USSR 1941

  Chapter 807 Defense

  This situation seems a bit strange: neither the German nor the Soviet army thinks that they can win or take advantage.

   However, it is not surprising at all after careful analysis.

  The reason is that the starting points and thinking angles of the two parties are different.

  The reason why the Soviet army thinks they are in a serious situation is because their defense line is threatened by giant artillery, and even Karachi may not be able to defend it. As a result, there is a gap in the encirclement, and the future situation is unknown.

The reason why the German army feels unsatisfactory is that even if Karachi is captured, it cannot effectively take back the Sixth Army trapped in Stalingrad... Just like Manstein said, the giant artillery is just a giant artillery, and the giant cannon The shell fired by the cannon can instantly burst out a powerful destructive force in a certain place, but it targets the "point" rather than the "surface".

  Simply put, it can open a gap in the enemy's defense line but cannot suppress the enemy's artillery fire.

  So in the end, the German Sixth Army will suffer heavy casualties.

   Therefore, Manstein will have his own ideas.

   "We need a bigger victory, Zmelmann!" Manstein said: "If we want to rescue the Sixth Army, we must not only reoccupy Karachi, but also push out at least 10 kilometers to each flank, understand?"

  The adjutant nodded in agreement.

  The situation at this time is different from when the Don Army captured Karachi for the first time.

  When Karachi was captured for the first time, the Soviet army’s logistics supplies failed to keep up, and even a group army was surrounded by the German army and fell into a bitter battle in Karachi.

  If the German army can occupy Karachi at this time, the German Sixth Army has a high chance of breaking out.

But now, the Russians' defense line on the Don River has been consolidated, and supplies and troops have been transferred in from the rear like a mountain. If they just occupy Karachi, the Russian army can still block the Don River with artillery fire... The Russian howitzer has a range of 12 kilometers. Without extending 10 kilometers to the two wings, it is difficult to ensure the smooth transportation of the Don River.

   "But it needs to extend 10 kilometers to the two wings..." The adjutant looked at the map with some embarrassment.

"Yes, that's very difficult!" Manstein said: "Because we have to open a passage from Milove to Karachi, and in the north is the enemy's powerful Southwest Front Army, which is still maintaining a fierce offensive. It's the Southern Army, they can cut off our army's retreat at any time and encircle us together with the Sixth Army! So..."

  Manstein tapped the defense line on the map with his finger, and then said: "I just hope that the enemy can attack on their own initiative. As long as they take the initiative to attack and we consume a lot of vitality, we have a chance!"

  The adjutant finally understood Manstein's purpose of actively leaking information about the cannon.

  If there is anything that can make the Russian army mess up and launch an offensive, it is only the cannon.

Manstein's idea is very good, because the facts are indeed as he said, if the Soviet army fails to calm down and mess up, then the German army has a chance... The virtue of the Soviet army's offensive is to invest a lot of manpower in a short period of time , Material resources charge towards the enemy's line of defense like a tide, and regardless of casualties and costs.

  Because in the eyes of the political commissar of the Soviet Army, this means "not afraid of sacrifice" and "brave and fearless". If you can't win, it means that you haven't invested enough troops and equipment.

   Such a charge looks mighty, but the disadvantage is that it often leads to a weak follow-up or even an inability to protect itself.

The Battle of Kharkov is a typical example: the Soviet army launched an offensive first, and the troops rushed to the enemy's defense line wave after wave and then fell wave after wave... No army can withstand such casualties and consumption, and neither can the Soviet army. No exception.

   Then when the Soviet army was almost exhausted, the German army counterattacked and pushed it directly to Stalingrad.

  If Hitler hadn’t made a mistake and temporarily divided the main force into two armies A and B to attack the Caucasus at the same time, I am afraid that the entire history of the Soviet-German war would have been rewritten.

At this time, Manstein hoped to see such a situation again, that is, the Soviet army rushed to the German defense line regardless of casualties and costs, and then the German army counterattacked... and easily occupied Karachi and took back the 6th. Army Group.

  But this time Manstein was disappointed. He waited for several days and did not see any signs of a large-scale attack by the Soviet army.

  The Soviet army did not plan to attack on a large scale.

   If there were any before, then they disappeared because of the arrival of Shulka.

  Trufanov immediately reported Shulka's idea to Yeremenko, the commander of the front army. Yeremenko agreed with the opinion after discussing with the staff group, that is, let the southern front army continue to maintain a defensive state.

  This was unimaginable before. The command of the Soviet Army has always been top-down.

  Now, the proposal of the 51st Army Group can directly allow the Front Army Command to discuss carefully and finally agree. This is obviously inseparable from the brilliant results achieved by Shulka and the 51st Army during this period.

   "But we can't keep guarding like this!" Zolotarev said: "This is too passive. The enemy can break through our defense line at any time and we can only wait?"

"Of course we can't just wait like this!" Shulka replied: "I think we should start from two aspects, one is from the deployment of defense... We should not stick to the old rules and simply build a few lines of defense at the front as before. In this way, the defense line can easily be knocked open and broken by the enemy's giant artillery!"

   "Yes!" Trufanov said: "We should build as many lines of defense as possible and disperse the troops among these lines of defense, so as to minimize the damage and damage caused by the giant artillery to our defense lines!"

   What Trufanov said was exactly what Shulka meant.

  The giant cannon is actually nothing to be afraid of, it just concentrates huge energy at one point, and once the cannon hits it, "not a blade of grass will grow".

  But if the Soviet army spreads out its troops and lines of defense, the centralized tactics of the giant artillery will not work immediately.

   "In addition, we need more barbed wire!" Shulka added: "Landmines may be detonated by enemy artillery fire, but barbed wire will not, and barbed wire can effectively block or slow down the enemy's offensive!"

"Especially the enemy's tanks!" Zolotarev agreed: "The barbed wire will be twisted into the tracks of the enemy tanks and they will not be able to advance! Therefore, it is difficult for the enemy to achieve a rapid breakthrough, and we can take advantage of this time. Fill the gap!"

   Trufanov's mood soon improved.

   "You made it easier for us when you came, Comrade Shulka!" Trufanov said: "So what's the other side?"

  (end of this chapter)