The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 1329: Chapter 963: Northern Europe Offensive_2 Chapter 1329: Chapter 963: Northern Europe Offensive_2 But it was this one-third of the city that had already cost the Germans at least 300,000 soldiers, a truly terrifying fact.

If this ratio were to continue, wouldn’t Germany need to sacrifice at least 900,000 soldiers to capture the entirety of Stalingrad?

The one most concerned about the current situation in Russia was General Manstein, who was leading the second armored army group in a pincer move.

At a military meeting of the Southern Region Army Group in Germany, Manstein had once raised a critical topic, asking whether capturing Stalingrad could end the war?

When no one could provide an answer, the question led to the entire southern group’s military meeting turning into a silent forest.

Manstein’s concerns were reasonable, considering the current rate of German military losses, capturing one Stalingrad could lead to nearly a million casualties.

Even if Stalingrad were captured, the German Army would still need to occupy Moscow to end the war with Russia.

From the failure of the last Moscow campaign, it was evident that capturing the city would require even greater casualties than Stalingrad.

Is it really worth trading over two million soldiers’ casualties for the hope of defeating Russia?

Moreover, a dreadful suspicion harbored by Manstein was whether, after capturing Stalingrad and Moscow, the Russian army would actually surrender as planned?

While the capital is extremely important to a country, it is definitely not everything.

If the Russians continue to resist, what can Germany do? Should it keep wasting soldiers and bleed Russia dry?

There were many generals in the German military who shared Manstein’s thinking.

But due to the German Chancellor’s tight control over the government’s voice, and with William II playing dead, refusing to appear at governmental and military meetings, Junker nobility like Manstein had no power to oppose.

To oppose a ruler who held great power and had the people’s trust like the German Chancellor, there would need to be someone of matching stature to lead the opposition.

But clearly, apart from Emperor William II, there was indeed no one else in the German government with such prestige and status.

The glory days of the Junker nobility were long past, and if Hindenburg had still been alive, perhaps he could have voiced opposition.

But currently, among the Junker nobility who were doing relatively well was only Manstein and a few senior generals, some of whom had not even earned the trust of the German government and Chancellor.

In such a scenario, voicing opposition rashly was essentially handing the Chancellor the opportunity to purge them.

In politics, no one is a pushover, especially for a former art school reject and low-rank soldier who climbed to the highest point to become the German Chancellor. If he wasn’t ruthless, he wouldn’t deserve to be in that position.

Inside the German military, there were indeed people who opposed launching the Stalingrad campaign immediately after the Moscow campaign had failed.

Regrettably, the high-ranking officer who opposed was dismissed from his position the next day, arrested by the SS on various charges of treason, and sentenced to death within a few days.

This incident effectively silenced most of the senior officers; even if discontent existed, they dared not mention it in front of anyone.

On July 29, 1938, after the white flags were hung in Madrid, the Spanish government also officially announced its unconditional surrender.

With Spain’s surrender, the once glorious German-Italian Military Alliance was left with only the Germans struggling to survive, their influence limited to Central and Northern Europe.

On July 31, a new meeting was called in London, United Kingdom.

The meeting was attended only by representatives from the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations, and its contents were simple—to discuss the next offensive strategy of the allied forces.

If they wanted to end the war quickly, Britain, France, and Australia should throw all their forces into the current French battlefield, launching a counter-offensive directly from France into Germany and targeting the industrial heart of the Ruhr District.

Once the war reached German mainland, the resistance of the Germans would weaken day by day.

After all, only when their homeland is threatened will the Germans understand how damaging this war really is.

However, it was clear that neither Britain nor Australasia wanted to do this at the time.

By bringing the war to German mainland prematurely, the Germans would undoubtedly pull troops from Eastern Europe to help.

This would not only alleviate pressure on the Russians but also force the armies of the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations to face the German counter-attack.

After all, Germany had not yet reached a dead end; they still had millions of soldiers, and their domestic reserve of materials was not yet depleted.

At this point, for Britain and Australasia, the best plan was still to let Germany and Russia continue bleeding each other dry.

Only when the vital forces and material reserves of Germany and Russia were nearly exhausted would it be best for the armies of the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations to strike decisively at the German mainland and end the war.

It was for this reason that the next offensive strategy of the Britain-France-Australia military forces not only needed to choose an appropriate region but also needed to reflect the firm intent of the three nations to continue the war.