novelhk Chapter 1118
Chapter 1118
“Well, I got it, I’ll pay attention!”
When the Führer called, Guderian had just arrived in Vienna, where he was replenishing fuel, fresh water and food, preparing to move on and enter Hungary.
However, shortly after his army arrived in Vienna, the Soviet army had crossed the border and entered Hungary.
Judging from the time, if it is estimated at a normal speed, the Soviet army should have captured Sollok, an important town in the east of Hungary.
Sollok is less than 150 kilometers away from the Hungarian capital of Budapest, which is very close. After taking this city, the Soviet army does not need to wait for the main force in the rear, they are completely They could have sent out a detachment in advance, quickly marched westward, and occupied Budapest before the Germans.
Budapest was now a completely undefended city. Due to the escape of Regent Horthy, the situation in Hungary was in chaos, the government was facing collapse, the army had long been dispersed, and the people were in complete panic.
In this situation, it was unrealistic to expect the Hungarian army to resist the Soviet attack, so they had to evaluate it according to the worst-case scenario.
According to the war game simulation of the Imperial Supreme Command Staff, if Guderian continued to advance at the current speed, after they arrived in Hungary, he The probability of encountering the Soviet army is more than 70%, and there is a 60% probability of being ambushed by the Soviet army.
For an armored unit, after a long raid, it is ambushed by the enemy, and the enemy who ambushed it also has a powerful armored unit. Then the hope of winning this battle is very slim! The results of weapon deduction within the empire are realistic. Guderian’s First Army is very likely to be defeated, and the worst case scenario is that the entire First Army will be destroyed.
Even in the best case, after encountering the Soviet army, they will lose at least more than 30% of their troops and equipment..
Considering that the total casualties of the First Army in the past two years of fighting were no more than this, the price was too heavy for the Empire to accept.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Mainz decided to order Guderian to suspend the march towards Budapest.
Cities are dead, but people are alive. It is obviously not a good deal to sacrifice an elite field army for a city.
Although this is equivalent to handing over Budapest to the Soviet Union.
However, while retaining the strength of the army, it is entirely possible for the Empire to take back these places from the Soviet Union.
The only price to pay is time!
“Humph, Zhukov, it seems that I underestimated you. I didn’t expect that your trick would really work!”
Facing the military map of Hungary and the entire Central Europe, Mainz’s face was frosty and he was quite dissatisfied.
Zhukov’s strategy was not brilliant. His plan was rather unconventional, with high risks and high returns.
Under normal circumstances, if the Hungarian incident had not occurred, Mainz would be completely confident of breaking the opponent’s trick.
In addition to mobilizing Guderian’s First Army, he also had five airborne divisions, which could be deployed within one day and could completely seize the city of Budapest before the Soviet army.
However, the airborne divisions lacked heavy weapons. If they were allowed to face the main force of the Soviet army alone, it would definitely be a waste.
Therefore, the use of the airborne divisions must be coordinated with the heavy armored forces on the ground.
However, due to the unauthorized escape of the Hungarian regent, the Soviet army Move faster. The German army will not be able to enter here before the Soviet army. In this way, even if they still have airborne troops, they cannot use them rashly.
Once the Soviet army occupies the city of Budapest, the entire Hungary will surely fall. After the fall of Hungary, Czech Republic in the north, Odili in the west, Bulgaria in the south and the countries on the Balkan Peninsula will all be threatened by the Soviet Union.
In this case, the Soviet Union has a wider range of choices.
They can attack Czech Republic and other places to the north and completely seize the high ground in Central Europe, thus forming a strategic situation of looking down on the Third Reich from a high position.
They can also send troops to Odili and attack the Empire’s territory along the Danube River, forcing the Empire to deploy troops here, thereby reducing the Empire’s military strength on the Eastern Front and preventing the Empire from investing too many troops to attack.
The homeland of the Russian Bear, thus achieving the goal of besieging Wei to save Zhao.
As for attacking to the south, the Empire does not care much about the life and death of Bulgaria or the countries on the Balkan Peninsula in the south. If the Russian Bear really takes this step, Mainz will applaud!
So he speculated that Zhukov would most likely not choose this!
Judging from the preliminary results, with Mainz’s order to suspend the First Army’s eastward advance, Zhukov’s first-stage goal has been achieved.
From now on, the contest between the two sides has entered the second round: the battle for Central Europe!
In Central Europe, the most critical place is still here in Czech. The Sudeten Highlands in Czech are too important for the Empire!
The German army must not lose this place, and the Russian Bear will definitely do its best to attack here.
Therefore, the next stage of the battle will definitely be… The battle revolved around the fight for the high ground in Central Europe.
However, in the face of the military threat from the Soviet army, the Empire had to leave a certain size of troops in Odili to guard it.
Otherwise, it would be very annoying for the Empire if the Soviet army crossed the Danube and came to attack and harass Odili!
After figuring this out, Mainz immediately began to make plans.
He called Manstein in North America and asked him to hand over the North American affairs to Vanelk as soon as possible, and then return to the Empire with Model.
In the next stage, the German army will fight on two fronts, and both Manstein and Model will be useful. They must rush back as soon as possible!
In addition to transferring back the troops and generals in North America, Mainz sent a telegram to Banya and Italy in Southern Europe, inviting them to join the war against the bear.
Although both countries have participated in the European coalition, the number of troops sent by the two countries is not large.
Now that the German army is going to fight a decisive battle with the bear in Central Europe, the battle on the Eastern Front must be handed over to the coalition.
Considering the current size and combat effectiveness of the coalition forces, Mainz intends to ask the member states of the European Union to send additional troops, and intends to hand over the coalition forces to Manstein for unified command.
In this way, the combat effectiveness of the coalition forces will definitely be able to reach a higher level, thereby further exerting pressure on the Russian bear, so that the Russian bear will not be able to send troops to Central Europe to support Zhukov.
After resolving the issues in Eastern Europe, Mainz plans to mobilize seven armies to join the encirclement and suppression of Zhukov from three directions!
Since Zhukov likes to take an unconventional approach, let him feel the taste of the empire’s iron fist!