The first thing Lieutenant General Tan Renhao had to do was to analyze the combat operations of the Sixth Army. Judging from the situation in the Pacific theater, before the US Navy is unable to organize an effective counterattack, it will go south to sweep the islands in the southwest Pacific and establish a foothold on the Australian Big 6, which will be of great help to the course of the war in the future. But the key to going south is how many troops the Sixth Army can draw to use here, and this is directly related to the combat operations of the Sixth Army in other directions.

The Northwest Theater remained the main battlefield of the 6th Army. After breaking through the Orenburg-Astrakhan line of the Russian army, the assault line of the 6th Army was divided into two parts, north and south.

The main goal of the offensive on the southern front was to capture Volgograd, and the 6th Army invested a total of 12o divisions, including 24 tank divisions and motorized infantry divisions, concentrated 35oo tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 12ooo artillery, and the 6th Air Force also invested eight divisions and more than 3ooo combat aircraft. The Russian army defending in this direction has 1oo divisions, including 13 tank divisions and motorized infantry divisions, equipped with more than 2ooo tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 8ooo artillery pieces, and more than 25ooo combat aircraft.

In terms of the comparison of troops, the Tang Empire has an absolute advantage, and the number of heavy weapons such as tanks, artillery, and combat aircraft exceeds that of the Russian army by two to fifty percent. But the Russian army is fighting on the inner front, so it can defend against danger and get the support of local residents. The Tang Army's logistical support line is tens of thousands of kilometers long, and even if there is a railway line, it is difficult to meet the material consumption on the front line. In other words, if the Tang Army wants to win the battle, it must fight a decisive battle, and cannot fight a protracted war with the Russian army. In order for the Russian army to win, it must slow down the offensive pace of the Tang army, and use the advantages of local defense and internal operations to offset the Tang army's superiority in troops.

The battle began in early April, and the offensive forces of the Don Army were divided into two army groups, the north and the south, of which the Caspian Army Group from Astrakhan had been attacking westward, and on April 20 it captured Volgodonsk, cutting off the Russian North Caucasus Army Group from Volgograd. Then. Two armoured assault groups began to assault Rostov-on-Don and reached Novocherkassk at the end of April, taking control of Rostov-on-Don's connection with the interior.

The assault on Rostov was a difficult one, and both sides were aware of the importance of this Black Sea coastal city. If the Don Army captures Rostov-on-Don, then the Russian Army's North Caucasus Army Group will be completely trapped between the Don Army and the Persian Army, becoming a turtle in an urn, and there is a possibility of being eliminated at any time. The commander of the Don Army was also well aware of this, in addition. The capture of Rostov allowed the Don Army to obtain supplies from the Persian Empire by sea, and from this base, it could advance into the Great Plains of Ukraine, sweep the Russian granaries, and force Russia to surrender in the winter.

Since the beginning of May, the warring sides have been fighting the city of Rostov-on-Don weakly, and both are constantly increasing their forces. By the end of May, the Don Army had committed 35 divisions of troops, and another 15 divisions had been prepared in reserve. The forces remaining on the Astrakhan-Elista-Rostov line consisted of only 12 divisions. And it's all infantry divisions.

The Russian Army Group of the North Caucasus launched several counterattacks at the end of May, preparing to tear through the blockade of the Don Army, which could be pinned down by the Persian army. The actions of the Russian army group in the North Caucasus did not achieve its goal. In the face of a 7oo-kilometer-long defensive line defended by only 12 divisions, the Russian army was defeated several times. Perhaps the most important thing on this line was not the infantry of the 12 divisions, but thousands of bombers and thousands of artillery pieces. By the beginning of June, the Tang Army had also transferred two tank divisions from the siege of Rostov to reinforce this defensive line, and the more than 500,000 Russian troops besieged north of the Caucasus Mountains basically lost the possibility of breaking through.

The fighting for Rostov did not end until the end of June, and both sides fought desperately for the city. The Russian army even sent some sailors of the Black Sea Fleet to participate in ground battles, and also used the warships of the Black Sea Fleet to transport troops and supplies to Rostov through the sub-sea. In a little more than a month. The Russian army has reinforced Rostov-on-Don with at least 2o divisions, and is ready to continue to do so.

While the fighting for Rostov was not over, the Kazakh Army Group from Khangara also began to attack. The attacking forces were a few days late, and their target was Saratov, north of Volgograd. The army group has a total of 4 tank divisions, 3 motorized infantry divisions, and 22 infantry divisions, although the strength is not as good as the Caspian Sea army group, but the participating troops are the elite corps of the 6th Army of the Tang Empire, of which the group commander composed of 4 tank divisions is Major General Gu Xunlei.

The task of this army group was to quickly cut off the connection between Volgograd and the Great Rear. Through a strategic detour, the Volgograd Army Group of the Russian army was finally surrounded. Therefore, the final assault goal of the army group should be Gorlovka, striving to join forces with the Caspian Army Group.

From the point of view of this task, Gu Xunlei is not enough to get the ground troops, and the 4 tank divisions only have more than 8oo tanks, and the Russian army in front of him has at least a thousand tanks, and the Russian army assembled in Saratov alone has more than 5oo tanks. The only thing Gu Xunlei can rely on is a powerful aviation. From the moment of the assault of the army group, the support of the aviation of the 6 Army was everywhere. In the process of marching towards Saratov, more than half of the Russian tanks were destroyed by the bombers of the 6th Voyage, not by the tanks commanded by Gu Xunlei!

In late April, the Kazakh Army Group occupied Saratov and initially completed the encirclement of Volgograd, and the Russian troops defending Volgograd also began to expand the defensive circle and try to block the offensive of the Don Army's armored group, but this effort did not work to a large extent. At that time, the only thing that could stop Gu Xunlei was the Russian Southeastern Front deployed in Ulyanovsk, but the army group was fighting another Don Army at that time, and it was difficult to divide forces to support the Volgograd Army Group. By the time he reacted, the tank group commanded by Gu Xunlei had already entered Saratov, and the arriving Don infantry took less than three days to capture this important town on the upper Volga.

While the infantry continued to besiege the remnants of the Russian army in the city, Gu Xunlei asked the four tank divisions to carry five days' supplies and go out to the next target. At the end of the month, the Kazakh Army Group captured Boguchar, took control of the bridgehead on the Don River, and having received the necessary supplies here, the corps continued its advance, advancing the front outside Gorlovka by mid-May. And at the end of May, the operation to capture Gorlovka was completed.

At this point, the Kazakh Army Group completed a strategic detour and separated the Russian Volgograd Army Group from the battlefield. Although the Tang Army held the line from Saratov to Gorlovka at that time had only more than 2o infantry divisions, with the support of powerful aviation and artillery, the Tang Army firmly controlled this line of defense. Gu Xunlei did not stop in Gorlovka, and after he knew that the battle for Rostov was not over, he immediately led two tank divisions to kill him, and quickly cut off the road between Rostov and Taganrog. This was followed by assistance to the Caspian Army Group in the sweep of Rostov-on-Don.

By the end of June, although the fighting for Rostov was not over, the Russian army had largely lost the city. The Don Army's Caspian Army Group and Kazakh Army Group are adjusting their forces and preparing for a general offensive on Volgograd.

The purpose of the fighting on the southern front around Volgograd was to cut Russia out of the northern Caucasus. After this step, the Persian Empire's army was able to cross the Caucasus Mountains and join the attack on Russia, sharing part of the combat mission. Of course, after the millions of Russian troops on the ground besieged in this area are finished, Russia will be greatly damaged. This is also the basis for entering the hinterland of Russia in the future.

To the north, the offensive operations, dominated by Army Group South Urals, were mainly aimed at assisting combat operations in the Volgograd direction. The attacking force had 4 tank divisions. 5 Motorists. and 33 infantry divisions, the target of which was Ulyanovsk.

Ulyanovsk is the center of Russia's defenses west of the Ural Mountains and the main barrier east of Moscow. After the Don Army tore through the Ural defense line of the Russian army. Ulyanovsk became the front line. Whether or not the city can be held will be directly related to whether or not Moscow can be held. In order to strengthen the defense of Ulyanovsk, over the course of three months, Russia sent at least 4o additional divisions of reserves, including several Guards. In addition, the Russian army also established the Southeastern Front, and Marshal Zhukov, who commanded the Belarusian Front on the Western Front, was transferred back to take charge of the Southeastern Front. In addition, the Russian army also transferred 12oo tanks and 35oo artillery pieces here. 15oo combat aircraft were prepared, and a large amount of combat materials were hoarded. Judging from this subordination, the Russian army will hold Ulyanovsk at all costs, so that the Don Army will not be able to enter Moscow.

The commander of the Don Army was also well aware of this, so when arranging the Battle of Volgograd, he did not invest too many forces in the Ulyanovsk direction, and the task of the South Ural Army group was to threaten Ulyanovsk, block the connection between Ulyanovsk and Saratov, and make it impossible for the Russian Southeastern Front to rush to the aid of Volgograd. Gain time for the Caspian and Kazakh Army Groups to sweep the North Caucasus and Volgograd regions.

By the time Zhukov arrived in Ulyanovsk, Saratov had already fallen into the hands of the Don Army, and Gu Xunlei's tank cluster was rushing to Gorlovka, and the success rate of the Russian army's southward assault was already very low. Zhukov did not rush to counterattack, but readjusted the deployment of the front, and drew two reserves, and by the end of June, when the Don army was preparing to lay siege to Volgograd, Zhukov's counterattack began.

To the south of the battlefield, the Persian Empire's army began its offensive in mid-June, assisting the Don Army in annihilating Russia's North Caucasus Army Group, which also strengthened its forces to the south. By the time Zhukov's counterattack arrived, the Don Army, north of Volgograd, had less than 3o divisions and was scattered along hundreds of kilometers of defensive lines. If it weren't for the tank cluster commanded by Gu Xunlei to quickly return to the battle line and repel the Russian counterattack at Balashov, perhaps this battle would have ended with the defeat of the Don Army.

Judging from the entire battlefield situation, the Tang Army and the Russian army have basically the same amount of troops, and after a fierce battle at the end of June, both sides are now readjusting their troop deployment and preparing for the next stage of combat operations. In order to capture Volgograd, the Don Army had to deal with the Volgograd Army Group within a month on the premise of holding Saratov. This task is very heavy, and if the Persian Empire can increase its investment and take on the main task in the battle against the Russian army group in the North Caucasus, there is still a little hope.

Tan Renhao did not know much about the combat operations of the 6th Army, especially the tactics of the 6th Army, and from the battle reports of the 6th Army in all aspects, he could only judge that the Battle of Volgograd would be delayed until at least winter, and if the Russian army's investment continued to increase, and the cooperation between the Tang Army and the Persian army was not so tacit, and the German army did not have much achievements on the Western Front, I am afraid it would have been delayed until the beginning of 25.

In addition to the Northwest Battlefield, the 6th Army of the Tang Empire also undertook combat missions on two other fronts.

Over control of the Suez Canal, the Persian Empire fought with the Italian, Spanish, and French coalition forces for more than two years, and although the Persian army had been holding Alexandria, making it impossible for the European coalition to continue the offensive, the Persian army was also unable to fight back. After the Tang Empire strengthened the input of the 6th Army, it sent an expeditionary force to Egypt to fight and assist the Persian Empire in dealing with the European coalition forces in the North African theater. On the one hand, this allowed the Persian Empire to devote more troops to the European theater, and on the other hand, it could also ensure control of the Suez Canal, which was the throat of the Tang Empire's export of war materials to the German Empire at that time.

In addition, the European Expeditionary Force of the Tang Empire had already joined the combat operations on the Western Front in Europe in early April. The size of this corps was not large, there were only two tank divisions, three motorized infantry divisions, and eight infantry divisions, but it was significant. Previously, Germany had been accusing the Tang Empire of avoiding the ground battlefield and not providing maximum support to Germany. With the arrival of the European expeditionary force, the Tang Empire not only clarified its own attitude, but also strengthened the confidence and will of the Germans.

From this information, Tan Renhao came to a very direct point of view, that is, how many troops to invest in the fourth battlefield, that is, 25 years ago, it was impossible to open up the Australian battlefield!