Beiyang 1917

() The 7 24mm Taisho four-year heavy howitzers of the 150th Wing of the Du Li Field Heavy Artillery of the 3th Division, according to the decision of the Front Army Command, and the 48rd Wing of the Du Li Field Heavy Artillery of the 1rd Division Formed a du li field heavy artillery brigade with 2 heavy guns, used as a strategic firepower reserve for the Kharkov cluster, while the Chinese armored du li1 regiment and 1nd regiment formed the du li armored [-]st brigade, Chinese colonel Lu Huanyan Served as the acting brigade commander of the Du Li Armored [-]st Brigade, and also served as the head of the first regiment!

The second artillery battalion of the 8th Division of the Federal Infantry, plus two artillery battalions of the 15th Division of the Federal Infantry, formed the 1st Du Li Artillery Regiment, and joined the combat sequence of Lu Huanyan, the 1st Du Li Armored Brigade!Wu Keren, the bare artillery battalion commander, was once again promoted to major acting artillery commander! ..

In the Central Route Army, the 5th Brigade of the Kikuchi Infantry strengthened the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment of Tanaka to form the 5th Brigade of the Mixed Infantry. Major General Shinnosuke Kikuchi still served as the brigade commander. At the same time, the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment was replaced 48 Dodge trucks towed 75mm mountain artillery, and the simplified personnel of the Artillery Wing added to the Kikuchi Infantry Brigade. In addition to the supply of troops from the Supplementary Wing, the Kikuchi Brigade resumed its establishment...

Nobuyoshi Muto's 23rd Infantry Brigade directly accepted two field artillery battalions from the 14th Federal Infantry Division, which shined in the Kharkov Forest, plus an artillery battalion from the 7th Federal Infantry Division, forming the mixed infantry unit. In the 23rd Brigade, Nobuyoshi Muto continued to serve as the head of the brigade.

After such reorganization, the Kharkov Group has jurisdiction over 4 Japanese mixed infantry brigades, a Chinese duli armored brigade, a Japanese duli field heavy artillery brigade, plus the 14th, 15th and 7th Federal Infantry Divisions. The 9th Division and the 13th Division, the 14th Division of the Federal Infantry of Major General Liukin Alexievich Voronjeri withdrew to Voronjeri for rest and replenishment, but Voronjeri was promoted to Deputy Commander and Staff Officer of the Army Group Commander, instead of Lieutenant General Stepin, he commanded the 15th and [-]th Federal Infantry Divisions in the direction of Kharkov, and Lieutenant General Stepin returned to Voronjeri to sit in the base camp. ..

As for the composition of the Kharkov cluster headquarters, Fujii Yukizuki, head of the Japanese Seventh Division, served as the first deputy commander of the cluster and the division commander of the third division that made great achievements in Kharkov. Jiro served as the first deputy chief of staff of the group, the commander of the group was personally headed by General Utsunomiya, the commander of the front army, and the chief of staff of the group was Maj. , served as Lu Huanyan's deputy.

It must be said that after the occupation of Kharkov, the coalition forces got a chance to breathe. The reason is very simple. The 47th Army Group rang the bell. Before the German Air Force regained air supremacy, the German Army would encounter great difficulties in its ground battles in Eastern Ukraine...

You must know that the 1st Army of the Ukrainian National Army was not so much defeated by the ground forces of the coalition forces as it was frightened by the air superiority of the coalition air force. At least the artillery of the 1st and 2nd infantry divisions hardly played The leeway of the Chinese armored force was disarmed... and the setback of the German army's counterattack at night also deepened the Germans' doubts, that is, they were convinced that the combat effectiveness and firepower of the Chinese armored forces were superior to their own, while the Japanese troops lacked firepower. But the will is quite strong. If the night battle did not weaken the support of the coalition air force to the greatest extent, it would be almost impossible for the 47th German Reserve Infantry Division to retreat from the Kharkov Forest...

Von Neuhaus and his headquarters evacuated from Kharkov to Yekaterinoslav by train in one breath. If the Battle of Kharkov was a one-pot meal, then Von Neuhaus asked his heart As expected, he has only a few materials in his hand, and he can attack up and defend and retreat. The 47th Reserve Infantry Division as the main division of the 29th Infantry Army performed well. The only thing that makes Von Neuhaus regret is that However, it was not the German army that finally evacuated the city of Kharkov, but the Kharkov Volunteer Division of the second-class unit under Simon Petliura.

It is precisely because the volunteers are soldiers born and raised near Kharkov that when they retreated, they refused to set fire to the fortress of Kharkov, which has stood tall for more than 200 years, and even refused to blow it up. The Lopan River Bridge and the Kharkov Southern Suburb Railway Station...the reason is very good and simple. This is their homeland. The Ukrainians will regain this fortress sooner or later. It takes a few years to build a bridge and only a few seconds to blow up a bridge. This prodigal move is absolutely unacceptable!

What's more, once the bridge is blown up, what will happen to the people and ordinary people evacuated from Kharkov?Jump into the Lopan and Ouda rivers and drown? !This is absolutely impossible, whether you call it a woman's benevolence or indecision, in short, the sabotage actions of the Germans during their retreat were not carried out, and even the plan to fortify the wall and clear the country south of the Uda River fell through. , Therefore, von Neuhaus and the rest of his 47th Reserve Infantry Division simply withdrew to Yekaterinoslav in one go!

Those who stayed in Krasnorad for defense were the Ukrainian troops who retreated along the railway line without picking up the train wagons, the rest of the 4th, 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian divisions, the rest of the 1st and 2nd divisions of the Kharkov Volunteers , and the workers' pickets and peasants who followed the troops to withdraw from Kharkov... Behind them, there was a huge crowd of refugees...

The fighters and bombers of the coalition forces appeared above the crowd early the next morning, but they did not drop bombs, sweep or bomb. There were too many people, and it was impossible to tell which ones were Ukrainian National Army soldiers who dropped their weapons and which ones were fleeing The people on the ground are everywhere in the wilderness, running southward in a mighty panic, and above the heads are the coalition flying squadrons passing by from time to time...

The 2nd Fighter-Bomber Wing of the Allied Forces is waiting for the Luftwaffe, which is expected to make a comeback. For the Ukrainian civilians on the ground and the national army that has basically lost its combat effectiveness, it is not worth wasting energy to play a game of cat and mouse...

As the third largest city in Ukraine at that time, the importance of Ekaterinoslav with a population of more than 50 people is self-evident...

General Hermann von Francois, former enemy commander of the Ukrainian campaign and commander of the 29th Army of the German Reserve Infantry, had been sent to the Kiev 10th Army Hospital for treatment and recuperation after his high blood pressure and heart attack relapsed. Major General von Neuhaus, who commanded the Erkov battlefield, became his designated acting commander, because Lieutenant General Joseph von Dietrich, the chief of staff of the 29th German Infantry Army, is currently in command of the 31st Infantry Army. The two divisions are stationed in Donetsk, and at the same time control the 2 infantry divisions of the 4nd Army of the Ukrainian National Army in Donetsk, focusing on defense against possible attacks by the Eastern Route Army of the Allied Forces...