Iron Cross

An 88mm anti-aircraft gun covered with camouflage was placed in a bush. The messy branches made it look integrated with the surroundings. The artillerymen struggled to shake the helicopters, and the experienced sergeant major lay in the snowdrift and observed the opposite side with a telescope. The approximate distance of the Russian tank. When the other party drove near a destroyed Opel truck, he suddenly ordered: "Marker 1250 meters, tungsten core armor-piercing bullet!"

The wreckage of this truck was abandoned in the distance a few days ago. The sergeant major specifically measured the relevant distance at that time as a reference for quickly calibrating the distance during the battle. Unexpectedly, it would come in handy so quickly.

With a "clang" sound, a cannonball was quickly pushed into the chamber and then fired.

The artillerymen inserted another armor-piercing round without even looking to see if it hit the target. The second order came immediately: "Left 4 meters to the left!"

With a "clang", another artillery shell was fired, "One meter to the right!" the sergeant major shouted, asking them to quickly fire the third artillery shell, because he found that the other party had noticed his presence, and the door The 85mm tank gun has rotated around, and it is possible to fire in the next second.

With a "bang", the third artillery shell accurately hit the body of the vehicle, destroying the IS-1 tank and causing a commotion among the Red Army infantry following the tank. Just as the gunners were celebrating their success, their faces changed drastically. The sergeant major suddenly shouted the "Lie down" command and was the first to lay his head on the whole snowdrift. Everyone lay down nearby, no matter whether it was a snowdrift, a mud pile or something else - even if it was a horse bath. Even the excrement needs to be laid down.

With a "boom", a grenade exploded behind them. The flying shrapnel made the 88mm anti-aircraft gun "clang", but there was no problem with the personnel. Everyone smiled gratefully at the sergeant major. But he found that he had already ducked towards another preset position more than 200 meters away - there was an 88mm anti-aircraft gun there! Everyone immediately followed.

Yesterday evening, they had a total of 2 artillery groups, each responsible for 2 anti-aircraft guns. After destroying more than 10 tanks and self-propelled artillery, there were attrition due to enemy retaliation. In the end, the two gun groups were combined into one to form a mixed artillery group, but Still responsible for the two artillery pieces. Relying on such tenacious fighting methods, they continued to guard the entrance to the forward position.

This is just a brief microcosm of the fierce fighting on the front lines of Central Asia. Starting from the beginning of December, a Red Army front army of nearly 500,000 people began to pour in in the direction of Central Asia. General Scherner built an oasis zone rooted in Central Asia based on the pre-formulated strategy. Fortress tactics.

In the cold winter of 1941, the German army that failed to attack Moscow encountered a massive Soviet counterattack during heavy snowfall. The Soviet tanks and cavalry units relied on their own mobility to rapidly advance westward and roundabout the retreating German flanks. Form a circle of encirclement. When the Soviet army built an encirclement, it had a huge appetite and often accommodated several divisions or even the main German troops at the corps level. In order to prevent a total collapse of the entire line and a repeat of Napoleon's defeat, Hitler had no choice but to order the soldiers not to take another half step back and stay on the spot. Switch to resistance and deploy troops around some strategic locations and towns to form hedgehog-like "fortresses."

The most famous successful applications of fortress tactics were the Demyansk Ba and the Holm Encirclement. The former persisted for more than four months, and the latter persisted for more than three months, until reinforcements from our side arrived to relieve the siege. Of course, there are also failed uses. Historically, the Sixth Army's 300,000 troops in the Stalingrad encirclement failed to hold on and were completely destroyed in the end. In the end, the Third Reich was also completely defeated.

Fortress tactics, like Hitler's "no step back" strategy, have been controversial in history, but in Hoffman's eyes, simply affirming or denying them would be biased. Troops executing this tactic will definitely be surrounded, and due to internal operations, they can often contain Soviet troops that are several times the size of our own. This is much better than letting the troops fall into retreat under the severe cold and superior enemy pursuit, and it can also provide cover. Our own troops who have retreated to the rear are resting and recuperating to facilitate their comeback. Hoffman believes that whether this tactic is good or bad depends on one thing-whether the encirclement can be held and how hard it can hit the Red Army.

However, this Central Asian encirclement is obviously different from the previous ones. As early as November, senior commanders including Rommel warned the troops of the risk of encountering an encirclement. The General Staff proposed several solutions - - There are many transfer plans, troop reinforcement plans, retreat plans, etc., but Hoffman finally chose the stay-in-place plan. Not only that, he also used the guise of "Seal Project" to lure Rommel and replaced the commander of the Central Asia Army with Scherner.

What made everyone even more disappointed was that, apart from replenishing some personnel for the Central Asia Group Army, the head of state did not agree to the addition of other reinforcements. He only emphasized the need to hoard supplies and build a defense line, as if he believed that the 100,000 troops of the Central Asia Group Army would be able to defeat the enemy. As if winning. Everyone was sweating over this decision, and even persuaded Scherner to find ways to get more reinforcements. An even more surprising thing happened immediately. Scherner used the returning transport plane to transport one of his divisions again. One brigade of paratroopers (unarmed) was mobilized from the encirclement and deployed on the relatively safer east coast of the Caspian Sea. After this adjustment, the total strength of the 100,000 troops in the core belt of the Central Asian Oasis dropped to just over 85,000.

Then under Hoffman's order, all transport planes were operated at full capacity to transport supplies and supplies, and enough supplies were stocked for four months according to the 100,000-person standard. Fearing that this was not enough, Sherner purchased a large amount of livestock and agricultural products from the Central Asian independence forces, and urgently recruited Central Asian people to help the troops build defense lines.

Does Scheerner really plan to stay in the Central Asian encirclement for 4 months? Everyone has put a lot of question marks on this, but now that the head of state's prestige is at its peak and the frontline commander is like this, everyone can only hope that this strategy will be effective. Desperate, Zeitzler went to communicate with the Eastern Front commander Manstein, hoping that the latter could persuade the head of state to change this risky strategy, but the other party actually suggested: "I don't think it is necessary for the time being. I would rather mobilize on the west coast of the Caspian Sea." 2 armored divisions, 1 panzergrenadier division and enough ships..."

"Do you plan to have them form an emergency battle group for reinforcements at a critical moment?"

"No, I hope these troops can act as a deterrent. I think the Russians are targeting more than just the 80,000 or 90,000 people in the encirclement."

"Well, I hope you're right."

Of course, Hoffman was not acting arbitrarily. Not only had he conducted in-depth research on the successes and failures of the Demyansk Encirclement and Holm Encirclement battles, but now he was in power and had access to all official information, unlike in later generations when he could only rely on archives. Recollections with the person involved are more reliable, and he also has his own unique insights into the final collapse of the Sixth Army under Stalingrad.

He believed that if Paulus, the office general, had not commanded the troops and carried out Hitler's orders one-sidedly, the Sixth Army would not have been destroyed so quickly; if the surrounded German troops were not 300,000 - assuming that 100,000 were surrounded and 200,000 escaped Encirclement, then Germany still had a chance to fight back in 1943 in history. The success of the previous encirclement battles gave Hitler blind confidence, and Goering boasted about the capabilities of the air force, making him think that Paulus could hold on. In fact, Germany's air transport capacity was limited, with a supply of about 100,000. The troops are at their limit - after being surrounded, 300,000 troops can only get 100,000 supplies. What good outcome can there be except collapse without a fight in the ice and snow? The whole battle was bad because of the weak logistical capabilities and blind self-confidence of the German army.

Schörner was surprised when he heard Hoffman's lofty remarks at first - Hoffman could not give him an example of the Battle of Stalingrad, but he used the experience of the Demyansk encirclement vividly, which made people feel very It makes sense: If one person supplies supplies to two people, no one will survive, and the overall combat effectiveness is not as good as one person; if three people supply supplies to two people, Germany's tactical literacy can fully support the Red Army until it bleeds out. the point. What's more, the overall situation of the German army is now superior. The reason why it does not send troops to Central Asia is not because there are no troops to send, but because the terrain and climate are not suitable for sending large armies. You must know that the most capable SS Armored Group Army is still in the rear. Rest and rest in a leisurely place - there are a total of 5 Type 1943 armored divisions and 2 Panzergrenadier divisions.

"The reason why I want to fight such an arduous defensive battle in Central Asia is still based on exchange tactics. Now the Soviet army has given up its attempt to engage in large-scale field battles with our army in the vast wilderness. It cannot find the enemy when advancing in the middle. The army is heavily grouped, and it is impossible for our army to really rush forward regardless of everything. The feeling of being disconnected from the front and the rear is very uncomfortable. Moreover, the faster the advance, the sparser the regional troop density, and the easier it is for the Soviet army to launch a counterattack. Therefore, the advancement of the middle section can only proceed in a steady manner...

Forcibly attacking large cities with strong fortresses and engaging in street fighting by the Soviet army is also an unbearable high price. Neither Moscow nor Stalingrad can be attacked for the time being. At most, they can find ways to deal with small and medium-sized cities on the central battlefield. After considering the pros and cons, I choose you to command such a defensive battle, hoping to use this magnet to continuously attract the Red Army to come to their deaths, exhaust their last mobile forces, and at the same time create conditions for a full-scale offensive in the spring. "

"As you wish, Führer, I will persist until the last shot." Scherner saluted respectfully, "Let them come."

"I will provide you with sufficient air support." Hoffman paused, "You are free to choose the defensive front and maneuver method you think are appropriate. I will not interfere with your specific tactical command, and there is no need to stick to it. place.”