding rights—all imperial economic work and armament production, whether it is the Air Force, Army, or Navy, will be uniformly scheduled and commanded by you. Anyone who dares to disobey orders will be regarded as a traitor destroying the wartime system, and Comrade Himmler will be sent to punish them."
This was completely a posture of heavily relying on Speer, tantamount to handing over the entire economic and production power of the empire to him. At this moment, Speer felt the blood in his whole body surging upward, his face flushed as if he had stolen a bottle of fine French wine in one breath. He stood straight and said loudly: "Please rest assured, Führer, I will not disappoint your high expectations."
The faces of Goebbels, Himmler, and others were deeply moved, revealing expressions of envy and jealousy. Martin Bormann stared at Speer eagerly—the Führer had clearly instructed last night that, except for the existing Stavka, no new command posts that waste money and manpower would be built, which had made Comrade Bormann, who had always been responsible for the construction of the Führer's projects, feel lost for a long time.