Chapter 18
“The Germans have a light mobile division over the Manych Canal,” said Karimov, “and it has already cut the rail line to Astrakhan in two places.”
“What? That rail line is vital! Without it we have to rely on seaborne shipments to Makhachkala and Baku.”
“That is the case, but we have virtually nothing in reserve to defend that area. I sent both security regiments from Astrakhan, the last two in the city. Now we have finally moved two 5th Army divisions north to help out, but that sector remains a critical vulnerability in our entire defense. To hold it adequately, I will need to pull more infantry out of the Terek River line, most likely from 5th Army, and the front near Mozdok is already thinned out with the need to shift forces to contain the German Kuma Bridgehead.”
“Are we holding there?” Volkov was still pacing.
“Barely holding. We’ve thrown all the mechanized brigades from every field army into that fight, but it is like feeding wood into a sawmill. Mister General Secretary, a decision will have to be made as to where we now attempt to establish the main line of our defense. Unfortunately, we have two widely spaced objectives to defend. In the South, Groznyy and Baku are both well established strategic supply sites for our oil production. But in the north, we have Astrakhan, and the new developments at the Tengiz and Kashagan fields. It may be that we will soon have to make a difficult choice.”
Volkov stopped in his tracks, giving him a hard look. “You mean chose between the north or south? We cannot defend both?”
“Well, if the German Army would be kind enough to pick one or another, and let me know, then yes, I could defend it. Unfortunately, they have established themselves in a good position between both those objectives. At the moment, their effort seems to be focused on Groznyy, and outflanking the Terek River positions. If they break through our defenses along the Kuma Bridgehead, then everything west of Groznyy is compromised. All the defenses in the Terek River bend are useless in that event.”
“Then what would you suggest we do?”
“Fall back here.” He pointed to the map. “Establish the line about 20 kilometers west of Groznyy, anchored on the heavy woodland in the high country. Then it follows the line of the Terek, all the way to the Caspian. There the terrain also favors us, because the heavy marshland makes it unsuitable for their mobile divisions.”
“Very well. Then do this.”
“I will order it,” said Karimov, “but that will soon dangle the same question before us. Once the Germans fully appreciate the nature of the terrain in the eastern Terek region, then what will they do with their mobile divisions? They will first bring up their infantry to face off against us on that defensive line I just outlined, then they have but two options. The first would be an attack here, just east of Groznyy, between Gudermes and the bridge south of Kargalinskaya. That is a given. It flanks Groznyy, and leads directly to the main road and rail through Makhachkala and on to Baku.”
“And the second option?”
“North,” said Karimov, a warning in his voice. “In fact, the entire mobile Corps could disengage and head north at any time. Remember, they have already bridged the Manych Canal. If they send yet another division over to go after the main rail to Astrakhan, we may not be able to stop them. In that event, all forces presently committed here will be cut off. Yes, we will still have sea communications over the Caspian, but the German Stukas will make short work of that in due course. Furthermore. If they choose a containment strategy on the Groznyy-Terek line, they could take that entire Mobile Corps, or a good portion of it, right up to Astrakhan….” He let that sink in before he spoke again, emphasizing the grave danger.
“Then we lose everything. We will lose access to all the oil in the south, and at present, I have nothing but cooks, barge handlers, stevedores and service troops at Astrakhan. Those fields, and the developments at Tengiz and Kashagan are ripe fruit for the taking.”
“God almighty….” Volkov had no good standing with the deity he invoked, but he now realized the full gravity of the situation he was facing. The Germans already had Baba Gurgur and Maykop. Now they could bottle up all his oil at Groznyy and Baku, and seize the fields around Astrakhan. Karimov was not being dramatic when he said they could lose everything. “What could we do to prevent this?” he said. “And you damn well better have a plan.”
“I have no more armies, unless you would order me to give up Volgograd and move the 2nd Army to Astrakhan. Yet that would open a vast hole in our lines for the Soviets to exploit. They may not be able to do so in the short run, but the southern Volga would be undefended. We would have to pull back the 1st Kazakh Army, which is now opposite the Italians between the Volga and the Manych Canal, and that means yielding the entire Kalmyk Steppe region, making the Volga our new defense line. Yet before that happens we still have the option to pull out as much as we can and try to swing it north of the Kuma and Manych Canal—to try and defend Astrakhan well south of the city, and also hold Elista. Unfortunately, every division we move is one less to hold the line I showed you earlier. But we must choose, Mister General Secretary, North or South. We cannot adequately defend both. Choose one, and we may have a chance at holding on to something here. Astrakhan would seem the better objective to try and hold, since it is very likely that Groznyy will fall, and Baku will be cut off, even by sea routes over the Caspian.”
Volkov clenched his jaw, his eyes dark, brow deepened with anger. “Damn the German Army,” he said in a low voice. “Damn Hitler and his rapacious appetite….” He waited, leaning over the map. Then, without even looking at Karimov, he gave the order.
“Save Astrakhan—by any means possible. Save it, or I will have your head!”
Karimov would have his work cut out for him. He looked for the troops he needed to accomplish it anywhere he could find them. The 71st Division, part of 7th Army, had been forced to retreat over the Manych Canal at Divnoye. Now it was part of the defensive group around Elista, and together with the 11th Guards Rifle Division there, he had two strong and fresh divisions he could quickly move by rail. If he could extricate the bulk of the 7th Army from its positions in the south, then the north might be held.
The danger point now was a narrow 40-kilometer corridor near the confluence of the Kuma with the Caspian Sea. The thin rail line traversed that corridor, crossing the Kuma near its marshy delta on the Caspian, and proceeded north to Astrakhan. As far as Orenburg was now concerned, and particularly for General Karimov, that 40-kilometer bottleneck was the most important ground in the Federation.
The General began extricating any intact mobile brigade he had and shifting it in that direction, and was also pulling all the divisions of the 7th Army out of the Terek defenses, and looking for ways to get them to the threatened zone. The question now was whether he would have time to do so before the Germans either broke through or decided to shift north over the Manych Canal as he feared.
To make this sudden shift, he still had to keep something on the line in the Kuma Bridgehead sector, and for this he relied on the Army of the Kalmyk, a second-rate formation that he knew would not hold long. It was his intention to order those troops to begin a withdrawal to the Groznyy line. His aim was to try and save and move as many regular Army formations as possible.