Paulus frowned at the map on his desk at his headquarters in Karachi.

Although the Germans fought valiantly in Stalingrad, it was precisely this that gave Paulus a headache...... If the German soldiers are not heroic enough or not well equipped, etc., then it can be solved.

Paulus could report to Hitler in the wolf's den and get more troops and equipment.

The problem is that these are not the reasons.

Although the Germans were certainly inferior to the Russians in terms of total strength, it was clear that the Germans had the upper hand in Stalingrad:

The ratio of infantry is 1.2:1, the ratio of air force is 3.6:1, the ratio of tanks is 2:1, and the ratio of artillery is 3:1......

In particular, the military qualities of the German army are obviously much better than those of the Russian army.

"We know a little from the captives!" Paulus complained to his adjutant: "Many of the Russians are new recruits, a considerable number of them even workers who have never been to the battlefield, and the soldiers from the 'correctional battalion' were interrogated a few days ago...... That is, the Russians are forcing their soldiers into battle with guns. But even so, we still can't break through their defense, the offensive line is still moving forward in meters, and some parts are even going backwards! "The new 81 Chinese network is updated the fastest on the computer:/

The adjutant did not answer, because he also did not understand why this was the case.

Fighting a war is nothing more than looking at quality, equipment, and morale...... The Germans, having an overwhelming superiority in all of this, were mired in the quagmire and unable to move.

After thinking about it, the adjutant said: "I think it's because they are familiar with the terrain, especially the underground pipes!" ”

"I know this!" Paulus stood up and took a few steps in front of his desk, lit a cigarette anxiously, and continued: "We can't have all the advantages, we are fighting on their land, this is their city, and they should be familiar with the terrain!" They also have always been familiar with the terrain, but we still fought all the way from Poland to here, we have never suffered such an obstacle, what the hell is different about Stalingrad ?! ”

Paulus was right when he said that if there was any defeat for the Germans before that, it was the Battle of Moscow.

But the Battle of Moscow did not develop into urban street fighting, and the defeat of the Battle of Moscow was due to a cold snap, not because the Germans could not defeat the enemy.

Now, the Battle of Stalingrad is a face-to-face battle between the German and Soviet armies in the ruins, scrambling among buildings and fighting among broken bricks.

No one would have believed that the Germans would be helpless against the Russian army in such a battle, because before that...... The Germans always won more with fewer and crushed the opponent. New Bayi Chinese Network debuted

"Maybe ......" After hesitating for a while, the adjutant said, "Maybe it's because of the 'Breakout Hero', General!" ”

"Fuck the 'breakout heroes'!" Paulus replied without thinking: "Even if he is a hero, he is only a man, a captain, a junior officer, what role can such a person play in such a battle?" ”

Considering that thousands of people die every day on this battlefield, there is really a limit to the role that a hero or a junior officer can play.

"But......" The adjutant knew that Paulus did not like to listen to such words to boost the morale of others, but he still plucked up his courage and said, "We know from the captives that this 'breakout hero' has made a lot of useful suggestions, including the use of sewers to attack, and the defensive tactics of Mamayev Hill, which are his masterpieces!" ”

Paulus remained silent, for he knew that these two items were indeed a great problem for the Germans.

"Recently, I heard that he was renovating the 'punishment camp'!" The adjutant continued: "Many of our soldiers and officers are afraid of him......"

"Afraid of him? Why be afraid of him? Paulus asked angrily.

"Because of his presence, we usually can't win!" The adjutant replied: "Moscow, the Crimean Peninsula and, before that, Odessa......"

"Shut up, Götze!" Paulus interrupted the adjutant: "This is where his myth ends, and we will defeat them!" ”

"Yes, General!" The adjutant replied, of course, he did not dare to deny it.

Then Paulus understood that this "hero of the breakout" even affected the confidence of the German army in victory.

After staring at the map for a long time, Paulus said, "If we have a hard time dealing with these rats in the city, we should keep them out of food!" ”

"Supply lines?"

"Yes, supply lines!" Paulus nodded.

"But the general......" said the adjutant, "our air force has done its best, they have been bombing the Volga day and night, but this has not been able to cut off their transport." You know, they can always bring something from the river! ”

"So, we can't rely entirely on the Air Force!"

"You can't rely on the Air Force...... What else can we rely on? ”

"Artilleryman, Götze!" Pointing to the map, Paulus said: "Under the cover of the Air Force, our artillery has completely suppressed the enemy's artillery. So why don't we transfer artillery to the front and block the Volga with artillery fire in coordination with the Air Force! ”

"It's too dangerous, General!" The adjutant's eyes widened: "We didn't seize control of the front!" ”

The Germans had been trying to do this all along, and the attack on Mamayev was also aimed at that.

But Mamayev Hill was not completely under the control of the Germans, so the transfer of artillery to the front line could become a target for the enemy.

"Build a position for artillery!" Paulus ordered: "We can use the building and place the artillery behind the building." As far as I know, the Russians do the same, they can, and so can we! In addition, the Prime Minister will give us a batch of reinforcements...... I believe that with a little more force, we will be able to strangle the Russians by the neck and leave them breathless! ”

Paulus's approach was indeed risky.

Placing artillery on the front line to blockade the Volga would put one's own artillery within the enemy's line of sight or even the range of mortars.

What's more, the Soviet army retreated during the day and counterattacked at night, so whenever the Soviet army counterattacked at night, the German artillery fire could be captured or destroyed by the Soviet army.

For the German army, artillery fire is also a valuable war resource, and it cannot be wantonly destroyed.

The problem is that if the risk of deploying artillery on the front line can control the supply line at Stalingrad, there is a risk that the Russian army in Stalingrad will not even have shells and ammunition to counterattack, and will eventually collapse.

In other words, even the loss of some artillery may be worth it, and may even be much larger than the artillery.