Chapter 574 Artillery
Paulus frowned at the map on the table in the headquarters in Karachi.
While the Germans fought heroically in Stalingrad, that was exactly what gave Paulus a headache... If the German soldiers weren't fighting bravely enough, or were not equipped enough, etc., it could all be fixed.
Paulus can report to Hitler in the wolf's lair and get more troops and equipment.
The problem is that the reasons are not these.
Although the total strength of the German army is definitely not as good as that of the Russians, it is clear that the German army has the upper hand in Stalingrad:
Infantry ratio is 1.2:1, air force ratio is 3.6:1, tank ratio is 2:1, artillery ratio is 3:1...
Especially the military quality of the German army is obviously much better than that of the Russian army.
"We know something from the prisoners!" Paulus complained to the adjutant: "Many of the Russians are recruits, and a considerable part of them are even workers who have never been on the battlefield. Battalion' soldiers... That is to say, the Russians are using guns to force their soldiers to the battlefield. But even so, we still can't break through their defense line, the offensive line is still moving forward in units of meters, some parts Even going backwards!"
The adjutant didn't answer, because he didn't understand why this happened.
War is nothing more than looking at quality, equipment, and morale... When the German army has an overwhelming advantage in all these, it is stuck in a quagmire and cannot move.
After thinking about it, the adjutant said, "I think it's because they are familiar with the terrain, especially the underground pipelines!"
"I know this!" Paulus stood up and took a few steps in front of the desk, then said anxiously after lighting a cigarette: "We can't take all the advantages, we are fighting on their land, This is their city, and they should be familiar with the terrain! They have always been familiar with the terrain, but we still fight here from Poland, we have never encountered such obstacles, what is different in Stalingrad?!"
Paulus was right. If there was any defeat for the German army before then, it was the Battle of Moscow.
But the Battle of Moscow did not develop into urban street fighting. At the same time, the failure of the Battle of Moscow was due to the cold snap, not because the German army could not beat the enemy.
Now, the Battle of Stalingrad is a face-to-face battle between the German army and the Soviet army in the ruins, fighting in the building, and fighting among the broken bricks.
No one would believe that the German army would be helpless against the Russian army in such a battle, because before that... the German army always wins more with less and defeats the opponent.
"Maybe..." After hesitating for a while, the adjutant said, "Maybe it's because of the 'breakout hero', General!"
"Fuck 'breakout hero'!" Paulus replied without thinking: "Even if he is a hero, he is just a man, a captain, a low-ranking officer, and such a man can fight in such a battle." What role does it play?"
You must know that thousands of people die every day on this battlefield, so the role that a hero or a low-level officer can play is indeed very limited.
"But..." the adjutant knew that Paulus didn't like to listen to this kind of words to boost others' ambitions, but he still summoned up his courage and said, "We know from the captives that this 'breakout hero' has given many useful suggestions, including using the sewers to attack, and in addition And the defensive tactics of Mamayev Gang are all his masterpieces!"
Paulus remained silent, because he knew that these two items had indeed caused great trouble to the German army.
"Recently I heard that he is transforming the 'punishment camp'!" The adjutant continued: "Many of our soldiers and officers are afraid of him..."
"Afraid of him? Why are you afraid of him?" Paulus asked angrily.
"Because where he appears, we usually can't win!" The adjutant replied: "Moscow, the Crimean Peninsula, and Odessa before..."
"Shut up, Gotze!" Paulus interrupted the adjutant: "This is where his myth ends, and we will defeat them!"
"Yes, General!" replied the adjutant, who of course dared not deny it.
Then Paulus understood that this "breakout hero" even affected the confidence of the German army in victory.
Staring at the map for a while, Paulus said: "If it is difficult for us to deal with these rats in the city, we should completely deprive them of food!"
"Supply line?"
"Yes, the supply line!" Paulus nodded.
"But the general..." the adjutant said: "Our air force has tried their best. They bombed the Volga river day and night, but it still can't cut off their transportation. You know, they can always bring something from the river. !"
"So, we can't totally rely on the Air Force!"
"Can't rely on the Air Force...what else can we rely on?"
"Artillery, Gotze!" Paulus said, pointing to the map. "Under the cover of the air force, our artillery has completely suppressed the enemy's artillery. So, why don't we move the artillery to the front and then use the artillery in coordination with the air force?" Block the Volga with artillery fire!"
"This is too dangerous, General!" The adjutant's eyes widened: "We did not seize control of the frontier!"
The German army has actually been trying to do this all the time, and the attack on Mamayev Gang is also for this.
But Mamayev Gang is not completely under the control of the German army, so moving the artillery to the front line may become the enemy's target.
"Build a position for the artillery!" Paulus ordered: "We can use the building and deploy the artillery behind the building. As far as I know the Russians do the same, they can, and we can too! In addition, the Fuehrer will Give us some more planes... I believe that with just a little more force we can strangle the Russians and keep them breathless!"
Paulus's approach is indeed a bit risky.
Deploying artillery forward to blockade the Volga will put your artillery within the enemy's line of sight and even mortar fire.
What's more, the Soviet army retreated during the day and counterattacked at night, so whenever the Soviet army counterattacked at night, the German artillery might be captured or destroyed by the Soviet army.
For the German army, artillery fire is also a precious war resource that cannot be destroyed indiscriminately.
The problem is that if the risk of deploying artillery on the front can control the supply line of Stalingrad, it may cause the Russian army in Stalingrad to have no shells and ammunition to counterattack, and eventually collapse.
That is to say, even losing some artillery may be worthwhile, and it may even be exchanged for a much greater result than artillery.
(end of this chapter)
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