Empire Conquest-Chapter 762 - 53 Total Collapse_2
From the battle report sent by the Northwest War Zone Headquarters, the current situation conformed to this judgment, that the West Continent Group had concentrated their focus on Volgograd in the south rather than Saratov in the middle, so there was reason to believe that the main direction of the West Continent Group’s assault was Astrakhan.
On this front, we faced the middle and northern section of the third line of defense, that is, in the direction of the Ishim River.
It must be said, this was the crucial direction.
The two terrestrial arteries connecting the east and the west, the first mainline railway and the second mainline railway, both had to pass over the Ishim River!
Moreover, the Ishim River is positioned east of the second line of defense, acting as the first natural defense barrier.
If you must say, as long as we could hold the Ishim River, especially the several railway bridges, we would be able to block the enemy on the western side of this defense line.
For the West Continent Group to continue pushing eastward, they would have to expend heavy forces to break through the Ishim River defense line.
However, one needn’t worry too much about the defense in that direction.
The reason was simple: it was too far!
From the second defense line, from Atla in the north of the Broad Sea to the Ishim River, the straight-line distance exceeds 1000 kilometers!
Even though the route is almost entirely desert and plains, without natural barriers that are easy to defend but hard to attack, such a remote distance is a formidable natural barrier in itself.
The key point was also that the West Continent Group actually had no intention of continuing to push eastward.
Simply put, after breaking through the Ishim River defense line, they would still need to advance thousands of kilometers to reach the northwest region of the Liangxia Empire, and then continue for several thousand more kilometers to reach the hinterland of the Liangxia Empire, but the West Continent Group simply did not possess the troop strength required to complete the attack!
Conversely, from the Ishim River to Atla—a distance of more than 1000 kilometers across the desert—served as a natural barrier for the Eastern Group’s ground forces as well?
From a military perspective, there was also no need to march to the Ishim River immediately.
Primarily, during the initial stages of the attack, both manpower and resources were extremely limited, so even if there was a need to continue pushing eastward, it would have to be after stabilizing other fronts.
The main focus was on sweeping the eastern coast of the Broad Sea.
This also comprised the middle and southern sections of the third line of defense, running from the Salt Sea to the eastern coast of the Broad Sea.
From the Salt Sea to the Ishim River, nearly all were desert and barren landscapes, lacking not only railways but also sparse in highways, essentially negating any need for defensive efforts.
If you had to address it, it was also the most difficult to defend, yet imperative to hold.
The key lay in logistical support!
Due to isolation from the northern Siberian region, the only supply available on the eastern shore of the Broad Sea came via a railway heading to the southern regions.
Alarmingly, the terminus of this railway was in Karachi of Bakistan, not on the Imperial mainland!
That is, supplies first had to be shipped by sea to Karachi and then transported here via railway.
Moreover, the middle section of this railway also ran alongside Boi Country!
Due to the excessively long supply line, there was significant unpredictability, so the Eastern Group deployed the least troop strength in this direction.
Less than 200,000 troops were stationed here, and the main force included only one lightweight Mechanized Infantry Division.
If you were to say, the West Continent Group also faced numerous challenges during its assault, including similarly harsh natural environments and an inadequately secured logistical supply.
Of course, for the West Continent Group, this was an essential direction of strong attack.
The reason was very simple.
Only by taking control of the western region of the Salt Sea, that is, the eastern coast of the Broad Sea, could they block the Broad Sea and seize Baku on the western shore of the Broad Sea.
As long as the Eastern Group held several port cities on the eastern coast of the Broad Sea, they could provide support to the Baku defenders through maritime transport.
In fact, the Tactical Air Force stationed on the eastern coast of the Broad Sea could cover Baku.
Clearly, the West Continent Group would inevitably deploy heavy troops in this direction.
However, the real direction of forceful attack was actually the southern section, also known as the Chains Bridge defense line.
If you must say, this was also the most challenging place to defend on the third line of defense, or rather, almost indefensible, yet a location that must be desperately held.
Over the past decades, Eastern Luosha had always stationed heavy troops at the Chains Land Bridge, in the northern Caucasus region.
Apart from harbors facing the Mo Sea, Eastern Luosha’s only coastline, there were also the best and largest grain-producing areas, and a hundred times more critical than the grain-producing regions: the Baku oil fields.
Because of this, on this front alone, the Eastern Luosha Army had a massive army of 700,000!
To coordinate with this defensive deployment, the Empire Army had also committed an elite Mechanized Infantry Division and deployed hundreds of combat aircraft. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Furthermore, over several decades and at great expense, Novorossiysk had been developed into the number one naval base on the Mo Sea.
At any time, there were always dozens of Imperial Navy vessels in this military port. Except for the flagship, however, all the others were small boats of just a few hundred tons.
Regrettably, the chances of holding the Chains Land Bridge were almost zero.
Because it was a completely isolated defense line, and maritime transport routes could not be guaranteed at all in wartime, once the Broad Sea shipping was cut off, the army of a million stationed there would run out of ammunition and food. In the end, they would have no choice but to surrender without even a chance to break out.
Moreover, even if the East Coast of the Broad Sea was in the hands of the Eastern Group, the shipping route might still not be ensured to be unobstructed.
Additionally, the first goal of the West Continent Group was the Baku oil fields.
That was also why the West Continent Group focused on the south and sent its main forces to attack Astrakhan vehemently.
According to messages from the Northwest Battle Zone headquarter, just around Rostov alone the West Continent Group had deployed forces from at least 20 divisions.
On the Volgograd front, the deployed forces amounted to a staggering 35 divisions!
If their objective was a forceful attack on Astrakhan, then other directions would merely be feints, and the forces deployed in that direction could top 50 divisions.
In total, this involved about 800,000 officers and soldiers.
Judged purely by numbers, it wasn’t all that much, but these 50 divisions were the absolute main force of the West Luosha Army, with at least 10 being fiercely combatant Guard Armored Divisions.
Their strategic intent was very clear.
While the main forces launched a strong attack on Astrakhan, troops were dispatched to sweep the eastern coast of the Mo Sea, capturing cities like Novorossiysk and Sochi to sever the logistical supply lines of Eastern Group’s combat troops in that direction. Afterward, they would press southeastward to join the northern main forces in attacking Baku.
As one might say, this was to be expected.
The current situation couldn’t even be described as "perilous."
What really troubled Zhou Yongtao was that by this juncture, the Commander of the Northwest War Zone still seemed not to be fully engaged.
The earlier mentioned passing the responsibility onto the Military Intelligence Bureau was one evidence.
Although Zhou Yongtao was not the Army Commander and had never been in the Army, during his years in the Navy, he had had extensive interaction with the Marine Corps.
Overall, there wasn’t much difference between the Navy and the Army when it came to strategy.
The war had erupted, the West Continent Group had gone all out from the start, yet the Commander of the Northwest Battle Zone still believed there was room for the war to pivot.
Believing it might suddenly stop!
That was why he proposed a direct retreat to the third line of defense, nominally trading space for time but in reality not wanting to fight with full commitment.
Could they really retreat now?
Not to mention the significant blow to morale, strategically this was unacceptable.
The reason was simple, the West Continent Group’s real aim was not to annihilate the Eastern Group but through a large-scale war to deflect internal strife.
More directly, what they coveted was the Baku oil fields at the Chains Land Bridge.
If their ambitions were greater, it encompassed all of Eastern Luosha.
If the Eastern Group retreated now, there was a high probability of losing Eastern Luosha; at least the most populous western regions would be lost.
If they retreated now, could they fight back?
Or rather, what would be the cost of fighting back?
Moreover, the war at Boss Bay wasn’t over yet!
Retreating now could likely result in losing half of the World Island.
Moreover, appearing weak strategically could lead the Newland Authority to make a misjudgment, hence causing the Newland Republic to enter the war soon.
Over the past few hours, the battle reports sent from the Northwest Battle Zone headquarters had forced Zhou Yongtao to doubt whether the wrong person was replaced.
If Shi Shouliang were still in Astana, there certainly wouldn’t be so many issues.
So, should Shi Shouliang be sent back?
Zhou Yongtao didn’t act immediately, in fact, he was waiting for more definite news.
In other words, whether it was necessary to send Shi Shouliang back to firefight.
According to prior arrangements, Shi Shouliang’s task, after the outbreak of the war, was to complete the combat actions at Boss Bay as quickly as possible, then as Joint Forces Commander, oversee the Northwest and Western Battle Zones. It was supposed to be at this point that he would take direct command of the combat operations on the Northwest front.
Of course, this was predicated on the Northwest front being able to withstand the West Continent Group’s assault, not to rapidly collapse.
Now it seemed that alternative arrangements might be necessary.
