Subsequently, the blitz against Poland and the fierce battle against France all won incredible victories, and German oil rose to the most exaggerated level in history. The rapid defeat of France of 110,000 tons made the Germans not only catch foreign exchange reserves such as gold, but also a large number of industrial facilities and unimaginable strategic resources.
Relying on these strategic resources, the English Channel War started smoothly, and the strategic plan of Germany’s invasion of Britain was implemented. Germany completed the construction of "studying the great western barriers", making it impossible for itself to fight on two fronts, and completely completed the strategy of the western front in Europe
However, from the British war against German oil reserves, it took a long way to make ends meet. Although it was slow, it was still thrilling. The British left few strategic materials for the Germans. After Germany fought against Britain, the crude oil reserve dropped to 10,000 tons.
At this time, Germany has achieved a high standard of living, and carried out a series of economic revitalization reforms. arcado, the head of state, promised to let every family own their own cars. Germany will have four years of high-end luxury equipment such as general vision cameras, which has enabled the German civil industry to develop on a large scale and the country to take a new step in oil consumption.
At the end of 1993, Germany’s crude oil reserve dropped to 10,000 tons, and the German defense forces stationed in France reduced their fuel consumption strategy. At the beginning of 1939, the navy had to join the "tightening their belts to live in the day" sequence, and the aircraft carrier fleet was reduced to twice a year.
Because the war is going on too fast, there is no return for Syrian oil investment. Rommel’s Middle East Raiders have been forced to come to a standstill because of the bloody battle on the eastern front. Because of the growth and development of China’s industrial capacity, German crude oil has almost declined to a worrying level.
It is true that the total amount of crude oil reserves is nearly 30 thousand tons more than that during the war, but the size of the German army has expanded several times, even ten times, and the industrial production capacity has been more than five times. It was originally estimated that it would take one year to burn the crude oil, and it was estimated that it would take five months or even three months to burn it completely.
"Marshal Blauchich" arcado was a little worried about these energy matters. He looked at the nominal boss of the army and asked, "If vlasov is relaxed and asked to form a new Ukrainian regiment to fill the southern front, will it be effective?"
Brauchic was one leng and then frowned and thought about it. Finally, he hesitated to answer the question of arcado, the head of state. "My head of state can really alleviate some problems in this way, but … but how much can be alleviated? The General Staff and I have to evaluate it before we can give the results."
"The plan is divided into two parts!" Arcado made a determination and then got up and walked beside rundstedt, pointing to the map and said, "Let the three new regiments of N, P each transfer some troops out to kuechler! Let his N regiment first form combat effectiveness and pull it directly to the southern line to ensure that the Caucasus battle can be successfully ended. If we seize the oil-producing areas in the Caucasus, we can improve the current passive situation. "
Then he turned to rundstedt and said, "Marshal rundstedt attacked the central region and captured Smolensk. Then he stopped. The key point was to capture the Caucasus. This is a compromise for oil."
The more arcado said, the more upset he became. He was the only one in the whole meeting room who knew what he was talking about and what it really meant. He was repeating Da Hilda’s order to give up attacking Moscow and planned to turn the whole army around and fight an "economic war".
There is still a difference between Hitler’s South War and arcado’s present-day scale battle for Caucasus oil fields and arcado’s present-day certainty. What is more reassuring is that the current war situation in arcado is much better than that faced by Hitler.
It is precisely because of this that arcado dared to go to World War I. If he took the same old road as Hitler, now he is considering begging for peace with another one, which makes him feel that he has gambled once, because now he has the whole spring and summer to spend more time in the Caucasus than when the Germans were in another time.
"Generals! Win or lose! " Arcado pointed to the map and said, "Take the Caucasus! Beat Stalin! "
"Hua!" All the generals stood up and saluted "Yes! My head of state! "
Chapter 3 31 Defense or Attack
In March, there were still snowflakes in Smolensk. Although winter was about to pass, the cold still woke people up. It didn’t want to go away so neatly, but this year was different from usual because Smolensk became a battlefield and a front line.
I can’t remember how long there has been no war here. The Russians here seem to have forgotten that there is such a thing as war in this world. They have their own unique pride because the word war in their motherland seems to have something to be proud of.
The man who once challenged this country through here heard that he was also a great leader. He was all-powerful in Europe and had the myth of invincible. Until more than 100 years later, some people still talked about his name Napoleon! Look at what a resounding name it is!
However, the name has fallen, because he attacked Moscow and tried to challenge the Russian’s bravery, so he lost his honor in Moscow and his own country. The people of Smolensk were very calm and looked at the war in front of them. They had reason to believe that the other side would be defeated and they would win the final victory.
But when these civilians see the face of war, they know that there may be some twists and turns this time, because they see that the enemy seems to be a little stronger than they thought-or not at all.
"Boom!" A large-caliber shell landed in Smolensk city, and the huge shock wave destroyed the roadblock buildings. When a building collapsed with the explosion, it raised dust and spread to the whole street. After more than 100 years of evolution, the destructive power of war is no longer the kind of tinkering in Napoleon’s time. Only people who have experienced it personally will know how terrible it has become.
A teacher who just enlisted in the army looked at the collapsed house in the distance carrying his rifle and exclaimed, "My God, the enemy artillery is so powerful that a building just collapsed!"
A few veterans who walked in front of him looked dismissive. They knew that their artillery was more powerful, but they were unwilling to explain to a recruit. After all, this matter would develop into a sentence: "What, our artillery was more powerful, but it was hit at the door?"
The explanation is more complicated. After all, German planes are too powerful, tanks are too powerful, and even infantry are more powerful. But these words are embarrassing to say, aren’t they? Everyone kept silent and walked to the edge of the city step by step.
It has become a ruin. The Germans surrounded Smolensk without sending their own troops to attack it. They shelled and harassed the edge of the city every day, but they never tried to capture the city that was closely guarded by the Soviet Union. The German team carefully avoided street fighting and avoided falling into a battle with the Soviet Union’s human resources.
In order to defend Smolensk, zhukov left 10,000 Soviet infantry. Smolensk set up a street fighting position similar to Kharkov’s, trying to drag the A regiment into the street fighting and let Smolensk consume the German armored force. However, rundstedt failed or Germany lost its capital, so both sides fought some small-scale battles on the outskirts of the city
The lack of oil made the Germans stop attacking themselves, but zhukov and Stalin couldn’t figure out the details of the Germans. They didn’t know what the Germans stopped attacking this time, whether they were tired or the Soviet Union dug another trap.
"Let the troops counterattack at an appropriate time to see what the Germans are planning!" Stalin’s tone was a little unpleasant, saying that he ordered zhukov to defend Smolensk, but zhukov threw it to the Germans, which made Stalin very unhappy, but he also knew that the situation of the Soviet Red Army was not that zhukov questioned his order, but that he could not defend Smolensk.
However, he is still worried that Moscow’s strategic bombing by the German army is similar to paranoia, which has strengthened the Soviet Union’s direction defense capability in Moscow. He has transferred the best fighters and the best pilots to the vicinity of Moscow and deployed a large number of anti-aircraft gun positions here.
This has consumed a lot of valuable Soviet defense resources and aggravated the burden of lack of fire prevention on the front line, but Moscow is of great significance to Stalin, and it is absolutely understandable for him to do so
Zhukov is also happy about this kind of thing. Now that Stalin has personally asked about Moscow’s direction and defense, he has no time and energy to interfere with other war commands. So he has more flexible command and can arrange his own defense more.
Zhukov’s headquarters said to his leader with a message, "I don’t have enough information to confirm that I don’t know whether the Germans stopped the attack on their own initiative this time or whether they really attacked rashly because of lack of oil or other supplies. At this time, it is likely to lose a lot of troops again, which will definitely make us finally build a defense and collapse again."
His words are by no means alarmist. Although British German spies have repeatedly said that Germany lacks sufficient strategic materials, the United States also hopes that the Soviet Union will fight back and take the initiative in the battlefield. However, this list of information is still not enough to make Soviet generals determined to carry out a tentative counterattack.
After all, their wounds haven’t healed yet, and their Polish territory and Ukraine were both attacked head-on by German armored forces. They lost a lot of troops in these two attacks, and these losses have prevented them from organizing effective defense to stop the Germans from advancing.
Who can say that this time the Germans stopped attacking? Who can say that the Germans didn’t spread false information to deliberately confuse the Soviet side and make a wrong reaction? Once the Soviet Union fails to counterattack again, the cost will not be borne by the Soviet Union.
Only when Stalin gave up his arbitrariness and consulted zhukov’s opinion office did zhukov change his policy of attacking and defending the war and wait carefully for the right opportunity for him.
Just as the powerful British navy ruled the world’s oceans for a hundred years, future generations should think twice before challenging. Just as the German army won a series of victories, future generations should be cautious about this behemoth and dare not try to fight back easily. This is a more offensive way of challenging-everyone is willing to take another relatively moderate way to win, hold their positions first and wait for the Germans to attack. Once the Germans fail to attack, it will prove that the Germans are really weak, and then they will fight back.
Sometimes conservatism means lower risk, which means less responsibility for everyone. Even all senior Soviet generals in zhukov are waiting for a more than ten thousand opportunity, which comes from time to time.
Zhukov’s idea is very simple. The Soviet Union has dispatched 35 main divisions from the Far East and secretly transported them to its western front in batches. Many of these troops were commanded by zhukov and had actual combat experience against the Japanese East Army, and their combat effectiveness was relatively higher.
If these troops arrive in Moscow, zhukov will have the confidence to hold on to his current line of defense, and then the Soviet Union will find a chance to defeat the Germans in the new winter.
A muddy spring, a German attack was defeated, a muddy autumn was followed by the most tiring winter of the Germans, and then the Soviet Red Army came in one fell swoop. When the second winter came, the Germans went into a counterattack … This is that zhukov and Stalin’s drama roots have to maintain the current situation without taking risks.
According to the calculation, the maximum mobilization force in Germany is about 70,000 to 10,000. Now the Germans have almost reached the limit of military mobilization. If they want to defeat the Germans once, they will not have a second chance. Stalin thinks that they can wait for a chance to kill and not let Moscow continue to take risks with the Soviets.
Stalin’s instructions in the words are very simple: "Strengthen all defenses in Moscow, let the Germans fall into the quagmire of war, and finally fight back when the Germans lose their offensive ability!" Moscow must never be involved in the war. This is a crime that the great motherland cannot bear! "
Zhukov generally agrees with Stalin, but he is more interested in the defense in the Caucasus direction. "The great leader Comrade Stalin rokossovsky is determined to die in Stalingrad, so I, zhukov, will die in Moscow! However, the direction of counterattack after defense is still inclined to target the enemy’s weaknesses rather than being determined by the region. "
His idea is to first counter-attack from Caucasus to relieve the German threat to oil resources, and then counter-attack from South to retake Ukraine and threaten the German oil-producing region Romania in one breath, so as to quickly destroy the German war potential.
"Comrade zhukov, I believe that the question of our defense against Moscow is to maintain a high degree of consistency and where to fight back. That is later." Surprisingly, Stalin agreed with zhukov and promised zhukov in his words, "Defend Moscow! Let’s work together! You will be a great hero in the future Soviet Union! "
Chapter 31 32 Progress in Literature
The former quiet city in the encirclement of Smolensk has now become a ruin, and the peace is still quiet, but now the peace has become suffocating and dead. After the German shelling, everything was so cold and cheerless. Soviet infantry crouched in the trenches and collapsed behind houses, some smoked cigarettes and others dozed off.
No one will be too interested in this kind of war. Enemy artillery bombards your position. Enemy dive bombers hover overhead, but you can avoid everything without even a shot. Because of an escape, you die from time to time in the ruins next to the street.
Now the defenders of Smolensk have to face such a problem. They have no back road and are surrounded by the Germans. In order to reduce their own casualties, the Germans are moving some heavy artillery and bombers to destroy and defend the city every day. The shells will occasionally fall into the uncertain corners of the city, taking away life and once beautiful buildings.
No one knows when the war will end, but they are eating worse and worse food and sleeping in fewer and fewer buildings with weapons. They don’t feel that the war is over again. Perhaps this hopeless situation afflicts the hearts of Soviet defenders every day.
"Bomber troops have been gradually reduced according to the plan." Returning to the front line, rundstedt turned his eyes from the cannon mirror and said to the military liaison officer around him, "We must save fuel to prepare for the hard battle. We have no way to retreat because the fuel is enough for us to fight defensive battles."
"We have a unified attack plan in the future, which will be divided into four attacks. Smolensk bombers will take off from several frontline airports and throw napalm bombs at the city to expand the attack effect." The military liaison officer reported to the marshal in front of him. "The Fuehrer means to bomb Moscow in a limited way, but the oil problems make him hesitate to carry out this deterrent attack."
"Bombing Moscow … what kind of bad judgment can this matter have on Stalin’s decision?" rundstedt went to his front line to command the bunker without looking back and said, "If Stalin really angered Stalin, it wouldn’t be worth the loss to force the Soviet front and middle to fight back …"
The liaison officer of the army quickly replied with silence, "If Stalin and zhukov are so simple, we must not consume Smolensk so much. I think they will be more suspicious if they dare not act rashly."
The "adjutant" went into the bunker of his headquarters. rundstedt took off his military hat and hung the clothes rack at the door. The adjutant ordered, "I am writing a letter to General Catherine in my name to thank his army for its support to the A regiment and ask him to delay the bombing of Moscow if the Fuehrer insists on attacking Moscow. Wait until the fuel reserve of the regiment is restored to 70% before bombing Moscow."
"yes! Marshal! " The adjutant didn’t get up, but he agreed. After all, a regiment’s report document is not a few blank sheets of paper. He has to write everything, and there are reports piled up around him, almost one foot thick. The whole regiment A has to file records from advancing to occupying the whole of Belarus to surrounding Smolensk. This is a long-standing habit of the army.
Just face-to-face people sent the Tiger King tank battle report and suggestions for improvement, and there was a pile of detailed records, including how the Tiger King tank was destroyed by Soviet soldiers in Orsa Highland War, how to deal with the wreckage afterwards, photos taken by engineering troops, technical analysis reports and testimonies from members of surrounding tank crews, and so on.
The more modern the war, the more it needs all kinds of data and logistics personnel to support a division, not only soldiers carrying rifles, but also people in charge of food cooking. The troops are responsible for anti-aircraft guns, transporting oil and ammunition, and the transportation troops are responsible for guiding the construction of fortifications and destroying the fortifications of the other side. Engineers pay salaries, tailors, band flags and even photographers and workers.
The era when Han Xin had more soldiers, the better, has passed. Managing the army depends more on professionals from all sides than on a general himself. If someone really wants to personally manage every detail of a modern army, he may be a colonel at most in his life.
When arcado compromised not to let the central group and the southern group attack at the same time, rundstedt knew that he could fight back on the broad front battlefield for a while. General Kruger commanded the F regiment to defend more defense lines, while the A regiment had to save more armored troops, so as to reinforce the Soviets to attack the defense lines, which would dare to fight back against the Soviet troops and face the head back.
This tactic is familiar to the German commander Marshal rundstedt, and there is no special arrangement. Sometimes the simplest and most rude way is also the most effective way, which is more determined and powerful because of simplicity.
"Our troops are not good at fighting this kind of tough battle in cities. To be honest, even if they are replaced by other German troops, they are not suitable for this kind of battle for ruins in ruins." rundstedt said, "Sometimes the more I face the crisis, the more I feel."
He looked back at the military liaison officer and smiled and said, "Because I have been in crisis since 1935, the Fuehrer has already thought about these problems, which makes me feel at ease and I feel that I will surely win. We have been studying from 1927, such as urban street fighting, such as fewer troops, and we are holding more enemies in the city. Now, although we are still not very good at fighting urban battles, we are indeed better trained than our opponents. Most officers were tortured by the Fuehrer in those years, and they told me with a sad face that they had had enough of those ruins."
Speaking of this, rundstedt was in high spirits. "At that time, the Fuehrer personally judged us to exercise in the tough battle of the city. We taught every soldier by hand, such as bending over and lowering his head, such as reducing his own casualties, such as the ruins and everything around him … At that time, the soldiers were all officers now. Fortunately, they didn’t forget what they learned in those years and gave them to their own recruits. This is the reason why we can get here, isn’t it?"
The military liaison officer nodded with awe and said to the marshal, "It’s the marshal. This is the point that the army feels more deeply here. Our fighters are more advanced than the enemy, and our tactics are stronger than the enemy. All this is led by the Fuehrer. I respect the Fuehrer’s French language, and I am afraid to see him. I even have a trembling voice."