Chapter 835: Caspian Sea Counterattack (Part 1)
In February 1944, when the United States was caught up in a fierce internal political struggle, the Soviet Union was struggling to launch a counterattack in the direction of the Caspian Sea.
According to the original plan, the main offensive force of the Central Asian Special Front should arrive at the designated offensive location in early February, but due to the rugged roads, bad weather, and untimely supply of materials, the large force has been advancing slowly. Chernyakhovsky carefully selected three cavalry divisions, three tank brigades and two mechanized armies to form a 100,000-man advance attack force to accelerate the advance. Even so, this offensive force did not fully arrive in place until February 11, and the troops that supported them were still stumbling behind, forcing the launch of the offensive campaign to be delayed again and again.
This not only made Zhukov, who was in Tashkent, anxious, but also made Stalin in Moscow anxious. He had regarded this counterattack as the last straw for the Soviet Union to obtain a decent peace and placed high hopes on it. Zhukov was not only worried about the long night and the many dreams that would attract the attention of the German army, but also worried about the lack of time for subsequent operations. Stalin was worried about the unfavorable situation he would face after the winter passed - if he lost the Central Asian Front, he would no longer be able to withdraw any mobile forces, unless he gave up one of the two important cities of Moscow and Stalingrad, which he could never agree to.
Under the urging of telegrams, the offensive cluster accelerated its advance despite fatigue and shortage of supplies. The most elite offensive spearheads suffered non-combat losses of nearly 10,000 people, and the subsequent 300,000 other troops also suffered non-combat losses of more than 20,000 people. This means that more than 30,000 troops were lost before the war even started. As for the number of animals that died suddenly along the way, the number of damaged tanks or other heavy equipment was also very large.
Chuikov, who was guarding the exit of the basin, also had a hard time. Scherner's troops often launched air strikes and short assaults on his defense line, using absolute firepower to suppress the defense line. At first, he thought that the German army was seeking its own death. How much ammunition and fuel would be consumed for such a fierce offensive? Even if the Germans had prepared in the early stage, it would not last too long. Later, the German attack intensity remained high. Although his troops could barely hold the defense line, it was actually at the cost of human lives. In addition, the climate outside the basin was bad. In less than a month, he had suffered more than 40,000 casualties. Zhukov had to send another army to stabilize the situation.
They never thought that Scherner's materials and supplies were not only along the Caspian Sea line, but also had a transportation line in Iran. The German army on the southern wing had three sea supply lines. One was from Italy through the Mediterranean Sea and the Dardanelles to the Black Sea to land and deliver to the Caucasus. This was the main trunk line, which greatly reduced the pressure on land transportation and enabled the railway network to provide more supplies to the Central Army Group. Another line was from the Mediterranean to Haifa on the east coast, and then took the railway to Iraq and Iran - this line was actually the main force for Middle Eastern oil to be exported to Europe before the oil pipeline was completed. The last line was from the Suez Canal to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf to the Iranian port of Abbas, and then transported to northern Iran through the Iranian inland railway - the exact opposite direction of the oil export from the Persian Gulf. The third line was originally the route for US aid to the Soviet Union, and now it is all in the hands of the Axis.
Although the ground road from Iran to Central Asia is not ideal, it is easier to use air transport: the Soviet side has no air force here, and the whole way is unimpeded, and the German Air Force fighter unit is in the air above the basin to ensure the smooth flow of supply blood.
Sherna, who was hiding in the Fergana Basin, was not worried about the fuel problem at all, because the facilities of Iran's Abadan refinery had been basically restored to the pre-war refining capacity of 4 million tons/year. Not to mention his small Central Asian army group, it was basically enough to supply 2-3 army groups in the south. In fact, the production capacity of the Abadan refinery not only replenished fuel for the German army on the southern wing, but also occasionally took into account the Indian Ocean direction. The four German marine brigades in India all used oil produced in Iran. Even Yamashita Tomoyuki's Indian Expeditionary Force often bought oil directly from Germany - this was a big moneymaker, holding a lot of gold and Indian minerals, why not sell it?
Therefore, there is a very interesting phenomenon in the Persian Gulf-Mediterranean route. The heavy oil of the Axis material fleet is all replenished in Iran. Usually, they first fill up with oil in Iran and go to Europe to pick up goods. After returning with full cargo, they go to Iran for replenishment. The heavy oil left in the direction of Italy is basically used by warships. Now the Italians no longer have to live on 200,000 tons of fuel per month. Germany has not only increased the supply to 500,000 tons per month, but also given Italy a lot of coal resources, which is enough to guarantee the Italian navy, naval aviation and even the small-scale Mediterranean air force. Mussolini and the navy were very satisfied with this, so they made a big move to continuously send warships to cooperate with the German side in combat.
In order to increase oil production in the Middle East and consolidate relations with Middle Eastern allies and European allies, the German Oil Fund took the lead in starting the construction of three major Middle Eastern petrochemical bases: the first is the expansion project of the Abbas refinery, which is expected to increase the processing capacity to 10 million tons/year and 15 million tons/year in the long term; the second is the Iraqi oil refining base, which is located in the newly annexed Kuwait region, with a first-phase plan of 5 million tons/year, a medium-term plan of 10 million tons, and a long-term plan of 20 million tons; the third is the United Arab Emirates petrochemical base. Under the mediation of Germany, the emirs of nine countries, including Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Fujairah, and Umm Al Quwain, held a meeting in Dubai and agreed to establish the United Arab Emirates and accept German protection. The military and security are the responsibility of the German garrison, and the foreign policy adopts a policy of coordination with Germany. The internal affairs are autonomous by the chiefs (confederation system). The Aden Protectorate (Yemen) also adopts a similar arrangement. The scale of this petrochemical base is similar to that of the Iraqi base.
In order to prevent the emergence of extreme forces, Hoffman also carried out a series of detailed measures with the top leaders of the two protectorates: including taking secular reforms as much as possible on the basis of respecting the power of the church, adopting the imperial mark (the European Union's unified currency will be adopted in the future), sending children of nobles and elites to study in Germany, and trying to ensure the stability of the regimes of various chiefs.
The Middle Eastern countries are very satisfied with the petrochemical base construction arrangements proposed by Germany. Everyone knows that the profits from selling crude oil and selling refined oil are not at the same level. In the past, the British did not want to build refineries except the Abadan refinery in order to monopolize the profits. The Germans are doing this now to get everyone rich together. The shareholding ratio of the Iraqi and Iranian petrochemical bases is one-third for the two Iraqi countries and two-thirds for the oil fund. It is clearly stipulated that all technologies, facilities, and construction projects are all under the oil fund. The two Iraqi countries are only responsible for providing some land, oil mining areas and labor, and are waiting to take over the ready-made factory areas; the shareholding ratio of the two protectorates is one-quarter for the protectorate and two-thirds for the oil fund. The difference in income is used to pay for the German garrison expenses.
As a result, the oil fund market has risen. Although there is no public stock offering, the industry believes that if an IPO is issued now, the multiple will not be less than 25 times! All the German military and political circles, business circles, and capitalists in major European countries who got the original shares were all smiling, and capitalists in major European countries also got a share. In terms of the huge size of the three major petrochemical bases, it is impossible for Germany alone to take them. Belgium, the Netherlands, France, etc. have good complete equipment production capabilities, and the German side sent a large part of the orders to them; as for Spain, Portugal, and Italy, which have weaker industrial capabilities, Germany also has arrangements. This was originally the interest of Britain and the United States, but now it has become a shared European integration. Even if Germany takes the lion's share, the rest of the European countries will still benefit a lot - where are there still a lot of unemployment in Europe now?
Ribbentrop used this as bait to lure Edward VIII in the negotiations, claiming: The sooner Britain changes its flag, the more it can share the benefits of the oil fund and the European integration process. If it waits until it is completely defeated and occupied by Germany, then don't think about such a good thing.
In addition to the three major oil bases that have been determined, Speer also considered planning three other bases: one in the Kingdom of Najd (Saudi Arabia). Saudi Arabia was the last country in the Middle East to give in, so it was hit the hardest. Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and even the United Arab Emirates and Aden all seized large tracts of land from Saudi Arabia with the tacit approval or even connivance of Germany in the early stage. Anyway, everyone is a nomadic people, and anyone can be accused of "since ancient times". In the subsequent conflicts, Germany stood on the other side of Saudi Arabia, and all parties were fearless - if you have the ability, you can fight the German armored division! In the end, Saudi Arabia was forced to form the Kingdom of Najd by a coup. The territory of the Kingdom of Najd after the coup was less than 70% of Saudi Arabia. If it had not rushed to curry favor with Germany and announced that it would accept German protection, the surrounding countries would have swallowed up the entire Saudi Arabia. Now it is preparing to arrange a base for Najd, and it is also intended to ease relations and make concessions.
The second one was planned to be placed in North Sudan, where oil was discovered after being annexed by Egypt, and Egypt was eager to try it out; the third one was in Libya. Although there was an unreliable teammate like Italy, Libya was close enough to Europe and a natural fuel supply base. In addition, Germany had an agreement with Italy on crude oil production, so it would be embarrassing not to use it.
In addition to the oil base, Hoffman also proposed to build a Middle East railway network to make the relationship between Middle Eastern countries and Europe closer. The proposal and strengthening of these measures were part of Hoffman's post-war arrangements. Germany used military force to ensure the centripetal force of Middle Eastern countries towards Germany, and then used the Middle East's oil supply and control capabilities to ensure European countries' obedience to the EU system - one hand a big stick, the other hand a carrot.
Iraq and Iran, the two major regional powers, also tried their best to show cooperation. The two air forces also transported materials and supplies to the Fergana Basin - equipped with the Ju-52 that Germany half gave and half sold to them. Although the performance of Junkers has lagged behind, it still plays a role in the non-threatening occasion of Central Asia.
This is the reason why Scherner has the confidence to launch firepower offensives and short-term assaults.