The map room at the Oberkommando des Heeres was full of people.
A dozen officers in field-grey stood shoulder to shoulder around a long table.
Pins flashed on the map of Poland.
A clock ticked through paper and patience.
Franz Halder pushed a pile of papers forward and looked up. "We accept three principal axes. North from East Prussia, center from Pomerania, and south from Silesia and Slovakia. Convergence across the Vistula toward Warsaw. Envelopment, not attrition."
Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch folded his hands. "Tempo," he said. "If we slow, they will escape the noose."
Halder tapped the map. "Tempo and air cover. The Luftwaffe must have unopposed air superiority for the first forty-eight hours. They will interdict Polish airfields and break field artillery."
