USSR 1941

Paulus frowned at the map on the table in his headquarters in Karachi.

Although the Germans fought heroically in the city of Stalingrad, it was precisely this that gave Paulus a headache... If the German soldiers were not brave enough or equipped enough, etc., then everything can be solved.

Paulus can report to Hitler in Wolf's Lair and get more troops and equipment.

The problem is that there are none of these reasons.

Although the total strength of the German army is definitely not as good as that of the Russians, it is clear that the German army has the upper hand in the city of Stalingrad:

The infantry ratio is 1.2:1, the air force ratio is 3.6:1, the tank ratio is 2:1, and the artillery ratio is 3:1...

In particular, the military quality of the German army is obviously much better than that of the Russian army.

"We know something from the prisoners!" Paulus complained to the adjutant: "Many of the Russians are recruits, and a considerable part of them are even workers who have never been on the battlefield. Battalion' soldiers... That is to say, the Russians are using guns to force their soldiers onto the battlefield. But even so, we still can't break through their defense line, the offensive line is still moving forward in units of meters, some The position is even going backwards!" Update the fastest computer terminal :/

The adjutant didn't answer, because he didn't understand why this happened.

Fighting is nothing more than looking at quality, equipment, and morale... When the German army has an overwhelming advantage in all these, it is mired in a quagmire and cannot move.

After thinking about it, the adjutant said, "I think it's because they are familiar with the terrain, especially the underground pipelines!"

"I know this!" Paulus stood up and took a few steps in front of the desk, then said anxiously after lighting a cigarette: "We can't take all the advantages, we are fighting on their land, This is their city, and they should be familiar with the terrain! They have always been familiar with the terrain, but we still fight here from Poland, we have never encountered such obstacles, what is different in Stalingrad?!"

Paulus was right, if the Germans had been defeated before then it was the Battle of Moscow.

However, the Battle of Moscow did not develop into urban street fighting. At the same time, the failure of the Battle of Moscow was due to the cold snap, not because the German army could not defeat the enemy.

Now, the Battle of Stalingrad is a face-to-face battle between the German army and the Soviet army in the ruins, scrambling in the building, and fighting among the broken bricks.

No one would believe that in such a battle the Germans would be helpless against the Russians,

Because before this... the German army always wins more with less and beats the opponent to pieces.

"Maybe..." After hesitating for a while, the adjutant said, "Maybe it's because of the 'breakout hero', General!"

"Fuck 'breakout hero'!" Paulus replied without thinking: "Even if he is a hero, he is just a man, a captain, a low-ranking officer, and such a man can fight in such a battle." What role does it play?"

You must know that thousands of people die every day on this battlefield, so the role that a hero or a low-level officer can play is indeed very limited.

"But..." the adjutant knew that Paulus didn't like to listen to this kind of words to boost others' morale, but he still summoned up his courage and said, "We know from the captives that this 'breakout hero' has given many useful suggestions, including using the sewers to attack, In addition, the defensive tactics of Mamayev Gang are all his masterpieces!"

Paulus kept silent, because he knew that these two items did cause great trouble to the German army.

"I recently heard that he is transforming the 'punishment camp'!" The adjutant continued, "Many of our soldiers and officers are afraid of him..."

"Afraid of him? Why are you afraid of him?" Paulus asked angrily.

"Because wherever he appears, we usually can't win!" The adjutant replied: "Moscow, the Crimean Peninsula, and Odessa before..."

"Shut up, Gotze!" Paulus interrupted the adjutant: "This is where his myth ends, and we will defeat them!"

"Yes, General!" replied the adjutant, who of course dared not deny it.

Then Paulus understood that this "breakout hero" even affected the confidence of the German army in victory.

After staring at the map for a while, Paulus said: "If it is difficult for us to deal with these rats in the city, we should completely deprive them of food!"

"Supply lines?"

"Yes, the supply line!" Paulus nodded.

"But the general..." said the adjutant. "Our air force has done their best. They bombed the Volga river day and night, but it still can't cut off their transport. You know, they can always transport something from the river. come over!"

"So, we can't rely entirely on the Air Force!"

"You can't rely on the Air Force...what else can we rely on?"

"Artillery, Gotze!" Paulus said, pointing to the map. "Under the cover of the air force, our artillery has completely suppressed the enemy's artillery. So, why don't we move the artillery to the front and then use the artillery in coordination with the air force?" Block the Volga with artillery fire!"

"This is too dangerous, General!" The adjutant's eyes widened: "We have not seized control of the front!"

In fact, the German army has been trying to do this, and the attack on Mamayev Gang is also for this reason.

But Mamayev Gang was not completely under the control of the German army, so moving the artillery to the front line could become the enemy's target.

"Position for the artillery!" Paulus ordered. "We can use the buildings and place the artillery behind them. As far as I know the Russians do the same. If they can, so can we! Besides, the prime minister will Give us a bunch of planes... I'm sure with just one more push we'll be able to strangle the Russians and keep them suffocated!"

Paulus's approach is indeed somewhat risky.

Deploying artillery forward to blockade the Volga puts one's own artillery within the enemy's line of sight and even mortar fire.

What's more, the Soviet army retreated during the day and counterattacked at night, so whenever the Soviet army counterattacked at night, the German artillery might be captured or destroyed by the Soviet army.

For the German army, artillery fire is also a precious war resource that cannot be ruined wantonly.

The problem is that if the risky deployment of artillery on the front can control the supply line of Stalingrad, it may cause the Russian army in Stalingrad to have no shells and ammunition to counterattack, and eventually collapse.

In other words, even losing some artillery may be worthwhile, and it may even be exchanged for much greater results than artillery.