Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 156

Of course, the strategic discussion value of all other countries is not as important as that of Germany.

Germany launched two world wars in just over twenty years, stirring up global turmoil, but both ended in failure.

Putting aside political, economic, cultural and other factors, looking at combat strategy alone, where did Germany fail?

The German army's combat strategy in World War I was the "Schlieffen Plan" and in the Second World War it was the "Manstein Plan."

The "Manstein Plan" and the "Schlieffen Plan" are almost identical. It can be said that the "Schlieffen Plan" drew Germany's operational blueprint for the two world wars.

These two combat plans are like the German character, rigorous and serious, like fine engineering drawings, but the ideals are full and the reality is very skinny.

Strategic mistakes in both wars caused Germany to fall into the quagmire of a two-front war and eventually lead to its demise.

Count Alfred von Schlieffen entered the Prussian army when he was 20 years old. After the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, Schlieffen participated in the decisive battle of Sadowa as a staff member of the cavalry regiment. Under the outstanding command of General Staff Chief Moltke, the strength of the troops was at a high level. The inferior Prussian army fought quickly and unexpectedly won the war.

In the subsequent Franco-Prussian War, he was awarded an Iron Cross First Class for his meritorious service. He admired Moltke's strategic thinking of using superior forces to make quick decisions, and he would take this strategic thinking to its peak in the future. .

After the victory in the Franco-Prussian War, Kaiser Wilhelm I announced the establishment of the German Empire at the Palace of Mirrors in Versailles.

After reunification, Germany rapidly developed into the first industrial country in Europe and the second largest industrial power in the world after Germany within a generation.

Developing industry requires more markets, raw materials and labor, but at that time the world market had been divided up by the various powers.

If it wants to seek greater space for development, there is only one way in front of Germany - war.

In 1891, Schlieffen became Chief of the General Staff of the German Empire.

It was also in this year that France and Russia, the eastern and western neighbors who felt threatened by Germany's rise, began to seek alliances and join forces to boycott Germany.

On August 1892, 8, a Franco-Russian military agreement was signed.

This means that in the future, Germany will be trapped in a situation considered a nightmare by military strategists - fighting on two fronts.

Schlieffen began developing a strategic plan to break the situation.

In Schlieffen's view, Germany's way to reverse the situation is to concentrate superior forces to defeat one side first and temporarily take a defensive position against the other side.

After defeating one side, move troops inside to defeat the other side.

At that time, Germany had the highest railway density in Europe. Its developed railway network and strong industrial strength provided a solid guarantee for this strategic plan.

In essence, "Schlieffen Plan" can be understood as three words - time difference.

After the war started, Germany could complete military mobilization within 24 hours using its developed railway system, while its opponent France needed a week, and the bloated Woolly Bear took a month.

Although Mao Xiong is weak, its territory is vast, which means that it cannot win the war against Russia quickly.

Schlieffen then set the target of the first war to be France, the neighboring country on the left - "the key to this war lies in France."

Schlieffen planned to form the right wing of the Western Front with 70 of the most elite divisions, and attack France quickly through Belgium. He was deeply influenced by Clausewitz's teaching that "the heart of the French dynasty is between Paris and Brussels" .

Eight divisions formed the left wing of the western front. After the war began, they guarded the Franco-German border. At the same time, nine divisions monitored the unresponsive Mao Xiong on the eastern front.

At that time, the right wing composed of 70 elite divisions will sweep across the coastal areas of France and penetrate into the hinterland of France. The main force of the French army will be compressed between the hammer-right wing and the anvil-left wing to encircle and annihilate them in 4-6 weeks. Defeated France.

The German army will then move from the Western Front to the Eastern Front via the railway and attack Mao Xiong with all its strength.

In January 1913, Schlieffen died of a serious illness.

Before he died, he held on to his sick body and told his left and right: "When there must be a war, do not weaken my right wing."

Unexpectedly, the words became a prophecy.

Just over a year after his death, the gunfire in Sarajevo opened the curtain on World War I, and on August 1914, 8, Germany declared its entry into the war.

After the war began, the German army began to operate in an orderly manner according to the plan, but this plan was a "shrunk version of the Schlieffen Plan."

At this time, the German Chief of General Staff, Xiao Maoqi, was far less ambitious and talented than his uncle, Lao Maoqi, who was talented and courageous.

In his opinion, it would be too risky to use only 9 divisions to protect East Prussia, the "Longxing Land" of the royal Hohenzollern family and the hometown of the Juncker landowners, so he increased the strength of the Eastern Front to 13 A teacher.

He was also worried that the weak left wing on the Western Front would be unable to protect the two provinces of Alsace and Lorraine gained through the Franco-Prussian War, so he transferred troops from the right wing on the Western Front to strengthen the left wing.

经过这样一番缩水变动，西线右翼与左翼的兵力比例已从计划中的1:7降至1:3，右翼中只剩下52个步兵师和7个骑兵师。

The military strength has been weakened, but the planned objectives remain completely unchanged.

Kaiser Wilhelm II, intoxicated with his quick victory, boasted to his soldiers: "You will be back home before the leaves fall!"

On August 1914, 8, the German army, which had been guarding the border for many years, launched an attack.

In the early stages of the war, the German offensive went smoothly, capturing the Liege Fortress twelve days later and Brussels twenty days later.

The German army's furious attack caused the French army to retreat one after another, all the way to the banks of the Marne River, and its front was pointed directly at Paris.

Paris, 15 kilometers away, became in danger. Within eight days, more than half a million citizens fled Paris, and even the French government moved to Bordeaux.

But this is also the moment when the German army is closest to Paris. The weakened right wing has no remaining power to form a follow-up offensive. What is even more fatal is that the planned Hammer is actually a weak force in reality. At this time, the German military strength Already less than the rival British and French forces.

Under such circumstances, from September 9th to 5th, the French and German armies fought in the Marne River Basin.

On the 200-kilometer-long front, both sides invested more than 150 million troops. The French suffered 14 casualties and the Germans suffered 20 casualties.

In the end, the German army, which was at a disadvantage in terms of strength, was defeated. This is the so-called "Miracle on the Marne."

From then on, the German army was unable to attack again, and the battlefield on the Western Front fell into brutal trench warfare.

To make matters worse, the fighting on the Eastern Front began, which plunged Germany into the quagmire of a two-front war.

Germany lost the war under the condition that all resources were far inferior to those of the Allied Powers.

Time passed to November 1923, when Uncle Hee launched the "Beer Hall Riot" to seize German power in Munich. Less than twenty years later, on September 11, 1939, Germany attacked Poland, starting the Second World War. curtain.

At this time, Britain and France were still engaged in the "Silent War" on the Western Front, but the French army was already well prepared.

The unexpected strategic actions of the German army during World War I still leave the generals of the French Officer Corps with lingering fears. They speculate that the German army will definitely follow the routine of the last war to conduct a Western Front offensive.

As a result, the Maginot Line, which stretched for hundreds of kilometers, was raised to block the attack from the German left wing on the western front. The main force of the French army moved to the coastal areas of northern France, as if willing to take the bait.

If the German army still follows the same tactics as the "Schlieffen Plan", it will definitely repeat the mistakes of World War I.

Facts have proved that German officers did indeed do this. The "Yellow Plan" and the "Schlieffen Plan" formulated by German Army Commander-in-Chief Brauchitsch and Chief of Staff General Harder to attack France were almost identical.

A powerful Army Group B was formed on the right wing of the Western Front to attack the hinterland of France from Belgium, while a weaker Army Group A was formed on the left wing to cover the southern flank of Army Group B.

But the success of the "Fuhrer" always comes from the unexpected. This corporal in World War I rejected the "Yellow Plan" and adopted the "Manstein Plan."

With the advancement of military theory and technical equipment, armored weapons began to be equipped with armies on a large scale, which made it possible for heavy equipment to traverse complex landscapes.

After consulting General Guderian, the "Father of Armored Forces", General Manstein proposed to transfer the main attack direction from Army Group B to Army Group A. However, this meant that the German army needed to pass through the densely forested Ardennes. At the time, no military had attempted this.

At the same time, the southern flank of the main German army will be completely exposed, which is nothing more than a huge gamble.

Practice has proved that Uncle Xi won the bet.

The British and French forces did not expect that the main force of the German army would cross the rugged Ardennes and attack the heart of France.

On May 1940, 5, the German army launched an offensive from the Ardennes. Just 10 days later, France surrendered.

At the second stop, Germany completed the strategic goals on the Western Front set during World War I. Uncle Xi soon turned his attention to the "easy-to-reach" Eastern Front.

On June 1941, 6, the German army launched an offensive against the Soviet Union in accordance with the "Barbarossa Plan".

Mr. Xi falsely claimed: "You only need to kick the door and the whole corrupt building will collapse."

Of course, facts have proven that the Red Soviet was not a corrupt building, but a newly completed reinforced concrete building. Uncle Xi underestimated the furry bear, and the whole world underestimated the furry bear. The arduous Patriotic War dragged the main force of the German army to the Eastern Front and could not move.

After the Allied forces landed in Normandy, encircled by the Allied forces on the east and west fronts, the Third Reich came to an end on May 1945, 5.

Analyzing it in detail, Uncle Xi took action before the entire German army, especially the navy, was ready.

Reason: He has no money!

How did Mr. Xi’s so-called economic miracle come about? It didn’t just fall from the sky, it was created through massive domestic and foreign borrowing.

We owe a lot of loan sharks to Wall Street and even London;

Internally, it owes a lot of debt to Germany's big capital and the Juncker aristocracy, and it is running a deficit budget.

It seems that the interest will not be repaid and the state institutions cannot be maintained, so they must go out and rob.

Otherwise, whether it is the armed debt collection army on Wall Street or the Junckers at home, they can finish Mr. Xi in minutes.

Also, during Dunkirk, the German army had been fighting for many days and was extremely exhausted. The equipment losses were also serious, and the three armored divisions had left the infantry far behind.

Dunkirk is on the seaside, within the range of British battleships. The infantry did not come up, so the armored troops rushed up. Are you afraid that the 15-inch naval guns will scorch people?

In addition, he went to hunt woolly bears without solving the problem of Britain. This problem is more complicated.

First of all, is it possible for Uncle Xi to solve Britain militarily? The answer is absolutely impossible!

Most of the British coastline near France is covered with cliffs, and the terrain conditions are very unfavorable for landing operations.

Considering the manpower and material resources later invested by the Allies in landing on the French coast where the terrain was much more favorable, this was by no means what Germany in 1941 could have achieved.

Compared with the German Navy, the British Navy is not inferior in strength. If the weaker side conducts cross-sea landing operations, it is seeking death.

In addition, the German Air Force did not have decent anti-ship capabilities in 41, let alone night anti-ship capabilities.

As for the Battle of Britain mentioned earlier, even if we assume it ten thousand times, it will be difficult for the Germans to win.

First, the Luftwaffe's bombers were too small and too few.

On the voyage to bomb Britain, the average bomb load was less than a ton.

The quantity is only over a thousand, how big is it? Explode industry? In 44, the U.K.'s attack was as violent as the U.K.'s. As a result, Germany's output declined. Although the U.K.'s industrial scale was not as large as Germany's, it relied on more than a thousand bombs and less than one ton of cargo. It would be a joke to blow up the industry.

Bomb the airport? The British have radar and a complete early warning system. They can't blow up planes when they blow up the airport. Repairs to the airport at the second stop were completed in minutes.

In addition, Scotland's airports are not within striking distance.

In fact, even during the so-called most critical period, the Royal Air Force maintained a reserve of 12 squadrons in Scotland, including hundreds of watering cans.

Even if the Royal Navy is on holiday and the Royal Air Force is sleeping, the 16-inch cannons of the coastal defense fortresses alone are enough to destroy the entire German Navy surface fleet.

In the hands of the German army, except for the Dora cannon, there is no weapon that can penetrate the concrete roofs of these fortress guns (including the largest bombs that the three German air forces can carry). With the strait in between, Dora's range, especially The range of armor-piercing projectiles (concrete destroying projectiles) is out of reach.

Not to mention Zheng Zhishang.

The so-called Zheng Zhizhi solution is nothing more than making peace.

But this is also impossible, because making peace will only benefit Germany and not Britain.

As an island country, one of the most basic principles of Britain's strategy is that any force that may unify Europe is Britain's enemy.

Because once Europe is unified under one power, as time goes by, this power will inevitably overwhelm Britain in all aspects (including naval and air power).

By that time, Britain would be in danger of national collapse.

On the contrary, continue to fight Germany and try to bring the Ugly country in. Although the result will inevitably be that the Ugly country replaces the UK and becomes the world leader, considering the distance between the Ugly country and the UK, the UK is not in danger of subjugation.

Isn’t it obvious which choice to make? By the same token, it is impossible for Germany to win over the ugly country, because the unification of Europe is also inherently detrimental to the ugly country.

So, can we stop hunting bears and focus on farming?

The answer is still no! First of all, the debt must be repaid, the debt must be repaid, the debt must be repaid!

This debt is owed to the Junkers and cannot be relinquished.

If you dare to default on your debt, Mr. Xi can't even defend his homeland. Even if he swallows Europe and grabs a lot of money, military expenditures and stability maintenance costs have soared. Coupled with the pressure of repaying debts, Germany is still desperately short of money.

The situation of the Mao Xiong was completely different. At that time, the economy of the Mao Xiong was the best period since the Mao Xiong and even since humans.

Compared with farming, Germany may not necessarily be able to compare.

In addition, Mao Xiong was already internally stable at that time, but he could continue to penetrate into Europe and instigate Europe to resist oppression and plunder (this is not a slander, it is not for oppression and plunder. Why did the Germans launch the war?). If the war does not continue, Europe will Including Germany, even if revolutions are everywhere, Germany will also devote a lot of energy to maintaining stability.

Then wait until Mao Xiong completes one or two five-year plans, haha... Therefore, it is necessary for Germany to fight Mao Xiong, and the later it is done, the worse it will be.

Can we not attack Kiev but attack Moscow first?

Leave behind a large, well-organized enemy group with considerable maneuverability and desire to fight, and then attack the fortified city.

Even if you want to die, you can't do this. Once the attack is thwarted, the troops are under the fortified city, and then the rear supply and other supplies are attacked by the Kiev Soviet army, the largest encirclement and annihilation battle in history will have to be replaced.

Instead of fighting Stalingrad, fight Moscow first?

Moscow began to build massive fortifications in 41. I don’t know how strong the fortifications were in 42. If you want to hit them against a copper wall or an iron wall, is this asking for death?

Moreover, Mao Xiong's power in Moscow is far stronger than in 41. Don't talk about moving troops from the south. If you can do it, Mao Zi can too.

Suppose Neon is attacked by a pincer attack, Suppose Neon is so awesome, one million people in Maozi Far East can't stand it anymore.

Then what? Will Mao Zi mobilize troops from Europe to the Far East? Do you really think Maozi is a fool?

Maozi simply dragged those one million people back, blew up the railways, and left tens of thousands of people in Siberia, so that he could defend himself against any possible attack from the east.

The thousands of kilometers of uninhabited land in Siberia are much more powerful than the tropical rainforest in Imphal.

Then, one million troops can be deployed on the European battlefield.

Why not capture Leningrad, which is a huge industrial base.

The terrain near Leningrad is a large forest swamp, making it difficult for large units, especially armored units, to deploy.

The limited number of locations that are convenient for launching an offensive are all close to the sea, and they are all within the range of coastal defense forts and fleet cannons.

From where will the armored troops move up? Are they afraid of the naval guns scorching people?

As for using infantry, haha, Leningrad is the home base of the Baltic Fleet, and the Red Navy is ashore. The combat effectiveness is impressive.

Others have put forward the hypothesis that if the Sea Lion plan is implemented regardless of losses, whether it can defeat the United Kingdom. The result is obvious, and it cannot defeat the United Kingdom.

The key to landing in England is not sea control but air control. Whoever can gain air control over the English Channel will have sea control over the English Channel. It is a pity that the British Air War Chiefs used more than 1 aircraft and air crews to prove that with the technology and industrial production capabilities of 1940, a powerful country could not completely defeat the air force of another powerful country.

What's more, Germany also used its already insufficient bomber force to attack the city.

This is determined by technology and industrial capabilities, not by hard work. The Germans have worked very hard. During the Sea Lion Project, the aircraft production capacity was fully activated, which has affected the tank production capacity, but they still cannot obtain air superiority.

Unless Germany could perfect jet technology in 1940 and gain a generational advantage, the Sea Lion Project in 1940 would not have been successful.

Although it was unable to land in England, it did not mean that Germany should be idle in the second half of 1940. It should actively intervene in the war in North Africa. First, it would use paratroopers to capture the Malta fortress and control the sea in the middle of the Mediterranean. Then it would enter Egypt, seize the Suez Canal, and cut off the India-Mediterranean Sea. -British Route.

After that, they continued to attack and capture Syria and Iraq to ensure Iran's independence. During World War II, Iran was pro-German, armed Iran, and threatened Asan.

In this way, the oil resources in the Middle East were obtained, and at the same time, the embarrassment of needing to divide troops into North Africa during the most intense stage of the Soviet-German war was avoided.

At the same time, India's Mediterranean route was cut off, and British transport ships had to detour to South Africa, affecting shipping capacity.

At the same time, it threatened Asan and reduced the pressure on Germany's domestic air defense.

So how can Germany conquer Britain?

If you carefully study the history of World War II, especially the Soviet-German War, it is impossible for Germany to invade Moscow in 1941 or completely defeat the Mao Xiong.

It won't work one month early, let alone three months early.

Due to the mud caused by the rainy days in the spring of Mao Xiong, spring is not suitable for offensive. If Germany starts to invade Mao Xiong in April and May, it will get stuck in the mud, and Mao Xiong can calmly retreat to organize the defense line.

The earliest invasion time can only be mid-to-late May.

Even if the invasion started on May 5, a month earlier than June 22, the German troops would not be able to break into Moscow, let alone collapse the Mao Xiong.

Operation Typhoon began with operations on September 9 and ended with the encirclement of Vyazibyansk on October 30.

At the same time, autumn rains that lasted for two weeks began, and the German troops were forced to crawl in the mud.

On November 11, the ground finally froze and hardened, solving the muddy problem. The armored advance troops of the Wehrmacht were first released, and the German Tank Army began to attack Kling.

First of all, the cold weather caused the same troubles to both the Soviet Union and Germany. According to Mao Xiong’s declassified documents, Mao Xiong’s non-combat attrition due to the severe cold in the Moscow battle was greater than that of the German army.

Secondly, the severe cold not only brought trouble, but also brought help, freezing the road surface and solving the problem of armored unit mobility.

The German army only captured Moscow's outer stronghold of Klin, and the attempt to seize the southern gateway Tula failed, while the three lines of defense outside Moscow were not touched.

The German army's inability to capture Moscow was a matter of strength, not weather.

Even if we start the typhoon battle on August 8, one month in advance.

By the time the encirclement of Vyazmabryansk was completed, the Russian rainy season had also arrived, and the muddy roads would give the Soviet army more time to prepare.

The attack on the periphery of Moscow can only start when the ground freezes and hardens on November 11th. Compared with the historical plane, Mao Xiong has one month more time to build fortifications, gather troops and deploy counterattacks.

Germany's only chance to win World War II came in the spring and summer of 1942.

In early 1942, Mao Xiong's army reached 550 million people. At the same time, the US and British strategic supplies and weapons and equipment under the Lend-Lease Act began to play a role in Mao Xiong's army.

Although the Soviet army lost 100 million people during the counterattack stage of the Moscow Battle, the German army also lost 50 people due to the cold weather. The Mao Xiong High Command was optimistic that the German army would completely collapse in the face of the vast Russian ice and snow like Napoleon's army, so it released In response to the supreme instructions of the generals who should remain brave to pursue the poor bandits, the Soviet army began a full-scale counterattack.

The Soviet Union's overly optimistic assessment of the situation led to the biggest crisis in the Soviet-German war. If Germany seized this opportunity, the Mao Xiong would be doomed.

From the beginning of 1942 to the summer of 1942, the Soviet army launched a comprehensive counterattack against the German army from south to north, launching the Battle of Kerch Peninsula, the Second Battle of Kharkov, the Battle of Rzhev-Vyazma, and the Battle of Rzhev -Sychevka offensive battle, Lyuban battle, and all failed.

刻赤半岛战役，苏军损失了3个集团军（第44、第47及第51集团军）21个师，共有超过16万人阵亡或被俘。

After Manstein eliminated the Soviet troops that broke into the Kerch Peninsula, he captured the fortress city of Stopol outside Seiye. The Soviet troops suffered 20 casualties and 9 prisoners.

In the Battle of Kharkov, commanded by Timoshenko, an expert in killing people, the Soviet army suffered a total of about 20 casualties. The German army only paid a small casualty price. About 2 German soldiers were killed, injured and missing.

In the Battle of Rzhev-Vyazma, Mao Xiong invested 100 million men in the attack, killing 27 people and injuring 50 people.

In the Rzhev-Sychevka offensive battle, Mao Xiong invested 34.5 troops in the attack, resulting in 5.1 killed and 14.2 injured.

In the Battle of Liuban, Mao Xiong was defeated miserably, with 6000 killed, 8000 missing, and 3.2 captured.

The entire 1942 offensive cost the Soviet army more than 150 million men, but did not cause many casualties to the German army. What was even more serious was that the fall of Sevastopol freed the 11th Army in Crimea. Transferred to other places, the failure of the Kharkov Battle put the Soviet Southwestern Front Army and the Southern Front Army in a state of collapse. Once they are bitten by the German pursuing troops, the entire army will inevitably be destroyed.

At this time, the crisis in Mao Xiong was much more serious than during the typhoon battle in 1941.

As the German army achieved great results, Uncle Xi made the same mistake as his loving father.

Overly optimistic about the situation, Mr. Xi ignored the opposition and attempted to seize the three important goals of the Caucasus, Stalingrad and Leningrad at the same time.

In order to fulfill Uncle Xi's unrealistic greed, Army Group South was split into three parts.

Army Group A, responsible for capturing the Caucasus, commanded by Marshal List.

Under the jurisdiction of Kleist's 1st Armored Army and Kruger's 17th Army.

Since the troops of Army Group A were constantly being transferred to the direction of Leningrad, the offensive was blocked in the Chechnya region due to insufficient troops.

Army Group B, which is responsible for covering the flanks of Army Group A and capturing Stalingrad, is commanded by Marshal Weickers.

Under the jurisdiction of Hoth's 4th Armored Army, Zalmut's 2nd Army, and Paulus' 6th Army.

In addition, there is a Hungarian Army Group, an Italian Army Group and two Romanian Army Groups.

The German 6th Army was sent to capture Stalingrad and was responsible for the surrounding 800 kilometers of fronts.

Weeks once warned his superiors that the battle line was stretched too long, resulting in insufficient troops in various places. However, his repeated requests for troops and supplies were not taken seriously by the high command.

Responsible for capturing Leningrad was the 11th Army led by Marshal Manstein, an expert in fortress and terminator of the fortress city of Sevastopol.

When Marshal Manstein was preparing to cross the strait and join the attack on the Caucasus Mountains, Uncle Xi ordered the 11th Army to advance north to Leningrad and capture the city.

Manstein was very opposed to this. He believed that even if the 11th Army was used as the general reserve of the group army, it would be wiser than wasting it on a secondary battlefield and allowing it to be consumed.

However, the decision of the Supreme Command could not be changed, so the 11th Army went north to prepare to take Leningrad.

The 11th Group Army, which has strong combat power and high morale, was put into secondary battlefields and allowed to be consumed.

Army Group South's lack of total reserves to deal with possible crises was an important reason for the failure of the German offensive in 1942.

An army without a reserve force is like a company without a reserve fund. When everything goes well, no one thinks there is a problem. If there is an operational problem and there is not enough reserve fund, the capital chain will immediately break and a comprehensive collapse will occur.

The great man said that whoever exhausts the reserve team first will fail. From this point of view, there is still a big gap between the head of state and the chairman.

If the 11th Army crossed the Strait and participated in the Caucasus offensive, then with the cooperation of the Chechen independence movement, the German army could take the Caucasus before the end of the autumn of 1942.

Or as the general reserve of Army Group South, it can be deployed at the junction of Army Groups A and B. Then the 6th Army can calmly rescue the 11th Army from the encirclement before the Soviet army completes the encirclement of the 6th Army.

The fundamental reason for the failure of the German Army's Operation Blue in 1942 was that the Supreme Command headed by Mr. Xi overestimated the situation.

Distributing the forces of Army Group South to three directions resulted in the German army on the southern front being unable to complete the planned campaign objectives with insufficient forces. Moreover, the German army on the southern front was unable to deploy reserve forces behind the more than 1000-kilometer-long front and was unable to cope with sudden crises. The collapse of the entire southern front.

From a strategic point of view, if Mr. Xi could listen to the opinions of the group army generals, the German army would not have suffered such a serious defeat in 1942, and would have lost the victory in vain.

The situation at that time was that the German army occupied the Donbass and other Soviet coal-producing areas. The Soviet army was short of coal and needed to replace coal by burning oil. Germany lacked oil but had enough coal to extract kerosene from coal to replace oil.

Then it becomes very important to seize the Caucasus oil. The German army can obtain the urgently needed oil resources and cut off the oil supply of Mao Xiong, so that Mao Xiong cannot start the machine when he is short of oil and coal.

Since Mao Xiong's coal-producing land was seized by Germany, Mao Xiong was forced to use oil to generate electricity. On the other hand, Germany was forced to use coal to extract kerosene due to lack of oil).

It is sad that Germany was so close to the goddess of victory but ultimately failed miserably.

There have been countless assumptions for later generations about what conditions would have been necessary for Germany to win.

First, there are two options that are not discussed, namely:

1) Stopping after occupying the Czech Republic, and the second station is gone. This approach is not in line with Uncle Xi’s psychology.

2) Cross the Atlantic and completely defeat the ugly country. It is impossible for Germany to do this with its strength. Of course, Uncle Xi did not expect it (just say Lele in terms of conquering the world).

Then, the victory goal that was in line with Germany’s strength at the time and could maximize Germany’s interests was:

1) Defeat Poland, France, and Eastern Europe (eliminate the British and Mao Xiong forces), defeat Mao Xiong and expel their forces from Europe.

2) End the major operations on the European continent before the country's strength grows enough to cross the sea and invade Europe.

3) Integrate European resources to establish an alliance system centered on Germany to confront Britain and the United States and force them to give up the idea of ​​invading Europe.

4) As for the United Kingdom, we still need to see how the subsequent development of Germany (Europe) power compares with that of Britain and the United States, but retaining the European continent is not a big problem.

How did Germany win?

Disregarding unreliable things such as Dunkirk letting the coalition forces go and the attack on the Bear being delayed, etc.

First, consider the overall process of the war.

1) Battle of Attack on Poland: Germany fought very well, it was okay.

2) Western European Campaign: A classic, that’s it.

3) Battle of Britain: Although the battle was not successful, rational analysis afterwards showed that Germany at that time did not have the strength to defeat the British Air Force.

The German army did not have an absolute advantage in strength, and at this time, Britain's aircraft production speed was no different from Germany's. Germany, as the attacker, could not completely defeat the opponent.

Then launch a sea-crossing campaign (the German navy's naval strength is even more disadvantaged)

4) Battle of Barbarossa: Although there were some mistakes, it was already very good compared to the Mao Xiong.

However, the Mao Xiong was not defeated after all. With the defeat of Moscow, the war against the Soviet Union became increasingly difficult until the disastrous defeat of Stalingrad.

By 1943, Germany no longer had a clear advantage. The Battle of Italy in July ended Germany's two-year period of single-line operations.

5) Fighting against the Allies: Although Britain was not defeated, its army strength was negligible before 1943 (not to mention North Africa, that is what Yingbuki and Takubuki like to play);

Before 1943, the Ugly Kingdom's wars were mainly small-scale and focused on accumulating experience, and it was not yet able to launch large-scale cross-sea expeditions (after all, it required the training of millions of soldiers, the mass production of land, sea and air force weapons, and large-scale amphibious operations). After groping, it will take two years to become as powerful as an ugly country).

With the arrival of 1944, the Allied forces completed a large-scale cross-sea expedition. The manpower and material advantages of the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom completely overwhelmed Germany, and failure was inevitable.

Based on the above analysis, Germany's only chance of victory is to defeat the Mao Xiong in two years from the summer of 1941 to the summer of 1943, and transfer most of the army to the Western Front before the spring of 1944 to defend against the British and American invasion (at this time, Although Britain and the United States still have an advantage, it is no longer an overwhelming advantage. In this case, it is basically impossible to project superior forces across the sea to Europe).

As for the future, it depends on the long-term development of Germany (Europe), Britain and the United States.

The following focuses on analyzing how Germany completely defeated the Mao Xiong in the summer of 1943 and expelled its power from Europe.

Analyze from the following three aspects:

Why could Germany’s Barbarossa plan fail to defeat the furry bears?

The concept of Germany's Barbarossa Plan was based on the experience of the Polish Campaign and the Western European Campaign, with the intention of defeating the Bear with a quick lightning assault and ending the war.

Due to the smoothness of the campaigns in Poland and Western Europe, the top German military leaders were overly optimistic about the Soviet campaign, and did not pay attention to the huge depth and strong mobilization capabilities of the Mao Xiong, so that the blitzkrieg eventually developed into a general war of attrition.

Once it entered a general war and a war of attrition, the top German military leaders basically ignored it, leading to subsequent failures.

First review the Polish campaign and the Western European campaign.

Battle of Poland: Poland is small in depth, and its territory is surrounded by Germany's East Prussia and the Czech Republic (already occupied by Germany).

When the war began on September 1939, 9, the German army also launched an assault in two directions from East Prussia and the Czech Republic. They used their strength, weapons, and tactical advantages to quickly surround the main force of Poland. By mid-September, the main force of the Polish army had been eliminated, and half of the country had been lost. It failed. There is no return.

Western European Campaign: France was stronger than Poland, but still had a small depth problem and was unable to recover after suffering heavy losses in the early stages.

The battle began on May 1940, 5, with a three-pronged assault by the German army.

The northern route attacked the Netherlands, and the British and French forces went north to meet the attack; the middle route broke through the Ardennes Forest and went straight into the English Channel; the southern route pretended to attack the Maginot Line.

Due to the misjudgment of the coalition forces, the assault of the Central Lutheran Army made rapid progress. After breaking through Sedan, the coalition forces in the north were about to be surrounded and had to retreat. This was the famous Dunkirk retreat that made countless fans of the Führer lament. In fact, the German army at that time There are also various considerations, and the impact of these 300,000 coalition troops on the overall process of the war is not that big.

Note: This is only the first stage of the battle. The German army did not attack Dunkirk to preserve its armor strength for the next stage.

The French government conducted a nationwide mobilization and recruited 500 million troops. The British follow-up expeditionary force was also preparing, but but but, the problem of small depth came up.

The German army is approaching Paris, and large industrial areas are about to fall and will take time to relocate;

It takes time for newly recruited soldiers to form combat effectiveness; it takes time for new lines of defense to be consolidated;

However, there is no space to exchange for time;

Therefore, the second phase of the battle was one-sided and soon ended with the surrender of France.

Here is a brief mention of the Battle of Britain: After the surrender of France, Britain was in the most dangerous moment in history. The ratio of the army to the German army was almost negligible. However, it was the English Channel that was insurmountable in a short period of time. The British were able to mobilize their general mobilization and air force. , strengthen the defense of the strait, the German army can only look back and sigh;

If Germany wants to conquer Britain in the future, it can only compete with Britain's navy and air force in a total war. Although Germany's overall strength is stronger than Britain's, there is a huge threat from the Soviet Union, and Germany cannot devote all its efforts to the development of its navy and air force;

So for Germany, a better way is to take advantage of the weakness of the British army and its inability to penetrate the European continent, use the advantage of the army to defeat the bear, and then compete with the British navy and air force.

From the above analysis, it is not difficult to find that the essence of blitzkrieg is to use the advantages of troops, weapons, mobility, etc. to launch a rapid assault to eliminate the opponent's effective forces and destroy its war potential in a short period of time;

Once the enemy uses the advantageous space of depth to trade time and continuously invests new forces, then the war will evolve into a total war;

When it comes to total war, the main focus is population resources, mobilization capabilities, industrial production efficiency, etc., and tactics take a back seat.

Barbarossa's failure was precisely because of this. Let's analyze the Barbarossa Plan in 1941 and its war process.

Barbarossa's overall goals:

Concentrate the main force of the German army and the power of the slave countries, launch lightning assaults in three directions: north, central and south, quickly eliminate the main force of the Soviet army in the north, west and southwest of Mao Xiong, occupy Leningrad, Moscow and the Caucasus and establish defense lines.

General development of Barbarossa:

The initial development of Plan Barbarossa was in line with the expectations of the German army. The German army surrounded and eliminated a large number of Soviet troops in the shortest possible time.

Nearly a week after the war started, a large-scale encirclement of the main force of the Soviet Western Front was reached in Minsk, so much so that the top German army officials estimated that the war would end within 6 weeks.

However, although the German army achieved major encirclements and victories again and again, the Soviet Union quickly entered general mobilization and could invest in the next battle no matter how much it lost;

On the other hand, the German army was still blindly optimistic and did not engage in a total war. The losses in troops and weapons could not be replaced. Coupled with the long supply line, by the time of the Moscow Battle, the German army was finally exhausted and lost.

Battle of Minsk

Early September

32 Soviet troops captured

Battle of Smolensk

Early September

45 Soviet troops captured

Siege of Kiev

End of march

60 Soviet troops captured

Bryansk-Vyazma

End of march

60 Soviet troops captured

The above four were only prisoners of the main battle of the strongest Army Group Center. Coupled with the results of the two army groups in the north and south, Mao Xiong's total losses had reached more than 400 million.

The losses of the German army were relatively low, but by no means minor. The number of casualties exceeded 60 (about 10 were killed in battle, but it took time for the seriously injured to return to the battlefield), but the number of replacement troops was less than half. Especially the loss ratio of the front-line armored units was higher. The most important thing is that the losses of technical weapons such as tanks are extremely serious. The loss of tanks of some units has reached 80%, which has seriously affected the offensive capabilities of the German army.

(End of this chapter)