The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The 22nd Armored Division and a regiment of the 28th Chasseur Division were left behind.

Manstein assigned tasks to the remaining troops: the 22nd Armored Division was responsible for conducting feint attacks on the front, that is, occasionally driving tanks out to fire a few shells towards the opposite side, pretending to be helpless in front of the fire trenches.

Needless to say, the task of leaving a regiment of the 28th Jäger Division is to occupy Shirvan south of Baku and then gather amphibious landing ships on the Caspian Sea.

This is actually taking risks, that is, once the Soviet army discovers that the main force of the German army has turned and launches a counterattack, it almost means that the German army is finished.

But Qin Chuan believed that the Soviet army would not do this.

On the one hand, this is because the Soviet army has been beaten by the German army and has lost confidence. On the other hand, a long-lasting fire trench has been ignited between the two armies... The fire trench will not only prevent the German army from crossing, but also prevent the Soviet army from crossing it.

Qin Chuan's guess was correct. General Tyulenev finally breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the German offensive had stopped.

Before that, he was worried that the Germans would have some way to cross the trench and continue the attack, but now it seems that this worry is unnecessary.

On the other hand, Tyulenev received intelligence that the German army was gathering in Shirvan... He had already prepared for this, so he took the time to mobilize troops to defend the Caspian Sea coast.

Of course, this was actually a scam, but Tyulenev hadn't realized it yet.

When Tyulenev turned his attention to the direction of the Caspian Sea, the main force of the German 11th Army, namely the 1st Mountain Division, the 28th Chasseur Division and the 1st Infantry Regiment, had already entered the Caucasus.

This may also be said to be a coincidence... The 1st Mountain Division once fought in this area with one division against a Soviet mountain army, the 3rd Mountain Army, which governed the 9th and 20th Mountain Divisions. Division, and later joined the 242nd Mountain Division, which was temporarily formed using local Orions and Qingzhuang from the Caucasus.

Although the strength of the German 1st Mountain Division was far inferior to that of the Soviet army, they defeated the Soviet mountain troops all the way. The most glorious moment was when the 1st Mountain Division stood on the top of the mountain and could see the Baku oil fields in the distance.

But in the end, the 1st Mountain Division still failed to achieve their long-cherished wish.

There were many reasons for the failure, such as insufficient supplies, scattered troops, etc., but these did not affect the Soviet army's awe of the 1st Mountain Division. The Soviets' evaluation of the 1st Mountain Division was: "As long as you give them a mountain, they will never start." Crossed over them!"

Qin Chuan and others felt this after entering the Caucasus Mountains.

First of all, there is the difference in physical strength... Those Mountain Division soldiers who looked skinny and weak were jumping around like a group of monkeys as soon as they entered the mountain. When the soldiers of the 1st Infantry Regiment were already out of breath, the Mountain Division soldiers But he was carrying an ammunition box and passed by them calmly without blushing or breathing.

"Wow!" the baker said breathlessly: "How did they do it? We acted like fools in front of them!"

"Don't take it too seriously, Lieutenant!" Werner said: "This is the difference between athletes and ordinary people!"

"You mean..." Alfredo said a little unconvinced: "After we have experienced so many battles, we are still ordinary people?"

"You can almost say that!" Werner wiped his sweat and replied: "Although I don't want to admit this, but... you have to know that mountains and plains are different. The difference is like tennis and badminton!"

"I don't think so, Werner!" Dominic objected: "We know tennis and badminton are different, but now we are both walking!"

"That's right!" Werner replied: "But walking on flat roads and walking on mountains... require different parts of the muscles. The guys in the mountain division have adapted, but we have not. Do you understand?"

With that said, Werner continued to climb to the high ground with the gun on his back.

If it were just these, the mountain division would certainly not be called a mountain division.

In order to try to avoid the defenses deployed by the Soviet army in strategic positions...the Soviet army was not without any defense in the East Caucasus Mountains. In addition, they were familiar with the terrain, so they deployed troops and defenses on the only road they must pass.

The German army was faced with an embarrassing situation at this time: if they broke through these defenses, they might expose the intelligence that the main German army had entered the Caucasus, and then the Soviet army would respond accordingly.

But this problem is not difficult to solve.

"The Soviets thought of us too simply!" Major General Frecco said looking at the map: "Perhaps because they are familiar with the terrain, they made a mistake. They thought that we could not pass as long as we guarded the only way! "

"Isn't it?" Major General Wagner asked.

Major General Frecco couldn't help rolling his eyes, and then replied: "No mountain can stop us, Major General Wagner. These mountains may be a dead end for the Soviets, but for us... they are the road!"

Major General Frecco is right. As mentioned before, the quality of the German mountain divisions and the quality of the Soviet mountain divisions are completely on two levels, although a considerable part of the Soviet mountain divisions grew up in this area. Those who grew up on the soil are no exception.

The Soviet mountain divisions, at best, had mastered the skills of maneuvering and fighting in mountains.

The German mountain divisions also had a skill that the Soviet army did not have and could not imagine... rock climbing.

Rock climbing here definitely does not mean climbing up a rock, but choosing a route that can avoid the Soviet defenses and then climbing directly onto the cliff.

Of course, this doesn’t require everyone to be able to rock climb, just a few people climbing up and then rappelling down.

But it is really hard to imagine that those few can climb the cliff without protection and only use some basic tools such as iron locks, ropes, and climbing shoes.

"How did they do it?" Eberhard was a little surprised.

"This is their specialty!" Qin Chuan said.

This is not surprising to Qin Chuan. On the one hand, he knew about the dangerous sport of rock climbing in modern times. Those people found happiness in conquering one mountain after another, and there were even some who climbed the rock with bare hands without using tools.

On the other hand, he knew that this was part of the reason why the 1st Mountain Division was able to fight against three Soviet mountain divisions with one division and still gain the upper hand.

Because as long as they can climb rocks, the mountain peak will be a smooth road for them. They can easily go around the enemy's back, or get in front of the enemy and block their way in a shorter time.

But now, their ability is not used to fight against enemy mountain divisions, but to penetrate.