How many troops did the Black Sea Fleet have before the war? Actually, it's not much. In real history, the Axis powers never threatened the survival of the Black Sea Fleet, and even after the German capture of Sevastopol, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet calmly retreated to a farther station.

But now it was different, the Germans had a chilling fleet in Gibraltar: at least one battleship was there, and it was a new type of battleship!

The Soviets did not know that the German naval commander in Gibraltar did not have the ability to go to sea at all.

Ernst? Lindeman, a newly promoted vice admiral, had just taken over the defense of Gibraltar from the British.

The fleet assigned to him was indeed formidable, including the battleship Warrior and the counter-attacking battlecruisers, and his striking power was not much worse than that of the German Baltic Fleet.

Moreover, in order to transport supplies to the German troops in the Middle East and North Africa theaters, the aircraft carrier Tejas was also in service with the Mediterranean Fleet.

At the same time, the aircraft carrier also undertook training tasks, and was responsible for training part of the basic take-off and landing training of German naval aviation.

And on the battleship Warrior, there are now almost all interns, and after these trainees have finished training, all of them have been transferred to the Baltic Fleet to conduct actual fire dumping training on the opposite side of the shore - that is, the shelling of Leningrad.

Now the sailors on the battleship Warrior are all real novices who have only been on the ship for less than 20 days, and they have no combat effectiveness at all.

As for the battlecruiser Counterattack, it can't even get together the sailors to go to sea, so it can only be regularly maintained in the harbor, doing maintenance and waiting for more naval cadets to arrive.

In other words, the German Mediterranean Fleet, which now looks very well-equipped and luxurious, is actually infinitely close to zero in combat effectiveness.

Ernst? While Lindemann was depressed in Gibraltar that his fleet was not in combat, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet was too frightened by the might of the Axis powers to go out.

France had at least 5 battleships in the Mediterranean, and although they were stationed in two ports and were not very enthusiastic about participating in the German plan of action, this number was there.

The Italian Navy was also quite fierce, with a total of seven battleships, although four were relatively old models, but they were much stronger than the old battleships of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.

Including the battlecruisers, the Axis fleet in the Mediterranean numbered almost 16 ships, including the German ships that were not combat-ready.

This figure is enough for the Navy of any country to have a headache, not to mention the Soviet Navy, which did not even have even battleships.

If Germany was willing to transfer the battleship fleet in the Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, it might be able to assemble a luxurious lineup of 25 battleships in the Mediterranean, and it would only be a matter of minutes to annihilate the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.

Of course, if people know how to drink water and how warm they are, and the commander-in-chief of the German Navy, Raeder, knows his own family affairs, it is impossible for him to use so many warships.

First of all, the French would not cooperate, and their capital ships never came out of the nest. Even if there has been some progress in Franco-German relations recently, Dar Lang will not agree to such a thing as sending out battleships.

Italy...... The fleet can be dispatched, but it is difficult to say what conditions will be proposed.

According to Mussolini's usual performance, it is estimated that he will make up his mind in good places such as Sevastopol or Odessa.

If this is also karma, Germany has made many demands in Libya and Egypt and other occupied areas, and Italy has suffered in this regard.

Alexandria is now shared by Germany and Italy, but Port Said, which controls the Suez Canal, is the exclusive domain of the Germans.

There was also the Italian colony of Libya, which now also had a port called Sirte, which became a German-controlled area - there was no door for the Italians to intervene, and even the garrison was German SS troops.

With these lessons learned, Italy has also taken a good look. Once Germany uses the Italian fleet in the Black Sea scramble, it is estimated that the other side will definitely find these "losses".

Therefore, if Germany wanted to worry about the Soviet ports on the Black Coast, it was estimated that it would not be able to pay the price of inviting Italy.

So, it may seem like the power of the Axis powers is immensely powerful, but in fact these forces are either still brewing or just a flash in the pan.

"It is unlikely that all the fleets of the Germans will enter the Black Sea, so it is likely that the Turkish side will make some compromises." Zhukov is not a politician, he can only think about the worst results.

As soon as Germany could use the Black Sea supply lines, then the problem of supply for Army Group South would be almost solved.

You know, the Black Sea is not surrounded by mountains, but a plain area that is very easy to control.

After the Germans occupied Odessa and suppressed Sevastopol, the rest was very simple.

As long as you send your convoy from Italy and Libya, you can quickly reach the Black Sea and complete the complex supply tasks that were once complicated.

"If the Germans take control of the Black Sea, then there will be no possibility of stability in the Caucasus!" Zhukov said, looking at the map.

Stalingrad – It will become a battlefield, and the eventual war, whether won or lost, will affect the future of the Soviet Union.

"We have to defend Odessa, this is the few opportunities we have left!" As a commander, Zhukov cheered for his generals.

"Defend Odessa! Never take a step back! All the Soviet officers present stood up and shouted assurances.

The southern cluster was originally the elite of the Soviet Union preparing to attack the Romanian oil fields, so it was more combative, and its beliefs were stronger.

If this were not the case, then they would have been rebelled against by the local people here in Ukraine - after all, Ukraine hates Russia to the core, and the grievances between the two regions cannot be explained in one sentence or two.

"We have about 1 million men on this line, and 200,000 in reserve, and the Germans will have to pay a heavy price if they want to break through here!" The Chief of Staff held his chin high and encouraged everyone.

Everyone believes that with this line of defense, at least more than 200,000 enemies can be annihilated! Victory will be theirs after all, to the brave and tenacious Russian people!

"There's one more good news for everyone! The great leader, Comrade Stalin, is about to arrive in Stalingrad! He will sit there and watch for himself as we win the Great Patriotic War! Ulla! Zhukov took the opportunity to wave his arm.

"Ulla!" Everyone shouted along!