Rise of Australia

Chapter 968 Counterattack!

Whether Manstein and the German High Command were willing to believe it or not, the cruel reality was already before everyone.

The failure of Manstein's Second Panzer Group led to the collapse of the entire German Southern Army Group.

There was no way around it. After all, this armored cluster was originally drawn from the front battlefield, and the loss of firepower on the front battlefield was bound to be seized by the Russians.

In addition, the retreat route of the Second Panzer Group was highly overlapped with the rear route of the German army in the front. If the German army in the front still stayed in the Sudalingrad battlefield, the biggest possibility would be that the rear route would be cut off and then the Russian army would achieve counter-encirclement.

You know, this is the safety of more than 300 million German soldiers. After learning that Manstein's armored group attack failed and had retreated, the commander-in-chief of the German Southern Army Group did not hesitate at all and directly issued an order to retreat.

But the German retreat was not so glorious, especially with the Russian army in hot pursuit and relentless pursuit.

Retreat was just a nice-sounding act. The actual situation of the German army on the battlefield was continuous defeat, and the soldiers were facing a complete reversal of the situation before they could react.

The day before, the German army was still attacking fiercely, occupying houses in Sudalingrad one by one. The day after, the German army was already fleeing in a hurry, and their comrades behind them were constantly being killed by the Russian army.

This was a terrible experience for the German soldiers.

The reversal of the situation brought a double blow to the German soldiers both physically and psychologically, and also caused the Battle of Sudalingrad to end at an extremely fast speed.

Russia paid the price of more than four million soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties to successfully defend this city with a significant name.

The German army's casualties were originally not many, but after this defeat, the casualties exceeded two million and were still increasing.

This war also met Arthur's expectations.

Although it seems that Russia's casualties were only more than 5 million, the death toll was only about half of them.

But we have to take into account that large tracts of land have been occupied by Russia, and these lands are also inhabited by tens of millions of Russians.

The German government's policy towards the Russians in these occupied areas was not very good, and it could even be said that they did not care at all.

A large amount of food from occupied areas, including Ukraine, was transported to the front battlefield and Germany, which also put the Russian people in these occupied areas at risk of a serious food shortage crisis.

Even if there was food, the price was still very high and it was simply unaffordable for the Russians in the occupied areas.

Although the Battle of Sudalingrad caused Russia to suffer more than 500 million casualties in the entire year, the casualties of civilians in the occupied areas were also not low, and even remained at a level similar to the casualties in the war.

This also means that in 1938 alone, Russia's total casualties exceeded million, and the death toll was also as high as about four to five million.

Such casualties were far greater than those of other countries, which was why Arthur was relatively satisfied with the final outcome of the Battle of Sudalingrad.

There was no winner in this battle for either side. The Germans had not completed their strategic plan, and they were doomed to be unable to defeat Russia in a short period of time.

Although Russia held on to Sudalingrad, it also suffered heavy casualties. Even though Russia had a population of over 100 million, it would take a long time to recuperate in the face of such heavy casualties.

However, for the Russian government at that time, the most important thing was to drive the Germans out of the Russian hinterland in one go.

Even if possible, the Russian government's next plan is to take advantage of the defeat of the German army to retake important regions such as Ukraine.

In February 1939, a large number of Russian troops emerged from their original defensive positions and launched a pursuit of the defeated German army.

The pursuit spanned hundreds of kilometers, and the Russian army chased all the way from Sudalingrad to Kharkov before stopping.

The German troops along the way abandoned a large number of weapons and equipment, even tanks and planes, not to mention the heavy casualties.

Most of the hundreds of aircraft deployed by the Germans at Mikhailovka and Millerovo remained at the airports and were captured by Russian soldiers before they had a chance to take off.

More importantly, this failure put the German army in a very serious crisis on the Eastern European battlefield.

The Russian army had completely reversed the situation on the battlefield with its momentum. The German army could only rely on the temporary defense line to temporarily hold back the Russian army, but it was only temporary.

If Germany does not have any support, it will be difficult to defend against the Russian attack with the current number of troops.

Is there any support from Germany?
It is completely transparent.

But for Germany at present, how much manpower and weapons and equipment can it provide to support the Eastern European battlefield?
The latest mobilization policy issued by the German government has indeed armed more troops, and the total number of German troops is now close to 900 million.

You have to know that this was the terrifying size of the army that Germany was able to maintain even though it suffered millions of casualties.

In other words, the total number of soldiers mobilized by Germany in this war has exceeded 10 million, making it the second country after Russia with a number of soldiers exceeding 10 million.

But these more than 900 million soldiers were fighting in various places, and the German army could not gain an advantage whether in Western Europe, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, or Southern Europe.

After problems arose on the Eastern European battlefield, the German government urgently dispatched an army group that had just completed training in the country to provide support.

The army group had about 40 soldiers from all walks of life, with the youngest soldier only 15 or 16 years old and the oldest over 50 years old.

This also reflects the difficulties faced by the current German government. Although it seems that it has maintained a fairly large army, in fact, it has been achieved through the efforts of all Germans.

Even if Germany eventually wins the war, it may not be a victory for Germany.

The German government also knew that 40 troops could no longer have an impact on the Eastern European battlefield. But there was no other way, as the Northern and Western European battlefields also needed the support of the German government.

Not to mention the Nordic battlefield for now, the whole of Norway has been completely liberated, and most of Sweden's territory, including Finland's southern coastal areas, are under the control of Britain, France and Australia.

Hundreds of thousands of German troops stationed in Northern Europe had already withdrawn from the Danish region and headed to the lowlands to strengthen their defenses.

The army group responsible for garrisoning in Paris was simply unable to withstand the attack of a large number of French troops. After all, the British, French and Australian troops were attacking from all directions, and they could not be stopped by defensive positions in one direction alone.

The Germans had built a solid line of defense along the Loire River, ensuring that the French would not be able to capture their positions in a short period of time.

But after a large number of British and French troops chose to land in Normandy, the defense line that the Germans had worked so hard to build basically became a decoration.

You know, these defensive positions are all for defending against the attack of the French army from the south, so naturally they will not consider the northern region too much. After all, the northern region is still in the hands of the Germans, so they can't take the initiative to defend against their own people, right?

But since Britain and France landed in Normandy, these landing troops are likely to go straight into the entire Normandy region and reach the German defense positions.

It would be strange if the German army could still remain safely in its defensive positions in the face of such a threat.

In order to prevent the troops in the defensive positions from being surrounded by Britain and France, the Germans first sent all the garrisons in Brittany to Normandy for defense, and added more garrisons in the Benelux region.

There is an advantage to doing this. If the British and French troops choose to infiltrate the German positions from the Normandy region at all costs, then the German troops on both sides can directly block the retreat of this army and achieve the goal of catching the tortoise in the middle.

Even if the British and French armies attacked Normandy steadily, the garrisons on both sides could strengthen their positions on both sides and delay the offensive speed of the British and French armies.

Originally, according to such a defensive deployment, coupled with occasional material and military support from the country, the German army on the Western Front could hold out for a long time.

But after the defeat of the German army on the Eastern Front, this stable situation changed.

The German army that was originally going to support the Western Front could only choose to support Eastern Europe. After all, compared to the relatively stable Western European defense line, the battlefield in Eastern Europe was the real danger.

But this also caused problems in the Western European battlefield, which was originally not short of supplies and manpower. The French offensive was uninterrupted, and although it was not as fierce as imagined, the daily consumption of supplies and casualties of the German army were not small figures.

It may be possible to stabilize the situation in a short period of time, but if the German government fails to provide assistance for a long time, the German troops within the defense line will have no choice but to retreat.

After the Battle of Sudalingrad, Britain, France and Australia faced a new choice: whether to fight or not.

Without much hesitation, the armies of the three countries chose to take this opportunity to attack Germany.

After all, Germany and Russia's consumption has reached a relatively high level, which basically meets the strategic plans of Britain and Australasia.

If the war were allowed to drag on, it would be a drain on Britain and France themselves.

This was something the British did not want to see. After all, Australasia was not affected at all in the war, and such unknowns made the British nervous.

If the war continues to stalemate at this rate, Germany and Russia will indeed suffer more losses, but Britain and France will also suffer a lot.

This would allow Australasia to gain a direct advantage. The British government saw this and therefore made the decision to end the war as soon as possible.

At this time, Arthur also received the news that the Battle of Sudalingrad had ended. In line with the choice of Britain and France, Arthur also decided to end the war as soon as possible.

The territories that were desired have basically been obtained, and the distribution of post-war benefits will have to wait until the peace talks.

In this case, it would be better to defeat the enemy Germany as soon as possible, and by occupying large tracts of German territory and supporting more friendly Australasian countries, gain the right to speak and the initiative in future war negotiations.

Under Arthur's instructions, the Australasian army was divided into two groups.

Continue to recover Finnish territory all the way in Northern Europe, and support Dmitry in rebuilding the Finnish government as soon as possible.

Another route started from the Maginot Line, first attacked Frankfurt, and then went north to occupy the entire Ruhr area.

Yes, occupying the Ruhr area of ​​Germany was very important in Arthur's strategic plan.

The Ruhr area is the industrial heart of Germany and the most essential part of Germany, an industrial power. Although it was looted and occupied after World War I, it quickly recovered.

If we can occupy the Ruhr area and seize some important industrial equipment and skilled workers, it will be very helpful to the future industrial development of Australasia.

However, such an attack was very challenging because a large area of ​​French territory, including Paris, was still occupied by Germany, and the Ruhr area was located in a relatively deep position.

If the Australasian army wanted to occupy the Ruhr area, it had to go around to the rear of the German army on the Western Front.

The difficulty of this task can be imagined. Although the successful occupation of the Ruhr area brought great gains, completing this task also required great challenges.

Arthur did not think of advancing the front to the Ruhr area in a short time. The time of occupying the Ruhr area was almost the same as the time of France's recovery of Paris. This would not only cut off the retreat of a large number of German troops, but also face the German army that had just been defeated, so the pressure was not that great.

Secondly, by occupying the Ruhr area and cutting off the German army's retreat on the Western Front, it would also be possible to write a significant chapter in the history of Australasia in World War II.

Whether it is to fight for more benefits in the post-war peace talks or in the subsequent propaganda work, it is very beneficial.

The Ruhr area is not far from the German capital of Berlin. As long as the Ruhr area is occupied, it means that it is not far from capturing Berlin.

Having lost its industrial heart, Germany was doomed to be on the brink of collapse. For Germany, defeat in this war was only a matter of time.

In March 1939, before the Russian counterattack on the Eastern Front had achieved much success, the French on the Western Front received good news.

Thanks to the Germans' withdrawal of troops from Brittany, the French army finally found an opportunity to recapture cities such as Nantes and Rennes in southern Brittany.

Lorient and Brest further west were also basically in the hands of the French. In other words, the French had basically recovered the entire Brittany region.

Although Brittany is not as large and not as important as Paris and Normandy.

But after all, it was the first time that a complete piece of territory was officially recovered since the large area of ​​northern territory was occupied by Germany. It still has very important significance for the whole of Germany and all German people.

After Brittany was basically recovered, the Germans had to carry out strategic contraction again and gave up a large area of ​​positions from Nantes to Tours.

There was no way, the Brittany region could easily go around to the rear of these positions. At this time, the positions were no longer a solid line of defense for the German army, but a death warrant for the German army.

Currently in Normandy and Brittany, British and French troops have occupied large tracts of land.

This also seriously affected the German defensive positions on the other side of the Loire River. The Germans even retreated to the vicinity of Orleans and voluntarily gave up a large area of ​​land on the other side of Tours.

Strategic contraction was the only policy of the German government to deploy its troops to the Western Front.

There is no other way. In the absence of manpower and material assistance, in order to prevent the Western Front Army from experiencing the same defeat as the Eastern Front Army, the best way is to actively carry out strategic contraction, giving up part of the land in exchange for the stability of the entire Western Front defense line.

(End of this chapter)