Beiyang 1917

w1918年7约27ri16：45下诺夫哥罗德东部苏俄第三集团军司令部

"Karl Ivanovich, the 2rd Brigade of the 3nd Infantry Division stationed in the town of Kostovo reported that the forward troops of the White Guards appeared in the southeast direction. Just now they ambushed the opponent's Cossack cavalry battalion in front of the position and wiped out a company of the opponent. This group of enemies retreated very quickly, and they were quite cruel, all the seriously wounded were hacked to death by their own cavalry, and all the lightly wounded retreated!"

Mezhninov, chief of staff of the Soviet Russian Third Army, put down the phone, and said solemnly to Commander Berzin, who was smoking a cigarette in front of the battle map and staring at the map. (.).)

"Sergey Alexanderevich, how many troops does the enemy striker have? What's the serial number?" Berzin turned around and asked.

"The flag of the opponent's cavalry battalion is the 3rd Don Cavalry Division. The 2rd Brigade of the 3nd Infantry Division has sent scouts to go out for reconnaissance. The size of the enemy's follow-up troops has yet to be confirmed, but the opponent dispatched the armored train. The railway was destroyed by us, and the other party stopped!" Mezhninov replied.

"Reporting to the commander, the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Division is calling, asking if it is necessary to transfer the 2th Brigade of the 4nd Division to reinforce the 3rd Brigade of Kostovo? In addition, the 2nd Division requests the cluster armored train to support the 3rd Brigade of Kostovo Brigade!" A command staff officer put down the phone in his hand and asked for instructions.

It turned out that in the Nizhny Novgorod Eastern Front Defense Plan of the Soviet Russian Third Army, Kostovo was suspended as a bridgehead 20 kilometers away from Nizhny Novgorod City. Berzin sent troops from the 2nd Infantry Division The 3rd Brigade is defending, and at a position ten kilometers northwest of Kostovo, the 2th Brigade of the 4nd Infantry Division is guarding the second line of defense. In the defense plan of the Third Army, Kostovo, an outpost bridgehead, is mainly used Delaying and consuming the vigor and strength of the attacker is not the battlefield for a decisive battle!

Of course, the 2nd Ural Infantry Division of the Berzin Third Army is also a brave and capable unit. Since the position was handed over to them, the division commander Alexander Sergeyevich Brerinev did not intend to give up his position easily. Stov's circular position was built quite firmly, and the traffic trenches and artillery points were arranged in an orderly manner. Brerinev even arranged the two artillery companies assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division in Kostovo The position 2 kilometers northwest of the town provides fire support for the forward positions. ()

Not only that, in order to improve the survivability of the artillery, the two artillery companies of the 2nd Division built at least six positions, pre-paved the transfer road, and were ready to transfer after the shooting. An anti-aircraft artillery battalion reinforced to the 2nd Infantry Division was handed over to the 3rd Brigade guarding Kostovo. 24 20mm German anti-aircraft guns were placed flat and used as machine guns, which greatly enhanced the frontline Defensive fire.

"Tell the 2nd Division that the enemy's situation is unknown now, so don't act rashly. The 4th Brigade of the 20nd Division can go five kilometers forward. The focus is to prevent the enemy from interspersing and encircling Kostovo. The armored train detachment will arrive at Kostovo in 3 minutes. , Before that, the [-]rd Brigade should dispatch a small group of troops to conduct battlefield reconnaissance as soon as possible, with the purpose of finding out the actual strength of the enemy's incoming troops!" Berzin ordered with a frown.

"Karl Ivanovich, the 2rd Brigade of the 3nd Ural Infantry Division guarding Kostovo only has the strength of one brigade. Many soldiers are new fighters who just added a few days ago. Guarding Kostovo alone will Wouldn't the troops be too thin?" Mezhninov, the chief of staff of the army group, reminded.

"Sergey Alexanderevich, I don't think there is any need to worry. Back then Chubov's 1st Ural Division defended Tsivelisk. The enemy attacked face to face with the strength of three divisions. Didn't they manage to take it down? Tovo's back was against the Nizhny Novgorod line.

And according to the telegram from the Xiadenke Cavalry Detachment in the afternoon, at least at noon today, Reskovo only had the enemy's strength of no more than three divisions, and the opponent had to stay in Reskovo?I estimate that even though Kolchak's striker has arrived in Kostovo, his strength will not exceed 2 divisions!The 3rd Brigade has no problem holding on!The key is to figure out the enemy's strength! Berzin said confidently.

"Kar Ivanovich, since the enemy has no more than 2 divisions, even if they have 3 divisions, why don't we attack from the two wings and simply wrap the opponent's dumplings, so that the main force in Kolchak cannot Before catching up, wipe out the vanguard of the opponent, severely dampen the morale and offensive momentum of the opponent?" Mezhninov asked puzzled.

Mezheninov had this idea after receiving a telegram from the Shadenko cavalry detachment before. If Kolchak was too large, or for some other reason, the White Guards leading the battle had only three divisions, and Mezhninov Ninov felt that there was no reason not to eat the meat in front of him. The whole army of the Third Army was mobilized, and seven divisions were used to fight the opponent's three divisions. No matter what, they could eat the opponent!

"Sergey Alexanderevich, I have already explained to you this afternoon that the first stage of Nizhny Novgorod's defensive operations is to delay the enemy's attack and dampen the enemy's spirit. The group army’s rest and replenishment will gain time, do you understand that we have to procrastinate!” Berzin explained again tirelessly.

"However, Karl Ivanovich, we don't want to eat the meat that the enemy brings to our lips. If we kill the three divisions of the opponent, we can better attack and defeat Kolchak's attack attempt. ?” Mezhninov argued unwillingly.

"Hey, Comrade Chief of Staff, even you have become so radical. The Third Army just fought a fierce battle in Cheboksary. Speaking of which, our casualties exceeded one-third. The combat effectiveness of the troops has suffered. Although the personnel and equipment have been supplemented, the battalions, companies, squads, and platoons that were destroyed in the first battle of Cheboksary cannot be cultivated and recovered in a day or two!"

"So you said to encircle and destroy the opponent's three divisions with seven divisions of the entire group army. I admit that if the opponent has three divisions, it is possible to achieve this goal, but how long will it take to destroy these three divisions? Is one hour enough? Two hours? Or half a day and one night?" Berzin's series of questions made Mezheninov blush.

The chief of staff of the group army scratched his head and said, "How is it possible in 2 hours? If the troops are mobilized from the existing defense line and rushed to the front line of Kostovo, it will take at least 2 hours, and they cannot be transported by railways and trains. Besides, After the fight, if the opponent is attacking the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Kazan Infantry Divisions, the combat effectiveness is comparable to that of our original main divisions. It takes two hours to encircle and wipe out the opponent. I think Can't do it!" m