I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 885 Knowing it’s impossible but doing it

The German army has a total of only 3700 armored vehicles, far less than Russia, which has a total of more than 8000.

The German army produced only 500 armored vehicles per month.

After several mobilizations, Russia's monthly production of armored vehicles has increased to 1200 vehicles, 2.4 times that of Germany.

Although Russia has a higher output of armored vehicles, Germany's armored vehicles have only been produced in recent years, with more advanced technology and stronger combat effectiveness.

George couldn't remember what level of armored vehicles Germany had at that time in another time and space.

In Chersk, Russian troops captured a relatively intact German armored fighting vehicle.

This armored vehicle weighs up to 40 tons and uses a 75mm smoothbore gun. Although its power is similar to that of Russia's main battle Type 35 armored vehicle, the front armor of its turret is 100mm thick, and its defense capability exceeds that of the Type 35 armored vehicle.

After dismantling the engine of the armored vehicle, the Russian army was surprised to find that the engine used in the German armored vehicle had a power of up to 700 horsepower, far exceeding the 35 horsepower of the Type 580 armored vehicle.

No wonder the German armored vehicles dared to build up the front armor to 100 mm.

The Russian Army's Type 35 armored fighting vehicle has only 90 mm of armor on the front of the turret and a combat weight of 32 tons.

George could only sigh that the Germans were indeed very talented in mechanics.

Russia isn't bad either.

The Type 40 armored vehicle that Russia is about to equip its troops with has a 120mm thick armor on the front of the turret and a 45-degree inclined armor, which greatly improves its defense capability compared to the Type 35.

The Type 40 uses an 88mm tank gun. After adopting a new ammunition feeder, its firing rate and power have been greatly improved compared to the Type 35.

The Type 40's engine is a diesel engine that can provide 650 horsepower. Although its power is lower than that of Germany's new armored vehicles, it has higher reliability and durability due to the use of diesel.

Although the German engine could provide greater power, its reliability was not good. The armored vehicle had to be abandoned by the German army because it broke down.

Compared with the clash between armored forces, the confrontation between infantry is more direct and more brutal.

Although Russia's total artillery volume is not as large as Germany's, because it is equipped with a large number of rocket launchers, the Russian artillery's unit delivery capability is stronger than that of the German army.

Of Germany's 4.7 artillery pieces, more than 3 were captured from other countries, not produced in Germany. They did not match Germany's weapon system, placing heavy pressure on the German army's logistics.

Since Russia has equipped infantry divisions with a large number of early-production armored vehicles, pure infantry divisions no longer exist in Russia.

Although these armored vehicles are outdated, their defense is actually not weak after adding external armor. Even Germany's latest anti-tank guns find it difficult to hit them with one shot.

Unless the German artillery was cheating, two consecutive shots would accurately hit the same location.

Although the Russian army had a great advantage, the battle situation was still tense.

This is also normal.

The German army not only had complex artillery models, but also complex sources of troops. It included troops from traditional allies Austria and Hungary, as well as vassal troops from Poland and France.

George was very unhappy.

It is understandable that the Poles hated Russia and joined the German army, but why did the French join the German army?
Not only does Russia have no grudge against France, but it was also an ally of France in the last World War. Without the restraint of Imperial Russia, France would have been wiped out in the last World War.

News from the Warsaw front indicated that a large proportion of the German troops participating in the battle were Africans.

That explains it.

France suffered heavy losses in the last world war, losing an entire generation.

After the war, in order to make up for the population shortage in France, France had to increase the proportion of foreign legions in its military system.

During World War I, the French Foreign Legion had only 4.5 men.

When World War II broke out, France planned to mobilize 600 million people, but actually only mobilized 170 million.

Among these 170 million people, the proportion of foreign legionnaires is as high as 30%.

The way France tempts Africans to join the Foreign Legion is through naturalization. After serving in France for a certain number of years, soldiers of the Foreign Legion can obtain French citizenship.

Since the purpose is to obtain naturalization, for the soldiers of the Foreign Legion, there is no difference between serving for France and serving for Germany.

The information George received indicated that the first batch of attacking troops dispatched by the German army came almost entirely from France and Poland.

Although Poles and Germans look similar, it is still easy to distinguish their identities, because those Poles did not even change their clothes and were still wearing Polish military uniforms, and the weapons they used were also standard weapons of the Polish army.

Like the German army, the Russian army also made extensive use of vassal troops.

Especially the vassal troops from Goryeo and Australia.

During the last world war, Britain recruited 50 Australian and New Zealand troops from Australia and New Zealand.

Russia was still more conscientious than the British and only recruited 20 troops.

Russia is also more conscientious than the British in the use of its vassal armies.

When the German army was fighting in the south and north, Russia built a large number of fortifications on the border. Although it did not cover almost the entire Franco-German border like the German army did, it used reinforced concrete to build a large number of permanent fortifications similar to the Belgian Liège Fortress. These permanent fortifications have very strong defenses and will not be directly destroyed even if they are directly hit by a 155mm heavy artillery shell.

There is only one Liège fortress in Belgium.

Russia has 12 similar fortresses near the border alone.

Fedor von Bock stared at the Brest Fortress on the sand table in a daze. For a moment he was at a loss as to how to tackle this tough problem.

The German army attacked in three directions. Bock was the commander of the Center Army Group, commanding a total of 51 divisions and 192 million people.

According to the original plan, the mission of the Central Army Group was to quickly penetrate into Russia, annihilate the Russian troops in the border areas, and then go straight to Moscow.

The plan is good.

However, at the first step of execution, Bock encountered big trouble.

The Brest Fortress was built in 1833 and was completed during the First World War.

After the end of World War II, Russia continued to expand the Brest Fortress, adding airports and armored units to the original one.

The Brest Fortress is not a single fortress, but a group of fortresses built on four islands.

The four islands are divided by the Bug River and artificial canals. Each fortress is surrounded by rivers and connected by bridges.

The Russian army not only stockpiled a large amount of weapons and equipment in the fortress, but also built passages around the fortress for armored vehicles to enter and exit, and even built a separate fortress for armored units.

"We cannot capture this fortress until we gain air superiority."

Lieutenant General Franz Halder, Chief of Staff of the Central Group, was also at a loss.

Halder was the mastermind behind Operation Barbarossa.

The core of Operation Barbarossa was to gain air superiority first.

The German army was very clear about the location of these Russian fortresses and their configuration. If they could not gain air superiority, sending ground troops to attack these sturdy fortresses would be tantamount to murdering the ground troops.

Before the outbreak of the war, many German officers visited the Brest Fortress and were familiar with its structure.

It’s useless to just know about it. You won’t know whether you can win it until you fight.

"Whether it is possible or not, you have to try it to know."

The confusion in Bock's eyes flashed away.

There was a huge controversy within the German army about whether to go to war with Russia, and in the end it was the little mustache man who made the final decision.

There cannot be two tigers in one mountain. Even if Germany gathers all the strength of Europe, it cannot support an army of 500 million.

With its strong resources and industrial capabilities, Russia can produce enough aircraft and armored fighting vehicles over time.

Once Russia has an overwhelming advantage, even if Germany does not want to fight, Russia will take the initiative to attack Germany.

Although the current battlefield situation is tense, it is because the air force fight has not yet been decided.

If the Russian Air Force cannot be destroyed in the shortest possible time, the excellent pilots accumulated by the German army will sooner or later be lost over time.

The supplies stored in the Brest Fortress could be used by the defenders for at least one year. If they wanted to reduce the losses, they had to make a bold breakthrough, surround the Brest Fortress, cut off the supply of materials to the fortress, and starve the defenders to death.

But this is easier said than done.

Although the Russian army had only 3 defenders in the Brest Fortress, they were equipped with more than 200 armored vehicles. Even if all the bridges around the fortress were blown up, the Russian army had the ability to repair them and build a steel pontoon bridge for the armored vehicles to pass in the shortest time.

The Russian army has 150 million troops in this area, which is almost the same as the German army. If the German troops are not careful, they will be surrounded by the Russian army.

Therefore, only by taking down these Russian fortresses distributed in the border areas can the German army implement the next plan.

Unlike Bock, who was at a loss, George was sure to win.

Although the German army seemed to be coming with great force, in fact, it only had three tricks. As long as the Russian Air Force was not completely destroyed in the first place, the German blitzkrieg could not be implemented smoothly.

Compared with Germany, Russia's resource advantage is too huge and they are not on the same level at all.

If George was the mustache guy, he would also be forced to launch an attack on Russia out of fear even though he knew he could not win.

In the Soviet-German War in another time and space, on the first day alone, the Russian Air Force lost 1200 aircraft, 800 of which were destroyed before they took off.

The main reason for such heavy losses was not the sudden attack by the German army, but Russia's mistake. The airport was too close to the border, so it was attacked by the German army.

Russia has long moved strategic units to the rear and placed airports in inland areas far from the border.

Although George did not know the loss of the German elite pilots, based on the current level of losses, George estimated that the German large-scale offensive could only last for a month at most.

After a month, all the German aircraft will be lost.

(End of this chapter)