Chapter 618: 1st Mountain Division

The 22nd Armored Division and a regiment of the 28th Jager Division were left behind.

Manstein assigned tasks to these remaining troops: the 22nd Armored Division was responsible for feinting on the front, that is, occasionally driving a tank to show up and fire a few shells at the opposite side, pretending to be helpless in front of the fire trench.

Needless to say, the task of leaving a regiment of the 28th Jager Division was to occupy Shirvan south of Baku and then gather amphibious landing ships on the Caspian Sea.

This was actually a risk, that is, once the Soviet army discovered that the main force of the German army had turned and launched a counterattack, it almost meant that the German army was finished.

But Qin Chuan believed that the Soviet army would not do this.

On the one hand, the Soviet army had lost confidence after being beaten by the German army, and on the other hand, a long-lasting fire trench was ignited between the two armies... The fire trench would prevent the Soviet army from crossing while stopping the German army.

Qin Chuan guessed correctly, and General Chulenev finally breathed a sigh of relief when he knew that the German offensive had stopped.

Before this, he was worried that the Germans would find a way to cross the trench and continue the attack, but now it seems that this worry is unnecessary.

On the other hand, Qiulenev received intelligence that the German army was gathering in Shirvan... He had been prepared for this, so he hurried to mobilize troops to defend the Caspian Sea coast.

Of course, this was actually a trick, but Qiulenev did not realize it yet.

When Qiulenev turned his attention to the Caspian Sea, the main force of the German 11th Army, namely the 1st Mountain Division, the 28th Jager Division and the 1st Infantry Regiment, had already entered the Caucasus.

This may also be said to be a coincidence... The 1st Mountain Division once fought against a Soviet mountain army in this area with the strength of a single division, namely the 3rd Mountain Army, which was under the jurisdiction of the 9th and 20th Mountain Divisions, and later joined the 242nd Mountain Division, which was temporarily formed with local hunters and young men in the Caucasus.

Although the German 1st Mountain Division was far less powerful than the Soviet Army, they defeated the Soviet Army's mountain troops all the way. The most glorious moment was when the 1st Mountain Division could see the Baku oil fields in the distance from the top of the mountain.

But in the end, the 1st Mountain Division still failed to achieve their long-cherished wish.

There are many reasons for the failure, such as insufficient supplies, scattered troops, etc., but this did not affect the Soviet Army's awe of the 1st Mountain Division. The Soviets' evaluation of the 1st Mountain Division was: "As long as you give them a mountain, don't even think about crossing them!"

After entering the Caucasus Mountains, Qin Chuan and others felt this.

First of all, there is a difference in physical strength... Those mountain division soldiers who look skinny and weak are like a group of monkeys jumping around as soon as they enter the mountains. When the soldiers of the 1st Infantry Regiment were already panting, the soldiers of the mountain division carried an ammunition box without blushing or panting, and passed by them very calmly.

"Wow!" the baker gasped, "How did they do it? We acted like fools in front of them!"

"Don't take it too seriously, Lieutenant!" Werner said, "This is the difference between athletes and ordinary people!"

"You mean..." Alfredo said unconvinced, "After so many battles, we are still ordinary people?"

"You can say that!" Werner wiped his sweat and replied, "Although I am reluctant to admit this, but... you have to know that mountains and plains are different, the difference is like tennis and badminton!"

"I don't think so, Werner!" Dominic objected, "We know that tennis and badminton are different, but now we are all walking!"

"That's right!" Werner replied, "But walking on flat roads and walking on mountains... The muscles required are different parts. The guys in the mountain division have adapted, but we haven't, do you understand?"

With that, Werner continued to climb to the high ground with his gun on his back.

If it were just these, the mountain division would certainly not be called a mountain division.

In order to avoid the Soviet defenses in strategic locations as much as possible... The Soviets did not have no defenses in the Eastern Caucasus Mountains, and they were familiar with the terrain, so they deployed troops and defenses on the necessary roads.

The Germans were facing an awkward situation at this time: if they broke through these defenses, they might expose the intelligence that the main force of the German army entered the Caucasus, and then the Soviets would respond accordingly.

But this problem is not difficult to solve.

"The Soviets thought we were too simple!" Major General Freko said to the map: "Perhaps because they are familiar with the terrain, they made a mistake. They thought that they only needed to defend the necessary roads and we couldn't pass!"

"Isn't it?" Major General Wagner asked back.

Major General Freko rolled his eyes and replied: "No mountain can stop us, Major General Wagner. These mountains may be a dead end for the Soviets, but for us... they are the way!"

Major General Freko was right. As mentioned before, the quality of the German mountain divisions and the Soviet mountain divisions are completely on two levels, even though a considerable number of Soviet mountain divisions grew up on this land.

The Soviet mountain divisions, at best, mastered the skills of maneuvering and fighting in the mountains.

The German mountain divisions also have a skill that the Soviets do not have and cannot imagine... rock climbing.

Rock climbing here does not mean climbing a rock, but choosing a route that can avoid the Soviet defense and then climbing directly to the cliff.

Of course, it doesn't require everyone to be able to climb rocks, only a few people need to climb up and then use ropes to climb down.

But it's hard to imagine that those few people can climb up the cliff without protection and only with some basic tools such as carabiners, rope loops, and climbing shoes.

"How did they do it?" Eberhard was a little surprised.

"This is their specialty!" Qin Chuan said.

This is not surprising to Qin Chuan. On the one hand, he knew that there was such a dangerous sport of rock climbing in modern times. Those people found happiness in conquering one mountain after another, and some even climbed rocks with their bare hands without the help of tools.

On the other hand, he knew that the reason why the 1st Mountain Division could fight against the three mountain divisions of the Soviet Army with the strength of one division and still gain the upper hand was partly because of this.

Because as long as they can climb rocks, the mountains will be a smooth road for them. They can easily go around the enemy's back, or rush to the front of the enemy in a shorter time to block their way.

But now, their skills are not used to fight against the enemy's mountain division, but to penetrate.