Eight Hundred and Fifty First at All Costs

Most of these transportation lines connecting Kiev to Stalingrad, as well as various factories and infrastructure along the way, are now in the hands of the German army. In order to protect these equipment, the German army even invested special forces and paratroopers. Bloodben fought an unprecedented joint battle. : . Please search to see the most complete! The fastest updated novel

After these facilities fell into the hands of the Germans, the Soviet intelligence agencies realized the seriousness of the problem. When in Ukraine, the German army relied on roads and railways to complete the rapid interspersed, and now they have shot out of Ukraine, and relied on these roads to complete the assault on Stalingrad.

When they provided this report to Zhukov, everything became clear. The German army completed the infiltration and attack on the Soviet oil production area relying on its own early charging investment. Those roads and railways were actually bought by the Soviet Union with a lot of food, and when they were exchanged, they became a model project for the entire country and were praised everywhere.

Zhukov pointed at several important strongholds in the southern region on the map with a pointer, and introduced to Stalin: "After the German army captured Rostov, it has divided the attacking spearhead into two directions. One direction is the German G Army. That is, Guderian's Department is slowly moving towards Stalingrad; the other direction is cutting south into the northern Caucasus in an attempt to seize the oil field facilities there."

When he said this, he gestured twice along the direction of the German army's attack with his pointer, and then pointed in the direction of Stalingrad and said: "I believe everyone is familiar with the Guderian's department that attacked Stalingrad. This G Group Army It is a well-known armored force of the German army, but now it is used to fight Stalingrad, which is absolutely unreasonable."

He went on and drew near Rostov: "However, this Army Group M, which has just occupied the Crimean Peninsula, is worthy of our study. It is definitely not accidental that General Manstein was sent to the Caucasus." , presumably this person should be the same as Guderian, a difficult character."

"The Germans are still increasing their troops in the direction of the Caucasus. Some slave countries' troops and some German troops are moving in this direction. Our local intelligence personnel reported that some of the German troops have not seen the numbers. , also appeared in the southern theater one after another, which shows that the German army is increasing its troop strength there." Zhukov pointed to the map and reported to Stalin what he knew in detail, then looked at Stalin and stopped talking.

Stalin was silent and didn't say anything immediately. He just looked at the map and didn't know what he was thinking. An air force general winked at the army general opposite, but the army general shook his head secretly. Before the meeting, the two of them were secretly worried that Stalin would focus on Stalingrad, so they agreed to persuade Stalin to focus on Moscow. However, depending on the situation, neither of them wanted to speak first, so they had to pass it on to each other. squinting.

Obviously, the two of them were wasting their efforts in vain, because Stalin finally opened his mouth, and he set the main content of the meeting as soon as he opened his mouth: "The main direction of defense,

It should still be placed in the south. This is an established policy and cannot be changed. "

It was not that Stalin was willing to give up Moscow, but because the Caucasus region was so important, so he had to consider the possibility of losing the Caucasus region, and had to consider how long the Soviet Union could support once the Caucasus was lost.

As a result, many of Stalin's economic advisers and industrial experts told Stalin that if the Caucasus was lost, the Soviet Union's oil reserves would be exhausted, and the transportation of oil from the United States seemed to be far from quenching its thirst. At that time, even if the war would not end immediately, it would It will fall into a very pessimistic situation after Germany resumes the production capacity of the Baku oil field.

Moreover, once the Baku oil field is lost, the Soviet armored forces will not be able to make up for the quality gap with quantity. It will become extremely difficult to launch a large-scale armored battle at that time, and it will become impossible to regain the territory lost by the Soviet Union. The luxury of fulfillment.

This was intolerable to Stalin, who was counting on recapturing lost territories in the future so that he, the great leader of the crumbling Soviet Union, could continue to exist. Once the war is defeated and the country is lost, the foundation of his rule will also collapse, which is not good news for him.

If he stepped down from the pinnacle of power, with his habit of sending people to Siberia at every turn, there must be countless people waiting to ask him for justice. Just thinking about Stalin would make his hair stand on end. So he accepted Zhukov's suggestion and focused his defense on the Caucasus line in the southern theater.

"The 30 divisions transported from the Far East were also deployed in the Caucasus and distributed according to the proportion. Seven divisions entered the Stalingrad defensive position, and the remaining 23 divisions all went south to defend the Baku oil fields." Stalin walked to the map The location of the Upper Caucasus reached out and knocked near Baku: "At all costs, keep the Baku oil field!"

...

The Wolf's Lair of the German forward command and the strategic decision-making meeting of the Supreme Command, the generals present here are much more famous than the Soviet Union's supreme meeting: except for Marshal Rundstedt of the Central Group who continued to stay on the front to preside over the operations, the entire German East The generals who can be named first have already sat in front of the head of state, Akado.

Model of Army D, Liszt of Army E, Kluge of Army F, Guderian of Army G, Manstein of Army M, and Küchler, commander of Army N, who had just been transferred to the southern cluster. This can really be regarded as gathering the stars together.

"The campaign plan has not changed, and everything is still in accordance with the original plan. After strengthening ammunition and fuel supplies, a large-scale annihilation operation will be carried out against the Soviet troops in the Caucasus." Marshal Brauchitsch, as the supreme commander of the German Army, is currently Stand in front of the map and assign their respective tasks to all the German generals participating in the meeting.

"Army G under Admiral Guderian's command continued to advance eastward, seized the Soviet positions along the Don River, and opened the gap to attack Stalingrad." He pointed on the map with his pointer and said the first combat mission.

Guderian immediately stood up and replied loudly: "Yes!"

Then he motioned Guderian to sit down, and then pointed to Stalingrad: "Army N under the command of General Kuchler will be responsible for attacking Stalingrad head-on. After capturing the city, cross the Volga River and attack Leninsk."

"Yes!" Küchler's army is mostly composed of infantry, so when relying on the railway line to maneuver, the speed is very fast. Now part of the main force of his army has taken over from Manstein's army and stood on top of Guderi Install the rear of the armored unit to provide support for its continued advancement.

It is also the established policy of the Supreme Command to let his troops attack Stalingrad. Akado does not want the German army to overuse Stalingrad, so he uses a new army to attack, intending to capture it regardless of losses, so as to save frontal defense German forces on the line.

In fact, the Stalingrad strategy drafted by the German army, to put it bluntly, is to hit it with force, try to destroy the N Army, and occupy Stalingrad as soon as possible, because the German army has no time to stalemate with the Soviet Union there. Because of the need for a stable rear, let him try to ensure the victory of the battle for the Baku oil field in the Caucasus as much as possible.

Stalingrad is no different than other cities. In addition to being a huge industrial city in the southern Soviet Union, it is also a transportation hub here. The waterway connects the Don River and the Volga River, and even affects the transportation of Moscow and other regions to the north. Occupying here, the German army can establish a solid defensive circle nearby, radiating the entire Caucasus region, and laying the foundation for victory in the Battle of Kursk.

So unlike Hitler, the German army did not aim to crush Stalingrad this time, but to occupy it as quickly as possible. The attacking force was no longer the elite 6th Army, but a newly formed N Army.

"The task of going south is handed over to General Manstein of Army Group M to seize the most important Baku oil field and ensure the safety of the Caucasus." Brauchitsch continued to point to the bottom of the map, and this time The key part of the battle drew a circle, looked at Manstein and said: "The fate of the empire will depend on your combat performance near the Caucasus."

"Yes! I am here to assure the head of state that I, Manstein, will definitely capture the Caucasus and occupy the Baku oil fields!" Manstein has added a large number of troops, and the combat capabilities of his troops have been tempered by the Battle of the Crimean Peninsula. Since then, he has improved a lot. This battle for Baku can be said to be a battle he is determined to win. After such a long rest, the M Army is also full of fighting spirit, and everything can be said to be under control.

"General Model's D Army will be responsible for ensuring the flank security of the entire southern theater with other friendly forces. After General Guderian's troops complete the raid and encircle Stalingrad, his troops will go north and attack Kursk. General Model, the safety of your line of defense is completely guaranteed."

"Yes! I, Model, am also here to assure the Führer that the flanks of the southern theater are absolutely safe. With the D Army, the Soviets will not be able to go south!" Model also stood up and replied.

"Then! If that's the case!" Akado sat at the head of the conference table, and said slowly but firmly: "Everyone, let us do whatever it takes! Seize the Baku oil field!"