Chapter 839 Caspian Sea Counterattack (Supplement)

On March 7, the other two Turkish infantry divisions near the national border were completely eaten by the Red Army. The main force of the Red Army transferred all into Azerbaijan. The frontline of the troops was directed towards the Baku Peninsula. The panicked Turkey desperately asked the German and Iraqi troops for help. While moving the troops deployed on the front line of the Caucasus Mountains southward, they tried to resist the pace of the Red Army. The local lurking Bolsheviks and guerrillas responded one after another. Within a few days, nearly 2,000 people joined Chernyakhovsky's troops, not only replenishing their troops but also acting as guides to show the way to the Red Army.

Although the Bolshevik Party's treatment of the people of Transcaucasia was average, it was still much better than that of Central Asia. However, after the Turks occupied Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, they did not fulfill their promise of autonomy, but tried to recover and merge them into their own territory. This met with a lot of resistance, and now the Red Army counterattacked, creating a situation where everyone responded.

Under such a situation, both Chernyakhovsky and Zhukov believed that the time was ripe to implement the "Mercury Project"...

At dawn on March 9, it was snowing lightly near Baku. A Turkish soldier on duty suddenly said to his companions: "Look... the plane is down!"

"No way? Are you dazzled? Are you so scared that the Russians have been calling you in the past two days?"

"Aren't you afraid?"

"What's there to be afraid of? The German armored forces have been dispatched. Can they beat the Germans?"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them suddenly noticed large groups of snowflakes starting to fall from the sky. They took a closer look... Oh my God, these are not snowflakes. This is a parachute. The Russians are airborne!

The tough fighting nation chose such a snowy night to airborne. They had been ready for a long time. They were composed of more than 10,000 people from the 1st, 3rd, and 5th airborne brigades, and were led by Major General Zatevakhin, deputy commander of the airborne forces. The long Central Asian Special Airborne Force departed from Astrakhan and landed directly on the Baku Peninsula south of the Turkish army's blocking line. The Turkish army was in chaos and did not know whether to continue sniping in front of them or turn around and eliminate the troops behind them. Chernyakhovsky, who was facing him, seized the opportunity to attack violently. Under the attack from the front and rear of the airborne troops, the offensive group had penetrated the Turkish defense line by the evening of March 10. Not only did he successfully eliminate the two Turkish troops facing the assault port, division, and planted the red flag on the Baku oil field.

"Comrade Stalin, Comrade Stalin..." That night in Moscow, Kuznetsov called to report the situation. "I didn't disturb your rest, did I?"

"No. How is the fight on the front line going?"

"Comrade Zhukov sent a telegram. Our army has advanced smoothly as planned. With the help of the Special Airborne Forces, a total of 6-7 Turkish divisions have been surrounded, annihilated, and defeated. We have suffered less than 60,000 casualties. We have successfully recaptured Baku! We are still here!" Got some oil there!”

"Baku? Is this true?" He stood up in disbelief and his voice became louder. "How is the oil field? Can it be used?"

"It's true! Comrade Chernyakhovsky himself is in the oil field area. However, it is said that the damage is still very serious. Only a small part of the facilities can barely operate, which is about 500,000 tons per year." The Kuznetsov Report said, "Comrades on the front line have asked for reinforcements and supplies. We currently have more than 200,000 troops in the Transcaucasus. Although daily supplies can be maintained, ammunition and heavy equipment are relatively lacking and must be replenished. In addition, we may face German forces at any time. , the Turkish army and even the Iraqi army counterattacked, and Comrade Vasilevsky was in urgent need of new forces to join the battlefield. "

"Okay, you guys discuss it first, I'll be at the Supreme Command soon."

"The current situation is relatively dangerous. Although our army has entered Transcaucasus and controlled a corner of the country, it is difficult to keep up with the follow-up supply and troop replenishment. I am afraid there will be a hard battle. At least 150,000 troops must be left on the north and east coasts of the Caspian Sea. To support the offensive force's rear route, the offensive cluster must also reserve some troops to deal with the counterattack of the Iranian and German coalition forces behind it. The number of troops that can actually be put into the offensive is probably less than 150,000. With this small force, it cannot attack the Caucasus defense line... "Facing the large map, Vasilevsky talked eloquently.

The total strength of Chernyakhovsky's offensive group and the Malinovsky Independent Group Army is about 650,000. Except for the 200,000 troops left behind to connect Zhukov's main force in Central Asia with the main forces of the three fronts on the southern flank, the actual available troops About 450,000. A total of 50,000 were lost when marching and attacking the east coast of the Caspian Sea, and nearly 60,000 were lost in the landing battles and post-landing battles with Iranian and Turkish troops. The actual available troops were only 340,000, even with the investment of more than 10,000. There are only 350,000 airborne troops on the battlefield at full strength. If we exclude the 150,000 defensive troops on the east coast of the Caspian Sea and the 50,000 left behind the offensive group, the number of troops that can be put into the attack is indeed less than 150,000 as Vasilevsky said.

According to his intention, the staff quickly deployed troop strength assumptions. Stalin looked at the map and began to hesitate again: there are at least 100,000-150,000 Turkish troops in the Transcaucasus. The German army currently has no troops, but 10-150,000 troops have been deployed from the South Caucasus. 150,000 troops is relatively easy. He kept his composure without expressing his opinion and asked, "What does Comrade Constantine mean?"

"The northern front appropriately gives up some territory and shortens the defensive line; the southern wing deploys a group army from each of the three front armies in the direction of Stalingrad to form a supplementary front army of 300,000 people to withstand the Black Sea front line, and then integrate the 350,000 troops currently on the periphery of the Black Sea. Deploy 250,000 to 300,000 troops across the Black Sea to Transcaucasus. If necessary, squeeze out another 100,000 to 150,000 troops from the defense cluster in Central Asia..."

"Wait..." Stalin asked hesitantly, "His current layout is different from the Mercury plan he originally described to me - at that time, he clearly said that he would attack the German Central Asian Army to mobilize the German troops on the southern front; and then it was also different from the previous plans. According to the report, the purpose of attacking the Turks and mobilizing German reinforcements is inconsistent. "

"Yes, it is indeed different. The original plan was completely unworkable after the German army hid in the Fergana Basin. The second step plan could also have been adopted, but judging from the strange posture of the German army some time ago, the Germans were eager to If we go to fight the Turks, maybe they won’t save us even if we break the rules, so Comrade Zhukov proposed the second amendment..." Vasilevsky’s pointer slowly crossed the map, "To Transcaucasia Increase the strength, materials and supplies, let the troops advance northward, fight through the passes of the Caucasus, and then advance against the two fronts of Comrade Yereomenko and Comrade Rokossovsky from the north to the south. Chernyakhovsky Comrades fought north from the Caucasus Mountains, while the troops of Comrades Yereomenko and Rokossovsky attacked south, trying to eat up at least one German army group near Grozny, reverse the situation, and restore the southern front to where it was around last summer. level……"

"Then what?"

"Peace!"

"No, no, no, I mean, what's the next step in the situation of defeating and destroying a German army group?"

"Peace! This is Comrade Zhukov's insistence, and I agree with this view." Vasilevsky said sincerely, "If we can reach this situation, it will almost be the limit of the use of our military power. He believes that with Germany It is better to have dignity and peace..."

Stalin was a little unhappy: "How does he want to make peace?"

"The South Caucasus ceases fire on the actual line of control. After our troops occupy the Transcaucasus, except for the Baku oil field, which will be jointly developed by the Soviet Union and Germany in the future, the rest can be established as autonomous governments under the actual protection of Germany. Through this step of concessions, Germany can exchange for the central front." Retreat to the west bank of the Volga River," Vasilevsky explained. "In this way, we can take back half of Baku, all of Grozny and the Volga Industrial Zone, and regain a population of at least 10 million. In addition, we can recover all of Central Asia. , the situation of the party and the country will be much better.”

Stalin was a little unhappy, and he still wanted peace after fighting like this. He felt that he couldn't get over this hurdle in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face - Comrade Constantine also worked hard for the party and the country, otherwise why would he be so desperate?

He asked casually: "What if we lose the fight?"

"If we lose, we need to negotiate a peace." Vasilevsky's face turned gloomy. "If we lose, it means we don't have any mobile or elite troops. Then we can only negotiate a peace according to German conditions: retreat to the east of the Ural Mountains. , everything west of it was handed over to the Mensheviks, and they were ready to develop Siberia and the Far East with peace of mind in the future. If they did not negotiate for peace, once the German army took over the Ural Industrial Zone, the Soviet Union would become an agricultural country like China. Even if it could still survive, it would never turn around again. opportunity.”

Hearing such an unpleasant topic, Stalin's face froze and suddenly became gloomy, but he still asked Vasilevsky patiently: "In your judgment, what is the possibility of achieving the former result?"

"It is expected to be no more than 30%."

"What about failure?"

"60%!"

"Is there any other choice?"

"Retreat the troops to the east coast of the Caspian Sea, and then let most of the troops return to the central battlefield to see if the Germans can hold it after they start the spring campaign in April." Vasilevsky said expressionlessly, "I think it is better to retreat now. Close to chronic suffocation..."

"you!"

"Comrade Zhukov's words are quite reasonable. This is the last desperate struggle of the Soviets. If they win, they will strive for more decent peace conditions; if they lose, they will give up completely and do whatever they want. Other than that, , Everything else is a waste of time. It has no effect except helping the Americans. Oh, by the way." Vasilevsky suddenly remembered something, "The 30 freighters provided by the United States have been used. It passed the Japanese inspection. This time they did not do any bad tricks. They seized 12 boats and released the rest. After they unloaded them, the empty boats and people will be returned to us. At that time, we only need to return 18 to the Americans. There are only 12 ships that can be kept for our own use. Some comrades came up with the idea of ​​using these ships to transport industrial equipment and some weapons and equipment that we do not need to China and exchange them with Chinese comrades for raw materials and agricultural products. Provide security and escort services with a service fee of 25%.”

"One day I will kill these yellow-skinned little guys!" Stalin said angrily and left, "You prepare a plan first and submit it to the Communist Party of China for discussion tomorrow. I alone will not count... "

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