I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 896 It’s better not to meet
Vasily could not be as hypocritical as Britain and France.

Agreeing to the Italians' demands, promising to forgive bygone days, and promising some benefits might keep Italy in the Russian camp.

But what is the price?

The price would be Russia's honor, which would suffer at the hands of the capricious Italians.

Vasily would rather drag Germany and Italy into battle than see Russia's honor suffer any loss because of Italy.

George definitely supports Vasily.

The reason was simple: if Italy remained neutral, only 10 divisions would be needed to be stationed on the border to deter the Italians.

If Italy were the enemy, only five divisions would be needed to completely destroy it.

But if Italy is an ally, then 20 divisions must be sent to protect them.

Rommel never expected that after helping Mussolini regain power, he not only did not get the support he wanted, but instead had to face direct attacks from the Yugoslav army.

Although Rommel was very passive in North Africa, at least he was invincible. As long as Rommel did not take the initiative to attack the British and French armies, the British and French armies would not dare to provoke Rommel.

Neither de Gaulle nor Montgomery were stupid. They both hoped that the other side would launch an attack on Rommel first so that they could reap the benefits later.

After the Yugoslav army invaded Italy, it was unstoppable. If Rommel did not draw reinforcements from his homeland and only relied on Rommel's troops, he would not be able to withstand the attack of the Yugoslav army.

The more serious news was that with the addition of the Grand Duchy of Yuriev's troops, the two German airborne divisions in Greece had been completely surrounded and were also in urgent need of reinforcements.

Rommel was angry.

Since the Italian army was able to demonstrate strong combat effectiveness and a strong desire to survive in Russia, it broke out of the Russian army's encirclement.

Why is the performance so bad in Italy?
“Italians love peace. Only when they are on the brink of despair can they unleash all their potential.”

Mussolini boasted.

"Ah--"

Rommel sneered.

The Yugoslav army has invaded the Italian mainland and Italy is facing the invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Isn't this a desperate situation?
Let’s not talk about whether Italy is on the verge of collapse.

Rommel was in complete despair.

When Mussolini returned to power, the Battle of Warsaw ended. The Axis forces led by the German army suffered more than 47 casualties, and only more than 2 Italian troops escaped the encirclement.

Andrei continued his efforts and ordered the Russian army to take advantage of the victory to attack the German army.

The main attack missions were undertaken by the Korean and Australian troops, which had previously served as strategic reserves, as well as the newly mobilized Cossack 11th and 12th Armies.

A Cossack army group consisted of about 5 people and consisted of two armies.

Andrei also did not expect that the Russian attack would be so smooth. In just one day and one night, they had penetrated nearly 20 kilometers into the German defense line.

In order to avoid being surrounded by the German army, Andrei ordered the Russian army to stop attacking the Polish hinterland and instead attack on both sides to widen the breakthrough.

Bush had no choice but to start a war of attrition with the Russian army.

As expected, once the war of attrition began, the Russian army's losses rose sharply.

This is understandable.

Whether it was offense or defense, the German army was taught hand-in-hand by the Russian army.

Like the Russian army, the German army's defense focuses on civil engineering and the defensive fulcrum role of armored vehicles, which is more than enough to deal with light infantry attacks.

Although the Russian army did not hold back when teaching German officers.

But due to the power gap between the two countries, the same tactics had completely different effects on the Russian and German armies.

Busch originally thought that the German army could at least fight the Russian army to a draw with its solid defensive positions.

The Russian army's firepower far exceeds that of the German army.

Every time the Russian army went out, it first used bombers to carry out carpet bombing on German positions.

While the bombers were being dispatched frantically, the Russian strategic support firepower was going all out, and large-caliber artillery shells and rockets were poured on the German positions like crazy, destroying a large number of fortifications built by the German army.

At the same time as the bombing and shelling, armored units were deployed accompanied by infantry, and the German anti-armor facilities, such as anti-armor trenches and minefields, did not play their due role.

The Russian army had too many armored forces, and almost every attack involved one or two armored divisions launching a group charge towards the German positions.

The German defensive forces had to enter their positions under the heavy bombardment of the Russian Air Force and artillery and could not allow Russian armored vehicles to attack their positions.

"Today, we lost at least 600 armored vehicles. The battle on the front line is still going on. In some areas, we have broken through the German positions."

Demeter was in a heavy mood. While the German army suffered heavy casualties, it also caused huge casualties to the Russian army.

The German Army's 88mm anti-tank gun posed a serious threat to Russian armored vehicles. Even the latest armored vehicles equipped by the Russian Army could only withstand the attack of the 88mm anti-tank gun if they were equipped with reactive armor.

The 125mm tank gun of Germany's new armored vehicles can also pose a deadly threat to Russian armored vehicles.

In order to stop the Russian attack, the German army even used cluster grenades and explosive packs to drill into the bottom of Russian armored vehicles and blast the weak armor at the bottom.

The German Stuka was also a powerful weapon for the German counterattack.

"With the current intensity of the attack, how long can we last?"

George is not afraid of fighting a war of attrition. Even though the Russian army suffers heavy losses, the German army's losses will only be greater than those of the Russian army.

"No more than half a month at most."

Demeter is less optimistic.

Half a month means that the Russian army's armored vehicles will be completely lost in half a month. "Then let's fight for half a month first."

George wanted to see if the German army could hold out for half a month.

Let’s not talk about whether the German army can hold on.

After the Russian army launched a counterattack, the Americans could no longer sit still.

So far, the United States has not explicitly joined either side, nor has it stopped trading with Germany or the United Kingdom.

George received news that the United States had begun mobilizing.

Referring to the last world war, it took the US military at least a year to be put into combat.

This result is not true. Due to the deliberate delay of the US military, the performance of the US military in the First World War is not of reference value.

What's more, since the German army did not implement unrestricted submarine warfare, it is hard to say which side the US military will join.

The situation now is very clear. Once Russia wins the final victory, even if the United States and Britain win, they will be driven out of Europe and lose most of their influence on Europe.

But if he joined forces with Germany, the first thing Roosevelt had to consider was how much the United States would have to pay to force Russia to cease fire.

There is no need to think about defeating Russia.

Even if the United States goes all out, it is impossible to train a sufficient number of US troops in a short period of time.

Roosevelt would not allow Russia to dominate Europe, so he ordered Secretary of State Cordell Hull to arrive in Alexandria in the name of mediation.

"The Germans haven't lost the war yet. It's a bit early to mediate now—"

Vasily was blunt and exposed the hypocrisy of the Americans in front of Cordell Hull.

The so-called mediation is nothing more than buying time for the German and American armies.

"The war has brought heavy losses to all the belligerent countries. If there is a chance to bring peace back to Europe, why should we refuse it?"

Cordell Hull spoke righteously and without changing his expression.

“Peace is won through fighting, not talking.”

Vasily was not trying to give face to Roosevelt Jr. If the United States stayed in America peacefully and did not extend its hand to Europe, Russia would not mind living in peace with the United States.

In both world wars, the United States made a fortune and made huge profits through the wars.

The last world war successfully helped the United States turn its fortunes around, from a debtor country to a creditor country.

This time, the Americans repeated their old tricks and completely got rid of the economic downturn caused by the Great Depression through trade with Germany before the outbreak of the war.

As the most serious economic crisis in history, the Great Depression brought unparalleled destructive power to the world. It was not until the end of the Battle of France that the US economy exceeded its size in 1929 when the Great Depression broke out.

"As a powerful country, Russia should maintain peace in Europe with a pragmatic attitude."

Cordell Hull is a pragmatic man with a skin as thick as a city wall.

"Then can you tell me what kind of attitude is a pragmatic attitude?"

Vasily did not like what Cordell Hull called "pragmatism."

Russia really doesn't care about what Americans call "pragmatism."

The American pragmatism is that everything is centered on interests, and anything else such as peace, friendship, honesty, credibility, etc. is not important at all.

It’s better not to have such pragmatism.

"Grand Duke, I know you don't like America, but this is the nature of the world, and America has to do this."

Cordell Hull finally couldn't stand Vasily's sarcasm.

"You are absolutely right. America's starting point must be America's interests. So I can tell you frankly that a ceasefire now is not conducive to Russia's interests."

Vasily is straightforward and does not accept any form of moral blackmail.

Now that the Russian army has gained the upper hand, even without the mediation of the United States, peace will come to Europe after Russia completely defeats Germany.

"You have ignored the interests of the whole of Europe for the sake of Russia's interests. This is really wrong."

Cordell Hull was furious.

"What the hell are you qualified to say such things to me!"

Vasily was furious and started cursing.

The French can indeed accuse Russia of being unfair.

Even the UK.

Only the United States is not eligible.

Cordel Hel never expected that Vasily would not give him any face at all.

There are others who don't give face.

Cordell Hull failed to communicate with Vasily, so he came to George, hoping George could say a word.

"I am neither the president of Russia nor the foreign minister. I am not responsible for this matter, so there is no need for a meeting."

George went even further and refused to even see Cordell Hull.

(End of this chapter)