"What? A large number of Soviet troops were found on the east coast of the Caspian Sea? The Soviet Malinovsky Army in the north was also ready to move?" Zeitzler, who received the information, was shocked. Since the cold winter, except for the fight near the Fergana Basin, all fronts have entered the winter break period, and the troops have rushed to replenish personnel and rotate. The troops that have not completed the 1943 type transformation have stepped up the transformation, and a few elite troops have begun to change new equipment, such as leopard tanks and assaulters. This armored division called the 1944 modified unit replaced the original No. 4 tank status with the leopard, forming a joint combination of leopard + tiger + assaulters, Qingyishui 88mm/56l caliber artillery, further optimizing logistics supply.

After the No. 4 tank was gradually transformed into a Leopard tank production, the Tiger tank production was still stable at 250 units/month, the Leopard production had exceeded 500 units/month, while the No. 4 production level dropped to 600 units/month. Although the overall output has declined, the combat effectiveness improvement effect is obvious. Especially after the Soviet army invested in I-1 and T-43/85, facing the fully suppressed No. 4, Sperer was also a little anxious and accelerated the production of Leopards. According to the plan of the General Staff, by the time the spring offensive was launched in mid-April, the armored division that completed the modification in 1944 would have to be at least 10 SS and 6 National Defense Forces. At the same time, the four marine brigades had to be replaced.

In order to enhance its competitiveness in the field of heavy tanks and ensure the German army's absolute advantage in this field, the Tiger 2 tank, which was originally decided to mass-produce in May, was also unveiled in advance. Since the 850-horsepower hl234 engine has not yet been finally mature and mass-produced, it can still only use the 650-horsepower hl230 engine. Fortunately, after potential modification, the hl230 was upgraded to hl230+, and the horsepower was increased to 685 horsepower. So the Military Department first launched the Tiger 2 tank.

Judging from the data, Tiger 2 is a simple version of the Tiger King tank. The main change is to reduce the front armor to 130mm, install 88mm/l71 tank guns, and control the weight to about 54 tons. The remaining chassis, accessories, and body sizes are basically the same as Tiger King (or Tiger 3). Previously, technical experts have reminded the General Staff and the military that it is difficult to produce 88mm/l71 artillery, and it is recommended to reserve in advance. Therefore, Tiger 2 uses all the gun barrels that are reserved for production. Several old heavy armored battalions have returned to China to receive Tiger 2 tanks. When the spring offensive is launched, they will have more unforgettable weapons.

The Tiger King tank, which matches the 850-horse hl234 engine and the new transmission system, will have 160mm inclined armor and be equipped with 105mm/l68 tank gun (42 rounds of ammunition), with a total weight of more than 62 tons. However, due to the increased engine power, its maneuverability is obviously more than Tiger 2, which is only slightly worse than Tiger 1 based on the hl230+ engine, and is close to the early Tiger tanks.

According to previous development practices, the German army will also develop tank destroyers based on the same chassis. The No. 5 tank killer developed based on the Tiger tank was also completed not long ago. The code-named "Rampage" is different from the Ferdinand (Elephant tank destroyer) based on the Tiger chassis in history. Hoffman does not like the stupid and unpretentious Ferdinand. The Ferdinand armor is basically the same as the Tiger Type, and the total weight is basically maintained at the 48 tons level. It saves the weight of the turret to install a 105mm/l68 tank gun that is consistent with the Tiger King tank in the artillery update. Its armor-piercing ability is currently ranked first.

Originally, the technical department would also launch a cheetah tank destroyer based on the Leopard tank, but because the number of Leopard tanks is far from enough, the cheetah can only continue to be locked in the safe as a drawing vehicle. The only thing that makes the technical department ashamed is the general tank e-45 series proposed by the head of state, which integrates the four advantages of "motorization and cost of the medium tank, firepower and defense of the heavy tank", has not made much progress. Not to mention 1944, pessimistic people in the Ministry of Arms believe that it could not be built in 1945. Considering that the United States is now catching the first generation of heavy tanks, the Germans have reason to be proud of their ability and technical level.

In contrast, in order to get the physical objects and drawings of the I-1 tank, the Joint Conference sent Stalin's father a full 30 ships of supplies (of which 12 ships were to be tributed to the Japanese military), and implicitly stated that if the effect was good, the loss would not be large (i.e., Japan only received 40% of the protection fee as it complied with the promise), and would continue to send 30 ships.

In Zeitzler's eyes, all preparations on the Eastern Front were in an orderly manner, and he was preparing to give Stalin a full blow after the beginning of spring. Unexpectedly, the Russians planned to give him a big shot first.

"How many troops do the enemy have?"

"The Red Army has been attacking for about 200,000, divided into two routes in the east and north; there are about 200,000 to 350,000 follow-up troops behind them."

"So much?" Zeitzler frowned, "Didn't the Russians be busy clearing out the Central Asian national forces?"

"This is true. The Russians divided into two groups, attacking the Caspian Sea and extinguishing fires in Central Asia."

"How many troops do they have?" Zeitzler knocked on the table and felt surprised. "On the one hand, we surrounded our army in the Fergana Basin, and sent troops to sweep Central Asia, while also sent troops to attack the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea..."

"The preliminary estimate is no less than 1 million, probably these are the main players in the middle lane where the Russians disappeared.

"Okay, the head of state is right. The Russians' military strength and combat style cannot be speculated according to common sense." Zeitzler sighed and walked to the map to quickly judge the situation. The staff members had deployed the information and information they had just received on the map.

The German army on the east coast of the Caspian Sea had a total of more than 50,000 troops, and there was also an airborne division and an airborne brigade dispatched by Scherner in advance. The total number was less than 70,000 people and there was no armored division. The troops on the east coast of the Caspian Sea were backed by a powerful Southern Army group and could obtain reinforcements through the Caspian Sea at any time. Zeitzler always thought that the danger was not great. Unexpectedly, the Russians dared to make ground on Tai Sui's head, so he was a little angry.

"Martin Manstein prepared a lot of troops on the West Bank some time ago, saying that he would deal with the situation in Central Asia. Now he can be used to make them ready to cross the Caspian Sea." Zeitzler thought for a while and added, "I asked the Air Force to be prepared to ensure regional air supremacy."

As soon as the staff officers agreed, one of them frowned and shouted: "Sir, your request cannot be done for the time being."

"Can't do it?"

Zeitzler was stunned: "Why?"

"The Caspian Sea started to freeze 10 days ago, and the ice layer was neither thick nor thin, but the west coast was completely frozen, and ships and ships could not move, so the reinforcements could not pass."

Everyone looked at each other. Zeitzler suddenly remembered that he had received a similar situation report a few days ago, and hurriedly said: "Hurry, let them report the coverage of the ice area."

After marking the ice range of the Caspian Sea on the map, everyone frowned very tightly. The ice in the Caspian Sea was so strange that it was frozen almost entirely. The ice layer on the middle road was very thin, and there was almost no water on the east bank. This situation of half the ice layer and half the water made these staff members dumbfounded. They only heard that there was a boundary between the north and the south ice water, and there were also frozen waters in the world that were boundary between the east and the east?

When I looked at the map of the Red Army's two huge clamp-shaped offensive spearheads, combined with the subsequent huge forces, it was obviously not something that the 70,000 troops on the east coast could not be defended by the 70,000 troops without the armored division. Zeitzler murmured to himself: "This is a bad thing, and we have to arrange a retreat."

"Sir, Marshal Manstein sent a telegram, suggesting that the troops retreat to Iran in the southeast and then go to Tehran to spend the winter, and take the supplies of the east coast camp as long as possible, speed up the retreat and do not let the Russians stick to it."

"All the supplies that cannot be taken away are destroyed?"

"This..." The staff officer showed a horrified look, "The telegram said there was no need to worry about destroying it, so leave it to the Russians..."

"Let's leave it to the Russians? Is this the marshal's original words? He wants to recruit enemies?" Zeitzler asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Crazy!"

"This is really crazy..." Manstein, who sent a telegram to Zeitzler, said so. According to his original intention, at least a few thousand troops were left to defend, and even if the entire army was destroyed, the supplies could not be left to the Russians. However, after hearing the report, the reply given to him made him frown.

"Can't figure it out?" Hoffman looked at him with a smile, "My Marshal, it's the bad luck you told me that the Russians might go to Turks..."

"This is very likely, of course it may also cause trouble for the Iranians, although the latter has a smaller chance."

"I think it's even more likely to find the Turks. After all, after our army nearly 70,000 retreated to Tehran, it's not that easy for the Russians to attack the Iranians."

"It's even harder to destroy all supplies."

"If it's not easy, how can the Russians teach Turkey a lesson?" Hoffman's voice suddenly increased by octave. "Don't you think it's a good military strategy to let the Turks lure the enemy deep and get rid of it?"

Of course, Manstein knew about military strategies, but he knew better that the political strategy of the head of state was not spoken by the head of state: after taking down the Transcaucasus, the Turks swallowed most of the territory despite German opposition, and swallowed Baku in an extremely ugly way. They even fought for territory with the Iranians. Many German senior officials were indignant, but Hoffman had been suppressing this emotion. Now it seems that the head of state is not in a good state, but the head of state is holding back...

"Military is a continuation of politics, and we must always serve the military." Hoffman smiled, "You must be confident in what to fight next, right?"

"Of course this is OK, but if Marshal Bok comes?" Bok is an advisor to the Turkish military. He served as the commander of the Central Army Group and has a relatively old qualification.

"Master Boke is old and the weather is not good recently, so he is more likely to get sick. Someone will advise him to go to Italy to take good care of his care..." Hoffman blinked, "If you have an officer under your command, I also recommend going to Italy to take care of his care and bask in the sun."

Manstein immediately smiled knowingly and knew that he was Junker, not Junker, who was old and unchanging. He knew how to fight this battle...
Chapter completed!