Beiyang 1917

Political commissar Kniagnitsky blew his beard and stared at the grandparents and grandchildren of the white-bearded old man, but was forced back by Yegorov's gloomy and stern eyes. The two of them were sent back to their village, and whether they wanted to be close to the people in their hometown. Although Yegorov had been away from home for more than ten years, he was quite helpless in the face of the situation of the elders in his hometown at the moment, and he could do as much as he could for them.

Of course, there is too much food, so it is a fantasy to open a warehouse to release food like the coalition forces in the town. The Yegorov Army can only carry enough food for less than a week. There is no other way out except to get caught with nothing.

For the Soviet Russian regime, the subtext that all rights belong to the Soviets is that everything the Soviets need can be requisitioned, and the same is true for the surplus grain collection system. The poor and hired farmers in the Russian countryside were already so poor that they had no overnight food for their families. It consumed Russia's already insufficient economy and strength.

The entire rural economy of Russia is on the verge of bankruptcy and collapse, and a series of violent actions such as the February Revolution, the October Revolution and the bloody dispersal of the Constituent Assembly in January have made the entire country weak and overwhelmed.

"Notify the division commander's political commissars to come to the headquarters for a combat meeting. Buzuluk must be taken down. We have no second way of retreat!" Yegorov walked into the temporary headquarters tent with a heavy face.

Although the main force of the First Group Army still exists, the original five infantry divisions had only 32000 troops remaining after three days and three nights of breaking out, falling behind and getting lost in the swamp. The complete one is Budyonny's special cavalry division, which barely has 9000 cavalry. These less than 42000 Soviet Russian Red Army soldiers are actually the only group capable of fighting on the right bank of the Volga River at this moment.

很快，第集团军剩下的五个师的师长政委都骑着马赶到了叶戈罗夫的集团军指挥部，步兵第15师师长因扎、第16师师长基克维泽、第17师师长萨米、第19师师长哈丁耶夫、第23师原乌斯季梅德韦季茨卡亚师乌斯季带着各自的政委和一脸倦容先后走进了叶戈罗夫的帐篷。

Budyonny and his cavalry division political commissar Yefim Afanasyevich Xia Tenko hurried back to the army headquarters after setting up artillery and heavy machine gun positions.

"All here? Let's have a meeting. You all know that the pontoon bridge behind is set on fire by my order. Otherwise, there will always be people clamoring that this road is impassable and change to another road. If we meet the coalition forces, we will take a detour and hide far away." , If you want me to say, it’s all fucking nonsense, Buzuluk is the place we must pass through when we fight back to the right bank of the Volga River, and it is also my hometown of Yegorov. Gorov will never forget that he was born in this town!"

Yegorov glanced at the distraught generals of the Red Army with a gloomy face, and when he came up, he yelled a few times and beat and beat, three days and three nights of retreat and the indiscriminate bombardment by the coalition air force in Bavley before. The bombing caused many senior generals in the army to shake their will and blindly avoid the battle. It's time to clean up their morale and boost their morale!

The commanders and political commissars of several infantry divisions heard the words, but most of them remained silent. At first, everyone agreed on the road of crossing the river and taking Buzuluk, but it was Yegorov who set fire to the floating bridge and acted arbitrarily as the commander of the group army. The order given, it sounds very exciting, the question is, what if the main force of the coalition forces in front of us can't rush through?At that time, there will be no way to go to heaven and no way to go to earth!

"The Southern Front Army is a combat-capable team. The First Army is the main army. I am responsible for the Front Army Command. We still have 32000 infantry and 9000 cavalry left. This force is enough to defeat any enemy who dares to stop us, no matter who Whether it is the coalition or the White Guards, we must have the courage to fight!" Yegorov's voice became deeper and hoarse, but his eyes were as sharp as ever.

"Comrade commander, don't say anything, it's all like this, there is nothing to hesitate, isn't Buzuluk on the opposite side only an enemy with a cavalry brigade, what are we waiting for? Destroy, destroy, and eat the opponent in one go Tonight, my division and I will sleep in a house with a roof!" Inza, the commander of the 15th Infantry Division, was the first to jump out and express his opinion!

Yegorov looked at Inza with satisfaction and nodded. In his 14th Army, there were two ace infantry divisions, one was the 15th Infantry Division of Voronieri, and the other was Inza's No.14 Infantry Division. Division, the [-]th Division of Voronjeri was led by Chief of Staff Stepin to cover the lightly and seriously wounded and retreated westward.

Judging from the battle report issued by the Ufa coalition forwarded by the Southern Front, the entire army has been wiped out. Fortunately, Stepin and Voronieri were only captured and not killed. Of course, Yegorov did not hide the telegram from the Southern Front. He didn't mention this to his subordinates, division commanders and political commissars.

Normally Voronjeri’s 14th Infantry Division has always been the vanguard division of the First Army, while Inza’s No.15 Division is often the rear division of the Army Group. These two infantry divisions also have the strongest combat effectiveness. The division commanders and political commissars are very brave and tenacious Have the courage to fight and fight tough battles, so since Voroneri is not here at this moment, Inza jumped out and patted his chest to support Commander Yegorov without hesitation.

"It is definitely necessary to fight, but the infantry division marched for three days and three nights, and was exhausted along the way. I suggest that we should take a rest to restore the soldiers' energy and strength, and then take the terrain of Buzuluk Town and After the enemy's position has been reconnaissance, we will decide how to fight!" Kikweize, the commander of the 16th Infantry Division, said in a low voice.

Kikweize's suggestion was endorsed by several other infantry division commanders and political commissars. Everyone agreed that if the infantry division commanders did not take a break to recover their spirits, they would not be able to launch an attack at this time. Three days and three nights of force The retreat of the army is like purgatory. During the day, Dongzang Xizang is afraid of being found by the air reconnaissance of the coalition forces.

At night, they spread their maids and ran desperately, fighting against the wind, rain, cold, and muddy swamps. Now the soldiers of the five infantry divisions of the entire Fifth Army are almost dying. They drink hot broth and eat black bread, and then sleep soundly Feeling is what they need most now. As for the battle, the commanders of the infantry division are clever masters. The news that more than 500 cavalry in the vanguard battalion of Budyonny's special cavalry division was defeated by a cavalry company of the opponent has spread widely.

This battle is definitely not easy to fight. Now only Budyonny’s special cavalry division has artillery and heavy machine gun battalions. In this battle, the cavalry division has to take the lead. The infantry should rest before resting. decisive battle.

"Comrades! Comrades! Let me say a few words. The commander's determination is very correct. We have no way out except to flatten the town of Buzuluk to the south. To the west is Samara, the main force of the coalition's detour force, and it is very It may be the armored unit. We can’t easily go to the west. There is a big river to the east. Once the pontoon bridge was ordered to be burned by the commander, we went around the east and walked farther and farther away from the Volga River. Hit it!" Commissar Kniagnitsky lost no time in throwing a punch.

"Comrade Budyonny, the infantry were tired last night and now they need to rest. How are the cavalry preparing? What did you and the political commissar gain from observing the enemy's line of defense just now?" Yegorov rubbed his face trying to dispel the exhaustion on his face He was supposed to take Budyonny and Xia Jianke to observe the enemy's position just now, but as soon as he stepped into the tent and sat down, he dozed off sleepily. When he opened his eyes, Budyonny had already returned.

Seeing the commander, Budyonny asked that just now he and the political commissar rode around the coalition defense line in the north of Buzuluk Town, and had a rough idea in mind, so he drew a sketch on the ground with a scabbard ,road,

"The left side of Buzuluk Town is next to the Buzuluk River, which is the big river we crossed ten kilometers from the north in the early morning. However, the water surface near Buzuluk Town is wider and deeper, and trekking is absolutely not allowed," he said. Then he drew another line, and continued,

"On the right side of the town is the Domashika River. Although it is not as wide as the Buzuluk River, the water is very deep and the current is very fast. It is also very difficult to cross the river. This trapezoidal position is Buzuluk Town, the enemy's northern front position. Mainly just next to the town to the north of the town, the heart of this town is a highland!"

"The town center square is the highest place in the town, and the bell tower on the church next to it is the place with the widest view within a radius of ten versts. When I was young, I used to sneak up there to dig out the bird's nest." Yegorov murmured. .

Yegorov's words did not arouse the laughter of the division commander's political commissars. Whether everyone is feeling impetuous and tired at the moment, Budyonny paused, and continued,

"The enemy in the town obviously set up a position in the north of the town. The width of the position is at least 4 kilometers, and the depth is about 300 meters. The enemy guarding the position is no less than a regiment. The situation in the south of the town is still unclear. However, the enemy's northern position is well established, because the town is on a hill, so the terrain is high in the south and low in the north. If we want to attack, the terrain will be disadvantageous."

"The situation is roughly like this? Well, the meeting is over. The political commissars of all divisions go back and arrange for the infantry to take time to eat and catch up on sleep. Pay attention to concealment. The division commanders will go to see the terrain with me and Comrade Budyonny!" Egorov was obviously worried, so he simply Standing up, I tried my best to support myself to lead the team to see the terrain.

Budyonny and his political commissar Xia Jianke breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the words. It's not that they didn't dare to take on this responsibility, but the battle may not be easy to fight, especially after seeing the opponent's position layout just now, it's just that these words It’s not good to tell Yegorov directly, otherwise he will appear to be lacking in confidence and showing timidity, and the division commanders and political commissars of several other infantry divisions will laugh at Budyonny’s timidity.

The hillside of the Yegorov Army's temporary headquarters is about five kilometers away from the town of Buzuluk. There is a forest in front of it blocking the view, so the other party cannot observe you at this position, and it is not convenient for you to observe the enemy. At this time, Budyonny directly advanced his division headquarters to a position less than 3 kilometers away from the town. The soldiers of the cavalry division had already built simple bunkers and positions on the artillery position hill.

At this time, the two artillery companies had already set up artillery positions near a small forest. Of course, in order to avoid exposing the target, they had not yet conducted a test shot. The Maxim wheeled heavy machine gun of the Mara Heavy Machine Gun Battalion was obviously 3 kilometers away. It can't really play a role. If you want to launch an attack, the heavy machine gun must at least rush to a position about 1000 meters away from the opponent's position to really play a role.

Yegorov rode up a small hill, and the five division commanders behind followed him on horseback. The vision in the telescope was not very good, and some rain and fog swayed less than three kilometers away. Budyonny rode up to the place. Beside Yegorov, while looking at the enemy's position with binoculars like everyone else, he said beside Yegorov,

"The enemy has clearly cleared the border. Originally, there were two small forests 2 kilometers north of the town. Now they have been cut down by the opponent. 200 meters in front of the opponent's position, the opponent also deployed anti-cavalry troops. Did you see the many ponds behind those tree stumps? I suspect that the coalition forces dug a horse pit there, and it rained for several days and nights, so they were all filled with water. The cavalry launched on this terrain The impact will be very limited," Budyonny's tone was a bit heavy.

"Budyonny, the cavalry division is going to send a cavalry battalion to launch an attack. To test the opponent's reality, ask the heavy machine gun battalion to advance to 2 kilometers in front of the opponent's position to establish a machine gun position. Do not expose the artillery. If the enemy's machine gun fires, call the artillery observer. Mark the positions of the opponent's firepower!" Yegorov gave the order expressionlessly while looking at the opposite position with a telescope.