Beiyang 1917

() "Cut... we all know that soldiers are expensive and fast. The first battalion has already eaten canned food in the car on the ten-kilometer road from the intersection to here... Now you set off immediately, and the two m191837aa high-shelf anti-tank guns are all mounted Follow you on the heels of the Dodge [-] ton truck...Seize the town of Katina and the bridge before midnight, radio as soon as you capture the bridge, and then hold the bridge! I've got enough ammo and supplies...to do it Du li is mentally prepared to resist the Ukrainian counterattack...Okamoto, Jianchuan, your department should act as soon as possible!" Tao Dayong finally ordered.

"Obey!" Xue Juru, Jian Chuan, and Okamoto stood at attention and saluted at the same moment, at this moment the wind blew up outside the tent...

…………

When the 3rd Ukrainian Infantry Division retreated, it really split into two groups. After the anticlimax could not move the Jianchuan Battalion’s position, the division commander George Jovovich Koval ordered the whole army to move in. During the battle, they were exhausted and exhausted. The three main regiments of the whole division suffered losses to varying degrees. More than 1500 people were killed and nearly 2000 people were injured. Because the artillery regiment belonging to Koval's 3rd Infantry Division was in the front It was transferred into Kharkov for defensive operations in one day, which made the 3rd Infantry Division's combat confidence during the day quite weak today...

Koval was originally appointed by the German-Ukrainian Allied Forces Front Enemy Command as the commander of the Kharkov Forest Front Enemy, but was robbed of the limelight by Andrei Andropovich Yarmolenko, the commander of the 4th Infantry Division. The 4th Infantry Division, relying on an artillery regiment with a complete organizational system, played the mainstay role in the battle in the forest during the day. In the end, not only did it not obey the dispatch and command of Koval, who was the commander of the former enemy, but mobilized the 3rd, The 2nd Division is helping the 4th Division... . .

Of course, Koval also knew that a feathered phoenix is ​​not as good as a chicken. Both the 3rd Infantry Division and the rest of the 2nd Division lost their long-range artillery firepower, and the only artillery regiment under the command of Yarmolenko of the 4th Division still performed well. It's really outstanding. It beat the Japanese Muto Brigade's offensive to nothing, and it paid a huge price for itself. In any case, you can only turn a blind eye to the unauthorized actions of Yarmolenko's 4th Division...

The 4th Ukrainian Infantry Division couldn't eat the Okamoto Battalion of the Muto Brigade, and suffered heavy casualties under the surprise attack of the opponent's long-range artillery and air force. This made Koval, the commander of the 3rd Division, withdraw from the north and went south In his heart, this guy ordered the 9th Regiment of the 4rd Division to cover the medical soldiers, the wounded and some of the luggage to follow the footsteps of the 3th Infantry Division to retreat southward, while he and the chief of staff led the [-]rd Division and the remaining two troops. The main group turned to move eastward, and this guy kept his eyes open. He didn't dare to walk directly on the forest road, but marched on a thorny path three kilometers south of the road...

At this time, the two main regiments under Koval are not full of members. In addition to the division headquarters, directly subordinate troops, and engineering and supply troops, the total strength is only in the early 6000s. The goal of the Third Ukrainian Division is also in the direction of the North Donets Lake area. Of course, the Ukrainians were also exhausted and exhausted. The third division stopped and stopped. At this moment, it was at least ten kilometers away from the destination town of Katina...

At this time, it was around 7 o'clock in the evening on July 31st. After the third division stopped to rest, the chief of staff said to his division commander with a bitter face,

"Master, let me tell you George Jovovich, the troops can't move anymore... The sleepiness from the forced march and retreat the night before yesterday has not been relieved now, and today we fought such a big battle again, The brothers are really exhausted and can’t move their legs. Let me tell you, if we really want to retreat to the east, why don’t we take the main road instead of taking the small road to the south? It's not over, the team will be dragged down if this continues..."

The Chief of Staff of the 3rd Ukrainian Infantry Division, Major General Shesi Shevayevich Nazarenko, is usually a good-tempered chief of staff, but now he feels that his division commander is a bit of a slut, and he is scared out of his wits by the coalition forces... ri The main force of the Muto Brigade of the Army is reinforcements, and most of them are chasing Yarmolenko’s 4th Infantry Division in the south. Leaking the news, of course, I am also afraid that the German Major General Von Neuhaus will force His Excellency Petliura to transfer the 3rd Division to the south...

"We must arrive at the town of Katina before dawn and cross the bridge over the Severodonetsk River along the bridge. Only in this way can we jump out of the siege and pursuit of the coalition forces. Any hesitation will ruin this bald 3rd division! My staff officer Your Excellency!" Commander Koval said with a tired face, while peeling the baked potato in his hand, without raising his head.

"Master, the focus of the coalition's offensive is Kharkov. We're going all the way to the east like this... Your Excellency Petliura will blame you later... What should we do? The 2nd and 4th divisions are all heading south. , in order to cooperate with the counterattack of the main force of the German army... I don't know if the main force of the German major general has been reinforced..." Chief of Staff Nazarenko said worriedly.

"What are you afraid of? Didn't Lao Tzu's main force, the 9th Regiment, also move south to prepare for a counterattack? We are taking precautions to control the retreat to the east. It is said that the German air force will return to the sky over Kharkov as soon as tomorrow. But what if it fails? If Kharkov is overwhelmed with aircraft from the coalition air force at dawn tomorrow, as in the previous two days, Kharkov will definitely not be able to hold it, and the troops in the city will be destroyed by the bombing. It was blown up... Chief of Staff, if you keep the green hills, you don't have to worry about no firewood. If the 3rd Division's idea is finished...it's no good for me to be the commander of the group army..."

Division Commander Koval was very anxious, and an inexplicable fear lingered in the mind of this veteran guerrilla commander. He used to fight guerrillas in the mountains when he was cornered by the Germans or Russians. He also had the feeling that due to the delay in reinforcements, or because the main force of the German army had not entered the Kharkov battlefield, the commander of the third division is not optimistic about the future...

"Chief of staff, hurry up and fill your belly, and you have to go on your way soon... Let me tell you... this battle is a mystery... The 47th Infantry Division of the German Army is actually a force composed of reserve soldiers. The regiment is exhausted in the northern part of Kharkov. Now it is said that it is going to fight the Japanese for a counterattack, but how many troops are left in the German division? Last night, an infantry regiment failed to attack an infantry regiment in Japan , can 2 infantry regiments eat up a Japanese brigade today? Besides the Muto brigade, there is a 4th Japanese cavalry regiment detoured to the southeast? Besides, there are Chinese armored troops to help out? Want me? Said...we can't use the main force to go through this muddy water..."