The Caucasus is connected to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and to southern Europe, central Europe, and North Africa; It is bordered by the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea in the east, and traverses the heart of Central Asia; It is north of the Toural Mountains and deep into the Russian land; South towns of Iran, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and the Middle East. The neighboring peoples have always attached great importance to the Caucasus, and for many years they have been fighting for the Caucasus, and in terms of the density and intensity of war, the Caucasus must be the largest in the world. Its topography consists of two columns of east-west running mountains. Between the two mountain ranges there is a mountain gorge, and two rivers flow east and west into the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, respectively. The Northern Mountains and their northern slopes, often called the North Caucasus, are inhabited by the Ingushetia, Chechen, Osseti and other peoples; The Southern Mountains and their southern slopes, also known as Transcaucasia, are inhabited by numerous ethnic groups: Azerbaijani, Armenian, Iranian, Turkish, Kurd, etc. Georgia straddles the North and South Caucasus. The Caucasus is full of precipitation, and the mountains and rivers are beautiful. Its highest peak, Orbruz, is 5,642 meters above sea level, making it the highest peak in Europe. The Caucasus region is extremely rich in mineral resources, gold, copper and iron ore were extensively mined 4,000 years ago, and the metallurgical industry is very developed. After the mid-18th century, the Caspian Sea, Baku and the Caucasus suddenly erupted in oil, shocking the world.

The Caucasus was a treasure trove for the Soviet Union, providing the Soviet Union with a large amount of grain, minerals and oil every year. The North Caucasus and the Kuban were among the rich regions of wheat, corn, sunflowers, sugar beets in the USSR. The Transcaucasian republics are rich in crops such as cotton, sugar beets, tobacco, tea, citrus and spices. The fertile land of the Caucasus is rich in pastures, which greatly contributes to the development of animal husbandry. In 1940, the Chatula manganese ore provided the Soviet Union with more than 1,448,700 tons of ore ore, accounting for about 56.5 percent of the total manganese ore mining in the Soviet Union. By 1940, 1,726 new wells were in operation in the Caucasus, which accounted for about 73.5 percent of the total number of wells in production in the Soviet Union at that time. Before the war, Baku was the highest in oil extraction not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the whole country, accounting for 70 percent of the total oil production of the entire Soviet Union. Its industrialization has also developed rapidly, and after several pre-war five-year plans of the Soviet Union, hundreds of new enterprises for heavy and light industry have been established in the Caucasus.

In addition to the cold weather in the Soviet winter, the unique geographical structure and transportation conditions of the Caucasus are also an important reason for limiting the offensive of German Army Group A:

The terrain of the Caucasus is diverse (mostly mountainous). The Caucasus Mountains, stretching from the Apsheron Peninsula in the east to the mouth of the Kuban River in the west, are 1,200-1,300 kilometers long and 16-180 kilometers wide from north to south, forming the foundation of the Caucasus mountain system. According to its structure, the Caucasus mountain bulge is divided into three sections: the eastern section of the Caucasus Mountains - from Apsheron to Kazbek Peak, which is about 100-500 kilometers long; The middle section of the Caucasus Mountains is about 150-200 kilometers long between Kazbek and Elbrus, and further west is the western section of the Caucasus Mountains.

The middle part of the Caucasus Mountains is a high mountainous area in the main vein of the Caucasus Mountains. The average height of the peaks here is 3,500-5,000 meters. The peaks of Kazbek, Adekhoch, Ayirama, Shiharabee, Elbrus and some other peaks are covered with snow all year round. The western part of the Caucasus Mountains - from Faust to the city of Annabor - gradually decreases in height, reaching a maximum of 1,838 meters (Sesiy Peak), with an average height of no more than l000 meters. As far as the mountain structure of the western Caucasus Mountains is concerned, it is easier for the army to move in these mountains than in the mountains of the eastern and central sectors.

The main vein of the Caucasus Mountains is densely forested (mainly broad-leaved forests) from the foot of the piedmont to an altitude of 1500-1800 meters. These broad-leaved forests were a good obstacle to the deployment of the army during the war years, but they also brought certain difficulties to the army's operation. No matter how high the peaks are, there is no vegetation cover, and they are all bare rock cliffs.

The former Caucasus is a mountainous area that rises from north to south to the northern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. The entire former Caucasus is dotted with numerous mountain rivers, deep valleys, depressions and passes of the Kuban and Terek river systems. In most of the steppes of the North Caucasus, all branches of the army are able to move. In the valleys of the former Caucasus and on the river beaches, large forces could be used to fight. These valleys and river beaches lead to the main vein of the Caucasus Mountains.

There are only two railways connecting the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia: the Western Route, where there is a railway along the Black Sea coast from Tuapsheh to Batumi; On the eastern route, there is a railway along the coast of the Caspian Sea from Makhachkala to Baku. In addition to railways, there are roads and dirt roads connecting the North Caucasus with Transcaucasia through mountain passes. Before the war, however, dirt roads in the Caucasus were scarce both in the plains and in the mountains. In the steppe area, there are almost no roads, and there are mainly roads driven by road builders and cars rolled. In the winter, in the spring and in the muddy season in the autumn, these roads could not be walked, which brought great difficulties to the movement of the troops.

Therefore, the natural conditions such as traffic conditions and geography in the Caucasus determined that the main campaign forces of the German offensive could only be in the direction of the East Caucasus and the West Caucasus, and from the northwest to the southeast across the Caucasus. The railway and road from Prokhradney to Baku via Gudiermes, Makhachkala and Terbent are the axis of the East Caucasus, and the railway and road along the Black Sea coast of Tuapsheh and Sukhumi form the axis of the two Caucasus. These two directions have a large campaign capacity, and both army groups and front armies can act.

In 1942, the attack on the Caucasus region of the Soviet Union was Army Group "A" under the command of Field Marshal Liszt of Germany, under the command of General Kleist: the 1st Tank Army (44th and 52nd Infantry Corps, 3rd, 40th and 57th Tank Armies) under the command of General Kleist, the 17th Army (5th Infantry Army and 49th Mountain Infantry Army) and the Romanian 3rd Army (1st Infantry Army and 1 Cavalry Corps) under the command of General Ruov. A total of 18 infantry divisions, 3 tank divisions, 4 motorized divisions, 6 mountain infantry divisions, 3 light infantry divisions, 4 cavalry divisions and 2 guard divisions were also transferred to the command of Army Group "A".

In order to rescue the 6th Army that was trapped in the encirclement of Stalingrad, Army Group A continued to "lose blood": the 23rd Tank Division and the SS "Vikin" Motorized Division withdrew from the battle and went to the Kotelnikovo area to be incorporated into General Manstein's cluster to reinforce the Stalingrad Group. For this reason, Army Group A was not only unable to maintain the offensive, but also needed to shorten its defensive line, and on 23 December 1942 it withdrew its troops in the areas of Ardan, Aragir and Digora to the pre-prepared defensive areas of Erhotovo and Chikola.

Under the influence of Wang Fan's butterfly wings, although Army Group A still "lost blood" in the early stage, the 6th Army's smooth breakthrough and reversal of defeat not only ensured the safety of Army Group A's flanks and rear, but also the return of the 23rd Tank Division, the SS "Vikin" Motorized Division and other reinforcements, carrying 500 Lion tanks and 2,000 full of logistics supplies, not only greatly boosted the morale of the German army, but also replenished the urgently needed materials and equipment in a timely manner.

Before the German reinforcements reached Army Group "A", the top leadership of the Soviet Union, in order to alleviate the "precarious" defense line of the Stalingrad Front, ordered the North Caucasus Front and the Transcaucasian Front in the southern theater of the Soviet Union to launch a diversionary offensive to prevent Germany from gathering more troops in the Stalingrad area, breaking through the defense line of the Don Front and the Stalingrad Front, and causing the collapse of the entire southern defense line. As a result, the two Soviet fronts, which launched a diversionary offensive, were met with stubborn resistance from the German defenders. The Germans had built trenches and communication trenches in all directions, with earth-wood firing points for machine guns and artillery, mortars and ambush tanks, as well as a large number of cellar-type bunkers. A large number of mines were laid on the ground in the gaps between the various defensive hubs, as well as foxholes for submachine gunners. Even during the retreat, mines were laid on every road, foxhole, mountain path, bridge and passage. The deeper the Soviets advanced into the German defenses, the more they carried out counter-attacks (usually with tank detachments, and infantry detachments to defend and build positions in the defensive areas behind). In addition, the Germans often used tanks to counterattack the Soviet detachments that were advancing faster when they approached a certain defensive area after the Soviet offensive troops had crossed the mine obstacles and artillery and mortar blockade areas, forcing them to slow down their advance or stop their advance.

After dark, the Germans withdrew their main forces to a defensive area in the rear. During the night, only a small number of covering forces were left on the positions (there were artillery, mortars, tank and engineering detachments, infantry detachments). And throughout the night they kept putting flares to illuminate the terrain in front of the front line, and when they found Soviet activities somewhere, they stayed there and shot at them. By the next morning, the Soviets had brought up artillery and pursuit artillery the night before, so that they had gained an advantage over the German covering forces, and forced the Germans to retreat. After that, it all repeats itself from the beginning. In general, the Germans carried out a kind of mobile defense, and the Soviets had to break through it step by step, so that instead of destroying the enemy on the spot, they drove it to the next area. As a result, the Germans brought an old lady's footcloth to the combat operations of the North and Transcaucasian Fronts, which felt smelly and long, and at the same time inflicted huge losses on the Soviet troops, and the Soviet North Caucasus and Transcaucasian Fronts had to stop the offensive momentum later.

When the German support forces arrived, the German Army Group "A", which had recovered its strength, with 480 Lion tanks as the core (about 20 of which broke down during the march), used the original Tiger and No. 4 tank units as supplements, covers, and diluted the troops, carried out a fierce attack on the North Caucasus Front, quickly broke through the Soviet defense line, occupied the Caucasus mountain front, entered the Crimea from the northern land gorge, and almost cut off all railways and roads from the interior to the Transcaucasus, and drove the Soviet troops to the Black Sea and in the inaccessible mountains and woodlands. By January 13, 1943, after more than 20 days of fierce fighting, the German army occupied a large area of the North Caucasus, and the North Caucasus Front had to retreat to the north and join up with the Southern Front to form a new defensive line to prevent the German army from attacking the flank of the entire southern theater in a roundabout way.

However, when moving into the Transcaucasian region, the German army met with resolute resistance from the Soviet army, and at this critical moment, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Sea Fleet fully cooperated with the Transcaucasian Front, covered the security of their coastal flank, organized anti-landing defense on the Black Sea coast between Rostov and Batumi, and directly sent troops to participate in combat operations on land. More than 40,000 Marines and Coastal Defense Troops, 150 coastal guns and 200 anti-aircraft guns, 250 aircraft, and 250 ships were dispatched. Fierce battles were fought on the entire eastern shore of the Sea of Azov and on the Taman Peninsula, Azov, Yeysk, Pyrimorsky, Akhtarsk, Demryuk, Taman and Novorossiysk (especially the city of Novorossiysk), and the Soviet troops, cornered, fought extremely resolutely and stubbornly. By 15 January, the Germans, exhausted by offensive momentum, had to halt their offensive. After the war, both sides had a hard time, the Soviet Union's North Caucasus Front and Transcaucasian Front were almost disabled, and German Army Group A suffered more than 40,000 casualties in more than 20 days.

At this point, the original plan of the German Army Group "A" to occupy the North Caucasus first, and then to invade the Transcaucasia through the Greater Caucasus Mountains from the western and eastern routes and through the mountain passes through the middle (northern routes) was only more than half completed. But on the whole, the set goal of the German army to cut off the Caucasus to the north and the rear of the Soviet Union has been achieved, and on the entire Soviet-German battlefield, Germany's war initiative has reached its peak!

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