On September 12, 1941, Manstein, commander of the 56th Panzer Corps, received a telegram of an appointment sent by the head of the Führer Base Camp: "As the commander of the 11th Army, this order will take effect immediately."
第11页Army?
This means that he will leave the Northern Army Group and become a member of the Southern Army Group, and he will be at the forefront of the Southern Front.
According to the combat objectives set before the base camp, the mission of the 11th Army is: "Capture the Crimean Peninsula with some troops, and its main force will rush to Rostov along the northern edge of the Sea of Azov."
Manstein (right), along with Rommel and Guderian, are known as the three great generals of Nazi Germany.
But due to lack of force in his hand, Manstein can only put his main force in the direction of Krim.
Is Kelimu important? At least at the beginning of the Soviet-German War in 1941.
In short: the German control of Crimea can control the Black Sea, and then build a bridge connecting the Arab world in the Middle East. You know, the incredible wealth of oil fields there can greatly enhance Germany's war potential. If you are lucky, Rommel of Egypt will join forces with the Germans on the Eastern Front.
The last point that made Hitler particularly concerned: destroying the Soviet air base on the Crimean Peninsula and ensuring the safety of Romania’s large oil fields.
Of course, this does not mean that Rostov is not important.
Because of the next Order No. 41 issued by Hitler, it clearly told the world that the next main target of the German army has been changed from Moscow to the Caucasus.
Rostov is the only way to the Caucasus.
At the end of 1941, the Soviet-German battlefield
had to say that although the German army was strongly blocked by the Soviet army and the cold winter near Moscow, but with the arrival of the spring of 1942, the German army seemed to be renewed. Rejuvenated.
However, because the German forces and weapons were damaged too much in the Battle of Moscow, they were no longer able to launch a full-scale offensive similar to the early stages of the war.
But if you focus on the elite, it is not a problem according to the German combat power.
This can be seen from the Battle of Kharkov at the beginning of "Operation Blue".
In this battle, the German pincers offensive were as effective as ever, and hundreds of thousands of Soviet troops were encircled again.
plus Manstein’s encirclement battle on the Kerch Peninsula, the Germans destroyed a total of six Soviet army groups.
Soon, the Germans passed Rostov smoothly and rushed into the Caucasus.
Caucasus
The oil production in the Caucasus accounted for more than 70% of that of the Soviet Union at that time. Stalin knew exactly what it meant to lose the Caucasus.
Therefore, he can only mobilize heavy defense.
In this contest, the Soviet army has learned well.
They stopped blindly defending, and began to choose to retreat at the appropriate time.
Of course, they are not blindly retreating, they always have to kill some German soldiers in order to communicate.
By September, the German army has advanced to the junction of the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, such as Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Sochi, Sukhumi, Batumi and other ports.
Unexpectedly, the Soviet army did not retreat until now.
Because once the German forces seize the above-mentioned ports, not only the Soviet Black Sea Fleet will lose its supply base, but even the US military assistance line for Stalin will be cut off.
Fortunately, the Soviet defense in depth began to show its effect. The German army was not as strong as before because the supply line was too long.
So the two armies fell into a stalemate in the Caucasus Mountains.
At this time, the 6th Army in the direction of Stalingrad sent good news: They have broken through the outer defenses of Stalingrad, and they have all the way.On the high ground outside the city center.
Caucasus Defense
According to the initial plan of "Operation Blue", the 6th Army is not the main force of this operation. Its task is to cover the flanks of the German Caucasus.
Indeed, when the main force of the Southern Army Group was following Hitler’s instructions to participate in the Rostov Siege, the Sixth Army led by Paulus was rushing towards Stalingrad along the Don River alone.
is also at the Don River Bend, Paulus once again used a pincer offensive to complete the siege of Karachi.
This battle was the last successful siege and annihilation of Operation Barbarossa.
Since then, there is no more Soviet army to the west of the Don River, and the lock of Stalingrad's door has been cracked.
The German soldiers of the 6th Army
Paulus’s aggressive advancement shocked Stalin, for which he issued the famous Order No. 227: "No step back".
But how could Hitler give up this great opportunity.
Yes! Since there is no breakthrough in the Caucasus direction, it is better to try Stalingrad.
Occupying Stalingrad can also indirectly achieve the purpose of bringing Caucasus oil fields into the bag.
So, after dispatching Hot's 4th Armored Army to support the 6th Army, Hitler then drew 9 divisions from the Caucasus to strengthen Paulus.
But Hitler underestimated the deterrent effect of Order No. 227 on the Soviet army.
In the next city offensive and defensive battle, the soldiers and civilians of Stalingrad resisted stubbornly, and actually carried the Sixth Army's crazy attack.
At this moment, the British and American intelligence agencies promptly spread false information that they are about to open up a second front.
Although this false message was not implemented until 20 months later, it did worry Hitler a bit.
Therefore, even if Stalingrad and the Caucasus needed the "last straw" to determine the victory or defeat, he did not dare to transfer troops on the western front.
In other words, Hitler no longer has a reserve team on the Eastern Front.
Whether it is Leningrad on the northernmost line or the Caucasus on the southernmost point.
In November 1942, the Soviet army launched Uranus operations
On November 19, 1942, Soviet reinforcements from Stalingrad were quietly assembled.
Next, they imitated the German pincer offensive.
In only one day, the Soviet army broke through the defense zone of the German servants Romania.
Compare the attacking direction of the Soviet army, and their goal is to the rear of the Sixth Army.
Paulus, who is capable of fighting well, knows the current dangerous situation very well.
For him, there are only two options.
One is to quickly retreat before the Soviet army completes the pincer offensive to avoid annihilation of the entire army; the other is to rely on the existing positions to hold fast and then seek opportunities to break through.
Paulus preferred the former, but Hitler stubbornly insisted on the latter.
So three days later, the Soviet army successfully completed the siege of the 6th Army.
German prisoner of war
On February 2, 1943, the 6th Army, which had run out of ammunition and food, announced its surrender.
At this time, there are only 91,000 people left in this elite force of the past, including more than 2500 officers and 24 generals.
Soon, they were organized into columns, and walked towards the cold and desolate Siberian prisoner-of-war camp step by step on the ice and snow journey.
(Follow-up: From 1945 to 1955, the prisoners of the 6th Army began to return to Germany one after another. According to the statistics, they only survived 5000 people.)
