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Volume 3 Far East Story Chapter 309 Fight or retreat?

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    "When the enemy's artillery deployed on the highlands opened fire, the Fourth Army discovered that the White Guards' artillery on the southeastern defense line was not six artillery batteries, but at least one artillery battery. Not to mention, the White Guards were still on the riverside highlands in Ufa city.  At least nine artillery batteries of large-caliber heavy howitzers were ambushed. Under the intensive firepower of 30 artillery batteries, the three divisions of the Fourth Army that charged the opponent's first-line positions suffered heavy casualties, and Rzhevski had to order a retreat.  !¡±

    Trotsky read it in one breath, with a gloomy expression on his face. There are 30 artillery batteries, 9 of which are large-caliber heavy artillery. Of course it will be difficult to climb out of such a trap!

    "What are the casualties of the Fourth Army?" Ulyanov asked anxiously.

    "The telegram said that the three infantry divisions of the Fourth Army that rushed to the position suffered more than half of their casualties, and only 14,000 people were withdrawn!" Sdervyov, who had read the telegram before, rushed to answer.

    "Didn't the Southern Cluster strengthen 20 artillery companies for the Fourth Army? Where did Rzhevsky use the artillery?" Kamenev asked in confusion.

    "The terrain was at a disadvantage. In the fierce battle with the opponent's superior artillery group, our 20 artillery batteries were able to defeat only six mountain artillery batteries, and the ammunition was almost exhausted!" Trotsky looked at the second half of the telegram and said,  Pick up the important explanation.

    "Didn't we also send three cavalry divisions to detour from the flanks? Why didn't they work? Where are all the cavalry divisions? There are nearly 30,000 troops in three divisions!" Zinoviev shouted.

    Trotsky looked down and said in a serious tone, "The 13th Cavalry Division on the north route was intercepted by the opponent's armored train troops. By the time it retreated, it had lost a regiment of troops. The mixed infantry division on the south route was intercepted by the opponent's armored train troops.  The superior artillery fire defeated them, and only one regiment withdrew its troops. It took a long way to attack the rear northeast of Ufa and lost contact with the 1st Cavalry Division of the Fourth Army. According to the faint sound of artillery coming from the north of Ufa, the 1st Cavalry Division may have been completely destroyed.  The army was destroyed!"

    "What kind of battle is this! Tukhachev is withdrawing now? He still has at least ten divisions of troops, so why is he withdrawing?!" Ulyanov was obviously annoyed by the series of bad news.  I'm furious!

    "Yes! The offensive of the Southern Cluster has been frustrated. It has retreated to Chernigovka, 20 kilometers southwest of Ufa, to set up positions for rest and reorganization. There are still about 125,000 soldiers left in the army, of which more than 20,000 are lightly or seriously wounded.  . -There are still 17 artillery batteries left in the group artillery, but there are not many artillery shells left." After reading the telegram, Trotsky raised his head and continued,

    "The Southern Cluster Front Military Committee is at the end of the telegram, asking for instructions on the next battle plan!" The voice of the chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Military Committee was obviously quite heavy.

    "Didn't we say that Ufa only had five enemy divisions? Didn't we say that our troops and artillery were more than double that of the enemy? Didn't we say that the Southern Cluster was the main force of the glorious Eastern Front? What kind of battle was this?  What a prodigal!" Ulyanov clutched his waist and walked around the room, his face turning red.

    "Listen, please tell me the next battle plan! What are these words? After the formation of the Southern Cluster, there is only one mission, and that is to cleanly and completely eliminate the enemies in the direction of Ufa and capture Ufa! We only fought two times.  35,000 men and half of the artillery were lost in one day, and Rzhevsky should be responsible for this! Tukhachevsky can't escape his responsibility!" Ulyanov shouted, waving his arms.

    "Comrade Chairman, if we do not get reinforcements and replenishments, the Tukhachevsky South Cluster, which is short of medical treatment and artillery shells, will no longer be able to launch an offensive towards Ufa. What we have to decide now is to let the Fifth Army and  The main force of the Ninth Army should speed up the reinforcements and attack Ufa again. It is better to give up the battle plan to capture Ufa!" Trotsky couldn't help but remind.

    "Give up? How can this be done? It is our established policy to capture Ufa and cut off the retreat of the Kolchak bandit in Kazan. The purpose is to preempt the attempt of the Allied Powers east of the Ural Mountains to intervene westward. If this is abandoned halfway,  How can we continue to fight on the eastern front? Should we return to the west bank of the Volga River and return the large plains and land on the right bank of the Volga River to Kolchak?"

    Ulyanov put his hands on his waist and stared at Trotsky.

    "If you don't give up, then we need to speed up the reinforcements of the Fifth Army and the Ninth Army in the direction of Ufa. If we march 100 kilometers per day, it will take at least three days for these two armies to rush to Ufa, and before they arrive  "Whether Tukhachevsky's Southern Cluster can block the enemy's counterattack is still a question!" Although Trotsky was in a heavy heart, he still patiently explained to the little mentor.

    "By the way! Did Ufa's enemies counterattack or pursue them?" Kamenev couldn't help but ask.

    "It was not mentioned in the telegram. It is estimated that most of the casualties on the other side were not small, or the Ufa White Guards did not have enough troops and did not dare to leave their positions to pursue and fight in the field. Tukhachevsky's point was thatI know that although the commander is young, he is still smart. Even if he retreats, he will not run around in a swarm. He will leave behind troops to break up and ambush. It is estimated that the Ufa defenders will not dare to leave the trenches and artillery fire support." Trotz  Ji flipped through the telegram again, looking thoughtful.

    "Aren't the White Guards who have been clamoring about Kolchak all day long all just paper tigers? But the Southern Cluster was really bitten by this paper tiger!" Bukharin said casually from the sidelines.

    "What I'm worried about is that the coalition forces east of the Ural Mountains have intervened in the battle in Ufa. The Southern Cluster has been followed by the reconnaissance plane painted with the markings of the Western Siberian Autonomous Government during its march towards Ufa. In fact, we all know  Where did the West Siberian Autonomous Government's air fleet come from? It is clearly owned by the Allied forces east of the Ural Mountains!" Trotsky expressed his worries!

    "If the coalition forces have intervened in the Ufa battle, why don't they pursue it? I heard that one Chinese division can defeat three of our divisions, and there are too many aircraft, artillery and machine guns to count! Tukhachev's Southern Cluster will not  "You are so stupid that you have been fighting for two days without knowing whether the person shooting on the other side is a Chinese or a Russian?" Kamenev said.

    "But ever since the Southern Group of the Eastern Front crossed the Volga River, the reconnaissance planes painted with the markings of the Siberian Autonomous Government buzzing overhead have not stopped. Tukhachevsky did not even dare to organize machine gun fire to bring down the opponent.  We are deeply afraid of retaliation from the opponent's fighters and bombers! Doesn't this explain the problem? We now only have the Red Army and the Red Navy, and the sky is completely undefended! The few broken planes left by Tsarist Russia only have enough parts to take off.  Not enough!¡±

    Trotsky, Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Military Council, waved his arms emotionally and shouted!

    "What's the use of saying this? Are we going to lay down our weapons and surrender after the Allied planes circle overhead? The stronger our Red Army is built and the more brilliant its results are, the more afraid the imperialists and their lackeys are of us.  The less you dare to interfere easily!" Sdervyov shouted excitedly.

    The setback of the Southern Cluster of the Eastern Front Army, which Moscow had obviously high hopes for, made several Central Committee members present feel a bit groggy. The newly formed Southern Front Army and the Western Front Army may not be much worse than the Eastern Front Army in terms of numbers, but everyone is worried.  Understand that the Eastern Front is the main front in the entire Soviet Red Army. If they can't even defeat the White Guards in Ufa, what hope does the Soviet have?

    You must know that the elite troops of Kolchak's All-Russian Provisional Government are the 150,000 White Guards on the Kazan front. In the direction of Ufa, they are just a few infantry divisions and temporarily armed volunteer divisions that retreated from the right bank of the Volga River.  Forget it, if a wise and courageous general like Tukhachevsky cannot defeat the opponent's second-rate troops, then who is Kolchak in Kazan still his opponent?

    "What Sdervyov said is right. Some of our comrades are always worried about this and that. This is not beneficial to our cause. Be it the Allied Powers or the Allied Forces, if they want to interfere, they will interfere sooner or later. We still have to act accordingly.  If you are led by the imperialists, the Soviet Union will lose its hard-won power and future!" Ulyanov's face was livid, and he was ready to destroy the Allied Powers and those east of the Ural Mountains against Trotsky.  The coalition forces were quite dissatisfied when they came out to scare people.

    "Then what to do now? Tukhachevsky is still waiting for a call back from the central government. Should he continue to retreat westward, or establish a front on the spot and wait for reinforcements from the Fifth Army and the Ninth Army. In three days, the Fifth Army will be able to  Arriving near Ufa, the Ninth Army has a long way to go and is escorting food, and it will take another day to arrive! If they want to withdraw, then there is no need for these two armies to continue to reinforce, but should prepare to withdraw to the west of the Volga River. "

    Trotsky spread his hands helplessly. It was obvious that he was inclined to retreat and preserve his strength. As for when he could make a comeback, only God knows. This year's summer grain harvest across Russia is a foregone conclusion. Food supply is still very tight, and in rural areas  He was on the opposite side of the Soviet Union again. If the Battle of Ufa failed, the blow to Soviet Russia and the Red Army would be huge. Therefore, he did not dare to make a rash and arbitrary decision. Instead, he kicked the ball to Uri, who had always wanted to be the leader.  Yanov!
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