บท 73: The Battle of the Eastern Front
In 1914, there was an atmosphere that made people shudder about the future of mankind. Even the most courageous people would cry for it.
On August 5, the French Army Minister Messimi was full of confidence and courage in his opening speech at the cabinet meeting, but in the middle of the talk, he was suddenly interrupted, covering his face and weeping, which was unsustainable.
When the British Secretary of the Navy Churchill sent off the British Expeditionary Force to leave Britain and rushed to the French battlefield, he couldn't help but cry.
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On August 5, the French ambassador Paleolog said when he met the czar: "I request your majesty to order his army to take an offensive immediately, otherwise the French army may be annihilated."
The Tsar was grateful to the French for keeping to the treaty and was like showing their loyalty to the treaty by supporting France. He declared with confidence and courage: "Our original goal was to destroy the German army."
The Czar assured the French that he had ordered Grand Duke Nicholas, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, to "open the road to Berlin as soon as possible at any cost."
The French ambassador immediately asked the Grand Duke, the cousin of the czar's father.
In fact, for a vast country like Russia, the order was issued, but no one is sure whether it was delivered. The lack of communication equipment and the lack of trained signal soldiers makes it impossible to achieve rapid and reliable communication. The lack of mobile transportation also makes it difficult for Russian soldiers to move quickly. But the Grand Duke still assured the French that, in order to keep the mobilization order on the 15th day of the promise, he will not wait until all the troops are assembled, he will start a big attack.
On August 6, the Russian General Staff ordered that it must be prepared to "launch a powerful attack on the Germans as soon as possible to ease the situation facing France. Of course, this can only be done when there is sufficient strength."
Since then, due to the steady stream of telegrams urged by Paris and the eloquence of the French ambassador, by August 10, the "sufficient strength" clause was omitted. The Russian General Staff's order that day read: "In view of Germany's sudden preparations It is our duty to support France, and this support must attack Germany as quickly as possible and attack its troops in East Prussia."
On a fascinating summer night on August 13, the Grand Duke left the capital for the battlefield headquarters in Baranovic. It is the hub of the Moscow-Warsaw railway line, at the midpoint of the German and Austrian fronts. The Grand Duke, his staff and their families gathered on the platform of the St. Petersburg station, waiting for the czar to see off the commander-in-chief. However, due to the Queen's obstruction, Nicholas II did not show up. Finally, the Grand Duke and his staff boarded the train silently and set off for the front line.
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Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany.
"His Royal Highness, an advance cavalry unit of the opposing party has crossed the border, and then they occupied the town of Magrabowa, 8 kilometers away from the border, but the residents there had been removed a week ago." Staff officer of Königsberg In the Ministry, a staff officer reported the latest developments of the Russian army.
"It's finally here!" Chen Tian, who was lying on the table studying the map, straightened up and put his right hand on his left chest.
"Generals, warriors of Prussia, for us, the battle begins today!"
Everyone was doing the same action with passion.
The Russian forces attacking the Prussian region included Leninkamp's 1st Army and Samsonov's 2nd Army. The 1st Army had 6.5 infantry divisions, 5.5 cavalry divisions, and 492 artillery. The 2nd Army had 11.5 infantry. Division, 3 cavalry divisions, 720 artillery, and a total force of 450,000.
The Russian plan was for the 1st Army to attack frontally from the Instberg Gorge, while the 2nd Army crossed the Matsu Lake area from the south and gave the German defenders a decisive blow from the flanks and rear.
The first to cross the German border was a cavalry division of the Russian 1st Army.
The commander of the 1st Army, Leninkamp, was a 61-year-old general, neat, upright, and bearded. During the Russo-Japanese War and the suppression of the revolution in 1905, he was well-known in the army for his bravery, decisiveness and strategy. However, this general was covered by a thin shadow, that is, he is a descendant of the Germans, and people have some doubts about his loyalty.
After receiving reports that the towns were evacuated and residents fled, both Leninkamp and General Jilinski, commander of the Northwest Army Group, concluded that the Germans did not intend to conduct serious resistance in the area east of the Vistula, and were extremely excited.
In order to show his loyalty, Leninkamp quickly gathered 3 armies and 5.5 cavalry divisions and launched an offensive on August 17. His 200,000 horses crossed the border along a 55-kilometer front, and the target was the Instburg Gorge, 60 kilometers from the border. However, at this time the Russian 2nd Army was in trouble. There was no east-west railroad between Russian Poland and East Prussia, so they had to cross a forest and swampy wasteland to cross the border and join the First Army.
Samsonov is unfamiliar with this area, nor is he familiar with his troops and staff. When the war broke out, the 55-year-old was recuperating in the Caucasus and did not arrive at the Warsaw 2nd Army Headquarters until August 12th. The communication between his troops and Leninkamp troops, as well as with the Jilinsky headquarters, which coordinated the operations of their two troops in the rear, was very abnormal, which brought them very disadvantageous in the subsequent battles. influences.
"Colonel Hoffman, how long will the Russian 2nd Army reach the border?" In the combat command room, General Francois, commander of the 1st Infantry Army, General Mackenyan, commander of the Second Infantry Army, and 3rd Infantry. General Ollie, Commander of the Army, Colonel Matthew, Commander of the Fourth Infantry Corps, Colonel Olg, Deputy Commander of the Armored Army, General Belo, Commander of the Cavalry Division, Commander of the Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Hogel, and all the generals of the East Prussian Regiment Gathered here, waiting for their first order.
"3 days!" Max Hoffman returned to the road concisely, Chen Tian admired this sharp-eyed staff very much.
"We act according to plan B!"
All the generals stood up, and Chen Tian saluted everyone solemnly.
"The first battle on the Eastern Front, I wish you all a victory!"
Without extra words, everyone shook hands with Chentian one by one, and then calmly left the command room, and they would immediately return to their troops.
"General François!" Chen Tian held the strong brother's hand tightly.
"Remember what I said?"
"Yes, Your Highness! Obey the orders and act accordingly!" François still had an indifferent expression, but his eyes were full of respect for the prince.
"Very well, go!"
In the evening, General Leninkamp's First Russian Army stopped in the Tannenberg area 40 kilometers away from the border. They were going to stay here for one night before proceeding.
For a whole day, they did not see a German, even a German sheep, a German dog, only a few planes kept hovering above them. Leninkamp asked his soldiers to shoot machine guns into the sky several times, but to no avail, because the planes stayed higher.
"Timid German pig!" Leninkamp and his soldiers scolded. Those planes were nothing more than wooden toys to them.
After sending more than a dozen patrols around the camp, Leninkamp got into his tent and began to enjoy his dreams. In his opinion, tomorrow's Instburg Pass might encounter some resistance, but the decisive battle will traverse the entire East Prussia will not proceed until it reaches the Vistula River.
At about 12 o'clock, Leninkamp was awakened by several explosions. He rushed out of the tent shirtless and called his adjutant. At this time, other soldiers also got out of their tents.
"Go and find out what happened!" he yelled angrily. Two hours ago, the patrol clearly reported to him that no German troops were found within ten kilometers of the vicinity.
After a while, his adjutant appeared in front of him all the way.
"General, the camp of the 3rd Corps was hit by unidentified shelling from the west. The opponent fired a total of 3 large-caliber howitzers. 5 of our troops were killed and 19 were injured! General Josip has sent a cavalry regiment. Go west!"
"Large caliber howitzer? Damn it! I see how these guys can escape!" He spit on the ground fiercely, and then went back into the tent and fell asleep.
Three hours later, Leninkamp was awakened again by the sound of the bomb explosion. This time he stared at his red eyes and began to beat and scold.
"Are those damn patrols all eateries? I don't know if the enemy gets near! Tomorrow, tomorrow I will throw them all to Siberia!"
This time his adjutant went directly to the shelled camp to ask about the situation without waiting for his order. Soon, he ran back out of breath.
"General, this time the 5th Corps was shelled from the north. The opponent still fired 3 shells with howitzers. Our army lost 7 soldiers and another 18 were injured. General Sokolov has already sent 2 cavalrymen. The regiment is heading north!"
"Has the troops sent by General Yossip noticed anything?" Leninkamp remembered that a few hours ago he had troops to track the opponent's artillery, and they should have caught up with the opponent at speed.
"General, General Yosip reported an hour ago that no trace of the opponent was found!"
"It's a rice bucket! It's a rice bucket! Four legs can't run a horse-drawn cannon!" Leninkamp didn't know that it was not a horse-drawn cannon that raced against his cavalry, but a cannon drawn by a car. If his cavalry were installed It might be able to catch up with four tires.
Just before the dawn, the Russian military camp was attacked again. This time two planes swayed their wings and dropped 6 bombs. They hit a Russian cooking squad. Food fragments were scattered on the ground. Thirteen soldiers were injured. Of course, the most important thing is that, once again disturbing Leninkamp's dream, the poor general flew into a rage and vowed on the spot to urinate and defecate in the Berlin Palace.
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