The Rise of the Third Reich

The performance of the German Nazi Superman on the Irish battlefield broke Golikov's common sense about mechanized warfare - a powerful armored cluster may not be able to easily crush infantry! At least it was impossible to crush the German infantry defenses.

On the contrary, a very powerful armored group in Golikov's opinion may be defeated by the defense of the German infantry, which is not large in number, has no solid fortifications and favorable terrain to rely on.

Golikov, who had been watching the battle at the front line of Trim for three days, suddenly discovered a fact that had been ignored for the past three years: What is really awesome is not the tanks of the German army, but the German army itself, whether it has tanks or not, These damn Nazis are superhuman beings that are hard to kill!

In the three-day continuous fierce attack on May 17, May 18 and May 19, the British army invested a full 2 ​​armored brigades, 2 mechanized infantry brigades, 2 infantry brigades and 6 artillery regiments. There are hundreds of aircraft providing air support. The Germans did not repel the garrison of one division at most in Trim. In fact, there were not that many. Initially, the 19th Parachute Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the 20th Parachute Regiment, and the 1st Marine Corps were stationed in Trim. The regiment and the tank company of the 2nd regiment, the 7th Paratrooper Artillery Regiment and part of the 7th Anti-tank Battalion, have a total strength of only more than 4,000 people.

Later, a regiment of the Italian 185th Lightning Division, a tank battalion of the German 3rd Armored Division (88 No. 4 H tanks), an anti-tank battalion (18 75mm anti-tank guns) and 1 A self-propelled artillery battalion (18 Wasp self-propelled guns), a regimental combat group of the Italian 135th Armored Division (including 22 Type 4 G tanks, 22 Italian M15 medium tanks, 22 Italian P26 heavy tanks ).

When all the German and Italian reinforcements arrived at Trim, the British army quickly switched from offensive to defensive.

In other parts of the battlefield in central Ireland, the attacks launched by the British army also achieved little results, and were easily crushed by the German supermen who were far outnumbered by them. Since May 22, the British army has switched to defense across the board. It seems that the 22 divisions they invested in Ireland are still too few.

On the 22nd, Churchill issued another order to add 20 divisions to Ireland, preparing to launch another counterattack in mid-June. According to Churchill's expectations, the Germans should not care about Ireland at that time, because the Soviet Red Army will deal the heaviest blow to the German army on the Eastern Front!

"Is the German infantry so powerful?"

In the car driving from the airport to the Kremlin, Zhukov listened to the situation on the Irish battlefield dictated by Golikov who had just got off the plane. He was first surprised, and then pondered for a long time.

"Where are their tanks?" Zhukov asked, "Are they still No. 3 and No. 4?"

"Yes, the best tank on the Irish battlefield is the No. 4. But it is the latest model. Its main gun can penetrate the frontal armor of the Churchill tank at a distance of 1,000 meters."

Zhukov frowned and asked again: "What is the armor thickness of the Churchill infantry tank?"

"102mm, this is a certain data, it is thinner than our KV-1." Golikov said, "I estimate that the main gun of the latest No. 4 tank can penetrate the KV-1 within 900 meters. Frontal armor... But the KV-1 using the F-34 76.2mm tank gun is likely to be unable to penetrate the frontal armor of the No. 4 tank at this distance. "

In fact, Golikov still doesn't know the thickness of the front armor of the Type 4 H tank. However, he knew that the Germans upgraded their No. 4 tanks because the original G-type vehicles were sold to the Italians in large quantities. The Italians used these No. 4 G types and mixed them with their own M15 tanks and P26 tanks to form the 131 "Centaur" Armored Division, the 132 "Ram" Armored Division, and the 133 "Li" Armored Division according to slightly lower standards than the German armored divisions. Torrio" Armored Division, 134th "Arrow" Armored Division, 135th "Victory" Armored Division and 136th "Fascist Youth" Armored Division.

Through the help of internationalist fighters lurking in the Italian army, Golikov's intelligence agency obtained rough data about the Type 4G tank, and thus came to the conclusion that the KV-1 tank could easily defeat the Type 4G tank. ——At that time, of course Golikov would not say that the KV-1 tank might not be able to defeat the latest German Panzer IV tank. After all, the KV-1 tank was designed by Comrade Voroshilov’s son-in-law...

But now that the fight was about to begin, Golikov did not dare to conceal the latest information he had learned in Ireland.

…

Kremlin, Comrade Stalin's office.

The fatherly leader Stalin listened quietly to Golikov's report, but did not show much surprise.

He thought for a moment in silence, and then asked: "Comrade Golikov, how long do you think the fighting on the island of Ireland will continue?"

"It's hard to say..." Golikov frowned deeply, "The General Secretary ruled. According to my observation, the Germans repelled the British attack very easily. I think they have the power if they want to attack."

"You have the strength to attack but you don't attack?" Stalin glanced at Zhukov.

"Comrade General Secretary, the Germans are probably planning to fight a large-scale war of annihilation on the island of Ireland."

"A war of mass annihilation?"

"Yes." Although Zhukov is not the British Chief of Staff, he has a better understanding of the German Army than the British Viscount Brooke. "The Germans are good at fighting large-scale annihilation wars. They probably envisioned attracting the main force of the British Army to the island of Ireland and then massing them to annihilate them. In this way, the British mainland would have no choice but to succumb to German force... This would be more effective than forcing Britain to submit through a blockade. Faster."

As expected, Kesselring and Schleicher's intentions were not hidden from the Soviet God of War - the German General Staff knew that there was still a large amount of strategic materials in the UK and could last for more than a year even if it was blocked. During this period, the situation may change adversely.

Therefore, in the "Sea Lion Project", the number one plan was to fight decisively in Ireland, defeat the British Army, and at the same time destroy the confidence of the British mainland to resist. Only in this way can the British Island be taken over.

"When will the decisive battle break out?" Stalin took a drag on his cigarette and continued to ask.

"June or July." Golikov replied, "Churchill has ordered another increase in troops. Between June and July, the British may concentrate 40-45 divisions on the island of Ireland, while the Germans may 20 divisions of troops are deployed on the island of Ireland.”

Golikov accurately estimated the strength of the British army, but he overestimated the strength of the German army in Ireland.

The troops currently sent by the Germans to the island of Ireland are actually only 7 divisions and 2 brigades - the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions, the 3rd Armored Division of the Wehrmacht, the 7th and 22nd Airborne Divisions, and the Italian 132nd Division. "Ram" Armored Division, 185th "Blitzkrieg" Airborne Division, Waffen-SS Deutschland Brigade, Adolf Hitler Brigade. There are not many troops, but they are all elite. Even the two Italian divisions are no exception, they are also Italian fascist supermen.

And because of the tense situation on the Eastern Front, the Western Front Headquarters currently has no plans to significantly increase troops. Instead, it is preparing to expand 5 Irish divisions and expand 2 SS brigades into Panzergrenadier divisions (the expansion plan is in progress) .

In addition, Schleicher and Kesselring are also preparing to mobilize a Spanish division (250th "Blue" Division) and the famous French Foreign Legion (6 infantry regiments and 2 cavalry regiments) to fight on the island of Ireland.

"That is to say, if we do not enter the war," Stalin puffed on his cigarette and was silent for a while, "Britain will collapse in August or September!"

Zhukov and Golikov looked at each other, then nodded at the same time.

Stalin said: "Then the United States will make peace with Germany, and we will fight Germany alone... Do you think we can win?"

Zhukov and Golikov both bowed their heads and remained silent. They dare not say that they cannot defeat it, but they cannot say that they can win without conscience - the Soviet Union is very powerful, with a population of 180 million, a territory of more than 20 million square kilometers, rich resources, and the third largest industrial strength in the world. However, after Germany defeated Britain and made peace with the United States, it ruled all of Europe except the Soviet Union. It controlled a population of more than 300 million, controlled an industrial strength that was almost equal to that of the United States, and had more output than the Soviet Union, the third largest country in the world. Doubling the number, it is even more advanced in science and technology.

Moreover, once Germany defeats Britain, their army will be a battle-hardened lion with extremely rich combat experience and can maximize its combat effectiveness. Although the Soviet Red Army was large in number, most of them had never smelled the smoke of the battlefield. They will be at a disadvantage in terms of combat experience and morale.

Under such circumstances, as long as the Germans do not make any big mistakes and deal with the Soviet Union steadily, the possibility of final victory is very high.

Stalin shrugged and said: "Then there is nothing to discuss. The Thunderstorm Plan must be implemented... Even if we cannot achieve all our goals, it will be more beneficial than fighting Germany alone after the fall of the British mainland."

Looking at the chief and deputy chiefs of staff of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, Stalin added: "But we should be prepared for the worst... Maybe the thunderstorm plan will not succeed. In this case, how should we continue to fight? How can we fight in a long-term battle? In the world revolutionary war, defeat the powerful enemy and achieve final victory."

Upon hearing Stalin's order, both Zhukov and Golikov breathed a sigh of relief. Stalin's red heart of liberating all mankind has now made two preparations. Then the General Staff of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army can draw up several protracted war plans that are more reliable than the Thunderstorm Plan. Once the Thunderstorm Plan fails, the Red Army will be able to move to long-term defense in an orderly manner, and together with the United Kingdom and the United States, they will consume Germany...