Rise of Australia

Chapter 969: Bombing the Ruhr Area

"Mr. Chief of Staff, how is the training of our soldiers going?"

In the German government meeting room, the German Chancellor asked with a tired look on his face.

"The new troops have completed basic training. Are they going to be sent to the Russian battlefield?" German Chief of General Staff Kurt Zeitzler replied respectfully.

Kurt Zeitzler was not a famous general in the German military.

Even before being promoted to Chief of Staff, Kurt Zeitzler was only Chief of Staff of the 1st Panzer Group with the rank of Major General.

Because of the previous failure of the German army in the Battle of Moscow, the German Chancellor had the opportunity to promote his confidant, the little-known Kurt Zeitzler, to become the new Chief of the German General Staff.

Although Kurt Zeitzler is not very famous, in terms of loyalty to the German Chancellor, Kurt Zeitzler can definitely be ranked among the top five military leaders.

More importantly, promoting a person who has no roots in the military to become Chief of the General Staff would make the Junker nobles disgusted and hostile to the new Chief of Staff.

In this way, the Chief of Staff promoted by the German Prime Minister has only one way to go, that is, to constantly win the trust of the Prime Minister in order to secure his position as Chief of the General Staff.

Hearing the question from Chief of Staff Kurt Zeitzler, the German Prime Minister rubbed his brows and asked tiredly: "What is the situation on the Russian battlefield now?"

"Our Central and Southern Army Groups have established defensive positions along the line from Bryansk to Kharkov and have gathered the defeated troops retreating from Sudalingrad.

The number of troops currently deployed on the defense line is about 85, and the number of Russian soldiers attacking our defense line is at least 200 million.”

"Damn it, those losers in Army Group South, how did they manage to retreat less than half of their 300 million-strong army?" The German Chancellor couldn't help but get angry when talking about the Army Group South that had just been defeated in Sudalingrad.

The Southern Army Group brought together two of Germany's elite armored groups and a large number of artillery units. The total number of infantrymen exceeded 350 million at its peak.

However, there are only more than 80 soldiers of the Southern Army Group who have retreated to form a defense line near Kharkov. Even if the German troops in Rostov and Vroshilovgrad are included, the number of remaining soldiers of the Southern Army Group still does not exceed 150 million.

This is quite exaggerated, and it also means that most of the remaining nearly 200 million German soldiers will be captured or eliminated by Russia.

The loss of more than 200 million elite soldiers was a heavy blow to Germany's operations on the Eastern Front, and also a heavy blow to the morale and public opinion of Germany as a whole.

Apart from anything else, the German government at this time was no longer able to gather another 200 million soldiers to be deployed to the battlefield in a short period of time.

The formation of an army requires a long period of training, and millions of soldiers also require a large amount of uniforms and weapons and equipment, which cannot be produced in a short period of time.

What's more, Germany's manpower was a bit insufficient at this time. Although there were tens of millions of people from other countries in the German-occupied areas, these people could be used as labor, and the German government dared not even think about forming an army.

Because the German government could not guarantee the loyalty of the population in the occupied areas. If they were given weapons and sent to the battlefield, it was hard to say who they would point their guns at.

This also means that the only population that Germany can actually mobilize to form an army is its original native population, plus at most the Germans who support Germany within the Austrian Empire.

The total number of these people is only over 8000 million, which means that the size of the army that Germany can arm is limited. No matter how many more there are, it will never reach the level of or million.

But unfortunately, among Germany's many enemies, there is a country with a population that is capable of arming an army of 20 to 30 million.

Although the exact population figures of Russia before the war are not clear, Russia's population was at least over 1.4 million, and it is very likely that it has exceeded 1.5 million.

From this perspective, Russia's population is twice that of Germany. If Germany can arm tens of millions of troops, it means that Russia can arm 2000 million troops.

The fact is also very obvious. So far, Germany has mobilized a total of more than 800 million troops. Mobilization agencies in various places are still operating uninterruptedly, and it is expected to provide at least 150 million soldiers this year.

This is almost the limit of Germany. After the 800 million troops mobilized and consumed in many wars, the number of German soldiers left is less than 500 million.

This also means that the total death toll of German soldiers in this war has exceeded 300 million so far. If the civilian deaths are included, the death toll in Germany during the war accounts for about one twentieth of the total population, which is still quite exaggerated.

This is also the reason why it is difficult for Germany to mobilize new troops. Because the population is constantly decreasing, it is impossible to send everyone, regardless of gender or age, to the battlefield.

"How many people are there in our Third Reserve Army Group?" asked the German Prime Minister.

The Reserve Army Group is a reserve force established by Germany, which consists of ordinary people who have just been mobilized to join the army.

The Third Reserve Army Group was actually the reserve force armed by Germany's third large-scale mobilization.

"The current number has reached 45, and is expected to exceed 50 next month," reported German Chief of the General Staff Kurt Zeitzler.

When talking about the reserve troops currently in training, the expression on Kurt Zeitzler's face was obviously a little more relaxed.

Thanks to the high support of the German Chancellor among the people and the fact that the German people do not want to experience the shadow of war failure again, Germany's new mobilization policy has been very well welcomed.

At present, a steady stream of new people are changing their identities every day and becoming members of the glorious German reserve army.

This increasing number of reserve soldiers was also one of the reasons why Germany was confident in launching the Battle of Sudalingrad.

After the failure of the Battle of Sudalingrad, these: increasing reserve troops can also be sent to stabilize the defense on the eastern and western fronts, and win the last chance for Germany.

After hearing the report from Chief of General Staff Kurt Zeitzler, the German Chancellor was silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up, staring at the map of the Russian battlefield on the Eastern Front.

"Here, right here!" The German Prime Minister suddenly spoke, with a hint of joy and excitement in his tone.

Kurt Zeitzler hurried forward and observed the place where the Prime Minister had just pointed.

Kiev, the most important city in Ukraine, was also the last line of defense for Germany in the Russian-occupied zone. If Kiev was lost, the Russian army would be able to almost completely retake its own territory, which meant that Romania and Germany would be attacked.

Seeing the Prime Minister pointing at Kiev, Kurt Zeitzler had countless plans flashing through his mind, but he was the first to ask: "Kiev?"

"Yes, that's right, great." The German Prime Minister ignored Kurt Zeitzler's question and nodded excitedly, muttering to himself impatiently: "If an ambush is deployed here, what are the chances that those damn Russians can escape?"

Kurt Zeitzler nodded secretly in his heart. The Prime Minister's idea was quite similar to one of his guesses.

Although there is a vast East European plain near Kiev, it does not mean that an ambush cannot be set up in Kiev.

As luck would have it, there is a raised area divided by a river near Kiev, just on the opposite side of the river from Kiev.

This is also the route the Russians would take to retake Kiev. If Russia wanted to attack Kiev, they would most likely attack Kiev from the other side of the river.

The total length of this salient area is as high as hundreds of kilometers, and both ends are divided by rivers. If an ambush is set here and a certain number of troops are deployed on both sides to cut off the Russian retreat, it can indeed achieve a surprise effect.

Even if the Russians launched an attack on Kiev without any preparation, the ambush here would deal a fatal blow to the Russians and form a huge encirclement that would completely surround the Russian army.

However, although he saw the Prime Minister's intention, Kurt Zeitzler would not take the initiative to tell him the plan.

Since it was a plan that the Prime Minister came up with himself, it must have been proposed by the Prime Minister himself. Kurt Zeitzler was good at flattering others, otherwise he would not have been able to achieve such a high military position as the Chief of the General Staff among many outstanding German generals.

"The terrain here..." Kurt Zeitzler frowned slightly, as if an idea was about to come out.

"Yes, Kurt." The German Prime Minister nodded with a smile on his face. He didn't care that the Chief of the General Staff didn't see his plan. He smiled and explained: "The river cuts the other side of Kiev into a narrow and long protruding area, which also allows our army to set up a huge encirclement here.

Mr. Chief of Staff, what do you think of this plan?"

Faced with such a fatal question, Kurt Zeitzler did not hesitate at all and immediately answered decisively: "It is definitely a wonderful plan. Dear Prime Minister, if we set up a huge encirclement here, the Russian troops who are gradually going crazy because of regaining lost territory will not even think of it.

And this will be the turning point where we change the way of war.”

Hearing that the Chief of the General Staff, whom he had promoted, praised his idea so much, the German Prime Minister nodded again with satisfaction, and the smile on the corner of his mouth could no longer be suppressed: "Excellent, Mr. Chief of the General Staff.

I hope our troops can act as soon as possible and deploy all necessary facilities before the enemy reaches the area."

Kurt Zeitzler nodded respectfully and ended the conversation.

Although praising this plan may seem a bit like flattery, in Kurt Zeitzler's heart, he also recognizes that the plan proposed by the German Prime Minister is the only option for Germany at present.

If the German army does not actively seek more counterattack opportunities, it will gradually lose itself in the long defense, and the defense line will eventually be breached by the Russian army.

Although Germany is still mobilizing its troops, the total size of its army is limited, and Germany's population is simply not capable of breaking through such restrictions.

A population of 8000 million can never arm an army of 4000 million. After all, the country still needs a large number of factories to produce military products and other materials, which are in huge demand.

The country also needs to function, otherwise an army of 4000 million may consume all the supplies in the country in one day.

While the German Chancellor and Chief of the General Staff were planning to deploy an encirclement, on the Western European battlefield, Britain, France and Australia also had new plans.

Of course, Britain, France and Australia were also unable to launch a new offensive while maintaining the Nordic offensive, the Tours Line counterattack and the Normandy landings.

The new plan was to send the air force to bomb Germany's homeland and disrupt Germany's domestic material production and social order as much as possible.

On the targets of the air raids, Britain and Australasia reached a consensus, which was to abandon the attack on important cities such as Berlin and instead focus on cities such as Essen and Dortmund in western Germany.

These cities may not be as famous as Berlin, but this area has another name, that is the famous industrial heart of Germany, the Ruhr area.

Yes, the next target of the British, French and Australian air forces' bombing was the Ruhr area, the core area of ​​Germany.

Only by destroying Germany's domestic industrial production can Germany's mobilization progress be disrupted, making Germany even more unable to continue the war.

In order to launch a more effective attack on the Ruhr area, Britain, France and Australia have made every effort.

Led by Britain and Australasia, Britain dispatched 1200 fighters and 500 bombers, Australasia dispatched 1400 fighters and 450 bombers, and France dispatched 820 fighters and 330 bombers, a total of 4700 aircraft, which flew towards the Ruhr area in a mighty manner.

The bombing of the Ruhr was the largest Allied air raid since the outbreak of the war.

This actually also means that the military production of the United Kingdom, France and Australia has undergone multiple expansions over a long period of time, and the production speed has been several times higher than before.

At the beginning of the war, the number of aircraft owned by each country was counted in the hundreds.

But by now, the number of aircraft of all the major powers participating in the war has exceeded one thousand. For countries with relatively strong military and industrial capabilities such as Britain and Australasia, the number of aircraft is maintained at a huge scale of thousands.

You know, the consumption of aircraft on the battlefield is very huge. A large-scale battle may consume dozens or even hundreds of aircraft every day.

In the event of a large-scale air battle, the number of aircraft consumed in one air battle may be as high as hundreds or even thousands.

The fact that they can maintain thousands of aircraft despite such huge consumption actually represents the strong military production capabilities of various countries.

(End of this chapter)