The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Manstein walked back and forth in the bunker that served as the headquarters, and the officers standing in front of him dared not utter a word.

"It's right in front of us, right in front of us!" Manstein pointed to the direction of the Baku oil field and said, "We can even see the drilling and black oil clearly in the telescope, but now we are blocked and can't move forward!"

"Your Excellency Marshal!" Wagner, the commander of the 28th Jaeger Division, suggested, "Their fire trenches are blocking us, why don't we cross from the sea like before?"

"You mean, use amphibious landing ships?" Manstein asked.

"Yes!" Wagner pointed to the map and said, "The Caspian Sea is behind Baku. As long as we follow the fire wall to the end of the southeast direction, it should be..."

Wagner pointed to a point and said, "Then it's Sylvan. As long as we capture this place, we can use amphibious landing ships and amphibious landing tanks to bypass it!"

Manstein did not answer, but cast his eyes on Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan knew what Manstein meant, so he replied, "Sorry, General. I cannot agree with your approach!"

"Why?" Major General Wagner asked.

"First of all!" Qin Chuan said, "From this wall of fire, we know that the Soviets are prepared for this defense! And they know that we have amphibious landing ships and amphibious landing tanks... Then, the Soviets will definitely take precautions in the Caspian Sea!"

The German officers nodded in agreement, and the strategic intention was too obvious.

"But even if they knew, what can they do?" Major General Wagner asked, "Send warships to intercept? Or submarines?"

After a pause, Major General Wagner continued, "That's the Caspian Sea, Major. The Soviets only have five warships and a submarine from World War I there. The rest are gunboats and fishing boats. Our planes can easily suppress them!"

Major General Wagner was right. The Caspian Sea is an inland sea, which means it is isolated from the outside world such as the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Therefore, it is impossible to encounter the enemy's fleet, so the Caspian Fleet is also called the "fleet kept in a fish tank."

(Note: The Don River flows into the Black Sea, and the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea. In 1948, the Soviet Union built a canal between the Volga River and the Don River. The canal was completed in 1952. Only then could the small-tonnage ships of the Caspian Fleet go through the Volga River-Canal-Don River-Black Sea and then go to the open sea. Before that, the Caspian Fleet was closed in the inland sea)

It is precisely because of this that the Caspian Fleet, although the oldest fleet, has always been the weakest fleet... There is no enemy, and of course there is no need to develop, unless the enemy warships can enter the Caspian Sea from land.

In this case, the 500 amphibious landing ships of the German 11th Army can almost ignore the existence of the Caspian Fleet.

"The Caspian Fleet may not be worth mentioning!" Qin Chuan said, "But General, the Soviet Union has plenty of troops in Baku. They can deploy key points along the coast of the Caspian Sea and wait for us to pass through the sea! Then we will be frantically strafed by Soviet planes, artillery and tanks on the sea!"

"We can attack at night!" Major General Wagner said, "Just like before!"

"There will be no night for the Soviets!" Qin Chuan replied, "They can light a wall of fire in front of us, and they can also burn the Caspian Sea into a sea of ​​fire!"

Wagner was silent.

Qin Chuan was right. Baku has plenty of oil and gasoline, and these things are all floating on the water. As long as they are poured into the sea by fishing boats or other things, the sea surface can be covered with gasoline and oil.

In this way, any time the German amphibious landing ships go to attack, they may fall into a vast sea of ​​fire.

The German officers obviously knew what this meant, so they rejected Major General Wagner's idea without hesitation.

"Why don't we fill the road?" asked the commander of the 22nd Armored Division, Melman. "I mean, use bulldozers to fill those trenches! We have seized a lot of these things from the Soviets!"

"This is not a good idea either!" Qin Chuan replied, "Although it is indeed feasible, it is foreseeable that the enemy's artillery fire will add a lot of difficulty to us. On the other hand, even if we fill a gap in the fire wall and rush in, we will suffer heavy casualties due to the enemy's artillery blockade... What's worse is, how can we ensure that the Soviets don't have a second, third or even more fire walls?"

The officers nodded in agreement.

If the Soviets have a fire wall, they may have a second fire wall. After all, it is not difficult to dig a trench and pour oil into it.

If the German army pushes forward one by one like this, I am afraid that the troops will be exhausted before they push halfway.

"So, what should we do, Major?" Manstein looked at Qin Chuan: "We can't wait like this any longer!"

Qin Chuan understood what Manstein meant.

The German army really couldn't wait any longer. Not only were the supplies getting less and less, the Soviets' defense in Baku would become more and more complete, and the reinforcements would increase. With the almost constant bombing and harassment by Soviet fighter planes, it was needless to say what the fate of the German 11th Army would be.

But...

The line of defense in front of the German army was almost insurmountable.

After thinking about it, Qin Chuan said, "Marshal, the front and the Caspian Sea are both blocked, so there is only one way!"

"You mean..." Manstein looked at Qin Chuan with doubtful eyes: "Caucasus?"

"Yes, the Caucasus!" Qin Chuan nodded and replied: "Let's cross over from the Caucasus Mountains!"

"This can't be successful, Major!" Major General Frecco, commander of the 1st Mountain Division, said: "That's the Caucasus, which means we have to abandon all heavy equipment!"

"That's why it's even more unexpected!" Qin Chuan replied: "I think it's time for us to put down our equipment!"

The German officers couldn't help but look at each other. This meant abandoning tanks, artillery, amphibious landing craft and everything else.

"But how do we deceive the enemy?" Major General Wagner asked: "If they find out that we have entered the Caucasus, they will launch a counterattack and trap us in the Caucasus Mountains!"

"They have a wall of fire!" Qin Chuan replied: "We can leave a force behind and feign an attack on the front, while building momentum in the direction of the Caspian Sea to make them think we are preparing to penetrate from the Caspian Sea!"

After thinking for a while, Manstein nodded and said: "In this way, the Soviets will concentrate their forces on the front and the Caspian Sea coast. When we suddenly appear from the other side of the Caucasus Mountains..."