Beiyang 1917

1918年7月13ri8：40乌法南边120公里斯捷尔利塔马克镇郊西北苏俄东方面军第一集团军司令部

The atmosphere in the tent was extremely oppressive. Three consecutive offensives failed, and 1800 Soviet Red Army soldiers were killed, especially the team of sharpshooters selected by the 31st Infantry Division and the Cavalry Regiment just now. They all lost their direction. No matter what this battle is, we can't continue to fight like this. It is not reliable to use crowd tactics to bet on the opponent's machine gun jamming or running out of bullets, and the Soviet Red Army soldiers who hadn't slept all night At this moment, everything from physical strength to morale has fallen to the lowest level.

"Let's talk about how to fight next!" Tukhachevsky's tone was full of bitterness. The continuous fiasco and the price of blood made his mind gradually clear. It's a pity that the political commissar Kharchenko is not here, otherwise it will definitely be possible. Stop yourself from being reckless.

In fact, in Wang Geng's previous life, there are many examples in the history of war that such a large number of troops could not defeat the enemy's flat and stubbornly defended small army positions, but suffered heavy casualties. During the Japanese-Russian War, the Russian army used 8 Maxim to block tens of thousands of Japanese troops General Peng’s battle at Guanjianao, the Volunteer Army’s battle at Topingli, and the battle of two divisions in Siye against one battalion of the Chinese Expeditionary Army, and even the earlier battle of Zhang Xueliang’s Guard Brigade before the Xi’an Incident A regiment knocked out the teeth of two divisions of the Red Army. Such battles abound.

There was silence in the tent, and the division commanders and political commissars all kept their mouths shut. No one dared to come up with random ideas. In fact, the best way now is to send small troops around the town of Sterlitamak to monitor the battalion of the coalition army. What should the main force do? Sleeping without a dry room will not kill people. If you have to attack the town where the opponent is defending against danger without machine guns and cannons, you will suffer heavy casualties, and it is meaningless. The First Army of the Eastern Front of the Soviet Red Army The goal now is to retreat, to retreat as soon as possible, to the left bank of the Volga River, not to fight against the coalition forces anywhere!

"Why are you all dumb? You are the senior commanders of the Soviet Russian Red Army! This is not the time to pretend to be deaf and dumb!" Tukhachevsky's face was ashen, but at this time he was coming down the steps, and his own voice before It's too big and too high-pitched, and it's obviously a little bit hard to come down now.

"If you want me to say, how about we dig a tunnel? Put explosives under the opponent's position and detonate it to destroy the opponent's position! We have no cannons and machine guns, but we can make up some explosives. A few hundred kilograms is probably enough. !" Chekov, the commander of the 15th Infantry Division, finally came up with an idea. Anyway, his 15th Division is resting five kilometers away, so the burden on this guy's heart is lighter. If there is any trick, the 31st Infantry here must be the first Should the soldiers of the division and cavalry regiment carry out it?

"What kind of tunnel to dig? It rained all night last night. How soft is the ground now? Once you dig it, it will be full of water, and if there is no plank to support it, the tunnel will collapse at any time. Besides, how far do you plan to dig? I See if we enter another 1000 meters before the opponent's position, the coalition forces will not be so good-tempered, and the heavy machine gun sweeps up like a metal storm, how far do you plan to dig?" Hashimov, the commander of the 31st Infantry Division, was annoyed road.

"How about... How about we make catapults? We used to make catapults when the Mongols attacked. We don't have cannons, so we can use catapults to throw explosives on the opponent's position. That thing can kill everyone when it blows up. It is powerful enough to catch up with the large-caliber howitzers." Berklov, the commander of the 20th Infantry Division, came up with a main force.

"Catapult?! Many people have heard of that thing, but who has seen it here? There are only small forests near the town. How much wood do you need to build it? If you build it, the range can reach 1000 meters? I said, sir Comrade, you really have a way! Why don't you let the 20th Infantry Division come up and take a catapult!" Hashimov joked.

After fighting for two hours in the morning, the morale of Cavalry Division Commander Chabayev and his political commissar Fumanov fell to the bottom. The sharpshooters selected by the 2st Division just now were all wiped out, and none of them came back after taking up an infantry battalion. The mood of the 31st division commander Hashimov also became extremely anxious and bad.

"How about organizing a Bolshevik Death Squad? Arrange guns in the back for cover, and the Death Squad charge in front. I don't believe we can't charge because of the crowd!" Chekov came up with another idea.

"Taking a catapult is unreliable. If it is small, it can only throw 200 meters. If it is large, there is no material. Secondly, the opponent's mortars and heavy machine guns can hit at least 1000 meters away. The catapult can only be thrown He won't be the opponent's opponent at all, and he can't compete!" The political commissar of the cavalry division, Fumanov, said angrily.

"Are we helpless like this? What face does the First Army have to report to the comrades in Moscow!" Tukhachevsky blushed and shouted while waving his hands.

"Comrade Commander, let me tell you that it is better for us to lure the snake out of the hole. It is not worthwhile to attack the powerful enemy without cannons and machine guns. We simply retreat. Anyway, there is only one battalion of coalition troops in this town. After leaving the fortifications, we will Seeing that the opponent is not our opponent at all, we will bypass the town and pretend to retreat southward, if the opponent chases us out, then we will eat him cleanly in a field battle!" Hashimov had a good idea at the moment.

"You said it lightly. I saw that the commander of the coalition army on the opposite side was not easy. That is, he used at least 9 heavy machine guns in one breath just now. When we attacked before, the opponent was very calm. The mortars are used superbly without wasting ammunition, we bypassed the town and headed south, what if the opponent doesn’t come out to pursue them?” Bocroft, the commander of the 31st Infantry Division, couldn’t help but said.

Hashimov had a wry smile on his face when he heard the words, and cursed in his heart, wouldn't it be good if the coalition forces didn't come out to pursue them?Let's just walk our own way and continue to retreat. If anyone insists on fighting the opponent blindly because of his face, he may have his teeth broken in the end. Don't look at how low morale is now. To what extent, if the fight continues like this, the team will fall apart!

Of course, this guy thought so in his heart, and he didn't dare to talk nonsense. Tukhachevsky, the commander of the group army, was on the verge of going berserk. Are you rushing or not?

"Can the engineers of your division make catapults?" Tukhachevsky turned around and asked Boklov. The idea of ​​throwing explosives into the coalition positions with catapults obviously made Tukhachevsky a little hesitant. , if it can be realized, damn, I must blow this town upside down with dynamite!

"Hey! Comrade Commander, I definitely haven't done it before, but the structure of that thing is not complicated, it's just a lever principle. The key is that the wood for the frame is not easy to get. The woods around here are all small trees, and it's not easy to cut them down. No, this thing cannot be done without a 20-meter-high tree.

"What about the big trees? There seems to be a lot of big trees in the woods we passed before dawn, about fifteen kilometers away from here, why don't we send a carriage back to drag a big tree to make wood?" Chekov suggested.

"I said you are all full! Is this still the era of cold weapons! No matter how concealed your catapult is, you have to stand up when you want to use it? What do you think of the range of the opponent's heavy machine gun and mortar?" Will it be closer than your catapult? It is unreasonable! You are pretending to be a fool! This is a life-and-death war! Think of some reliable ideas, okay?!" Chapayev, who had been smoking a cigarette with his head sullen He couldn't stand it anymore, stubbed out the cigarette butt, jumped up and shouted!

"Comrade Chapayev! Have you finally come to your senses? I would like to hear your opinion, what should I do next?" Tukhachevsky's face was pale and pale, Chapayev's loud voice made He woke up from the absurd idea of ​​the catapult, and in order to hide his guilty conscience, this guy turned around and kicked the ball to Chapayev's feet to see what he had in mind!

"Yes! Don't just say that their idea is stupid, you are smart and you came up with a better idea, don't want to bury a regiment under their intensive firepower with the crowd tactics like in the morning!" Bocroft Angrily booing on the side.

"I think the method that Hashimov said to lure the snake out of the hole can be tried. We will go around the town and continue south to lure the opponent to come out to chase! If he doesn't chase, we will continue to retreat south. If he chases, we will annihilate them in the field. The opponent!" Chabayev waved his fist and said firmly!