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.
