The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The 23rd Soviet Guards Infantry Division stood still, and Qinchuan immediately realized that he had encountered a master.

The 23rd Guards Infantry Division is undoubtedly a force with strong combat effectiveness. In addition, it is also equipped with two tank battalions, and its strength cannot be underestimated.

Originally, Qinchuan wanted to encircle the 23rd Guards Infantry Division and induce it to attack or other Soviet troops to reinforce Soglione. However, the German army could turn the spear and march straight to the Caucasus Mountains.

Unexpectedly, they stood still.

And not only the 23rd Guards Rifle Division was immobile, but the entire North Caucasus Front was immobile.

Budyonny knew very well that the German target was the Caucasus Mountains and not the 23rd Guards Infantry Division, so he would not spare the time for the defense of the Caucasus for the 23rd Guards Infantry Division, especially the defense in the Caucasus because of the previous Kerch Peninsula The defeat and the defense forces along the Don River were already very empty.

But Budyonny's knowledge does not mean that General Tyulenev knew it.

The Caucasus region is divided into two parts by the Caucasus Mountains from west to east. The area north of the mountain range is called North Caucasus, and the area south of the mountain range is called Transcaucasus or South Caucasus.

The Soviet army deployed two fronts here, one was the North Caucasus Front and the other was the Transcaucasus Front.

Among them, the North Caucasus Front has relatively sufficient strength, with three armies, an air force group and units directly under the front. However, two of these three armies were captured on the Kerch Peninsula. At this time, only one infantry group, one air force group and directly affiliated troops were left.

The Transcaucasian Front is weak and consists of two armies and units directly under the front. The 44th Army was captured in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, leaving only the 43rd Army and the units directly under the front.

Judging from the overall strength and situation, the Soviet army has an advantage.

The total strength of the Soviet Army in Transcaucasus and North Caucasus is at least three armies, while the German Army has only two divisions, which are still concentrated in the central area of ​​Soglio... If the Soviet Army concentrates its forces to attack, it is very likely that the German Army will be Soglione surrounded him and made him unable to move.

General Tyulenev saw this clearly, and he immediately sent a telegram to Budyonny: "Comrade Budyonny, the Germans are stationed in Solyau and besieging the 23rd Guards Infantry Division. Are we just going to sit back and ignore it?" If we don’t send reinforcements, they will eventually have to surrender like the several armies that were surrounded in the Battle of Kerch!”

Budyonny's call back was simple: "The Germans are targeting the Caucasus!"

"I know their target is the Caucasus!" Tyulenev called back: "But why can't they choose to destroy the 23rd Guards Division first before attacking the Caucasus?"

Budyonny simply didn’t call back this time, or it could be said that he didn’t know how to explain it.

In fact, Budyonny is very smart, because if the German army attacks the 23rd Guards Division, it will lose time to attack the Caucasus, especially since the 23rd Guards Division is still stationed in place. Once the German army attacks the 23rd Guards Division... ...The Soviet army could use the special terrain of the Taman Peninsula to block the German army in a narrow area.

Therefore, as long as the 23rd Guards Division remains stationary, it is impossible for the German army to attack the 23rd Guards Division unless the German army gives up attacking the Caucasus.

But Tyulenev had another idea. He continued to call Budyonny: "The Germans are good at 'blitzkrieg.' If we can surround them in Soglio, they will lose their mobility advantage and fall into a hard fight, so Budyonny Comrade Jonny, I need your cooperation!”

"I suggest you stand still, Comrade Tyulenev!" Budyonny replied: "What the Germans need most is speed. If you can use the terrain of the Transcaucasus to build layers of trenches to block the attack, it will take them at least several months to reach them. Baku oil fields.”

Budyonny is right. Although this is a conservative and traditional style of play, it is even the positional warfare mentality of World War I.

But there is a saying that "no matter it is a white cat or a black cat, if it can catch mice, it is a good cat."

It doesn't matter whether tactics are old-fashioned or outdated, as long as they can be adapted to local conditions and suit the current battle situation, it is a good tactic.

The Transcaucasus region is surrounded by mountains. There are also small lakes and waterfalls dotted between the mountains. The terrain is very complex. As long as the Transcaucasus Front uses the terrain to build defenses, the German army can only defeat two divisions plus an infantry regiment and a tank regiment. A big wave is coming.

But of course the young and energetic General Tyulenev would not think so.

Seeing that Budyonny was not cooperating, Tyulenev took the initiative to send a telegram to Stalin asking for a fight, and euphemistically said in the telegram that Budyonny's tactics were too conservative and passive defensive. At this time, it was more important to take the initiative to limit the Germans' attacks as much as possible. Forward battle space and more.

Marching operations are sometimes like this. There are a large set of military theories to support them from different perspectives, and it is difficult for people involved in them to distinguish which is right and which is wrong.

Stalin took a look and felt that it seemed like that. Budyonny was a veteran who had fought in World War I and no longer had the vigor of a young man, while General Tyulenev was in full health (50 years old), so An order came down for the North Caucasus Front to cooperate with the Transcaucasus Front to launch an attack on the German troops in Soglione.

Then, the German army's opportunity came.

At this time, basically all the materials available in Soglione were used by the German army.

For the captured Seagull fighter jets, batches of pilots were urgently transported from slave countries such as Latvia and Finland to fly the fighter jets away. Some skilled pilots even stayed directly to repaint the Seagull fighter jets and incorporated them into the German Air Force.

However, these fighters can generally only be used as reconnaissance aircraft. Needless to say, the reason is that on the one hand, the flight speed is too different from the German BF and FW to cooperate with each other. On the other hand, it is easy to cause accidental damage. Even if the paint is changed, But the model cannot be changed.

There is no need to find another driver for the car. The German army is of high quality and there are many in the army who can drive, so it is easy to find a driver.

Tanks need to transport crews by air. This was not a problem originally. The 22nd Armored Division is just over the Kerch Strait, and there are plenty of tank crews.

The problem is that there are all kinds of tanks in Soglio, including British tanks, American tanks, and Soviet tanks. There are gasoline and diesel tanks. The calibers of the guns are different, and the bullets of the guns are also different.

Among them, especially British and American tanks, the Germans were unfamiliar with them on the Soviet-German battlefield.

Fortunately, the First Infantry Regiment has seen many British and American tanks on the African battlefield, and many of them can even operate them. After communicating with the tank crews of the 22nd Armored Division, they can operate them quickly.