Chapter 647 The Third Attack (6)
"Tell me your reasons." Stalin took out his pipe and asked calmly.
"Comrade Zhukov's strategy is of course correct on the whole. Each of the three targets of Tambov, Voronezh and Kharkiv is a key node on the German defense line. As long as we can occupy - no, as long as we can deter Once there, the German army will be forced to stop attacking, but I think this strategy has three shortcomings that cannot be overcome." Vasilevsky cleared his throat and explained seriously:
"First, there is a big gap between our army's combat effectiveness and that of the German army. This is particularly evident on the battlefield in Central Asia. The German army's entire logistics supply line relies on the landing site on the east coast of the Caspian Sea. There is only one German division guarding the landing site near the landing site, with 15,000 troops. However, our army used two armies to attack from the north and south, with more than 60,000 troops, four times that of the opponent, and its technical equipment was slightly better than the enemy's. However, under the enemy's stubborn defense and strangulation of air power, the offensive failed. Finally returned without success..."
The battle example cited by Vasilevsky was a small battle on the Central Asian battlefield at the turn of August and September. When other battlefields on the Eastern Front fell into silence, fierce fighting continued in Central Asia. Rommel led his group army in Central Asia. The sub-Huronic Storm marched 1,500 kilometers and fought from the east coast of the Caspian Sea to Tashkent in more than 2 months, repeating the story of the fight from Tobruk to El Alamein. The third-line troops deployed by the Red Army here collapsed one after another, and many Central Asian countries and nations, including Turkmen, Uzbek, and Kazakh, declared independence, creating a situation of "calm on the Eastern Front and fierce fighting in Central Asia." .
In order to save the situation and face, Stalin took advantage of the favorable opportunity when the fighting on other battlefields subsided and mobilized 300,000 relatively capable troops from the Far East and the rear in an attempt to eliminate Rommel's troops. Zhukov did not follow Stalin's intention to pursue and intercept Rommel's troops because he knew that in a place as vast as Central Asia, it would be impossible to block Rommel's armored forces even with three times more troops, let alone 300,000. He studied carefully After learning about the opponent's combat experience in the desert and understanding the situation from the British side, he believed that cutting off the enemy's supply line was the most fundamental and effective way.
But time was not on Zhukov's side. On the one hand, he was urged by Stalin, but on the other hand, he was unable to follow the steps because the situation was changing too fast. If he has enough time, he will disperse the 300,000 troops and slowly harass the German army's long supply line by breaking them into parts. As long as it is delayed until winter, Rommel's 100,000 troops will definitely be in trouble - or be forced to Retreat or get stuck in the quagmire.
However, the German army advanced too fast, and the momentum of the independence movements of various Central Asian ethnic groups far exceeded the expectations of the General Staff. The method of breaking into pieces to harass the supply lines immediately became inapplicable - small units would encounter armed elements from Central Asian ethnic groups. Attack, the Tatars' fighting strength and fighting will are not weak, coupled with the general hostility of ordinary people towards the Soviet and Bolshevik regimes - there are many exiled ethnic minorities in Central Asia, and there is no room for the Red Army guerrillas to exist at all. Zero will just let the local armed forces eat them one by one.
Zhukov could only do the next best thing. On the one hand, he used part of his troops to lure Rommel into pursuit. On the other hand, he secretly concentrated 2 armies, including nearly 3 tank brigades, more than 60,000 people and more than 200 tanks to attack the German landing sites and main supplies. According to the assumption, the situation in Central Asia can be reversed by eating these more than 15,000 people and seizing or destroying relevant materials.
The ideal is beautiful, but reality has made a big joke on him.
The German troops who encountered a sudden attack were a little panicked at first, but they soon calmed down, relied on the defense line to hold on, and called for air fire support. The Far East Red Army troops that forcibly attacked were unable to defeat the German land and air forces even though they shed their blood. The battle started on August 27, but in the end there was not even a chance to force Rommel to turn around.
The German army only had more than 20 tanks. On the first day of the war, three Red Army tank brigades took advantage of their armor advantages to launch an assault. The results were disappointing. T-34s and T-43s destroyed by Ju-87G and 88mm anti-aircraft guns filled the field of vision. Whenever the Red Army attempted to mass for an attack, the He-218s would swoop in and attack. This forced the Red Army to move the attack time to the evening, trying to use night battles and close combat to win over the opponent.
But this tactic did not succeed. From August 28 to 30, the two sides fought fiercely for three days. The surrounded German troops were like rocks in the sea. They allowed the Red Army's offensive troops to rush up layer by layer like waves. After the tide dispersed, only A pile of bodies was left behind. On August 29, when the fighting was at its most intensive and dangerous night, the German army, regardless of the danger of exposing their position, first used flares to illuminate the front of the position, and then used Himmler's organ to fire a wide-area salvo, defeating the people who were about to use it in one breath. Two Red Army infantry divisions attacked with naval tactics.
As time went by, the situation became more and more unfavorable for the Red Army, because the German army guarded the landing site and had a steady supply of materials and arms, so there was no risk of shortage. However, after several rounds of storming, the Red Army was at the end of its strength. On September 1st, reinforcements sent by Rommel arrived, and the reinforcements were delivered in a Rommel-style way - the Italian paratrooper brigade and General Stuart's paratrooper division airborne directly behind the Red Army's offensive force, and a large number of Me-323 , Ar-232 transport aircraft landed at the field airfield, and even the Italian Air Force's joint transport aircraft (the transport version of the Joint Attack Aircraft) also joined the ranks.
The improved Me-323H model played a great advantage in quickly transporting 24 new Puma wheeled armored vehicles with 75mm anti-tank guns to the front line. Guderian did not use this vehicle much during the African campaign. It is an 8-pair armored vehicle specially used for desert warfare. However, in the vast Gobi Desert of Central Asia, the wheeled armored vehicle has exerted great advantages. It is not only extremely maneuverable, but also has anti-tank capabilities that are no less than the No. 3 assault gun.
The airborne landing was the last straw in the war. On September 2, Zhukov saw that nothing could be done and ordered the troops to retreat. When they came, the two armies had more than 60,000 troops, but by the time they retreated, less than 20,000 troops were left. People, there are less than 20 tanks left.
Obviously, the combat effectiveness displayed by the German army in the battle on the east coast of the Caspian Sea was of typical significance. Although the air force bonus had a great impact on it, on the other hand, it was impossible for the Red Army to obtain more than 4 times the strength advantage on the central battlefield. Based on the problems exposed in this small battle, Vasilevsky clearly opposed Zhukov's proposal.