Command of the Transcaucasian Front of the USSR.

One by one, information sent by air force reconnaissance and intelligence officers lurking in enemy-occupied areas reached Tyulenev, and he and his staff officers analyzed it for a while, and then gradually relaxed their minds.

"Looks like they're running out of options!" Lieutenant General Tyulenev said.

"Yes!" Commissar Sadzhya replied: "The Germans may have detected that we had laid a defense on the coast of the Caspian Sea, so they gathered in Sylvan but did not dare to attack!" ”

Of course, this is not the reason, but Soviet commanders desperate for victory often subjectively find excuses for some of the more strange actions of the enemy.

In the case of German commanders, they are more likely to think in the opposite direction, such as: Why did the enemy delay in attacking? What are they waiting for? Will there be other scenarios?

This is also related to the quality of the commanders, but it is clear that the quality of the commanders of the Soviet troops did not reach this level.

Therefore, Tyulenev then confidently sent a telegram to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, I am glad to report that we have succeeded in holding the enemy in front of the Baku Line, and if the enemy continues to advance, it will be very slow and suffer heavy casualties. Of course, the Germans had no other options, so I believe that the enemy would attack in the next few days, but soon run out of strength. The commanders are full of fighting spirit and confidence, and the soldiers are grinding their fists and waiting for the battle, and I believe that in the near future, we will achieve the final victory in this battle! ”

In contrast to the self-confidence of the Soviet army, the German High Command looked worried.

"Where are they?" Hitler asked.

"They are still 20 kilometers from Baku!" Pointing to the map, Canaris replied: "But they were stopped by the Soviets, who used oil to burn walls of fire there to stop our troops!" ”

Hitler thought about it and ordered: "Order Army Group A to speed up the offensive, and at the same time order the Air Force to provide cover for the 11th Army!" ”

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

On Hitler's orders, the next day the Luftwaffe intensified its bombing of the Caucasus.

The bombing was divided into two areas, on the one hand, against the airfield of the Soviet Fourth Air Army in the North Caucasus, and on the other hand, at Baku, where the Transcaucasian Front was stationed.

Coincidentally, two Luftwaffe aerial bombs directly hit the headquarters of the Transcaucasian Front, and Lieutenant General Bogin, a staff officer of the Front, and Sadzhya, a political commissar, were killed on the spot.

Admiral Tyulenev survived by inspecting the coastal defenses at that time.

The bombing strengthened the idea that the Germans would attack in a few days.

It is true that the Germans will attack in a few days, but not in the direction that Tyulenev thought......

At this time, the 11th Army was struggling to advance on the Caucasus Mountains.

The higher you climbed, the colder it became, but fortunately the 11th Army did not need to climb over the highest peaks of the Caucasus...... The highest peak is the "Elbrus" peak, with an altitude of 5,642 meters, and the top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round.

Baku is located in the relatively gentle East Caucasus, and it is also the end of the Caucasus Mountains, so the altitude is not very high, only more than 1,000 meters, but even this low temperature at night still makes people shiver.

But these were nothing to the soldiers, and after freezing all night, they continued on the road the next day.

At this time, the gap with the mountain division was once again highlighted...... The mountain divisions were accustomed to these conditions, while the ordinary troops, including the First Rank Corps, were exhausted and their combat effectiveness was declining.

"I don't even know if we'll be able to fight if we run into an enemy!" Yakop may have been injured and had a fever, and the road was a little unstable.

"Don't worry!" Alfredo replied: "When the bullet flies over your head, you feel like you have been given a shot in the arm!" ”

"Yes!" The baker said, "The threat of death will speed up the production of adrenal hormones, and that's your booster!" ”

"But ......," said Jakop, "I seem to have gotten used to the threat of death, so it probably won't be of much use!" ”

"Then look at this!" Werner handed Jakop a photo.

Yakop took it and looked at it, and couldn't help but wonder: "How can you have this?" ”

"Confiscated from the Americans when I was in Africa!" "I forget which battle it was, it seems to be in Sicily!" ”

The soldiers came up to take a look, and it turned out to be a large-scale photograph...... The U.S. government often sends soldiers some such photos or postcards to pass the emptiness and loneliness of the battlefield.

"Oh, Werner!" Qin Chuan said: "I remember that the Battle of Sicily has been half a year now, and you have been hiding this thing all along?" ”

"Okay!" Werner replied: "I just forgot it in my bag and didn't remember it until Jakop needed it......"

"Don't explain!" The baker said, "We know what's going on!" ”

The soldiers burst into laughter.

At this moment, several gunshots were heard in front of them, and the soldiers hurriedly lowered their bodies and took out their weapons.

But it didn't take long for the danger to be lifted.

Just when Qin Chuan was puzzled, a correspondent ran up to Qin Chuan and said, "Major, Colonel Slein asked me to tell you good news: we had good luck, we just ran into a team of our own people from the 'Brandenburg Detachment'!" ”

Hearing this, Qin Chuan couldn't help but be stunned, it was really good news.

Qin Chuan, of course, knew what the "Brandenburg detachment" meant...... They disguised themselves as Soviets and operated behind enemy lines to gather intelligence, which meant that they knew the area well enough to fool the Soviets.

Obviously, the few gunshots just now were caused by the collision between the German reconnaissance unit and the men of the "Brandenburg detachment". Because the "Brandenburg detachment" looks like the Soviet army in terms of weapons and uniforms, there will definitely be a little misunderstanding.

Later, Qin Chuan learned that there was not only a little misunderstanding, but also casualties...... One member of the "Brandenburg detachment" was killed on the spot, and two members were wounded.

However, the people of the "Brandenburg detachment" were well-trained, and they immediately judged that they might have encountered their own people, so they would "kill them" at the first time disguised as Soviet soldiers, so they hurriedly identified themselves.

In this way, things were much simpler, and the German 11th Army did not even need to climb around the rocks, but could directly use the "Brandenburg detachment" to break through the "checkpoints" of the Soviet army.