It has always been questioned that Napoleon and Hitler were both heads of state of the Empire, and their invincible military talent was recognized as an excellent example. To become a good strategist and military expert, we must first have
With unique insights and long-term vision, why did you choose the Russian region?
Napoleon and Hitler
First, learn about what kind of country the Russian Empire was
Map of the Russian Empire
First, the territory is vast
Take the territory of the Russian Empire during the Napoleonic period. The entire Russian region stretches from the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Black Sea in the south, the Baltic Sea in the west, and Alaska in the east.
The land area is as high as 22.8 million square kilometers, almost twice the size of the entire European territory
。 The population at that time, second only to the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire at that time, once reached 165.7 million people.
Russia
Second, the topography and geomorphological climate
When it comes to Russia, the first impression is cold, due to
The Russian region is close to the Arctic Circle
The average temperature in January is -18 °C ~ -10 °C, and the average temperature in July is 11-27 °C,
It can reach -50 °C when it is coldest.
The Russian region is dominated by plains and plateaus
It can be summarized as "the terrain is high in the south and low in the north, low in the west and high in the east." The European region is almost entirely the plains of Eastern Europe, while the central and eastern Asian plateaus, mountainous, and hilly terrains are longitudinal.
Russia is rich in resources
Third, rich natural resources
The Russian region has the world's largest mineral and energy resources, as well as the world's largest oil resources.
Resources are concentrated in Russia's Asian region, and eastern Europe's resources are concentrated near the Ural Mountains.
At this point, we have a general understanding of the Russian region, which is the largest russian region in the world in terms of geographical size and resource reserves, and there is no doubt that this is the ideal conquest goal for every conqueror. Did Napoleon the Great and Hitler's Fuehrer attack Russia (the Soviet Union) for this purpose?
This statement is too crude to be true
The two militarists attacked the Russian Empire for real reason
。
Obstacle to the conquest of the Russian regions
First, the strategy of the Russian Empire (USSR) is profound and broad
The vast territory of the conquered is always the conqueror's greatest desire to conquer, but it is sometimes also the conqueror's biggest nightmare. Russia has the largest territory in the world, even if the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union at that time belonged to the world power, but in the face of Napoleon and Hitler's Napoleonic Empire or German Nazi forces, it was unmatched.
The beginning of the war was as everyone had expected. The conquered were defeated by the conquerors. The conquerors' armies were directed at Moscow, the capital of Russia. The occupied territories need to leave sufficient troops to prevent the guerrilla forces from wreaking havoc in the rear. Be a conqueror
More and more territories were occupied, and more and more troops were left behind.
Can you imagine how many troops were left when the soldiers approached the capital of the Russian Empire?
Napoleon on the way to retreat
Second, the climate in Russia is too cold
Western Europe has a temperate oceanic climate with warm and rainy climates. Both the Napoleonic Imperial army and the German Nazi army lived in Western Europe all year round. Even if Napoleon chose to attack the Russian Empire in April,
For the Russians it was "spring is coming", for napoleon's army that came from afar "how come winter has not passed?" "
People who are accustomed to warm and humid climates suddenly come to cold and dry places, and people's bodies cannot eat.
During our Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao went south to fight with Sun Liu's allied forces in the Battle of Chibi, why did Cao Cao choose to connect the warships together? Cao Cao's army was mostly northerners, who were not satisfied with water and soil plus water battles, and their combat effectiveness did not exist in ten, so they had no choice but to choose warships to connect together to alleviate the impact of water and soil dissatisfaction.
Napoleon's army
Third, the front line is too long, and the supply cannot keep up
"Soldiers and horses do not move grain and grass first"
This truth, neither Napoleon the Great nor hitler's Fuehrer capital is enough to understand. In the first article, we said that the Russian Imperial Front is very long, the larger the front line, the larger the supply line, and when the supply line cannot keep up with the basic needs of the front line, the will to fight will be greatly reduced.
Although The Russian region is rich in resources, did military experts with unique perspectives such as Napoleon the Great and The Fuehrer Hitler not find the above problems? Or is there another reason?
Reasons for the conquest of the Russian Empire (USSR).
Napoleon
First, the conquest of the Russian Empire has absolute superiority
Napoleon and Hitler had absolute superiority over the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union. This was confirmed by the initial war between the two against Russia, and the armies of the two completely crushed the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union in terms of combat effectiveness and overall quality.
Second, the Russian Empire rejected the urgent needs of both
Napoleon's army
Neither Napoleon nor Hitler's needs for the Russian Empire were met. At that time, the Napoleonic Empire was almost in addition to the Russian Empire, and the entire European continent was creeping at the feet of the Napoleonic Empire.
Napoleon wanted the Russian Empire to join him in blockade of England and achieve his desire to conquer Britain, but Alexander I, the ruler of the Russian Empire, directly refused his request.
Napoleon the Great, who had conquered most of the European continent, was in a time of great enthusiasm, and in the face of Russia's refusal, Napoleon was greatly annoyed and prepared to launch an attack on the Russian Empire.
Nazi armored tanks
Hitler's German Nazis were the strongest force in the "Blitzkrieg" armored forces, and the combat effectiveness of the mechanized corps was unquestionable, but there was a clear shortcoming, the urgent shortage of oil, steel and other materials. The German army was unmatched on the European continent, whether it was Britain or France, but the navy could only protect the coastal areas, or rely on the artillery support on the continent.
And Germany's own resources are not rich, if there is no sufficient supply of oil and steel resources, the mechanized legion will become a decoration, at this time the outside world to germany to carry out a total blockade, close to Germany and with sufficient resources of the Soviet Union became the first plan of conquest target, in fact, Hitler did not understand that the attack on the Soviet Union was not the most appropriate time at that time, at first
The Soviet Union was asked to trade oil and steel resources with Germany, and the Soviet Union also refused Germany's request.
Germany, which was desperate for oil resources, had no choice but to launch an offensive against the Soviet Union.
Third, the personal selfishness of both
In fact, out of the selfishness of Napoleon the Great and Hitler's Fuehrer, two people have it
Severe racial discrimination
。 The bitter cold regions, for Napoleon or Hitler, were barbaric races. In the eyes of Napoleon and Hitler, apart from their own race, other peoples were inferior. Far from it, Hitler's barbaric policy toward the Jews is ironclad evidence.
Hitler
Every military man has a desire to conquer, and what they have in common is that the entire European continent is in its own sphere of influence except for the Russian region, and the conquest of the Russian region becomes the only obstacle to the unification of the European continent.
Two people must also have an urgent need for this glory
After all, the prosperity of both kingdoms is based on the continuous conquest of other countries.
It can be seen that the abundance of resources in the Russian region is not enough for both to launch an all-out offensive at all costs, but is caused by the urgent need to ferment a variety of factors.