The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The battle plan was quickly completed in the hands of Manstein and a group of officers.

Just as Qinchuan thought, the plan was to defend Fodosia and abandon Vladislavovka...that is, the 30th Army would not give up an inch of ground while the 42nd Army retreated step by step, and at the same time, the 11th Army would be The only armored division, the 22nd Armored Division, was transferred to Feodosia to prepare for the assault.

"Colonel!" After the meeting, Manstein called Qinchuan and Colonel Slaine to the office: "There is something I need to ask for your opinion on."

"Whatever you say, General!" Colonel Slaine replied.

Manstein glanced at Qinchuan, and then said: "Just like the captain said, we need to organize a mobile force to penetrate directly into the enemy's hinterland until Kerch Port."

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan and Colonel Slain understood what Manstein meant.

Sure enough, then I heard Manstein say: "The First Infantry Regiment is equipped with a large number of MP43s. This kind of firepower is exactly what the mobile troops need. As you know, the Soviets always charge towards our army with several times the strength of our army." , and the mobile unit may be attacked from the front and rear, so..."

Of course, what Manstein said is correct. The most important thing for this mobile force, or it can be said to be an insertion force, is to be fast, because if it is not fast or is intercepted by the enemy... the result will be that it will be rushed from all directions. The Soviet troops were surrounded and then annihilated.

"Do you know what this means?" Manstein continued: "Once the assault fails, the 11th Army will be completely wiped out, so I cannot be careless at all."

Colonel Slain did not hesitate and agreed immediately: "This is our duty, General!"

"No, that's exactly the problem!" Manstein said and handed a telegram to Colonel Slain, saying: "This is a telegram from General Rommel. The 21st Armored Division has been incorporated into Army Group B to prepare. Enter the battle of Kharkov, General Rommel orders you to return to the army immediately! "

Colonel Slaine couldn't help but be stunned, and then replied: "Then, General... we must obey the order!"

"Yes, I know!" Manstein said: "I just want to tell you that you have the right to choose. Regarding orders... I will communicate with General Rommel!"

Colonel Slain turned his attention to Qinchuan.

Qin Chuan thought for a while, then stood up and replied: "General, given the current situation of the 11th Group Army and the fact that the Crimean Mountains are mainly distributed in the southern part of the Crimean Peninsula, I suggest that the general request reinforcements from a mountain division!"

What Qin Chuan said was a bit out of context.

First, we were clearly talking about whether the First Infantry Regiment was willing to join the mobile force, and now we suddenly talked about the Mountain Division.

Secondly, the German 11th Group Army clearly planned to take advantage of the situation to counterattack, that is, it basically did not need reinforcements or defense, but Qinchuan requested reinforcements from a mountain division at this time.

But who was Manstein? Of course he understood what Qin Chuan meant... These two mountain divisions were not used to defend the Crimean Mountains, but to prepare for the march into the Caucasus Mountains.

In this regard, Qin Chuan has a very clear understanding: The First Infantry Regiment can fight in any battle, it can parachute, land, and charge...but it just can't fight in mountain battles.

It should be said that the mountain division can also be regarded as a special force. The reason is that mountain operations are not capable of ordinary troops... Marching one kilometer in the plains and marching one kilometer in the mountains are two different things, especially in the Caucasus Mountains, where the terrain is very steep. There is snow all year round at an altitude of several thousand meters, so fighting on it requires climbing skills.

On the other hand, Hitler's attempt to capture the Caucasus has been around for a long time... His goal was of course the Baku oil fields in the Caucasus, so he trained a group of professional mountain divisions a few years ago. Among them, the 1st and 4th Mountain Divisions were organized in Army Group A of Army Group South. There are also the Romanian 1st and 4th Mountain Divisions.

Their use is self-evident, they are used to prepare for the capture of the Caucasus Mountains.

The request Qinchuan mentioned was actually a good excuse for Manstein to borrow a mountain division from Army Group A.

Manstein was stunned for a while, then nodded and said: "Yes, Captain, this is a good suggestion. What's more, there are many mountains to the east of the Kerch Peninsula, and we also need mountain divisions!"

Qinchuan felt relieved when he heard Manstein's words... In fact, the east side of the Kerch Peninsula cannot be called a mountain, but can only be regarded as hills, with the highest altitude being only 190 meters.

After walking out of the headquarters, Colonel Slain said: "You successfully convinced him, Captain!"

"No, it's not that I convinced him!" Qin Chuan replied: "It's that this battle is either life or death, or it can be said that...according to the plan I mentioned, the 11th Group Army will either be completely annihilated by the Soviets or That is to encircle the Soviets and achieve an unprecedented victory, and no matter what the outcome is, General Manstein does not need to worry about the consequences of entering the Caucasus without permission!"

Colonel Slain thought for a moment, then nodded and understood what Qin Chuan meant:

If it is the former, that is, the 11th Group Army is completely wiped out, then the German army will not be able to reach the Taman Peninsula at all, and of course it will not be able to reach the Caucasus, so there is no need to worry about disobeying orders.

If it is the latter... that is, General Manstein used more than 100,000 troops to encircle and annihilate 260,000 Soviet troops or cause heavy losses. In the face of such great achievements, Hitler will still hold Manstein responsible for his unauthorized actions. ? What's more, Manstein's pursuit of victory may create more and greater results.

Qinchuan was right. General Manstein sent a telegram to Marshal von Bock immediately after Qinchuan and Colonel Slaine left.

The main idea of ​​the telegram was similar to what Qinchuan said. It was because the German Air Force had transferred its main force away, making it difficult for the 11th Army to stop the Soviet attack, and because the terrain in the south of the Crimean Peninsula was complex, Marshal von Bock was requested to deploy an additional mountain division. reinforce.

Of course, von Bock also knew that the German army was seriously insufficient in the Crimean Peninsula. He had originally planned to send reinforcements to the Crimean Peninsula, but he had not thought of sending elite mountain divisions.

After seeing Manstein's telegram, von Bock thought for a while and believed that the Soviet counterattack had disrupted Army Group South's offensive plan, which made Army Group A located in the center of Kharkov and the Crimean Peninsula They can only stay put, but the two ends are attacked several times by the enemy. Some elite troops should also be sent to help block the enemy's attack.

So without much thought, I agreed to the request.