The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Headquarters of the Soviet Transcaucasian Front.

Pieces of intelligence sent by air force reconnaissance and intelligence personnel lurking in enemy-occupied areas were passed to Tyulenev. He and his staff analyzed it for a while, and then gradually felt relieved.

"It seems they are at their wits' end!" General Tyulenev said.

"Yes!" Political Commissar Sadriya replied: "The Germans may have detected that we had deployed defenses along the Caspian Sea, so they gathered in Shirvan but did not dare to attack!"

The reason is of course not this, but Soviet commanders who are eager to win often subjectively find excuses for some of the enemy's more bizarre actions.

If it is a German commander, their considerations are more likely to be in the opposite direction, such as: Why has the enemy not attacked for so long? What are they waiting for? Are there other situations?

This is also related to the quality of the commander, but it is obvious that the quality of the Soviet commanders did not reach this level.

Therefore, Tyulenev then confidently sent a telegram to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, I am happy to report to you: We have successfully stopped the enemy in front of the Baku defense line. If the enemy continues to advance, It would be very slow and suffer heavy casualties. Of course, the Germans had no other choice, so I believed that the enemy would attack in the next few days, but the commanders would be very motivated and confident. The soldiers are gearing up and preparing for battle. I believe we will win the final victory in this battle soon!"

Compared with the Soviet army's self-confidence, the German High Command seemed worried.

"Where are they?" Hitler asked.

"They are still 20 kilometers away from Baku!" Canaris pointed at the map and replied: "But they were blocked by the Soviets. The Soviets used oil to set up walls of fire there to prevent our army from advancing!"

Hitler thought for a while and then ordered: "Order Army Group A to speed up the attack, and order the Air Force to provide cover for the 11th Army Group!"

"Yes, Your Excellency the Head of State!"

Under Hitler's orders, the German Air Force intensified its bombing of the Caucasus the next day.

The bombing was divided into two aspects. On the one hand, it targeted the Soviet Fourth Air Force airport in the North Caucasus, and on the other hand, it targeted Baku, where the Transcaucasus Front troops were stationed.

It was a coincidence that two aerial bombs of the Luftwaffe directly hit the headquarters of the Transcaucasian Front. Front Army staff Lieutenant General Bogin and political commissar Sadrzya were killed on the spot.

General Tyulenev survived because he was inspecting defenses along the coast.

This bombing made General Tyulenev more determined that the German army would launch an offensive within a few days.

The German army will indeed launch an attack within a few days, but not in the direction Tyulenev thought...

At this time, the 11th Army was advancing hard on the Caucasus Mountains.

The higher you climb, the colder it becomes, but fortunately the 11th Army does not need to climb the highest peak in the Caucasus... The highest peak is "Elbrus", with an altitude of 5642 meters. The top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round. If you want to climb over It will no longer be "difficult" to solve, but will freeze to death.

Baku is located in the East Caucasus, where the mountains are relatively gentle, and it is also at the end of the Caucasus Mountains, so the altitude is not very high, only more than a thousand meters, but even so, the low temperature at night still makes people shiver.

But these were nothing to the soldiers. After freezing all night, they still managed to continue on their way the next day.

At this time, the gap with the Mountain Division was once again highlighted... The Mountain Division was accustomed to these conditions, while ordinary troops, including the First Infantry Regiment, were exhausted and their combat effectiveness was declining.

"I don't know if we can still fight if we encounter the enemy!" Yacop may have been injured and had a fever, and his walking was a little unsteady.

"Don't worry!" Alfredo replied: "When the bullet flies over your head, you will feel like you have a strong shot in the arm!"

"Yes!" said the baker: "The threat of death will accelerate the secretion of adrenaline hormones, and that will be your shot in the arm!"

"But..." Yacop said: "I seem to be used to the threat of death, so this may not be of any use!"

"Then look at this!" Werner handed Jacop a photo.

Yacop took it and looked at it, and he couldn't help but said in confusion: "Why do you have this?"

"I got it from the Americans in Africa!" Werner said: "I forgot which battle it was, it seems to be in Sicily!"

The soldiers came up to take a look, and it turned out to be a large-scale photo... The U.S. government often sends some of these photos or postcards to soldiers to relieve the emptiness and loneliness on the battlefield.

"Oh, Werner!" Qin Chuan said, "I remember it's been half a year since the Battle of Sicily. You've been hiding this thing?"

"Okay!" Werner replied: "I just forgot it in the bag and didn't remember it until Jakop needed it..."

"Don't explain!" said the baker. "We know what's going on!"

As he spoke, the soldiers burst into laughter.

At this time, several gunshots were heard from the front, and the soldiers hurriedly lowered themselves and took out their weapons.

But after a while the danger was lifted.

Just when Qin Chuan was confused, a correspondent ran up to Qin Chuan and said: "Major, Colonel Slaine asked me to tell you good news: We are in good luck. We just encountered a group of 'Brandenburg Detachment' of our own people!”

Qin Chuan couldn't help but be startled when he heard this. It was indeed good news.

Of course Qin Chuan knew what the "Brandenburg Unit" meant... They pretended to be Soviets and moved behind enemy lines to collect intelligence. This meant that they were familiar with the intelligence in this area and could even effectively deceive the Soviet Union. people.

Obviously, the few gunshots just now were caused by the collision between the German reconnaissance force and the people of the "Brandenburg Detachment". Because the "Brandenburg Detachment" looks like the Soviet army in terms of weapons and military uniforms, there will definitely be some misunderstanding.

Later, Qin Chuan learned that there was not only a misunderstanding but also casualties... A member of the "Brandenburg Unit" was shot dead on the spot, and two members were injured.

However, the people of the "Brandenburg Detachment" were well-trained. They immediately judged that they might have encountered one of their own, so they immediately "killed" them disguised as Soviet soldiers, so they hurriedly stated own identity.

In this way, things will be much simpler. The German 11th Army does not even need to climb rocks and detours. It can directly use the "Brandenburg Detachment" to break through the Soviet "checkpoint" by cooperating internally and externally.