Chapter 612 Airborne Division

I have a toothache these days and there are only two chapters. I will update again after a few days of rest. Sorry!

The main German force, led by Manstein, launched a thunderous attack toward the garrisoned Soviet 20th Mountain Division.

Although the 20th Mountain Division is well-trained, mountain divisions are generally equipped with only a small number of heavy weapons...heavy equipment cannot maneuver in the mountains.

In addition, the fortifications of the Soviet defense line were very crude, so it can be said that the defense line collapsed under the tracks of the German tanks, triggering a great escape.

But the Soviet army actually had nowhere to escape, because Novorossiysk in the rear was also in the hands of the Germans. Although the 9th Mountain Division was seizing the time to attack Novorossiysk... In fact, the 9th Mountain Division had no time. , because the Soviet soldiers who were frightened by the German tanks on the front line retreated like a tide, and in an instant the 9th Mountain Division was rushed to pieces.

Then, everyone rushed towards Novorossiysk desperately, without any plan, people were squeezing and stamping on their feet, and the black water came up like the sea water at high tide.

These Soviet soldiers seemed to still hold on to a glimmer of hope, hoping that the German troops in Novorossiysk did not have as much firepower as imagined and that they could break through the German defense lines in one fell swoop through this human sea offensive and escape.

But they soon became disappointed...

The German army gave the Soviet soldiers a ruthless answer with dense bullets and artillery shells.

On a three-kilometer road, it only takes 20 minutes for the German armored division to advance at a speed of 9 kilometers per hour.

Therefore, when the Soviet soldiers heard the sound of the tank's motor behind them, they realized that they had no hope and could only raise their hands to surrender to the Germans.

In this battle, the German army annihilated more than 70,000 people from four Soviet divisions in one breath. The most important thing was that there were two mountain divisions among them. They were also the only two mountain divisions in the Transcaucasus Mountains at that time. This also made the south of the Caucasus Mountains The defense is extremely empty...the only troops guarding the fortifications in the Caucasus Mountains are the troops in the fortification area.

When General Tyulenev received the information about the Novorossiysk defeat, his face turned pale as if the sky had fallen.

General Tyulenev originally thought that victory was guaranteed, but he did not expect that all the elite Soviet troops would be lost in just one battle.

"Comrade Tyulenev!" the staff officer said: "We still have the 417th Division and the Tank Brigade, send them to fight! We have much more troops than the Germans, and we still have a chance to defeat them!"

"What do you know!" General Tyulenev interrupted the staff impatiently.

The advice of the staff is obviously unworkable, because the most important thing in Transcaucasus is the Baku oil field, so a force needs to be stationed in Baku at any time. Otherwise, the Germans can easily occupy the Soviet Union by just airdropping a force to Baku. energy lifeline.

Therefore, what the staff officer said is correct on the surface. Even though the Transcaucasus Front lost four divisions and Novorossiysk in a defeat, its total strength is still 130,000, which is still two times more than the German army's 60,000. Doubling the odds does not mean there is no chance of turning defeat into victory.

The problem is that the remaining Soviet troops are either new recruits, navy or engineers. The elite 417th Infantry Brigade and the 52nd Tank Brigade can only be stationed in Baku and cannot move... This almost means that the German army can drive straight into the Transcaucasus and do whatever they want. .

"Comrade Tyulenev!" At this time, the communications soldier looked over with the phone and said: "Comrade Stalin's phone!"

General Tyulenev, who was walking back and forth irritably, stopped as if he was electrocuted. He swallowed hard, then slowly walked up and took the phone, and said cautiously: "Comrade Stalin!"

"Comrade Tyulenev!" Stalin's voice was so cold that it could make the soles of your feet chill: "I want to know, what other plans do you have?"

"I hope you can send us reinforcements, Comrade Stalin!"

"You should know that this is impossible!" Stalin replied: "We have devoted all the troops and supplies that can be accumulated in the south to attack Kharkov!"

Tyulenev knew this was the truth. In fact, these were the forces accumulated for several months after the Battle of Moscow.

The North Caucasus Front may have time for reinforcements, but due to the German offensive in the direction of the Don River... the result of the deployment of the North Caucasus Front will cause the Don River defense line to lose its reserve troops and be in danger.

After thinking for a while, General Tyulenev said: "Airborne troops, Comrade Stalin, I need airborne troops!"

Stalin on the other end of the phone was silent for a while, and then replied: "I will send you airborne troops, but it will take a few days. You need to hold on for at least a few days. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin!"

After putting down the phone, Tyulenev stared at the map for a while, and then gave the order: "Order the 392nd Infantry Division to rush to the Tuapse area to garrison immediately, and the 394th Infantry Division to garrison in Sochi. No one is allowed to take a step back without an order." !”

"Yes, Comrade Tyulenev!"

Tyulenev's idea was very simple. He planned to use these two infantry divisions to trade space for time to block the enemy at all levels, waiting for reinforcements from the Soviet airborne troops. At the same time, he urgently recruited new soldiers from the Transcaucasus region to form a new mountain division... The 242nd Mountain Division was used to garrison the southern Caucasus.

Historically, the 242nd Mountain Division was indeed urgently recruited by Tyulenev among the local people, but it should have been a few months later.

The performance of this mountain division on the battlefield was quite surprising... They were almost local people who took up arms and went to the battlefield after simple training. Everyone thought they were just a mob. But their performance was quite outstanding, especially when facing the attack of German tanks, they pioneered the use of fire trenches for defense.

The so-called fire trench is to dig a deep trench and then fill it with gasoline and diesel... Transcaucasus is close to the Baku oil field and refinery, and these things can be said to be available as much as you want.

Then, when the German army drove up under the cover of tanks, they ignited these trenches into a fire trench in front of the German army, and the Soviet soldiers hid behind the fire trenches to defend.

The German tanks and infantry had no way to deal with such defense, because there was so much gasoline in the trench that it could burn for days and nights without extinguishing, and the Soviet army could even continue to add fuel.

This forced the German army to cancel the offensive plan and switch to defense.

However, this time the Soviet 242nd Mountain Division did not have the opportunity to play.

Because at the Kerch Airport, a large number of transport planes and the German 7th Airborne Division were gathering there, waiting for the moment when the Transcaucasian Front would transfer troops one after another to the western mountain pass to resist the 11th Army, leaving the internal forces empty.