Chapter 1,361 Encirclement 1
Chapter 1361 Encirclement 1
"Finally, we are out of the damn woods and fortresses!" Colonel Ferdo von Bock stood on a ruins and looked towards the vast plains to the south. In the distance, his army was chasing the remaining Russian troops, and even further away, it seemed that fire was rising from the horizon. It should be that his friendly forces are cooperating with his actions on the flanks.
"Yes, Your Excellency, Division Commander, we have penetrated the bunkers and defense systems that the Russians spent decades building. Now, the entire future is bright and there is nothing that can stop us!" A staff officer next to him complimented. said.
"Bring the map here, we need to see how far we are from the position of His Royal Highness Prince Leopold's Bavarian Army on the Southern Front." Colonel Bock thought for a moment and said.
"Our position is now here. Most of our regiments have crossed the Biebrza River. The forward troops have assaulted Monkey. It is estimated that they can be captured today, and then we will attack the Russian Polish area and the last one outside. Railway connectivity – Bialystok!”
"At this time, His Royal Highness Prince Leopold's troops have arrived at Bielsko, which is only a few dozen kilometers away from us. At the same time, the main force of the Bavarian Army began to move northeast, forming a circular front. They We may first join up with another German army, thus completing the encirclement of the Russian army before us!" said a staff officer next to him, pointing to the map.
"Really? How is the Russian counterattack?" Bock nodded slightly and continued to ask.
"The Russian army on our side is at the end of its tether. They lack weapons and their organization is almost disrupted. It can be said that they have no combat effectiveness. Our biggest problem is the speed of supply. As for His Royal Highness Prince Leopold, although the Bavarian Army They have gained an overwhelming advantage, but there are still some points that have not been removed. So in order to rush for time, His Royal Highness decided to take advantage of their speed and bypass the remaining scattered support points to join us in advance," said an officer.
"Very good." Bock nodded, and just as he was about to plan his next move, the orderly sent him a telegram. After reading the contents of the telegram, Bock's expression changed slightly. The content of the telegram was very simple. First, the order from the Prussian Army on the Eastern Front told him to move to a defensive state with the other two divisions after taking Monkey. At the same time, he was told that, except that logistics would still be the responsibility of the East Prussian Army, his unit, the 17th Division of the East Prussian Army, would be placed under Prince Leopold's command along with the other two divisions. This turn of events caught him off guard.
"It seems that the situation has changed. The Supreme Command gave up the original encirclement line, and they pushed the encirclement a little further east. And our current position blocks the Russian retreat road. Such a narrow area cannot allow a large number of The Russian army passed, so now we are like a nail stuck in the throat of the Russians." Bock frowned slightly and said to his men.
In fact, going around the encirclement speeds up the completion of the encirclement. Because the enemy to the east is very weak, you can easily crush the opponent's resistance and just rush on. But this will lengthen the front and make the troops appear more dispersed. There is only one situation that can lead to this result, and that is, the Russians are now ready to break out! Encircling more enemies is obviously more important than forming a perfect encirclement network!
Bock's estimate was correct. Just yesterday, when he was still 24 kilometers away, the "Russian military leadership" headed by Nikolayev had passed through Bialystok and evacuated towards Riga. Leaving with them were a large number of family members, precious metals and other materials. And Kuropatkin has also begun to implement his breakout plan. Troops drawn from various places have begun to gather, and are preparing to open a gap without Germany gaining a foothold, and then run as many as they can!
Therefore, in accordance with the order, Bock's troops and friendly forces tried to narrow the gap in the encirclement and quickly turned to defense. The transportation volume of oil was greatly reduced. On the contrary, the transportation volume of ammunition increased linearly. One day later, two Bavarian armies commanded by Baron Schmidt, who served as the vanguard of the entire Bavarian Army, and an army under Mackensen converged in Grodno, later Belarus, completely blocking the Russians' way home!
"From now on, the East Prussian Seventh Army will be under my command. Our three armies together form the main force of the blockade! The Russians only have hope of breaking through from us. In the next few days to a week, Within a short period of time, we may have to face an attack by hundreds of thousands or even two hundred thousand Russian troops! Therefore, I hope that everyone from me on down will fulfill their duties!" Baron Schmidt said decisively to all the German generals present. .
And long ago, when German soldiers wearing different uniforms met together, they didn't even have time to cheer and open each other's treasured wine to celebrate the victory. The first thing they had to do was to immediately choose a suitable place and then take out the sappers they carried with them. Shovel, bang it hard on the ground a few times to make the soil soft and then start digging trenches!
The sound of rustling earth and the roar of machinery continued all night long, creating a shooting bunker that could accommodate soldiers in a prone posture, then a standing bunker that could stand upright, and then connected to each other. A series of trenches are formed, and the trenches are connected horizontally to form a network. Infantrymen began unloading bundles of barbed wire from their vehicles for deployment. Minefields were then laid between barbed wire fences. After dinner, some clever soldiers would make a simple bell out of used cans and hang it on the barbed wire as an alarm device.
An engineering vehicle using a tank or a half-track plus a bucket as a bulldozer begins to build the large gun nests and parapets needed for the artillery. One truck gun after another followed the slope into the gun position. Next to them is the machine gun nest where the machine gun crew is located. A large number of them jumped on the transport truck, and then took out the brand-new machine guns and bullets that had just been transported from the rear and had not yet been opened. This time, they may have to face the Russian army who wanted to go home. In order to completely block them They are equipped with more weapons than the establishment!
And just as the Bavarian Army was preparing to deal with the Russian breakout operation, the Russians were also making final preparations. After Kuropatkin sent away those "leaders", he immediately readjusted the defense deployment, but unfortunately, the following actions were not as fast as he imagined!
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