Rise of Australia

Chapter 953 Turning to the Southeast
The German army was defeated, and the extent of the defeat was quite exaggerated.

This was something no one had expected since the war began. Even the Russians, who caused all this, did not expect that the Germans would experience such a large-scale defeat in Moscow.

In this battle, Germany and Russia deployed a total of more than 500 million troops, including approximately 180 million German troops and approximately 340 million Russian troops.

However, the huge difference in numbers between the two sides was not the fundamental reason for Germany's defeat in this battle. In the final analysis, it was the weather and logistics that defeated Germany.

This can be seen from the casualties on both sides. The German army suffered about 60 casualties, of which less than 22 soldiers died. Although the remaining soldiers had varying degrees of injuries, a considerable number of them were not in danger of life.

For Germany, this was an acceptable defeat. Although it was a heavy blow to Germany's offensive in Russia, at least the German army was still able to launch an offensive again, and the hope of victory had not been shattered.

For the Russians, this was a very tragic victory, with consequences even more tragic than those of the defeated Germany.

The German casualties were only about 60, while the Russian army's casualties were as high as 150 million, nearly three times that of the German army.

What is even more exaggerated is that the death toll of the German army was only about 22, but the death toll of the Russian army was as high as 97, and more than 53 soldiers were suffering from varying degrees of injuries.

According to the current medical conditions in Russia, it is only a matter of time before the death toll exceeds one million, because Russia's medical conditions are simply unable to bear as many as 53 wounded soldiers, not to mention that a considerable number of them are seriously injured.

The casualties were nearly three times that of the Germans, which was already exaggerated enough. The Russian death toll was nearly five times that of the Germans, which is why it is said that the Russians experienced a tragic victory.

However, the good news is that after successfully defending Moscow, not only did the German offensive against Russia come to a standstill, buying Russia precious time to adjust, but it also directly shattered the German ambition to quickly destroy Russia. Germany's so-called Barbarossa Plan had actually failed, because it was simply impossible for them to launch another offensive against Moscow in a short period of time.

After all, the attack on Moscow by an army of 180 million failed. If Germany wanted to launch a new offensive and avoid repeating the same mistake, it would have to deploy more than 250 million troops.

But for the current Central Army Group, it is difficult to gather even 250 million troops, let alone 150 million troops.

What's more, for Germany's current commander, the German Chancellor, gathering more than 200 million troops to attack Moscow has become the most unprofitable plan at present.

On December 1937, 12, the day after the failure of the Battle of Moscow, the German High Command held a meeting to discuss the next plan for the war against Russia.

This meeting is very important for Germany at the moment. If the next battle plan cannot be determined, the impact of this defeat in Moscow will become greater, and the Germans' hope of winning the war will become slimmer.

During the meeting, the German Chancellor did not emphasize the performance of the Center Army Group in Moscow, but proposed a new combat plan to everyone in the High Command, which was to abandon the attack on Moscow and lead the main force south to Sudalingrad.

You know, for the German army's attack direction, Moscow and Sudalingrad are very different, one in the south and the other in the north.

Moreover, Sudalingrad is deeper into the Russian interior than Moscow. If Germany were to mobilize its main forces to attack Sudalingrad, it would mean that it would be impossible for Germany to launch a corresponding offensive against Moscow in a short period of time.

In order to ensure sufficient forces for the attack on Sudalingrad, it would be necessary to reduce part of the Central Army Group's forces.

In this case, let alone attacking Moscow, even maintaining the current front line is a huge challenge.

The German Chancellor's proposal was opposed by the German Commander-in-Chief, who believed that Moscow was a more important city than Sudalingrad.

As Russia's transportation hub in Europe, Moscow played a key role in connecting the upper and lower parts. If Germany could occupy Moscow, it could divide Russia into two, and a cut-off Russia would not be a threat.

The second reason for opposition was that Germany's attack on Sudalingrad would stretch the front too long.

Moscow was far enough away, but Sudalingrad was a city even farther away than Moscow. More importantly, Sudalingrad was located in the south of Russia, which was completely opposite to the path Germany had taken to attack Moscow.

If troops were sent to Sudalingrad, the road to Sudalingrad would be very difficult, and the railway between Germany and Russia would also need to be repaired before it could be used.

In the view of the German commander-in-chief, the attack on Sudalingrad would require an extremely long time to prepare, and even if it was successful, it would not be a fatal blow to Russia, a country with a vast territory.

Instead of wasting energy attacking Sudalingrad, it would be better to regroup troops and then counterattack Moscow.

As long as Moscow is occupied, Russia's resistance will become insignificant. This is basically in line with the Junker nobles' previous combat philosophy, which is to simply attack the enemy's capital.

This concept ran through the entire First World War and the early stages of Second World War. For most European countries, launching a decisive battle was the first choice to end the war.

But the German Chancellor clearly doesn't think so.

There is a saying that goes, if you can't solve the problem, then solve the person who raised the problem.

The German Chancellor was obviously unable to convince the Army Commander-in-Chief in the headquarters which was filled with many Junker nobles, but this did not pose a problem for the German Chancellor.

Just one day later, on December 1937, 12, a telegram from the German Imperial High Command directly changed the situation of the German military.

According to the content of this telegram, the German Chancellor dismissed the positions including the Army Commander, Chief of the General Staff, Commander-in-Chief of the Center Army Group and Commander-in-Chief of the Second Panzer Group, and appointed himself as the Commander-in-Chief of the German Imperial Army, personally taking over the command of the German Army.

Because of the defeat of Moscow, even though the Junker nobles were dissatisfied, they were unable to resist the orders from the Supreme Command.

After all, the order was nominally issued by German Emperor Wilhelm II, and it had the support of the German government. They couldn't just rebel directly, could they?
After all, to put it bluntly, the German Chancellor at this time was no longer a lone man. After the SA was reorganized from the SS, the military power held by the German Chancellor had surpassed that of the Junker aristocracy.

Coupled with his excellent speaking skills, the German Chancellor has gained a lot of support in the political arena and among the people.

With the support from the political arena and the people, the German Chancellor's ruling power has become more stable. Under such circumstances, let alone the Junker nobles who had lost a large number of generals in World War I, even the Junker noble class at its peak before World War I had to go through some trouble to regain their power.

After solving the problem, the German Chancellor finally had no worries.

As the new commander-in-chief of the German Army, he could easily issue his own orders to the Army and, to a certain extent, completely bypass the High Command. The Junker noble generals in the High Command and the General Staff were completely helpless in the face of this situation.

There is no way. The German Chancellor holds military power, political power and the support of the people. The power in his hands is indeed not something they can shake.

On December 12, after friendly consultations within the German High Command, the plan to attack Sudalingrad proposed by the German Chancellor was finally passed through a unanimous vote.

In his speech that day, the German Prime Minister passionately stated that the goal of this offensive, in addition to capturing the extremely important city of Sudalingrad, was to take the opportunity to move south to capture the entire Caucasus and occupy the oil fields and industrial bases there.

As long as the lifeline from the Caucasus to Moscow was cut off, other regions of Russia would lose a large amount of energy and material supplies, and the balance of victory would still tilt towards Germany.

The German Chancellor's statement is not made up. Based on some information previously released by Russia, it can be basically confirmed that the Caucasus is a very important resource producing area for Russia.

The Caucasus has nearly 86.5% of Russia's oil reserves (at that time, not now), 65% of its natural gas reserves and 56.5% of its manganese mines. It can be said that it is currently Russia's most important energy supplier.

If the Caucasus is lost, Russia's tanks, which came from nowhere, will completely lose their power source. Without oil, tanks are nothing more than immobile lumps of iron.

Moreover, Germany can also establish contact with the Middle East through the Caucasus. In the long run, if the attack in Sudalingrad goes smoothly, Germany will also have a certain size of army to attack the Middle East and destroy the Persian Gulf, which is a very important oil resource producing area in Britain and Australasia.

The German Prime Minister became more and more excited as he thought about it, and he could not wait to send a telegram to Guderian, who was in charge of the German armored group, asking Guderian to lead the Second Armored Group to move quickly south, and after a short rest in Kiev, join forces and move eastward to Sudalingrad.

When Guderian received this telegram, he was completely stunned. He had never expected that just a few days after the defeat of Moscow, the High Command had already made a new plan for his Second Panzer Group.

But the question is, did these guys in the High Command take into account the loss of equipment and supplies of his Second Armored Group and the fatigue of the soldiers?

Although tank soldiers do not need to walk by themselves, the problem is that sitting in a tank is not as comfortable as imagined.

Especially in December, the severe cold in Moscow is also a big challenge for these tank soldiers.

The space inside the tank is not as wide as imagined. In fact, some places are designed to be narrow, which tests the soldiers' flexibility.

This is also the reason why when recruiting tank soldiers in later generations, the height is generally required to be kept below 1.7 meters.

After all, only those soldiers who are shorter can be more flexible in such a narrow environment.

Even for the entire battlefield, the smaller the soldier, the higher the survival rate. After all, the bigger the soldier, the bigger the target the enemy can aim at, which will also increase the chance of being hit by the enemy or stray bullets.

Where is the Second Panzer Group led by Guderian now?

They are located just south of Moscow in Tula, at the junction of hills and plains.

The Second Armored Group was deployed here not only to prevent the enemy's tank units from bypassing the German main force, but also to find an opportunity to raid the rear of Moscow.

But unfortunately, throughout the Battle of Moscow, the Russians did not give the German armored group a chance to launch a blitzkrieg. The tank forces of both sides were more focused on consuming each other, and the Russian tank forces were engaged in the old six behavior.

The distance from Tula to Kiev and then to Sudalingrad is more than 2000 kilometers, which is definitely a huge challenge for the exhausted Second Armored Group.

Even if they could rest for a while in Kiev, it would not be possible to offset the fatigue and exhaustion in the hearts of the German soldiers.

More importantly, Guderian was very confused and even a little puzzled that the Battle of Sudalingrad was launched in a hurry just a few days after the failure of the Battle of Moscow.

They could have made careful preparations for more than two months, mobilized more armored and artillery units, maintained a comprehensive lead in weapons and equipment, and then considered attacking Sudalingrad.

After all, although Sudaline is not as important as Moscow, it is definitely one of the most important cities in Russia in Eastern Europe.

It can even be said that Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sudalyinrad are currently the three most important cities in Russia in Eastern Europe.

Is it true that the High Command could formulate a combat plan to hastily launch an attack on Sudalingrad?

Little did people know that it was precisely because of the importance of Sudalingrad that the German Chancellor resolutely chose to attack Sudalingrad after the failure of the Battle of Moscow.

After all, just these three words, Sudarlin, were enough to make the German Chancellor temporarily lose his mind.

In addition to Guderian's Second Panzer Group, some artillery units of the German Center Army Group, which was retreating from Moscow to the rear, also received such an order.

Like Guderian, many generals expressed their objections, but they could only carry out orders obediently.

After all, expressing dissent and directly disobeying orders are two completely different concepts. For the German army at this time, they had no idea of ​​directly disobeying military orders.

Germany was preparing for an attack on Sudalingrad, while the Allies had already begun celebrating their victory in Moscow.

Of course, the happiest people are the British.

The Russians defeated the Germans at the cost of huge casualties, and this deal was a huge profit for the shrewd British.

More importantly, this victory had a positive impact on the entire Allied Powers.

Not only did it break the German army's reputation of being powerful and invincible, it also made Germany's situation of fighting on two fronts even more difficult.

(End of this chapter)