The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 1341: Chapter 968: Bombing the Ruhr District_2 Chapter 1341: Chapter 968: Bombing the Ruhr District_2 “Currently, the number has reached 450,000, and it is expected to break through 500,000 next month,” reported Kurt Zeitzler, the German Chief of General Staff.

Speaking of the reserve forces currently in training, Kurt Zeitzler’s face visibly relaxed somewhat.

Thanks to the high approval ratings of the German Chancellor among the civilian population, as well as the German public’s desire not to relive the shadow of war defeat, Germany’s new mobilization policy was welcomed.

Every day, a continuous stream of civilians change their status, becoming members of the glorious German reserve military forces.

The ever-increasing number of reserve soldiers is also one of the reasons Germany is confident in launching the Stalingrad campaign.

Should the Stalingrad campaign fail, these continuously increasing reserve forces could also be dispatched to stabilize the defenses at both the Eastern and Western Fronts, vying for Germany’s last chance.

Hearing the report from Chief of General Staff Kurt Zeitzler, the German Chancellor was silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the map of the Eastern Front in Russia.

“Here, right here!” the German Chancellor suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of delight and excitement.

Kurt Zeitzler quickly stepped forward, observing the spot the Chancellor had just pointed at.

Kiev, the most important urban city in the Ukrainian region and the last line of defense for Germany in the Russian-occupied territory.

If Kiev were lost, the Russian army could almost completely reclaim their territory, which would mean that Romania and Germany’s native land would be under attack.

Looking at the Chancellor pointing at Kiev, a plethora of plans flashed through Kurt Zeitzler’s mind, but he first asked, “Kiev?”

“Yes, exactly, excellent,” the German Chancellor did not pay heed to Kurt Zeitzler’s inquiry, instead nodding his head in excitement as if he couldn’t wait, muttering to himself, “If we deploy an ambush here, what chances do those damned Russians have of escaping?”

Kurt Zeitzler inwardly nodded, finding the Chancellor’s idea similar to one of his own guesses.

Although the area around Kiev is the vast plains of Eastern Europe, this does not mean that ambushes cannot be set around Kiev.

By coincidence, there is a prominent area divided by rivers near Kiev, precisely across the river from Kiev.

This also happens to be the attack route the Russians would like to take to recover Kiev. If the Russians were to attack Kiev, they would likely do so from across the river.

The total length of this prominent area spans hundreds of kilometers, and both ends are divided by rivers. If an ambush were set up here, and a certain number of troops were deployed on both sides to cut off the Russians’ escape routes, they could indeed catch them by surprise.

Moreover, if the Russians launched an unprepared attack on Kiev, the ambush here could deliver a fatal blow to the Russians and form a massive encirclement, trapping the Russian army within.

However, although he gleaned the Chancellor’s intention, Kurt Zeitzler would not volunteer the plan outright.

Since it was a plan that the Chancellor himself had thought of, it was certainly for the Chancellor to propose. Kurt Zeitzler knew how to flatter; otherwise, he wouldn’t have risen to such a high military rank among many excellent German officers.

“The topography here…” Kurt Zeitzler slightly furrowed his brows, as if an idea was on the verge of surfacing.

“Yes, Kurt,” the German Chancellor smiled, not minding that the Chief of General Staff had not discerned his plan, and explained with a smile, “The river cuts the opposite bank of Kiev into a narrow, protruding area, allowing our military forces to set up a huge encirclement here.

Mr. Chief of General Staff, what do you think of this plan?”

Faced with such a crucial question, Kurt Zeitzler did not hesitate for a moment, giving a decisive answer, “It is definitely a splendid plan. Your Excellency, if we establish a huge encirclement here, those Russian army forces growing increasingly desperate to reclaim their lost territory won’t expect it at all.”

“And this will be our turning point in changing the course of the war.”

Hearing his Chief of General Staff, whom he had personally promoted, praise his idea so highly, the German Chancellor once again nodded in satisfaction, unable to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth: “Excellent, Mr. Chief of General Staff.”

“I hope our military can act swiftly and complete the necessary deployment of facilities in this region before the enemy arrives.”

Kurt Zeitzler immediately nodded respectfully, concluding the conversation.

Although there was a suspicion that the compliment to the plan was somewhat sycophantic, Kurt Zeitzler also held in his heart the conviction that the plan proposed by the German Chancellor was Germany’s only choice.

If they did not proactively look for more opportunities to counterattack, the German Army would gradually lose itself in prolonged defense, and one day the defensive line would inevitably be breached by the Russian army.

Despite Germany’s ongoing mobilization efforts, the total scale of the military was limited; the population of Germany simply could not break through these limits.

A population of 80 million could never arm 40 million soldiers, as the mainland also required a large number of factories to produce the greatly needed military products and other supplies.

The country needed to function, otherwise 40 million soldiers could exhaust all domestic supplies in just one day’s time.

While the German Chancellor and the Chief of General Staff were planning the deployment of the encirclement, on the Western Europe battlefield, the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations were also devising a new plan.

Of course, Britain-France-Australia could not afford to launch a new offensive while maintaining the Northern Europe offensive, the Maginot Line counterattack, and the Normandy landings.

The new plan was to dispatch the Air Force to bomb mainland Germany, aiming to disrupt as much as possible the production of supplies and social order within Germany.

In setting the targets for the aerial bombings, Britain and Australasia were united in their decision to abandon attacks on major urban cities like Berlin and instead target cities in the western part of Germany’s mainland such as Essen and Dortmund.

These cities might not be as famous as Berlin, but this region has another name, a very well-known one: the heart of German industry, the Ruhr District.

Yes, the next target for the Britain-France-Australia Air Force bombing campaign was indeed Germany’s core region, the Ruhr District.

Only by destroying Germany’s domestic industrial production could they hamper Germany’s mobilization progress and further weaken Germany’s ability to continue the war.

To launch a more effective assault on the Ruhr District, the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations were all in.

Co-headed by Britain and Australasia, Britain deployed 1,200 fighter aircraft and 500 bombers, Australasia 1,400 fighter aircraft and 450 bombers, and France 820 fighter aircraft and 330 bombers—a grand total of 4,700 airplanes, flying en masse towards the Ruhr District.

The bombing of the Ruhr District marked the largest number of aircraft ever deployed by the Allied Nations in an air raid since the outbreak of the war.

This was actually indicative of the fact that the military production of the Britain-France-Australia Three Nations had undergone several expansions over a prolonged period, with production speeds now several times what they used to be.

At the start of the war, the number of airplanes each country had could be counted in the hundreds.

But now, all the powerful nations participating in the war had aircraft numbers exceeding a thousand, and countries with robust military industry capabilities like Britain and Australasia had maintained a staggering scale of several thousand airplanes each.

Keep in mind that the attrition of airplanes on the battlefield is tremendously high. A large-scale battle can consume dozens or even hundreds of airplanes each day.

In the event of massive aerial battles, the number of planes lost can easily reach hundreds or even a thousand in just one engagement.

Being able to maintain thousands of planes despite such immense losses indicates the formidable military production capabilities of these nations.