The decisive battle against the Third Reich

In fact, from Hans's perspective, what he said seems to make sense.

The 1st Infantry Regiment owns the gunship, an artifact of highland warfare... Although the Soviet Seagull slow fighter is also very useful in highland warfare, it is still much worse than helicopters.

Especially in areas with complex terrain, such as narrow mountain passes, with towering peaks on both sides. Troops from both sides of the mountain pass are crowded to fight on both sides of the cliffs. Although the Seagull fighter is slow, it can reach speeds of three or four per hour. Hundreds of kilometers away, let it swoop, shoot or drop bombs at the mountain pass... Not only can it not be able to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, but it may even involve itself if it is not careful.

Helicopters don't have these problems.

It can even hover, which is zero speed, and then move forward slowly at a slow speed. There is basically no problem of not being able to react because it is too fast.

On the other hand, both the enemy and us in the mountains have to save ammunition... They have to carry a box of ammunition up the mountain exhaustingly, and it is finished in a few clicks. No matter how powerful the logistics and transportation are, they cannot support it.

Helicopters don't have this problem either. They fly up to a certain height at the foot of the mountain and then go up the mountain.

Therefore, the armed helicopters are equipped with machine guns and rocket launchers. On the mountain and snow battlefield, they are like wealthy people who spend money freely, but the "gold" here is metallic gold.

Therefore, when the Soviet army first started to attack the mountain pass, the First Infantry Regiment was actually able to send helicopters to repel the Soviet army, and it was easily repelled.

But the 1st Infantry Regiment did not do this until the two companies of the 100th Regiment were about to be unable to support.

However, Qin Chuan has his own reasons.

The reason is simple... Six days ago, the main force of the Soviet army only moved to the mountain pass, which was more than a thousand meters above sea level.

Qinchuan judged that the main force of the Soviet army would definitely not stay at the mountain pass waiting for a breakthrough.

On the one hand, this is because the mountain pass is too narrow to deploy troops. On the other hand, as mentioned before, the highlands on both sides of the mountain pass will also threaten the traffic of the mountain pass. For example, if a few mortars are set up, they can be blocked with artillery fire.

If at this time, the German army exposed its strength and dispatched helicopters... just such a blow would stun the Soviet army, and then the Soviet army would retreat in a hurry.

At an altitude of more than a thousand meters, it was not difficult for the Soviet army to retreat, so the Soviet army was able to retreat almost completely.

But now... In order to launch an attack on the German army as soon as possible, the Soviet army relied on their tenacious perseverance to travel day and night, so much so that they advanced to an altitude of more than 3,000 meters in the past six days.

So there is no need to think about it, it must be a dilemma.

Qin Chuan's guess was correct. When the information reached the Makhachkala headquarters, Zhukov was stunned on the spot.

"First Infantry Regiment?" Zhukov asked.

"Yes, Comrade Zhukov!" the staff officer replied: "They used helicopters to repel our army's charge. The 35th Regiment suffered heavy casualties!"

"Where are our planes?" Zhukov roared: "Why don't you send our planes to kill them?!"

"Comrade Zhukov!" the staff officer replied: "Our aircraft cannot fly at low altitude in that kind of terrain!"

"I didn't say let them fly at low altitude!" Zhukov said: "I just want to know why there are no our fighter jets in the sky. When those helicopters appear, blow them up!"

"Comrade Zhukov!" the staff officer explained: "If... we want to achieve this, we must ensure that each unit has our military aircraft patrolling the sky!"

Of course what the counselor said makes sense.

The appearance of the helicopter is temporary. The Soviet army does not know where it will appear next moment. It may be somewhere in the middle section, the western section, or the eastern section. If the Soviet army wants to completely defend it, it means ensuring that the helicopter will appear at all times. Just kill it when it emerges from the valley... Then you have to defend it comprehensively.

The theory that offense is greater than defense is actually practical in air combat.

If the Soviet army can do this, then the Soviet army may still gain an advantage.

The problem is that the Soviet army cannot do it...

First of all, the Soviet army's fuel is not enough to support such a large-scale regular patrol. All the Soviet army's supplies are transported from the Caspian Sea by small fishing boats. They are already overwhelmed. If they insist on it any more, they will probably overwhelm the logistics.

Secondly, the Soviet air supremacy is only local air supremacy at a certain height. If it really wants to fight, it is still no match for the German BF and FW fighters.

The air control at this time actually formed a sandwich-biscuit-style control in which ultra-low altitudes were controlled by helicopters, low altitudes were controlled by Soviet Seagull fighter jets, and mid- and high-altitudes were still controlled by the Germans.

After all, Zhukov was a cavalryman and was not very experienced in air combat.

But he soon figured out the reason, and then slumped back into his chair and held his forehead.

Vasilevsky stood aside and said nothing because he didn't know what to say.

Because the Soviet army, which had entered an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, was now in a dilemma.

Let's move forward and attack the enemy... Let's not talk about the lethality of the German helicopters against the Soviet army. It can be said to be a tank in the snowy mountains of the highlands. Just the transport capacity of helicopters will make the Soviet army hopeless.

The reason is simple. Although the strength of the Soviet army is several times that of the German army, the supplies of the German army are several times that of the Soviet army and can even be said to be endless... They can be transported by helicopters.

Retreat. The main force of the Soviet army is already at an altitude of 3,000 meters. There is a saying that "it is easier to go up the mountain than to go down." This is especially true in snowy mountains, because if you are not careful, you will slip and fall to pieces... You can still retreat this way. ?

Vasilevsky couldn't help feeling guilty, because Zhukov had been worried about the German 1st Infantry Regiment before, and he was the one who made him let down his guard.

"I'm so stupid, aren't I?" Zhukov said: "How could we not have thought that helicopters can rappel in the mountains? They can hover, they can rappel on sandbars, they can rappel on Nizhny Tusk, and of course they can rappel on the Caucasus. Rappelling..."

After a pause, Zhukov raised his head and looked at Vasilevsky: "So, the Germans planned it from the beginning. They set a trap for us to jump, and we were fooled!"

"Order a retreat, Comrade Zhukov!" Vasilevsky said: "We have no other choice. It may be too late to retreat now, otherwise..."

Vasilevsky said no more. The tragic scene of tens of thousands of people freezing and starving to death in the Caucasus Mountains couldn't help but come to his mind.

Zhukov stood up and walked a few steps back and forth in front of his desk, then looked at the map and said, "No, we may still have a chance!"