Even if they are as strong as Germany, they can only choose between strategic air force and tactical air force to develop due to the influence of land, manpower, resources, and so on. Writing www.biquge.info Strategic bombers cannot be formed into a scale if they are few in number, and they cannot play their role without large-scale intensive bombing.

Even if the Germans were able to build a strategic bomber with good performance, they would not be able to produce it in large quantities to equip the troops. It's better not to waste resources like this. And many other countries can't even build a single branch of the military, they just have planes.

Therefore, when the allies looked at the overwhelming density of strategic bomber forces in the sky, their hearts were painful. The war is on the verge of defeat. If the forces besieged in the Caucasus cannot be freed, the Allies may not be able to hold out on Europa until next winter.

In this case, it is not up to the allies not to fight.

Born into a Prussian aristocratic family, Fritz. Erich. Feng. General Manstein received orders to fly from Bavaria to Donetsk to take command of the encirclement corps. Before he departed, the German Chancellor approached him and promised him that if he could free the troops from the encirclement, he would receive a field marshal's scepter.

Manstein's reply, however, was, "I'll do my best." ”

Although the Germans had amassed an extremely strong force in southern Ukraine, it was not strong enough to gain advantage in front of the Ming army. Manstein, who has been in the army all his life, is very pragmatic and knows that his task is very difficult.

After arriving in Ukraine, Manstein carefully studied the situation on the battlefield and decided that this rescue campaign was impossible to take advantage of, and that there were no obvious loopholes in the Ming army's defenses that could be used. The only way is to fight to the death with the Ming army. And this is where the Ming army is most powerful. When it comes to the strength of fighting hard, who can compare with the Ming army?

Manstein's only advantage is that he has the initiative, and it is up to him to decide where to carry out the assault. After careful selection, Manstein finally chose Rostov-on-Don, where the Ming army had the strongest defenses.

Rostov-on-Don, a long, awkward name. This is where the rescue forces are closest to the Allied forces in the encirclement, and where the road traffic conditions are the best. Choosing this as the breakout point can greatly reduce the distance between the two sides, which is very important at this moment.

At this time, it was freezing in the Russian wilderness, and the temperature of tens of degrees below zero also meant that the army had to rely on vehicles for large-scale travel. If you walk on human legs in the snow, it won't be long before they run out of energy. And it is also impossible to walk too long distances.

At this time, most of the besieged Allied forces were infantry, and even some vehicles were difficult to operate long distances due to lack of fuel. This situation forced the Allies to place their targets in close proximity to both sides. And even the Allies still had some of their vehicles, but since most of the fuel had already been used up for heating, they couldn't march far in the wilderness.

The wilderness is full of snowfields and thighless snow, and cars can't move in such places. This forced the Allies to choose a place where the conditions were good enough. And all that meets all these conditions is only Rostov-on-Don.

What the Germans could think of, there was no reason why the Ming army could not see it. Of the entire long line of defense on the Don, the city of Rostov-on-Don was the strongest. An entire division of the Marine Corps was garrisoned here with a large number of artillery, engineers, and auxiliary units. Around them were several Ming armored and infantry divisions. Moreover, the Ming army could send reinforcements at any time for reinforcement operations.

Knowing that it would be very difficult, Manstein had no choice.

The time came to February 5, 1943, a day when the clouds were so thick that the plane could not take off. The Allied Liberation Corps was dispatched almost simultaneously with the troops in the encirclement. The battle to break the siege officially began.

The Allied forces in the encirclement, with the German, French, and American armies as the main force, led by a large number of vehicles capable of moving, followed by many infantry on foot and slaughtered in the Rostov-on-Don region. The elite soldiers who were able to squeeze into all kinds of vehicles were selected to use their cars to save their energy, so that they could be cannon fodder for the strikers in the breakout operation.

And those officers and soldiers who followed on foot, whether they could walk to the battlefield in such a snowy time, it was really God blessed. Of course, when the Allies broke through, they did not forget to leave a large number of cannon fodder troops to block the pursuit of the Ming Army's Southern Army Group.

Huge armies were abandoned in their respective positions. They got nothing but a telegram of orders to hold on to the battlefield, but they had to use their flesh and blood to fight the elite troops of the Ming army armed to their toes in the vast snowfield, under the biting cold. I want to know how long these cannon fodder can hold out.

In fact, the senior officers of the Allied breakout force did not expect how long these cannon fodder could hold out and how many Ming troops they could kill. In their opinion, so many cannon fodder troops were thrown off to block everywhere. Even if it's a wild boar in the wasteland, the Ming army has to catch it, right? It is enough for the Ming army to capture these cannon fodder and be delayed.

At the same time, the German Salvation Corps, which had attacked from the southern regions of Ukraine, also fought in the Rostov-on-Don region under the command of Manstein.

The Ming army had already learned about the Allied operation objectives through the high-ranking moles planted in the Allied countries long before the Allied forces were dispatched. Manstein may not have known until after the war, and only twenty-four hours after he submitted his battle plan to the General Staff, the main plan of the battle plan was already on Zhang Cheng's desk.

After the situation of the whole war changed more and more to the favorable situation of the Ming army, more and more people were willing to do things for the Ming Dynasty in exchange for post-war benefits among the countries that had been deeply affected by the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years. The hundreds of years of Jiwei of the Ming Dynasty have already penetrated into all aspects of various countries. Among the countries, there are many traitors who are willing to do things for the Ming Dynasty and become traitors.

On the contrary, the people of the Ming Dynasty, regardless of their status, are all with a lofty mentality and appearance. Even if they are just ordinary civilians, they have a very high sense of identity with the country. This is exactly the opposite of the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China in modern time and space history.

Manstein moved quickly, and his troops were all German strategic reserves, which were basically at full strength. Each panzer division had more than 200 tanks of various types, which was a rarity on the Russian front.

The brutal fighting on the Russian battlefield led to a massive attrition of all the troops, and the loss of various weapons and equipment was also extremely staggering. Even the powerful Ming army could hardly maintain the full strength of its troops at all times.

On the morning of February 5, the newly formed German Army Group Don, led by the 16th, 26th, and 31st Panzer Divisions, set out from the Dorez area southeast of Donetsk and headed for Rostov-on-Don in the south.

Three German Panzer Divisions had more than seven hundred tanks of various types, which, combined with the high quality of the German servicemen, was an incomparably powerful army. If they were to be the armies of any country in the world except the Ming army, they would have succeeded in breaking through the enemy's positions. But their opponent was the Ming army.

Having already judged the direction of the Allied attack through various analyses and intelligence, Zhang Cheng greatly strengthened the defenses of Rostov-on-Don. In the Shakhtinsk region to the north was deployed an entire armored corps, the 12th Panzer Corps of the Ming Army.

This armored corps, with three armored divisions and one mechanized infantry division, was the elite unit of the Ming Army. Following the 17th Panzer Army from Army Group Center to the south, it has been fighting on the front line, although the losses are heavy, but its combat capability is extremely strong.

The 12th Panzer Army had about six hundred and fifty tanks, along with strong artillery fire support. They had the 59th Mechanized Infantry Division as the main defensive force on the front, and the troops of the three armored divisions were deployed in the rear of the line ready to engage in counterattacks.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the German 16th Panzer Division, which was the leader of the attack, entered the vicinity of the Ming line. After a hurried artillery bombardment, more than 200 tanks of the German 16th Panzer Division, which was completely fully formed, slaughtered the defensive positions of the Ming army with great momentum.

The Ming army has been operating positions here for some time. Although the weather was very cold, it was nearly 40 degrees below zero, so it was impossible to carry out large-scale construction work. But there are still basic defenses and minefields. The German artillery bombardment, which lasted only thirty minutes, was basically painless for the Ming army's defensive line.

The sight of hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles moving together looks spectacular at first, and their attack is very powerful. If the 59th Mechanized Infantry Division of the Ming Army did not have a strong reserve behind them, then they would have been able to hold out until dark at best. This is where the gap between the armored forces and the infantry lies.

At this moment, this flat plain has long been covered with vast white snow, and the powerful engine emits black smoke to drive the steel monster weighing dozens of tons to raise snowflakes in the sky and start charging. The mummified infantrymen followed closely behind the tanks. They hunched over and did not dare to show their heads.

Even snow chains on the tracks would not allow the tank to increase speed in such conditions. The German tank group could only slowly approach the Ming position. Then the artillery counterattack of the Ming army began. (To be continued.) )