Beiyang 1917

However, the captives said that most of Saransk's mules, horses and livestock were taken away by the Budyonny Cavalry Army, which had given priority to rebuilding. Therefore, the First Army's livestock and horses were extremely scarce, and the heavy machine gun battalion could not even make up three sets of carriages. Vehicles, the artillery company pulls the cannon is the ox cart, not the horse cart! "

Klimov said that he couldn't help grinning, and continued,

"Master, if the boy from the Melekhov family is riding a fine horse instead of a wounded mule, our brothers probably won't be able to catch up with him. The other party said that a scout cavalry battalion was placed on our way. Fang Xiang was in charge of vigilance, but he was actually just a mob riding mules and donkeys!

The combat effectiveness can be imagined. Although we lost one company, we killed two companies of the opponent and captured 2 to 7 people. Isn't Tukhachevsky's army as tough as the legend!Alexey Vasilyevich, let me say, if we have two brigades of the 80rd Cavalry Division in hand, I dare to fight the opponent's 3st Army, and it will not be a problem to win Saransk! "

Klimov obviously underestimated the strength of the Soviet 1st Army in front of him.

"What about the deployment of troops for the opponent's city defense? Is this question clear?" Corbin continued to ask unmoved.

"Well, this is also clear. The prisoner who confessed belongs to the cavalry reconnaissance battalion directly under the Tukhachevsky Command. Obviously, he knows a lot more about the situation than ordinary soldiers in the infantry division. The opponent's city defense layout is probably like this. " said Klimov, picked up the red and blue pencils on the map, and began to draw,

"The 1st Chabayev Infantry Division was obviously regarded by Tukhachevsky as the main force of the 1st Army and placed on the defense line in the east of the city. The city of Saransk is divided into an inner city and an outer city. The inner city It is a fortress built in 1667. It is about 1800 meters long and 5 meters square. The outer city is a new city. Although there is no wall, there is a square moat, which is about a [-]-kilometer square.”

"Tukhachevsky put the 1st Chabayev Infantry Division on the east defense line of the city, and used one division to guard the 5-kilometer defense line. The other side has been rushing to repair the fortifications for several days. Their positions are mainly on the inside of the moat. , It is said that the repairs are relatively solid, and many houses along the river behind have been rebuilt into high-rise fortifications, with holes dug and heavy machine guns installed."

Having said that, Klimov himself felt that Saransk looked weak, and it was not that simple to really attack the city. Seeing that Mr. Corbin was frowning and thinking about something, the guy went on to say,

"The defense area in the west of the city is guarded by the 1nd Furmanov Infantry Division of the 2st Army Group. This guy turned out to be the political commissar of the cavalry division of Chapayev, the guy they called Xia Boyang. China has saved Tukhachevsky's life several times, so like Xia Boyang, he is deeply trusted by Tukhachevsky.

His 2nd Infantry Division is also a full-staffed infantry division with 12000 soldiers. They are basically Bolshevik veterans of the Soviet Red Army who were repatriated from the Volga Federation after the Battle of Ufa. In terms of combat effectiveness, it is also quite strong! "

"Where's the defense line in the west and south of the city?" Division Commander Corbin continued to ask. At this moment, this guy already felt that relying on his own strength of a cavalry brigade of 5000 troops alone, he might not be able to shake Tukhachevsky's two main divisions. If you haven't caught it, the focus of the next step, it seems, is how to sing the empty city plan and bluff to hold the other party down!

"The west of the city and the south of the city are guarded by the 3rd and 4th Saransk infantry divisions respectively. Each division has only more than 6000 people, and a division has 4000 guns. The 5th Saransk division is responsible for guarding the inner city, which is the stone. In the fortress of the fortress, the enemy's cannons are basically not placed on the walls of the fortress. Although the number is not large, the range and threat are still not small! The specific situation is like this, how do we fight next?"

Kerimov scratched his head and asked. After talking about so many interrogations, he also found that it was impossible to take down Saransk, which was guarded by 42000 people, with his own cavalry brigade alone.

"Report! The 5th Regiment of the 9th Cavalry Brigade has captured the railway station ten kilometers north of Saransk and cut off the railway line from the direction of Nizhny Novgorod. The head of the regiment, Ansar Andrulovich Ayupf asked the troops for the next move!" A combat staff officer rushed in to report excitedly.

"Oh? Master, I didn't expect Tukhachevsky to be so careless that he really gave up the defense of the railway line in the direction of Nizhny Novgorod? This guy is determined to be a turtle in Saransk? "Although the result of the advance reconnaissance by the advance troops was that the railway station was not guarded by the Soviet Red Army, but at this moment, the main force's victory over the station should be considered a credit, right?So Brigadier Klimov smiled when he heard the words, and couldn't help but teased Tukhachevsky who was hiding in Saransk.

"Don't be careless, pass my order to ask Ayupf's 9th Regiment to search northward, send at least one cavalry company to set up vigilance 20 kilometers away, and in addition, blast the railway line to the north of the train station, at least Don't let me see the railway tracks within 1 kilometer!" Commander Corbin waved his hands and gave the order resolutely.

"Master, let's set up the headquarters at the railway station? At least there are buildings and buildings there. It's better than setting up a tent in this wild place for the night!" Klimov, the commander of the 5th brigade, suggested.

"I said, Igor Yegoryevich, do you really think that you have led the entire Western Group to surround Saransk? We only have a cavalry brigade of 5000 people, and the other party sent an infantry division to attack us. We are afraid that we have to retreat, and you still want to sleep in the house? Pass my order, the 10th Regiment will use the battalion as the unit, with the 7 kilometers around Saransk as the core, and run around the city for me, brothers. I change clothes once every 3 kilometers, so how should I fly the flag without my care?"

"In addition, 2 artillery companies and 2 heavy machine gun battalions are all deployed in front of the defense line in the north of the opponent's city, preparing for a rapid fire attack. Each real gun is pressed with a fake gun next to it. The enemy will definitely not be able to see clearly from 5 kilometers away. , When the time comes, light the straw in front of the artillery position for me, the opponent will definitely look down on the truth in the smog! After the 9th regiment blasted the railway line, leave a battalion to guard the railway station, and the rest of the troops will also use the battalion as a unit. Put on clothes and go Go to Saransk and run around the city! Tell the battalion commanders of the Cossack regiment that His Excellency Kolchak will lead the 4 divisions of the main force of the Western Group to come over in the evening to encircle and attack Saransk!"

Corbin snapped his fingers and gave the order. At least the last sentence didn't excite Klimov, the commander of the 5th brigade. The brigade is really guilty of singing the empty city plan, if we knew that the commander-in-chief would bring the main force up, we would still be so determined, I would dare to go to the moat of Saransk to capture some prisoners for you as soon as I charge!"