Chapter 401 Crisis
Although most of the aid from Britain and the United States to the Soviet Union at this time was supplies and the like, such as canned food, military uniforms, locomotives, cars, railroad tracks, etc., there were not many directly aided equipment for combat, and even the performance of these equipment, The quality is worrying, "Matilda" and "M3 medium" tanks are one of them.
However, assistance such as canned food, military uniforms, and railroad tracks can save the Soviet Union a large amount of labor and allow the Soviet Union to concentrate on producing equipment. As for the "Matilda", although there is even a learning process for the Soviet army, if there is no such thing, it means that several Soviet troops will charge against the German army without tank cover... so this is not related to It is a question of which is better than T34, but a question of which is better than pure infantry.
To a certain extent, the Soviet Union relied on these aids to withstand the German attack when the war broke out.
At this time, the Caucasus, the largest transportation aid line, was cut off, and at the same time, the German army was gradually recovering from the extreme cold in winter, so the balance of victory would soon tilt towards the German army.
In the current situation, even Mehlis, the "representative of the Supreme Command" who knows nothing about war, knows that it is no longer suitable to continue the offensive.
"Kyiv is dangerous!" Shulka said, looking at the map.
"What do you mean?" Mehlis asked suspiciously.
"I think we haven't been able to get in touch with Kyiv yet!" Shulka asked.
"Yes!" Mehlis replied: "Our army is blocked in Kaluga and cannot move forward!"
The Soviet army, with 4 armies plus a cavalry army, cooperated with the Black Sea Fleet and the shallow water fleet to attack Kyiv in an attempt to integrate the Kyiv theater and Moscow that will be separated, but they even failed to reach Bryansk...it Located halfway between Moscow and Kyiv.
"We were transferred from Kyiv, so we know about Kyiv's defenses, Comrade Mehlis!" Shulka pointed to the map and said, "Although we held Kyiv and threatened the German flank with it, the reason why we were able to It was held only because of the concentration of German forces on Moscow and the bad weather. Now that the enemy has been driven back by us, it is likely to turn to Kyiv. On the other hand, our supplies in the Caucasus have been reduced in series..."
Mechlis nodded and replied: "That's right, Comrade Shulka, a considerable part of Kyiv's supply comes from aid materials!"
"There are roughly two ways to supply Kyiv!" Shulka said: "One is the railway line from Odessa to Kyiv, and the other is the road from Odessa, Ochakiv, etc. to Kyiv!"
Originally there was a third way, which was to transport along the Dnieper River waterway, but the Dnieper River was frozen for several months in winter.
"The railway is easily blocked by enemy fighter planes!" Shulka said: "Unless we can gain air supremacy, the transportation volume of the road in this winter is very limited, which makes the connection between Kyiv and the Black Sea very fragile!"
As mentioned before, Kyiv relied on the Dnieper River and the Odessa railway line to establish a long and narrow line of defense and supply.
This line of defense was barely able to hold when the German army attacked Moscow with all its strength before, but now it is in danger.
"Do you think they will attack Kyiv?"
"I'm not sure, Comrade Mekhlis!" replied Shulka, "but I think they will shift their focus to the south, and after the defeat of Moscow in the center, they may consider attacking Odessa...the Germans may not They will attack Kyiv directly, because Kyiv is heavily defended and a direct attack will pay a heavy price, and it does not make much sense. They usually bypass Kyiv and attack in depth, along the Black Coast and cross the Dnieper River to attack the Crimean Peninsula. Once they get The lower Crimea directly threatens the Caucasus Mountains, and further east is Baku!"
Mechelis couldn't help but widen his eyes and said, "That's our oil field!"
"This is just my guess, Comrade Mehlis!" Shulka said: "The British and Americans have cut off our aid to the south, which will directly cause difficulties in our supply in the Caucasus... because there was a steady stream of supplies there." If the Germans saw this, they might take advantage of the fact that supplies were sent to Moscow to Kyiv, and now they need to be sent to the Caucasus elsewhere, at a time when the entire Soviet Union is in a state of shortage!"
"You are quite right, Comrade Shulka!" Mehlis replied: "I think I should go to Moscow immediately and warn the others!"
As he said that, Mechlis immediately took off the armed belt from the wall, buckled it for himself, and called the guards.
When he opened the door, Mechlis turned his head and confessed as if remembering something: "Comrade Shulka, this is a military secret, understand? You can't tell anyone, anyone!"
"Yes, Comrade Mechlis!" Shulka replied: "I didn't say those words!"
Mechlis nodded in satisfaction and went out.
Shulka actually knows the true intention of Mechelis, of course there are military secret factors, but more importantly, Mechelis will tell others that it is his idea... This is also the purpose of Mechelis, to let others know He looked at it with admiration.
This can be said to be a kind of embezzlement, but Shulka doesn't mind.
Because he just hoped to warn the Soviet high-level through Mahlis.
These changes on the battlefield made Shulka feel a little helpless. Although he saved Kyiv and even played a role in reducing the losses of the Soviet army in the Battle of Moscow, there will always be some accidents that will bring the battle back to the original track. .
For example, when the overall situation was very favorable to the Soviet army, the British suddenly cut off the supplies in the Caucasus.
But this seems to be normal.
Because the United Kingdom has always hoped that the Soviet-German war will last as long as possible, and in the end both sides will suffer. This is also the main reason why the United Kingdom will spare no effort to support the Soviet Union.
Historically, the United Kingdom even defied the demands of the Soviet Union and refused to make a decision...
In fact, it is very simple to solve the predicament of the Soviet Union. Britain and the Soviet Union are on the east and west sides of Germany respectively, and together with Africa in the south, they actually surround Germany in the middle.
The main force of the German army is attacking the Soviet Union, so the United Kingdom only needs to launch an attack on Germany to make it suffer from two-sided or even three-sided attack.
However, the United Kingdom has been making excuses to delay, even when the President of the United States is willing to send troops to participate in the war. The African battlefield is also advancing at a slow pace. fruit.
So in the same way, Shulka realized that the enemy of the Soviet Union might not be just Germany.
(end of this chapter)
