"Captain, Captain?"

Just when Qin Chuan was hesitating between the Battle of Stalin and the Battle of the Caucasus, Manstein asked Qin Chuan: "What do you think about attacking Kerch?" ”

Before Qin Chuan could speak, Manstein introduced to the officers in the conference room: "This is Sergeant Flick of the First Infantry Corps, which is what you often call 'legendary sergeant', and we won the victory in Sevastopol at his suggestion!" ”

There was a loud applause in the conference room.

In fact, there was no need for Manstein's introduction at all, and the officers all knew who the only captain in Qin Chuan's conference room was.

After the applause died down, Manstein pointed to the map and said: "With a total length of 75 kilometers, the Soviets have laid out four lines of defense in a narrow area, the first line of defense, the Palpache Line, where the Soviets have arranged two armies, the 47th Army and the 51st Army, the second line of defense is the Nasser Line, here is the 44th Army, and the last two lines of defense are the Sultanovka Line and the Kerch Line, which are garrisoned by the 46th Army!" ”

"There are many troops at the front, but few troops at the rear!" Qin Chuan said.

"Yes!" "Because obviously, if we attack, we have to break the first line of defense, then the second and third......," Manstein said. And the defeated Soviet soldiers retreated and defended at the same time, and the rear did not need so many troops! ”

"Of course!" Qin Chuan said: "In this way, every time we attack, we will encounter a large number of enemy forces and crush them all!" ”

"Yes!" Manstein nodded in agreement: "That's where we get struggling!" ”

At this time, an officer made a suggestion: "Why don't we attack by boat bypassing their lines, as the captain did in Sevastopol?" ”

"This method for the Kerch Peninsula obviously does not work!" Without thinking about it, Manstein rejected this plan: "The attack on Sevastopol was due to the fact that the enemy had only one line of defense, and the goal of the attack was clear, and the distance on the sea route was short!" But if you use the Kerch Peninsula...... We land at any point and put ourselves in the middle of two lines of defense of the enemy, not to mention what the result will be if we are discovered by the enemy at sea! ”

Manstein was right that Sevastopol bypassed the enemy's line of defense from the sea and had an element of sneak attack, but he was not too worried about the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, because air supremacy had always been in the hands of the Germans. It's just that amphibious operations are still a novelty in this era, and even the Yankees are fighting with the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean while pondering, not to mention that the German army now has only fishing boats, and it is hard to imagine that the German army can rely on these fishing boats to grab the beach and land......

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan couldn't help but be stunned, and then his eyes followed the coastline of the Black Sea all the way down, and then his expression relaxed, he seemed to have thought of a way to solve the difficult problem of the Caucasus campaign.

"Captain!" Noticing Qin Chuan's expression, Manstein asked, "Have you thought of a way to attack Kerch?" ”

"No, General!" Qin Chuan replied: "In fact, what I'm worried about has never been the Kerch Peninsula!" ”

"What do you mean?" Manstein asked, confused.

"General!" Qin Chuan pointed to the map and said, "As you just said, if we attack the enemy's first line of defense, we will beat the enemy's remnants to the second line of defense, and then attack the second line of defense and chase the enemy to the third line of defense...... And so on, when we occupy the Kerch Peninsula, where will we beat the enemy? ”

One of the officers answered, "It's going to beat them to hell, isn't it?" ”

The officers laughed in unison.

Manstein glared at the officer, and everyone immediately stopped laughing.

In this respect, Manstein, unlike Rommel, did not like to discuss irrelevant things in serious meetings, even if it was a joke to relieve tension.

This may have something to do with the difference in their births...... Rommel was born from the grassroots, while Manstein was born into the aristocracy, his father, grandfather, and even his uncle were all generals. Hindenburg was also his uncle.

"Of course they will lose a lot!" Manstein looked at the map again, and then answered Qin Chuan's question: "In addition to the dead and wounded and surrendered, they will retreat across the Kerch Strait to the Taman Peninsula!" ”

The Taman Peninsula belongs to the North Caucasus, and it is separated from the Kerch Peninsula by the Kerch Strait, which is only 4 kilometers at its narrowest point, so it is not difficult to escape across the Kerch Strait to the Taman Peninsula.

In fact, in the historical Battle of Kerch, many defeated troops swam through the Kerch Strait and fled to the Taman Peninsula.

"And then?" Qin Chuan then asked: "If we attack the Taman Peninsula......

"Will they flee to the Caucasus Mountains?" Hearing this, Manstein's eyes couldn't help but flash a trace of surprise, he seemed to know what Qin Chuan was considering.

Qin Chuan nodded slightly, and said: "So I'm not worried about the Kerch Peninsula, the Taman Peninsula, or other places, because in these places the enemy at least needs to build fortifications, and our tanks also have ways to attack, but we know that the Caucasus Mountains have complex terrain and steep mountains, and only a few mountain passes can be accessed, which is a natural barrier." What we are doing now seems to be winning one battle after another, but in fact we are driving the enemy towards the Caucasus...... I just want to know, are we ready for a battle with the enemy in the Caucasus? ”

Manstein's face changed when he heard this, but he quickly regained his composure and then cleared his throat and said, "Captain, it seems that you are thinking too far, no matter what, we must win the battle in front of us now, right?" Otherwise, we simply cannot stand in front of the Caucasus Mountains, and how can we talk about attacking? ”

"Yes, General!" Qin Chuan understood the meaning of Manstein's expression, and he seemed to have exposed one of the German offensive targets just now...... Qin Chuan, who knew history, took it for granted that the war situation would inevitably develop in the direction of the Caucasus, but he did not expect that it was still a military secret at this time, and so was Stalingrad.

Sure enough, Manstein called Qin Chuan to the office alone shortly after the meeting.

Seeing Qin Chuan come in, Manstein stopped the document he was reviewing, motioned for Qin Chuan to sit down on the chair in front of him, and then asked, "Captain, you seem to have guessed our strategic goal?" ”

"I don't know if it's convenient to say!" Qin Chuan replied.

"It's stupid to have already guessed and not let you say it, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Qin Chuan replied: "I think our target is the Baku oil field in the Caucasus!" ”