Beiyang 1917

For a while, the conference room of the Southern Group Headquarters was noisy. Chief of Staff Ma Xin insisted that the wounded should be kept in Chernigovka, and the main light formation of the Southern Group should retreat westward to the vicinity of October Town and the Fifth and Third Army. The reason for the confluence of the Ninth Army is also very good. It is an impossible task to march 24000 kilometers in two days with 150 lightly and seriously wounded.

The second reason is that if the 24000 lightly and seriously wounded are taken away forcibly, more lightly wounded will become seriously wounded along the way, and the seriously wounded will probably die on the way to retreat. The third reason is that the Ufa White Guards obviously Unlike the White Guards in other places, they give preferential treatment to prisoners, so it seems risky to stay with lightly or seriously wounded, but it is not necessarily so!

The fourth reason is that the Ufa White Guards have been leading the battle in the South Group for the past two days. Even saving all the wounded from the battlefield is thanks to the other party, so at this time the South Group must jump out of the inherent thinking. Make an unexpected move!

The political commissars of the three army groups all resolutely opposed Ma Xin's proposition. The glorious Soviet Red Army did not have the tradition of abandoning the wounded. Turning around in front of the map like a mill, feeling like a mess!

After tossing for a long time, the six members of the Southern Group Front Military Committee couldn't make up their minds. In the end, Rzhevski, who had been silent all the time, slapped the table and shouted hoarsely,

"Stop arguing. I will take a division of the Fourth Army and all the wounded to stay behind. The political commissar will lead the other two divisions to follow the main force of the First and Second Army to retreat westward! Leave us food for four days, and no reinforcements will arrive after four days , The Fourth Army will disperse and break through again!" Rzhevski's decision is obviously a disaster, and the disastrous defeat of the Fourth Army in the southeastern battlefield of Ufa is the main reason for the current predicament of the Southern Group.

If I don't go to hell, who will go to hell? !Rzhevsky made up his mind and personally led a division to stay here with all the lightly and seriously wounded, so as to buy time for the main force of the southern group to retreat westward and the rendezvous of the fifth and ninth armies!

The three political commissars were all stunned on the spot when they heard the words. After a while, Ma Xin, the chief of staff of the cluster, stood up and said, "With the command of Comrade Rzhevsky, I believe that the glorious Fourth Army will never lose the entire Red Army." face, I agree with Rzhevsky's suggestion! And suggested that the group leave all the heavy machine gun battalions to Rzhevski's command. If the White Guards can hold the position, can't our glorious Fourth Army hold the position? !"

"Comrade Rzhevsky! Are you sure you've thought it through? It's very risky to do so! You may be surrounded by the enemy. &&..." Group Commander Tukhachevsky took a step forward and grabbed Rzhevski's hand. At this moment, he felt that this guy really had the demeanor of the Bolshevik's fearless revolutionary heroism, which was very different from his previous image of conspiring with himself and fighting for power and profit and looking down on each other!

"I've made up my mind! At this point in the battle, I have an unshirkable responsibility. The Fourth Army must not abandon its wounded and retreat, but the group has a higher strategic goal, so the necessary sacrifice is understandable. Part of the sacrifice is to keep the overall situation! What's more, the combat effectiveness of the White Guards in Ufa City may not be that powerful, we have set up the position and defended it for three days without any problem!"

Speaking of this, Rzhevsky said in a low voice, "The wounded will never be able to march another 150 kilometers, Mikhail Nikolaevich, leave this place to me and the Fourth Army, we will not It's easy for the White Guards to take advantage of it! Of course, we hope to see the main force of the cluster and the fifth and ninth armies come back to support us as soon as possible!"

"Okay! Although this is an extremely difficult decision, I support your suggestion! The remaining two infantry divisions of the Fourth Army can follow the main force of the group to retreat westward. I will send Chapayev's Turkestan Cavalry First Division I will leave you the main cavalry regiment, and I will also leave you the remaining three heavy machine gun battalions of the First Army! Add the remaining two machine gun battalions of your Fourth Army, and this time we will also use 100 Maxims to defend once. Let the Ufa White Guards have a taste of our power!"

Tukhachevsky temporarily put aside his factional differences and personal grievances with Lezhevsky, and tightly held the hands of his group of deputy commanders, his eyes getting a little wet as he spoke.

Rzhevsky was also a little moved for a moment, and he opened his arms to give a bear hug to the group commander who was thinner than himself, and said in a choked voice, "Don't worry! Mikhail Nikolaevich, I, Rzhevsky, and the remaining Red Army soldiers will never embarrass the Southern Group and the Eastern Front! We must stick to it to the end! Wait for the main force to return!"

"What do the political commissars have to say?" Tukhachevsky hugged Lezhevsky fiercely, and after letting go, he turned and stared majestically at the political commissars of the three army groups.

Yankov Gayi, Kharchenko, and Heveshin looked at each other in blank dismay. What else can they say now that they have reached this point? Rzhevsky has shouldered all the burdens and possible future sins by himself. past.Such is the heroism and sacrifice of the fearless Bolsheviks!

Kayi and Kharchenko nodded silently, expressing no objection, while Heveshin, political commissar of the Fourth Army, blushed even more, and said in a loud voice, "Commander, you take the two divisions of the Fourth Army Withdraw with the main force, I will take a division, cavalry regiment and heavy machine gun battalion to stay and set up positions to protect the wounded!"

Rzhevsky walked over and gave his political commissar a bear hug, and said without any explanation, "Comrade Hevshin! It is your mission to lead the two divisions that retreated with the main force. The glory of the Fourth Army Can't lose it from you and me!"

Then, under the auspices of Tukhachevsky, the generals of the Southern Group carefully discussed the marching route and sequence of the troops during the retreat, and decided to set out at 3 o'clock tomorrow morning and head west, striving to be the last one before dawn. In the dark moment, so as to pass the eyes and ears of the coalition reconnaissance plane, try to move as far as possible to Xi.

Rzhevsky's side will start to shrink the front early tomorrow morning, and build a circular defense in depth with the high ground near Chernigovka as the core, and put nearly 100 marks left by the five heavy machine gun battalions Qin's heavy machine guns were arranged in an in-depth defensive position with staggered cover, ready to meet possible pursuers, while the wounded stayed in the camp set up in the middle of the position, distributing as many weapons as possible to the lightly wounded.

The southern group also made a decision that all the tents camped tonight will remain in place, so that if reconnaissance from a distance and from the air, it will be believed that the main force of the southern group is still staying and stationed around Chernigovka as the center, and will not be able to do so tomorrow. Once, the cavalry regiment left by the Khabayev cavalry division will return to Ufa with the medical soldiers and the medical carriage to pick up the 4000 people who are said to be able to eat a full meal, and each of them will have a baked potato in his pocket Cavalry division wounded!

This night, the lights of the former enemy headquarters of the coalition forces in the city of Ufa were also on all night. During the two days of fighting, the shells of the coalition forces were consumed enormously. Of course, on the way back, more than 10000 captives were transported back. During the two-day battle, at least more than [-] intact Russian-style Mosin-Nagant rifles were seized.

Wang Geng thought for a while, and armed the remaining [-] worker pickets in Ufa City with these captured weapons that night, formed a volunteer division to supplement them, and at the same time transported the prisoners back to the east of the Ural Mountains. At the same time, the coalition command began to transfer three Russian recruit divisions that had been selected and trained in Chelyabinsk for more than half a month to Ufa. What can train people better than the battlefield, just like Ufa volunteers Like the division, it is obviously difficult for these recruits to attack and intersperse, but digging trenches and holding positions is obviously an easier arrangement.

No one is born to fight, the tempering of blood and fire has just begun!