Beiyang 1917

() "How is the progress of Yonezawa Kogoro's 4th Cavalry Regiment? Are there no traces of the enemy on the left bank of the North Donets River or Yimapingchuan?" Utsunomiya Taro frowned and asked.

"The 4th Cavalry Regiment has reached as far as 5 kilometers from the west bank of Kharkov City, but due to the obstruction of the North Donetsk River, although the Ukrainian position on the other side of the river has been seen, the 4th Cavalry Regiment The regiment has not crossed the river to launch an attack for the time being, because the left bank of the North Donets River is covered with bushes and swamps, the progress of the 4th Misawa Cavalry Regiment is slower than expected! The troops are also tired!" . .

Lieutenant General Tabu Erlang, head of the division, also frowned at this moment. The Central Route Army was punching empty in the attack on the northern line of defense this morning. Although the progress of the several armies was going smoothly, the troops arrived at the outskirts of Kharkov. It is already a bit of a sluggish posture, especially the artillery unit is still far behind the brigade, and whether it is Utsunomiya Taro, the commander of the front army, or Jiro Oba, the commander of the former enemy, are a little worried about gains and losses at the moment.

"Your Excellency, the current situation is quite complicated. We did not expect the Germans and Ukrainians to be so sensitive and withdraw so quickly overnight. Our original plan was to advance to the city of Kharkov and not attack it. Let's make a siege To fight for aid, let’s see first, the enemy may give us an empty city plan. Maybe the enemy does not plan to hold on to Kharkov, otherwise there is no reason for the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions not to withdraw directly to the city along the railway, but to walk March and hide in the Kharkov forest to the east!"

Toshiro Hata is telling the truth, if the middle army on the first line of defense in the morning is considered to have hit the enemy's empty city plan, it would be too unreasonable if it was hit by another empty city plan under the city of Kharkov. What is the face of the regiment?Where will the face of General Utsunomiya and Lieutenant General Oba go? . .

"Mr. Dating, Chief of Staff, how about we let the 13th Federal Infantry Division in the middle launch a tentative attack? The engineering corps is rushing to repair the railway lines and roads. By tonight, the more than 30 kilometers of railways should be repaired. Although left and right The two detachments of the wing are exhausted, but the Voronie Ri division in the middle road should still have a little vitality, if I knew it, I would have placed Muto-kun's 23rd Infantry Brigade in the middle road!"

Utsunomiya Taro scratched his head and said with a trace of regret, this guy, like Oba, never thought that the first and second main divisions of the Ukrainian infantry were actually in the forest. Why let Muto take the 1rd Infantry Brigade to rush to the forest for reinforcements, if he directly advances in the middle, he may have entered the city of Kharkov by now.

"Our military strength has always been a bit stretched. The main force of the third division plus the Chinese Armored Regiment and the 13th Federal Infantry Division have more than 4 people at full strength. The 1 main divisions of the opponent's Ukrainian 4st Army have more than 5 people. With 2 volunteer divisions and the 47th German Reserve Infantry Division, our strength ratio is almost 1:2. Even if the German infantry divisions withdraw at this moment, as long as there are two Ukrainian infantry divisions and With 2 volunteer divisions, our troops are far from enough to besiege the city! If we rush to attack, we may fall into the enemy's trap!"

Hata Toshiroku's words are inside and out, obviously reminding Utsunomiya not to be so stupid, thinking that Masaki Masaki won a battle with fewer victories and more, so he doesn't pay attention to the Ukrainians. Masaki Masaki's infantry Even if the 18th Regiment wins, it will be a tough battle. Look at the posture of shouting at the top of your voice to rest and replenish after the battle. The 18th Infantry Regiment only suffered hundreds of casualties under the attack of the enemy's superior artillery fire?Hata Toshiroku is a little unconvinced. As for whether the results of the battle are as many as 6000 enemies wiped out, it is also a mystery. At least it is always true that the Ukrainian commanders of more than one regiment have not grasped it?

"Chief of Staff, although the siege and reinforcements are a previous plan, since the enemy's strength in the direction of Kharkov is almost double that of ours, under such circumstances, we should strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of the air supremacy of the coalition air force to defeat each one first. It’s okay to take down Kharkov? The law of war says that the rules are insufficient, and the offense is more than enough. It should be applicable to the current situation? Although the artillery unit is not in place yet, if the coalition air force can provide air support, let the center The 13th Federal Infantry Division's tentative attack, I think it is a good way!"

Oba Jiro was a little eager to try. He thought in his mind that when Voronieri led the 13th Infantry Division in the middle and found out the actual strength of the enemy's defensive forces, then Major General Kikuchi's 5th Infantry Brigade would be almost ready. , the 6th Infantry Regiment, with the support of the Chinese Armored Battalion, attacked from the northwest corner, and then Muto's 23rd Infantry Brigade rushed to the northeast corner before evening. Lu Huanyan's armored regiment had to rest for a long time and it was time to recover , maybe with a three-pronged approach, the city of Kharkov will be in hand!

"The reorganization time of the 13th Division of the Federal Infantry is still short, and it is still unknown how effective it is to use such troops to fight tough battles. However, the coalition air force can try to launch another air strike before evening, and let Voronieri and his infantry The 13th Division should go up to investigate the reality of the Ukrainians! Chief of Staff Hata, that’s it. Pass my order, requesting the coalition air force to dispatch a bomber brigade to attack the circular position in the northern suburbs of Kharkov. At 15:30 in the afternoon, order The 13th Federal Infantry Division launched a frontal attack!"

General Taro Utsunomiya, commander of the Southwest Front Army and commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian campaign, has finally made a decision!

1918年7月30ri14：15哈尔科夫以北五公里处伏尔加联邦步兵第13师师部

“报告师长，前敌指挥部来电，要求我部不迟于15：00发起对哈尔科夫北郊环形防线的正面进攻，14：30左右联军航空队将出动一个大队fr18战斗轰炸机对哈尔科夫城北阵地进行空袭！”联邦步兵第13师参谋长亚历山大.亚历山大洛维奇.别斯克洛夫尼快步走进了师指挥部所在的一座铁路边的屋子。

"Are you kidding me? My troops haven't closed their eyes since 4:40 in the morning. The road from the border to here is almost [-] kilometers away. How have the railways and roads been destroyed by the Ukrainians?! Don't take a break to restore me How to launch an offensive? What's more, the artillery regiment of our division is still behind, and it will take at least an hour's journey to catch up!" Division commander Liukin Alexievich Voronieri frowned from the chief of staff He took the telegram in his hand, and shouted while reading it.