Chapter 1166 Dilemma

The German 21st Army has arrived in Kuwait, and the 22nd Army will soon arrive in Kuwait. The arrival of a large number of elite German troops will completely change the situation in the Middle East. Although, the Russian Caucasus Front fought very well in this battle and performed well. However, they were still unable to complete the operational tasks that Joseph explained.

Because they have no chance at all. Not only that, but they might even pay for themselves.

One hundred and twenty kilometers north of Baghdad, Tikrit, the two tank divisions of the Russian 47th Army have already hit here. However, the total number of tanks owned by the two tank divisions is less than fifty. The rest of the tanks had been destroyed in previous battles. Apart from those destroyed by the Luftwaffe fighter planes, many of them were destroyed due to mechanical failures.

Although, it seems that Baghdad is not far from here. However, more than 200,000 Iraqi troops stood in front of them. Although most of these Iraqi troops have just been formed, their combat effectiveness is low. However, with the full support of the Luftwaffe, it was barely able to withstand the Russian attack. No matter how bad it is, it can hold back these Russian troops and buy time for the follow-up German troops to rush to the battlefield.

The headquarters of the Russian Caucasus Front is not far north of Tikrit. However, the atmosphere in the entire headquarters is very solemn. They had already learned that the German troops disembarked in Kuwait. This is undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for them.

"Can the information be confirmed? Have the Germans really arrived in Kuwait?" Major General Shamanin, the political commissar of the front army, seemed to be in disbelief. After all, this was a huge blow to them.

"Comrade Political Commissar, it can be confirmed that the Germans have really arrived in Kuwait." Chief of Staff Major General Thor Bukhin replied.

"It should be true. Counting the time, at the speed of the Germans, it is enough to transport the army to the Persian Gulf." Lieutenant General Kozlov sighed. His face was also full of helplessness and disappointment.

Although, after being attacked by the Luftwaffe, the advance speed of the Russian army was greatly reduced. This made him deeply worried about the next battle. However, at that time, he still had a little luck in his heart, thinking that the German reinforcements might not come so soon. In that case, they will undoubtedly still have a chance. But now it seems that all this is nothing more than his delusion. German reinforcements came sooner than he had imagined.

"Damn it, what should we do now?" Major General Shamanin's eyes flashed with panic. Obviously he already knew that they could not be the opponents of the German army at all. Once he fights against the German army, he knows very well what the consequences will be.

"If we follow Comrade Joseph's order, we must further attack south. However, judging from the current situation, if we continue to attack, I am afraid that we will be hit head-on by the Germans before we advance to Baghdad. With the advance speed of the Germans, we will be able to reach Baghdad soon. At that time, we will encounter the attack of the elite German troops waiting for work. With our current strength, it is impossible to withstand the German attack." Kozlow The lieutenant general said.

"If possible, I would rather retreat. To the north of the Zagros Mountains. In that case, we may still be able to use the terrain to stop the Germans. However, the possibility of successfully resisting the German attack is not too high. Big one." Lieutenant General Kozlov continued.

The strength gap between the two sides was so great that the Russian Caucasus Front had no power to fight back in front of the German army.

If Lieutenant General Kozlov was allowed to choose, he would definitely order a retreat without hesitation. But unfortunately, he does not have this power. Everyone knew that Joseph's order was for them to push all the way to Kuwait and destroy the German oil fields in Iraq and Kuwait. Now, retreating before completing the task, Joseph will definitely send him to a military court for this.

Therefore, even knowingly procrastinating will not do any good to our own side. But Lieutenant General Kozlov did not dare to give the order to retreat.

"Comrade Commander, why don't you stop advancing temporarily and report the situation we have encountered here to the General Staff! What should we do next? The General Staff will definitely give us a clear answer!" Chief of Staff Tuoer Major General Buxin suggested.

Lieutenant General Kozlov thought for a while, then nodded: "Well, there is no other way!"

The Caucasus Front left this problem to the Russian General Staff. After Shaposhnikov received the telegram, he also had a very headache. They also learned that the German army had arrived in the Persian Gulf. Shaposhnikov knew that the task of the Caucasus Front was impossible. If it fails, the entire Caucasus Front Army will suffer heavy losses or even be wiped out. This will undoubtedly be a serious blow to the Russian army.

What's more terrible is that Joseph has high hopes for this attack of the Caucasus Front Army. If the Caucasus Front Army fails to complete the target mission this time, Joseph will definitely be furious. At that time, everyone will be affected by Joseph's anger.

But Shaposhnikov obviously couldn't make a decision on his own when he got this difficult problem. This is related to the life and death of hundreds of thousands of Caucasian front troops. Even if he is the chief of staff of the Russian army, he also does not have this power.

The only one with this power is Joseph.

Shaposhnikov did not dare to neglect, and immediately rushed to the Kremlin to report the incident to Joseph.

After Joseph understood the whole thing, the expression on his face suddenly became very ugly. As Shaposhnikov guessed, he had high hopes for the Caucasus Front's actions this time, hoping that they would be able to capture the German oil fields in the Persian Gulf. No matter how bad it is, we have to find a way to destroy those oil fields. In this case, Germany's war power can be greatly weakened. For Russia, which has suffered heavy losses, this will play a great role.

But now, the Caucasus Front Army is unable to complete this task. Such a result made Joseph unacceptable. It was as if he had carefully prepared a punch and hit the German, but found that it was of no use at all. For Joseph, this was undoubtedly another slap in the face and a big embarrassment.