Chapter 861 Eastern Front Feast (Part 2)
As Manstein explained in depth, Zeitzler and Kleist understood what "big meal" meant.
In Hoffman's view, since the Soviet Union dared to gather heavy troops in the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, its central area must be extremely empty. Therefore, he believed that the Caucasus direction would slowly retreat in a posture of resistance, trading space for time, and then Momo could Del's Army Group Center and Weix's Army Group East continued to launch attacks on the central battlefield, while Army Group North continued to monitor the direction of Moscow.
The advance distance designated by Hoffman for the central attack is to the base of the Ural Mountains, which means pushing to the line of Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk and continuing to expand the control range on both wings. If you count from Kazan, Ulyanovsk, and Saratov, the straight-line distance of advancement is as high as 600-800 kilometers, and if you count from Voronezh, it has advanced a full 1,500 kilometers - longer than Warsaw. Voronezh is even further away.
If the central direction really achieves this goal, the entire Soviet-German Eastern Front battlefield will become a very interesting scene, divided into four salients from top to bottom: the northernmost section is the German northern salient, and the battle line roughly starts from Arkhan From Gorsk to Vologda; the slightly southern section is the Moscow Salient of the Red Army; the middle section is the Central Salient of the German Army; and the southern section is the Stalingrad Salient of the Red Army, forming a staggered situation.
Among them, the two salients of Moscow and Stalingrad will be cut off by the German central salient and become two completely isolated parts. The next major battle will be obvious: the only way for the Red Army to launch an offensive is Moscow and Stalingrad. The Germans had two options, either Army Group North and the Central Bulge to attack the direction of Moscow; or Army Group South and the Central Bulge to attack the direction of Stalingrad.
Hoffman’s investigation made it very clear that although the two important towns of Moscow and Stalingrad had large numbers of troops and strict defense systems, they had a fatal weakness—the industrial system and product power were not self-sufficient. The industrial zone behind the Ural Mountains provided Stalin with more than two-thirds of his major military equipment and more than 85% of his fuel; while the two urban industrial zones of Moscow and Stalingrad could only provide about 15% and less than 15% of industrial production capacity respectively. 10% of the fuel supply, not to mention agricultural products, both cities need to rely on the rear grain-producing areas to provide food. In other words, as long as they are separated and there is no need for the German army to fight, these two cities will definitely not be able to hold on over time.
Some people in the Supreme Command also suggested that since the Ural Industrial Zone is so important, they should simply continue the assault in the central direction and forget about it. This completely eliminated Stalin's intention to resist to the end. However, Hoffman also rejected this strategy. The reason for his consideration There are many:
From a military point of view, the line between Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk is the main channel connecting the inside and outside of the Ural Industrial Zone. To the south or north are mountains. It is difficult to penetrate. The Red Army can use 500,000 to 600,000 troops to block the entrance. Let the German army of one million troops return in vain - in fact, Vasilevsky also arranged this. The central front was not very tenable. After Zhukov transferred his troops to the south, he could only use the last 500,000 troops to blockade Block this mouth. But blocking this mouth also means that the Urals' connections with Moscow and Stalingrad will be basically interrupted. In fact, this is the entrance to the large Fergana Basin. Once it is blocked, the German army will not be able to get in, and the Red Army will not be able to get out.
From a political point of view, Hoffman was not Hitler. He did not want to eliminate Stalin and the Bolsheviks. What he wanted most was to divide Russia into two along the Ural Mountains. It's not that he has illusions about the Soviet Union or has a Virgin plot, but that his eyes are focused on the future world structure and European politics. What benefit would it bring to Germany to completely eliminate Stalin and allow the Soviet Union to collapse? Germany cannot get these territories, but Japan still has the opportunity to get a share of the pie in the Far East and Siberia. In the end, the fight is nothing more than letting Vlasov's Russian Liberation Army unify the entire Russia - regardless of Vlasov's obedience now, he will definitely pose a hegemonic challenge to Germany in a few years. This is determined by the background of a big country and is by no means dependent on leadership. Determined by interpersonal relations or some other factors, the best way to prevent Russia from rising again is to split - first from the Soviet Union to Russia, and then from Russia to the opposing Menshevik Western Russia and Bolshevik Eastern Russia. What's more, the Bolshevik East Russia will exert a major influence in Asia in the future, which will help consolidate Germany's hegemony.
From an economic point of view, after all, Stalin still had 5 or 6 million troops. Even if it was militarily feasible to completely eliminate him and reach the Far East, the economic cost would be too high. Hoffman would have to pay the cost of casualties of 1 million German soldiers alone. Can't afford it, not to mention that the Eastern Front is currently holding back too many troops, supplies, and military expenditures. Once it is completed and transferred back to the Western Front, the Axis can immediately reduce its spending on tanks and armored vehicles and invest in high-tech warships, missiles, jets, etc. field. Eastern Europe, which is vast and rich in resources, will become a reliable rear to support Germany's struggle for Atlantic hegemony - the security war will definitely exist for a period of time, but that is what the Russian People's Liberation Army should worry about.
Although the senior leaders of the National Socialist Party were surprised that the Führer was retracting from the position of "completely annihilating the Bolsheviks", they did not think that this was a betrayal. Instead, they felt that this reflected a politician's flexible stance. Just as the purpose of dealing with the Jews was to unite the German people, once the German people were completely mobilized and Germany already occupied a dominant position in Europe, for the sake of national image and political prestige, there was no need to drive out the Jews to death - before the attack on France, it was not just a matter of gritting one's teeth. Trample France under your feet so that it will never recover? After France is really defeated and makes it willing to obey itself, won't it be better for you and me to promote reconciliation between France and Germany? This is true for France, it is true for the Jewish question, and it is also true for the Bolshevik question.
Manstein fully agreed with Hoffman's plan. Not only did he agree, but after the Red Army launched a counterattack in the Caucasus, his attitude became more radical. Since he was focused on the final solution to the Bolshevik problem, why not let it go? Come in and fight? The rugged terrain of the Transcaucasus cannot fully unleash the power of the German armored group assaults, but the South Caucasus grasslands are different. The terrain here is flat and endless, and the power of the German lightning assaults can be fully exerted.
The mission assigned by the old guy to Kleist was to block the enemy at all levels, and then slowly retreat, luring the Red Army out of the mud-like Transcaucasus, and the turtle-shell-like Stalingrad and Astrakhan, and start a good fight. In an offensive war, as for Baku, Grozny, etc., the Russians can give them what they want. How much can they get in a few months?
"The head of state was convinced by me. I have full command of the Eastern Theater. He will not control it remotely, and..." Manstein smiled proudly, "He gave me Mjolnir, and I decided the timing and location of its use. I plan to put them in the Caucasus, but it will have to be a little later. Thor's Hammer is still undergoing urgent repairs and will not be put into use until at least late May. "
The two of them gasped: Mjolnir was originally planned to use the decisive attack force in the central direction, but now it seems that the head of state has changed his mind and thinks that it would be better to use it on the southern line. Zeitzler said: "It seems that I am too worried."
"Heinz himself agrees with the strategy just decided two days ago." Manstein smiled slightly, "Now it depends on your breakthrough in the direction of Britain. If you are lucky, the war in Europe can be ended this year... …”
"You are more confident than me." Zeitzler said with a wry smile, "I didn't think it would be so fast."
"Of course. Aren't you quite capable of dealing with a few Britons?"
In Hoffman's arrangement, Manstein was in charge of the Eastern Front campaign, and Zeitzler assisted him in handling the Western Front campaign. However, Zeitzler probably worried about the Eastern Front for too long and could not let go at all, so he had to fly Come and see, now that Manstein is so sure, he is embarrassed to say anything more - do you not believe in Manstein or Guderian?
Of course, Mjolnir is not one or two peerless weapons, and there is no peerless weapon that can determine the victory of a million-level battle, but Hoffman can throw the heaviest weapon for the victory of this battle. Weight - SS Panzer Assault Army organized in the Reserve Army Group.
The Wehrmacht now has a total of 6 armored armies, including the SS Armored Assault Army, a total of 7, but everyone admits that only the last one is worthy of the reputation of Thor's Hammer.
The SS Armored Assault Army has a total of 7 armored divisions and 5 panzergrenadier-level divisions. The 7 armored divisions include: SS-1 Guardsmen Division, SS-2 Reich Division, SS-3 Totenkopf Division, SS- 5th Viking Division, SS-9th Hohenstaufen Division, SS-10th Flensburg Division, SS-12th Young Division (Bottle Division)
5 Panzergrenadier-level divisions: SS-4 Police Division (Panzergrenadier), SS-6 Northern Division (external designation Mountain Division), SS-8 Florian-Gaier Division (external designation Cavalry Division) , SS-11 Nordic Division (Panzer Grenadier Division), SS-16 National Leader Division (Panzer Grenadier Division)
In addition to the SS-7 Prinz Eugen Division fighting in the Fergana Basin, the most combat-effective units of the Waffen-SS were all brought together to form an unprecedented elite group. The group army also has 4 heavy-duty units equipped with Tiger 2 tanks. The total strength of the armored battalion, two heavy artillery divisions and a series of ancillary units is as high as 350,000, which is much stronger than the 6th Group Army, which is known as the most elite in history.
The reason why it was not moved until late May was because some armored divisions were still undergoing intense re-equipment. According to Hoffman's requirements, they were changed to the 1944 type (the Grenadier Division was all type 1943). He wanted to use German The torrent of steel crushed the Soviet Union's last will to resist...