The 23rd Guards Infantry Division of the Soviet Union did not move, and Qin Chuan immediately realized that he had encountered a master.

The 23rd Guards Infantry Division is undoubtedly a more combat-ready force, and with two tank battalions, its strength should not be underestimated.

Originally, Qin Chuan wanted to make a posture of encircling the 23rd Guards Infantry Division to induce it to attack or other Soviet troops to reinforce Soglione, but the Germans could swing their divisions straight to the Caucasus Mountains with a spearhead.

Whoever wants them to stand still?

And not only the 23rd Guards Rifle Division did not move, but the entire North Caucasus Front did not move.

Budyonny knew very well that the German target was the Caucasus Mountains and not the 23rd Guards Infantry Division, so he would not evacuate the defense of the Caucasus for the sake of the 23rd Guards Infantry Division, especially the defense of the Caucasus, because of the previous defeat on the Kerch Peninsula and the fact that the defense forces along the Don River were already very empty.

But Budyonny knows not to say that Admiral Tyulenev knows.

The Caucasus is bisected by a Caucasus mountain range from west to east, the area north of the mountain range is called the North Caucasus, and the area south of the mountain range is called Transcaucasia or South Caucasus.

The Soviets deployed two fronts here, one of the North Caucasus Front and the other of the Transcaucasian Front.

Among them, the strength of the North Caucasus Front is relatively sufficient, with three group armies, one air force group army, and units directly under the front army. It's just that two of the three armies were captured on the Kerch Peninsula, and at this time only one infantry army, one air force and directly subordinate units remained.

The Transcaucasian Front was weaker and consisted of two armies and units directly under the Front, of which the 44th Army was captured in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, leaving only the 43rd Army and the troops directly under the Front.

Judging from the overall strength and situation, the Soviet army has the advantage.

The combined strength of the Soviet forces in the Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus was at least three army groups, while the Germans had only two divisions and were concentrated in the center of Soglione...... If the Soviets had concentrated their forces on the attack, it was likely that the Germans would have surrounded the Germans in Soglione and rendered them immobilized.

General Tyulenev saw this, and he immediately sent a telegram to Budyonny: "Comrade Budyonny, the Germans are stationed in Soglione to besiege the 23rd Guards Infantry Division, and we just sit idly by? If we don't reinforce, they will have to choose to surrender in the end, like several armies surrounded by the Battle of Kerch! ”

Budyonny's return was simple: "The Germans are targeting the Caucasus!" ”

"I know that their goal is the Caucasus!" Tyulenev called back: "But why can't they choose to destroy the 23rd Guards Division before attacking the Caucasus?" ”

Budyonny simply didn't call back this time, or he didn't know how to explain it.

In fact, Budyonny was very smart, because if the Germans attacked the 23rd Guards Division, then they would lose time to attack the Caucasus, especially since the 23rd Guards Division was still stationed in place, once the Germans attacked the 23rd Guards Division...... The Soviets could take advantage of the special terrain of the Taman Peninsula to block the Germans in a narrow strip.

Therefore, as long as the 23rd Guards Division does not move, it is impossible for the Germans to attack the 23rd Guards Division, unless the Germans abandon the attack on the Caucasus.

But Tyulenev had another thought, and he continued to call Budyonny: "The Germans are good at 'blitzkrieg', and if we can encircle them in Soglione, they will lose the advantage of maneuvering and fall into a bitter battle, so Comrade Budyonny, I need your cooperation!" ”

"I advise you to stand still, Comrade Tyulenev!" Budyonny replied: "The most important thing the Germans need is speed, and if you can use the terrain of the Transcaucasia to build trenches to block the attack, it will take them at least a few months to reach the Baku oil fields." ”

Budyonny is right, although this is a conservative, traditional style of play, and even the idea of positional warfare during World War I.

But there is a saying that "whether it is a white cat or a black cat, it is a good cat if it can catch a mouse".

Tactics don't matter whether they are dirty or outdated, as long as they can adapt to local conditions and adapt to the current situation, it is a good tactic.

Transcaucasia is surrounded by mountains, overlapping and overlapping. There are also small lakes between the mountains, and the waterfalls are dotted with waterfalls, and the terrain is very complicated, as long as the Transcaucasian Front uses the terrain to build defenses, the German army will only have two divisions, an infantry regiment and a tank regiment, and it will not be able to make big waves in it.

But the young and vigorous General Tyulenev, of course, would not think so.

Seeing that Budyonny did not cooperate, Tyulenev took the initiative to send a telegram to Stalin asking for battle, and euphemistically said in the telegram that Budyonny's tactics were too conservative and passively defensive, and that he should take the initiative to attack and limit the Germans' forward combat space as much as possible.

This is sometimes the case with marching operations, which are supported by a whole set of military theories from different perspectives, and it is difficult for those who are in the middle of it to distinguish which is right and which is wrong.

When Stalin saw it, he felt that it seemed to be the case, that Budyonny was a veteran of the First World War and no longer had the sharpness of a young man, while General Tyulenev was a man of blood (fifty years old), so he gave an order for the North Caucasus Front to cooperate with the Transcaucasian Front to attack the German army in Soglione.

So, the opportunity for the Germans came.

At this time, the materials available to Soglione were basically used by the German army.

The captured Seagull fighters were urgently transported from Latvia, Finland and other client countries to send the fighters away, and some skilled pilots even stayed behind to change the livery of the Seagull fighters and integrate them into the Luftwaffe.

However, these fighters can generally only be used as reconnaissance aircraft, and the reason is needless to say, on the one hand, because the flight speed is too different from the German BF and F to be able to cooperate, and on the other hand, it is easy to be injured by mistake, even if the paint is changed, but the model cannot be changed.

There is no need to find another driver for the car, the German army is highly qualified, and there are many people in the army who can drive, so it is easy to find a driver.

Tanks need to be transported by air, which is not a problem, the 22nd Panzer Division is on the other side of the Kerch Strait, and the tank crew has.

The problem is that there are all kinds of tanks in Soglione, including British, American, Soviet, gasoline and diesel, and the caliber of artillery is different, and the guns and bullets are different.

Among them, especially the British and American tanks, which were very unfamiliar to the Germans on the Soviet-German battlefield.

However, fortunately, the First Infantry Corps saw a lot of British and American tanks on the African battlefield, and many of them even knew how to drive and communicate with the tank crews of the 22nd Armored Division, and they would soon be able to operate.