bookandnovel Chapter 918 Blitzkrieg (2)
Chapter 918 Blitzkrieg (2)
Chapter 918 Blitzkrieg (Part Two)
In the early hours of the morning, General Brusilov, commander of the Western Front of the Russian Army, was awakened from his sleep by a series of urgent telephone rings.
"Has the Gorlitze-Tarnov defensive line been breached?"
General Brusilov regained some of his composure, picked up the coffee handed to him by the orderly, took a sip, and then leisurely approached the sand table map.
The Gorlitse-Tarnov defense line belongs to the "Crown Territory of Galicia Lodomelia" of the German state. It is one of the key defense lines built by the Russian army. Previously, the Russian army had entered the Galician region from this point and annihilated and captured a large number of German Crown Territory troops.
If it weren't for the timely arrival of Prussian reinforcements that cut off the Russian army's retreat, the Russian army might have already broken through the Carpathian Mountains, entered the flat plains of Hungary, and reached the Danube River.
Therefore, this area has always been a key area for the Russian army on the eastern front, and Lviv in the south was even fortunate enough to receive the honor of being personally inspected by the Tsar.
"Give me General Lutheran, who will take over the second line of defense, and order them to strengthen their defenses. I will immediately dispatch mobile forces to reinforce them."
"What? You can't get in touch with them?"
General Brusilov's expression changed slightly. The long stalemate on the Eastern Front was a good medicine for wearing down the morale of generals. The Galician and Hungarian armies on the other side had been holding out for a long time, which made Brusilov give up his idea of making a name for himself.
But it is precisely because the Eastern Front has made no progress for so long that most of Galicia, which is still under Russian control, is all the more crucial.
"What about the airships we deployed at the front? What's the current situation?"
"What? The telephone lines were cut, and the airship was destroyed?"
"What are you all doing? You've come to report to me without even understanding anything! Immediately dispatch the First Air Force Fleet and the spellcaster team to scout ahead and find out the enemy's movements as soon as possible!"
The Russian army deployed only one steam-powered airship along the Gorlitse-Tarnov defensive line. Moreover, it was a dilapidated vessel with very thin armor plates, discarded by the French. Its main task was to serve as the eyes of the senior generals in the rear, rather than to bombard the enemy.
The entire eastern front was so long that the Russian army had to divide itself into three fronts, each with several army groups, totaling more than three million men for defense. Advanced equipment such as airships was stretched thin along this long front and was in short supply.
Soon, the staff officers who had received the news rushed into the command post.
The group looked at the sand table and pondered the enemy's intentions.
"I think the enemy intends to move south along the Reshe-Lviv line, heading straight for the Dniester River, with the goal of taking over the entire Galicia and joining up with the enemy forces in Bulgaria and the Ottomans."
"No, in my opinion, this large-scale attack by the enemy is just a feint to tie down our Western Front forces. Their real intention is to organize an offensive in Estonia and take St. Petersburg directly."
“That’s right, I think General Shatilov is right. Galicia is not particularly remarkable among the crown territories of the German Empire. Taking it over would not help the overall situation. On the contrary, the enemy’s Baltic fleet has been making frequent small moves recently, which must be to cover the army’s large-scale landing.”
The crowd began to discuss it amongst themselves.
If the Mediterranean was dominated by the Allied Powers, then the North Sea was entirely shaped by the Central Powers. St. Petersburg was the capital of Tsarist Russia, and anyone would think that this place was far more important than Galicia.
As for the true intentions of Elector William and Grand Master of the Knights, it was to advance along the Vistula River, reach the Bug River, and then move north to contain the entire Western Front in Poland and annihilate it in one fell swoop.
Even if someone guesses it, saying it out loud will only invite ridicule!
No one in this era could have imagined a blitzkrieg tactic.
Because the logistical requirements of "modern warfare" are increasing day by day, it is no longer possible to travel thousands of miles by one person and three horses as in ancient times.
Without rail and water transport, a large army simply cannot carry out this kind of long-distance raid.
After all, pack animals also require a large supply of feed, and no matter how many there are, they cannot replace trucks.
General Brusilov cleared his throat and set the tone for the military meeting: "Regardless of whether this attack is a feint by the Germans, it is an indisputable fact that a small but elite German force has broken into our territory. While we warn the Northern Army, we must also do everything possible to annihilate this arrogant small German force!"
In his view, the force that broke in was nothing more than a small group of elite Prussian troops. Although they were still difficult to deal with, their numbers were limited, and they could not hold out for long under the overwhelming force of the Russian army.
However, General Brusilov, who had just dismissed the military council, was once again interrupted by the piercing ringing of the telephone.
As soon as the call connected, a sharp shout came from the other end: "The Prussian army has reached the outskirts of Reche. They are numerous, with countless armored forces, and... God, what are those things?"
General Brusilov exclaimed urgently, "What? What? Explain yourself!"
No matter how much he pressed for an answer, there was no response from the other end of the microphone.
"It hasn't even been a night, how could the enemy have broken through so quickly?"
Brusilov could no longer believe that the force that had broken in was just a small elite enemy force: "Pass on my orders to have the mobile forces in Lviv, Lavaroskaya, and Lublin immediately rush to the aid of Reshe; order the mobile forces in the Kielce region to cross the river and head south immediately to cut off the enemy's rear. The inland fleet on the Vistula River must cooperate fully and not let any enemy supply ship escape!"
It cannot be said that Brusilov's decisions were all wrong, given the limited intelligence and the numerous smokescreens thrown out by the Allies.
Logically speaking, such a steady and methodical response can usually minimize the losses caused by the enemy. However, the problem is that this invading enemy cannot be viewed in the same way as usual.
The city of Rashe was now completely engulfed in flames.
On the open ground outside the city, Lothar, who had descended from the sky, was taking out a massive amount of supplies from the emperor's precious ring.
On the open ground, a huge teleportation gate still stands, continuously feeding in and out supplies.
This is a technology that the British Expeditionary Force previously used in the Americas. Although it cannot transport troops on a large scale, it can still be used to transport conventional supplies, excluding "magic stone ore and white crystal" which contain extraordinary power.
As for the former, Lothar's imperial ring is open to all.
With the combined forces of the two sides, the marching speed of the German-Prussian allied forces has far exceeded the expectations of the Russian army.
Meanwhile, while these armored units were resting in Reshe, the Teutonic Knights' Stormtroopers, dressed in Russian uniforms, infiltrated behind enemy lines, cut telephone lines, beheaded commanders, and spread misinformation.
Many stormtroopers carried portable white crystal bombs and wreaked havoc everywhere, making it impossible for the mobile Russian troops to tell where the enemy was attacking.
The Grand Master, riding a majestic warhorse, looked at Lothar with a hint of envy.
He never expected that the Lord of Babel was actually a legendary dragon knight. Although they were in the same profession, his wingless earth dragon, which was only a little over ten meters tall, was completely different from the three-headed demonic dragon that the Lord of Babel rode.
"With this person's help, our plan might actually succeed!"
"The adjutant remarked with emotion."
The commander glared at him and said coldly, "It will definitely succeed! Our advance is still too slow. Pass on my order: ignore the enemy on both flanks, prepare your equipment, and launch an attack immediately!"
"We have only one goal: to move forward, forward, forward, and forward until we join up with our friendly forces in the Lithuanian direction. Resisting the enemy on our flanks is the business of the cavalry division behind us, and it has nothing to do with you!"