Beiyang 1917

() Von Neuhaus sighed when he heard the words, shook his head and said, "Your Excellency, do you think I don't want to bring back my infantry division and artillery regiment as soon as possible? But our air force will be tomorrow at the earliest." Only then can we return to the skies above Eastern Ukraine. As of now, it is the air force of the Eastern Allied Forces of the Allied Powers that is flapping its wings unscrupulously above our heads. This is when the other party has not launched the second wave of air strikes today!"

"But if the bombers of the coalition air force don't return to the battlefield, shouldn't we wait forever? Shouldn't we just take advantage of the god-given opportunity that the main force of the opponent's air force has not returned to the battlefield, and take advantage of this gap to bring back the counterattack force as soon as possible? ? If the opponent's air force comes back, we will risk being bombed by the opponent's air strikes even if we want to mobilize!" The Ukrainian Prime Minister couldn't help shouting. ..

"No...Your Excellency Petliura, it has been more than three hours since the first wave of air strikes by the coalition air force in the morning. I believe that the other side's second wave of air strikes will appear soon. We must hold our breath at this time, haha The strength of the Erkov city defense can be expected, and the combat effectiveness of the volunteer division has gradually increased. I think the enemy cannot occupy the city with bombs and cannons. We will have a chance after the second wave of air strikes is over. It is relatively safe to mobilize troops...Of course, it will be safer if we can wait until night falls...At that time...Maybe we can find a way to teach Muto's troops who have detoured from Dongcheng a lesson!"

The German major general patiently frowned and explained to the Ukrainian prime minister in front of him. In fact, for the German-Ukrainian coalition forces with weak firepower, delaying time is the highest principle. As long as the opponent does not launch a decisive attack, then von. Neuhaus will never easily play out the limited cards in his hand! ..

"Report to Commander-in-Chief, Major General, Kharkov Forest Front, Major General Koval telegraphed that the 3rd and 2nd Infantry Divisions were united and repelled the fierce attack of the Chinese armored forces, and now Nobuyoshi Muto's troops have retreated westward and returned The previous offensive starting position, a Japanese infantry brigade in front of the 4th Infantry Division was repulsed and retreated... The 3rd and 2nd Infantry Divisions have all recovered their previous positions...Major General Koval judged The Muto brigade on the opposite side suffered heavy casualties and lost the ability to attack further... He asked the artillery in Kharkov to block the opponent's retreat and logistics transportation routes, so that the three divisions in the forest could concentrate their forces to defeat the opponent!"

The face of the Ukrainian combat staff who was reading the telegram was beaming with joy. Obviously, the news that the Japanese Muto brigade was repelled in the forest was the second good news received by the German-Ukrainian coalition headquarters today. Koval previously commanded three divisions Blocking the attack of the Muto Brigade is the first good news. Of course, the loss of the Kharkov Bridge and the bridgehead position by the 2th Brigade of the 2nd Volunteer Division is outright bad news. Fortunately, relying on The strong walls of the fortress and the opponent's lack of heavy artillery, the defense of the East City did not collapse after the fall of the Kharkov Bridge.

"Haha... I didn't expect... I really didn't expect, Your Excellency General, Ri himself is also a strong-willed smug... This Muto brigade began to create huge pressure on the three main divisions in our forest. Unexpectedly, the stamina is insufficient, and even the Chinese armored forces are used as a trump card and are still repelled by us... Should we let Koval and the others push Ri himself out of the forest in one go, and we will send troops to counterattack Kharkov The bridge was also taken back?"

Simon Petliura was also overjoyed, although he was wondering why Koval had such a big difference in emotions in the two telegrams before and after, and the previous telegram was crying and calling for reinforcements for the troops in Kharkov The attack was to cut off the opponent's pontoon bridge and logistics transportation, but it didn't take long for Ri himself to be repelled by his own strength... The Ukrainian Prime Minister couldn't believe his ears, and snatched the telegram from the staff officer After reading the manuscript carefully, it really is what happened, and it really repelled the Muto Brigade!

"Don't be careless... Nobuyoshi Muto is the chief of the 13th period of the Japanese mainland. I met him in Moscow when he was the military attache stationed in Russia. Although he only has one infantry brigade in his hands, the 23rd Brigade is not strong enough. , but in the previous artillery battle between the two sides, it was only an even match. His ground troops did not suffer heavy losses, and now they are suddenly retreating westward. There may be a conspiracy inside...

Your Excellency Petliura, I suggest that the three divisions under the temporary command of Major General Koval should not be careless. To avoid underestimating the enemy, they can tentatively launch small-scale attacks on the enemy's wings, maintain contact with the enemy, and strengthen reconnaissance at the same time. Find out the enemy's intentions...the time is not ripe for the so-called two-sided attack on a large-scale counterattack, and we must beware of the threat that the coalition air force will soon appear over the forest! "

The admonition of the German major general made Simon Petliura horrified. This guy was terrified when he thought of the black bomber group of the coalition air force appearing in the sky to block the sun. Neuhaus was right, Muto Brigade The retreat of the regiment may not have been really repelled by the main force of the Ukrainian National Army, which is a group of guerrillas from Koval. Maybe it was because they were leading snakes out of their holes and waiting to use air strikes to deal with themselves. Thinking of this, Petliura turned around He yelled at the Ukrainian staff officer who was in a daze,

"Did you hear that? General von Neuhaus's order is my order. Send a report to the 3rd, 4th, and 2nd Infantry Divisions, asking them not to act rashly, and strengthen reconnaissance, especially the reconnaissance of the two wings to find out the Muto Brigade The true intention of the regiment is to maintain contact and continue to attack with small groups of troops... The main division of the national army must fight every battle to make progress, so that it will become a first-class strong army. By the way, pass on my order, yes The 3rd, 4th, and 2nd Infantry Divisions were all commended, each of the 3 division commanders was awarded a third-class merit medal, and the commander of the 3rd division, Major General Koval, was promoted to lieutenant general and deputy commander of the [-]st Army Group!"

Simon Petliura is not a stingy master, he was promoted and awarded at the same time, the German major general frowned when he heard it, stopped the staff who was about to leave, and reminded Petliura in a low voice Said, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, one of the keys to defeating Muto's brigade is that your artillery regiment of the 4th Infantry Division has played the role of the mainstay. As for the artillery unit, I am afraid that your decision will affect the internal unity. That Yamorlenko is an intellectual who was born as a middle school history teacher. If he can't turn his head around for a while, the battle in the forest will be difficult to fight..."