The Rise of Australia - Chapter 987

c968 Counterattack!

Whether Manstein and the German High Command are willing to believe it or not, the cruel reality is already in front of everyone.

The failure of Manstein’s Second Panzer Group caused the collapse of the entire German Southern Army Group.

There is no way to do this. After all, this armored group was originally drawn from the front battlefield, and the loss of firepower on the front battlefield is bound to be seized by the Russians.

In addition, the retreat route of the Second Panzer Group is highly overlapped with the rear route of the German army on the front. If the German army on the front still stays in the Sudalingrad battlefield, then the biggest possibility is that the rear route will be cut off and then counter-encircled by the Russian army.

You know, this is the safety of more than 3 million German soldiers. After learning that Manstein’s armored group attack failed and had retreated, the commander-in-chief of the German Southern Army Group did not hesitate at all and directly issued an order to retreat.

But the German retreat was not so glorious, especially when the Russian army was chasing and biting hard.

Retreating is just a nice behavior. The actual situation of the German army on the battlefield is that it is in a continuous rout. The soldiers have already faced a complete reversal of the situation before they can react.

The day before, the German army was still attacking fiercely, occupying houses in Sudalingrad one after another. The day after, the German army was already fleeing in a hurry, and their comrades behind them were constantly being eliminated by the Russian army.

For the German soldiers, this experience was really terrible.

The reversal of the situation brought a double blow to the German soldiers physically and psychologically, and also ended the Battle of Sudalingrad at a very fast speed.

Russia paid more than four million soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties to successfully defend this city with a significant name.

The casualties of the German army were not many, but after this rout, the casualties exceeded two million, and they are still increasing.

This war can be regarded as meeting Arthur’s expectations.

Although it seems that Russia’s casualties are only more than five million, and the number of deaths is only about half.

But it should be considered that Russia has occupied a large area of ​​land, which is also inhabited by tens of millions of Russians.

The German government’s policy towards the Russians in these occupied areas was not very good, and it could even be said that it didn’t care at all.

A large amount of food in the occupied areas, including Ukraine, was transported to the front battlefield and Germany, which also made the Russian people in these occupied areas face a serious food shortage crisis.

Even if there was food, the price was high, which was not affordable for the Russians in the occupied areas.

Although the Battle of Sudalingrad caused Russia to suffer more than 5 million casualties in the whole year, the casualties of civilians in the occupied areas were also not low, and even remained at a level similar to the casualties in the war.

This also means that in 1938 alone, Russia’s total casualties had exceeded 10 million, and the death toll was also as high as 4 to 5 million.

Such casualties have far exceeded other countries, which is why Arthur is more satisfied with the final result of the Battle of Sudalingrad.

There was no winner for both sides in this battle. The Germans did not complete their strategic plan, and they were destined to be unable to defeat Russia in a short time.

Although Russia defended Sudalingrad, it also paid a lot of casualties. Even though Russia has a population of hundreds of millions, it will take a long time to recuperate in the face of such heavy casualties.

However, for the Russian government at this time, the most important thing is to drive the Germans out of the Russian hinterland in one go.

Even if it is possible, taking advantage of the defeat of the German army to recover important areas such as Ukraine is the next plan of the Russian government.

In February 1939, a large number of Russian troops walked out of their original defensive positions and launched a pursuit of the defeated German army.

This pursuit spanned hundreds of kilometers, and the Russian army chased all the way from Sudalingrad to Kharkov before stopping.

The German army along the way threw away their armor and armor, not to mention the large number of casualties, and also abandoned a large number of weapons and equipment, even tanks and aircraft.

Most of the hundreds of aircraft deployed by the Germans in Mikhailovka and Milerovo were still at the airport, and they were captured by Russian soldiers before they had time to take off.

More importantly, this failure put the German army in a very serious crisis on the battlefield in Eastern Europe.

With its momentum, the Russian army has completely reversed the situation on the entire battlefield. The German army can only rely on the temporary defense line to temporarily hold back the Russian army, but it is only temporary.

If Germany does not have any support, it will be difficult to defend against the Russian attack with the current number of troops.

Did Germany provide support?

Actually, there is.

But for Germany at present, how many troops and weapons and equipment can it provide to support the Eastern European battlefield?

The latest mobilization policy issued by the German government has indeed armed more troops, and the total number of German troops is now infinitely close to 9 million.

You know, this is the terrifying size of the army that Germany can maintain under the premise of suffering millions of casualties.

In other words, the total number of soldiers mobilized by Germany in this war has exceeded 10 million, and it is also the second country with more than 10 million soldiers after Russia.

But these more than 9 million soldiers were fighting in various places. Whether in Western Europe, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, or Southern Europe, the German army could not gain an advantage.

After problems arose on the battlefield in Eastern Europe, the German government urgently dispatched a group of army groups that had just completed training in the country to provide support.

The number of soldiers in this group of army groups is about 400,000, and the sources of soldiers are uneven. The youngest soldier is only 15 or 16 years old, and the oldest soldier is over 50 years old.

This aspect also reflects the difficulties of the current German government. Although it seems to maintain a fairly large army, it is actually achieved by the efforts of all Germans.

Even if Germany can eventually win this war, it may not be a victory for Germany.

The German government also knows that 400,000 troops can no longer have an impact on the battlefield in Eastern Europe. But there is no way, the battlefields in Northern Europe and Western Europe also need the support of the German government.

Not to mention the battlefield in Northern Europe, the entire Norway has been completely liberated, and most of Sweden’s territory, including the southern coastal areas of Finland, are already under the control of Britain, France and Australia.

Hundreds of thousands of German troops stationed in Northern Europe had already withdrawn from Denmark and went to the lowlands to strengthen their defenses.

The army group stationed in Paris was simply unable to withstand the attack of a large number of French troops. After all, the attack of the British, French and Australian troops was from all directions, and the defense positions in one direction alone could not stop it.

The Germans had originally built a solid defense line relying on the Loire River to ensure that the French could not capture the position in a short time.

But after a large number of British and French troops chose to land in Normandy, the defense line that the Germans had worked hard to build basically became a decoration.

You know, these defense positions are all for defending against the attack of the French army from the south, and naturally they will not consider the northern region too much.

After all, the northern region is still in the hands of the Germans, and they can’t take the initiative to guard against their own people, right?

But since the British and French landed in Normandy, these landing troops are likely to go straight into the entire Normandy region and come to the German defense positions.

Faced with such a threat, it would be strange if the German army could still stay in the defensive position safely.

In order to prevent the troops in the defensive position from being surrounded by Britain and France, the Germans first sent all the garrisons in Brittany to the Normandy region for defense, and added more garrisons in the Benelux region.

There is an advantage to doing this. If the British and French troops choose to penetrate the German positions from the Normandy region at all costs, then the German troops on both sides can directly block the retreat of this army and achieve the goal of catching the turtle in the middle.

Even if the British and French troops attack Normandy steadily, the garrisons on both sides can also strengthen the positions on both sides and delay the offensive speed of the British and French troops.

Originally, according to such a defensive deployment, coupled with occasional material and military support from the country, it can ensure that the German army on the Western Front can hold on for a long time.

But after the defeat of the German army on the Eastern Front, such a stable situation has changed.

The German army that was originally going to support the Western Front could only choose to support Eastern Europe. After all, compared with the relatively stable Western European defense line, the battlefield in Eastern Europe was the real danger.

But this also caused problems in the Western European battlefield, which was not short of supplies and manpower. The French offensive was uninterrupted. Although it was not as fierce as imagined, the daily material consumption and casualties of the German army were not a small number.

It may be stable in a short period of time. Once the German government’s assistance is not available for a long time, the German army in the defense line can only choose to retreat.

After the Battle of Sudalingrad, Britain, France and Australia faced a new choice, that is, whether to fight or not.

Without much hesitation, the armies of the three countries chose to take this opportunity to attack Germany.

After all, the consumption of Germany and Russia has reached a high level, and it basically meets the strategic plans of Britain and Australasia.

If the war is dragged on, it will also be a consumption for Britain and France itself.

This is what the British do not want to see. After all, Australasia was not affected at all in the war. Such unknowns make the British more nervous.

If the war continues to stalemate at this rate, Germany and Russia will indeed be consumed more, but Britain and France will also be consumed.

This will allow Australasia to directly take advantage. The British government did not fail to see this, so it made the decision to end the war as soon as possible.

At this time, Arthur also received the news that the Battle of Sudalingrad had ended. Consistent with the choice of Britain and France, Arthur also decided to end the war as soon as possible.

The territory that he wanted to get has basically been obtained, and the distribution of post-war benefits will have to wait until the peace talks.

In this case, it is better to defeat the enemy Germany early, and by occupying a large area of ​​German territory and supporting more countries close to Australasia, we can gain the right to speak and the initiative in future wars and negotiations.

Under Arthur’s instructions, the Australasia army was divided into two groups.

One group continued to recover Finnish territory in Northern Europe and supported Dmitry to rebuild the Finnish government as soon as possible.

The other group started from the Maginot Line, took the lead in attacking Frankfurt, and then went north to occupy the entire Ruhr area.

Yes, in Arthur’s strategic plan, occupying the Ruhr area of ​​Germany is very important.

The Ruhr area is the industrial heart of Germany and the most essential part of Germany, an industrial power. Although it was looted and occupied after World War I, it quickly recovered.

If the Ruhr area can be occupied and some important industrial equipment and skilled workers can be seized, it will be very helpful for the future industrial development of Australasia.

However, such an attack is very challenging. Because at this time, a large area of ​​French territory including Paris was still occupied by Germany, and the Ruhr area was located in a relatively deep position.

If the Australasian army wants to occupy the Ruhr area, it must go around to the rear of the German army on the Western Front.

The difficulty of this task can be imagined. Although the successful occupation of the Ruhr area brings great gains, it also requires great challenges to complete this task.

Arthur did not think of advancing the front line to the Ruhr area in a short time. The time of occupying the Ruhr area is almost the same as the time when France recovered Paris. This will not only cut off the retreat of a large number of German troops, but also face the German army that has just been defeated, so the pressure is not that great.

Secondly, by occupying the Ruhr area and cutting off the retreat of the German army on the Western Front, it can also write a bold and colorful chapter in the history of Australasia in World War II.

Whether it is to compete for more interests at the peace talks after the war or the subsequent propaganda work, it is very beneficial.

The Ruhr area is not far from Berlin, the capital of Germany. As long as the Ruhr area is occupied, it means that Berlin is not far away.

Germany, which has lost its industrial heart, is destined to be on the verge of a dead end. For Germany, defeat in this war is only a matter of time.

In March 1939, the Russian counterattack on the Eastern Front had not achieved much success, and the French on the Western Front received good news.

Thanks to the Germans’ withdrawal of the garrison in Brittany, the French army finally found an opportunity to recapture cities such as Nantes and Rennes in southern Brittany.

Lorient and Brest, further west, have basically become the French’s possession. In other words, the French have basically recaptured the entire Brittany region.

Although Brittany is not that large in area and not as important as Paris and Normandy.

But after all, it is the first time that a complete piece of territory has been officially recaptured since the large tracts of territory in the north were occupied by Germany. It is still of great significance to the whole of Germany and all German people.

After Brittany was basically recovered, the Germans could only conduct strategic contraction again and gave up a large area of ​​positions from Nantes to Tours.

There was no way, the Brittany region could easily go around to the rear of these positions. At this time, the positions were no longer a solid defense line of the German army, but a death warrant for the German army.

At present, in Normandy and Brittany, the British and French armies have occupied large areas of land.

This also seriously affected the German defensive positions on the other side of the Loire River. The Germans have even contracted to the vicinity of Orleans and voluntarily gave up a large area of ​​land on the other side of Tours.

Strategic contraction is the only policy of the German government to send troops to the Western Front.

There is no way. In the current lack of manpower and material assistance, in order to prevent the Western Front army from experiencing the same defeat as the Eastern Front army, the best way is to actively conduct strategic contraction and give up part of the land in exchange for the stability of the entire Western Front defense line.